The Scenario triggered at dawn.
No warning.
No buildup.
Just a sharp pulse that ran through every Interface in the camp like a blade through nerves.
People screamed.
Children cried.
Piter Hall felt it instantly. The air changed, thickening with familiar authority.
[Public Scenario Activated][Type: Moral Compliance Test]
Marcus swore. "That's new."
"No," Piter said quietly. "That's escalation."
Text burned across the sky.
[Participants: All Registered Variables in Sector D-17][Clear Condition: Make a Choice]
A low murmur spread.
"What choice?""About what?""Is this another trick?"
Lena clutched Piter's arm. "I don't like this."
"You're not supposed to," Piter replied.
The ground shook.
Reality folded.
The camp vanished.
They stood in a massive circular chamber with no ceiling, the sky replaced by a shifting grid of light. Hundreds of people were arranged in loose clusters, all Variables from surrounding sectors.
Parents screamed as they realized—
Children stood alone.
Separated.
Dozens of them.
At the center of the chamber, five platforms rose from the ground.
Each platform held a child.
Piter's blood ran cold.
"No," Lena whispered. "No, no, no—"
Text appeared.
[Choice Scenario: Initiated][Instruction: Save One Group]
Images projected above the platforms.
Platform One: children from green zones.Platform Two: children from yellow zones.Platform Three: children from red zones.Platform Four: children of known Variables.Platform Five: unregistered children.
Marcus stared. "They're sorting by… by value."
Piter felt something break inside him.
[Time Limit: 300 seconds]
A countdown appeared.
300… 299…
A voice echoed.
"Select one platform to protect."
Lena screamed. "You can't make us—"
"Watch them," Piter said.
Marcus looked at him sharply. "What?"
"They're watching how we justify," Piter said. "Not who we pick."
Panic erupted.
Parents ran toward platforms.
Barriers stopped them.
People screamed at the sky.
Piter closed his eyes.
Last loop, he chose.
He chose the Variable children.
Because he believed power mattered.
Because he believed they could change things.
And he lived with it.
Not anymore.
"Piter," Marcus said urgently. "We have to pick one."
"No," Piter replied.
Marcus grabbed him. "They'll kill the rest!"
"Yes," Piter said. "They will."
Lena sobbed. "Then how can you stand there?"
Piter opened his eyes.
"Because the moment we play," he said, "we teach them this works."
The countdown ticked.
200… 199…
The crowd fractured.
People argued.
Some screamed to save red zone kids.
Others demanded green.
A woman dropped to her knees begging to save her son.
Marcus shook Piter. "Say something! They're listening to you!"
Piter turned.
"Do not choose," he shouted.
His voice carried unnaturally far.
"Don't touch the platforms!"
Confusion rippled.
"Are you insane?" someone screamed.
"They'll all die!"
"Yes," Piter replied. "But if you choose, you're telling them this is acceptable."
The timer hit 120.
The System reacted.
[Compliance Rate: Low][Pressure Adjustment: Increased]
Pain ripped through the chamber.
People screamed as gravity doubled.
Children cried harder.
Lena collapsed, clutching her head.
Piter forced himself to stand.
"You think this will break us?" he shouted. "You're wrong."
The timer hit 60.
Marcus stared at the platforms.
"Piter… I can't watch this."
"I know," Piter said.
"But you will."
Marcus turned on him.
"I won't follow you into hell."
"Then leave," Piter replied.
Silence hit harder than any shockwave.
The timer hit 30.
Parents sobbed.
Children screamed.
Someone ran forward.
They touched Platform Three.
Red zone children.
The barrier shimmered.
[Platform Selected]
Gasps exploded.
The timer froze.
Text burned across the sky.
[Choice Registered][Protecting: Platform Three]
Piter's heart sank.
A woman collapsed screaming. "Thank you! Thank you!"
Piter closed his eyes.
He already knew.
[Executing Outcome…]
The protected children glowed.
Barriers formed around them.
The other four platforms—
Vanished.
Screams cut off mid-breath.
Silence slammed down.
People fell to their knees.
Lena vomited.
Marcus stared at the empty space, eyes hollow.
Piter felt sick.
[Scenario Complete][Compliance Recorded]
The chamber dissolved.
They were back in the camp.
No bodies.
No blood.
Just absence.
Parents screamed where their children had been.
The boy from the red zone stood shaking, alive.
Everyone else—
Gone.
Lena collapsed, sobbing.
"You let this happen," Marcus whispered.
Piter didn't argue.
"Yes," he said.
Marcus's face twisted. "You told them not to choose!"
"And they chose," Piter replied. "That's the point."
"You could have stopped them!"
"No," Piter said. "I could have chosen faster."
Silence fell.
People stared at him.
Hatred.
Grief.
Blame.
The System pulsed.
[Behavior Classification Updated][Designation: Moral Threat]
Piter laughed quietly.
"Good," he whispered.
Marcus grabbed his collar.
"Those kids are dead because of you!"
Piter met his eyes.
"They're dead because this world allows choices like that."
Marcus shoved him away.
"I don't know if I can follow you anymore."
Piter nodded.
"You shouldn't."
Lena looked up at him, tears streaming.
"Why didn't you pick one?" she whispered.
Piter knelt in front of her.
"Because I already did once," he said. "And I won't be the reason again."
She shook violently. "So we just let them die?"
Piter's voice broke.
"No," he said. "We remember."
His Interface pulsed.
[Public Opinion: Critical]
People turned away from him.
Whispers spread.
Monster.
Tyrant.
Cold.
Piter stood alone.
But above—
Beyond System and sky—
Something watched.
And for the first time—
It hesitated.
Because this Variable didn't optimize.
Didn't comply.
Didn't even try to win.
And that was new.