On the commute, Yang Ruoqian had imagined paid handoff lanes becoming messy enough to require human judgment again.
It was a pleasant fantasy.
There were confused owners, cautious reviewers, and three separate meetings with no conclusion.
By the time he reached the office, the fantasy had been murdered.
Someone had organized the handoff lane.
The organization was plain.
The plainness was fatal.
Expensive confusion did not survive plain things.
Yang took off his coat like a man arriving at his own trial.
At nine-twenty, the review channel pinned a message.
Pinned messages were small statues.
Once raised, everyone walked around them respectfully.
The statue this time was about the handoff lane.
Yang clicked it.
The message opened instantly.
This was another bad sign.
Valuable confusion should require at least two failed clicks.
"Who pinned this?" he asked.
"I did," the assistant lead said.
"Why?"
"People were asking the same thing."
"That was their right."
