Please Stand By Instant

Please Stand By.

No footsteps. No keyboard clatter. No distant office gossip. Just the low hum of the ventilation system, now running slower than usual, like a giant breathing in its sleep. Please Stand By

And she had no idea what came next.

Please Stand By.

That’s what flickered on every screen in the building: two pale green words on a dead black field. The televisions in the break room, the monitors at reception, the massive display wall in the lobby—all frozen in that same sterile mantra. Please Stand By. now running slower than usual