CHAPTER 202 — WHEN THE SYSTEM TRIED TO FREEZE THE FUTURE
The lockdown began at 4:17 in the afternoon.
Not quietly.
Not gradually.
The city felt it instantly.
Transportation routes froze across major sectors without warning. Entire transit lines shut down simultaneously while emergency advisories flooded every public screen in sharp red waves that rolled endlessly through the skyline like a pulse of panic forcing its way into every corner of the city.
TEMPORARY STABILIZATION LOCKDOWN IN EFFECT.
REMAIN IN AUTHORIZED ZONES.
UNAUTHORIZED MOVEMENT IS PROHIBITED.
Elena watched the messages spread across the giant displays inside the control room while something cold and heavy settled inside her chest.
The system had finally done it.
It had stopped pretending this was temporary adaptation.
Now it was openly trying to halt the city itself.
