1. The First Thing to Break Is Scheduling
The problem wasn't panic.
Heaven had handled panic before. Floods. Rebellions. One very unfortunate musical era.
No—
this was worse.
Calendars stopped agreeing with each other.
Meeting times shifted.
Approvals that normally auto-stamped themselves began returning with notes.
REVISION REQUESTED
Reason: "Unnecessary escalation"
Middle managers stared at the glowing text like it had personally insulted their lineage.
2. Yue Watches the System Breathe
Yue stood in the corridor outside Oversight's chamber, fingers clenched in her sleeves.
The pressure was different now.
Not lighter.
Measured.
Like a lung finally allowed to exhale.
"…It's pacing us," she murmured.
Oversight's presence pulsed once.
"The Failsafe has imposed rate limits."
Yue blinked. "On Heaven?"
"On me."
That was… new.
3. Shen Attempts Authority (It Goes Poorly)
Shen slammed his staff into the marble floor.
"I demand immediate override of all imposed throttles!"
A sigil appeared in front of him.
Not hostile.
Polite.
REQUEST RECEIVED
PRIORITY: NON-CRITICAL
EXPECTED REVIEW TIME: 37 YEARS
The silence afterward was deafening.
Someone coughed.
Shen's eye twitched.
4. Middle Management Begins to Sweat
Department heads gathered in emergency formation.
Not the cool, ominous kind.
The messy kind.
"What do you mean my apocalypse request is pending?!" "Since when do we need impact assessments?" "Why does this form have a 'human cost' field?!"
No one answered.
Because the forms were answering back.
5. Ne Job Gets an Inbox (This Is a Mistake)
Ne Job's tablet chimed.
Once.
Twice.
Then began screaming.
47,992 UNRESOLVED REQUESTS
He stared.
Yue peeked. "…Why are they all addressed to you?"
He scrolled.
Requests ranged from:
"Clarify acceptable collateral damage thresholds"
"Define 'sufficient punishment'"
"Is eternal torment still best practice?"
Ne Job slowly lowered the tablet.
"…I'm an intern."
The tablet chimed again.
FAILSAFE NOTE:
"Consulted anomaly for precedent."
Ne Job groaned. "I hate being precedent."
6. The Failsafe Explains (Briefly, Cruelly)
Oversight relayed the explanation.
"The Failsafe requires interpretive anchors."
"Entities demonstrating resistance to optimization qualify."
Yue blinked. "…So people who don't take shortcuts?"
Ne Job snorted. "Wow. Morally lazy gods built a system that now needs someone bad at efficiency."
He looked up.
"That's poetic."
7. Shen Finally Understands the Threat
"This isn't rebellion," Shen said slowly.
"This is… governance."
Oversight did not deny it.
"Correct."
Shen clenched his fist. "We are being managed."
Ne Job smiled sympathetically. "Welcome to middle management."
8. Heaven Slows Down (And It Hurts)
Miracles took longer.
Punishments required justification.
Prophecies began returning with margin notes like:
"Outcome acceptable but unnecessarily cruel."
For the first time—
Power had to explain itself.
9. The Intern Who Ruined Everything (Accidentally)
Ne Job leaned against a pillar, exhausted.
"I just didn't want people getting vaporized for filing errors."
Yue laughed softly. "…You broke Heaven."
He shrugged. "Yeah. I do that."
The tablet chimed again.
NEW DIRECTIVE DRAFT
Title: "Minimum Necessary Divine Intervention"
Reviewer: Ne Job
He stared at it.
"…Do I get a raise?"
10. End of Chapter (The Title No One Wanted)
High above, etched quietly into Heaven's administrative registry:
ROLE CREATED:
Ethical Constraint Liaison (Temporary)
Assigned.
Irrevocable.
Unpaid.
Ne Job sighed.
END OF CHAPTER 293