When Alex Thompson, an avid gamer from Brighton, found his screen frozen on the latest boss fight, he did what any modern hero might: he called the helpdesk. The situation was dire—his monitor displayed nothing but a stubborn black screen, while his controller blinked defiantly, mocking his failed attempts to restart the game.
His call was routed to Kevin, a helpdesk agent known in office lore as “The Fixer,” although his heroic deeds usually involved coaxing printers back to life or unraveling the mysterious “Wi-Fi not connected” saga. Kevin took one look at the ticket and suggested the classic step: “Have you tried unplugging the monitor and plugging it back in?”
What happened next was something no one could have predicted. As Alex obeyed the instructions and yanked out his HDMI cable, the sudden blackout on his screen sparked an electronic chain reaction in his apartment building. One by one, consoles in nearby flats rebooted mid-game. PS5s, Xboxes, Nintendo Switches—all blinked off and then back on, much to the dismay of gamers mid-match in heated online battles.
Word spread quickly. Social media exploded with confused gamers simultaneously losing progress and accusing an unseen hacker of launching a city-wide digital coup. Some claimed it felt like a supernatural event; others joked about it being the physical manifestation of “rage quitting.”
Meanwhile, Kevin calmly updated the ticket: “Issue resolved by basic unplug-replug manoeuvre. Apologies for any inconvenience caused by unintentional mass reboots. Recommend saving games more often.”
Alex, now happily playing with a fully functioning monitor, couldn’t help but laugh. “Who knew solving my monitor issue would cause a mini blackout party across Brighton? I’ll never look at a helpdesk question quite the same way.”
As for Kevin, he’s already plotting next week’s challenge: helping a coffee machine that refuses to beep. No promises it won’t also spark a city-wide caffeine interruption.