Android to Be With
Part A
Quinn stared out of the large waiting room window. Her eyes watching a woman talk with a horse in the pasture about 10 yards away. She was running her hand up and down his large head, smiling at him, not feeding him anything. Quinn found it odd. Of the few farm animals she had seen, they were constantly eating something; hay, carrots, grass and so on.
Quinn was shaken from her observations when Dr. Pierce entered the room, greeting her enthusiastically. "Quinn! Thank you so much for joining us today!"
Shaking the hand of the older woman, 20-year-old Quinn smiled politely in return. Dr. Pierce was joined by her assistant, Santana, a beautiful Latina. "Please sit, we have so much to talk about. Again, I'm very excited you agreed to this! We are going to have so much fun," the overjoyed scientist explained.
"My pleasure; I got a day off of work and get to spend it here at corporate headquarters," Quinn smiled.
"You find your work boring?" Dr. Pierce asked.
"Somewhat, yes. It's general maintenance work. I also repair damaged weather modifiers," Quinn explained.
"Amazing," Dr. Pierce replied, confusing Quinn. She didn't consider her mundane job amazing at all. It's all she's known. With very few memories from her younger years, no family, or close friends, Quinn was put in this maintenance role as if she's always been doing it - never questioning, never wondering about her past.
"Anyway, let us begin. Santana will take notes. I'm assuming you know why you are here?" Dr. Pierce asked.
"Yes, you want me to help you all design, um, someone for me to, well, be with?" Quinn nervously answered.
"Yes!" Dr. Pierce replied, smiling widely. "You don't have to be nervous by the way. Based on your imagination, we will build you someone to spend your life with. Again, your imagination is the limit. We can, and will, build you anything."
"Anything?"
Dr. Pierce nodded in the direction of the pasture with the woman and horse in it, "We built him."
"You built a horse for her?"
Dr. Pierce, smiling, almost giggling, stood from her seat, walking quickly to the large window, banging on it, waving at the woman and the horse.
"Hello!" the woman waved in return.
"Hi Dr. Pierce!" the horse yelled back in a normal sounding male's voice.
Quinn's mouth dropped, "You mean the horse is a robot?"
"Yes!" Dr. Pierce said, sitting back down, always smiling.
"So that's why it isn't eating. It doesn't need to," Quinn said.
"HE doesn't need to. You're correct, no need to eat food," Dr. Pierce said. "He looks real doesn't he? He doesn't smell real, which I suppose is a good thing! She takes him to the pasture there and rides him around sometimes. It's all very sweet. But let's talk about you and what you want."
"Alright," Quinn said, glancing at Dr. Pierce's assistant, Santana. Quinn noticed she didn't have anything to write on, or tablet devices to transcribe their words into a document. Quinn thought that was odd as well, since Dr. Pierce said she was going to be taking notes.
"I want you to focus. I want you to use your imagination. And I want you to relax. There is nothing we can't build no matter how unusual some may think it is. She can be anything you want her to be. The important thing is simply using your imagination," Dr. Pierce said.
Quinn nodded, "Ok, well, where do we begin?"
"Yes! Firstly, is what do you want?"
"Well, I would want something human-like, but not a human. And, uh, beautiful. And, um, perhaps, it could be a she, you know, curvy and um," Quinn was rambling.
"Ok, ok, slow down a bit. Just relax," Dr. Pierce said. "What you're doing for us is wonderful. I just want you to take a deep breath and let your thoughts flow. Alright?"
Quinn nodded, doing as she was told, pausing a moment before speaking again, "A humanoid shaped android for pleasure. Specifically, female shaped. The body would be shorter than me in appearance, flat stomach, toned with long legs." Quinn paused, glancing at the assistant, Santana, who remained silent, smiling softly at her.
"Wonderful! Keep going," Dr. Pierce said.
"Um, I like long hair, maybe brunette, like I said, I want her to looked as human as possible" Quinn added.
"We'll get to that in a moment. This is all very basic information first," Dr. Pierce said.
"You said she was taking notes?" Quinn asked, glancing at Santana, still sitting with a permanent smile on her face.
"She is! Now then, toned, shorter, long brunette hair, female human curves, what about other general descriptions? What about her eyes Quinn?" Dr. Pierce winked.
"Oh um, well, yeah, she'd have large brown eyes, innocent brown, you know, that one that looked like a doe, or, or a puppy…" Quinn trailed off, looking embarrassed.
"Hey, it's ok," Dr. Pierce said. "Just take it slow."
Quinn paused another moment, before gathering her thoughts. "She'd have plump lips, pink and soft. I want her skin to be tanned in color, but it wouldn't feel like ours," Quinn said running an index finger over her forearm.
"Hmm, what about her voice?
"Angelic!" Quinn blurted, "Um I mean, she would have soft voice when she talk and sounds like an angel when she sings."
"Great, great. What about other sounds? We can completely hide mechanical sounds such as whirring, or light machinery sounds when she moves in a certain way. We can also mask any sort of computer processing sounds she may emit."
"Keep those. I like that idea of robotic sounds when she sits or walks. Nothing too loud or noticeable, but something barely there to remind me she's not a human but robot," Quinn explained.
"Yes, perfect, this is great. Anything else?"
Quinn shook her head, "I think that's all," Dr. Pierce nodded in agreement, seemingly enjoying Quinn conveying her vision. "I like this scheme!"
"Come, let's take a walk. I want to show you around," Dr. Pierce stood, extending her hand to Quinn.
Dr. Pierce led Quinn through her laboratory. Quinn saw many rooms filled with half assembled labor robots. They were used mostly used for construction. Dr. Pierce explained when their assembly was complete they would be sent to Mars to assist with operations on the various colonies there.
Quinn peeped in other rooms, observing gigantic robots. The large, humanoid-shaped machines would ignite rocket boosters on their backs, testing their flight capabilities. According to Dr. Pierce, these machines were headed to provide repair work on the large solar plasma harvesters and converters that were orbiting the sun.
They walked by another laboratory. Scientists were looking through advanced microscopes. "What's in there?" Quinn asked.
"Ah, that's where we build and test our nanotechnology - microscopic little robots that help us out. Nanobots, as we call them. They can carry out simple functions or more advanced tasks if need be. We usually administer them to androids in a thick liquid-like state. Sort of like gel. Think of them as artificial cells," Dr. Pierce explained.
"The substance is quite similar to the daily nutrient packets you consume," Dr. Pierce added, glancing over Quinn. "Anyway, let's continue."
Finally the last series of rooms on the tour were conference rooms and offices. Dr. Pierce told Quinn to look through a window in one room. Quinn saw a small person. She watched him play with blocks, studying his movements.
"What's that?" Quinn asked Dr. Pierce.
Placing her hand on Quinn's shoulder, she replied, "That's a child. Not many of those exist nowadays do they?"
A tall man was presenting the child to a young couple. After a moment, the man gently pressed the back of the boy's neck. A panel on his forehead opened and extended, revealing what looked to be data storage cells. Quinn chuckled, the child wasn't human.
"We can make anything," Dr. Pierce whispered.
"Let's talk about personality. What do you have in mind?" Dr. Pierce asked, leading Quinn and Santana into another conference room. Quinn looked out of the large window of this new room. It had a different view. Large, green expanses of trees mostly, but there were a few sparse steel ruins of Addis Ababa jutting out of the greenery. Relics of a capital city from a country formerly known as Ethiopia; where the corporation's headquarters were.
"Oh, right," Quinn said, sitting across from Dr. Pierce and Santana. "I was thinking of her being shy but could be talkative if she wanted to be."
"Yes, good, I love it. Perhaps she could be somewhat submissive. It would be her desire to serve you. Like cleaning your apartment, and well, other things," Dr. Pierce winked.
"Right, yes," Quinn nodded not picking up on what the doctor was hinting at.
"Perhaps she wouldn't initiate physical contact, instead relying on you to take charge with that at first. Yes?" Dr. Pierce asked.
"Um, well, yes. I suppose. I'm not experienced." Quinn said.
Dr. Pierce smiled warmly at Quinn. "It's ok, really it is. You and your creation can gain experience of many wonderful things together."
She nodded at Quinn, silently looking at her, "I'm sorry this is just an amazing day for us to meet you here. Let's get down to more specifics: sex."
"Oh, that," Quinn looked away nervously.
"You know what I think you'd like? A trigger point. We've designed several partners over the years that have a trigger point. Somewhere on their body, that when touched, lets them know they are desired sexually. From that point, depending upon their programming, they act accordingly. I think for a shy lover, this would be an ideal solution."
"Let me show you," Dr. Pierce continued. She glanced to her left, extended her arm, lightly grazing her fingers across Santana's neck. Santana closed her eyes, smiling warmly, and then opened them to give Dr. Pierce a seductive look.
"See? Her trigger point is right there. Just along her neck."
"You mean she's a - " Dr. Pierce interrupted Quinn, "Where did you have in mind?"
Quinn paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts, watching Santana look Dr. Pierce up and down. "I, uh, her back. The small of her back, I guess," Quinn shrugged.
"Excellent! That's a great idea. I think we can come up with something you'll be more than happy with. Now then let us talk more details about sex. I won't go into specifics in regard to her capabilities or, shall I say, access points. All of that will be very similar to human. I want to know about fetishes of yours. Have you laid awake at night thinking about things that turn you on?" Dr. Pierce asked.
"A fetish? Um, I don't know, not really."
"Santana, stand please, undo your blouse," Dr. Pierce ordered.
Santana did as she was told, unbuttoning her blouse, letting Dr. Pierce open it further to expose her breasts. She watched for Quinn's reaction, giggling with delight when she saw the younger woman blush. Dr. Pierce took her index and middle finger to her right armpit, gently pushing inward. Quinn heard a soft mechanical clicking sound. Quinn eyes widened when she saw Dr. Pierce carefully remove Santana's right breast, exposing a metallic endoskeleton, flashing lights of advanced circuitry and what appeared to be an artificial lung, moving slowly back and forth, simulating breathing.
"See this?" Dr. Pierce showed a shocked Quinn the breast, turning it over, revealing more circuitry and mechanical parts. "These circular devices on the inside here store and administer, at Santana's will, a sweet, white substance. It's obviously not human milk, but it's a sugary treat I like to extract from her every once in awhile. It tastes good."
Dr. Pierce moved back to her assistant, snapping the breast back in place, "I have to get her refilled, depending on how much is used. But that's an example of a nice little fetish we can implement. Can you think of something that would turn you on?"
"Um," Quinn shook her head no.
Dr. Pierce smiled, "It's ok. I tell you what, if you think of something, anything at all, just let me know. You can bring your lover in and we'll adjust her accordingly."
Quinn smiled awkwardly and nodded.
"I think this covers everything. We'll throw in a few surprises. These will be things that will certainly remind you she is not a person. Do you have any questions?" Dr. Pierce asked.
"Will she be," Quinn paused, thinking about the android child she saw earlier, "fully mature right? I mean, she'll be able to talk and I won't have to teach her anything."
"Of course she will be! She'll have full knowledge of our history, society, manners, social protocols, and so on. She will be able to speak our universal worldwide language, along with French, Spanish, and English" Dr. Pierce answered.
"Great, that's all I have. I'm interested in what surprises you throw at me," Quinn blushed.
"Santana, did you get all of what we talked about?" Dr. Pierce asked.
"I did, Dr. Pierce. I can upload all data when we return to your office," Santana replied.
There was a train station just inside the gates of the corporate complex. Quinn said goodbye to Dr. Pierce and Santana. She would hear from them in a few weeks. Quinn waved one final time before the doors closed, taking her seat after the automated voice told her to. Moments later the trained left the station, silently traveling 1000 miles per hour, safely arriving at Quinn's home 30 minutes later, 500 miles away in a land that used to be called Sudan.
Dr. Pierce watched the train practically disappear in a blink of an eye, not making a sound, "I think Quinn will be our best one yet," she said, turning to Santana who isn't interested in her opinion.
Santana followed her back to her office, shutting the door, slamming Brittany against it, tearing off her blouse. "Aren't you going to upload the data you recorded first?" Dr. Pierce asked.
"Just shut up and fuck me," She growled, lunging at Brittany, pulling her face in for a kiss. "You know what touching my neck like that does to me."
"Yes I do," Dr. Pierce smiled, returning the android's kiss.
The train started its deceleration several minutes before it arrived at Quinn's home. She was afforded enough time to think about how remarkable her home city was. No longer seeing blurred greenery as the train traveled, she saw the five mile high, five mild wide, cylinder she and 999,999 others called home.
Quinn lived near the top, four miles above ground. She entered her apartment and was immediately greeted by the artificial intelligence saying hello, opening the blinds, letting sunlight in, and turning on the holographic television.
A news report was on, the female newscaster was in mid sentence when she appeared as a hologram, "...making this the third star system at which an Earth vessel has arrived. Sirius is 8.6 years away and we can expect..."
Quinn looked out her window admiring the vast green landscape from four miles above. She smiled, thinking how wonderful her day had been. A slight nervousness came over her. She was fearful this android woman that was being created for her might not like her. She regretted not asking Dr. Pierce about that possibility - blaming her forgetfulness on nerves. Everyone worked for the corporation - the only one on Earth. Engineers, scientists, mechanics, all worked together for the sole purpose of repairing damage done to the planet by previous generations and one day leaving Earth and exploring the galaxy; a lofty goal that required baby steps.
Quinn entered her small kitchen to retrieve a nutrient packet. It contained a medium size pill with a small cup of gel-like white substance. The corporation provided all residents with everything they would ever need. Quinn sat, eating her meal, enjoying the full feeling it would provide her until tomorrow.
Another week passed, still no word from Dr. Pierce. Quinn was working at the North Pole, uninstalling machinery that helped refreeze most of the melted ice. Her doubts were catching up to her. The following week she was performing maintenance on a machine that sped up the removal of greenhouse gases from Earth's atmosphere. As she was finishing her job she decided to call Dr. Pierce, her nerves getting the best of her.
"Hi, Doctor, it's me," Quinn said into the mobile device she wore on her wrist.
"I know! It's good to see you," the holographic image of Dr. Pierce smiled at Quinn.
"I was just wondering how things were coming along. I'm kinda scared," Quinn admitted.
"Scared? Why? Things are going better than expected with her. Oh, by the way, you need to think of a name. When you meet her, you'll assign it to her."
"A name? Oh, I don't know," Quinn said.
"In another week or so, she'll be ready. I'll help you come up with something then!" Dr. Pierce said.
"What if she doesn't like me?" Quinn blurted out, sitting on the edge of the 11,000 foot tall tower in the middle of the Indian Ocean.
Dr. Pierce laughed, "You won't need to worry about that at all!"
"What about clothes? I mean, she can't just walk around naked. Would they let her on the train?"
Dr. Pierce paused, smiling at Quinn, "You're great Quinn. You really are. Don't worry about the clothing issue. We already have everything covered. Pun intended!"
Quinn cracked a smile, realizing Dr. Pierce was trying to put her nerves at ease.
Quinn watched Dr. Pierce look to her left and nod, "Listen, Quinn, I have to go, but I will contact you next week. Ok?"
"Yeah, I look forward to it."
"Me too!" Dr. Pierce ended the transmission.
Quinn stood in front of the mirror, looking over her body. She was toned and in good shape. She had never had sex. No one ever seemed to talk about sex to begin with. It wasn't in advertisements, it wasn't alluded to in conversations, and it wasn't in songs or other forms of entertainment. Quinn wondered if anyone actually had sex. The only time she could remember ever discussing it was with Dr. Pierce a few weeks prior during their initial meeting.
Putting on her clothes, a shirt, and jeans, Quinn tried to remember if she's ever been horny. She's looked at things and thought they were beautiful, trees, mountains, cities, an occasional female, but she couldn't recall if she ever thought about having sex.
On the train ride to corporate headquarters, Quinn thought that she'd be experiencing sex in the near future, that is, if this android was actually into her.
Rachel was the name she came up with. It was short and simple. The train arrived minutes later; Quinn was greeted by the smiling Dr. Pierce and her assistant, Santana. She was hugged by the doctor and led inside.
"I like the name you've chosen. How do you feel?" Dr. Pierce asked, Santana leaving the two alone.
"Nervous."
"Yeah? Why is that?"
"What if she doesn't like me or what she's not attracted to me? What if we, you know, have sex and she doesn't enjoy it?" Quinn listed her fears.
Dr. Pierce sat across from her, smiling, "You have nothing to be afraid of. She will be shy, but you two will experience so many wonderful moments together. I promise."
A few minutes later the large double door of the conference room opened. Santana walked in, standing to the side, waving her hand at something to enter the room. Quinn stood, taking a deep breath, this was it; she would meet her.
"When she approaches you, simply say hello, followed by the name you've chosen. It'll initiate her programming. You must make sure, 'Hello Rachel' is the first thing you say," Dr. Pierce explained.
Quinn nodded, her eyes widening when she saw a short, petite figure enter the room. She was wearing a red sweater, with black skirt, her brunette hair, flowing down her back. She had bangs ending just above her large, doe and brown eyes. Santana led her slowly to stand in front of Quinn.
Quinn glanced at a smiling Dr. Pierce to her right; she was urging Quinn to speak to Rachel. The android was motionless, unblinking, staring blankly into Quinn's eyes. Quinn started to speak, but was afraid. One more glance to Dr. Pierce, a slight nod of her head and Quinn found the courage.
"Hello Rachel," Quinn said, looking for a reaction. There was none.
Quinn glanced to Dr. Pierce, who gave her a thumbs up. Quinn looked back to Rachel, after a few seconds, her eyes glowed red, and she scanned Quinn from head to toe. Afterward, they resumed their soft chocolate color, blinking and looking nervously from side-to-side. She lowered her head, occasionally glancing at Quinn. Quinn wondered if something was wrong.
"Hello," Rachel said softly, after a few more seconds passed.
Quinn smiled nervously at her. She could barely hear the humming of Rachel's processing units inside her body. Quinn watched her fidget with her fingers.
Dr. Pierce spoke up, breaking the awkwardness, "Quinn I have some business to tend to, please stay as long as you want. I'll check on you two in a little while. Call me if there are any problems."
"Oh, yeah sure," Quinn said, watching her leave, wishing the doctor would have stayed longer.
Quinn and Rachel were alone, Quinn not having any idea what to say to her.
"Um, it's nice to meet you, Rachel," Quinn finally piped up. Rachel smiled softly, nodding her head.
"So, I guess you'll be living with me?" Quinn asked, feeling foolish. Again Rachel nodded her head.
"Is that ok with you? I mean, that is, if you are, um," Quinn's eyes darted around, Quinn felt foolish.
"It is. I would like that very much," Rachel replied, her eyes meeting Quinn's for a second.
"Good, good," Quinn nodded. "I like your hair."
"Thank you," she replied, Quinn noticing a soft smile. Rachel's artificial copper skin seemed to move just like her.
"I don't live too far from here. Have you ever been on a train?" Quinn asked, knowing she probably had never left the compound.
"No, I haven't."
Quinn sighed, turning around to look out the window at the lush greenery which surrounded the building they were in. Telling herself to relax, Quinn tried to make her feel more at ease, besides; Quinn wanted her to be shy.
"It's a lovely day isn't it?" Quinn asked. She saw the tanned shape move next to her with her peripheral vision.
"Yes it is."
They both turned to glance at each other at the same time, each looking away quickly when their eyes met.
"You'll like my apartment. It's pretty high off the ground. I have a great view," Quinn told her.
"I'm sure I will," Rachel smiled at her. Quinn turned to glance at her, smiling in return.
Dr. Pierce and Santana interrupted the awkward silence that followed a moment later. Santana's hair was somewhat disheveled and she was smiling.
"How is everything?" Dr. Pierce asked, approaching Quinn and Rachel.
"Good," Quinn smiled at her. Dr. Pierce glanced at Rachel; she too, smiled in return.
"Great! The next train is scheduled to arrive soon. You two can leave unless you have any questions for me."
"No, I think everything is fine."
"Wonderful. Quinn, I have arranged some time off work with your manager. So enjoy the weeklong vacation with Rachel," Dr. Pierce said.
"Oh wow, that's great Dr. Pierce. I will, I mean," Quinn glanced at Rachel, "Thanks."
"Here, take this," Dr. Pierce handed Quinn a small cube. Quinn pressed the button on the side and the cube extended into a tube. On one end was a cable that coiled out, extending several feet. On the end of the cable appeared to be some sort of camera-like device.
"What's this?" Quinn asked.
Dr. Pierce smiled, "It's for exploration." She winked suggestively at Quinn and said goodbye.