The Bureau was usually a bastion of predictable, almost monotonous, efficiency. So when the internal communication channels began buzzing with frantic queries and troubleshooting tickets, Elias knew something was genuinely wrong. It started subtly: a few odd data points, a minor error message here and there. Then the Sutra Guide AI terminals, the neural-linked systems that analysts used to parse and interpret Ledger data, began to malfunction.
Holographic projections flickered erratically. Karmic predictions, usually presented with crystalline clarity, displayed bizarre, contradictory outcomes. A case involving a simple property line dispute might suddenly show one party suffering a catastrophic spiritual imbalance, while the other was inexplicably granted accelerated cultivation. It was chaos, on a digital, metaphysical level.
Elias watched the chaos unfold with a detached fascination, a cold certainty growing in his gut. This wasn't a software bug, or even a hardware failure. The AI, he theorized, was being overloaded by an unseen variable. He knew, with an almost spiritual conviction, that it was linked to the Ledger's inherent flaw – the very one he had been exploiting. His subtle manipulations, the ripples he'd created, were accumulating. The Ledger was designed to process countless individual transactions, but it wasn't built to account for the growing, unseen distortions of its own karmic logic. The Sutra AI, as its primary interface, was feeling the strain.
While other analysts scrambled to run diagnostics and reset their terminals, Elias saw an opportunity. He pulled up a minor case, one that had been causing persistent errors on the network for the past hour: a complaint lodged by a minor Guild representative against a smaller farming collective, accusing them of "karmic negligence" for failing to meet a production quota due to a localized drought. The Ledger, in its current state, was struggling to process the intersecting factors of natural disaster, contractual obligation, and collective well-being.
Elias leaned into his own terminal, his fingers dancing over the holographic interface. He decided to perform a radical experiment. He fed the malfunctioning Sutra Guide a false data input, but one crafted with surgical precision. He didn't outright fabricate information. Instead, he exaggerated an existing, minute detail: the farming collective's intent to fulfill the quota, despite the drought. He artificially amplified the "collective effort" variable, a metric the AI struggled to quantify in the face of overwhelming external factors.
He watched the Sutra Guide process the tweaked data. For a moment, its holographic display glowed red, an error warning. Then, with a shuddering recalculation, it stabilized. The result was startling. The AI misjudged the case, not by a little, but significantly. It shifted the karmic burden almost entirely onto the Guild representative, implying that their inflexible demands were the source of the karmic imbalance, rather than the farmers' inability to meet the quota.
It was an inversion of logic, a clear demonstration of how easily the system could be swayed by subtle, focused distortions of truth. Elias felt a surge of exhilaration. The Ledger wasn't just flawed; it could be played.
As he finalized the experimental entry, a shadow fell over his terminal. Elias froze, his internal alarm bells screaming. Magistrate Lian was standing beside him, his expression unreadable, but his eyes narrowed. He hadn't bothered with his usual dry sarcasm. His gaze was fixed on Elias's screen, specifically on the recently processed (and now, fundamentally misjudged) case.
"Thorne," Lian's voice was low, devoid of inflection. "Your terminal. It's the only one that hasn't crashed."
Elias quickly minimized his active windows, feigning a frustrated sigh. "Just a stroke of luck, Magistrate. Or perhaps I found a temporary patch for the overload. This whole system is clearly struggling."
Lian didn't respond immediately. His eyes, usually sharp, seemed to be probing Elias's very soul. "And your interest in this particular glitch… it seems rather intense, wouldn't you say? More than typical 'patchwork,' Thorne."
The hum of the Karmic Ledger, usually a comforting presence, now felt like a buzzing accusation in Elias's ears. He could feel the weight of Lian's scrutiny, a silent, predatory assessment. Elias knew he was treading on thin ice. The more he tested the Ledger, the more he exposed its vulnerabilities, the more he drew attention to himself. And Lian, for all his bureaucratic demeanor, was no fool. He was beginning to suspect.
"Just doing my duty, Magistrate," Elias said, forcing a calm he didn't feel. "Trying to keep the wheels of justice turning, even when the Ledger itself seems to be having a bad day."
Lian said nothing more. He merely nodded slowly, his eyes still fixed on Elias, before turning and walking away. Elias watched him go, his hand unconsciously clenching into a fist. He had learned something profound today, but he had also amplified the danger. The game was escalating.