Jax looked at the "Play" button on the screen. It finally turned green.

"Welcome to the dark future," the monitor chimed in a cheerful, corporate voice.

When the bar finally hit 100%, the screen didn't launch the game. Instead, the monitor bled into a deep, pulsing crimson. Text began to scroll—not game dialogue, but Jax’s own personal data. His bank account (empty), his medical records (failing), and his exact GPS coordinates.