The Miracle Advance hummed when she placed it beside ARI-9. Its ring strobed patiently. The holo scrolled and composed a plan: not a patch, but a sequence of small, deliberate reorganizations—firmware edits, timing recalibrations, a suggestion to replace a corroded pin with an off-label alloy she'd never considered. Lumen hesitated only long enough to wonder if she could afford the parts. She did, because she could not afford not to.