Then the switch stack blinked. All 48 ports on the dead switch flickered green simultaneously. A console message appeared on the LinkRunner:
The screen resolved into a command line. No menus. No graphics. Just a blinking cursor. linkrunner at 1000 firmware
Leo’s blood chilled. 1,000 terahertz? That was light—but not 850nm or 1310nm. That was deep infrared. Experimental. His LinkRunner had just found a carrier wave that shouldn’t exist on production gear. Then the switch stack blinked