Jiang returned to the empty coast with one rule written above every source.
Blank did not mean available.
Hessa had spent eight minutes turning that principle into a test. The atlas packet, scholarly ship-loss rows, and clothing categories remained the only selected groups. Beside them sat a fourth display with no historical source behind it.
It was a quarantine slate. Anything placed there would be recorded as an external addition and discarded on exit.
"You made the lie its own chair," Jiang said.
"No," Hessa replied. "I put a wastebasket beside the chairs. Do not invite it to sit."
Aylin sealed the return order and checked Jiang's local position between the padded chocks. His breast rested on stone, his feet remained clear, and the wound along his wake-keel showed no blood.
[LOCAL ENTRY STATE]
[Pressure60 | Cold16/47]
[Mobility12% | wound1.1cm]
[Bleeding0 | current touch0]
[Selected source groups3]
[External quarantine slate1]
