In the world of high-tech, there isn't much danger on the job. However, at server bunkers that
carry a high volume of traffic, employees must be wary of sudden bursts of data throughput.
When too many surfers call up a web page simultaneously, the effect can be what is known
in the business as a "data burst." Such events are usually harmless and only cause a
brief delay in serving an image or other data to a customer. In more serious
instances, a network can be stalled for minutes, hours, or days.

Pictured here is the worst case of data burst to date: a huge explosion occurred when over five
million PBase subscribers attempted simultaneously to view one image (I saw it weeks before and
I can tell you that seeing it was worth all the trouble that followed). The server and its power
supply, dreadfully overloaded, exploded. The force of the explosion blew a huge hole in the building
and started a fire that consumed some of the roof. The facility was a total loss. One employee was
ejected into the parking lot by the blast, but fully recovered at the PBase Personnel Rebooting
Center. Regional serving of images was switched to back-up equipment by means of an automatic circuit.

Of course, the worst thing about the incident was that many surfers were left hanging. Word of
the event spread like wildfire over the Internet, resulting in a sudden drop in the rate of
subscription renewals. PBase, fearing that the server location was jinxed, declined to update
the facility. Today it is still in this sad condition.
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