The destruction of the mountain core was a decisive victory, but the knowledge of a traitor poisoned the well of their hard-won community. Paranoia seeped into the camp. Whispers and suspicious glances replaced the camaraderie of the early days.
Elias confided only in Lena and Kaela. "The Custodian identified the source of the transmissions. It's Markus."
Markus was a quiet, unassuming man who had been a teacher in the simulation. He was well-liked, always helping with the children or offering a kind word.
Confronting him privately in his shelter, they found him calmly awaiting them. "I did it to save us," he said, his eyes pleading. "The Council showed me their new simulation. It's perfect, Elias. No pain, no struggle, no fear of starvation or the Council's enforcers. They offered a place for everyone who wanted it. A guaranteed future, not this... this gamble."
"You traded our freedom for a comfortable cage," Lena said, her voice cold with fury.
"It's not a cage if you don't see the bars!" Markus retorted. "What future is there here? A life of dirt and danger, waiting for a ship from the stars that might never come, or might bring its own problems? I chose peace."
Elias felt a profound sadness. This was the true legacy of the Council—not just the physical oppression, but the psychological chains they had forged. The desire for a painless existence, even at the cost of truth and self-determination.
He wasn't executed or imprisoned. Instead, he was exiled. Given supplies and sent away from the camp, a solitary figure walking into the gray wilderness. His fate was a somber reminder that the battle for their future would be fought not only against external enemies, but also against the shadows of dependency and fear within their own hearts.