Page 93 - SurprisingTruthFinal

Nicholas Boothman
Chapter 10:
The Cult of Quiet
The air in the community center was thick with
betrayal. Henry didn't look at Lina, who sat with her
back rigid and silent, protecting the servers that now
housed his Palliative, the "necessary lie." He didn't look
at Vincent, who hadn't moved since Henry uploaded
the code, the preacher's face a mask of disappointment
profound enough to be a judgment.
"The power diversion started five minutes ago,"
Henry stated into the freezing silence, trying to use
technical fact to blunt the emotional cost. "The Grid
Council signed the work order. The Palliative worked.
Sector A will not freeze tonight."
Lina finally spoke, her voice flat. "You didn't save
Sector A, Henry. You infected the only pure source of
information left on Earth. You have proven that the
price of comfort is always worth more than the
integrity of the signal."
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