Below the square, the city does not look like a city at all. There are channels, joints, inspection marks and places where the stone has been rubbed smooth by years of work. The streets above depend on things most people will never see.
The crew knows this passage was built for maintenance, not ceremonies. It is narrow and damp and there is very little room to stand aside. Still, every founder who has a part to play has found a way to come.
The service passage beneath the square smells of mineral water, cold stone and old metal. Tuck counts the crew for the third time.
“Dash,” Dash says before he is asked.
“I know. Take the case.”
Tuck starts counting the equipment instead.
You carry the plan the districts agreed on. Their return channels have passed the tests. Each district has said what it can share and what it must keep in reserve.
Orrean closes the upper approach. The lower passage is still usable. With the route marks you tested in the Alley, you guide the crew through its turns to the old controls.
Gauge opens the inspection case and steps aside.
Spark has to choose.
“Your check,” he tells Dash.
Dash finds the handover instruction. When Orrean's emergency rule ends, command is meant to pass to Spark. That is the name you saw in the Heights. The crew could make the transfer quickly. The roads would open, but Spark would be able to control them all.
You lay the districts' agreements beside the instruction. They agreed to share power. They did not agree to let Spark make every future decision.
Spark reads them.
Through the lower connection, you send the plan to the districts. Each answers through its own local circuit, approving the work it agreed to.
The crew completes the protected returns. The restored districts no longer depend on the connections Orrean can seal, and its emergency hold ends.
At the fountain's summit, the dark fitting opens. The old controls are ready to put Spark in charge. The new arrangement is ready too. It would let the districts stay connected without giving either intelligence command over them.
Spark has to choose.