The first petition under the new sixty-day framework arrived two months after the restructuring, a sector none of them had ever made contact with before, reaching out through Vale's improved relay network rather than through any of the established tier one channels.Ren decoded the transmission and forwarded it immediately, the urgency in his note different from anything he had sent before.This one's moving fast. They say they already have three natural interfaces working together. They want to petition immediately under the new timeline.Ethan read the message from Sector 6 carefully, Mara and Vale beside him at the Second Folder building's central table.We are Larkspur. We heard about the restructuring through trader networks reaching multiple settlements. We have three individuals with the ability you describe, coordinating for the past eight months. We understand the new evaluation window is sixty days. We would like to petition immediately, with your confirmation if you're will

The three individuals from Larkspur arrived in Sea City six weeks after their reclassification, the first time an entire coordinating group had traveled together to see where the network had originally started.Ethan met them at the tower entrance, Miller beside him with his notepad, the same welcoming posture that had become routine for these visits over the past years.The woman who stepped forward first introduced herself as Ilse, steady and direct in a way that reminded Ethan slightly of Corvin. Beside her stood Tamsin, quieter, watching everything with careful attention, and Dorin, the youngest of the three, unable to hide his open curiosity about the tower and the city around it."Naomi told us so much about this place," Ilse said. "It's strange, finally seeing it in person.""Strange good, or strange overwhelming?" Ethan asked."Both," Ilse said, and something in her tone suggested she meant it honestly rather than diplomatically.Leo and Zara spent most of the first day with t

Thornwood's petition was approved thirty-one days into its sixty-day window, faster than Sector 6's had been, the review body apparently processing familiar patterns with increasing speed as precedent accumulated.Sector 11's petition followed nineteen days later, approved with almost no delay at all, the representative's tone during that particular contact carrying something close to routine efficiency rather than the careful deliberation of earlier reviews."Six sectors," Miller said, updating the wall map with steady hands, though his voice carried the same disbelief every update seemed to carry now. "Six sectors free. Five left."Ethan looked at the map, threads connecting cities across territory none of them had physically visited, most of the recent contacts handled entirely through the growing web of reclassified sectors teaching each other directly, Sea City's role shifting from primary contact point to something closer to an origin point everyone still referenced but no longe

Ethan requested clarification through the relay before departure, the urgency in Ren's original message demanding more precision before anyone committed to a journey into unfamiliar, potentially dangerous territory.The response took two days to arrive, relayed through three separate reclassified sectors before finally reaching Sea City, the fragmented path itself evidence of how carefully the contact had needed to move.Her name is Mira. Sixteen years old. She's been showing signs for months, but something changed recently. The suppression signature you mentioned, we didn't know that's what it was until your question reached us. We think it's specifically targeting her now that local Architects noticed the pattern developing. She's been having episodes. Painful ones. We don't know what's causing it or how to help her.Ethan read it aloud to the assembled group, the particular fear in the message different from anything Marrow or Ashfall's early contacts had carried."Painful episodes

They stayed in Sector 12 for three more weeks, watching Mira's progress steadily continue, the suppression construct weakening further each day until Ethan's readings finally showed something he had been waiting to see.[Source Code View: active.][Target: suppression construct — Mira, Sector 12.] [Scanning...][Suppression architecture: dissolved.][Mira's natural interface: stable. Fully developed.]"It's gone," Ethan said, reading the confirmation twice to be certain. "Completely gone."Mira, standing steady now in a way she had not been able to manage during their first days there, closed her eyes briefly, testing something only she could feel."No pain," she said, opening her eyes. "None at all. I don't think I've felt this clear in months."Delia embraced her immediately, the particular relief of someone who had watched a loved one suffer without knowing how to help, finally allowed to simply be grateful.The representative made contact through the field relay two days after Mi