Friction was useful.
Pressure was not.
Dreyden learned the difference within forty-eight hours.
The Triangle responded to inefficiency the same way it always had—by attempting to correct it. When his training metrics dipped, the system didn't reprimand him. It compensated.
A revised circulation guideline appeared in his interface before lunch.
A "recommended" consultation with a senior instructor populated his schedule.
A follow-up evaluation quietly replaced a sparring slot he'd never formally requested.
None of it was hostile.
Which made it dangerous.
They weren't punishing deviation. They were editing it.
Dreyden attended the consultation.
That mattered.
Ignoring it would have broadcast resistance. Attending while behaving predictably would have broadcast compliance.
So he did neither.
