Elias watched Mei Lin from his terminal, a subtle tension in his jaw. She was becoming more observant, more questioning. His gentle gaslighting had worked to a point, but her innate idealism, combined with her burgeoning intuition, made her a potential liability, or, if managed correctly, a potent asset. He needed to push her, to truly test her capacity to look beyond the Ledger's superficial pronouncements.
He assigned her a fresh case, one that had just landed in the department: a seemingly straightforward dispute between a Sylvan trader and a human merchant. The Sylvan, a young Bloom-rank cultivator named Faelan, accused the human merchant, a grizzled veteran named Theron, of deliberately sabotaging a shipment of rare verdant moss. Theron, in turn, claimed the moss had naturally withered due to poor Sylvan preservation techniques.
Elias already knew the truth. Theron, a known opportunist with a history of minor karmic infractions that never quite tipped the Ledger into outright condemnation, had indeed tampered with the moss, using a subtle energy siphon to accelerate its decay, then blaming the Sylvan's delicate cultivation methods. The Ledger, however, with its inherent human bias and its difficulty in fully parsing the intricate, spiritual nuances of Sylvan Verdant Harmony, was already leaning towards Theron. It saw a human contract and a perishable natural product, not a malicious spiritual attack.
"Mei Lin," Elias instructed, "this case is yours. Analyze it. Tell me what the Ledger dictates, and then tell me what you believe is truly just."
He watched her throughout the day. She meticulously pored over the digital reports, cross-referencing trade agreements, elemental readings, and the faint spiritual signatures left on the withered moss. He could see her struggling, her brow furrowed in concentration. The Sutra AI reports, based on the Ledger's biases, clearly pointed towards Faelan the Sylvan being at fault. Mei Lin, with her academic training, should have simply rubber-stamped that judgment.
But then, Elias saw her pause. She pulled up historical records of Sylvan trade, noted the meticulous care they took with their goods, the deep karmic bonds they formed with their natural products. She spent a long moment studying the subtle distortion in the human merchant's karmic signature, a faint ripple that the Ledger had dismissed as "nervousness." Her intuition, honed by Elias's subtle prodding, was warring with the system's dictate.
Finally, she looked up, her face resolute. "Analyst Thorne," she stated, her voice firm, "the Ledger, as it stands, suggests a ruling against the Sylvan, Faelan. It cites the contract and Theron's clean immediate record." She paused, took a deep breath. "But... I believe that is wrong. The moss bears the subtle mark of external decay, not natural wilting. And Theron's past behavior, though minor, suggests a pattern of taking advantage of perceived weaknesses in others. My intuition tells me the Sylvan is innocent."
Elias felt a quiet thrill. She was doing it. She was defying protocol, risking a reprimand to follow her own discernment.
"And your judgment, Mei Lin?" Elias prompted, keeping his expression neutral.
"I rule in favor of Faelan, the Sylvan trader," she declared, her chin held high. "Theron, the human merchant, is to compensate him for the lost goods and for the spiritual injury caused by the sabotage."
Elias felt a genuine, albeit calculated, surge of approval. "A bold judgment, Mei Lin," he said, allowing a rare, unfeigned smile. "One that goes against the surface reading. It shows courage. And true insight into the deeper currents of karma. You truly possess a unique gift for discerning balance."
He praised her, knowing his words would solidify her belief in her own unique intuition, reinforcing her loyalty to him as her mentor. But privately, Elias noted her idealism. While it allowed her to see beyond the Ledger's inherent biases, it also made her predictable. She would always side with what she perceived as "true justice," making her susceptible to carefully crafted scenarios. Her idealism, a virtue to most, could be exploited. She was a valuable piece on the board, and Elias was learning how to play her.