The Batangas proving ground sat quiet after midnight, the kind of quiet that came from distance rather than emptiness. The facility had been built years ago for endurance testing and thermal validation, far enough from populated areas that noise complaints never mattered. At this hour, the lights along the loop were dimmed to a utilitarian glow, just enough to outline the asphalt and mark braking zones. No banners. No logos. No audience. Only a few engineers, a data van, and the low silhouette of the Motus One parked beside the pit lanes.
Timothy stood with his hands in his jacket pockets, watching condensation gather on the car's body panels. The temperature had dropped faster than expected. Good conditions for stress testing cooling transitions. He noted it mentally, not because he enjoyed the details, but because details were what separated ideas from machines that survived real roads.
