The Chroma-System…
The Central Allocation Hub was a cathedral of controlled light and color, a place where the Chroma-System expressed its rigid hierarchy. The air hummed with the noise of sanctioned transit, and the population moved like a carefully sorted box of components. Kael, a tall man whose skin was the deep mahogany of the equatorial belt, wore the deep, aggressive crimson of the Enforcer Caste. Every thread of his uniform was woven with the privilege of the military family that had generated him. Red was command, swift action, and unquestionable authority. He did not walk so much as traverse, his movement deliberate, his eyes scanning for dissent or, worse, confusion. He carried the weight of his inherited color like armor. Milo, lean and precise, a South Asian man whose spectacles caught the fluorescent light, moved nearby. His tunic was the rich, tailored emerald of the Steward Caste. Green meant ledger, liquidity, and the careful management of all resources—including the salaries that kept…
