The screen went black. His heart hammered against his ribs. Seconds felt like hours until the monitor surged back to life. The annoying "Activate Windows" watermark in the corner was gone. He opened Word; the banner demanding a product key had vanished, replaced by a clean, functional ribbon.
A small window appeared, sporting a retro, red-and-black interface. A voice, synthesized and robotic, chirped: "Program complete." The screen went black