Sammy stands in an open lilac sky, ready for a Sit Down. The call's controls float around her, not yet in focus: the Private session chip, the call clock at 00:00, your self-view, the microphone and the camera. Five thin listening lines lie across the sky behind her.

Sammy · right now

Pull up a chair. I've got time.

The sky closes into a video call window around Sammy, like a phone's screen. A swipe track along its bottom reads ‘Swipe to sit down’, and a light runs once around the window's edge as the call connects.

Your dictionary. Fine, adjective, as you use it. The dictionary's: satisfactory, all right. What everyone hears: nothing to see here, move on. What Sammy hears: holding it together.