The floor became a field of green names.
Caleb let his eyes stop on the nearest few.
Looking felt too close to choosing.
The light ring around his wrist tightened until cold pressed into bone. The silver under his skin answered the pressure with a clean, eager solution.
Take them.
Carry them.
End the wait.
"No intake," Caleb said.
The ring cooled by one degree.
Not enough.
Sam heard the strain in his voice and moved closer with the Record.
"Small," Sefa said from the case.
Rina leaned toward the glass. "Small how?"
"One name."
Every name on the floor brightened.
The screen above V-07 printed:
MULTIPLE CLAIM REVIEW ACTIVE.
VESSEL PROXIMITY REQUIRED.
ALL UNRELEASED CLAIMS AWAITING SELECTION.
Soma made a thin sound. "That is not small."
Tali stood at the edge of the lit floor. "Recommendation. We do not let the room define selection."
"Accepted," Sam said.
He opened the Record to the first blank page after Sefa's unfinished entry.
The page stayed blank.
