settled-reach/docs/design/spatial-layout-gate-v01.md

title, description, type, status, ticket, decision_refs, author, created, updated, superseded_by

title	description	type	status	ticket	decision_refs	author	created	updated	superseded_by
Spatial Layout: Gate Cluster	Floor plan and sightline analysis for the span gate processing facility with dual-z observation gallery	design	superseded	#153	D-095	Araminta	2026-02-25	2026-03-05	D-166

SUPERSEDED (2026-06-12, cascade-refocus sweep): superseded by D-166 (generated building templates replace hand-built layouts). Kept as historical record; do not build against it.

Spatial Layout: Gate Cluster (Span Gate Processing Facility)

Ticket: #153 Date: 2026-02-25 Author: Araminta (Visual Designer) Status: v0.1 — wireframe quality, unblocks copy and gate cluster NPC authoring

Grid: 1 cell = 1m visual tile (visual grammar §2.1). Simulation operates at 0.5m; each visual tile = 2×2 sim tiles. Map area: 40m wide × 32m deep (40×32 visual tiles) + observation gallery on z=2 Zone palette: Cool institutional grey — Era 3 construction, Commission-grade maintenance (visual grammar §1.1)

---

Spatial Character

The gate cluster is the newest structure in the Transit District. Era 3 construction: clean sightlines, uniform LED-white overhead lighting, minimal accumulated grime. Commission-monitored and Commission-maintained. Where the Terminal reads as institutional but worn, and the Bar as warm and accumulated, the gate cluster reads as administered. The architecture communicates that someone is watching.

The building is a funnel. The span gate aperture (~15–20m diameter ring) determines the widest point; the passenger and freight flows narrow through processing stages; they emerge into the gate concourse, which opens outward as public space. The spatial logic is deliberate: volume at intake, compression through customs, expansion at public exit.

Dual-use scheduling is the spatial and operational premise (D-095): freight windows and passenger windows share the single aperture. The "flicker" (90-second mode transition between sequences) is legible to experienced travelers — different lighting cues on the aperture chamber walls mark which mode is active.

G-11 entry note: The detective arrives via this cluster from a Commission shuttle. Workers arrive via the transit platform on the bar side. These are structurally separated entry vectors. The gate cluster is the detective's first experience of the district.

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Floor Plan

z=1 (Ground Floor)

         N (span gate aperture — external, connects to The Ring)
         |
         1111111111222222222233333333334444444
1234567890123456789012345678901234567890

############[APERTURE RING]#########   row 01  <- span gate ring (structural boundary)
#   . . . APERTURE CHAMBER . . .  #   row 02
#   . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  #   row 03  ACCESS: RESTRICTED
#   . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  #   row 04  (airlock/transition zone)
########[D]##########[D]############   row 05  <- chamber exit doors (freight W, passenger E)

############################[D]######   row 06  <- freight staging north wall (east door = PAB)
# FREIGHT STAGING           # PAB  #   row 07
# [FK][FK]   [FK][FK]   .   #  .  #   row 08  ACCESS: private (freight) / semi-public (PAB)
# [FK][FK]   [FK][FK]   .   #  .  #   row 09  PAB = Passenger Arrival Buffer
# [FK][FK]   [FK][FK]   .   #  .  #   row 10
# . . . . . . . .  [CT][CT] #  .  #   row 11  <- CT = cargo transporter dock points
# . . . . . . . .  [CT][CT] #  .  #   row 12  <- PAB merges south into customs at row 13
#####[D]####################[D]######   row 13  <- into customs lanes

###################[D]###############   row 14  <- freight customs north entry
# FCL  | FCL  | FCL  | FCL  | FCL  #   row 15  ACCESS: semi-private (freight customs)
# [TS] | [TS] | [TS] | [TS] | [TS] #   row 16  FCL = freight customs lane (5 lanes × 4vt)
#  ||  |  ||  |  ||  |  ||  |  ||  #   row 17  TS = terminal/scanner station per lane
#  ||  |  ||  |  ||  |  ||  |  ||  #   row 18  || = cargo lane (4vt wide, column breaks Q4)
# [P]  | [P]  | [P]  | [P]  | [P]  #   row 19  P = pillar/LOS anchor (4-tile interval)
# . . .|. . . |. . . |. . . |. . . #   row 20  <- inspection floor
#######|#######[D]####[D]###|########   row 21  <- customs south wall; PCL entry
#      PCL PCL  PCL PCL PCL         #   row 22  ACCESS: semi-public (pedestrian customs)
# [TS] [TS] [TS] [TS] [TS]  .  .  #   row 23  PCL = pedestrian customs lanes (3 lanes × 2vt)
# [P]  . .  [P]  . .  [P]   .  .  #   row 24  <- queue markers + pillar anchors
# . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . .  #   row 25
# . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . .  #   row 26
############[D]####[D]###############   row 27  <- customs south doors to concourse

####################################   row 28  <- concourse north wall
#  .  .  [B] [B]  .  .  [NT][NT]  #   row 29  ACCESS: public
#  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  #   row 30  B = bench, NT = news ticker
#  .  .  [B] [B]  .  .  .  .  .  #   row 31
#  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  [D]SC #   row 32  <- staircase (SC) east end; Commission entry
####################################   row 33  <- concourse south wall (district entry facade)

         |
         S (district interior — Terminal forecourt, transition corridor)

Legend:

#         Wall (solid, blocks LOS and movement)
.         Open walkable floor
[D]       Doorway (traversable)
[APERTURE RING]  Span gate ring structure (impassable during transit; open between sequences)
FCL       Freight customs lane
PCL       Pedestrian customs lane
[TS]      Terminal/scanner station (customs clerk workstation)
[FK]      Freight staging kiosk / forwarder terminal
[CT]      Cargo transporter dock point (loading/unloading position)
[B]       Bench (public seating)
[NT]      News ticker display (wall-mounted)
[P]       Structural pillar (LOS anchor, column break, gallery support above)
SC        Staircase to z=2 observation gallery (east end of concourse)
PAB       Passenger Arrival Buffer (east of freight staging, rows 06–12)

---

z=2 (Observation Gallery) — Commission-only

         N
         |
         (above customs lanes — rows 14–27 below)
         1111111111222222222233333333334444
1234567890123456789012345678901234567

         [GALLERY NORTH RAIL — partial glass/grating]
         #################################   <- gallery west and east walls
         # . . . . GALLERY FLOOR . . .  #   Commission-only: pristine near-white
         # [DK][DK]  . . .  [DK][DK]   #   DK = observation desk / surveillance kit
         # . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  #   floor: #d4d8dc
         # . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  #   walls: #e0e4e8
         # [DK][DK]  . . .  [DK][DK]   #
         # . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  #
         # . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  #
         # . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  #
         #################################   <- gallery south rail (partial glass/grating)
         |
         [SC] staircase descends to z=1 concourse east end
         |
         S

Gallery dimensions: 32m wide × 10m deep (32×10 visual tiles). Positioned above the customs lanes (z=1 rows 14–27) and NOT above the concourse or staging zones.

Cross-z LOS: Gallery rail is transparent low wall (glass or metal grating). Observer on z=2 has LOS downward to z=1 customs lanes. Upward LOS from z=1 is blocked except at the staircase opening. Players cannot see gallery occupants from the customs floor unless standing at the staircase.

Gallery floor is the customs ceiling — approximately 4m structural clearance below.

---

Zone Breakdown

Zone 1 — Aperture Chamber (rows 01–05)

Dimensions: 40×4 visual tiles Access tier: Restricted (Commission control + gate authority; no public entry) Purpose: The transition space between the span gate aperture and the main processing facility. All passengers and freight pass through here immediately after emerging from the span gate. The aperture ring is the physical gate structure — when a transit sequence is active, the ring glows with transit residue (lighting cue for mode). Between sequences, the ring is dark and cold. NPC traffic: Gate authority staff (2–3 stationed here per sequence). Arrivals flow through continuously during an active sequence; zero traffic between sequences. LOS notes: The chamber is enclosed. No LOS to any other zone except the two exit doors (row 05). Gate authority staff can observe the full chamber volume. No LOS from the staging zones into the chamber. Key feature: The "flicker" — the 90-second mode transition between freight and passenger sequences — is physically visible here. Lighting shifts, personnel rotate, cargo equipment is cleared or staged. An observer in the gate concourse (south) can hear the mode change but not see it.

Zone 2 — Freight Staging (rows 06–13, west 24 tiles)

Dimensions: 24×8 visual tiles Access tier: Private (authorized freight operators and customs personnel only) Purpose: Where inbound freight is offloaded, registered, and staged for the customs inspection lanes. [FK] forwarder terminals are where freight agents log their manifest declarations before the cargo moves to the lanes. [CT] dock points are active during freight windows; they are dormant (low power, no staff) during passenger windows. NPC traffic: Busy during freight windows. The operations manager (Triangle NPC) is typically here during active freight sequences — their role is coordinating flow from aperture to customs. Senior freight handlers work the dock points. Sparse during passenger windows. LOS notes: Full LOS across the staging floor from the forwarder terminals. The freight customs entry door (row 13) is visible from the staging area. The PAB door (east) is visible but the PAB interior is not. Key feature: The operations manager's position here — with LOS to the aperture chamber exits, the staging floor, and the customs entry — is the spatial expression of their authority. They see everything that comes in.

Zone 3 — Passenger Arrival Buffer (rows 06–12, east 12 tiles)

Dimensions: 12×8 visual tiles Access tier: Semi-public (arriving passengers only; no unauthorized entry from district side) Purpose: Where passengers emerging from the span gate are held in a staging queue before processing through pedestrian customs. Separate from freight staging — the physical separation is the architectural enforcement of D-095's dual-use windows. During a freight window, the PAB is closed; during a passenger window, it fills. NPC traffic: Moderated by gate sequence. Full during a passenger window; empty between or during freight windows. LOS notes: LOS within the PAB is full. No direct LOS from the district concourse into the PAB — the customs lanes form a visual barrier. A player in the concourse sees only the south face of the customs lane structure. Key feature: The detective's entry experience begins here (G-11). Arriving via Commission shuttle during a passenger window, they queue briefly before being waved through customs (or escorted directly to the observation gallery — see staircase at z=1 east end).

Zone 4 — Freight Customs Lanes (rows 14–21, west 20 tiles)

Dimensions: 20×10 visual tiles (5 lanes × 4vt each, within a 20vt-wide zone, rows 14–21) Access tier: Semi-private (freight operators entering the district; customs clerk staff) Purpose: Processing incoming freight through customs inspection. Five lanes, each 4 visual tiles wide, each staffed by a customs clerk at a [TS] terminal station. [P] pillars at 4-tile intervals serve dual purpose: LOS anchors for the customs floor and structural supports for the observation gallery above. NPC traffic: Customs clerks (5, one per lane) are stationed here during freight windows. The Commission inspector (Triangle NPC) circulates among lanes — their social dynamic with the clerks is expressed spatially by where they position themselves during inspections. During passenger windows, lanes are closed (screens down, no staff). LOS notes: Clear LOS along each lane from north wall to south wall. The pillar breaks ([P]) interrupt cross-lane LOS at 4-tile intervals — an observer cannot see continuously across all 5 lanes. The gallery rail above (z=2) allows the Commission inspector to observe all lanes simultaneously from elevation. This is the critical asymmetry: floor-level observers have partial LOS; gallery observers have full LOS. Observation note: The social triangle's power dynamic is visible in sightlines. The Commission inspector from the gallery sees the customs clerks in their entirety, including which freight forwarders are waved through vs. searched. The floor-level operations manager sees individual lanes but not the full picture. The detective, arriving from the gallery, can observe the customs floor before descending.

Zone 5 — Pedestrian Customs Lanes (rows 22–27, east 12 tiles)

Dimensions: 12×10 visual tiles (3 lanes × 2vt each, with queue space to east, rows 22–27) Access tier: Semi-public (arriving passengers processing into the district) Purpose: Processing arriving passengers through customs. Three lanes, each 2 visual tiles wide, each with a [TS] scanner station. Queue space runs east of the lane structure. Simpler operation than freight customs — personal items scan, biometric check, manifest tag if applicable. NPC traffic: Active only during passenger windows. During freight windows, the customs clerks from PCL rotate to assist with FCL overflow. The Commission inspector may operate from PCL during passenger windows if intelligence suggests surveillance value. LOS notes: Narrower lanes mean LOS is more constrained. An observer in the queue can see only the lane directly ahead. From the gate concourse (south), the south face of the customs structure presents as a low partition — passengers emerging from customs are visible from the concourse immediately on exit. Key feature: This is where observable inequity happens. The Commission inspector (or a directive they issue) results in one class of traveler being waved through while another is searched. This is visible to anyone in the concourse queue area — including the detective. The spatial proximity of the PCL south wall to the concourse benches [B] means concourse passengers witness the processing of arrivals.

Zone 6 — Gate Concourse (rows 28–33)

Dimensions: 40×8 visual tiles (full building width) Access tier: Public (all district residents, workers, and new arrivals) Purpose: The public-facing terminus of the gate cluster. Benches [B] for waiting passengers, news ticker [NT] on the east wall for transit schedules and general news, and the primary facade opening to the district south. The staircase (SC) at the east end is the access point to the observation gallery — it is Commission-coded at the base (a discreet panel, not a visible barrier). NPC traffic: Variable. Busy when a passenger sequence has just completed (arrivals dispersing). Sparse during freight windows (only workers and officials). The concourse is the natural convergence zone for all district-side personnel who have business at the gate cluster. LOS notes: Full east-west LOS across the concourse. The [P] pillars from the customs lanes above do not extend to the concourse floor — the south edge of the customs structure is a visual wall at row 27. From the benches, observers can see the customs exit doors (row 27) and watch arrivals emerge. Cannot see into customs lanes from bench positions. Key feature: The social reading zone on arrival. New arrivals (including the detective on their first visit) experience the concourse before moving into the district. The news ticker is a topic generator. The Commission staircase (east end) is present but low-key — coded access does not broadcast itself in Commission-grade facilities.

Zone 7 — Observation Gallery (z=2, above zones 4–5)

Dimensions: 32×10 visual tiles (above the full customs lane section) Access tier: Commission-only (staircase coded at z=1 east end of concourse) Purpose: The gallery is where the Commission inspector works during active processing sequences. From here, all freight and pedestrian customs lanes are simultaneously observable. Observation desks [DK] with surveillance kit allow real-time customs monitoring, camera feed access, and communication with gate authority staff below. This is the institutional oversight position — the spatial embodiment of Commission authority over district entry. NPC traffic: The Commission inspector during work hours. Possibly a second Commission observer (junior) — but sparse. This is not a social space; it is a surveillance position. LOS notes: Full LOS down to all customs lanes (z=2 → z=1, through gallery rail). Partial LOS to freight staging (row 13 door visible from gallery north rail). NO LOS to aperture chamber (wall blocks), NO LOS to concourse (gallery south rail is opaque below rail height). Gallery interior has no LOS from the customs floor below — the cross-z asymmetry is deliberate and complete. Key feature: The detective's first introduction to this space is via escort through the staircase. The experience of descending from gallery (full picture) to concourse (partial picture) is the spatial tutorial for the information asymmetry theme.

---

Key Observation Positions

Position	Code	LOS coverage	Why it matters
Observation gallery (z=2, center)	POS-G1	All freight + pedestrian customs lanes simultaneously	Commission inspector's domain. Highest-information position in the gate cluster. Asymmetric — not visible from below.
Freight staging floor (center)	POS-G2	Aperture chamber exits, freight staging, customs entry door	Operations manager's natural position. Sees intake and output but not gallery or pedestrian lanes.
Gate concourse benches (rows 29-30, west)	POS-G3	Customs exit doors (row 27), staircase base (east), full concourse	Player's first investigation position. Passive observation of arrivals emerging from customs and who accesses the staircase.
Pedestrian customs queue (row 22, east)	POS-G4	PCL lanes, customs exit direction	Observer in queue can watch the customs clerks processing arrivals. Visible inequity in who is waved through vs. searched.
Concourse east end (near staircase)	POS-G5	Staircase access panel, anyone ascending/descending	Monitoring staircase access reveals Commission movement. Coded panel is discreet but observable.
Gallery north rail (z=2)	POS-G6	Freight staging floor through rail, customs lane north entries	Extended north-viewing position from gallery — tracks cargo from aperture exit to lane entry.

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Sightline Analysis

FROM →      Aperture  Frt.Stg.  PAB     Frt.Cust.  Ped.Cust.  Concourse  Gallery
TO ↓
Aperture      SELF    via door    via door    NO         NO          NO         NO
Frt.Staging  via door   SELF      via door   via door     NO          NO         NO
PAB          via door  via door    SELF        NO         NO          NO         NO
Frt.Customs    NO     via door     NO         SELF        NO        via door   rail(z2→z1)
Ped.Customs    NO       NO         NO          NO         SELF      via door   rail(z2→z1)
Concourse      NO       NO         NO        via door   via door     SELF         NO
Gallery        NO    rail(N)       NO       rail(full)  rail(full)    NO         SELF

rail(z2→z1) = LOS from gallery down through transparent rail/grating
rail(N)     = gallery north rail has partial LOS to freight staging floor
NO          = wall or z-gap blocks
via door    = LOS when door open

Critical sightline: Gallery → all customs lanes The Commission inspector on z=2 has full LOS over every freight and pedestrian customs lane simultaneously. No position on the z=1 customs floor achieves equivalent coverage. This asymmetry is the spatial expression of institutional oversight.

Critical sightline gap: Concourse → customs interior The concourse benches are south of the customs structure. The customs south wall (rows 14–21 for freight, 22–27 for pedestrian) presents as a visual barrier. A player on the benches sees the customs exit doors and emerging arrivals — but not what happens inside the lanes. Investigation of customs behavior requires entering the lanes or reaching the gallery.

Critical sightline gap: Gallery → concourse The gallery south rail is opaque below the rail height. The Commission inspector cannot observe the concourse from the gallery without descending. The gallery is a surveillance position for entry processing, not for the public space.

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Access Tier Map

    RESTRICTED      PRIVATE           SEMI-PRIVATE      SEMI-PUBLIC      PUBLIC
    ──────────      ───────           ────────────      ───────────      ──────
    Aperture        Freight staging   Freight customs   Ped. customs     Concourse
    chamber         (auth. operators) lanes             lanes            (all)
                                      (clerks +         (arriving
                    [Gallery z=2:     freight ops)       passengers)
                     Commission-only]

Sequential access enforcement (H-06): A freight operator moving from aperture to district must pass through freight staging → freight customs → concourse. No spatial path skips a tier. Pedestrian arrivals pass through PAB → pedestrian customs → concourse. The two flows are physically separated (west half vs. east half of the building) and join only at the concourse.

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NPC Traffic Density Annotations

Time	Aperture	Frt. Staging	PAB	Frt. Customs	Ped. Customs	Concourse	Gallery
Dawn (05-07)	very sparse	very sparse	closed	closed	closed	very sparse	—
Freight window 1 (07-12)	busy (freight)	busy	closed	busy	closed	moderate	inspector
Passenger window (12-14)	moderate (pax)	sparse	moderate	closed	moderate	busy	inspector
Freight window 2 (14-19)	busy (freight)	busy	closed	busy	closed	moderate	inspector
Passenger window (19-20)	moderate (pax)	sparse	moderate	closed	moderate	busy	inspector
Evening sparse (20-23)	sparse	sparse	closed	sparse	closed	sparse	varies
Night (23-05)	very sparse	very sparse	closed	closed	closed	very sparse	—

Flicker windows: 90-second transition between freight and passenger modes. During this window:

• Aperture chamber resets (personnel exchange, lighting shifts, cargo equipment cleared or staged)
• All customs lanes briefly closed
• Concourse becomes transiently busier as travelers waiting for mode completion gather
• The operations manager is most exposed — coordinating the reset, moving between staging and customs entry

Detective entry: Commission shuttles arrive during passenger windows as a matter of protocol. First contact with the district begins in the aperture chamber, proceeds to the PAB, and typically diverts to the gallery staircase before customs processing is required.

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Narrative Triangle Service Notes

Triangle 5 — Gate Authority (Operations Manager – Senior Freight Handler – Commission Inspector)

This is an institutional-oversight triangle, structurally different from the Terminal's knowledge-and-leverage triangles (1–2) and the Bar's social-loyalty triangles (3–4).

• Operations manager: Their domain is the freight flow — aperture to staging to customs. They have private-tier access everywhere on the z=1 floor. They are measured by throughput: how much cargo clears customs in a window. They have an accommodation relationship with certain freight forwarders (see customs inequity below).
• Senior freight handler: The forwarder who benefits from that accommodation. They know what they get, they know why, and they know the operations manager knows they know. This is the stable complicity leg of the triangle.
• Commission inspector: Their domain is the gallery. They watch the customs floor from above. They may know about the accommodation, or may be about to discover it, or may be using it as leverage already. Their relationship to the operations manager is formally collaborative, actually adversarial.

Spatial expression: The operations manager never goes to the gallery. The Commission inspector rarely comes to the floor. The senior freight handler is on the floor. The triangle's tension is mediated by the cross-z sightline — the inspector can see the forwarder being waved through, and the operations manager knows the inspector is watching, but neither will acknowledge it in the same zone at the same time.

Observable inequity (investigation entry point): A player watching from the concourse benches (POS-G3) or from the pedestrian customs queue (POS-G4) can observe a freight forwarder being waved through freight customs without search while a commuter on the pedestrian side receives a full scan. This is not dramatic — it reads as normal. The player has to make the connection: waved through = known cargo = manifested incorrectly = this is where the lattice components enter.

Tension staging locations:

• Freight staging floor (operations manager's ground; conversations here are authority-neutral)
• Gallery (inspector's ground; a summons to the gallery is pressure)
• Customs lane (the observable action space; what clerks actually do is determined by unspoken directives from above)
• Concourse east end near staircase (the transition space; anyone ascending the staircase must pass anyone watching the staircase)

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Z-Level Notes

z=0: Not present in the gate cluster. Maintenance access to the gate cluster, if any, is via the district maintenance spine (z=0 elsewhere in district) and does not extend into the gate cluster interior. Era 3 construction has no maintenance corridor integration — maintenance occurs from above via service panels.

z=1: All gate cluster zones: aperture chamber, freight staging, PAB, freight customs, pedestrian customs, concourse. All NPCs and player movement on this level.

z=2: Observation gallery only. Staircase is the sole connection point (z=1 concourse east end ↔ z=2 gallery). Commission-coded access panel at base of staircase is present but low-profile (no visible lock, no visible panel labeling in Era 3 style — access is granted by insertion of Commission neural-tag proximity, not a key).

Cross-z visibility rules:

• Gallery → customs lanes: full downward LOS through transparent rail/grating
• Customs lanes → gallery: no upward LOS (gallery floor solid except rail; rail height above standing head height)
• Staircase opening: local LOS only (see who is at the staircase base or top, not into gallery interior)

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Notes for Copy Team

1. Aperture chamber is the in-world ritual. Arriving via span gate is mundane but the aperture ring has residual energy effects — ambient hum, slight color temperature shift as light normalizes from transit. Monologue lines for the detective's arrival should note this. Standard sensory detail for immersive-world arrivals.
2. The customs inequity is not dramatic. When the senior freight handler is waved through, it should read as routine from NPC behavior — a nod, a scan confirmed, the lane opens. Overheard dialogue, if any, should be procedural: manifest check language, not conversational. The player learns that something is wrong from the pattern, not from a flagrant scene.
3. The Commission inspector's gallery is their professional comfort zone. Dialogue set in the gallery (if the detective accesses it) should reflect this — the inspector is at ease up here, slightly less guarded. On the floor, they are performing authority. In the gallery, they are just watching.
4. The operations manager on the freight staging floor. This is their element. Logistics language, shorthand with the senior freight handler. Any casual conversation with the detective here is the operations manager on home turf — helpful enough, not forthcoming.
5. The flicker is an ambient event. Travelers who know the schedule stop and wait. Travelers who don't know find themselves in a 90-second limbo — nothing is moving, customs is closed. The concourse fills briefly. Use this as a social compression beat: forced proximity, idle waiting, overheard conversations that wouldn't happen mid-flow.
6. The staircase is visible, not obvious. In Era 3 design language, it is clean, architectural, slightly more refined than the surrounding fittings. It doesn't broadcast Commission. Players who are paying attention will notice it; players who aren't will miss it. Second visit = "wait, I didn't see that last time."