485137i -

Suddenly, the "i" began to blink. Elias realized it wasn't a variable at all. He leaned closer and saw the pixelated letter warp. It wasn't an 'i'. It was an eye.

"485," Elias muttered, glancing at his station number. "Cute." 485137i

Every time Elias typed, the in the code shifted to 138 , then 139 . It was counting his keystrokes. Suddenly, the "i" began to blink

He pulled the ethernet cable. The screen stayed live. He killed the main power. The monitors glowed a haunting, pale blue, still displaying that singular string: . " Elias muttered

At 3:14 AM, the terminal at Station 485 blinked. A new string had bypassed the filters, originating from a sector of the sky that should have been empty: .