Rows of monitors line the walls, each one trying to outdo the others in how red and angry it can be. ALERT banners stack on top of each other like falling Tetris pieces. Somewhere, a phone rings with the haunted cadence of someone who has already called three times.
A console in front of you wakes up. Lines of text roll past: BACKUP FAILED, LINK DOWN, STORAGE DEGRADED, UNKNOWN DEVICE CONNECTED. Someone has helpfully added a sticky note that just says "it was fine yesterday".
A chat window pops up from an account called DUTY MANAGER. The message reads: "good news, you’re here just in time to help. i’ve routed you a few low‑impact tickets." The counter beside it rolls up to 99+.