He noticed it first on a Tuesday morning, standing at the kitchen counter while coffee brewed. The city outside his window moved with its usual impatience. Jeepneys merging without signaling. A delivery truck idling too long. Someone arguing into a phone at the corner.
Normal systems. Familiar problems.
His laptop was open on the table behind him, an energy-sector briefing paused mid-page. Transmission upgrades. Grid stability metrics. Battery storage projections. All things he already understood. All things that fit neatly into categories he had built and controlled.
Transportation. Automotive manufacturing. Semiconductors. Energy.
The stack was complete in a way that made investors comfortable.
That was the problem.
He poured coffee and didn't bring it to the table right away. He stayed standing, mug warming his palm, staring at nothing in particular.
What comes next.
The question surfaced without urgency, without pressure. It didn't feel like a demand. It felt like a gap.
