At first, panic. That cold rush of reaching for a phantom limb. I tapped refresh. Restarted the router. Wandered the house holding my phone up like a divining rod for signal. Nothing.

: Many educational programs that initially ran offline transitioned to online formats, only to return to "offline" (in-person) settings to regain the benefits of social interaction and hands-on practice.

Following the digital shift of the early 2020s, "ran offline" has become a descriptor for traditional, environments.

: Critical infrastructure often runs on systems that are permanently offline to prevent hacking or unauthorized access.

The cursor blinked for ten minutes before I realized it wasn’t waiting for me anymore. No loading bar. No spinning wheel of false hope. Just stillness.