Chapter 46: Base 2
Cream Puff pulsed, as if picking up from Ava's sarcastic comment the day before. "Correction. The base will not appear to be run by anyone. It will operate as though it were autonomous, guided by preset system protocols. Outsiders will assume it manifested naturally with the planetary changes."
Ava blinked. "Wait, so we don't get crowned mayor, accountant, and apocalypse janitor?"
"Not publicly," Cream Puff confirmed. "You six are the first residents. As such, you will receive privileges and benefits—advanced housing, unrestricted access to training grounds, allocation priority for weapons and combat suits. But the governance of Hope's Refuge will remain invisible."
Brian let out a low whistle. "So we're living behind the curtain, but the show runs itself."
"Exactly," Cream Puff said. "Residents will obey system rules, enforced automatically. Violations result in penalties, up to and including expulsion."
