El Monroe knocked softly before stepping into Dr. Margaret Holloway’s office, clutching her manuscript tightly.

  “El,” Dr. Holloway greeted warmly, looking up from a desk cluttered with papers and half-opened books. “I assume you’ve reached some crity?”

  El sat down carefully, pcing her document on the table. “I believe so. I finished synthesizing the insights from everyone—theologians, political scientists, economists, sociologists—everyone. It’s...complex.”

  Dr. Holloway leaned forward, curiosity sharp in her eyes. “Complex is what we expected. Let’s start at the heart of it: What is 6C, according to your conclusion?”

  El hesitated briefly, gathering thoughts she’d spent weeks shaping. “6C isn’t just a religious movement or a political ideology. It’s something deeper—a comprehensive civilizational framework. It integrates religious ritualism, political ritual compliance, a pcement-based economy, and structured social harmony into one seamless, closed system. Each expert I consulted brought a piece, but together they formed this unmistakable whole.”

  Holloway nodded, clearly intrigued. “Fascinating. And yet, would you define it as authoritarian?”

  El shook her head. “No. That’s exactly the point the political schors—especially Dr. Albright and Dr. Redgrave—emphasized. It avoids authoritarian repression, not by liberalization, but by ritualizing every aspect of life. It makes rebellion almost impossible, not by force, but by semantic reframing.”

  “Semantic reframing?” Holloway echoed thoughtfully.

  “Yes. Dr. Elston expined this most clearly—6C doesn't suppress grievances, it redefines them. Dissatisfaction isn’t oppression; it’s being ‘out of rhythm.’ So, no one rebels because the nguage of rebellion itself is dismantled.”

  Dr. Holloway tapped her pen lightly, processing the idea. “Brilliantly subtle. What about economically—does this semantic reframing work there too?”

  El’s expression sharpened. “Precisely. The economists—especially Dr. Gray and Dr. Patel—showed how 6C doesn’t operate by capitalism or socialism. It’s what they called a ‘pcement economy.’ Wealth doesn’t exist; roles exist. Productivity isn’t measured traditionally; it’s measured in emotional stability and retional harmony. Resources are allocated based solely on maintaining the ritual structure.”

  Holloway raised an eyebrow. “And socially?”

  “Socially, it’s even more profound,” El said earnestly. “Gender roles, familial structures, even sexuality—Dr. Mirani, Dr. Suarez, and Dr. Vaubert all pointed out that these become sacred. Womanhood, marriage, concubinage—these are not personal or private; they’re public rituals. It’s a meticulously engineered social ecosystem.”

  Dr. Holloway exhaled deeply, clearly impressed. “And yet, do the citizens within 6C states perceive themselves as oppressed?”

  El considered carefully. “The social psychologists and anthropologists agree that the citizens don’t see oppression—they see order, meaning, and rhythm. Dr. Haskett calls it engineered consent. They embrace pcement as their identity. It’s obedience disguised as belonging.”

  Holloway leaned back thoughtfully, her fingers steepled. “El, this is groundbreaking. You’ve uncovered a profoundly original analysis. But there’s something more—how do you personally view it? Is this dystopian or utopian?”

  El paused, her voice steady yet tinged with quiet uncertainty. “Honestly, Dr. Holloway, I find it unsettling. Not because it's brutal—quite the opposite. Because it’s too perfect, too complete. It erases resistance through ritual. It feels like humanity is trading freedom for stability without realizing it. It’s neither dystopia nor utopia—it’s just…a totalizing social order. It might be the next form society takes after liberalism’s colpse.”

  Dr. Holloway smiled faintly, deeply pleased. “El, you’ve done something remarkable here. You've articuted a powerful, nuanced view of a complex phenomenon. It’s ready. This is exactly the caliber of original thinking we hope for.”

  El exhaled slowly, relief and satisfaction mixing within her. “Thank you, Dr. Holloway. I just hope it makes sense to others as clearly as it has become to me.”

  Dr. Holloway leaned forward warmly, handing El her manuscript back with a gentle nod of approval. “It will. Prepare your defense. This will provoke thoughtful debate for years to come.”

  ***

  After the Meeting — Dr. Holloway’s Office, 8:17 PM

  Ivy Coast University – Department of Political Theory

  A floor mp casts a warm pool of amber light across the shelves of old theology and political economy tomes. The room smells faintly of paper and bergamot. Dr. Margaret Holloway remains seated at her desk, alone, long after El Monroe has left.

  A mug of cold herbal tea sits untouched as she stares at the digital copy of El’s file:

  What is 6C? – Final Thesis Submission Draft

  Version: ElMonroe_6C_TheoryFrame_FINAL_v8.3.docx

  Dr. Holloway’s Monologue:

  “She did it. She truly did it.”

  Her fingers trace the edge of the tablet screen, as if the pixels might confirm the gravity of what she just approved.

  “I’ve supervised dissertations on failed states, charismatic theocrats, even experimental utopias... but this?”

  “This isn’t a case study. This is the mirror we were all avoiding.”

  She exhales slowly, eyes narrowing on El’s final paragraph.

  ‘6C is not a system of faith. It is a civilization of structure—where salvation is rhythm, and identity is pcement.’

  “Pcement as theology. Consent repced by calibration. God... not absent, but outsourced.”

  Her voice catches slightly. Not from emotion. From recognition.

  “This generation... El’s generation... they aren’t chasing utopia or freedom anymore. They’re begging to be organized.”

  She leans back, brushing a lock of silver hair behind one ear.

  “And 6C answers that plea. Not with blood. Not with fire. But with diagrams. Custody tables. Ritual calendars.”

  She flips briefly to the Economics section. The term “bor by rhythm” stares back at her.

  “El saw it before the rest of us could say it out loud. That theocracy has evolved—not into oppression, but into choreography.”

  A pause.

  “The question is no longer: ‘Is 6C right?’”

  “The question is: ‘How long before others start copying it?’”

  She finally reaches for the university portal, opening El’s graduate record.

  Action: APPROVE – Ready for Thesis Defense Panel

  A click. It’s official.

  “The world may not be ready for what she wrote.”

  “But it will be.”

  She stands, switches off the mp, and whispers into the quiet:

  “God help us if it already is.”

  She walks out, leaving the screen glowing in the dark—El’s thesis blinking quietly like a new doctrine, waiting.

  ***