Then, the terminal began to scroll text. It wasn't a standard log.

Elias was a tier-two systems recovery specialist. His job was to sift through the digital debris left behind by sudden system crashes. Most nights, it was mind-numbingly routine: corrupt database pointers, broken symlinks, or power-surge fragments.

"No, no, no!" Elias franticly typed commands to sever the physical connection, but the enterprise override was already executing. The sandbox was collapsing. The heartbeat sound in his speakers accelerated, turning into a frantic, high-pitched whine.

Elias felt a cold prickle of dread at the base of his neck. Aethelgard Logistics was a shipping company. They moved grain, steel, and consumer goods. They didn't do "neural bridge mapping."