The spiderweb crack in the tempered glass hissed as microscopic glass needles popped into the vestibule.
The sound was delicate, like sugar crystals dissolving in boiling tea, but the structural meaning was terrifying. The three-foot fracture radiated from the impact point of Vance Sterling’s gold cane, slicing through the laminated polyvinyl butyral interlayer. Outside, the dark rain beat against the weakened surface in heavy, rhythmic sheets, forcing black gutter water into the hairline fissures.
With every drop that struck the exterior, tiny plumes of pulverized glass dust drifted inward onto the rubber entrance mat.
Register 1’s green phosphor display blinked in frantic, unyielding countdown.
COUNTER BARRIER VOLTAGE: -2.8V DC
PERIMETER STRUCTURAL STRENGTH: 14%
COUNTDOWN TO EXEMPTION CONVERSION: 00:24 SECONDS
Twenty-four seconds.
