---
Arnold decided to know the truth.
That decision alone was enough to trigger an alarm.
---
It didn't feel dramatic when it happened.
No lightning. No vision.
Just a quiet certainty that settled into him while he stared at the city through his window.
Something had been taken from him.
Something had been given back.
And someone, somewhere, knew exactly what it was.
"I'm not imagining this," he said aloud.
The words felt heavy. Real. Earned.
For the first time in his life, the thought didn't slide away.
---
Deep inside the Authority, a red classification box opened itself.
Not manually.
Automatically.
SUBJECT: ARNOLD A.
STATUS CHANGE DETECTED
CHOICE DENSITY: CRITICAL
The room went silent.
Jack stood at the head of the table, reading the projection with a stillness that scared even him.
Maizy broke it first. "That label hasn't been used in decades."
An older official leaned back slowly. "Because it only appears when the system predicts collapse."
Jack swallowed. "Collapse of what?"
The official met his eyes.
"Control."
---
Arnold left his apartment.
Not to run.
Not to rebel.
To ask.
He walked toward the old public archive—the one people forgot existed because it rarely answered questions.
As he stepped into the street, the world felt… resistant.
Not hostile.
Guiding.
Screens shifted their messages. Signals changed early. Crowds subtly redirected his path.
Arnold noticed.
And for once—
He didn't comply automatically.
---
The system reacted instantly.
PRE-CHOICE INTERVENTION PROTOCOL ENGAGED
Arnold slowed.
His foot hovered above the pavement.
That familiar invisible hand pressed down on him, firm but calm.
Don't.
The command wasn't a voice.
It was certainty.
Arnold clenched his jaw.
"No," he whispered.
The pressure spiked.
---
Back at the Authority, Maizy stood abruptly. "He's resisting soft correction."
Jack didn't move.
"Escalate?" someone asked.
Jack hesitated.
Just for a fraction of a second.
That was enough.
---
DECLARATION ISSUED
ARNOLD A. DESIGNATED: NON-CHOOSING ASSET
AUTONOMOUS DECISION-MAKING: REVOKED
ALL FUTURE ACTIONS SUBJECT TO GUIDANCE
The words settled into the system like law.
Like fate.
Like a sentence no one thought to question.
---
Arnold gasped.
The world snapped into clarity.
Not peace.
Precision.
Paths highlighted themselves. Options collapsed. Decisions arrived pre-selected.
It felt efficient.
It felt clean.
It felt like being erased while still standing.
"Oh," he breathed.
So this is what they do.
---
K-0 felt it instantly.
The pull between them strained — not severed, but constrained, like a leash pulled taut across realities.
"They marked you," K-0 said softly, anger bleeding into the unreal place for the first time.
Space fractured at their feet.
"You're not a threat," they continued.
"You're a resource."
They closed their eyes.
"And resources aren't allowed to decide."
---
Arnold reached the archive steps.
He knew — knew — that if he went inside, something irreversible would happen.
The system offered him relief.
Turn back.
Go home.
Forget.
His hand trembled.
This was it.
The place where his life always went quiet.
Where he always stopped.
Arnold looked at his fingers.
At how unfamiliar the shaking felt.
At how alive it was.
---
Inside the Authority, Jack watched the live feed.
"Stop him," an operator said.
Jack opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Then said, clearly, "If he crosses that threshold… we'll never be able to predict him again."
Silence.
The decision passed him anyway.
---
Arnold took a breath.
For the first time, the pressure didn't move him.
He did.
He stepped forward.
The system screamed — not aloud, but in cascading failures.
CHOICE EXECUTION DETECTED
ERROR: SUBJECT NOT PERMITTED TO CHOOSE
Arnold smiled faintly.
"Too late," he whispered.
And walked inside.
---
Somewhere impossible, K-0 laughed.
Not with joy.
With recognition.
"That's it," they said.
"That's the sound of a stolen choice coming back angry."
---