The room above the world was silent.
Screens filled the air, each displaying streams of data—cities, people, futures unfolding exactly as calculated.
Except one feed.
At its center was the unregistered variable.
Every model failed the moment it included him. Probability trees collapsed. Outcome graphs refused to render.
"He's not breaking the rules," one observer said slowly.
"He's existing outside them."
"That's worse," another replied.
Rules could be enforced.
Violations could be corrected.
But exclusion?
The Registry had never been designed to handle something it could not reference.
"Authorize containment," a voice finally said.
The word carried weight.
Containment meant the system would stop adjusting the world subtly—and start acting directly.
For the first time, the Registry shifted its stance.
From observation
to intervention.