Page 43 - TruthAboutLyingFinalAmazon20

Nicholas Boothman
“You don’t need everyone telling the truth,” Jinji continued. “You just need enough people who can’t lie anymore to break the system that depends on it.”
Vincent leaned forward. “Break it how?”
“Negotiations fail,” she said. “Markets panic. PR collapses. You can’t spin, hedge, or delay. Every conversation becomes binary, true or not. And humans aren’t built for that.”
Henry crossed his arms. “You’re assuming people comply.”
“I’m not,” she said. “I’m assuming they panic.”
She zoomed in on the network.
“Ten percent is enough to make the other ninety percent unsure who’s still playing by the old rules. And the moment that uncertainty spreads, trust doesn’t increase.”
She looked up at him. “It evaporates.” Silence.
“They’re not just wellness trackers anymore,” she said, tapping the neural diagram back onto the screen. “They deliver a sliding scale of physical punishment to make sure nobody gets away with a lie.”
“That thing can’t tell the difference between a lie and a double espresso,” Henry shot back. “You’re tying the global
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