The Council assembled for a special session to determine the fates of those involved in the barrier breach. It was held in the central plaza of the Upper District, broadcast to all three districts so that everyone could witness it. The Council was good at theater when it served their purposes.
Sera was brought in first, shackled but unbowed. Behind her came the others—Kael, Maren, Thrace, Kira, Savas. About fifty people in total, everyone they could identify as having participated in planning or executing the breach.
The plaza was packed with people from all three districts. Some had been forced to attend. Others had come voluntarily, to witness what would happen next.
The head of the Council was a man named Hector. He'd held his position for twelve years and had managed to consolidate more power than any previous Council leader. He was tall, gray-haired, and moved with the absolute confidence of someone who'd never been questioned.
"You are charged with sabotage of critical infrastructure, sedition, and murder," he announced. The charge of murder referred to the two hundred people who'd died in the breach. "How do you answer these charges?"
Sera stepped forward. "I open the barrier because the system is unjust. I did it knowing it might cause casualties, and I take responsibility for those deaths. But I also want to be clear about something: those deaths are not my responsibility alone. They're the responsibility of a system that enforced such brutal inequality that people had to risk their lives just to survive."
The crowd murmured. Some in support, some in outrage.
"You confess to sabotage?" Hector asked.
"I confess to resistance," Sera replied. "I confess to believing that people deserve better than what this system provides. I confess to trying to create change. If that's a crime, then yes, I'm guilty."
Hector turned to address the crowd. "This is what happens when people reject the natural order. When they refuse to accept their place in the hierarchy. They create chaos. They cause deaths. They threaten the survival of everyone."
He gestured toward the Lower District refugees who'd made it through the barrier and were being held in a separate section of the plaza. "These people are a burden on our resources. They're taking food from our children, water from our families. And this girl decided that was acceptable. That their need was more important than our stability."
The Upper District residents in the crowd cheered. Some of the Middle District residents nodded in agreement. The Lower District residents watched in silence.
Kael was called forward next. He was asked if he'd participated in the breach. He confirmed it. He was asked if he understood the consequences. He said he did.
"Why did you do it?" Hector asked, his tone almost curious.
Kael thought about his father, dying in the tunnels. He thought about Sera, standing before them with unwavering conviction. He thought about the thousands of people who'd been living in conditions designed to crush them.
"Because it was right," Kael said simply. "Because the system was wrong. Because people were dying, and nobody was going to change that unless someone was willing to force the issue."
"And you accept the consequences?" Hector asked.
"I do," Kael said.
One by one, the accused were questioned. Some were defiant. Some were terrified. Some were resigned. But remarkably, most of them stood by their actions. They didn't recant or beg for mercy. They spoke about the injustice they'd witnessed, the system they'd tried to change, the sacrifice they were willing to make.
By the time the questioning was finished, something had shifted in the crowd. There was less certainty in the Upper District residents' expressions. More people from the Middle District were looking confused, questioning. Even some of the Lower District residents seemed transformed by the testimony of their champions.
Hector called for a vote from the Council. The vote was unanimous: execution for all fifty-one participants. The sentence would be carried out publicly, in the central plaza, the following day.
As guards were removing them from the plaza, Sera locked eyes with Kael across the space. In that moment, he understood what she'd seen all along. This wasn't just about them. It was about awakening people to what was happening, forcing them to choose sides, making it impossible to remain passive.