Empty room. Night shift. A monitor blinks once, then again. At 0.8 seconds, a heartbeat fades under the hum. At 2.2 seconds, oxygen hisses softly. Then the ceiling speaker crackles: “Attention. Initiating order phase.” The curtains twitch. At 3.0 seconds, a whispered syllable slides through the right channel. The bed curtain stirs like something invisible just passed by. The room goes still. Then the speaker returns: “Order phase complete.” Too late. The shadows are already moving. Stay alert for the next shift.
