Not everyone wants endurance to succeed.
Some people don't intervene.
Don't help.
Don't claim.
They wait.
I felt them the same way I'd felt the late arrivals—but colder. Where the others leaned in with gifts and patience, these ones leaned back, hands clean, eyes sharp.
They weren't disappointed that the city hadn't collapsed.
They were… annoyed.
Arjun sensed it too as we crossed the transit corridor.
"Something's off," he muttered.
"Like people expecting a punchline that didn't land."
"Yes," I said.
"They were promised a failure."
✦
Collapse-watchers don't show themselves early.
They stand at distance.
Collect anecdotes.
Build narratives about what should have gone wrong.
The city's endurance irritated them—not because it worked, but because it refused to justify their expectations.
The girl noticed a pair near the clinic street—well-dressed, detached, whispering while watching the line move.
"They're not measuring patterns," she said.
