⭐ CHAPTER 17 — “THE FIRST RECOGNITION”

👋 Chapter 17 shifts the story from encountering the anomaly to being recognized by it. The entity finally responds — not with words, but with its own logic: light, vibration, posture, and the precision with which it reads Riven. The chapter focuses on communication without language. The entity isn’t hostile; it’s measuring. And in that measurement, it detects a structural parallel between Riven and Hale — a role the event still needs filled. Within the chapter: • Riven realizes he’s being aligned to the system’s design. • Idris channels fragments of unfinished protocol. • Calyx anchors reality, seeing the entity as an actual threat. The line “a witness chooses or is chosen” is the pivot, hinting that 00:17:43 didn’t have a witness by accident — it required one. Chapter 17 opens the question: If the moment needs a witness, who stands in its center now?