Page 413 of Black Reign

“I wanted consultation.”

“You married into the wrong family for consultation.”

I grin.

Senior mutters something I don't catch.

Then authorization flashes.

There.

I start stripping noise.

Scheduled maintenance.

Gone.

Normal employee activity.

Gone.

Backup operations.

Gone.

Machine-to-machine handshakes.

Gone.

Routine credential renewals⁠—

Stop.

I bring them back.

Xavier notices.

“What?”

“Again.”

I compare two snapshots.

Then five.

Then twelve.

Years spread across the screens like translucent sheets laid over one another.

Most credentials change.

People leave.

Systems upgrade.

Cryptographic certificates expire.

New ones replace old ones.