The final draft no longer used silence as a verb of agreement.
Eli noticed the absence before he read the rest. The earlier proposal had made an empty answer do work for the majority. This one named the living people’s judgment instead. They would seek to remove involuntary bonds and attempt release. They would not treat inability to communicate as permission to consume a soul.
Where contact was possible, a team would consult the captive under checked conditions, preserve the result with independent observers, and keep the raw basis beside its interpretation. A clear wish would belong to the person who gave it. It would not become a universal answer for every other captive.
Where communication failed, the mandate remained limited to ending the coercive connection and attempting release. It did not authorize fuel use, forced replies, or a claim that a preference had been expressed. It acknowledged that damaged souls might not survive or be restored, and that removing a bond did not prove either outcome.
The moderator asked families to review the wording before it was adopted.
That interval was quieter than the argument preceding it. People bent over the plain-language pages, asked interpreters to repeat a term, and compared the stated powers with the fears they had brought into the hall. Some had spoken publicly. Others sent questions through chosen representatives from the private rooms. Their review came before the decision rather than after a vote that would make objections merely historical.
