I stared at the words. Too abrupt? No. Technical.
What are the dimensions? And do you have schematics for the isolation shielding?
It was a breadcrumb. A tiny, technical breadcrumb.I am here. I am listening. I am considering.
I hit send before I could vomit.
Three ellipses appeared immediately. She hadn't been sleeping. She’d been waiting.
1.2m x 1.5m. Isolated floating floor. Euan has already uploaded the full schematics to a secure Dropbox for you. Link below.
He says he can modify the airflow if the pressure differential is too high.
Also, Cal says the kettle is on, metaphorically speaking.
I let out a breath that shuddered through my whole frame.
They weren't pushing. She didn't ask "Are you coming?" She didn't ask "Why did you run?" She answered the technical question. She offered a modification. She offered tea.
I clicked the Dropbox link.
It wasn't just schematics. It was a folder system.
> BUS_SPECS
> VENUE_TECH_RIDERS
> Z_WORKSPACE_PROPOSAL
I opened the workspace proposal.
It was a 3D render of the back lounge of the bus. But modified.
The monitors were positioned exactly where I liked them (how did they know?). The chair was the specific ergonomic model I used on long streams (had they looked at my V-tube setup that closely?).
And there drawn in the corner, labeled in Euan's precise, architectural font: NEUTRAL ZONE / SENSORY BREAK.
It was a small nook with heavy curtains and dimmable lights. No gear. Just quiet.
A note was attached to the file PDF.
Z,
We cannot change the size of the bus, but we can change the physics of the space. Airflow adjusted to 6 changes per hour (HEPA). No Alpha entry to this zone without digital keycard access, which only you control.
We want the mix. We do not require the engineer to be visible if she prefers invisibility.
- E.
I closed my eyes.
We do not require the engineer to be visible.
They were lying. They wanted me visible. I had seen it in their eyes in that hallway, the hunger, the shock, the recognition. Alfie wanted to sing to me. Kit wanted to... God, looking at his arms, he probably wanted to build a house around me. Euan wanted to organize my entire life into efficient happiness.
But they were putting thejobfirst because they knew that was the only language I spoke safely.
I navigated back to the text thread with Rowan.
