Asher waited.
He didn't move on the night the window opened. He watched from a distance and confirmed the timing. Signals flowed in. Power levels shifted. The building changed how it breathed.
That was enough.
The next week, he prepared.
He rented a room with a clear line of sight to the upper relay towers. He adjusted his equipment, not for combat, but for capture. He didn't need to hear voices. He needed proof.
When the window opened again, Asher acted.
He didn't enter the building.
He tapped the relay.
Just enough to mirror the data stream.
Votes.
Approvals.
Clearance confirmations.
Names didn't appear directly. But identifiers did. Repeating codes. Priority chains. Who deferred to whom.
Asher recorded everything.
He stayed still until the window closed, then shut the tap cleanly. No alerts. No traces.
By morning, he had what he needed.
The committee wasn't just approving research.
They were managing escalation.
They decided how much soul loss was "acceptable."
