This time the red stayed on its own side.
Neri watched the clear receiving cup through the full measured pressure rise, then had Reva operate the local stop again. The cup remained clear. The new core’s separate passage ended where the drawing said it ended. No hidden equalizing path carried the other side’s demand into the maintenance return.
Iven stood beside the pump and kept his hands off the apparatus.
The machine did not need his graft to be true.
They repeated the combinations that had exposed the Crown-pattern body’s fault. Upper feed stopped. Lower line isolated for maintenance. A short rise arriving early from the neighboring branch. The new arrangement kept the stopped branch separate and sent its failed indication visibly red instead of preserving the last convenient answer.
Irna watched the first full cycle with both hands in her apron pockets.
“Now admire the face,” she said.
Neri smiled.
