But the slope’s opening had been delayed several times already, and the press seemed to magnify every single little misstep, as if they had no appreciation for the size and significance of the project. One of the cleanest incinerators in the world, and it was working impeccably. Even so, the plant kept running into headwinds. A favorite story was how they had to import trash from England to be able to deliver enough district heating to the city. The plant was oversize from the beginning, and Copenhagen’s waste volumes were decreasing. The journalists were all over that, of course. But upscaling the plant had been a political decision to avoid ending up with a plant that would be too small in ten years.

Kasper held a magnifying glass to the paper and read the NOX catalyzer’s latest emissions numbers. Nitrogen oxides are significant environmental health hazards, so they are strictly regulated around the world in order to minimize smog and acid rain. He and his colleagues were some of the leading engineers globally in smoke purification plant construction, and they had already been contacted by incineration plants in Canada, India, and France regarding potential consulting gigs. The goal before long was to be able to capture all the CO2 from the plant’s smoke so that it could be deposited into an underground geological formation. The technology already existed. It was only a question of time.

He looked at his watch and called Iben again. Still no answer. Kasper tossed his phone down, and when it bounced off the desk onto the floor, he was forced to shamefacedly pick it up and check for cracks in the screen. The police would be here soon, so she had to come home.

He leaned over the desk again and started drawing lines with numbers next to them. Pathways and values, illustrated with cramped little symbols. But his fingers kept writing the wrong things, and he swore to himself, leaned back in his chair, and looked up at the ceiling, listening for the key in the door.

He shouldn’t. He had promised himself he would lay off. But the idea of turning the computer on grew in his head, until he could hardly read the numbers on the paper in front of him. If he logged in, it would be easier afterward, then he could stay off it for a while. Kasper felt a burning sensation in his body like an inflammation that spread from his stomach through his bloodstream out into his skin, making it tremble. He fetched his laptop, breathlessly logged in, and felt the world falling back in place.