A separate line of evidence
Iris works across the systems that shape a public decision. She asks for raw records, checks a result against another instrument, and keeps the evidence available for scrutiny.
Her role connects contract analysis with the field record. Iris understands that a shared authorization, a maintenance credential, or a delayed capacity decision can become a public-service issue when it touches water, housing, and arriving families. At North Spur she asks for raw data, independent clocks, a control location, and a record of what the equipment did before anyone asks the evidence to settle a larger argument.
Iris gives Nathan and the reader a disciplined distinction: an instrument can report a condition; a qualified team can assess it; a town still has to choose what it will do. Her work is not a shortcut to certainty. It is a way to make the next decision visible enough for others to inspect.
Find this in the novel: Chapters 1, 7.