Deyan had written the retest order on the workshop wall before Gu arrived. She stood on a stool to add the final line, then stepped down and passed him the measurement sheet.
“Check the junction distance and the stone bank readings,” she said. “If you find a mismatch, tell me before we open the first feed.”
Gu read the figures without comment. He set the archive calculation beside the new measurements and followed the circuit with one finger. The cutoff was ahead of the place where the feeds joined. The neighboring barrier had a separate route.
“It matches,” he said, and signed the sheet.
Deyan waited for him to take the lead. Instead, he handed the paper back. “Your test. I can watch the old calculations.”
A few of the relay crew exchanged glances. Gu was the senior researcher; in earlier work, he had directed the sequence himself. Deyan looked at the wall plan, then addressed the group.
“I’ll call the order. If anyone sees a reading outside the marked band, say it at once. We stop before we discuss why.”
The local keepers had brought two copies of the manual release instructions. One was folded inside a coat pocket; the other had already been smudged by a thumb. Deyan asked them to show the release without reading the sheet. The first keeper found the handle and closed it. The second followed, then pointed to the indicator that showed the neighboring barrier remained active.
