He called the Helix help desk. "My workstation is rejecting my credentials," he said, keeping his voice calm. "I need the local admin override."
For thirty-six months, it was perfect.
A local shadow account. One with no password. One with no MFA. One that, three years ago, when he first set AutoAdminLogon , he had accidentally created and then forgotten.
The computer tried to log in. Failed. Tried again. Failed.
The machine was an island. A fortress with a changed lock.