"Where the lie strikes first"

Dawn crept across Meridian with tentative fingers, as if uncertain what city it would find after yesterday's upheaval. Cael sat cross-legged on the practitioners' quarters rooftop, his meditation undisturbed by the growing sounds of a city reluctantly returning to routine.

Aether flickered to life, projecting headlines that hovered in the air before him:

"CULT OF SILENCE DISRUPTS REGISTRY ORDER" "PEACEFORM USERS CAUSE MENTAL HARM IN CHILDREN" "PHILOSOPHICAL TERRORIST OR MISUNDERSTOOD PACIFIST?"

Beneath these banners scrolled smaller text—commentary, analysis, eyewitness accounts. Each telling a slightly different story than what had actually occurred.

[INFORMATION VARIANCE: 47% FACTUAL DISTORTION] [NARRATIVE MANIPULATION DETECTED] [COORDINATED MEDIA RESPONSE PROTOCOL ACTIVE]

"They work quickly," Cael murmured.