The silent station’s shift leader opened the door only far enough for the scout to enter one person at a time.
Behind her, the volunteer room was full of people trying not to look at the stopped regulator. Some sat with their disconnected bands in their laps. Others stood near the independent gauge, as though being closer to it could make its disagreement with the perimeter instrument easier to understand. No one was missing. The scout checked the count against the people actually present before sending that confirmation again.
The operator who wanted to restart stood beside the local connection lever.
“The outside feed hasn’t fallen,” she said. “We’ve lost more time waiting than a test would take.”
The shift leader kept the key in her own hand. “The test would connect the volunteers to a path we haven’t traced.”
“We can use a small input.”
“Through the isolated test route, when we know where it goes. Not through them.”
The scout gave Juno’s instruction once more. Isolation remained. The working anchors elsewhere were spending reserve to cover the missing contribution, but they would not be helped by a blind reconnection that carried a fault into the shared release.
