Power didn't arrive loudly.
It arrived as paperwork.
Li Chen noticed the change before anyone spoke to him.
Schedules shifted.
Instructors rotated.
Routes altered by minutes, not hours.
Small inefficiencies introduced into systems that had once been precise.
Someone was touching the machine.
Morning PT was reassigned.
Not punishment.
Isolation.
Li Chen ran alone along the coastal road while the rest trained inland.
No pace setter.
No cadence.
Just distance.
He adjusted his speed to human limits.
Still finished first.
Grant watched from afar.
"They're separating him," a lieutenant said.
"They're testing him," Grant replied.
"For what?"
Grant didn't answer.
The interview request came that afternoon.
Voluntary.
Unofficial.
Conducted in a room that wasn't on any posted map.
This time, there were four of them.
And coffee.
"We want to talk about your future," the woman said.
Li Chen nodded.
"You've exceeded expectations," another added. "Which creates opportunity."
"Or risk," Li Chen replied.
The room paused.
The woman smiled thinly. "Exactly."
They spoke of fast-tracking.
Special assignments.
Waivers.
Accelerated clearances.
Paths that skipped years.
Li Chen listened.
Said nothing.
"Most candidates would jump at this," the man across from him said.
"I know," Li Chen replied.
"Then why hesitate?"
"Because shortcuts leave blind spots."
Silence returned.
One of them made a note.
"You don't trust us," the woman said.
"I trust systems," Li Chen answered. "Until they rush."
That night, another candidate confronted him.
Harris.
Second on the board.
"You think you're better than us," Harris said quietly.
Li Chen studied him.
"No," he replied. "I think you're being used."
Harris's jaw tightened.
"So are you."
Li Chen didn't deny it.
The System spoke later.
[SYSTEM UPDATE]
[External manipulation detected]
[Recommendation: Maintain baseline suppression]
Li Chen lay awake.
Pressure wasn't force.
It was direction.
And someone was trying to decide which way he bent.
Outside, the base lights dimmed in sequence.
Orderly.
Controlled.
But beneath it all, the machine strained.
Not because Li Chen resisted.
But because he didn't move at all