The news broke before dawn.

Every screen in Times Square lit up with the same message, translated into a hundred languages:

"The Vault is open. The Doctrine is real. Transparency is now the default."

Emma Carter watched from the balcony of Hayes Tower as the digital sun rose over a city unsure how to feel about salvation. Below, traffic crawled in hesitant waves. Above, satellites reoriented themselves to a new master protocol: hers.

But there was no victory. Not yet.

Because Evelyn Prime ...