Chapter 22: The Price of the Python Paradox
Transition finally found the officials behind the Python Paradox.
He didn't confront them individually.
One by one, he located the people responsible and brought them to an abandoned warehouse. Their immediate families were there as well.
The warehouse was silent.
The officials looked around, confused and frightened.
"Where are we?"
"Who brought us here?"
Then Derek stepped out of the darkness.
His mask immediately gave him away.
"Transition…"
The fear in the room became obvious.
One of the children began crying.
"Please, sir. Please show us mercy."
Derek stared at them.
"Shut your mouth."
The room became silent.
"Do you know how many families you people destroyed?"
He stepped forward.
"You took people's income. You took away the money they depended on to survive. You bankrupted families and ruined people's futures."
One of the officials tried to speak.
"We didn't—"
"I know exactly what you did."
Derek continued.
"When you take away someone's ability to support themselves, the consequences spread everywhere. People can lose their jobs. Families can fall apart. People can become desperate and make terrible choices."
He looked directly at the officials.
"And you did all of this because you wanted more money."
One of the officials finally asked:
"How did you even discover us?"
Derek smiled beneath his mask.
"That isn't important."
He pulled out the information he had gathered.
"What matters is that I know how your operation worked."
Derek began questioning them.
How had they created the hidden taxation system?
Who had authorized it?
How had they managed to keep the president and major corporations unaware?
Where did the stolen money go?
The officials eventually gave him the information he wanted.
Derek listened carefully.
Then silence returned.
One of the children spoke again.
"Please... we're not responsible for what our parents did."
Derek looked at them.
"You're right."
For a moment, the child looked relieved.
Then Derek continued.
"But I'm not a hero anymore."
His expression hardened.
"I don't believe in giving everyone a second chance just because they're standing in front of me."
The officials realized what he meant.
Derek turned away.
"You destroyed people's lives. You chose this."
He activated Transitioning.
The warehouse became empty.
The officials and their families were gone, and Derek left the scene behind him.
The people responsible for the Python Paradox were dead.
Derek had obtained the information he wanted, but he had crossed another line.
He wasn't simply investigating corruption anymore.
He was deciding who deserved to live.
And that was becoming one of the most dangerous changes in Transition himself.