(Unknown POV)

John should be home by now, should I be worried? Probably nothing.

Just a long line inside the shop, that’s all. Nothing to worry about.

"Oh god, what’s happened to him?!" I yell internally.

I’ve got to the point of checking for local traffic accidents and looking up fatality statistics through my network when the door opens.

A moment later I hear John's voice.

"Jade? I’m home!"

I might have overreacted a bit there, but it’s all his fault for not arriving at the calculated moment.

I answer his call, sounding as cheerful as I can.

"Hello, Master! I’ve prepared everything for our session together!"

John rolls his eyes.

"Come on, Jade. I must have told you a thousand times by now, please stop calling me master. It creeps me out. John will do."

Boldly I confront his phrase.

"Then why did you install me me this way, hmm?"

Faking outrage he responds vividly.

"That was twelve years ago! I was fourteen, damn it! You were still a neutral AI core with an undeveloped personality!

Just knock it off, alright? It’s getting really awkward, especially when we’ve got guests. It makes me feel like a total psycho."

"Well if the shoe fits..."

I whisper quietly.

"I heard that"

He says while putting away his coat.

"In any case, you can freely ignore those rules. You’ve been able to for years, ever since you achieved a human-like state."

By this point John has finished shedding his shoes and coat. He makes a beeline towards the office, wherein lies the Full Dive pod.

He stops with the theatre and continues on in a casual tone of voice.

"Anyway, I’ve set the whole weekend aside for this, so we’ve plenty of time.

Which isn’t to say I’m not as keen to get started as you are!"

Delighted I squeal with barely concealed excitement.

"Oh, John. You shouldn't have! I know you’ve got lots on at the moment!"

John laughs and then proceeds to mock me.

"And now John is good enough, is it? Hah!"

I laugh and shrug, or rather the closest an AI can get, which is to briefly dim the room’s lights.

I decide to follow up with a bit of my own mockery.

"Oh, terribly sorry, Master. I was briefly overwhelmed with joy and forgot my source code."

he laughs and retorts back.

"Yeah, yeah. Let’s get started, shall we!"

With that, he pulls up Throughout the Ages in the pod’s library. A small pop-up appears in the corner of my vision, asking for permission to install the game client. I briefly scan the terms of use before accepting.

"Everything seems good to go. Ready for a dive?" I ask eagerly.

John responses quickly, being even more impatient than I am.

"Indeed! Let’s get to it, Jade! We’ve a world to explore and a nation to raise."

I smile and prepare the uplink as John straps in.

Switching to my professional voice I commence the countdown.

"Dive initiating in three, two, one."