Ryn reported to secondary architecture at the start of the shift cycle. The floor was quieter than the lattice nodes. Desks sat in clean rows under steady light.
The air smelled of recycled coolant and nothing else. Callen's people nodded when she entered.
They did not smile. They did not ask how she was. One of them handed her a narrow brief on a secured tablet and pointed her to an empty station at the end of the second row.
The brief was short. Review secondary-channel response curves under the post-contraction baseline.
Suggest non-invasive damping adjustments. No new hardware. No lattice-side changes. Software only. Keep the residual load flat. Deliver within the temporary slot's rules.
She sat down and pulled the data. The secondary channels ran under the new reduced absorption floor. Margins were thinner.
