Qinghe laid the station tests on the witness table. Each chart recorded load, temperature, release point, and the local engineer’s decision. She presented the east valve test and the north-wall disconnect as separate experiments with different risks.
The north station engineer sat beside her. “The frame was bowed before Wei’s crew opened the release,” he said. “Reconnect it under the storm and the wall could collapse.”
The local barrier went dark, but the adjacent district stayed lit and the shelter was clear. The crew had chosen to isolate one failing frame rather than risk taking down its neighbor.
Qinghe placed the central coil chart next to the station tests. The reserve had carried a measured load for a limited time. Yan’s body remained the anchor until the confirmed handover. The test gave him a window to reach the Registry; it did not prove that a weak projection could replace a full anchor or that the coils were limitless.
Wuchen’s counsel asked whether the old system’s central direction made local tests unnecessary.
“A central command cannot know a station’s current condition without local reports,” Qinghe said. “The records show what happens when orders arrive without gauges.”
She pointed to Wuchen’s reconnect order for the damaged north node. Its timestamp came after the station’s report of the bowed frame.
