The Technology Minister's Escalated Review: Procedural Rejection During Isolation
Inside the Director's Office, the White Light from the emergency lighting outlined a deathly stillness.
The aftershocks of the Thunder forced power outage still reverberated silently in the air. The Technician were taken away by the Internal Affairs Inspection Office for "psychological evaluations," leaving only Lynn and the ever-silent Wanda in the vast space.
Wanda didn't look at him; her gaze was fixed on her neatly trimmed nails. Her fingertips, which had once been wreathed in Scarlet Energy powerful enough to rewrite reality, were now quietly curled up, as if accumulating something more dangerous than energy.
"Director."
She finally spoke, her voice calm and unreadable.
Lynn leaned back in his chair, his gaze shifting from the dark main screen to her face.
"Speak."
Wanda stood up and walked to Lynn's large desk. She didn't walk around the desk, but rather, across the alloy surface that symbolized the distance of power, she gently placed a thin Data Pad on the edge of the desk.
The Data Pad screen was lit up, displaying a formally formatted and meticulously worded official document.
The title is eye-catching. "Request for Emergency Review of the Application for Management Committee Strategic Asset 001".
"The Department of Technology believes that forcibly physically disconnecting a S-rank strategic asset carries extremely high unknown risks." Wanda's voice sounded as if she were reading a technical report unrelated to herself. "To maintain the long-term stability of the Management Committee's core assets and to assess the potential damage and logical changes after the power outage, I, in the name of the Technology Minister, request the immediate initiation of an emergency review procedure."
The reasoning is impeccable.
Procedurally, this is also within the purview of the Technology Minister.
She was no longer the Scarlet Witch driven solely by emotions; she had learned to use the system's weapons, packaging her investigations and doubts as an impeccable official matter.
Lynn did not look at the request.
His fingers tapped lightly on his terminal, bringing up another document.
"Minister Wanda," his voice was equally calm, "Your dedication is commendable."
He pushed the files on his terminal directly to the Data Pad in front of Wanda using an internal encrypted channel.
"But a program is a program."
Wanda's gaze shifted from the request document to the new document Lynn had pushed over.
"High-Risk Entity Isolation Management Measures (Trial Version)"
A bolded title line, like a cold iron gate.
Wanda's pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.
The document was issued three days ago, but the annotations officially took effect at midnight today, just before this incident.
Her finger swiped across the screen, skipping directly to the key terms.
"Chapter 3, Article 9: Any strategic asset of S-rank or above that is included in the ' Cognitive Contamination ' watchlist will automatically enter a ' Silent Isolation Period ' within 72 hours of completion of its incorporation. During the quarantine period, all non-emergency life-sustaining requests for exploration, verification, and data access will be frozen until the quarantine period expires or a special amnesty order is issued by the Director's Office."
Every word seemed tailor-made for her.
She applied for an emergency review, and the regulations stipulated that she should remain in isolation.
She emphasized asset stability, and the regulations define "non-emergency subsistence" as such.
This is a wall built of regulations, airtight, blocking all her reasonable demands from the outside.
Wanda slowly raised her head, and in the depths of her Scarlet eyes, Chaos energy surged like the sea before a storm.
"As the Technology Minister, why didn't I receive the draft for internal comment beforehand?"
"Because this 'Measures' was drafted directly by the Director's Office, countersigned by the Stability Maintenance Office and the Liaison Office, and unanimously passed by the Standing Committee through a written vote," Lynn said in a completely flat tone, as if stating a given fact. "The entire process was entirely compliant."
He didn't even explain why he didn't consult the Ministry of Department of Technology. Because within the power structure of the Management Committee, he didn't need to explain.
The air in the office seemed to have been sucked out.
Wanda's fingers gripped the Data Pad so tightly that her knuckles turned white. She could overturn this White Bone Hall in an instant, but she could not overturn this procedure that she herself had once approved.
Lynn looked at her and finally said something more.
"Also," he said casually, as if discussing the weather, "I just received an oral briefing from the Internal Affairs Inspection Office."
"Acting Director Natasha is very interested in the fact that the Department of Technology's firewall was instantly breached during yesterday's TVA attack."
She said a detailed assessment report on technological negligence and internal Defense Line vulnerabilities would soon be on my desk. She also recommended that, during the investigation, the Department of Technology should suspend all non-core R&D projects and focus its efforts on internal rectification and security self-inspection.
Lynn picked up the coffee on the table, which had long since gone cold, and took a small sip.
"At this time, I think the Department of Technology should have many more important and urgent 'official matters' to deal with, rather than creating unnecessary trouble over a frozen asset."
threaten.
A blatant and overt conspiracy.
He cleverly linked Wanda's personal investigation with the dereliction of duty by the entire Department of Department of Technology.
If Wanda insists on a review, it would be ignoring a major safety hazard within the department and prioritizing personal emotions over collective interests. Once Natasha labels her with this accusation, even she would suffer significant consequences.
Wanda's chest heaved violently, but she forcefully suppressed it.
She gave Lynn a deep look, her eyes filled with resentment, anger, the pain of being deceived, and a hint of grievance that she herself didn't even realize...
In the end, all emotions subsided into silence.
She picked up the Data Pad, said nothing, and turned to leave.
The "tap, tap" of high heels on the smooth floor sounded like the beat of a suppressed drum.
The office door closed silently behind her.
Lynn put down her coffee cup, the bottom of which made a soft sound as it hit the table.
He stared blankly at the empty doorway.
The Private Terminal on the desktop silently lit up at that moment.
A newly generated Red-Headed Document with an official header, which had just completed its internal circulation, popped up automatically.
Issuing unit: Internal Affairs Inspection Office.
Document Title: "Supervisory Notice on Recommending the Department of Technology to Conduct a Comprehensive Suspension and Rectification of the '11.07' Major Safety Accident".
At the end of the document was Natasha Romanoff's electronic signature, her handwriting as sharp and elegant as she was.
The document was copied not only to Lynn's Director's Office, but also to the Stability Maintenance Office.