Three days later, Hans returned to the laboratory. The argument had apparently survived the calibration.
"It's point zero three outside the reference."
"Which is inside tolerance."
"For the old reference."
Kordula looked across the workstation.
"You spent three days recalibrating the fucking thing."
"And found a discrepancy."
"Point zero three."
"It still counts."
Hans stopped beside them. If anything, hearing them argue was reassuring.
"The calibration seems to be going well. Is the laboratory useful now?"
"Yes," Tyrus answered.
"Yes," Kordula repeated a moment later.
Several workstations deeper inside the HELIX section were active now, along with equipment that had remained dark during his previous visit.
Other rooms were still sealed, but neither Tyrus nor Kordula seemed particularly concerned about them anymore.
Tyrus moved through another diagnostic screen.
"The important systems are stable enough to begin. Anything beyond this can be dealt with as we need it."
