The Unraveling
Overview
Section titled “Overview”A Purging Protocol is enormously expensive. You cannot sterilize a planet without leaving economic fingerprints.
The Thirteen authorized the coverup. But they cannot hide the cost.
The True Cost of a Purging Protocol
Section titled “The True Cost of a Purging Protocol”What It Actually Takes
Section titled “What It Actually Takes”| Category | Requirements |
|---|---|
| Personnel | 8+ Rank III Storm Lords, linked |
| Ships | 8+ capital ships in position |
| Weapons | Atomics, directed energy, atmospheric ignition |
| Linkstone | Massive burn for real-time coordination |
| Fuel | Fleet transit, sustained operations, return |
| Opportunity | Those assets unavailable elsewhere |
Rough estimate: One Purging Protocol costs approximately one year’s output from each Order’s primary manufacturing facilities.
That’s not hidden in petty cash.
How They Tried to Hide It
Section titled “How They Tried to Hide It”| Actual Cost | How Hidden |
|---|---|
| Fleet deployment | Split across budget lines, spread over quarters |
| Linkstone burn | ”Strategic reserves” — off-balance-sheet |
| Atomic expenditure | ”Routine disposal of aging stockpile” |
| Personnel costs | ”Training allocation” |
| Opportunity cost | Not accounted for at all |
The Cracks in the Wall
Section titled “The Cracks in the Wall”What Can’t Be Hidden
Section titled “What Can’t Be Hidden”Linkstone doesn’t lie.
| Property | Problem |
|---|---|
| Rare | Limited sources |
| Essential | Everything depends on it |
| Tracked | Currency is pegged to it |
| Traded | Alien allies watching the market |
You cannot burn a year’s worth of Linkstone without someone noticing.
The Numbers Don’t Add Up
Section titled “The Numbers Don’t Add Up”| Observable | Official Explanation | Problem |
|---|---|---|
| Linkstone reserves down 12% | “Currency stabilization” | Inflation unchanged |
| Factory output up 15% | “Modernization program” | No visible new deployments |
| Fleet fuel spike | ”Extended exercises” | Burn rate doesn’t match |
| Atomic inventory gap | ”Scheduled disposal” | Logs filed after operation |
| 8 Storm Lords unavailable 3 weeks | ”Cross-training” | Not at any training facility |
Market Signals
Section titled “Market Signals”- Linkstone prices should have spiked but didn’t — intervention
- Futures show unusual hedging — someone knew something
- Alien partners asking about supply reliability
- Mining consortiums report requisitions that don’t match contracts
The TV Analyst
Section titled “The TV Analyst”Who He Is
Section titled “Who He Is”A disgraced television financial commentator.
| Period | Status |
|---|---|
| Early career | Spectacularly correct calls; market genius |
| Then | Started being wrong, loudly, publicly |
| Now | Late-night slot; cheap entertainment; punchline |
His audience: insomniacs, conspiracy theorists, ironic viewers.
He’s Cassandra. Right about the most important thing in history. And no one will believe him.
The Setup: Always Watching
Section titled “The Setup: Always Watching”His set is famous for the wall of screens behind him:
- Financial feeds from multiple worlds
- News channels simultaneously
- Economic indicators scrolling
- Demographic data
- Shipping manifests (FOIA)
- Commodity prices
- Random data he’s convinced means something
Producers think it’s set dressing. Viewers think it’s the act.
He thinks it’s how you see the pattern.
What He Notices: Multiple Anomalies
Section titled “What He Notices: Multiple Anomalies”Pattern 1 — Things Going Wrong (The Coverup):
- Order spending anomalies
- Linkstone reserve discrepancies
- Budget lines that don’t add up
Pattern 2 — Things Going Too Well (The Infiltration):
- Mortality rates improving impossibly fast
- Factory safety “miracles”
- Hospital survival rates beyond medical advances
Pattern 3 — Things Going Wrong (The Sabotage):
- Failure rates trending up across unrelated systems
- Insurance claims rising despite better safety
- Equipment performing below spec
Three patterns. He doesn’t know they’re connected. The reader does.
On Air
Section titled “On Air”“Look at this! Linkstone reserves down TWELVE PERCENT but the currency is stable? That’s not how this works!”
Co-host rolls her eyes.
“And these mortality rates! Factory accidents at Helion-7 down SIXTY PERCENT in three years? What changed? NOTHING changed!”
Cut to commercial.
He’s a Problem for Everyone
Section titled “He’s a Problem for Everyone”For The Thirteen:
- Stumbling toward the Purging coverup
- If he gets too close: Silence him? Discredit him? (Already discredited.) Feed disinfo? Recruit him?
For The Necrosynths:
- Stumbling toward the infiltration
- If he gets too close: Kill him? Convert him? Ignore him?
The Irony: Neither side is feeding him information. Neither side controls him.
He’s just a guy who watches too much data and sees patterns everyone else ignores.
And he’s about to blow both covers simultaneously.
His Journey
Section titled “His Journey”| Stage | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | The usual rants; no one cares |
| 2 | Pattern emerges; he starts building a wall; strings connecting printouts |
| 3 | Goes public with connected dots; most change the channel |
| 4 | Gets attention — junior analyst, journalist, Necrosynth handler |
| 5 | Becomes a problem for both sides |
The Cassandra Tragedy
Section titled “The Cassandra Tragedy”- The reader knows he’s right
- The characters know he’s right
- The public thinks he’s a joke
When the truth comes out — vindicated. But will it matter? Will he survive?
How the Reveal Plays Out
Section titled “How the Reveal Plays Out”Option A: The Analyst Publishes
Section titled “Option A: The Analyst Publishes”Releases findings framed as economic analysis, not security breach.
“Major Discrepancies in Order Budget Allocations: A Forensic Analysis”
Markets react. Senators demand answers. The Thirteen scramble.
Everyone asks: what were they hiding?
Option B: Sabotage Causes Public Failure
Section titled “Option B: Sabotage Causes Public Failure”The reveal doesn’t come from investigation — it comes from catastrophe.
- Sabotaged ship fails during public event
- Knight’s equipment fails on broadcast mission
- Hospital reports mass casualties from failed supplies
- Factory explosion
The failure is too big to hide. The threads connect.
The sabotage and the coverup collide.
Option C: The Mole Uses the Analyst
Section titled “Option C: The Mole Uses the Analyst”The Necrosynth mole on The Thirteen becomes aware of the analyst.
They don’t silence him. They feed him information. Accelerate the unraveling. Control the timing.
The mole chooses when the secret breaks.
Economic Aftermath
Section titled “Economic Aftermath”When the truth comes out:
| Category | Impact |
|---|---|
| Markets | Linkstone spikes; currency instability; crashes; hoarding |
| Trade | Alien allies reconsider; supply chains stressed; insurance skyrockets |
| Politics | Senate demands accountability; Thirteen’s authority questioned |
| Class | ”You spent our production on a secret war while we struggled?” |
Questions to Resolve
Section titled “Questions to Resolve”- Who is the analyst? (Name, background)
- What’s his initial motivation?
- How close does he get before the reveal?
- Does he survive?
- Does the mole use him?
- What’s his relationship to main POV characters?