Rook stopped the first image before the city disappeared.
The suspended breach hung over a street bright enough to show individual vehicles. A dark line crossed the sky behind it. At the panel’s edge, pressure values changed in an orderly column, lending the image the appearance of something measured rather than imagined.
“The prison is failing,” Rook said. “You have seen the outbreaks. You have seen barriers weaken. The coastal core gives us a chance to reinforce what is left.”
Eli stood behind the coalition’s covered line. The image had arrived before Rook had released a complete model or explained which assumptions produced the ruined street. It was still hard not to look at the people rendered inside the vehicles and think of actual bodies waiting for his answer.
“We have measured instability,” Juno said. “Give us the instrument outputs that correspond to this view.”
“You’ll have the relevant readings.”
“The underlying model?”
“Not every part can be interpreted at a glance.”
