Finishing benches are where credits go to be spent confidently and, too often, wastefully. An upscale cannot repair a wrong face; a swap cannot rescue a frame that was never set against its line. At the meridian desk, no frame enters the set until it has passed five checks, each scored against the written meridian card.
The five checks
1. Identity. Is she the woman on the card? 2. Continuity. Do hair, signature and wardrobe register agree with the frames beside this one? 3. Light. One source, behaving consistently across skin, satin and brass. 4. Edges. Hair against the wall, fingers against the ring stand, lace against skin. 5. Purpose. Does the frame do the one job it was briefed for?
The threshold that saves money
Score each check out of two; eight of ten earns finishing spend — an edit at 21 credits, a swap at 26, an upscale at 61. Below eight, the frame returns to the generator at 6 credits, where correction is cheapest. Note the scores on the card and keep them with the set.