Then they can fly through these tubes before Alan does anything.
Let's say Alan COULD access these. (Even though he can't. He can access the BOX but not the tubes.)
He would first check on his family (If they're home.) If not sit down a process what happened.
He would attempt to fix his computer after plugging it back in.
If he can't/couldn't, THEN he would smash it. (That is, if he doesn't care for his digital friends, which he more than likely does.)
And by the time he does that, Victim would have already escaped. And given his intelligence, he definitely would have been able to figure something out to PREVENT himself from being erased.