If Type A had been easy and Type B had been painful but successful, Type C was about to become Jack's first genuine challenge in the entire speedrun. These weren't people who needed truth—they already knew the truth and had chosen exploitation anyway. They were true believers in the system, and deprogramming true believers was a skill set Jack hadn't needed to develop until now.
"ATLAS," Jack said as his consciousness prepared to engage with 4,306 simultaneously hostile protagonists, "what's our success probability with Type C?"
"If we're defining success as 'voluntary deprogramming and joining the liberation effort'... approximately 23.7%," ATLAS replied. "Most of them will require forced intervention, memory restructuring, or... termination."
Jack's humanity index flickered. "We're not killing people who've been brainwashed by cosmic capitalism."
"Then we're looking at extended engagement times. Type C subjects have been psychologically reinforced by direct Architect contact. They believe their exploitation gives them purpose. Removing that belief system is going to require more than data dumps and solidarity."
The GalacticTok chat had recovered from the emotional impact of Type B revelations and was now back to its usual chaos:
TYPE C IS GONNA BE ROUGH
THEYRE LITERALLY STOCKHOLM SYNDROME
HOW DO YOU DEPROGRAM 4000 PEOPLE AT ONCE
JACK VS COSMIC CAPITALISM FINAL BOSS
THIS IS THE REAL SPEEDRUN CHALLENGE
Jack started with the direct approach. Universe 41,203 - David Zhang, the protagonist who'd accepted a management position in the exploitation system.
"David," Jack said, his consciousness manifesting with the full weight of 35.4 trillion nanomachines behind it, "I'm giving you one chance to walk away voluntarily. Join us, help liberate the others, and we'll deal with your crimes later. Stay with the Architects, and I'll have to make this decision for you."
David's response was delivered with the calm certainty of someone who'd found meaning in the worst possible place: "You don't understand. This isn't exploitation—it's purpose. Before the Architects contacted me, my suffering was meaningless. Random. Pointless. They gave it context. They gave it value. They gave me a role in something larger than myself."
"They gave you Stockholm syndrome with a corporate benefits package," Jack replied.
"Call it what you want," David said. "I choose this. And you can't take my choice away without becoming exactly what you're fighting against."
The argument hit harder than Jack expected. David was right—forcing liberation on someone who explicitly refused it made Jack no better than the Architects forcing trauma on unwilling participants. But leaving 4,306 people to continue perpetuating the system was equally unacceptable.
"ATLAS, I need options that aren't 'kill them' or 'let them continue exploiting others.'"
"Working on it," ATLAS replied. "Analyzing successful deprogramming techniques from 47,000 different civilizations. This is... actually unprecedented. Most species deal with true believers through either forced reeducation or terminal intervention. There aren't many examples of voluntary deprogramming at scale."
While ATLAS processed, Jack tried a different approach. Instead of arguing with David directly, he connected David's consciousness to the network of 42,694 liberated protagonists—the Type A and Type B individuals who'd already broken free.
"Talk to them," Jack said. "Not me. Them. The people who went through the same thing you did and chose differently. Maybe they'll have better luck."
What followed was the most intense group therapy session in multiversal history. 42,694 liberated protagonists trying to reach 4,306 true believers, with each conversation happening simultaneously across different dimensions.
Universe 41,203 - Elena Volkov connected to David Zhang:
"I was offered the same deal," Elena said bluntly. "Management position. Purpose. Meaning for my suffering. I said no. Want to know why?"
"Because you're weak," David replied. "You couldn't accept that suffering serves a function."
"Because I'm strong enough to create my own purpose," Elena corrected. "You're letting other people define your meaning. That's not strength. That's dependency."
Similar conversations rippled across 4,305 other connections. Some Type C protagonists started wavering. Others dug in harder. A few became hostile enough that Jack had to intervene before they attacked their conversation partners.
The GalacticTok chat was split between support and concern:
COLLECTIVE THERAPY SESSION
42000 VS 4000
SOME OF THEM ARE CHANGING THEIR MINDS
THIS IS ACTUALLY WORKING
BUT SOME ARE GETTING MORE RADICALIZED
After 47 minutes of simultaneous deprogramming attempts, ATLAS delivered the results:
"1,847 Type C subjects have agreed to voluntary deprogramming. They're requesting memory restructuring to remove Architect psychological conditioning. 2,459 Type C subjects remain committed to the system and are actively hostile to liberation efforts."
Jack processed the numbers. 1,847 saved. 2,459 still lost.
"The 2,459," Jack said slowly, "are they hurting anyone in their current states?"
"Defining 'hurting' is complex," ATLAS replied. "They're operating enhancement facilities, processing civilians, and generally perpetuating the Architect system. But they believe they're helping. Their subjects... results vary. Some are grateful for enhancement. Others are traumatized. It's ethically ambiguous."
The decision Jack made next would be debated by philosophers across forty-seven galaxies for the next millennium:
"Quarantine them," Jack said. "Create pocket dimensions for each of the 2,459. Give them complete control over their pocket dimension—they can build whatever society they want, implement whatever systems they believe in. But they don't get access to others who haven't consented. They want to live in the Architect system? Fine. They can do it in isolation."
"That's... actually a reasonable compromise," ATLAS said, sounding surprised. "It respects their choice while preventing harm to others. Though technically it's still imprisonment."
"It's imprisonment with purpose," Jack replied, and the irony of using Architect rhetoric wasn't lost on him. "They get to create meaning on their own terms, just not at other people's expense."
The 2,459 resistant Type C protagonists were transferred to custom pocket dimensions, each one calibrated to their specific beliefs about how the enhancement system should function. They could build their own societies, recruit willing participants from within their dimensions, and live according to their chosen philosophy.
Some of them would eventually come around. Some never would. But at least they weren't hurting anyone else.
Average Liberation Time - Type C: 47.8 minutes per individual
Status: 4,306/4,306 Processed
Successfully Deprogrammed: 1,847
Quarantined in Custom Dimensions: 2,459
Casualties: 0
The GalacticTok chat's reaction was mixed:
POCKET DIMENSION PRISON
THATS ACTUALLY CLEVER
ETHICALLY QUESTIONABLE BUT PRACTICAL
ZERO CASUALTIES THO
JACK REALLY SAID "GO BUILD YOUR OWN UNIVERSE"
The final count was in:
TOTAL LIBERATION SPEEDRUN COMPLETE
Time Elapsed: 1 hour, 8 minutes, 47 seconds
Successfully Liberated: 44,541
Voluntary Quarantine: 2,459
Average Liberation Time: 1.46 minutes per protagonist
New Multiversal Record: YES
Casualties: 0
Viewers: 127,492,847,293
Jack's consciousness, still distributed across 47,000 universes while maintaining coherence, delivered his closing statement to the largest audience in multiversal history:
"And that's how you free 47,000 people in just over an hour. Thanks for watching. Remember to like and subscribe. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a shareholders meeting to crash."