A notification popped up in the bottom right corner of his real desktop: Download 99% Complete.
Elias looked at the door. The handle turned. Columbia wasn't a city in the sky anymore; it was a debt being collected in person. The last thing he saw before the screen went black was the progress bar hitting 100% and a new file appearing on his desktop: bioshock-infinite-free-download-pc-game
As Booker DeWitt, Elias stepped into the candlelit room at the top of the lighthouse. But there was no chair to blast him into the clouds. Instead, there was a desktop computer sitting on a wooden stool, mirroring his own setup. On its screen was a live feed of Elias’s own room. He froze, watching the back of his own head on his monitor. A notification popped up in the bottom right
Elias didn’t have sixty dollars, but he had plenty of time and a desperate need to escape his cramped studio apartment. When he found the link——tucked away on a forum that looked like it hadn't been updated since 2005, he didn't think twice. He just wanted to see Columbia. Columbia wasn't a city in the sky anymore;
"Bring us the girl and wipe away the debt," the screen flashed. But the text wasn't the standard font. It looked like handwriting—jagged, frantic, and familiar.