The residency committee office contained twelve chairs and no solution worth Marcus Vale's demanded silence. His annual contribution covered nine thousand credits, exhibition insurance, plus travel support for every selected artist. The committee chair gave Thea the exact amount before anyone proposed sacrifice.
"He wants the public clip removed and assurance that the residency avoids controversial association," she said, reading his message from her tablet.
The wording never named our structure, allowing Marcus to deny discrimination while everybody understood his target. Thea asked whether removing the clip remained possible when another student controlled the original account.
"He knows you cannot erase it, which makes compliance conveniently impossible," Nina said, keeping her journalist's voice steadier than her anger.
