Page 86 - SurprisingTruthFinal

The Surprising Truth About Lying
Sector B during the eight-hour window, leading to life
support failure and loss of crucial data stores.”
Henry leaned forward, his heart pounding. “But the
alternative is a 100% certainty that Sector A freezes
tonight. The cost-benefit analysis is clear! You risk 20%
to save 100%!”
“We cannot lie about the 20% risk,” the engineer
shot back, his voice rising in panic. “The Mandate
requires us to report that 20% chance of catastrophe as
an absolute, irrefutable truth. No politician, no
administrator, no engineer, not even the three of us, can
legally sign off on an action that carries a known,
unmitigated 20% chance of death. To sign off would be
to admit a 20% intention to kill. It’s illegal now.”
The paradox was a beautifully engineered trap. In
the old world, Henry would have spun the risk as "a
manageable and standard operational fluctuation,"
burying the 20% in jargon until it disappeared. Now,
that 20% stood naked, a glowing red sign screaming
"DANGER" that no one was legally allowed to ignore.
The truth was not the key to action; it was the lock.
Henry disconnected, the silence of the bunker
roaring in his ears. The paralysis wasn't a glitch. It was
a feature of the new system. Humanity couldn't move
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