Resistance did not vanish.
It changed posture.
After the framework settled into routine, after the headlines shifted and attention drifted toward more immediate concerns, something quieter took its place. It did not announce itself. It did not gather in visible numbers. It did not seek recognition.
It simply refused to disappear.
Aria sensed it in the smallest interactions. A pause before agreement. A question asked twice because the answer avoided substance. A committee meeting that followed procedure precisely but left critical items unresolved.
It was not obstruction.
It was friction.
The council felt it too.
Marcelo's reports reflected the shift. "Processes are slowing," he said during a late afternoon briefing. "Not through protest. Through compliance taken seriously."
Luca leaned back in his chair. "Explain."
"People are following the rules exactly," Marcelo replied. "Submitting full documentation. Requesting written clarification. Insisting on recorded responses."
