Mira smiled, and did not sleep that night. She stayed with the connector, watching it stitch together a quiet, secret universe from the gaps in her own imperfect code.

She had a choice. Cut the power, kill the socket, and let the vending machine in Osaka return to its lonely, silent vending. Or leave the door open, and let the repair continue.

Slowly, she closed the error log. She did not cut the power.