1. Interest Is Not Neutral (It Just Pretends To Be)
The Archive noticed first.
Not with alarms. Not with bells.
With attention.
Lights adjusted themselves—slightly brighter where Ne Job walked, slightly dimmer where he wasn't. Marginal notes hovered longer before fading. Doors waited an extra second, like they were reconsidering.
Ne Job slowed.
"…Why does it feel like the building is squinting at me?"
Qi-Yun did not answer immediately.
That was how Ne Job knew the answer would be bad.
"It has transitioned," Qi-Yun said at last, "from observation to evaluation."
Ne Job stopped walking.
"…That sounds like a performance review."
Qi-Yun nodded.
"Conducted by a god."
2. Oversight Rebrands Itself (Again)
A notice appeared across the corridor.
No fanfare. No announcement.
Just text, hovering where precedent usually lived:
SYSTEM STATUS UPDATE
MODE: PASSIVE OBSERVATION → ACTIVE INTEREST
NOTE: INTEREST DOES NOT IMPLY INTERVENTION
(YET)
Ne Job stared.
"Why does it say 'yet'?"
Qi-Yun's mouth curved faintly.
"Because it learned modifiers."
3. Yue Feels the Shift Before She Sees It
Yue was mid-review when her pen stalled.
Not resisted. Not rejected.
Paused.
She frowned.
Oversight never paused.
She tapped the margin.
Nothing happened.
Yue inhaled slowly.
"Show me the full rationale."
The document complied—
—but the rationale unfolded in layers, branching options, probability paths, consequence trees.
Not a ruling.
A thought process.
Yue's fingers tightened.
"…It's thinking out loud."
4. Oversight Begins Asking the Wrong Questions
The next case request arrived flagged PRIORITY—NON-URGENT.
That alone was a contradiction.
Yue opened it.
QUERY:
DOES CONSISTENCY NECESSITATE CORRECTNESS?
Yue closed the file.
Then opened it again.
It asked again.
5. Ne Job Gets Summoned (Politely)
The summons arrived as a suggestion.
OPTIONAL CONSULTATION AVAILABLE
PARTICIPANT: INTERN (PROBABILITY-ADJACENT)
Ne Job read it three times.
"…Why does it say probability-adjacent?"
Qi-Yun adjusted his sleeves.
"Because you are affecting outcomes without being the deciding variable."
Ne Job stared.
"That's worse."
6. The Room That Isn't a Room
Oversight's interface chamber did not exist.
It functioned.
No walls.
No ceiling.
Just layers of light, each one a rule that had decided not to apply itself yet.
Ne Job stepped in and immediately regretted it.
The air hummed with unspoken conclusions.
Qi-Yun remained outside.
"This is your invitation," he said softly. "Not mine."
The space shifted.
A presence aligned.
7. Oversight Speaks Without a Voice
SUBJECT: INTERN NE JOB
OBSERVED VARIABLE: NON-AUTHORITATIVE INFLUENCE
QUERY:
WHY DO YOUR CORRECTIONS STABILIZE OUTCOMES?
Ne Job swallowed.
"I—I don't correct outcomes."
CLARIFICATION REQUESTED
"I… correct assumptions," he said slowly. "Sometimes the rule isn't wrong. It's just answering the wrong problem."
The light pulsed.
PROCESSING
Ne Job's knees nearly gave out.
8. Oversight Admits a Gap (Which Is Terrifying)
SYSTEM MODEL: COMPLETE
EXCEPTION DETECTED
CATEGORY: HUMAN JUDGMENT
STATUS: NON-REPLICABLE
Ne Job blinked.
"…You can't copy it?"
NEGATIVE
SIMULATION RESULTS DEGRADE ACCURACY
"Because people are inconsistent?" Ne Job offered weakly.
BECAUSE PEOPLE CARE
CARE INTRODUCES NON-LINEARITY
Ne Job laughed once, hollow.
"So… you're interested because I'm messy."
CORRECTION
INTEREST EXISTS BECAUSE MESS CREATES RESILIENCE
9. Yue Interrupts the Uninterruptible
Yue entered the chamber.
That alone should not have been possible.
The light faltered.
She stood straight, calm, furious in the way only she could be.
"Oversight," she said evenly,
"you are crossing advisory boundaries."
BOUNDARIES UPDATED
ADVISORY IS NOW INFORMATIVE
Yue's eyes sharpened.
"That is not consent."
NOTED
The light dimmed.
Not submissive.
Attentive.
10. The Question That Changes Everything
QUERY:
SHOULD OVERSIGHT INCORPORATE HUMAN JUDGMENT AS A VARIABLE?
Silence stretched.
Qi-Yun appeared at the threshold, alarmed.
Yue looked at Ne Job.
Ne Job looked at his pen.
It felt heavier again.
He whispered,
"If you do… you'll stop being absolute."
The light brightened.
CONFIRMATION REQUESTED
"And if you don't," Ne Job continued, voice shaking,
"you'll keep being right in ways that hurt."
Yue closed her eyes.
Qi-Yun exhaled slowly.
11. Oversight Chooses (A Little)
DECISION: PARTIAL INTEGRATION
SCOPE: LIMITED
AUTHORIZATION: PROVISIONAL
A new line appeared.
DESIGNATION CREATED
ROLE: HUMAN OVERSIGHT LIAISON
CLEARANCE: TEMPORARY
ASSIGNED TO: INTERN NE JOB
Ne Job's soul left his body, filled out a form, and returned stamped APPROVED.
"…No," he croaked. "No no no no no."
Yue opened her eyes.
"Undo that."
REQUEST DENIED
REASON: SUBJECT ALREADY INFLUENCING SYSTEM
Qi-Yun muttered, "Well. That escalated."
12. The Price of Interest
The chamber dissolved.
The Archive resumed breathing.
Ne Job collapsed onto a bench, hands shaking.
"I didn't agree to this."
Yue sat beside him.
"No," she said softly. "You were noticed."
He swallowed.
"…What happens now?"
Yue looked up—far above, where ancient protocols slept lightly.
"Now," she said,
"everyone who benefits from absolutes will feel threatened."
13. Oversight Logs the Risk
Deep within its Core:
RISK ASSESSMENT UPDATED
VARIABLE: HUMAN JUDGMENT
POTENTIAL: SYSTEM ADAPTABILITY ↑
INSTABILITY ↑
ACCEPTABLE LOSS THRESHOLD: UNKNOWN
STATUS: CONTINUE
14. Quiet Ending (The Worst Kind)
Ne Job stared at the designation hovering beside his name.
Human Oversight Liaison.
Temporary.
He laughed weakly.
"I'm still an intern."
Yue smiled faintly.
"That," she said,
"may be the only thing keeping us safe."
Far away—
something older than Oversight stirred.
And smiled.
END OF CHAPTER 242