Chapter 191

# CHAPTER 191 **ELENA** The examination room felt different with so many people in it. Normally my medical spaces were intimate—patient, practitioner, maybe one observer. Now there were seven Collective medical specialists arranged in a semicircle around River's bed, their tablets synchronized, their attention focused with the kind of intensity that made even me feel exposed. And I wasn't the one being examined. Chen stood at the center, their presence commanding despite their quiet demeanor. They'd been fair during the preliminary meetings—skeptical but not hostile, questioning but not accusatory. Still, I felt the weight of what this examination represented: proof that cooperation could work, or evidence that it couldn't. "River," Chen began, their voice formal but not unkind. "Thank you for agreeing to this examination. We'll be conducting a comprehensive analysis of your consciousness patterns, comparing pre-procedure baselines with current readings. This will require deep access t