Chapter Five: I Made a Thousand People Take the Wrong Road

An invisible rhythm expanded through Lin's mind. He could not control anyone. He could feel the cadence of each person's next voluntary act and gently amplify a desire already present. A police officer wanted to help a fallen elder. A driver wanted to sound his horn. A child wanted to release her balloons. Lin snapped his fingers. The officer left formation. The horn blared. Hundreds of balloons blinded the drones. Everyone merely did what they had already wanted, yet the cordon collapsed in three seconds. “In a dictator's hands, that power is worse than Tianheng,” Su said. [COGNITIVE DEBT: 31%.] Lin did not answer. For one moment, he had wanted to make all 1,437 people kneel.