Barbara, hoping to support the Garden's emotional healing technology, unknowingly hires a shadowy firm called N.E.S.T. Systems Inc., a front for defunct EDEN psychological manipulation programs. Initially offering to "enhance memory restoration" using neural headsets, N.E.S.T. secretly embeds mind-control software designed to override empathy, inject doubt into emotional bonds, and steer love into submission. When Garden members like Mira and Saul suffer mental and emotional side effects-including psychological fractures and memory distortion-Barbara investigates and discovers the devices were part of a deeper EDEN initiative known as The Shepherd Protocol, intended to reprogram faith-based love into compliance. Abraham is nearly compromised during a calibration session, revealing the tech's ability to harvest and weaponize his emotional memory of Michelle. Upon uncovering hidden video files and code logs that mock the experiment's subjects, Barbara destroys the equipment and severs all ties with external tech contractors. In response, she builds a new emotional firewall called CHOIR GUARDIAN, using only Garden OS code-protecting the Garden's inner harmony from external psychological exploitation. The chapter ends with Barbara's sobering realization: "Trust cannot be installed. But it can be stolen."