Sarah smiled, and for the first time, she looked human. "Welcome to the team, Elias. Or should I say, v2.0?"
The doors slid open to reveal a room that was entirely white—no windows, no chairs, just a single podium with a glowing tablet. Standing behind it was a woman whose features seemed slightly blurred at the edges, like a low-resolution image struggling to render.
The air in the lobby was thick with the scent of overpriced floor wax and the low hum of a server room hidden somewhere behind the mahogany panels. Elias straightened his tie for the tenth time, his reflection in the glass door of Suite 404 looking more like a ghost than a software architect. He was here for "The Interview v1.0."