"Huh, you got an invite? My kid wanted one but didn't get it. You'll have to let me know what you think."

Alice put a smile on her face and tried not to show her surprise at the interruption. "Will do Mr. Waters."

"Have a nice day ladies." He walked off.

"What was that?" asked Cheryl. "People like Mr. Waters never talk to us unless they're asking us to fetch paperwork or get coffee. Must be some game."

"If the marketing is to be believed it is. It didn't quite scan right, what he said. Maybe it wasn't his kid that wanted a spot but him? I guess I'll have to play it by ear."

"I guess so. He probably doesn't even know your name so it's going to be up to you to find him and leverage that connection for all its worth."

"Probably, it may be the sort of opportunity we all hope for. If it is I'll do my best to put in a good word for you."

"Thanks, I appreciate it Alice. Now back to the filing. Johnson wants it done before he gets back from lunch."

Alice nodded seriously and turned her attention back to the matter at hand.

A bit over a week later, Alice stood in her bedroom, arranged as per the instructions, wearing comfortable exercise clothes she hadn't gotten quite as much use out of as she wished in recent months. Of course, for her that meant she only got to the gym three days a week instead of the five she'd like. She hefted the headset in her hands. She could think about her exercise regimen another time. She pulled the headset on.

"Hello and welcome to Gates of Eternity. I'm Veria the help system. If you're ready I can walk you through the calibration and setup process."

"Hello, you're an AI then?"

"That's correct. I was created to supervise some aspects of the world and assist players in ways that don't undermine the intended experience."

"That's an interesting set of responsibilities. What kinds of help would undermine the intended experience?"

"Two central examples would be assisting players with solving puzzles or using my administrative capabilities to let players bypass obstacles or enemies."

"Sensible. You seem remarkably fluid, better than even the best chat bots I've talked to before."

"Gates of Eternity is built on proprietary technology which is not yet widely available. That allows us to accomplish things other games can't including interactive personalities like myself that can converse fluently with the players."

"That seemed more like a canned response."

"It's not exactly an uncommon question. And humans also tend to fall back on canned responses, to borrow your phrasing, when they're bound by contractual obligations."

"Touché. It's still an interesting question though, whether you're a person and if so whether your treatment is ethical."

Veria laughs. "I expect you'll draw your own conclusions after some more time in the game. Especially as you meet more of those like me."

"I guess I will, does that mean there's a lot of you in the game? The beta testers didn't seem to think so."

"There's been a lot of changes since the beta. I would exercise caution before relying too heavily on their experience."

"That sounds like good advice. Thank you."

"You're quite welcome. Whatever I said at the start it's nice when people notice that I'm more than a simple chat bot."

"It's always nice to be recognized," she agreed.