Page 195 - TruthAboutLyingFinalAmazon20

Nicholas Boothman
Chapter 18: The Demonstration
The hour felt like both an eternity and an instant.
Henry stared at the failed simulation, trying to understand where they'd gone wrong. The system had been sound in theory: clear boundaries, protected spaces, accountability mechanisms. But theory wasn't enough. People would always find ways to exploit ambiguity, to twist good intentions into self-serving loopholes.
"We need enforcement," Logan said. "Stronger penalties for abuse. Mandatory audits. Oversight committees."
"That's just recreating the surveillance state," Jinji countered. "We'd be back where we started, with Verax monitoring everything."
"Then what's your solution?" Logan demanded.
"I don't have one!" Jinji shouted. "That's the problem! Every solution creates new problems!"
They were fracturing again, falling into the same patterns of blame and defensiveness. Henry felt failure settling over him like a shroud.
195