If you'd like to continue this story or change the direction, let me know:

The screen froze. An orange bar crawled across the bottom—5%, 20%, then a sudden jump to 90%.

The cursor blinked on the dusty screen of an old Android box, a rhythmic pulse in the dim light of Elias’s living room. It was December 18, 2022, and the winter wind outside his Chicago apartment rattled the windowpanes like someone trying to get in. Elias wasn't looking for company; he was looking for a signal.