Jesen's video looped on the back wall.
The sound was off, but Aiden did not need it anymore. He knew the cadence by heart, the micro‑pauses, the way the girl fixed the camera like she meant to bite through the lens.
"I am not dangerous. But I am angry."
Public feeds had already carved her speech into a hundred fragments, remixed and overlaid with slogans. Some held her up as hope. Some as proof the registry was broken. Some twisted her into an argument for "finer" control.
On the side screen, an official banner pulsed:
DISTRICT TWELVE‑LOWER – COMMUNITY REVIEW PANEL
INAUGURAL SESSION: TOMORROW, 18:00.
OPEN PARTICIPATION – LIVE RECORDING.
Aiden rolled his chair to the central board and zoomed in on the preliminary participant list. Names scrolled past, anonymous for the most part. A few snagged his attention.
Tal Riss – Youth Outreach Liaison.
Sergeant Kade Brin – Security Forces Representative.
Something tightened under his ribs.
Tal.
Stairwell kid.
