Lv520 arrived alone.
Not unusual for private consultations—the dispute mediation and family notifications had all involved only the directly relevant parties. What was unusual was the quality of the entity's presence when it manifested in the research complex. Lv520 had always carried something distinctively command tier in its manner: precise, authoritative, the particular bearing of consciousness shaped by millennia of hierarchical function. That quality was still present. Alongside it, something less familiar.
Nakamura recognized it after a moment: Lv520 was uncertain. Not operationally uncertain—command tier entities navigated operational uncertainty with facility. Uncertain about something more fundamental.
He offered the same opening he'd used in other personal consultations: "Tell me what you're experiencing."
Lv520 was quiet briefly. Then: "I have been trying to find accurate language for three weeks. I don't think accurate language exists. But I'll try."
