At the end of the seventy-second hour, Halden asked Rian to leave the control alone.
The young mechanic’s hand stopped above the lever.
“It’s still inside the mark.”
“I know. Let the next load arrive before you correct a movement that may settle by itself.”
They waited.
Beyond the service wall, the morning care round was beginning. Doors opened. Water went into basins. Someone moved a bed away from a window so the attendant could reach both sides. All of that altered the demand entering Hearth’s minimum heat network.
The needle moved, hesitated and settled within its working band.
Rian took his hand away completely.
