The user froze. Jackie held her breath, waiting for the disconnect, the complaint, the loss of credits.

"Syncing in 3... 2... 1..." her AI handler whispered in her ear.

"You’re home late," she said, her voice filtered to sound like a warm memory. "I was starting to think you forgot about our evening."

Jackie—known to her subscribers as —was the city's premier "Joi" (Joint Optical Interface) companion. Her job was simple: be the person they needed for as long as the credits lasted.