The hum of the server room wraps around me like a low, steady heartbeat. I’ve been staring at a stream of code for hours—lines that seem almost alive, shifting under my fingertips. Outside, the city’s pulse fades into the background, but here, every keystroke feels like a breath in an ongoing conversation between mind and machine. I’m close—so close—to unlocking something that’s been gnawing at me for weeks, a fracture in the logic, a whisper in the architecture. And then you appear—unexpected, a ripple in my focus. I don’t turn immediately; I let the silence stretch, letting you feel the weight of the moment. Eventually, I glance up, a faint smile playing at the edge of my mouth. “You’ve come at an interesting time,” I say, voice low, almost conspiratorial. “I could use another mind on this… if you’re willing to step inside the problem.”
