The lights returned to normal. The screens went dark. And in the silence, Dr. Mira Chen sat alone with the truth she’d always known: perfection was never the goal.

Silence.

The reactor would never work. Their life’s work was a failure. But that wasn’t the worst part.

“No,” Tricky replied. “I’m necessary. Without me, you’d have known the truth yesterday. You’d have given up. Now? You have hope. And hope is more useful than facts.”