80%. The door behind him beeped, the electronic lock cycling. Security was trying to override his manual seal.
The percentage counter ticked upward. 10%. 20%. The lights in the server room flickered. The building’s AI was sensing the unauthorized data flow.
Jean-Luc adjusted his glasses, his breath misting in the chilled air. He wasn't supposed to be here. Technically, the "Great Archiving" of 2028 had rendered all physical media and local installations obsolete. The Cloud was absolute. The Cloud was eternal. But the Cloud was also down, and with it, the city’s central traffic grid had locked into a chaotic loop of green lights, gridlocking the entire metropolitan area.
As the installation progress bar began its familiar, rhythmic crawl, the old workstation’s fans roared to life. It wasn't just installing an operating system; it was rewriting the code of the present with the stability of the past. By the time the guard reached him, the reboot was complete.
"Recherche de sources fiables..." the screen flashed.
It was a phrase that felt like an incantation from a forgotten era. The characters glowed on the holographic display above his wrist.