The Reconstruction Institute's First Answer

The great brass bell atop the dome of the Weeping Saint Cathedral rang on schedule. As its seven strokes sounded, the scratching of quills inside the Reconstruction Institute gradually ceased. Shien arrived punctually at his loyal Reconstruction Institute, his black lord's robe sparsely adorned. The Black Iron Coordination Seal ring hanging at his collar reflected the firelight.

Several chief recorders collected the unfinished provisional reconciliation sheets from each table.

Maren reported, "The five records teams have completed their first round of sorting and archiving. We are no longer accepting material for this round. Any new supplementary records will go into the next phase."

The comprehensive defense map of the Gan'er Defense Zone had been unfurled against the black stone walls on either side of the main hall.

The team leaders organized their master registers in sequence and packed them into camphorwood document chests edged with black iron.

The five chests were then placed on the long table covered in dark felt at the center of the hall.

Maren broke the seal on the first chest and took out a hardbound index.

Its cover read, "Twelve Defense Zones Master Index."

Following the method Shien had devised, the index registered the key records anew, assigning each an individual index code so that subsequent checks could begin with critical files and key nodes.

"Spot check." Shien skipped the index's preface and gave his search criteria directly. "North Marsh Defense Zone, Holy Unction stores, highest grade."

Maren lowered his head and sifted through the index clips on the left side of the long table. Several brass tags struck one another with crisp little chimes.

In less than a quarter of an hour, a warehouse master register with mildew on its cover was retrieved and placed before Shien.

Two recorders immediately used the index code