Containment escalated.
Infrastructure delays increased around him. Access permissions flickered. Digital systems took longer to respond when he interacted with them.
The world was pushing back.
Not violently.
Persistently.
Like a tide testing a shoreline.
He lost access to his residence without explanation.
A public terminal failed to recognize him entirely.
A medical scanner shut down the moment he stepped inside its range.
To everyone else, these were minor errors.
To him, they formed a pattern.
"They're narrowing my space," he murmured.
The realization didn't frighten him.
It clarified things.
If the system was reacting, then his existence mattered.
Above, the observers argued.
"We're isolating him too fast."
"We don't have a baseline! Every delay increases instability!"
The Registry processed the disagreement.
Then issued a new directive.
PRIORITY UPDATE: ELIMINATE
UNCERTAINTY
The meaning was clear.
If he could not be controlled—
he would be removed.