The follow-up came faster than expected.
A rumor seeded in a small forum.
A scheduling conflict "accidentally" leaked.
A headline drafted but not published.
All of it just visible enough to provoke.
"They want a spike," Noah said. "Anger. Denial. Anything."
Aria didn't look up. "They want confirmation."
---
The ghost process pulsed.
Three reads.
Pause.
No escalation.
No reaction.
---
By noon, a second nudge.
A familiar name liked a post questioning her professionalism. Someone who knew better.
"They're poking the bruise," Noah said.
Aria sipped her coffee. "Bruises only hurt if you touch them."
---
Internally, the system adjusted.
STIMULUS: LOW-GRADE
EXPECTED RESPONSE: EMOTIONAL CORRECTION
Observed response:
NONE
No post.
No call.
No quiet clarification through proxies.
Nothing.
---
Noah watched the logs with fascination. "It's… confused."
"Systems are," Aria said, "when humans don't behave statistically."
---
The real test came that evening.
A message routed through an old secure path—one only she and three others had ever used.
We can still protect you.
No signature.
She stared at it for a long moment.
Then archived it.
Unread.
---
The ghost process stuttered.
Read.
Pause.
Read.
Out of rhythm.
---
"They expected you to respond to that," Noah said.
"They expected me to feel relief," Aria replied.
She stood, stretching, perfectly calm.
"I'm not reacting because reaction completes the loop," she said.
"And I'm done completing loops for them."
---
In the system, a new flag appeared.
BEHAVIORAL MODEL: DRIFTING
Uncertainty crept in.
For the first time, the machine couldn't tell if she was compliant…
…or preparing something it couldn't see.
And that made it nervous.