The order arrived before breakfast.
The official courier stood in the command room with a sealed packet and a dry cloak. Han took the packet, checked the seal, then broke it in front of the station clerk. The first line instructed the station to put the furnace into overdrive at the next storm pulse.
The second line said every household within range had already been evacuated.
Han looked at the roster attached to the order. It listed the quarry as empty reserve land. A column of names described furnace workers who had died or transferred away years earlier.
“Who counted the residents?” she asked.
The courier glanced at the seal. “The order came from the Registry.”
“That was not my question. When was the count taken?”
“I was given the packet this morning.”
