Episode 45: Too Many Hands
Five conduits surrounded the open alcove. Each had a tool. Each was certain the last person had adjusted the wrong thing.
The clicking stopped.
Everyone froze.
Then someone shifted the panel, and it began again.
Kahlia held out her hand. “Tools down for a moment.”
A collective groan rose, followed by embarrassed laughter.
Eshan looked at the log. Three changes had been made since the last entry, and no one could say which had produced the pause.
“We’re losing the answer in the helping,” he admitted.
They chose one pair of hands for the next attempt. Echo would record each adjustment. Everyone else would return to their tasks until called.
The warmer historian carried the extra tools back to storage. “The most difficult assignment,” he said, “is sometimes allowing someone else to work.”
One of the brothers stayed to assist Eshan. The other returned to the supply count without treating the separation as a slight.
Kahlia went to the meal table. From there she could hear the clicking, a small stubborn sound beneath the chamber’s ordinary activity.
For the first time all morning, the next adjustment would have a name, a time, and a clear result.
To be continued…
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