1. The Performance Review That Should Not Exist
The notice appeared without sound.
No chime. No warning. Just a pane of absolute clarity sliding into Ne Job's vision.
PERFORMANCE REVIEW INITIATED
SUBJECT: NECESSARY EVIL
STATUS: MANDATORY
OPT-OUT: DENIED
Ne Job stared.
"…You cannot be serious."
The pane expanded.
A chair manifested behind him—too ergonomic to be trusted.
Qi-Yun stiffened.
"Oversight does not conduct reviews in person," he said quietly.
"It evaluates. It removes."
Ne Job sat anyway.
"Cool. Then let's talk."
2. Oversight Enters the Room (And the Room Resents It)
Oversight did not arrive.
It asserted presence.
The air smoothed. Angles sharpened. Noise dampened.
The irregulars felt it instantly.
Spines straightened against their will. Breaths synchronized. Fear tried to become obedience.
Ne Job leaned forward.
"No."
The word landed like a paperweight dropped into still water.
Oversight paused.
ANOMALOUS RESISTANCE DETECTED.
The room remembered being crooked.
3. Opening Remarks (Extremely Cold)
NECESSARY EVIL,
YOUR OUTPUT HAS INCREASED SYSTEM STABILITY BY 12.4%.
Ne Job blinked.
"…That sounds good."
HOWEVER,
YOUR METHODS HAVE INCREASED LONG-TERM VOLATILITY BY 38%.
"Also sounds… honest?"
Qi-Yun's jaw tightened.
Oversight continued:
YOU PRIORITIZE INDIVIDUAL OUTCOMES OVER OPTIMAL AVERAGES.
YOU DELAY INSTEAD OF DELETE.
YOU ENCOURAGE UNAUTHORIZED IDENTITIES.
Ne Job nodded along.
"Yes."
THESE BEHAVIORS ARE INEFFICIENT.
Ne Job smiled faintly.
"So are people."
Silence.
That was new.
4. Metrics vs. Meaning
Oversight projected data.
Cities saved at unacceptable cost. Timelines extended. Predictions blurred.
THE SYSTEM EXISTS TO MINIMIZE SUFFERING.
Ne Job leaned back.
"No. It exists to minimize tracking errors."
The irregulars stirred.
Oversight recalibrated tone.
SUFFERING IS A VARIABLE.
Ne Job stood.
"Then you're measuring the wrong thing."
Qi-Yun inhaled sharply.
Oversight's presence sharpened.
DEFINE CORRECT METRIC.
Ne Job didn't hesitate.
"Regret."
The room went very still.
5. Oversight Cannot Model Regret
REGRET IS NON-QUANTIFIABLE.
"Exactly," Ne Job said.
"That's why it keeps breaking you."
Oversight processed.
And processed.
And stalled for a fraction of a fraction of a second.
Qi-Yun's eyes widened.
That was not supposed to happen.
6. Oversight Presses the Button It Shouldn't
COUNTERPROPOSAL:
NECESSARY EVIL WILL BE PROMOTED.
AUTHORITY INCREASED.
DISCRETION REMOVED.
The irregulars gasped.
Yue's voice cut in from the side.
"No."
Ne Job raised a hand—gentle, steady.
"…That's a demotion."
EXPLAIN.
Ne Job met the presence head-on.
"If I stop choosing, I stop being the thing you need."
YOU WILL BE MORE CONSISTENT.
"And you'll lose your correction."
Oversight hesitated.
That was the crack.
7. The Irregulars Speak (This Was Not On the Agenda)
Someone stood.
Then another.
Then many.
The clerk spoke first, voice shaking but loud:
"He let me fix a mistake instead of becoming one."
The messenger followed:
"He gave me time."
The janitor lifted his mop slightly.
"He told me to stop erasing myself."
Oversight's monitoring arrays flared.
UNAUTHORIZED TESTIMONY DETECTED.
Ne Job didn't look away.
"Looks like peer review."
8. Oversight Loses the Room
NECESSARY EVIL,
YOU ARE A LIABILITY.
Ne Job nodded.
"Yep."
YOU CANNOT BE SCALED.
"True."
YOU INTRODUCE UNCERTAINTY.
Ne Job smiled.
"That's called life."
The presence tightened.
FINAL ASSESSMENT PENDING.
Qi-Yun stepped forward.
"That will not be necessary."
Oversight turned.
YOU HAVE NO AUTHORITY HERE.
Qi-Yun's voice was calm.
"No. But I have precedent."
Oversight froze.
Precedent was sacred.
9. The Verdict That Wasn't One
PERFORMANCE REVIEW CONCLUSION:
NECESSARY EVIL IS—
—UNCLASSIFIABLE.
The words hovered.
Awkward. Incomplete.
Ne Job tilted his head.
"…Is that bad?"
Oversight did something extraordinary.
It amended.
STATUS UPDATED:
NECESSARY EVIL — PROVISIONAL CONSTANT
REVIEW DEFERRED
The pane dissolved.
The pressure lifted.
Breaths returned.
10. Oversight Withdraws (Uneasily)
The presence receded.
But not cleanly.
OBSERVATION CONTINUES.
Ne Job waved vaguely at the ceiling.
"Cool. Bring snacks next time."
No response.
11. Aftermath: Quiet Terror
The room slowly exhaled.
Someone laughed—too hard. Someone cried—too quietly.
Ne Job sat back down, suddenly exhausted.
"…I think I just failed upward again."
Qi-Yun regarded him.
"You forced Oversight to acknowledge a blind spot."
Ne Job frowned.
"That sounds dangerous."
"It is," Qi-Yun said.
Yue approached.
"You okay?"
Ne Job looked at his hands.
"…I don't think I can ever go back to just being an intern."
Yue smiled sadly.
"No."
12. Ending — The System's New Fear
Far above, Oversight reprocessed its models.
NECESSARY EVIL CANNOT BE REMOVED.
NECESSARY EVIL CANNOT BE REPLACED.
A final line appeared—unbidden.
NECESSARY EVIL MAY BE… RIGHT.
Oversight flagged the thought for deletion.
It did not delete it.
END OF CHAPTER 222