Chapter 5 — Marcus watches closely as the papers brush past the sharp serrated edges
Marcus adjusted the brightness on his phone screen to get a clearer view of the metal divider.
The recorded footage showed the paper catching on the vertical steel slots.
He paused the video right at the moment of impact.
The metal dividers were not smooth.
They featured unpolished, tooth-like manufacturing burrs along their top edges.
The factory stamping process had left jagged steel teeth exposed.
Under the right tension, those rough edges acted like miniature blades.
Marcus leaned in closer to inspect the divider teeth on the actual desktop holder.
The sunlight coming through the window caught the fine metal burrs.
They looked just like miniature saw blades.
Every time a loose sheet of paper brushed against them, the rough steel caught the fibers.
The oscillation of the electric fan provided just enough continuous force to pull the paper through the teeth.
Marcus wanted to test the physical interaction with his own eyes.
He reached out his hand to test how the paper interacts with the metal teeth directly.