The ballast looked disappointingly ordinary.
Stone blocks, weighed and marked. Three separate loads on three separate platforms. No city lights depended on them. No household would lose water if the demonstration stopped. The regional feed lines wore visible blanking plates, and Nyla checked them herself before anyone touched the upper balance.
Iven approved of disappointment in a test load.
The local withdrawal sleeve stood beside his left foot. Its handle had enough clearance to operate while the deck moved. A bright indicator ran through an independent line to the upper board, where everyone could see whether the local catch remained engaged.
Neri’s change had become metal.
He walked the loaded platform again, as she had told him to. The inner stones remained sound. The outer boards had settled slightly beneath the prepared weight. Nothing approached the emergency mark. The gap beside the balance wheel was narrower now, exactly the kind of small difference a person could forget while arguing.
Venn watched from the upper lever.
Perril stood with her instructor at the measuring rail, outside the load’s fall line. Adel held the distributor’s isolated demonstration coupler. Elian had the agreed limits on his board. Vela and two local guards kept the observation path clear.
