The first district reading did not prove Mira right.
It showed a field above the operator’s local baseline, changing in a direction Sera could compare with her saved trace. The instruments were different, the positions were separated and the timing references had a small uncertainty. Sera put those facts on the sheet before anyone connected the peaks with a confident line.
Then the operator reported a second change.
At the small gate, the closure team recorded a fluctuation within the same uncertain interval. At East Market, the field strengthened toward the exposed street. The observations were concerning enough to act on without explaining every gate in the city.
One report seemed to promise a simpler answer: a sharp spike at the market corner exactly when the gate team adjusted its perimeter equipment. The times were close enough that someone on the shared channel called it confirmation.
Sera asked the district operator where the instrument had been pointing and what else moved nearby. A transport with powered equipment had passed close to the observation position. The operator could not separate that brief interference from the field change in that moment.
“Don’t use that spike as the proof,” Sera said.
Mira pressed her lips together. “The rest is still rising.”
