Chloe did not. She was too busy asking whether thermal management was more important than power density.
Isaac spent an hour answering.
After they left, Noah said, "You know you like teaching."
"You're fired again."
"Still not employed."
"Tragic."
The OBSIDIAN-7 anomaly slowly became a historical event rather than an active emergency.
Monthly health reviews replaced daily calls. The mission continued under revised constraints. Some planned maneuvers were eliminated. Others were redesigned. The vehicle would likely retire earlier than originally planned, but it remained controlled and useful.
That was enough for Isaac.
He did not need it to become perfect.
Perfect was the kind of word people used when they wanted to stop looking.
Three months after the anomaly, Adrian visited Harlow without telling him.
He walked into the garage wearing jeans and a T-shirt instead of his usual collared shirt.
Isaac looked up from an engine block.
"Lose a bet?"
"Vacation."
"This is your vacation?"
"Eleanor said I needed hobbies."
"This isn't one."
Adrian placed a six-pack of soda on the bench.
"Teach me to rebuild a carburetor."
Isaac stared at him.
"You have a master's degree from MIT."
"Exactly. Huge gap in education."
"Go home."
Two hours later, Adrian had gasoline smell on his hands and a new respect for tiny springs.
Noah watched from the next bench.
"He always this bad at explaining?" Adrian asked.
"He says questions build character."
"They build resentment."
Isaac ignored both of them.
By late afternoon, the carburetor was assembled.
Adrian set it down carefully.
"I get it now."
"Get what?"
"Why you stayed."
Isaac wiped his hands.
"Do you?"
"Not all of it. But some."
Adrian looked around the garage.
"In Houston, every problem belongs to ten systems and forty people. Here, a person brings you something broken. You fix it. They take it home."
"Sometimes."
"That's clean."
Isaac shook his head.
"Don't romanticize it. Customers lie about noises. Bolts break. Parts don't arrive. Half the wiring in Texas was done by somebody's cousin with tape."
Adrian laughed.
"Still cleaner."
Isaac did not disagree.
That evening they sat outside the garage while the sun lowered over the mesquite trees.
Adrian asked the question people kept finding different ways to ask.
"Do you hate Cameron?"
Isaac took his time.
"Some days."