In a cramped and dimly lit studio apartment, a lone figure sat hunched over a computer, its keyboard clacking loudly in the mostly empty room. Aelieth stared unblinkingly at the monitor as lines of code danced about on the screen. Scattered about the computer table were the vanquished remnants of energy drinks and snack cakes, their empty casings creating wasteland of crushed aluminum and plastic wrappers. In a clearing of the debris sat an open textbook, two inches thick on either side and currently open to "Chapter 14: Advanced Artistic Application of Network Navigator Design, part 1."
The clicking stopped as the rising Junior at Dentech U arched his back and stretched, kneading a crick in his neck that had been bothering him for the past six hours. "Ugh..." he sighed, slouching back down, "Just a few more lines of code..." He repositioned the lab coat draped across his shoulders to hang a little more comfortably, then quickly keyed in the last several strings of text. Lines of fatigue etched his face, giving testament to a severe lack of sleep, as he hit the last semicolon, closed the last bracket, and clicked a button marked "Compile". Apprehension turned to frustration as, with a little chime, a window appeared before Aelieth:
[Compiling... Estimated time remaining: 2 hours, 47 minutes]
With a groan, Aelieth buried his head in his arms, waiting for it to finish and hoping that, unlike last time, the hours of work he put into this assignment weren't fruitless. Beside him, the screen of an empty PET came to life, "Installing Net Navi. .. ..." stretched across the display...
Hadrok Residence
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Once Holoß was safely in the PET, Aelieth detached it from the dock next to his PC. He gingerly clipped it to his belt, talking care to ensure that the screen would run no risk of scratching. After quickly checking how the patch was holding up, he threw his lab coat on the bed, grabbed his keys, and headed to the Sci Labs.