Lina touched one of the empty plinths with the back of her fingers. "You look less sharp now."

Elias gave her a dry look. "That is not always praise."

"No," she said, with a quick, almost shy curve at the corner of her mouth. "But better on the eyes."

He might have laughed if the next thing had not caught his attention.

Near the side wall, behind a cracked decorative panel, a service interface sat exposed where the outer shell had fallen away. Most of the screen was dead. A pale strip remained active, cycling the same three prompts in simple words.

CALM WINDOW ACTIVE. REST CYCLE RECOMMENDED. ROUTE TONE IN SIX.

Below that, in a tighter line half hidden by static, numbers continued to update.

AIR 84% NUTRIENT DRAW 17 WASTE RETURN 17 SURFACE OCCUPANCY STABLE

Elias stepped closer until his shadow cut across the screen. The counts changed while he watched.

"This is not dead storage," he said.

Lina came beside him, peering at the words she only partly followed. "It speaks like the halls do."

"Yes." He touched the cracked housing, then pulled his hand back when a current buzzed through the metal. "Behavior prompts. Consumption totals. Live routing. This building is tied into active systems. Maybe ceremonial on top, but not only that."

She looked from the screen to the dark tower outside. The little ease in her face thinned. "So the quiet place is listening too."

Elias glanced from the screen to the tower. "Or counting."

Lina's mouth tightened. "That is worse."