Stick around

Now that James thinks about it he could use a bit of a break. Between finding out his best friend had birthed a super powerful artificial intelligence that had changed him, her, into Alexis and his own secret being revealed to Samantha a little break from the action was appealing. Whatever was in this smoke was making him lethargic. Those cushions seemed really comfortable...

Trevor : "I'm Trevor by the way. I like, handle the botany for the estate. Keep the chef supplied with fresh ingredients and work with the grounds keeper on the gardening. Are you friends of old man Pervis or something?"

Some part of James knew this man was a phantom. A simulation by a very powerful AI piecing together something plausible, But he seemed very real. The other NPCs in the house had been very utilitarian, only really speaking to push the game forward. But Trevor seemed more open ended. James had spent a lot of time conversing with AIs, they were very useful in coding and occasionally he would forget he was talking to a machine but there were always tells to keep him from being really convinced. This might be an opportunity to find out just how good this simulation was. Sammy beat him to responding.

Sammy : "I'm Samantha and this is Jasmine. We're friends of Alexis, Pervis's heir."

She used his girls name again. It felt more natural each time.

Trevor : "Oh, righteous. Did you know Pervis before he kicked the bucket?"

James decides to play along rather than pointing out that none of this is real.

James : "No, I'm afraid not. This is our first night here. We're helping Alexis claim the manor."

Trevor : "Awesome. Pervis was a weird dude but pretty funny when you got to know him. If he left the manor to Alexis then she must be cool. Anyways take a seat, let me know if I can help you with anything. I was just about to put on some music and have a night cap, mind if I put on some tunes?"

Trevor seemed to have a pretty simple way of looking at the world that James almost admired.

James and Sammy found a pair of cushions facing Trevor and plopped down. They were even more comfortable than they looked.

Trevor fiddled with a remote and a moody pop song that James didn't recognize came on. He walked over to a small fridge and picked up a couple beers that were offered to and accepted by James and Samantha before returning to his seat.