The world outside the sphere of the Sentinel Group headquarters and the sealed Spiral of Return bunker was still grappling with its own newfound, complex clarity. Lyra had been correct: the Silence of Forgettingwas receding, replaced by a surge of chaotic, vital dissonance.
Sophia, now several months removed from the terrifying descent into the Node, found her work had become both easier and infinitely harder. Easier, because the toxic, paralyzing inertia that had gripped the political and corporate world for years was gone. Arguments that once died in tedious, self-serving bureaucratic circles were now moving forward with startling speed. The corporate transparency bill, which had been symbolic dead-on-arrival for two legislative cycles, was not only passed but was now being rigorously enforced. Whistleblowers, once marginalized and ruined, were finding a public and legal atmosphere suddenly receptive to their truths.
