Marked From Birth
If they did too little, they would freeze.
Audrey descended into the core, her hands glowing with the bronze lines of the Union. She wasn't just a leader now; she was a Tuning Fork. She pressed her palms against the primary thermal conductors, closing her eyes and reaching out into the frozen crust below.
She felt the lattice of the ice—not as a dead thing, but as a structure of perfect, geometric order. It was beautiful, cold, and indifferent.
"I have the frequency," Audrey gasped, her breath frosting in the air. "Lucas, hit the primary hammers! Give me a steady 440-hertz pulse!"