Page 89 - SurprisingTruthFinal
P. 89
Nicholas Boothman
the worn wooden cross clutched so tightly his knuckles
were white.
"What are you doing?" Vincent whispered, his voice
trembling not with anger, but with betrayal.
"I'm giving them back the choice," Henry said,
pointing to the code. "I'm making the 100% risk of
freezing look worse than the 20% risk of the blackout.
I'm forcing action."
"You are forcing a lie!" Vincent hissed, his face
contorted in pain. "You are proving that humanity is
only good when it is blind! You swore Courage Over
Comfort!"
"Courage is useless without survival, Vincent!
Comfort is the scaffolding that allows the courage to
grow later! Your philosophy is beautiful, but it's killing
children tonight!"
Lina, startled awake by the shouting, scrambled out
of her blankets. She saw the code on Henry’s screen,
saw the complex elegance of The Palliative, and
understood its function instantly.
"You can't," she said, her voice weak. "If you taint
The Gaze, the revolution is over. You prove they were
right: that the truth is too dangerous to share."
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