(February 28, 2025)

Caesar bashed his head against his computer desk, cursing the email currently on their screen.

Why?!

Why was it that every day, some new emergency popped up that pulled them away from what they were supposed to be doing? But fine, whatever, the bosses wanted them to deal with it? They would deal with it.

They reached into the basked beside their desk and pulled out a tiny red ball. With a whispered incantation, the ball opened and a black ooze slipped out of their hand and wriggled towards the computer tower. In another breath, it was gone, crawling through the cracks of the tower towards the cables. In another few minutes, the entire system would be corrupted.

(March 28, 2025)

Wanting to stick around for the fallout, but not wanting to be anywhere near the computer, Caesar left their desk and wandered into the break room, whistling a jaunty song as they stuck their mug in the microwave and reheated their coffee.

Today was a good day. Today would make all the difference.

They knew the moment the corruption hit the system. Murmurs drifted from the cubicles outside the room, murmurs of alarm, followed by louder curses, a few shouts… and then outright pandemonium.

Caesar grabbed their coffee and sauntered back to the office, adopting a mask of innocent shock as people ran from computer to computer trying to figure out what was happening.

(May 1, 2025)

“It’s eating all the files!” someone shouted.

“Quick! Everyone! Back everything up!”

The mental scramble was palpable, even though everyone was focused on their screens and the only sounds were the occasional curse and the clack of fingers racing across the keyboard.

Caesar watched it all, hurrying back to their desk to pretend to do the same. They knew it was too late for them to save anything. As soon as the corruption leapt onto the backup servers, everything they were rushing to protect would be wiped out. And from there, it would continue.

So many years, they’d been planning this project. First: crush the technology these humans relied on, then step in and take over.

Step one to world domination.

(May 30, 2025)

Section by section, the lights overhead went out, dousing the office of darkness. Although the sun shone through the window, the stillness and silence in the room created a sense of abandonment.

“What the…” someone near the window said.

More people headed in their direction, and the shock spread. Caesar didn’t join them, knowing what they’d discovered: that the problem wasn’t limited to their building. That right now, the entire city was being dismantled.

Gone were the safe systems these humans had created to keep their lives neat and tidy. Or at least, to maintain the illusion of tidiness.

No longer. Now, it was time to wreak chaos.

With a laugh, Caesar grabbed their bag from their desk drawer, headed down the stairs and out into the street where people had already begun to panic.

Chaos, of course, was where they thrived.