“No. Neutral territory.”
A shout goes up from the plaza below as another commentary feed flashes across the public holo-panels mounted near the lower steps. I glance toward it automatically.
LEAGUE LEGAL NETWORKS DISTANCE FROM ARDENT
INFORMAL EMPLOYMENT ADVISORY CITES “PROCEDURAL BREACH”
Selene sees it too.
Her expression doesn’t collapse. It hardens.
“Well,” she says after a beat, “that’s efficient.”
I feel something dangerous move under my skin. “I’m sorry.”
She looks back at me. “Don’t do that.”
“It is not pity.”
“I know.” She exhales, looking out over the crowd. “It’s just… I can’t hear one more man apologize for a machine he didn’t personally build unless he plans to set it on fire afterward.”
I let that settle between us.
Then I say, “I do not intend to remain in this city.”
Her laugh this time is real, brief, edged. “Congratulations. Neither do I.”
Below us, the public holo shifts again. Fresh advisory. Fresh feed. Fresh proof that the world is already metabolizing the verdict into narrative.
KIRELL MEMORIAL RECONSTRUCTION TO INCLUDE FULL CIVILIAN CASUALTY ACKNOWLEDGMENT
NAMES AND CORRIDOR DATA TO BE PUBLICLY RESTORED
Selene goes very still beside me.
The plaza noise seems to recede for one suspended beat.
I read it again to make sure I have not imagined it.
Full civilian casualty acknowledgment.
Names restored.
Not buried in a sealed archive. Not compressed into numbers. Public.
Selene’s throat moves once as she swallows. “They’re rebuilding it.”
“Yes.”
“With names.”
“Yes.”
Her voice drops. “That’s the first honest thing the League has done all week.”
“Possibly longer.”
She turns toward me then, really turns, the wind lifting the edge of her jacket, the city lighting one side of her face and leaving the other in soft shadow.
