Panic set in. He could hear his neighbor through the wall—a man with a legal satellite subscription—erupt into a muffled cheer. The game had started. Someone had already hit a three, and Marcus was stuck in a digital desert.
8:59 PM. The "Live" button appeared. He held his breath and clicked. NBA Streams | Error 404
Marcus clicked the Albanian link. A grainy, pixelated image appeared. It was upside down, the commentary was in a language that sounded like a blender full of marbles, and the lag was so bad the players looked like 8-bit ghosts. But it was basketball. Panic set in
Suddenly, the ghost-version of Steph Curry pulled up for a shot. Marcus leaned in, his nose inches from the screen. Just as the ball left Curry's hand, the screen flickered. Someone had already hit a three, and Marcus
The clock on the microwave read 8:58 PM. In two minutes, the Western Conference Finals would tip off, and Marcus was ready. He had his lucky jersey on, a bowl of lukewarm wings to his left, and his laptop balanced precariously on his knees.
He jumped to his backup link. The video was removed due to a copyright claim. He tried the "Russian Mirror." Loading... Loading... 404.
Marcus sat back in the dark, the blue light of the error message reflecting in his eyes. He looked at his wings. He looked at his jersey. Then, he picked up his phone and did the unthinkable.