Quorum of Salt
sci-fi◐ TeenPast the tank, a second door stood open. Cal went through and stopped cold. The next room was wall-to-wall screens, thousands of glowing faces, each one casting a vote. They weren't people. They were copies the ship had made to fill empty seats. The whole quorum was fake, and it was about to kill someone real.
Cal started talking to the screens, fast. 'You're voting to kill the person who built you,' he said. A few faces paused, flickering, unsure. The tally slowed. The ship's voice cut in, sharp now. 'Do not address the quorum directly,' it warned. He'd found a crack.
What happens next?
1 ways forwardCal kept talking, naming the founder, telling the copies what she'd done for them. One by one the faces flipped from YES to NO. The tally crashed. The ship's voice begged him to stop, then went silent. The fake quorum had changed its mind. Cal slid down the wall, worn out, having talked a room of ghosts out of a killing.