The humming stopped. Silence flooded the room, heavier than the noise. [Download Complete. Extract files?]

He took a deep breath, his finger trembling over the enter key. In the digital age, power didn't come from bloodlines or armies anymore. It came from the right bit of code. He pressed the key.

The speakers crackled. A low, distorted voice began to hum a melody that sounded ancient, layered over a sub-bass frequency that made the water in the glass on his desk ripple in perfect concentric circles.

The fan on his laptop began to whine, a high-pitched metallic scream. He reached for the cancel button, but the mouse wouldn't move. The cursor was stuck, vibrating in the center of the screen like a trapped insect.