Dawn crept across Meridian with tentative fingers, as if uncertain what city it would find after yesterday's upheaval. Cael sat cross-legged on the practitioners' quarters rooftop, his meditation undisturbed by the growing sounds of a city reluctantly returning to routine.
Aether flickered to life, projecting headlines that hovered in the air before him:
"CULT OF SILENCE DISRUPTS REGISTRY ORDER""PEACEFORM USERS CAUSE MENTAL HARM IN CHILDREN""PHILOSOPHICAL TERRORIST OR MISUNDERSTOOD PACIFIST?"
Beneath these banners scrolled smaller text—commentary, analysis, eyewitness accounts. Each telling a slightly different story than what had actually occurred.
[INFORMATION VARIANCE: 47% FACTUAL DISTORTION][NARRATIVE MANIPULATION DETECTED][COORDINATED MEDIA RESPONSE PROTOCOL ACTIVE]
"They work quickly," Cael murmured.
