The mouse pointer—a crisp, white arrow on the host Windows desktop—sailed smoothly to the edge of the VM window. Alex needed to check a message on the host. Without thinking, they clicked inside the VM’s terminal. The arrow vanished. In its place, a crosshair cursor appeared, locked inside the guest operating system.

Ctrl+Alt.

They glanced back at the VMware window. The Linux VM sat patiently, its crosshair cursor frozen in mid-air, waiting for its next visitor. A tiny universe, now locked behind glass.

The mouse pointer shuddered. For a heartbeat, nothing happened. Then, like a deep-sea diver surfacing, the white arrow burst through the barrier. It streaked across the screen, free and wild, landing on the host’s taskbar with a triumphant little tap.

With the right hand, they clicked once on the VM’s title bar—a courtesy. Then they pressed the release chord.