Chapter Five: Backup Power for 130 Million People

Against millions of independent decisions, his sword struck sand. Frequency fell to 49.7 hertz—and stopped. Then it climbed. No one in the hall spoke. Beyond the windows, not one city light had gone out. White Spire changed tactics, triggering overload protection at all twelve hubs. Refraction offered Zhou an impossible command that would freeze every relay. [USE ENSURES MISSION SUCCESS BUT VIOLATES INDEPENDENT REPRODUCTION CONDITION.] Zhou deleted it. “All nodes,” he said over the public channel, “randomize delay from zero to three hundred milliseconds. Respond to local frequency again.” Millions of devices deliberately became untidy. Their imperfection broke the final resonance. One by one, the twelve hubs left the danger zone.