Sivr-146-------- -

She leaned in. Her lips brushed the plastic shell of the headset, right over his ear.

“You’re late,” she said. Her voice wasn't seductive. It was tired. The voice of someone who had been waiting for a very long time. SIVR-146--------

She sat on a floral-print couch, her back to him. Long, dark hair cascaded down a white silk robe. She wasn’t moving. She wasn’t a hyper-realistic avatar—she looked like a memory. Slightly soft around the edges, as if filmed on analog tape. She leaned in

The screen went black. The static returned. right over his ear. “You’re late

“Sorry,” Kenji heard himself say. The VR was puppeting his responses. He felt a chill. He hadn’t chosen that dialogue.