By the time the review was convened, the routes had already changed.
Markers had been in place for days. Detours were no longer questioned. Guards at restricted junctions had stopped explaining themselves.
The city had adjusted.
The meeting was not called an inquiry.
It was a review.
It took place in a narrow chamber above the records hall, where the walls were lined with shelves and the air smelled faintly of dust and wax. Five sat at the table. Two stood behind them, hands folded, listening without expression.
He was not asked to attend.
He was referenced.
The reports were read aloud.
Routes stabilized.Delays reduced within marked zones.No further structural failures recorded where restrictions were observed.
The phrasing was careful.
Encouraging.
A clerk cleared his throat. "The measures appear to be functioning as intended."
No one contradicted him.
"What of the incidents beyond the zones?" one of the seated men asked.
Another turned a thinner stack of pages. "Unrelated," he said. "Deferred maintenance. Seasonal strain."
"That was anticipated," the first replied.
A mark was made beside the line.
Injuries were noted.
They were counted, then passed over.
No deaths were recorded.
That mattered.
The inspector from the Crown spoke last.
"The restrictions have reduced uncertainty," he said. "Movement is predictable again. Authority is visible."
He paused.
"People comply more readily when limits are clear."
Several heads inclined.
One of the men standing behind the table shifted his weight.
"There have been complaints," he said. "Delays. Confusion."
The man at the center of the table did not look up. "Complaints are not failures."
"They indicate strain," another said.
"Yes," the first replied. "And strain is expected."
No one recorded that exchange.
A recommendation was drafted.
Not permanent.Not absolute.
The language allowed for adjustment. It always did.
But the framework remained intact.
He learned of the review the following day.
Not through notice.
Through revision.
His assignments were narrowed. His movement clarified. Decisions that had once required judgment were now pre-marked.
The ache did not return.
The ground beneath the reinforced routes remained firm.
At the infirmary, linen procedures were updated.
Used cloth was set aside rather than burned. It was noted as a temporary efficiency measure.
Infection rates rose slightly.
They remained within acceptable margins.
In the southern quarter, the sagging roof was propped with timber.
It held.
For now.
The outcome was recorded as successful mitigation.
By the end of the week, the language had changed.
No longer temporary.No longer precautionary.
The measures were referred to as necessary.
He stood near the boundary marker outside the records hall and watched men adjust their paths without looking up.
They did it automatically now.
The ground beneath his feet was unchanged.
Silent.
But the city no longer waited for it.