Wuchen’s argument reached Pinehook on a printed notice. It had been folded into a bundle of road reports and marked for the village council. The notice warned that millions could face destructive celestial pressure without the old network. It called the population-wide sacrifice the only method proven to preserve the provinces.
Leda set it on the meeting house table beside the verified emergency order and Nara’s storm readings. “We’ll put all three in front of the residents,” she said. “Don’t call their fear foolish just because Wuchen wrote the notice.”
The route captains arrived first. One had worked the lower barrier before it was shut down. He read Wuchen’s warning and looked at the blue burn from the northern ridge.
“The towers have failed before,” he said. “If the network is the only thing that holds the pressure, we cannot pretend this isn’t dangerous.”
“It is dangerous,” Wei said. “The question is whether the sacrifice is the only way to keep the barriers up.”
Yan placed the map on the table. The new inland ford and the relay dead zone were marked beside the shelter routes.
“The order says families will be moved into registered zones,” he said. “The storm reading gives us weeks, but not an exact date. We’ll show both.”
