Battery Crate purred; the LED stripe drew a horizon like a thin promise that could be kept. Kael woke with the ledger open to a page that smelled like iron and soap. Mira stood with her hands empty and her knife behaving. Nox rotated weight onto his heels like a man testing a bridge he intends to carry. Renn watched light crawl along baseboards as if geometry were a pet. Eli wound copper into a small circle that looked like permission. Liana stacked gauze into a wall and wrote NO HEROICS on it as a joke that was also a law. Jori, Marla, and Pavel stood at attention, proud and sleepy and trying not to be either.
"We do not need to be brave," Kael said.
"We need to be correct," Mira answered.
Nox: "And heavier than bad habits."
Renn: "And on the dots."
Eli: "And grounded."
Liana: "And clean."
Marla: "And fed on time."
[System: Day Plan]
- Mission A: unlock Engineering T1: Hinge Foundry Basics; start salvage-and-rebore line; template v0.1.
- Mission B: Info T1: Corridor Economics v0.3 (convoys & gaps); set two-cart convoy rules.
- Mission C: Bio/Chem T1: Pain Control Basics; nurse protocol + safe doses board.
- Mission D: Energy T1: Pack Share v0.1 (safe parallel packs) for Mobile Bar drills and clinic nights.
- Mission E: Prototype: Exoskeleton Note v0.1 (structure-only study; no lifts beyond body-safe); gather straps and stays.
- Contingency: Blue "night audits" doctrine expected; continue Clipboard Courtesy; recruit line open.
- Reward: +1 PC foundry basics running, +1 PC convoy rules executed, +1 PC pain control, +1 PC pack share, +1 PC exo note staged, +1 PC doctrine handled.
PC available: 110.5.
Kael felt the rare joy of unlocking things that will still matter when the city grows teeth.
[System: Knowledge Acquired]
Engineering T1: Hinge Foundry Basics installed.
Effects: +salvage sorting, +rebore spec, +pin sizing table, +oil bath care.
[System: Knowledge Acquired]
Info T1: Corridor Economics v0.3 installed.
Effects: +convoy spacing, +gap theory, +merge etiquette for pairs.
[System: Knowledge Acquired]
Bio/Chem T1: Pain Control Basics installed.
Effects: +safe-dose chart, +contraindications, +non-drug methods.
[System: Knowledge Acquired]
Energy T1: Pack Share v0.1 installed.
Effects: +parallel pack link rules, +current-limit discipline, +fail-open guidance.
PC remaining: 106.5.
---
Foundry of Hinges v0.1 - turning scrap into sentences
On A3's bench: a crate of dead doors, hinges with paint fossils, screws that missed their century, pins that had rusted into religion. Kael laid out three trays: KEEP, TEACH, BURY. KEEP: plates that would square to a frame with a little truth. TEACH: pieces that would instruct recruits by failing interestingly. BURY: anything that wants to break something later.
Eli set up the oil bath in a bread pan that would never see bread again. Nox rebored a hinge ear with a patience that made the drill feel seen. Renn measured pin sizes with a nail and a pencil that thought it was a gauge. Jori polished plates until they reflected a boy who wanted to be a better man.
Template v0.1:
- plate square check against standard block
- ear roundness test with pin set
- rebore if needed; never chase perfection across a ruined city
- oil bath, wipe, receipt on the back with date and initials
- teach pile labeled with what it will teach: camber, warp, brittle, liar
Mira watched with approval disguised as indifference. "We are building a language for doors," she said.
[System: Foundry]
Hinge Foundry v0.1 running; keep/teach/bury triage; rebore spec followed; oil care. Effect: +spares, +teaching stock.
+1 PC.
---
Convoys and gaps - lanes learn to breathe
Kael posted v0.3 rules on the Public Board in short lines that would not confuse a cart:
CONVOYS
- Two carts make a convoy. Front walks the map; rear walks the people.
- Spacing: one square. Never kiss bumpers.
- Gaps belong to pedestrians. You owe a gap every other block.
- At merges, pairs yield to singles. At sirens, everyone yields to law.
- Pointer board sets direction; convoy leader signs Door Receipt at both ends.
Jori practiced leading with a broom handle instead of a flag. Pavel tuned the manhole ring again so it would not heckle dignity. Marla coordinated bread runs to shoulder windows so carts did not smell like bakery bait for Seers.
[System: Logistics]
Convoy rules posted; pointer discipline taught; first run scheduled 11:00 shoulder. Effect: +throughput, +politeness.
+1 PC.
---
Pain Control - courage without theater
Liana chalked a simple board in the clinic:
PAIN CONTROL v0.1
- Breath, position, pressure. Words first.
- Cold and rest are medicine. So is silence.
- Safe-dose chart (weight bands). No bravado dosing. No sharing.
- Contraindications: allergies, head hits, belly hits, pregnancy.
- Never dose to make someone work sooner. Dose to make someone heal better.
She handed Kael a small note: STARTS WITH WORDS. He posted it in A1 because leaders forget sometimes that talking is cheaper than pills.
[System: Care]
Pain Control basics adopted; safe-dose board posted; non-drug protocol taught. Effect: +trust, +outcomes.
+1 PC.
---
Pack Share v0.1 - letting electrons be a team
Battery Crate met a second pack that would be a cousin, not a rival. Eli built a parallel link with a current limiter that behaves like a polite chaperone. Kael labeled the ports with words a tired person can obey. Pack Share would run clinic night lights and a Mobile Bar drill, never kitchen heaters, never ego projects.
They tested on the 10:00 shoulder: lamp bank on; balance watched; cutoff respected. When one pack sulked early, the link failed open correctly and handed the day to the adult in the room.
[System: Energy]
Pack Share connected; clinic + drill supported; fail-open verified. Effect: +runtime, +resilience, -panic.
+1 PC.
---
Prototype: exoskeleton note v0.1 - a promise with a leash
Kael wrote the note big and strict:
EXOSKELETON NOTE v0.1 (STRUCTURE ONLY)
- Purpose: posture assist, carry geometry, not superman.
- Materials: stays (aluminum/steel strip), straps (seatbelt, pack), joints (hinge spares), boot hooks.
- No lifts beyond body-safe. If you feel like a hero, stop.
- Test path: A1 -> RN-6 -> A4 stairs -> A5. Recorder walks, not runs.
- Every test gets a receipt and a lie check: did pride write this?
Nox looked at the sketch and grinned in a way that made Kael repeat "structure only" twice. Renn volunteered as recorder. Mira promised to trip anyone who pretended to be stronger than their bones.
[System: Prototype]
Exo note posted; parts list gathered; test path chosen; culture set. Effect: +future capacity, +safety.
+1 PC.
---
11:00 shoulder - first convoy and a rumor that tries to hitch a ride
Pavel led cart one; Jori kept the rear and the gap; Marla did the bread handoff like a conductor leading a hunger orchestra. They hit RN-6, then RN-7, then returned by the lot. At the merge, a single cart yielded to them with adult grace. People passed through their gap without losing ankles or patience. A Blue with a clipboard tried to walk inside the convoy like a thought balloon. Jori offered a Defer ticket, chair at elbow, water. The clipboard laughed and then took the chair anyway because chairs do not mind being laughed at if they get to do their job.
[System: Throughput]
Convoy performed; gaps honored; merge etiquette held; clipboard defused by Courtesy. +discipline.
---
Afternoon - hinges teach recruits
Hinge Foundry became a classroom. Jori learned why brittle plates lie and how to read lies in metal. Marla logged keep/teach/bury with a neatness that made the pile look proud. Pavel re-bored three ears while Eli called out speeds; the drill sang correct songs. Kael stamped dates on backs with a screw head and ink from a pen that had retired into honest labor.
Mira installed a rebuilt hinge at A1's stubborn closet because small doors teach big doors how to behave. She wrote on the Door Receipt: HINGE 2-LOW TAUGHT MANNERS.
---
Dusk - Blue doctrine meets foundry doctrine
The "night audit" doctrine arrived before night like a bureaucrat that does not understand shoulders. Two clipboards, one armband, and a preacher's boy who had put his horn down to try being relevant with paper. They announced "door inventory." The Mobile Bar v0.2 set itself with Mira's hands. Kael handed the handout and the chair. The boy stared at the hinge on the lobby door and asked, "Did you... make that?"
"Reborn," Eli said. "We give metal a second life if it promises to keep people alive for its second life."
The boy touched the plate like it might be contagious with virtue. The clipboard men signed Defer tickets, frowning with dignity. The boy asked for a broom. Tom gave him one without a speech.
[System: Encounter]
Night audit doctrine met with Courtesy + foundry pride; no escalation; small conversion in progress.
---
Evening - exo test zero and a lesson in pace
Nox wore the strap web with stays on hips and chest; Pavel adjusted boot hooks; Mira watched for pride leaks. They walked A1 -> RN-6 -> A4 stairs -> A5. The web asked Nox to move like a machine that did not owe speed to anyone. He obeyed. His breath came like a metronome, straight and boring and beautiful. The stays took bite from the stairs; the straps shared load with bone. On the way back, Nox wanted to try the pipe lift. Mira said no without a knife and he said yes to the no without resentment. That is culture.
Renn logged: TIME GOOD; HEART BEHAVED; NO HERO MOMENTS; ADJUST HIP STAY LEFT. Nox wrote: FELT LIKE A PROMISE THAT KEPT ME SMALL. Kael underlined small twice. Small saves lives.
[System: Prototype Test]
Exo note v0.1 walk executed; receipt filed; adjustments noted; no violations. Effect: +confidence, +discipline.
---
Clinic - pain control proves itself
An old man arrived with a rib he had argued with. Liana used words, position, cold, and the smallest safe dose. He breathed like a ship finding the wind again. He thanked the wall rather than the nurse, which is how you know the protocol worked: the wall had supported him; the nurse had moved him to where the wall could help.
She posted a tiny card: PAIN IS A SIGNAL; WE DO NOT PUNISH MESSENGERS; WE TEACH THEM MANNERS.
---
Night shoulder - Seer at the edge of A5
A Seer shadowed Brass Street, curious about the new quiet. It tasted lines and found softened angles, visors, and a Pebble Curtain that clicked like a cat's tongue telling it to mind its own math. It stood for a full minute, patient and insulted. Then it left because it had not found a performance to interrupt. A5 slept. The foundry had made physics a friend and the Seer hates friendships it cannot ruin.
Renn wrote: SEER IGNORED QUIET; OUR SILENCE WAS LOUD ENOUGH.
---
Quiet Court - iron and courtesy
- Hinge Foundry Basics unlocked and running; keep/teach/bury triage; rebores; oil care; first hinges installed.
- Corridor Economics v0.3 posted; convoy rules live; gaps honored; merges gentle.
- Pain Control Basics posted; safe-dose board; words/position/cold; clinic outcomes improved.
- Pack Share v0.1 active for clinic + drills; fail-open verified; labels posted.
- Exoskeleton Note v0.1 drafted; structure-only test walked; adjustments logged; culture enforced.
- Night audit doctrine handled with Chair + Defer + pride in hinges; no blood; small conversion in progress.
- Doctrine: repeated.
[System: Audit Complete]
+1 PC (foundry), +1 PC (convoys), +1 PC (pain), +1 PC (pack share), +1 PC (exo note), +1 PC (discipline), +1 PC (doctrine).
Total PC: 113.5.
Advisory: With 113+ PC, candidates next: Engineering T1 Hinge Foundry v0.2 (pin press), Energy T1 Pack Guard v0.2 (cell pairing), Bio/Chem T1 Clinic Sterility Tweaks, Info T1 Recruit Ledger v0.1 (training tree). Threat horizon: Blue doctrine may add "confiscate hinges" humorlessly; Seer patience tests at A5; ambulants syncing to convoy gaps. Recommendations: hide teach-pile; publish hinge receipts as public pride; duplicate exo web; add hip stay left; train Jori on pin sizing; keep Courtesy chairs clean and ready.
Mira laid her head against the wall for the legal twenty breaths. "We are manufacturing manners," she said.
"We are giving iron a conscience," Kael said.
Nox tapped the hinge with his knuckle and listened to its reply: a tiny, correct sound. Eli smiled at the Pack Share link like a man who has convinced electricity to be polite. Liana washed the board and the pen and the string and then told everyone to sleep responsibly. Marla covered bread with a cloth that had become a receipt. Pavel labeled the teach pile. Jori put the pointer to bed.
Kael placed his palm on the ledger. "We do not need to be brave," he said.
"We need to be correct," answered hinges, straps, carts, and a city that had learned to breathe between its own sentences.
Outside, night audits found chairs instead of drama. Inside, the foundry ticked in its oil bath like a small, useful heart.