New system is being installed at this office, and it needs to be connected to a dedicated network, says a pilot fish on the team.

“The office had a raised floor, so we decided to have a look,” fish says. “We unlocked the access panel — and it started to rise by itself.

“We pulled the access panel away and eight people stood in a circle, looking at the mess below.”

Everything they can see through the hole in the floor is cable. Not only can they see no space to run new cable, but the existing cable is trying to escape out of the hole.

Turns out that in the time since the building was first wired, it’s gotten a succession of network upgrades. But nothing was ever disconnected and removed. Result: It’s impossible to push any new cables in, and it’s impossible to pull anything out without the risk of possibly disconnecting a live network.

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