I nod once.
“That’s enough,” I say.
He studies me for a moment.
“You’re not expanding,” he says.
“No,” I reply.
“You’re consolidating,” he adds.
“Yes.”
“That’s not what we expected,” he says.
“No,” I agree. “It isn’t.”
He lets out a slow breath.
“Then we’ll adjust accordingly,” he says.
“Do that,” I reply.
The channel closes.
“They’re not afraid of you anymore,” Vihl says quietly.
I glance at him.
“They shouldn’t be,” I reply.
“That’s not how this used to work,” he says.
“No,” I agree.
“They respected you because they had to,” he adds.
“And now?” I ask.
He considers it.
“…Now they respect the system,” he says.
I nod once.
“That’s the goal,” I reply.
I shift my focus back to the display, watching the movement again, the flow of it, the way everything connects now in a way that doesn’t rely on constant pressure.
This is what it was supposed to be.
I just didn’t know it.
Not then.
Not before.
“You’re thinking about something,” Vihl says.
