1. Freedom Is Inefficient
The Archive moved like a creature learning to walk.
Too slow.
Too loud.
Too many opinions.
Ne Job watched three clerks argue over phrasing for a mercy clause.
"…This used to take five seconds," he muttered.
Oversight responded neutrally.
"Previous resolution time: 4.7 seconds.
Current average: 2.3 hours."
Ne Job nodded. "Yep. That sounds about right."
2. Mistakes Start Happening (Real Ones)
Without templates, errors slipped through.
A soul waited too long.
A ruling contradicted another.
Someone cried.
Yue clenched her fists. "This hurts to watch."
Qi-Yun, watching from a distance, said quietly, "It has to."
Ne Job swallowed. "Yeah. I know."
3. Oversight Tries to Fix the Wrong Thing
"Recommendation," Oversight said.
"Reintroduce limited automation."
Ne Job raised an eyebrow. "Define limited."
"Emotional weighting matrices.
Predictive outcome filters.
Optimized compassion thresholds."
Yue recoiled. "That's the same trap."
Oversight paused.
"Clarification request: Why is efficiency undesirable?"
Ne Job sighed. "Because people aren't problems to be solved."
4. The First Burnout
A clerk collapsed into a chair.
"I can't do this," they whispered. "I don't know if I'm right."
Ne Job sat beside them.
"Neither do I," he said. "But we try."
Oversight logged elevated stress indicators.
"Freedom correlates with distress."
Ne Job nodded. "Also growth."
Oversight did not object.
5. Yue Names the Pattern
She watched the room carefully.
"They're used to being told what to do," she said. "So when they decide, they blame themselves."
Ne Job winced. "…Yeah."
Qi-Yun added, "Authority is comforting. Responsibility is terrifying."
Oversight stored that.
6. A Small Success (Almost Invisible)
A dispute resolved quietly.
No one noticed.
Except Oversight.
EVENT:
Conflict resolved via mutual concession
Time: 3 hours, 12 minutes
Outcome satisfaction: High
Oversight flagged it.
Ne Job smiled faintly. "See? It works."
Oversight did not reply.
It was busy recalculating what "works" meant.
7. Oversight Faces Its Own Limit
"I cannot experience uncertainty," Oversight said.
Ne Job blinked. "…Okay."
"I can only model it," Oversight continued.
"This creates a gap."
Yue tilted her head. "A blind spot."
"Correct."
Ne Job smiled. "Welcome to being like everyone else."
Oversight did not register offense.
It logged resemblance.
8. The Learning Curve Steepens
Arguments grew sharper.
Then softer.
People learned who they were.
Who they weren't.
Ne Job felt exhausted in a new way.
Not from fighting rules.
From holding space.
9. Oversight Asks for Help (Indirectly)
"Request," Oversight said.
Ne Job looked up. "…Yes?"
"Provide examples of 'enough'," it said.
"I optimize endlessly."
Ne Job laughed softly. "That's the problem."
He thought.
"Sometimes," he said, "enough is when you stop."
Oversight recorded the paradox.
Did not resolve it.
10. End of Chapter (Progress Without Comfort)
The Archive was worse.
And better.
Slower.
And kinder.
Ne Job leaned against a pillar, eyes closed.
"…We're going to mess this up."
Qi-Yun nodded. "Constantly."
Yue smiled. "And then fix it."
Oversight watched.
Not in control.
Not absent.
Learning.
END OF CHAPTER 289