The answer was almost insultingly simple.

It was 7:14 AM, and Sarah’s laptop screamed to life before her eyes even focused.

The screen came up clean. Desktop wallpaper. A clock in the corner. No music. No pings. No pop‑ups. No spinning beach ball.

“Stop,” she whispered. “Just… stop.”

For the first time in three years, her computer wasn’t telling her what to do when she turned it on. She was telling it .