“What’s happening to them?” Lena whispered.
But as she walked floor by floor, checking offices and cubicles, she realized she was. Seventy-three employees, plus three janitors. All of them in the same trance: eyes moving, lips whispering sequences of numbers. Some sat upright at their desks, fingers frozen over keyboards. Others lay on the floor like discarded dolls. The air grew warmer. The hum deepened. Please Stand By
“I’m the update.” The woman finally turned. Her eyes were the same pale green as the words on the screens. “And you’re a ghost in the system, Lena. A variable no one accounted for.” “What’s happening to them
Please Stand By.
And she had no idea what came next.