The Celestial Clockwork
Chapter 29: The Bureaucratic Downgrade
The Great Temporal Audit of the Fifth Eon chamber vibrated with hostile energy. The Architect's massive, multi-dimensional Geometric Construct advanced, collapsing the data streams into solid, black Cubes of Absolute Temporal Certainty, aimed directly at the paralyzed young Assistant Yue (Royal). If the cubes hit, the archivist's anxiety would be sealed, making the Retroactive Bureaucracy flood permanent.
"We don't need to fight structure!" Ne Job yelled, focusing his desperate solution on the paralyzed Yue-Royal. "We need to simplify the administrative premise of the audit itself!"
Ne Job pulled out his pen-device and, with the immense authority granted by the Celestial Clockwork Control Key resting back in the present, issued a retroactive, emergency decree.
He typed furiously into the air, the words materializing in glowing BCA-approved font before instantly stamping themselves onto the young archivist's console.
The decree read: "STRUCTURAL AUDIT DECLARATION: The Great Temporal Audit of the Fifth Eon is hereby downgraded and reclassified to a 'Preliminary Structural Survey of Potential Archival Anomalies.' Administrative Rigor Requirement: Reduced by 80%." (Option 2)
Archival Reclassification! Ne Job hadn't solved the audit, but he had nullified the pressure of the audit.
The core of Yue-Royal's anxiety was the terror of meeting the impossibly high standards of a Great Temporal Audit. By downgrading the task to a simple, low-stakes "Preliminary Structural Survey," Ne Job had instantly removed 80% of the administrative rigor required.
The young Yue-Royal, slumped over his console, let out a massive, shuddering sigh of relief. His eyes cleared, and he sat bolt upright, energized not by a solution, but by a massively reduced workload.
"Preliminary Survey?" Yue-Royal whispered, grabbing his pen. "Why didn't I think of that? A Preliminary Survey only requires a summary of potential issues, not absolute verification! I can have this finished by the end of the Eon!"
The structural cause of the paperwork flood—the archivist's unmanageable administrative anxiety—vanished. The Retroactive Bureaucracy stopped generating paperwork in the present.
The Architect's massive Geometric Construct faltered. The advancing black cubes, built on the certainty of Yue-Royal's structural paralysis, instantly lost their target and dissolved into dust.
"A downgrade!" The Architect's voice was laced with pure, structural outrage. "You have defeated my final temporal defense with... administrative laziness! A Preliminary Survey is structurally meaningless!"
"On the contrary, Architect," Ne Job countered, retrieving his pen. "A Preliminary Survey is a structural prerequisite for all future audits. It is the necessary first step. We have simply ensured the integrity of the audit process, not destroyed it."
The Architect's geometric construct vanished, replaced by a sound like a slammed door—a temporary retreat, but a decisive victory for the DUC.
"Mission successful," Ao Bing confirmed, his water barrier receding. "The paperwork flow is stabilized."
"And the paperwork we created here is now just a single, non-threatening entry in the Logbook," The Muse added with satisfaction.
They quickly re-engaged the Celestial Clockwork and returned to the present DUC Headquarters (the Oracle's Sanctum). The immense, rising tide of paperwork had stopped, leaving behind an enormous, static mountain of historical bureaucracy.
Ne Job, though still an Intern, was now the structural manager of the universe's chaos. He looked at the massive pile of paper, then back at the Celestial Clockwork.
"The paperwork flood has stopped, but the pile remains," Ne Job observed. "Our first task is to process this retroactive archive. Our second task is to staff the DUC."
Princess Ling suddenly materialized beside the Clockwork, flanked by her Chief of Staff. She was clearly pleased with the outcome.
"Excellent work, Archivist Intern," Princess Ling said, a glint of political calculation in her eyes. "The universe is administratively safe for the moment. Now, about that Department of Unforeseen Contingencies."
"The DUC is established, Princess," Ne Job confirmed. "We require staffing. I have several ideal candidates."
"Indeed," Princess Ling said, tapping her chin. "I understand your need for competent staff, but I have a more politically expedient solution for your immediate administrative needs. The SDC is still active, and its next major effect is manifesting now."
Princess Ling pointed to the cosmic tactical display. A new anomaly was forming on the edge of a minor trajectory known for narrative simplicity. The display showed the anomaly as a conceptual black hole that seemed to be sucking the purpose out of the entire planetary narrative.
"My sources confirm that the structural concept of 'the hero's purpose' has been catastrophically damaged by the SDC," Princess Ling announced. "All major protagonists in that trajectory have simply abandoned their quests. The narrative thread has broken, and the entire trajectory is collapsing into meaningless stasis."
She smiled, a politician's perfect calculation. "The solution is not more staff, Archivist. It's reclassification. To manage this crisis, I am administratively reassigning two of the BCA's most disruptive but powerful assets to the DUC. They are already waiting at your command portal."
Ne Job immediately knew the names. The chaos of the SDC had left only two people whose administrative rigidity could match his own need for order.
"Assistant Yue and Nezha," Ne Job whispered.
"Precisely," Princess Ling confirmed. "Assistant Yue (The Architect's operative) is technically still listed as 'Unassigned Due to Administrative Lock.' And Nezha (Guardian of Ultimate Form) is listed as 'Temporal Asset: Structurally Paralyzed.' I have issued an emergency Administrative Reassignment Decree: they are now your First and Second DUC Interns. Good luck, Archivist. Now go fix that narrative."
Intern Ne Job is now in charge of a department staffed by his greatest structural adversary and the brother of his closest ally.