Rabbit was assigned a ten-minute question. By lunch he'd mapped a tunnel system, invented three theories and learned a surprising amount about beetles.
Curiosity without a compass
Each answer opened another branch. A broken link led to an old archive, then a forgotten page, then a competitor's lighthouse, then seventeen fascinating insects. The original missing-label question sat alone on the wall.
“We are making incredible progress,” Rabbit announced. Harbormaster asked: “Toward what?”
Sort the clues
Johnny Five recorded the useful discoveries, Mad Hatter captured the creative possibilities and Harbormaster separated the work into within-scope, worth-parking and unrelated. Black Knight set the stopping condition before the investigation touched any live systems.
Rabbit reluctantly put the beetles into a later notebook.
A way back to daylight
Rabbit returned with the missing label's answer, a short evidence trail and a backlog of optional research. Nothing important was lost merely because he had stopped.
At the Warren entrance he nailed a new brass sign: EVERY RABBIT HOLE NEEDS A RETURN PATH.
Rabbit returns to the surface carrying observations and possible next checks—not unverified conclusions.