Meet up with Andrea and go out on the town

After delivering his report to Mr. Jones, John made his way back home, still feeling somewhat depressed. All this talk of reality and simulations, he thought. Am I just living in a dream? Maybe Kinson is right about people needing to wake up and do something with their lives. Not that that makes it right to put a gun to their heads....

The problem, of course, was that the real world was a mess. One of the reasons why over 500 million human beings had "immigrated" to the Mainframe was because, outside of this neat, orderly simulated world, wars raged, whole continents were suffering from famine and disease, and the world was generally going to hell on a bullet train. For those who could afford to have their minds downloaded into the Mainframe, at least there was never a risk of going hungry, or of watching your kids die of AIDS, measles, or God only knew what other epidemics were out there nowadays.

John shook his head. Enough with the existential crap. I've got a hot girlfriend, a roof over my head, and everything a human being could ask for. And tonight, we're going to have a great dinner at a great restaurant. Having made that decision, he called out, "Tina, call Andrea."

A moment later, a semi-transparent window appeared in the air in front of him, and Andrea looked back at him, first a little surprised, then smiling pleasantly. "Hey, John! To what do I owe the honor of your attentions?"

"To your hot ass and to a lousy day at work. What do you say we go out on the town tonight?"

"I'd love it! Just let me finish up at work, and we can meet up at the apartment."

John smiled. Somehow, Andrea always seemed in the mood for whatever he wanted to do, whether getting dressed up to go to a fancy restaurant or getting down and dirty at home. It had occurred to him more than once that she might be a program, maybe a mid-level AI or a heavily-readjusted IP tailored to suit his personality, keep him company and help him fend off occasional bouts of job-related depression. Of course, as a member of the Department, John could easily have checked the census data to see for sure, but wasn't really certain he wanted to find out that his erstwhile girlfriend was just a brainwashed doll or a piece of software with a pretty face. Better to believe that there was a real, live woman in his life.

Upon arriving at the apartment, John chucked his clothes in the laundry hamper - in the Mainframe, washing machines were unnecessary, since any clothing in a hamper would automatically be reset to its default appearance and replaced in its owner's closet the next morning. After placing a reservation at John and Andrea's favorite Chinese restaurant, he walked over to the closet to pick out a suitable outfit.

He was just sliding on a pair of boxers when Andrea came in the door. She took a step back, looking him up and down. "Wow! And here, I thought we were going to Chen's."

"Oh, don't worry, I'm just getting changed. I figured the management wouldn't want me wearing my Department badge or nametag at the restaurant."

"Right," Andrea agreed, looking him up and down. "You know, we could just eat in. Your friend there seems to want some attention."

"Wha-- Oh! Uh, right. Sorry about that."

"Don't be," Andrea whispered, then slid her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss.