At the river barrier station, keeper Vela watched the local gauge climb past the agreed mark. Rain battered the post, and water ran over the lower stones. The neighboring ward’s field brightened as it took more of the river node’s load.
She had two choices. She could disconnect the node and let the neighboring ward carry the extra pressure for a short interval, or hold the feed and risk a pylon failure. The neighboring station could manage the load briefly, but no one knew how long it could take the full storm.
Vela called the crew together. The youngest operator wanted another reading before they acted. Vela agreed to wait for one more, but she did not take her hand from the release cord. The needle rose again as the water surged around the base of the post.
“Neighbor reading?” she called.
A runner returned with the signal: enough capacity for a short interval. The river station had to make the choice before that margin disappeared.
Vela pulled the cord. The river node went dark. The adjoining barrier brightened, flickered once, then held. Families behind the river wall remained under the neighboring field. Vela watched the local indicator rather than the central map; she needed to know if the pylon was cooling.
