The next space was operational.
Stations arranged for use. Tools waiting without urgency. The kind of room built for people who know what to do with their hands.
I moved automatically.
At the first station, a task required decision-making with incomplete information. I didn't hesitate. I filled in gaps. I predicted preferences. I selected what would cause the least friction downstream.
The system accepted it.
At another station, the task involved people, abstracted, represented as variables. I assigned myself to the role that would stabilize the group fastest. I absorbed excess responsibility without being asked.
The output improved.
Each success registered quietly.
I noticed how easily I adjusted. How familiar the pull felt. The subtle satisfaction of being effective without being seen.
A screen displayed metrics.
Efficiency increased when I intervened early.
Outcomes stabilized when I made myself available.
Conflict decreased when I preemptively absorbed tension.
This was not coercion.
This was fluency.
I moved from station to station. Each one rewarded the same instincts. Each one confirmed the same shape.
At no point was I instructed to stop offering myself.
At no point was I required to name cost.
A prompt appeared.
Continue optimization?
I didn't answer immediately.
Not because I was unsure.
Because the question was dishonest.
I was already doing it.
The system didn't wait.
It registered continuation.