The envelope did not open immediately.
Dr Sane held it in both hands for several seconds, as though the weight of the thing might shift if she broke the seal too quickly. The archive wing remained still around them, but Fang could feel the room's attention deepening now, less diffused than before. The witness copy had been entered. The corridor code had surfaced. Something old and deliberate had begun to stir.
Pax had moved to the side table and was already scanning the copied designation against the slate board, his brow furrowed. Wolf, meanwhile, had taken up position near the door again, not quite guarding the room so much as refusing to let it surprise him without a witness. Ren stayed near Fang, a quiet anchor in the tightening space.
Dr Sane finally broke the seal.
