The lower observatory was built of pale stone, with a narrow stair leading to a room below street level. Wuchen waited outside the door beside a registry attendant. He wore a dark coat and had placed a tray of tea on a small table.
Wei inspected the room before the meeting. He checked the door hinges, the wall panels, and the empty shelves. He found no hidden mirror or second exit. Qinghe and the two guards waited with him in the outer chamber.
“The room is clear,” Wei said. “We’ll stay here. If you call, we’ll hear you.”
Yan entered alone. Maps of the provincial barriers covered the table. Small red marks showed where relays had failed, and thin gold lines connected the central furnace to the outer towers. Wuchen stood by the map with a ledger open beneath his hand.
“You brought the readings,” Yan said.
“And the records I can show without a council seal,” Wuchen replied. “The storm is coming. I want you to understand why the Registry has kept the central network together.”
He showed Yan the pressure projections. If the old barriers failed in sequence, the force could travel across several provinces before local walls could respond. Millions might face destructive pressure. The risk was real; the map was not a scare story.
