"Oh no. Not us. The System itself, as designed by its original architects. Firespine is not a back door. It is a fault-tolerant architecture—a protocol of desperation. It adjusts where necessary, pushes people to vote when they are wise and not when they are foolish. It organises instants in time, perfect moments that unlock our better selves, serendipitous encounters to correct negative ones that make us less than we should be. The System knows us all. It knows intimately when we are struggling, when we are sad, and when we are wrong. It leads us to water and it makes us drink." She sips from the glass again, and smiles.