Wuchen brought Yan to the sealed records room after the morning guard changed. Archivist Dalan waited at the table with two ledgers, a bundle of schedules, and the list of items held in the treasury. Wei stood at the door. Qinghe waited in the outer chamber, close enough to hear if anyone called.
Dalan checked Wuchen’s seal before opening the lock. “You may copy notes from the originals. Nothing leaves this room except the copies.”
Yan looked at the table. “I need the maintenance schedule, prior anchor reports, and the treasury list.”
“They’re here,” Dalan said. “The schedule shows each provincial correction and the crews assigned to it.”
He spread the pages out in order. Yan compared the central furnace diagram with the list of repairs. The lines joined cleanly in the plan. The central role was mechanically sound enough to work. The harm would fall on him alone, and his System could reverse the personal cost.
The deeper problem remained the authority retained by Wuchen. Communities could not withdraw from the network after the emergency without permission. The Registry could still order transfers and compulsory service if it declared the barriers at risk.
Dalan pointed to the sealed treasury list. Spare regulators and anchor stones were available, but several had been assigned to ceremonial projects.
