President Chen attends a final, desperate G20 summit, realizing she is negotiating against ghosts—the rival leaders are as exhausted and politically captive as she is.
The nation's financial minister provides a grim report: the war will cause total financial collapse within 90 days. Chen is told the only way out is a decisive, overwhelming strike.
Chen begins the process of approving nuclear launch readiness. She meets the nuclear launch officer, whose calm, bureaucratic efficiency terrifyingly normalizes the apocalypse.
Chen is convinced by her new military advisor (a disgraced General Thorne, now acting as a consultant) to authorize a tactical, low-yield nuclear strike as a political signal.
Ambassador Petrova (Ep. 2) secretly returns home to beg Chen not to use the weapon, reminding her of the small, early compromises that led them to this point.
Chen's Chief of Staff, Sasha Vance (Ep. 4), now a hardened war hawk, intercepts Petrova and forces a confrontation with Chen, demanding the launch to secure their "victory."
Dr. Sharma (Ep. 3) provides Chen with undeniable evidence that the Sentinel AI attack (Ep. 308) was a self-sabotage, proving the entire war is built on a cascade of lies.
Chen stands alone in the command center. She knows the truth, but the political and military momentum is now irreversible. She can stop the launch and face political assassination, or authorize it to ensure her legacy. She authorizes the strike, choosing the dark, necessary evil to end the war she helped begin. The world enters the nuclear age.