Leo tried to reset, but the ROM bypassed the command. He was trapped in a frame-perfect nightmare. Every time he missed a jump, the screen didn't fade to black. Instead, Mario would simply crumple, and the timer would begin to count

—across the screen. A text box popped up, not in the game’s font, but in a jagged, flickering script: STAY IN THE LINES.

in years, months, and days. His own birthdate appeared in the score counter.