The committee arrived at 08:00 sharp.
Seven people.
Three screens.
One mandate.
They didn't wear white coats.
That alone told Lin Chen everything he needed to know.
The conference room overlooked the emergency wing through a wide glass wall. Stretchers moved below like silent punctuation marks—brief, urgent, irreversible.
At the center screen, the IMOC insignia glowed softly.
"Dr. Lin," said the woman seated at the head of the table. "Thank you for accommodating this oversight session."
Her tone was courteous. Professional. Neutral.
She was dangerous.
"Let's skip the pleasantries," Lin Chen replied, taking his seat. "You've reviewed the data I sent."
"We have," another委员 answered, fingers interlaced. "Your projections are… impressive."
Impressive was not approval.
The woman continued. "Which is precisely why safeguards are necessary. Systems with this level of influence require restraint."
Lin Chen tapped the table once.
"Restraint kills," he said flatly.
A brief pause followed—long enough for discomfort to surface, short enough to be ignored.
"Our position," the woman said, "is that all high-risk Observer-guided interventions must receive human committee confirmation. This ensures ethical accountability."
Lin Chen didn't argue.
He turned his head slightly. "Observer."
System Active.
The emergency alarm sounded.
Incoming Case:
Female, 34.
Massive pulmonary embolism.
Oxygen saturation: dropping.
Estimated collapse window: 8 minutes.
The committee members stiffened.
"This," Lin Chen said calmly, "is a high-risk case."
One of them glanced at the screen. "Then this will be an excellent test of the new protocol."
Lin Chen stood.
"Excellent for whom?"
He began walking toward the glass wall, the Observer's interface following him across his retinal display.
"According to your directive," he continued, "I'm required to submit this decision for review."
"Yes," the woman said. "Proceed."
Lin Chen did.
A request packet was transmitted.
Status: Pending review.
Seconds passed.
The patient's vitals worsened.
"Committee," Lin Chen said evenly, "the Observer recommends immediate thrombolytic intervention."
A man on the left frowned. "The bleeding risk—"
"—is 6.2%," Lin Chen interrupted. "Mortality without intervention is 91%."
The woman raised a hand. "Please allow the process to—"
The monitor spiked.
Time Remaining: 6 minutes.
Lin Chen felt it then.
Not anger.
Resolve.
He turned.
"I am proceeding."
"You cannot," the woman said sharply. "That would be a violation."
Lin Chen didn't slow.
"Observer," he said, voice firm. "Execute protocol."
Warning:
Action requires committee authorization.
"Override," Lin Chen said.
Silence.
Then—
Override denied.
Lin Chen stopped.
For the first time since the Observer's activation, the system had refused him.
The patient convulsed on the screen below.
Oxygen saturation plummeted.
The committee watched.
Some with tension.
Some with interest.
One with unmistakable relief.
Lin Chen inhaled once.
Then he spoke, slow and deliberate.
"Log this moment."
Log confirmed.
He turned back to the committee.
"You wanted oversight," he said. "You're getting it."
He reached out and manually initiated the intervention—bypassing the Observer's automation, routing the commands himself.
It was slower. Cruder.
But it worked.
The clot dissolved.
The patient stabilized.
Heart rate normalized.
A nurse shouted confirmation from below.
Alive.
The room was silent.
Finally, the woman spoke.
"You disobeyed protocol."
"Yes," Lin Chen replied. "And saved a life."
"That sets a dangerous precedent."
Lin Chen's eyes met hers.
"No," he said. "This sets a record."
He gestured, and the Observer projected two timelines onto the central screen.
Committee Review Path:
Outcome: Death at T+6m 42s.
Immediate Intervention Path:
Outcome: Survival.
No simulations.
Actual data.
The man on the left swallowed.
The woman's jaw tightened.
"We will have to report this," she said.
"I already have," Lin Chen replied.
He sent the log to the hospital network, the ethics board, and the public record.
Timestamped.
Unedited.
Transparent.
The committee had come to restrain him.
Instead, they had become witnesses.
As they stood to leave, one委员 lingered behind.
He hesitated, then asked quietly:
"What if next time… you're wrong?"
Lin Chen looked back through the glass, where the patient was being wheeled into recovery.
Then he answered.
"Then you'll have data," he said. "Not a corpse."
The man had no reply.
When the room was empty, the Observer spoke.
System Update:
Public oversight tension increasing.
Probability of enforced compliance: Rising
Lin Chen didn't look away from the emergency wing.
"Let them try," he said.
Because now, the cost of delay wasn't theoretical anymore.
It was recorded.
End of Chapter 103
Observer Projection:
Next compliance phase will result in preventable complications.
Estimated incidents: ≥3