Subject: URGENT Action Items Pending [Excerpt from Meeting Transcript]
Attendees: <redacted> (Board Member), <redacted> (Board Chairperson), Dr. Maha Corvus (Principal Reseacher)
Board Member 1: Dr. Corvus, I'll get straight to it. These anomalies are escalating, and while I can't speak for the entire board, uneasy as hell. Why isn't proper containment protocol being followed?
Corvus: Containment was holding us back. Proximity - the artifacts to each other, to Devra, to the Portals, it was necessary. The anomalies are a symptom of the artifacts' interaction, but a minor one.
Board Member 2: Destabilizing the XM Network entirely is not 'a minor risk.' You're asking us to invest further resources into experiments resulting in unpredictable disruptions. I've always supported you, Maha, but this is increasingly hard to swallow.
Corvus: The artifacts are systems seeking balance. I've already demonstrated neural restoration and cognitive augmentation capabilities. Imagine what we'll achieve when we uncover how to stabilize them fully. Trust me. I will be able to stabilize them.
Board Member 3: And what about your test subject? Using her condition for these experiments-there's considerable risk here if this were to get out and get the wrong kind of press attention.
Corvus: Dr. Bogdonavich's contributions are invaluable. Her connection with the artifacts gives us insights we couldn't achieve otherwise. She's the key to unlocking their full potential. And I'm not exploiting her-we're working together.
Board Member 1: This project needs more oversight.
Corvus: My leadership has brought us this far. Every breakthrough we've achieved has been under my direction. Introducing oversight - micromanaging me and my work and my every decision- creates risks to progress when time is critical. The artifacts' resonance is intensifying. I don't have the luxury of delays. And neither do you if you want your investments to yield what you wanted from this relationship.
Board Member 3: It's our job to balance "breakthroughs" against risk. We have a fiduciary responsibility.. If the anomalies worsen, according to some, we're looking at dimensional risks. Dimensional collapse, Maha. That's not a gamble I can support.
Corvus: This is not a gamble. I understand the stakes better than anyone. But the alternative — inaction - guarantees failure. The artifacts are systems older than we can imagine. They're reaching for something. They've been sitting around for millennia and there was no risk of dimensional collapse then. Don't let the most paranoid voice in the room guide the narrative.
Board Member 2: But perhaps not the least cautious voice either. Some oversight is necessary.
Corvus: You've entrusted me with this project. I'm not asking for blind trust — just enough space to finish what I -- what we've started. The next phase of experiments will bring us closer to stabilization. I absolutely know that. I need your support now.
Board Member 1: Please give us the room for a moment, Maha. Let us discuss this. You've been heard, and, looking around the room, it seems you may have convinced at least some of us. Give us a few moments to finalize the resource allocation.
Corvus: Understood. And, please, trust me - you'll thank me when we succeed.
