Chapter 581 - The Wager

The JD Records headquarters hummed with a frequency that exceeded its ordinary operational rhythm, the particular vibration of a building that had become aware of its own significance. Staff moved through corridors with the brisk purpose of people who understood that history was being prepared on their floor, that their ordinary tasks—coffee runs, document formatting, equipment checks—had become components of something larger than their individual comprehension. The energy was not quite festive, not quite frantic, but something between: the focused exhilaration of an orchestra tuning before a performance that would determine its reputation.