Page 186 - TruthAboutLyingFinal

The Truth About Lying
“So there it is. I am a coward. You are a hedonist. I’m not going to be the person who ends the human species. Turn the boats around.”
Volkov sighed. He looked relieved.
“I cannot afford a war. My economy is in ruins.”
“Then we stop,” Bailey Matthews said. “We just stop.”
It should have ended there. In a world of lies, it would have.
But the Mandate was absolute.
Volkov looked down at his own wrist monitor. It was flashing red.
“I can’t turn them around,” Volkov whispered. “Why not? We just agreed.”
“I declared intent.
“You intervened.
“If I don’t strike, I’m a liar,” Volkov said, tears filling his eyes. “The Mandate recorded my threat: ‘If you intervene, I will strike.’ You have intervened. If I do not strike, I am a liar. And liars don’t keep to the codes.”
His hands hovered over the console.
Fighting.
Losing.
“I have to do it,” Volkov choked out. “The logic is absolute. I am sorry.”
The Vagus Hammer hit. Volkov’s body snapped rigid. Then folded.
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