Scene: The Inquisitor's Report – Playground Bench Friday, 3:15 PM. Phoebe W. found Caelum sitting on a secluded wooden bench, perfectly still, observing the playground. Miles D., the Herald, was positioned a few feet away, successfully and sternly preventing a quartet of kindergartners from approaching Caelum's perimeter.
Phoebe walked right up to Caelum and didn't mince words.
"Elara hasn't recruited a new general," she reported, her tone crisp and factual. "She's acquired an Artifact."
Caelum raised an eyebrow, not needing to look at his tablet. "Details."
"The 'Rainbow Sparkle Unicorn Doll.' It's not sold here. It's an ultra-exclusive, Japanese boutique release. Only five in the state," Phoebe rattled off, citing the source of her intel—a grudging phone call with her middle-school sister, Blair. "She brought it to show-and-tell. Now, two key assets—Chloe and Sophia, whose parents own the biggest gallery and the biggest hedge fund—are glued to her. They aren't loyal to Elara, they're loyal to the doll." Phoebe looked disgusted by the simplicity of the power play.
System Notification🜂 Threat Vector Identified 🜂 • Source: Rainbow Sparkle Unicorn Doll (Rarity: Ultra-Exclusive) • Effect: Status Buff (Area of Effect: Children with High Material Desire) • Goal: Neutralize Artifact and regain control of Chloe/Sophia assets.
Caelum nodded slowly. A material asset was easier to neutralize than a narrative asset. A thing could be proven fake; a rumor was fluid.
"Good work, Inquisitor," Caelum confirmed. "Now, the Counter-Attack."
Scene: The Social Encirclement – End of Day Dismissal Caelum waited until the parents and nannies were gathered near the main gate—maximum audience for the payload. Elara stood a little apart, Chloe and Sophia orbiting the Rainbow Sparkle Unicorn doll, touching its glittery mane with reverence.
Caelum approached Elara, completely bypassing the doll. He spoke directly to Chloe, the gallery heir, whose family valued provenance and authenticity above all else.
"Chloe," he asked, his voice friendly and educational, "Did you know that the real Rainbow Sparkle Unicorns have a special tag with a barcode that starts with 47-J-9?"
Chloe, whose parents had lectured her on authenticity since she could walk, looked confused. Elara's face went white. She knew precisely where this attack was headed.
Caelum didn't wait for an answer. He turned to Miles, the Herald. "Miles, did my mom tell Lena to only buy the 47-J-9 Sparkle Unicorns because the others were..." Caelum paused, then finished with theatrical innocence, "...bootleg?"
Miles, performing his role flawlessly, replied with practiced, sincere conviction. "Yes, Caelum. She said anything else was 'mass-market duplication' and 'not investment grade' and you would never use it for show-and-tell."
The words 'bootleg' and 'mass-market duplication' ricocheted across the dismissal line, perfectly audible to several eavesdropping nannies.
Chloe and Sophia recoiled from the doll as if it were suddenly radioactive. Their loyalty instantly dissolved. The doll had gone from Ultra-Exclusive Artifact to Contaminated Faux-Status in seconds.
Elara gasped, her fury resurfacing. She clutched the doll, realizing the power of Caelum's narrative had just destroyed her physical leverage. She was, once again, isolated.
System Notification🜂 Counter-Intelligence Successful 🜂 • Asset: Rainbow Sparkle Unicorn Doll — Devalued. • Target: Elara Vale — Isolated (Pre-K). • New Trait Acquired: Status Depreciation: Ability to reduce the perceived value of external material assets through targeted rumor.
Scene: Caelum's Penthouse – Night Caelum stood over his city view, the lights of Manhattan sparkling below him.
Thought Log – Caelum Virelion "Elara fights with possessions. I fight with market value. A simple rumor is a short sale on emotional capital. The court is functioning. Now, I must capitalize on the chaos I created in the Nanny-Net."
He opened a new System Module, designated Revenue Generation.
New Objective: Revenue Stream Initiation (Stage 2) • Goal: Launch the 'Morozov Certified' exclusive babysitting service. • Required: A final, overwhelming justification for the service's high price point. • Strategy: Manufacture a minor, easily contained "security scare" involving a non-certified sitter. • Recommended Skill Deployment: Whisper Architecture (Payload: Nanny Failure).
Tomorrow, he wouldn't just sell confidence; he'd sell the absence of fear.