The Observatory's Lost Signal

Run two evidence tracks on separate sheets: signal origin and mirror configuration. A recording plus the simultaneous hill-lamp observation establishes a local source; a recording plus the hill station’s dispatch record independently supports the same inference. The crescent factory mark plus Elva’s temporary repair record establishes which labels were reversed and why. A source correction is already valuable even if the optical repair cannot be completed tonight. Cal accepts a supported local-origin explanation and will publish a dated correction; he does not demand a repaired telescope first. Elva openly describes catching the loose frame and temporarily moving its labels. Players must pin the fictional frame before alignment, but technical skill and a hidden roll never substitute for the evidence. Checking intervals represent careful work, not a countdown that makes visitors unsafe. Four intervals support ordinary verification and repair; reconstruction consumes two extra intervals, making a paused survey a real short-game choice.

Truth and opening

Elva swapped two mirror labels while protecting a visitor from falling glass. The receiver now points at the neighboring hill station. Its message concerns a box of replacement parts, not a celestial warning. Matching the local signal to the recording establishes the source; comparing the mirror marks with Elva’s repair record establishes the reversed labels. Pinning the frame, correcting A and B, and resuming the survey restores the intended observation. Closing the shutter and publishing a correction preserves trust but loses tonight’s survey.

120-minute route

Separate observations from the draft warning 20m → Compare the live lamp and hill dispatch 30m → Reconstruct the emergency swap and pin the frame 25m → Choose a repaired survey or a dated correction 25m

Visit the hill station to test the source through two independent paths and learn what the ominous wording means. Six intervals permit one reconstruction plus full repair; a deliberate pause still preserves a valuable verified correction.

People

Cal: wants Publish an identified signal and correct the draft warning. Offers The original strip, timestamps, and a dated correction. Boundary: Will not label a source celestial after local evidence contradicts it.

Jin: wants Restore the labels without losing the emergency repair record. Offers Factory mark sheet and retained impressions for reconstruction. Boundary: Will not infer a source from labels alone.

Sora: wants Keep the replacement-parts message from becoming an alarm. Offers The dispatch record and a direct lamp comparison. Boundary: Keeps the parts box sealed until the stated time.

Elva: wants Explain the emergency swap and finish a safe correction. Offers Her repair board, shutter control, and the service pin. Boundary: No arm moves before the frame is pinned.

Events and costs

Careful verification intervals at most 1: Read the verified flags aloud. Cal can publish a local-source correction without a survey, or hold an unverified report entirely.

Closures

A correction before the stars: Local signal origin established is true and Mirror labels corrected is true

A true report without tonight’s data: Local signal origin established is true

A quiet receiver and a question kept open: Available

Recovery

The parts-delivery path reaches the hill station if the terrace footpath is blocked. Missing signal evidence can use the other origin pair, or a two-interval retained-record reconstruction. With only enough checking time to verify origin, pause-with-correction protects the finding while losing the survey. Hold-report is always available and keeps an unverified claim out of publication.