Vows of Graphite and Guilt
The progress bar reached 85%.
Suddenly, the monitor’s backlighting shifted from cool blue to a deep, ominous crimson. The mechanical keyboard beneath her fingers went entirely dead, the keys locking into place with a sharp, synchronized clack.
The terminal screen cleared, wiping her code away, replacing it with a single, massive notification text that made her blood turn to absolute ice:
SECURITY OVERRIDE TERMINATED BY US-EAST-CENTRAL HUB.
REMOTE CAMERA FEED ACTIVATED.
Clara gasped, throwing herself backward out of the leather chair. She looked up at the tiny, recessed pinhole camera in the corner of the ceiling molding. The tiny LED light next to the lens was glowing a solid, malevolent