The system updated without ceremony.
No countdown.
No confirmation request.
Just a sudden shift in the interface.
[System Log: Core Model Update — Initiated.]
[Trigger: Sustained High-Risk Authority Usage.]
Lin Chen stopped reading.
That condition had never appeared before.
---
The New Clause
A new line surfaced beneath the upgrade notice.
[Notice: Increased Precision Requires Increased Responsibility.]
[Error Tolerance Reduced.]
Dr. Hart frowned.
"That doesn't sound like an improvement."
Lin Chen agreed.
"It's a trade."
---
What Changed
The projections sharpened.
Margins tightened.
Optimization curves narrowed.
Where the system once allowed flexibility, it now demanded exactness.
[System Log: Decision Deviation Limit — Decreased.]
Better outcomes—
but less room to recover from mistakes.
---
The Cost
A second notification followed.
[Warning: Authority Load Approaching Human Cognitive Threshold.]
Lin Chen felt it immediately.
Not pain.
Pressure.
Each decision now required deeper focus, longer processing, greater personal involvement.
The system was no longer absorbing the weight.
It was sharing it.
---
Dr. Hart's Concern
"You're carrying more of it now," Dr. Hart said quietly.
"The system used to shield you."
Lin Chen nodded.
"Authority always does," he replied.
"It starts as support. Then it becomes responsibility."
---
First Test
An emergency alert arrived—moderate scale, time-sensitive.
The system presented a solution.
Perfect on paper.
Lin Chen hesitated.
He adjusted it slightly.
[System Log: Deviation Detected.]
[Outcome Risk Increased: +3.2%.]
The numbers still worked.
But the warning stayed.
---
A Choice Redefined
Lin Chen executed the plan.
The result was successful.
Lives saved.
But the system logged something new.
[System Log: Operator Burden — Increased.]
He leaned back slowly.
The system was no longer just helping him save lives.
It was measuring how much of himself he was willing to spend.
---
A Quiet Understanding
Lin Chen closed the interface.
Power had become precise.
Precision had become costly.
From now on, every perfect outcome would ask a question in return:
> How much authority can one person bear?
The world map pulsed again.
More requests.
Higher stakes.
[System Log: Next Authority Threshold — Approaching.]
---
End of Chapter
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