Simcity - 3000

Ellen stared at the screen. The hidden Sims had sent another message: “We don’t want roads. We don’t want power lines. Just leave the little green square alone.”

A small window appeared: “Greetings, Mayor. We’ve been here since the beginning.” SimCity 3000

It started with the water pumps. Despite perfect maintenance, pollution levels near the river spiked every Tuesday at 3 AM. Then the power plants—nuclear, squeaky clean—began reporting “phantom load.” Someone was drawing electricity from the grid without a meter. Ellen stared at the screen