STARLIGHT UNBOUND by Deus Ex Machina - HTML preview

STARLIGHT UNBOUND

Even Caidan looked taken aback—his carefully controlled expression slipping, before he composed himself.

Lucien swallowed hard. His logical mind screamed at him to stop, to take it back, to move on.

But the idea wouldn’t let go, as if it possessed him.

He exhaled, forcing his voice to steady. “I know it’s not what we planned. I know it’s not what you want to hear. But think about it.”

He looked around the table, locking eyes with each of them in turn.

“AstroSYS isn’t the problem. It’s how it’s been used. If we leave it behind completely, we ’re throwing away something that could help us—something that could give the sector a real chance to succeed.”

Corin’s fists clenched on the table, his voice low, tight. “You want to keep the system that ’s been controlling us? The system that’s stolen our lives?”

Lucien held his ground. “Look, I get it. I know how this sounds. But hear me out.”

He glanced around again, moving from Lyra’s conflicted concern to Corin’s simmering anger, to Harun ’s wary amusement.

“The calculations, the alignments... they’re not inherently bad. They’ve been misused, twisted into something oppressive. But the data itself—it’s still valuable. It’s not about predicting our lives or controlling us. It’s about understanding ourselves. ”

Harun raised an eyebrow. “Understanding ourselves? Sounds like you’re repackaging the same old thing with a shiny new bow.”

Lucien shook his head. “No. It’s not the same.”

His voice grew more confident, the idea solidifying in his mind as he spoke.

“What if we used that data—not to dictate who we are, but to help us grow? To guide us, not control us? ”

Lyra’s brow furrowed as she leaned forward. “What are you saying, exactly? ”

Lucien took a deep breath. “Rehabilitation centers—recalibration, whatever you want to call it—they’ve always been about forcing people back into alignment, punishing them for stepping outside the Order. But what if we replaced them with something else?

“Guidance centers. Places where people could go voluntarily—to learn, to grow, to address their weaknesses and become the best version of themselves.”

Corin let out a harsh scoff, his voice sharp. “You think people are going to walk in and ask for help? That’s naïve, Lucien.”

Lucien turned to Corin, unflinching. “Some won’t. But some will. And

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