The support failed with a short, almost modest sound.
Eli had expected the foundation’s breaking to announce itself through the whole district. Instead he heard one sharp crack under the larger roar. A horizontal member dropped, pulling its connection across the marked exit. The last clear strip between the foundation crew and the outer wall disappeared beneath falling pieces.
Bram shouted for a count.
The answer came from the raised pocket, one worker speaking while the others answered their names. A man farther toward the base replied a moment later. He was alive, but the new fall had separated him from the others. Nobody could see an uninterrupted route from his position to the exit.
The local engineer asked the operator to cut power through the physical control.
He repeated the instruction and reached into the shelter. Eli watched his arm move. A lever came down against its stop, the motion plain enough that nobody needed an interface to confirm he had used it. The connected equipment wound down with a rough vibration. The barrier did not vanish. Pressure remained in the ground and in systems the local cutoff did not command.
“Local equipment isolated,” the operator called.
“Leave the control point,” the engineer said. “Outer wall, with us.”
