Schoolyard's 27 metal spheres match known "Lineage 31" — first in 12 years

Lineage 31 has now been confirmed in drift arrivals four times before: a tricycle in Kameido in Torek 9, a handled pot in Fukagawa in Torek 22, a wooden box in Joto in Torek 33, and a single rain boot in Sunamachi in Torek 40 — all everyday objects, which appraisal staff have informally nicknamed the "domestic-feeling lineage." The 27 metal spheres mark the fifth confirmed arrival of this lineage.

Of the 147 lineages registered in the worldline-matching database, the Third Appraisal Center said, only a handful have reached five confirmed arrivals from the same lineage. "Multiple arrivals from one lineage, especially in a similar context, are valuable material for estimating origin," an official said. "But this is the first time the shape has been a sphere, and we have no clue yet as to purpose."

Where the previous four Lineage 31 objects were all instantly recognizable — a tricycle, a pot, a box, a boot — the spheres stand apart. No seams or markings have been found, diameters range from three to five centimeters, and whether the number 27 carries any significance cannot yet be judged. Full appraisal is expected to take months; material identification work has already begun.

The spheres were discovered on the morning of the 1st, before the start of classes, in the schoolyard of Sunamachi Third Elementary. The staff member who found them followed the city's "Drift Object Response Protocol," keeping students inside the school building, closing the curtains facing the yard, and reporting the find to the board of education without touching it. The protocol's core instruction is "don't pick it up, don't touch it, report it." "Having the protocol meant we could act without hesitating," the principal said. "We could tell the children it was exactly like the drills." No injuries or complaints of illness among students were reported.

The school held a briefing for parents on the evening of the 2nd. Of the roughly 120 parents who attended, questions centered almost entirely on whether the material was safe. "We explained that the match to Lineage 31 turned up no information suggesting danger, at least so far," the principal recalled. "Some parents weren't fully reassured by the phrase 'so far.'" A mother serving on the PTA, 43, said: "My child drew the spheres in art class. Not out of fear — out of interest. It may be the adults who are more on edge." The school is keeping the affected section of the yard off-limits for now and has shifted physical-education classes to other areas.

Since the spheres were matched to Lineage 31, the city's Drift Object Museum has reportedly seen an increase in visitors to the corner displaying the tricycle believed to be the lineage's earliest known piece. "Many say this is their first visit, after learning that the same lineage arrived again after twelve years — and this time, twenty-seven at once," a curator said. The tricycle is a single seamless casting with no known owner, displayed after a public notice period. For now, nothing is known about either the spheres' purpose or their origin. On whether the number 27 carries meaning, the Third Appraisal Center would only say: "Some arrivals turn out to be meaningful in their count, others are pure coincidence. Which this is will have to wait for full appraisal."