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20. Stimulus
Reported note positions compare her movement with the unit's response.
| Moment | Woman or recording | Unit or cabinets |
|---|---|---|
| After 4 notes | Her left heel lifts; she puts it down hard | No response yet specified |
| Recorded catch | Old heel catches before note 5; scrape and laugh follow | No separate cause established |
| Note 5 | Playback continues | Unit lights change rate |
| Note 6 | Playback continues | Unit fans slow; cabinets settle with them |
Her lifted heel precedes the recorded scrape. The sequence does not establish whether memory, music or the unit directs her.
A sequence of tests and actions, not proof of an experiment's controls.
- Needle lifted
- Fans continue; she considers ordinary cooling
- Playback resumed
- Her heel lifts; she misses the man's words again
- Visiting unit unplugged
- Its lights go out; cabinets keep humming
- Record played again
- She steps away and is on the wrong foot at the scrape
- Outside afterward
- She tries the step and misses
Relationships
- Needle lifted → Playback resumed: she tries again
- Playback resumed → Visiting unit unplugged: she acts on the unit
- Visiting unit unplugged → Record played again: she resumes the record
- Record played again → Outside afterward: later in the narrative (reported, incomplete, disputed or interpretive connection)
The licensed cabinets remain powered. Her imperfect later dance suggests an attempt at agency without proving release from influence.
A scheduled delivery and the woman's uncertain attachment describe the same hour.
| Recorded or scheduled | Present in the scene | |
|---|---|---|
| Recurring stimulus window | 03:00-04:00; every fourteenth | She brings her own records and turntable |
| Attendance | Persons present: none, at opening and close | She plays, stops, touches the unit and dances |
| Mid-hall cabinet | Estate paid 4 units more in spring | She had read its extra activity as gladness |
| Empty bay | Decommissioned | She plays its record to the end |
| Completed stimulus | The closing log records delivery | The partner's words remain unheard; she misses the step |
The log's none does not make her absent from the scene. The estate's extra charge is shown, but its precise cause is not proved.