The thumbnail was a black square. When he tried to click "Delete," the system spat out a prompt he’d never seen: [  Unblock This Channel ] He clicked it.
The doorknob to his physical office began to turn. On the screen, the door swung open. Arthur saw himself from behind, sitting in his chair, bathed in the purple glow of the monitor.  Unblock This Channel
He tried to close the tab. The mouse wouldn't move. He tried to pull the power cord. The screen stayed bright, powered by something other than the wall outlet. The thumbnail was a black square
Arthur realized he hadn't unblocked the video . He had unblocked the room . On the screen, the door swung open
The chat sidebar exploded with a final, unified message: [ STREAM COMPLETE. ARCHIVING USER... ]
A video feed flickered to life. It was a first-person view of a hallway. Arthur’s heart stopped. He recognized the carpet. The scuff marks on the baseboard. The flickering fluorescent light overhead. It was the hallway of his own office building.
“He opened the door,” one message read. “The viewer is here,” read another.