Ken, nuzzled into the couch, and had a peaceful series of dreams. Plants and creatures existed in harmony, the tops of grass were eaten but the root systems grew new shoots in a few days because they weren't destroyed and thus life prospered. Ecosystems worked together and thrived off one another in harmonious symbiosis. The tone of the dream shifted as he heard his gullible friend ask why Ken was destroying him. Manmade structures spung up with cartoon faces looming down at him accusatorily, their facades crumpling as time rapidly passed...
Ken awoke sharply, irritated, and frustrated at Jeff's words. Ken never thought of himself as mean... he was the victim of bullies, he was powerless and liked being the one imposing his power when he got it, watching others squirm reaffirmed he wasn't the one under the bootheel... this time.
Was he opportunistic, definitely. Someone who likes being in control, who doesn't?. But someone undeserving of any trust because he will exploit it heedless of the pain caused... well he doesn't really WANT to be that guy, but right now, he really is.
Ken stalked over to the Chronivac, pulled up Jeff's profile, and turned off the attributes he selected to cause pain and discomfort. His dreams inspired him to think of Jeff as an organism rather than a sentient object and he was able to see an amazing outcome if he can regain Jeff's trust. Jeff was already spacious, but the idea of turning Jeff in to a living, growing thing that maintained itself and enhanced his furnishings as he matured would be an amazing sight to behold.
Creating this monstrosity out of Jeff was easy once he found the right features. Abilities like being able to break down rocks, extract soil nutrients, transport water, and consume broken furnishings for repair and enhancement, were added as well as being able to merge with and connect to the property's landscaping and plant life. Finally, Jeff was upgraded to be even more than a security system, or even a fully automated house, he could rearrange and restructure rooms, choose and change furnishings, even react to things.
Ken anticipated Jeff still might not love this but wasn't ready to let go of his control and wanted to start making amends. He added the final touches and submitted the changes. The entire structure shuddered and slowly a hologram of Jeff appeared, very confused, before Ken. "Jeff, I'm sorry, what I did to you was wrong."
"Gee, ya think?" Jeff snapped, still very disoriented.
"I'm used to people turning on me as soon as they have a clear advantage over me, and I always fantasized of turning the tables, but after thinking about it, you weren't the one I wanted to hurt, and I really let it get the better of me. I'm truly sorry for making you go through that and have changed things for your better. I hope you are no longer uncomfortable and could actually go so far as to call yourself pleased with how you currently feel?"
Jeff still hadn't caught his bearings as things were still changing within the property. "I feel off, way off, but not bad... finally. You're still a jerk, but what's going on with me?"
"You're still sort of the house, but also so much more than that... Like a fungus you can connect to everything on the property and can help manage it, including the plants, rocks, the security system, walls, pipes, furnishings, and technology."
"That's why I feel so... off."
"Probably, but also, you also aren't actually here." Ken walked up to Jeff then walked through him. "You're a projection, and your perspective is a simulation based on the security cameras throughout the property. I was going to keep you fully conscious at all times, but now your awareness is split between, your interface," Ken gestured at Jeff, "security, and the connections you form with the property. So if I am not here and you are bored, your interface can shut down which is basically falling asleep until you want to do something or I want you to do something. The property connections and security is like breathing or healing an injury was when you were human... completely automatic unless something is wrong."
"That's all really cool but I don't want to stay a house forever."
"Good, because I don't want to stay here forever but I do want you to give this a chance. Know how I said you can control the furniture too?" Jeff nodded cautiously, "You're like, the ultimate 3D printer. You can eat anything, and build anything nonliving out of the supplies you consume. And beyond that you can do that symbiosis thing with living things to make them thrive or... not, and even steal their biological abilities and mimic them yourself. All together, you are the ultimate lair."
"That's sounds pretty cool... I want to at least try some of that... but I reserve the right to still be angry at you and you have to promise to change me back to human when I'm ready."
"Fine! That's fair, and I want us to have fun here." Ken exclaimed with a growing grin, "But did I mention, since your human form is just a hologram you have the perspective of being inside of, you can make it look and sound any way you want it to. Also, you can make it teleport anywhere on the property the projector and cameras reach?"
Jeff's look of shock showed for only an instant before he disappeared, his voice gleefully rang out a moment later. "I'm upstairs, I'm in the downstairs bathroom," a very muffled "I'm outside," then, "I'm in the kitchen."
Ken walked over to the kitchen seeing Jeff stare in wonder at his new reality. "You can print more projectors and cameras to go further. Reach out to the treetops, build a camera molecule by molecule, and connect it to your system, it sounds exhausting but its how life builds anything. The point is you can do it."
"I don't know how. I don't feel connected to do any of that. How would I start?"
"It's instinctual like growing an organ, but you get to decide what and where. You, Jeff, don't even need to know how to make it. Like you could add solar panels to the roof. But for now you should probably sleep to grow your connection to the whole of the property before diverting resources to build stuff. I just gave you the minimum connections to the security and display systems, I didn't fully integrate you to everything so conserving your energy and focusing on that is probably wise. I wanted you to enjoy progressing, getting stronger, and gaining new abilities, like you're in one of those RPGs you love to play." Ken laughed.
"Yeah, I do feel... small." Jeff winked out of existence and Ken went back to the computer finding new abilities and features to give Jeff while contemplating who and how to get revenge... He still owed Jeff an explanation but next time they speak he will have a plan.