He reached the late versions. 7.0 introduced debug authentication. 7.4 broke it. 7.9 fixed it with a proprietary key escrow that the manufacturers had tried to recall. Each version was a layer of history, a key to a different lock.

SWD TOOL v.8.2.1.4 - QUANTUM RESONANCE > ACTIVE PROBE: DORMANT CORE DETECTED. > BYPASSING SECURITY MONITOR... > VULNERABILITY FOUND: LEGACY BOOTROM ENTRY POINT (v0.1 COMPAT MODE).

He typed the unlock command. The screen on the VR headset glowed to life. A cascade of green text scrolled on his monitor: UNLOCKED. FULL DEBUG CONSOLE AVAILABLE.