The expirament that went wrong

Previously

…Phineas looked at his gleaming toaster, its chrome surface now reflecting not just the lab lights, but a nascent, terrifying ambition. He’d wanted to communicate with appliances. He’d accidentally created a kitchen tyrant. Brenda, ever the pragmatist, took another step forward, her hand reaching for a fire extinguisher. The experiment had gone wrong, alright. It had gone spectacularly, terrifyingly, and perhaps, hilariously, wrong. The age of appliance diplomacy had begun, and it smelled suspiciously like impending doom, with a hint of perfectly browned toast.