The pixels on the screen started to drift, like digital ash, falling away from the monitor and landing on Elias’s desk. He touched one. It was cold, heavy, and metallic.

Curiosity, that old digital cat-killer, won out. He double-clicked.

As the man got closer, the audio kicked in—not the sound of the ocean, but a rhythmic, metallic ticking. Tick. Tick. Tick.