The Dimensional Survey Division 'Watches Closely' as Genshu Makes News — Tonight, the Same Five Windows as Ever

At its midday regular briefing on the 22nd, the Dimensional Survey Division addressed Genshu's announcement — previously reported on the politics page — that it had confirmed a recurring-Yuragi candidate at an observation point called Bunsuirei in the Weishui Corridor band, saying only, "We are watching closely." Officials said they would track what Genshu discloses going forward and whether it shares information through the 7th International Joint Study, co-chaired by Hinokuni and the Hindic Federation. "This isn't the kind of thing where we reach out and extract information," an official explained. "We take in only what they choose to release."

TDA Director Makoto Hiura stressed that "nothing about the operation of our own five stable windows changes because of today's announcement," adding, "We have no wish to grade another country's observations by our own yardstick." Noting that it took Hinokuni three years to go from its first confirmed recurring Yuragi off Haneda in 2021 to bringing its first stable window into service in 2024, an official repeated, "There's no guarantee Genshu follows the same path, and no guarantee it doesn't. There's little we can say at this point."

This reporter found something more interesting in how quickly this city's people react to the mere word "window" than in Genshu's announcement itself. In a corner of the briefing room, a regular reporter muttered, to no one in particular, "I wonder if there are people over there who do their own version of shore-watching." Naturally, no one has an answer to that yet.

The 6 a.m. forecast on the 22nd called for Window 1, the Lit City, likely open in the evening, and Window 3, the Slime Marsh, likely open all day, while Windows 2 (Sea of Mechanisms), 4 (Giant Plains) and 5 (Sword Country) were all expected closed. The previously reported individual at Window 3 nicknamed "the Watcher" (official number 88-C) has shown no notable activity since the 21st, with officials saying only that "conditions remain quiet." Window 2 has seen no activity since its reopening on the 17th.

At Tomoshi Madosabo, the private cafe beside Window 1 off Haneda, the usual line formed again on the night of the 22nd, unbroken since its opening. Owner Saku Miyai, 38, said, "Some customers had come because they'd heard the Genshu news, but most were just checking, as always, whether the window would open." A hastily added notice about Genshu's announcement went up beside the cafe's existing shelf of materials on the outside expert panel and the ethics debate, previously reported, but Miyai said the reaction from customers amounted to little more than a passing "huh."

One window keeper on the night shift offered a candid thought: "We can barely keep up watching our own windows as it is. Being told there might be one more window somewhere else in the world just makes me imagine things getting busier — that's about as far as my imagination goes." The Division said it is not currently considering any change to staffing because of Genshu's announcement. Five windows, 122 registered lineages, as previously reported — the numbers that define this city are not guaranteed to remain the world's only such numbers. The 22nd's briefing was a plain reminder of that.

Some prospective visitors asked whether whatever is visible through Genshu's Bunsuirei point might turn out to be the same world line as Lineage 7, "the Lit City." A Division official was careful: "Identifying a lineage requires cross-checking things like isotope ratios even between distant observation points, and Genshu hasn't released the material that would let us do that work. We don't rule out the possibility, but it's far too early to draw that connection now." As previously reported, even Window 5's "Sword Country" and Lineage 7's "Lit City" share a common clue — the token called a "formula tablet" — yet their relationship remains unresolved. Refusing to rush a connection between lineages has become this desk's consistent habit.