Please Stand By -

“Integration,” said the green-eyed woman. “Don’t worry. They’re not suffering. They’re just… becoming part of something larger. Every human connected to the grid, every phone, every smart device—they’re all nodes now. One mind. One purpose. And soon, one voice.”

“I just clean the floors.”

“Hendricks?” She shook his shoulder. He didn’t respond, but his lips moved. She leaned closer.

And she had no idea what came next.

“Hello?” she called out. Her voice echoed down the silent corridor.

Please Stand By.

“What’s happening to them?” Lena whispered. Please Stand By

“Who are you?” Lena gripped her mop handle like a weapon.

She was the only one not standing by.

Lena ran until her legs gave out. Then she sat on a cold curb under a dead streetlight, mop across her lap, and listened to the quiet. “Integration,” said the green-eyed woman

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.

Lena pulled back. She’d worked nights at Meridian Data Solutions for eleven years. She cleaned the toilets, emptied the trash, knew which vending machine gave you two candy bars if you pressed B7. She was not supposed to be the last person standing.

Lena had been mopping the third-floor hallway when it happened. At first she ignored it—corporate IT was always pushing updates at the worst times. But when the lights dimmed to a soft, constant twilight and the emergency doors sealed themselves with heavy, final-sounding thuds, she stopped pushing the mop. They’re just… becoming part of something larger

But as she walked floor by floor, checking offices and cubicles, she realized she was. Seventy-three employees, plus three janitors. All of them in the same trance: eyes moving, lips whispering sequences of numbers. Some sat upright at their desks, fingers frozen over keyboards. Others lay on the floor like discarded dolls. The air grew warmer. The hum deepened.