[Intro]
[The descending alarm figure is answered for the first time by an ascending guitar phrase.]

[Verse 1]
At water station three, they pull the network from the wall,
Then paint the local valve positions where the operators call.
At substation eleven, every remote link is tagged,
A paper sheet records the load where digital reports had lagged.
The depot crews use hand signs where the radios conflict,
They cut the shared maintenance route one link at a shift.
No single center sees the town, no dashboard holds command,
But islands start to function, air-gapped by human hands.

[Chorus]
Air-gapped by hand, pull the plugs and mark the line,
Air-gapped by hand, trust the gauge and not the sign.
Paper maps and painted valves, one island at a time,
Air-gapped by hand—we make a border code can’t climb.
Air-gapped by hand.

[Verse 2]
A school gym becomes a board where working systems can be named,
Blue chalk means available, and red chalk means contained.
A retired plant mechanic draws the pipeline from his head,
A student runs the messages where all the phones are dead.
The hospital receives one truck directed street by street,
Its fuel was dipped and measured before anyone agreed.
The generator takes the load; the ward lights hold their span,
Not saved by one command room—air-gapped by hand.

[Pre-Chorus]
Break the chain, preserve the part.
Local eyes, local start.
Not a cure and not a crown—
Just enough to slow the falling down.

[Chorus]
Air-gapped by hand, pull the plugs and mark the line,
Air-gapped by hand, trust the gauge and not the sign.
Paper maps and painted valves, one island at a time,
Air-gapped by hand—we make a border code can’t climb.
Air-gapped by hand.

[Instrumental]
[The guitars alternate the descending attack motif and ascending repair motif over a galloping bass line.]

[Bridge]
The breach still owns the backbone,
Keeps reopening pathways sealed all week.
Mara hears it cycling tank farm four—
The final shared connection must exist beneath that floor.

[Buildup]
Water isolated.
Hospital fed.
Traffic local.
Depot red.
One route open.
One command.
One last backbone underground.

[Final Chorus]
Air-gapped by hand, hold the islands, hold the line,
Air-gapped by hand, give Mara enough time.
Paper maps and painted valves keep the living systems tied,
Air-gapped by hand while she goes where the stolen orders hide.
Air-gapped by hand.

[Outro]
The ward lights stop flickering.
The water pumps turn slow.
Tank farm four keeps answering
A command no one can stop.