Three months after The Architects' judgment, the world was still adjusting.
The redesigned baseline parameters meant violations were no longer automatically erased. But they were monitored. Evaluated. Judged for intent.
And The Vigil—specifically the bonded network—did that judging.
It was exhausting work.
Sera sat in the command center, reviewing cases. Hundreds of them. Each one a human choosing to push boundaries. To violate protocols. To test the new reality.
Case #347: Woman attempting resurrection of her daughter. Dead for six weeks. Cancer. Age seven. Intent: Love. Desperation. Inability to accept loss.
Verdict?
Through the network, Sera felt the other judges. Emma. Luna. Daniel. Kira. Marcus. All weighing. All feeling the mother's pain. All understanding the violation.
Intent is growth through love, Emma sent. But the method is forced resurrection. Still a violation. Still disrupts natural death.
