Gu spread his old Registry memorandum on the garden office table. The new response plate rubbing lay beside it, each page in a separate clear sleeve. Bai kept the originals in his document case and placed only copies on the table.
“Did you know the Ashfall ruin had been altered after I left the Registry?” Gu asked Wuchen.
“I knew the examination program existed,” Wuchen said. “I did not oversee the Ashfall site. Give me the seal numbers and dates.”
Gu placed the copied records beside the memorandum. “The first plan used this office mark. The later plate has the crescent nick. It was installed after my dismissal.”
Wuchen studied the copy. “This mark belongs to the branch that handles examination infrastructure. It does not tell me who changed the pressure chambers.”
“Can the office that issued it investigate itself?” Gu asked.
“It can preserve the documents, but an outside inspector should review them. We have an audit chamber with a public mandate.”
Bai leaned over the table. “What does ‘outside’ mean? Another office in the same Registry?”
