Lin Chen stood.
No warning.
No signal.
Just movement.
Permission Was Not Requested
"I will present one dataset," he said.
"Unedited."
A few council members frowned.
One opened his mouth to object.
Lin Chen didn't wait.
The Curve Appears
The screen shifted.
No colors.
No highlights.
Just a single line.
Then another.
Then dozens.
Mortality curves.
Before intervention.
After intervention.
Layered.
The Room Changes
Silence.
Not the polite kind.
The kind where no one wanted to speak first.
What the Data Showed
Before:
Sharp rises.
Chaotic peaks.
Early collapse.
After:
Flattened arcs.
Delayed critical points.
Lives stretched long enough to be saved.
No commentary was needed.
System Log
[System Log: Narrative Control — Transferred.]
[Public Perception Shift: Significant.]
Lin Chen said nothing.
He let them read.
The Question No One Asked
One member finally spoke.
"These numbers… why weren't they included in the initial review?"
Lin Chen answered evenly.
"Because they end the conversation."
Dr. Hart's Realization
From the side of the room, Dr. Hart understood.
This wasn't defiance.
It was exposure.
Aftermath
The council didn't adjourn.
They stalled.
And stalling meant they were no longer certain.
End of Chapter