The electrician arrived with a tool bag and a wet jacket. He checked the isolated circuit before opening the supply-room door.
“The failed main is off at the breaker. I’ve also disconnected the independent backup cable,” he said. “Don’t reconnect either until I’ve checked the line.”
June showed him the temperature log. The shelter refrigerator had warmed beyond its usual range, and the backup supply had flickered. Tessa and the volunteers had moved the first containers to the office refrigerator. The remaining medicine sat in an insulated carrier, waiting for transport to a neighboring clinic.
The electrician, Matin, followed the cable from the refrigerator toward the wall. It disappeared behind a stack of boxed supplies and reappeared near the isolated outlet. The boxes were heavy and packed tightly enough that moving them could take several minutes.
“I can test the accessible ends,” he said. “If the break is behind the stack, we’ll have to move it.”
Eli looked at the cable. Signal Thread had three activations. He had accepted it after Ren reached home, and he had not tested it. The interface said the light would follow one existing rope or cable from his contact point to the first break or the end, for up to sixty seconds. It would not establish whether the rest of the circuit was safe.
