In the video, the figure was now standing directly behind his chair. It reached out a hand—a hand made of static and distorted pixels.

Arthur reached for the mouse to close the window, but his hand wouldn't move. He was "buffered." His physical body was lagging behind his vision.

The download finished at exactly 3:00 AM. Inside the folder was a single executable and a text file that simply read: RESONANCE REQUIRED .

On the screen-within-the-screen, Arthur watched himself staring at the screen.

A video window opened. It was a fixed shot of a hallway—his own hallway, seen from the perspective of the wall behind him. In the frame, he could see the back of his own chair and the glow of the monitor.