"Does he even sleep?" someone whispered from the back row.
Jake leaned toward MJ, eyes glued to the podium. "He's assassinating them politely."
MJ nearly choked trying not to laugh.
The starship continued rotating slowly above Neville, its shimmering hull casting blue reflections across the hall. Neville's expression never changed, even as tension thickened across the hall.
Director Hannel's mic blinked on.
"And the cost of maintaining three separate AI systems?" he asked stiffly. "This is already a resource-heavy initiative. Are we expected to—"
"Already included in Phase Two's budget allocation," Neville said, not missing a beat. "Page forty-seven of the documentation."
Director Hannel actually paused. "Page—?"
"Operational costs are twelve percent lower than comparable single-AI structures due to efficiency gains from the Compass architecture," Neville added politely. "I can walk you through the calculations if you prefer."
Jake mouthed, Oh, damn.
