EPISODE 13
THE CHOICE THAT ISN’T
When the system offers a choice, the kids must decide whether refusing it is freedom or provocation.
The symbol on the screen pulses again.
Slow.
Measured.
Patient.
Principal Williamson turns the monitor slightly—so they can all see it clearly.
“This is optional,” he says calmly.
No announcement.
No intercom.
Just his voice.
That’s what makes it worse.
Eli stares at the symbol.
It feels… familiar.
Not remembered.
Recognized.
Like a rule his body already knows.
“What happens if we don’t go there?” Eli asks.
Williamson folds his hands.
“Then nothing changes,” he replies. “You remain inside Zero Period.”
Maya frowns.
“That’s not a choice,” she says. “That’s a stall.”
Williamson nods approvingly.
“Correct.”
Aiden scoffs.
“So you want us to walk into whatever that is.”
Williamson tilts his head.
“I want you to stop pretending you’re not already walking.”
Olivia clenches her jaw.
“You let Nathan choose,” she says. “Look what that did.”
Williamson doesn’t look at the screens this time.
“Nathan chose safety,” he says. “You’re choosing uncertainty.”
Kimiko steps forward.
Soft.
Careful.
“What does the symbol mean?” she asks.
Williamson smiles.
“It means alignment,” he says. “Without negotiation.”
The office subtly tightens.
Not walls.
Expectations.
The air grows warmer.
Comfortable.
Seductive.
A chair slides out from the desk—inviting.
“Sit,” Williamson says gently. “Think.”
Eli doesn’t move.
“What happens if we refuse to decide?” he asks.
Williamson exhales.
“Then the system decides for you.”
The screen splits.
Two feeds appear side by side.
On one—
The symbol-lit corridor.
Empty.
Waiting.
On the other—
A classroom.
Four desks.
Nameplates already printed.
CARTER
KHAN
BROOKS
SATO
Aiden’s name is missing.
Aiden notices immediately.
“What about me?” he snaps.
Williamson meets his eyes.
“You are… unstable,” he says honestly. “We’re still assessing.”
Aiden’s fire surges—then stutters.
Suppressed.
Measured.
Contained.
The bell rings.
Once.
Inside the office.
Impossible.
The clock on the wall ticks forward.
7:01.
For the first time since Zero Period began—
Time advances.
Maya whispers, shaken.
“Graduation’s started.”
Williamson nods.
“On schedule.”
The classroom feed brightens.
Teachers enter.
Smiling.
Normal.
Safe.
Nathan is there too.
He looks up.
Laughs at something someone says.
He looks… happy.
Olivia turns away.
That’s when the third screen opens.
A hallway feed.
Live.
The silent hallway they chose earlier.
Empty.
But changing.
The walls are closing it off.
Sealing it.
Erasing it.
Williamson speaks quietly.
“Windows close,” he says. “Opportunities do not wait.”
Eli steps forward.
Not toward the chair.
Toward the screen.
“You want us aligned,” he says. “But alignment isn’t obedience.”
Williamson’s smile thins.
“It is,” he replies. “At scale.”
Maya joins Eli.
“So what’s the cost?” she asks. “Really.”
Williamson doesn’t answer right away.
Then—
“Individuation,” he says. “You don’t get to be separate forever.”
Aiden laughs.
Sharp.
Bitter.
“Then we’re already a problem.”
Williamson looks at him.
For the first time—
Concern.
“That,” he says quietly, “is what worries me.”
