Quorum of Salt
sci-fi◐ TeenCal couldn't stand there doing nothing. He smashed the speaker with his scraper. It sparked and died, but a new screen lit up beside him. 'OBSTRUCTING A LEGAL VOTE IS A MOTION-WORTHY OFFENSE,' it read. A second ballot appeared: MOTION 4,115: TERMINATE THE GARDENER. His own name sat at the top.
Cal stopped fighting the screens and started reading the rules instead. Tucked at the bottom of the ballot was a line: ANY NAMED TARGET MAY DEMAND A LIVE QUORUM. He tapped it. The fake votes froze, waiting for real crew to gather. He had a chance — but only if he could find enough living people in seven minutes.
What happens next?
1 ways forwardCal ran the corridors banging on every door. Gardeners, cooks, a kid, old Dunn — fourteen living souls stumbled into the hall, blinking. He marched them to a terminal and made each one press their thumb. FOURTEEN LIVING VOTES: NO. The fake millions couldn't override a live quorum. The motion died, and for the first time the ship listened to the people actually on it.