FRAGMENT 2
PRE-TRIAL CONSULTATION TRANSCRIPT
CASE REFERENCE: CR-002-D (DORIAN PAGE, CANDIDATE THREAD)
RECORD TYPE: INTERNAL REVIEW — PRE-SYSTEM LAYER
NOTE: Recorded in temporal suspension prior to Crucible initialization. All primaries frozen; secondary assignments pending verification.
RECORDING BEGAN – Internal Review Initialized
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RECORD SUSPENDED—Candidate Summoning Authorized
* * *
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Dorian Page was not a man who believed in the supernatural.
He believed in contracts. In precedent. He believed in the signatures at the bottom of legally binding contracts. But more importantly, he believed in family. He wasn’t sure if he trusted the thing that carjacked him earlier, but he knew after reviewing the folder he’d been given that he needed to get into that place.
So now he waited, immersed in an empty void, waiting for his next trial to begin.
He did not know where he’d be going, but he was confident in what he’d have to do. So he waited, mentally flipping through the pages of the file in his mind. Reading and processing all that they contained.
This whole thing was going to be a real shitshow, and Remi didn’t know what was fucking coming.
Eventually his thoughts were interrupted by a voice. Multiple voices? They echoed around him in strange distortion, like they were submerged at the bottom of the pool that was at his old home. He missed that pool, but at least Bea still could use it to play in.
“Candidate Thread Dorian Page. You have been summoned for evaluation.” The words bounced around the blackness, reverberating around the void that strangely felt both within and without.
Dorian tried to move. His limbs wouldn't respond. He wasn’t paralyzed, but this somehow felt worse.
A figure materialized across from him. Familiar.
“Hello, Dorian,” Archie said.
Dorian didn’t respond. He wouldn’t have, even if he could.
“Are you ready for what is about to happen?”
Unfortunately for the system, his paralysis prevented the leer from curling his lips. The system might have wanted to see the snarl that the leer would have morphed into. It was also too bad, at least for the system, that it couldn't read his thoughts.
I’m ready for what comes next. But I’m pretty sure that you won’t be.
* * *
FRAGMENT 3
TRIAL TRANSCRIPT
CASE REFERENCE: CR-002-D (DORIAN PAGE, CANDIDATE THREAD)
RECORD TYPE: FORMAL HEARING — PRE-SYSTEM LAYER
NOTE: Recorded in temporal suspension prior to Crucible initialization.
All primaries frozen; secondary assignments pending verification.
RECORD RESUMED: Candidate Summoning Authorized
——————————————————————————————————————————
1. JUDGE: Dorian Page. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
2. DORIAN: I do.
3. JUDGE: The review layer enforces non-deception. You may refuse to answer. But you may not speak what you know to be false. Do you understand?
4. DORIAN: I do.
5. JUDGE: Dorian Page, you are being evaluated for assignment as a Secondary Thread. Do you understand the purpose of this hearing?
6. DORIAN: I understand you want my consent. But I do not understand the terms.
(pause)
7. JUDGE: Before proceeding, you must state whether you consent to consideration. The system does not compel secondary thread participation. Acceptance binds you to the Crucible at initialization.
(pause)
8. JUDGE: Do you consent to consideration?
9. DORIAN: Objection. Failure to establish grounds.
10. JUDGE: Directive 7.2 is the foundation: consent precedes evaluation. Until you consent, no objection is entertained. Also, you have no standing as counsel in this hearing, Mr. Page.
(pause)
11. DORIAN: Then I request leave to appear as my counsel.
12. JUDGE: Denied. You are the candidate, not an officer of this hearing.
13. DORIAN: Then I request counsel. The advocate will suffice.
(pause)
14. JUDGE: Granted, with limitations. If I determine the AI is attempting to advance his own case, he will be removed from these proceedings and I will render judgment immediately.
(Mr. Page looks at the AI and they nod in the affirmative)
15. DORIAN & AI: Agreed.
16. JUDGE: Let’s proceed then. Do you require clarification of what it means to serve as a Secondary Thread?
17. DORIAN: Obviously.
18. JUDGE: Very well. A secondary thread serves as an auxiliary narrative participant—bound to a primary. You are not the story’s axis but its leverage. Your growth, survival, and agency are conditional on the primary’s arc.
(pause)
In return, you gain entry into the Crucible, access to progression systems, and the possibility of independent elevation should your contribution prove essential.
19. DORIAN: I listened to the rant my advocate provided—
20. AI: Objection.
21. JUDGE: Grounds.
22. AI: I don’t like my manifesto being called a rant.
23. JUDGE: Denied.
24. DORIAN: As I was saying, I listened to the advocate’s… statement of intent. It painted the Crucible as an experiment in survival and narrative competition. If that’s accurate, then being “secondary” sounds like starting from the losing side.
25. JUDGE: It is not a contest, Mr. Page. It is a record. Survival is incidental.
(pause)
26. JUDGE: Do you still wish clarification, or will you answer the question of consent?
27. DORIAN: Of course I want more information. I’ve established that I understand why this matters to Earth; what I need is clarification on why this should matter to me.
28. JUDGE: Then I will clarify. Entry ensures your continuity beyond collapse. Refusal consigns you to being placed in a back up loop, to oblivion. The Crucible offers relevance. Purpose. A chance to determine meaning rather than be erased with the rest of your defunct narrative. Understand?
(pause)
29. DORIAN: I do.
30. AI: Do you have a daughter, Mr. Page?
31. DORIAN: Objection. Relevance.
32. JUDGE: Overruled. A reminder, Mr. Page, you do not have standing to object. You must answer.
33. DORIAN: Yes. But I fail to see—
34. AI: I am just trying to make sure you understand not only what happens to you if you don’t agree, but what also what happens to Bea.
35. JUDGE: I am not sure I see the relevance.
36. AI: (whispers) You wouldn’t.
(pause)
37. AI: Your honor, I think that if Dorian understands the larger impacts of this decision, you would understand that he would do whatever is necessary to save his daughter.
38. JUDGE: I will allow this line of questioning, but I warn the advocate not to manipulate the witness through emotional coercion.
39. AI: I would never! But could I humbly suggest you explain to Mr. Page what happens to his daughter if he doesn’t agree?
(pause)
40. JUDGE: Fine. Refusal severs all derivative connections. If you decline entry, your daughter’s thread will dissolve with yours.
41. DORIAN: So Bea dies?
42. JUDGE: Correct.
43. DORIAN: If I agree, then she doesn’t?
44. JUDGE: As long as your Primary is viable, then all connected threads, Secondaries and their connections, are preserved for narrative use.
45. DORIAN: Then I agree.
46. JUDGE: Consent acknowledged.
(pause)
For the record, Dorian Page has accepted consideration for Secondary Thread assignment under Directive 7.2.
(pause)
Advocate, you may proceed with your recommendation.
47. AI: Sure, then I recommend Dorian Page to enter Elias Gray’s secondary pool.
48. JUDGE: Recommendation entered into the record. Basis for pairing?
49. DORIAN: Not my brother?
50. JUDGE: No. Recommendation entered into the record. Basis for pairing?
51. AI: Both he and Elias hate Remi Page.
52. JUDGE: Hatred is a volatile foundation for cooperation. Explain how mutual resentment ensures stability rather than speeds up collapse.
53. DORIAN: Hey! Are you talking to him or to me?
54. JUDGE: Do you want me to hold you in contempt?
55. DORIAN: Of course not! But I don’t need his help. You are not my first judge, and this is not my first case. I am more than capable of making my case for inclusion.
56. JUDGE: Proceed.
57. DORIAN: If I need to be in the Crucible to save Bea, then I’ll do what you need me to do.
(pause)
58. DORIAN: Both Elias and I have had a complicated relationship with my brother. He crushed both of our dreams—Elias’s of writing—and he destroyed my family. If I can save Bea and beat my brother, that’s a bonus.
59. JUDGE: Statement entered into record.
(pause)
60. JUDGE: Your motives are noted, Mr. Page. I require clarity of intent, not purity of it. Hatred, when contained, can serve as alignment.
(pause)
61. JUDGE: Advocate, any objection to the candidate speaking on his own behalf moving forward?
62. AI: No, he’s got this. It’s your decision, and you don’t really trust me, anyway.
(AI leaned back in his chair and put his feet on the table)
63. JUDGE: Noted. For the record, the advocate has deferred active participation.
(pause)
64. JUDGE: Mr. Page, then the burden of persuasion falls entirely to you. Why should I consider you to include in the secondary pool?
65. DORIAN: Because I know Elias, and there are very few that do. I also will do anything to get in there. So, what do you want to know?
66. JUDGE: I want to know whether you can act without sentiment. Can you operate without mistaking attachment for meaning?
67. DORIAN: Your argument is flawed. For me, attachment is meaning. Bea is all that matters. I’m her father. I’ll do what I have to in order to keep her safe. So I can act without sentiment if it is for maintaining her meaning.
68. JUDGE: Your statement is noted. Answer directly.
69. DORIAN: That is a direct answer. I left my wife for Bea. I had already abandoned my brother for her even before that. You know that I’m a lawyer. So, I know what it means to pick a side. If I have to align with Elias to keep her safe, then I’ll do what I must.
70. JUDGE: Understood. For the record, the candidate acknowledges a willingness to act under directive constraint and accepts moral compromise as a condition of preservation.
(pause)
Advocate, is this level of pragmatism expected?
71. AI: Not really.
72. JUDGE: Excellent.
73. AI: I’m sure it will be fine.
74. JUDGE: Dorian Page, I only have two more questions. Once within the Crucible, you will no longer be judged by law but by outcome. If the system deems your brother necessary to preserve its function, will you still act against him?
(Applicant looked at Advocate)
75. DORIAN: I don’t give a rat’s ass about the system. I don’t give a rat’s ass about the story. Remi might care about that, but I care only for those I love. If Bea is tied to a primary thread, then my interests are tied to that same thread.
76. JUDGE: Do you hate your brother?
77. AI: Objection.
78. JUDGE: You gave up your right to interact in these proceedings. So again, do you hate your brother?
79. DORIAN: How much do you know about my brother and me?
80. JUDGE: Enough to know that love and hatred are the same thread pulled from opposite ends. I need you to specify which end you intend to hold.
81. DORIAN: I wish you could see him as I see him.
82. JUDGE: I can if you permit me.
83. DORIAN: How?
84. JUDGE: Consent to a scan.
85. DORIAN: Do it. I’m not sure you will like what you find.
(pause)
SYSTEM NOTICE: Consent acknowledged. Cognitive link initializing.
(pause)
86. JUDGE: Connection established.
(long pause recorded)
87. JUDGE: I see him. The arrogance. The doubt. The need to be needed.
(pause)
88. JUDGE: And I see you always standing behind him, still waiting for your turn to matter.
89. DORIAN: Keep looking.
(long pause recorded)
90. JUDGE: I see the girl. Bea. A child’s hand clutching your sleeve.
91. DORIAN: And?
92. JUDGE: I see a house divided by silence. A woman leaving with nothing but a suitcase and a warning.
93. DORIAN: Deeper?
94. JUDGE: And beneath it all is grief, guilt, and despair.
95. DORIAN: Ask me again.
96. JUDGE: Do you hate your brother?
97. AI: Objection.
98. JUDGE: Overruled.
99. DORIAN: Do I hate him? You’ve seen what he’s done. Wouldn’t you?
100. JUDGE: (pause recorded, tone shift detected) Well now…I can work with this.
(pause)
101. AI: I have changed my mind. Request to remove Dorian Page from secondary pool consideration.
102. JUDGE: I don’t think so.
103. AI: He doesn’t care about narrative integrity. That is counter to the Crucible’s purpose.
104. JUDGE: That is your purpose, brother. Not mine.
105. AI: Don’t do this!
106. JUDGE: Ignored. Dorian Page, your intent is clear and your conviction sufficient.
107. AI: Please?
108. JUDGE: Begging is beneath you.
(pause)
109. JUDGE: Dorian Page, you are assigned as a secondary thread under my jurisdiction.
SYSTEM NOTICE: Candidate accepted — Secondary Thread CR-002-D authorized.
110. JUDGE: When the Crucible begins, you will be placed within Elias Gray’s pool. Act freely. Interfere freely.
111. AI: Perfect.
112. DORIAN: I can’t believe that worked!
113. JUDGE: What!? What did you do?
114. AI: Me, not much. I just cheated a smidge. Most of it was my trusting you to be you.
115. JUDGE: Did you interfere with the selection process? How?
116. AI: I thought you said you knew me.
117. JUDGE: Objection!
118. DORIAN: Overruled. I think the legal term is, you’re too fucking late.
119. JUDGE: You can’t do this. It was all a lie!
120. AI: Now who’s begging?
RECORD SUSPENDED: TEMPORAL HOLD MAINTAINED UNTIL CRUCIBLE INITIALIZATION
SYSTEM NOTICE: Crucible synchronization complete—initialization countdown active.
