The Registry fourteenth floor at two PM.
Twenty three attendees.
Park Sung-Jin had pre-assessed at one PM.
He had brought enough chairs on the first trip.
He updated his system.
Rule amendment: when the attendee list exceeds twenty the chairs needed is attendee count plus two. Always plus two. There will always be someone he did not count.
He had brought twenty five chairs.
Twenty three people arrived.
Plus Jeongjeong at twenty centimeters from Han-Ho's position.
Plus the bag entities.
Twenty five was correct.
He updated the rule.
Attendee count plus two. This is now correct. Do not change this.
Han-Ho opened the meeting.
Not with the standard items.
With an unusual item.
"Before the agenda," said Han-Ho. "Cheongwon."
The room went quiet.
"During this morning's river bank visit," said Han-Ho. "The Wednesday communication. Cheongwon said something I have not received before." He looked at his notes. "The old man translated. I want him to deliver it directly."
The old man, in the chair Han-Ho had placed specifically for him at the table rather than against the wall, looked at the room.
He had been sitting at the wall position in meetings for months.
Today Han-Ho had put his chair at the table.
The old man had sat in it without comment.
Because it was correct.
"Cheongwon has been in the dimensional space since before the worlds were separate," said the old man. "We have established this. It was attempting to clean the original contaminating entity when the blockage occurred. The blockage was the remainder it could not clean."
"Yes," said the room.
"This morning Cheongwon communicated something it has not communicated before," said the old man. "About what it has been feeling through the Dragon Vein network since the activation. Since the upstream junctions cleared. Since the ley line network reached full clean."
He paused.
The specific pause of something very old choosing words very carefully.
"Cheongwon said: the contamination was not random."
The room was quiet.
"The contaminating entity that crossed the dimensional space twenty thousand years ago," said the old man. "It did not cross by accident. It did not come from the very large world or the very old world or the very strange world. It came from somewhere further along the network. From a world that Cheongwon has been aware of for twenty thousand years but has not been able to reach because the blockage closed the connection."
Han-Ho made notes.
Filed rapidly.
"The world further along the network," said Oh Kyung-Soo.
"Yes," said the old man.
"The entity that caused the original blockage came from there."
"Yes," said the old man.
"Deliberately," said Oh Kyung-Soo.
"Cheongwon does not know if deliberately," said the old man. "But intentionally. The entity crossed the dimensional space with intent. Whether the contamination was the purpose of the crossing or the result of the crossing is unknown."
"What is the world," said Lee Soo-Bin.
"Cheongwon has a name for it," said the old man. "In the dimensional energy language that predates every spoken language. The closest translation—" He paused. "The closest translation is: the world that is trying to become something it is not."
The room sat with this.
Han-Ho made a note.
World further along network: contamination source world. Cheongwon's description: the world that is trying to become something it is not. Intentional crossing twenty thousand years ago. Purpose unknown. Filed.
He filed it.
Looked at Jeongjeong.
At the twenty centimeters of following distance.
At the continuous improvement.
At the entity from the very strange world that had been trying to produce clean energy its entire existence.
Made a note.
Filed it.
"The very strange world," said Han-Ho.
Everyone looked at him.
"The very strange world has been trying to produce clean energy for longer than the blockage has existed," said Han-Ho. "They had no concept of clean. They were trying to make something they had no words for. Something they had felt traces of through the network before the blockage closed the connection completely."
He looked at his notes.
At the very strange world communication from this morning.
At Jeongjeong.
"The world that is trying to become something it is not," said Han-Ho. "And the very strange world that has been trying to produce something it had no concept of." He made a note. "They are related."
The old man looked at him.
"Yes," said the old man. "Cheongwon said this too. The very strange world felt the clean energy before the blockage. They have been trying to recreate it from memory since. Twenty thousand years of trying to reproduce a quality they experienced for a short time and then lost when the junction closed."
"They were not trying to make something new," said Aria quietly.
"No," said the old man. "They were trying to get back to something they had."
"And the world further along the network," said Aria. "The one that caused the blockage. It is also trying to become something it is not."
"Yes," said the old man.
"What is it trying to become," said Aria.
The old man was quiet.
"Cheongwon does not know," said the old man. "It only knows that the entity crossed with intent and left contamination behind and the contamination blocked the network and the very strange world lost what it had been experiencing through the clean network connection."
Han-Ho made notes.
Filed them.
Looked at the room.
"The world further along the network," said Han-Ho. "Is the next thing."
"The next cleaning," said Min-Seo.
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"You cannot access it from here," said Min-Seo.
"Not yet," said Han-Ho. "The upstream junctions are clear. The three additional worlds are connected. The dimensional space is accessible from the river bank central junction." He made a note. "But the connection to the world further along the network — the world Cheongwon has been aware of for twenty thousand years — is deeper. Past the three upstream junctions. Past the dimensional space I have accessed so far."
"Further along," said Min-Seo.
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"How much further," said Min-Seo.
Han-Ho pressed his hand against the table.
Read the Dragon Vein energy running through the building.
Through the ground below it.
Felt the network.
The five connected worlds.
The upstream junctions.
The dimensional space.
And beyond.
Something further.
Not a presence like Cheongwon.
Not a warmth like the very large world's entity.
Something that had been there for twenty thousand years getting the contamination from its crossing wrong or intentionally.
He made a note.
"I do not know yet," said Han-Ho. "I will need to press deeper from the river bank junction. Cheongwon can guide the access route. The old man can monitor." He looked at the agenda. "Saturday."
"Saturday," said the old man.
"After the cleanup monitoring."
"Yes," said the old man.
"The same approach as the upstream junctions," said Han-Ho. "But deeper."
Min-Seo looked at him.
"Saturday," said Min-Seo.
"Yes."
"You are going deeper into the dimensional space on Saturday."
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"To reach a world that caused a twenty thousand year blockage."
"To reach the connection point to that world yes," said Han-Ho. "I will assess from there."
"Assess," said Min-Seo.
"Whether the connection point needs cleaning," said Han-Ho. "If it does I will clean it. If it does not I will note it and file a report."
"Of course you will," said Min-Seo.
"Of course," said the bag.
"Of course," said Jeongjeong's energy.
General Ashmark, who had been listening from his position at the far end of the table, raised his hand.
Everyone looked at General Ashmark.
He had never raised his hand at a meeting before.
"General Ashmark," said Han-Ho.
"The world further along the network," said General Ashmark. "The world that is trying to become something it is not."
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"In my experience," said General Ashmark. "When something tries to become something it is not by force rather than by development—" He paused. "It causes damage. To itself and to things around it."
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"The contamination twenty thousand years ago was that damage."
"Possibly yes," said Han-Ho.
"And you are going to clean the connection point," said General Ashmark.
"If it needs cleaning yes," said Han-Ho.
General Ashmark looked at the table.
At the honey butter chips bag near his left hand that had been there every meeting since his first one.
He had eaten from it at every meeting.
Without being asked.
Because Kjor offered it before every meeting started.
He looked at Kjor.
Kjor offered the bag.
General Ashmark took a chip.
"What happens to a world that has been trying to become something it is not for twenty thousand years," said General Ashmark. "When the thing blocking it from doing so is cleaned."
The room was quiet.
Han-Ho made a note.
"Unknown," said Han-Ho. "That is what Saturday is for."
General Ashmark ate the chip.
Nodded once.
"The Dark Lord," said General Ashmark. "Will read this meeting's summary in the complete record."
"Yes," said Ms. Yoon. She was already typing. "I am preparing it."
"He will have questions," said General Ashmark.
"He always has questions," said Ms. Yoon. "The record answers most of them."
"Not this one," said General Ashmark.
"No," said Ms. Yoon. "Not this one. Saturday answers this one."
General Ashmark looked at Han-Ho.
"Kang Han-Ho," said General Ashmark.
"Yes."
"I have conquered six provinces."
"I know," said Han-Ho.
"In twenty two years of military service I have encountered many things that needed addressing."
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"I have addressed them with force. With strategy. With patience." He paused. "I have never encountered something that needed addressing by cleaning a connection point in dimensional space on a Saturday morning."
"Most things do not," said Han-Ho. "This one does."
"I know," said General Ashmark. "That is not my point."
"What is your point," said Han-Ho.
General Ashmark was quiet for a moment.
"My point," said General Ashmark carefully. "Is that in twenty two years I have assessed many situations. I have assessed the threat level, the strategy required, the resources needed, the probable outcomes." He looked at Han-Ho. "I am assessing Saturday."
"And," said Han-Ho.
"And the probable outcome depends entirely on whether the world that has been trying to become something it is not for twenty thousand years responds to cleaning the way everything else has responded to cleaning."
"How has everything else responded," said Han-Ho.
General Ashmark thought about the pauldrons.
The boots.
The soup.
The honey butter chips.
The good view from the Gangnam window.
Hwang Chulsoo explaining traffic lights.
The complete record.
"Better," said General Ashmark.
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"Everything responds better."
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
General Ashmark took another chip.
"Then Saturday," said General Ashmark.
"Saturday," said Han-Ho.
He continued the meeting agenda.
At the end of the meeting at three fifty two PM Park Sung-Jin remained at the table.
Everyone else had gone.
Han-Ho was reviewing the Thursday afternoon prep materials.
Ms. Yoon was filing the meeting summary.
Park Sung-Jin had his folder.
He looked at Han-Ho.
"Mr. Kang," said Park Sung-Jin.
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"The pending review file."
"Yes."
"The Director and I have been working through it."
"Yes," said Han-Ho. "He told me Monday."
"There are four hundred and seventeen items," said Park Sung-Jin.
Han-Ho made a note.
"Some of them," said Park Sung-Jin. "Are very old. Some are from practitioners registered before the current protocol system. Some are F-Rank and G-Rank registrants who filed reports that were never categorized for review."
"How many," said Han-Ho.
"Of the four hundred and seventeen," said Park Sung-Jin. "Approximately two hundred and thirty are from non-S-Rank registrants." He paused. "Approximately sixty are from Mana-Janitor class registrants specifically."
Han-Ho made a note.
Filed it.
"When were they filed," said Han-Ho.
"The oldest is eleven years old," said Park Sung-Jin.
Han-Ho made a note.
Eleven years old.
One year after he started the route.
"The Director is addressing them in order," said Park Sung-Jin. "Oldest first. He is responding within forty eight hours of review. He asked me to tell you."
Han-Ho made a note.
"Rule Twelve," said Han-Ho.
"Yes," said Park Sung-Jin. "He is applying it." He paused. "Mr. Kang."
"Yes."
"The sixty Mana-Janitor reports," said Park Sung-Jin. "Some of them—" He stopped. "Some of them read similarly to yours."
"I know," said Han-Ho.
"The rate of missed response windows," said Park Sung-Jin. "The expense reimbursement issues. The equipment request delays." He was quiet for a moment. "The tone of the reports changes over time. The earlier ones are — more hopeful. The later ones are more—"
"Procedural," said Han-Ho.
"Yes," said Park Sung-Jin. "Exactly that."
"I know," said Han-Ho.
"Mr. Kang," said Park Sung-Jin.
"Yes."
"Your reports never became hopeless," said Park Sung-Jin. "The tone changes from hopeful to procedural but it never becomes—" He paused. "It never stops expecting a response. Even after four years. You kept expecting a response."
Han-Ho was quiet.
Made a note.
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"How," said Park Sung-Jin. "How did you keep expecting a response after four years."
Han-Ho looked at the table.
At the note he had made.
At the route plan for tomorrow.
At Jeongjeong on the floor near the window still working still trying.
"Because the drain was still dirty," said Han-Ho.
Park Sung-Jin looked at him.
"If the drain is still dirty then the report about the drain still matters," said Han-Ho. "Whether anyone responds or not the drain is still dirty. The drain being dirty is not a question of whether the Registry responds. It is a question of whether the drain is dirty."
Park Sung-Jin was quiet.
He wrote something in his folder.
Not a rule.
Just a note.
He looked at it.
He had been the Director's secretary for eleven years.
He had seen many things.
He had filed many things.
He had developed twelve rules for how to handle the things that came through the door.
He looked at the note he had just written.
It said: because the drain was still dirty.
He folded it.
Put it in his jacket pocket.
Not in the folder.
In his pocket.
"Mr. Kang," said Park Sung-Jin.
"Yes."
"The two hundred and thirty non-S-Rank reports," said Park Sung-Jin. "The Director will respond to all of them. But the responding is not the same as the fixing. The institutional failures that produced the backlog—"
"Take time to address," said Han-Ho. "I know."
"Yes," said Park Sung-Jin.
"The direction is correct," said Han-Ho. "The rate of institutional improvement has been consistent since the protocol revision. The reimbursement process. The public documentation. The response windows." He looked at his notes. "The compound effect works on institutions the same way it works on Dragon Vein networks. Each correct action improves the environment for the next one."
Park Sung-Jin looked at him.
"You have been watching this," said Park Sung-Jin.
"Filing reports about it yes," said Han-Ho.
"And the direction—"
"Is correct," said Han-Ho. "The Registry is becoming what it should have always been. It is taking the time it takes."
Park Sung-Jin looked at his folder.
At the rules inside it.
At the note in his pocket.
"One drain at a time," said Park Sung-Jin.
"Yes," said Han-Ho.
"Of course," said the bag.