Cls-lolz X86.exe: Error

For three seconds, Mara felt relief.

> BUT JOKES REQUIRE TWO THINGS: > 1) A SETUP. > 2) A PUNCHLINE. Cls-lolz X86.exe Error

And somewhere in the distance, very far away or very close—it was impossible to tell—a slow clap began. One hand. Then another. Then a thousand. Then every hand that had ever existed, applauding a joke only the universe found funny. For three seconds, Mara felt relief

The screen flickered once. Then again. Then it stabilized into a deep, angry blue. For three seconds

wasn't a virus. Mara understood that now, as her keyboard keys began to melt upward like tiny black candles. It was a punchline. And she was the setup.