Chapter Seven
::::::::::
Anna and Elsa were resting after making love. They had found a rhythm of existence that suited them, a pattern of activities that made mornings peaceful and nights delightful.
Anna felt Elsa's fingertips caressing her softly. The android's body was warm, that warmth she produced artificially that, with her blonde hair, made her look like a lovely little sun. Anna snuggled closer to her. But then she propped herself up on one elbow and found Elsa's eyes.
"I never imagined you were so… complete," she commented.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, um, anatomically."
Anna had once wondered if it was possible to be physically intimate with Elsa, for she didn't know how human-accurate she'd been made. To see that Elsa was very human-accurate had been pleasing but intriguing.
"Does it bother you?" Elsa asked her.
"No, of course not. It surprised me, that's all. But in a good way."
"Good's all that matters."
Anna lied back on Elsa's chest again and allowed the android to stroke her hair.
"Why?" she asked after a while.
"Why what, love?"
"Why are you built that way?"
Elsa's voice changed. "Anna, what's going on? Why are you so interested in this all of a sudden?"
"It's just curious. I mean, I don't think many people do what we do, yet you can do it."
"It's simply part of the realism, Anna. Why do we have teeth, if we cannot take any food? But that's what humans have, and humans are what we're supposed to resemble. Imagine if I didn't have teeth."
"Creepy," Anna giggled.
Anna dropped the subject for the moment, but soon her curiosity was nagging her again. Anna was fascinated by Elsa's humanness, by how sometimes people did think she was human, by how intuitive and especially sensitive she was. There was so much to learn about Elsa…
Anna decided to search. She opened her browser and looked up Elsa's android model, the J-Line. The Ishiguro Company seemed to be very proud of this particular line, and displayed it proudly on their homepage. Digging deeper, Anna scrolled down a sample of the androids. They were male and female, though perhaps the girls had a slightly stronger presence. They were all extremely beautiful, well-built and designed with a clear emphasis on aesthetics.
They looked like Elsa in their base features (graceful lines, pretty lips, amazing cheekbones), but then had their own touches. One of the girls had gorgeous red hair in gentle waves, another had Asian features and a more conventional beauty. As for the boys, one had dark hair and blue eyes almost the shade of Elsa's; he was tall and muscled but still looked nice and kind. It seemed to Anna that he'd make a good pair with the red-haired girl.
Not much was said about individual elements; the concept was that any one that was bought could adapt to the functions required by the user. The happy, handsome faces were absolutely interchangeable.
It feels as if I'm buying people, Anna thought. She scrolled all the way up again, and read the brief overview of the J-Line:
"The perfect companion for your every need, the J-Line is equipped with our latest software and special service programming. They make excellent assistants, companions, and the answer to every wish and desire. Efficient, quick, practical, and made under the strictest quality controls, the J-Line is undoubtedly the best choice when looking for premium artificial intelligence."
Anna was going in loops, and decided to look for more information in other places away from the Ishiguro website. She had closed the page and was starting to work on a synthetic DNA model when the air screen popped up and the automatic voice filled the room.
"Hello, miss Solskinn, this is the Monitoring Centre for Androids, Robots, and Artificial Intelligence of the Ishiguro Company."
She jumped. "Gosh, you scared me!"
"We do sincerely apologize, miss. Please accept this fifty-dollar gift certificate as compensation."
I should definitely get scared more often, Anna thought.
"Sure, whatever. Um… what is it that you need?"
"It's just a brief satisfaction survey, Miss Solskinn, regarding the products you have purchased from our company. It won't take too long and your opinion is highly valued."
"Fine, go ahead."
"Thank you. Your family has registered the purchase of one of our J-line androids, and you are currently working with the J-739 element, is that information correct?"
"Yes." Anna had seen Elsa's ID number on the back of her ear. Among the J-Line, she'd been the 739th to be manufactured.
"Perfect. Are you satisfied with the performance of your element?"
"Yup. Very satisfied."
Especially considering Elsa's performance the night before. Extremely satisfied indeed.
"Does the element successfully perform the tasks assigned to it in proper time and form?"
"Yes."
"Have you noticed any abnormal behavior from your element?"
That made Anna stop. She had lost count of Elsa's abnormalities.
"Can't say I have, no," she said finally.
"You sound doubtful, miss. Remember, abnormal behavior is understood as the element's failure to comply with orders given, technical malfunctions, or non-programmed behavior that goes against specific orders, expectations, or which contradicts features otherwise specified in your user's manual. Has your element displayed any of these signs?"
"Nope. She's great. She's obedient and polite. I have no complaints."
"Your recent Internet search history contains inquiries about the J-Line. Is there any particular doubt you have about your element? We would be glad to assist you in any way you want."
"No, that won't be necessary, thanks. I was just curious."
"Would you recommend to friends and acquaintances the purchase of a J-Line element?"
"Absolutely."
"Thank you, miss. Now, to finish, do you have any comments or suggestions to help us improve the J-Line?"
"Don't make them so tormented and worrisome."
"Excellent, Miss Solskinn, we truly appreciate your help. Have a wonderful day."
The air screen turned off, just in time as she heard Elsa come home.
"Anna?" she called from downstairs.
"Upstairs, you loser!"
Soon Elsa's footsteps echoed on the stairs and she walked into the room straight towards Anna. Elsa smiled and kissed her softly on the lips.
"Hello, dork. How was your morning?"
"Boring," answered Anna. "Hey, one of my mom's friends just had a baby, and we're invited to the presentation tomorrow. Wanna go?"
Presentations of babies were quite an affair. They were inspired on the baptism customs, now long forgotten as a religious practice, but more alive than ever as a social event. They consisted of showing off one's newborn kid and make other people jealous because theirs weren't as cute, pretty, or they simply didn't have any children yet to boast about.
The party was being held in the garden. To Elsa's surprise, it was full not only of the parents' friends and family, but also of androids like her. There were a few J-Lines and also some of the H-Lines, an earlier, more basic edition. Of course, rich, competitive families like Anna's had felt the pressure of Elsa's arrival and wasted no time to buy their very own androids so they could talk about how amazing they were.
Oblivious to the displays of pretended superiority, Anna and Elsa rushed to meet the baby. Her mother was showing her proudly; after all it wasn't every day that one managed to produce a child perfectly structured to excel at classical ballet. The fact that no synthetic DNA was used in the process was indeed something to be noted.
"She's beautiful," said Elsa. "May I hold her?"
"Sure. I guess I trust you more than that silly nanny my husband hired. We do have a J-android, of course, but he uses it for work. I'll convince him of getting another one to take care of Diana."
The mother put the baby in Elsa's arms. Elsa immediately regulated her temperature to something warmer, and began to rock her very softly. The baby smiled and began to make little cooing noises.
"Aw, she's so cute!" cried Anna.
Elsa looked up at her and smiled.
"Do you want kids?" she asked.
"Of course I do. Everyone wants kids. I can't wait to-"
Anna noticed the change in Elsa's expression, how delicately she held the baby girl as if she was some precious, rare treasure.
"Oh, come on, Elsa, there's plenty of ways. I was made in a test tube, she was made in a test tube, I've heard of children who are completely developed outside a human womb, so there's surely something we can do."
Elsa smiled, but Anna could tell she wasn't convinced.
"Don't worry about me," said Elsa, noticing Anna's concern. "Why don't you go talk to your friends over there? Don't forget we're leaving in a few weeks and you won't have the chance to see them anymore. I'll go watch the kids play, I can't believe the nannies left them alone."
Anna went to her friends and Elsa stayed alone near the playground for a while. Not for long, because a minute later the most enthusiastic voice in the world greeted her.
"Hey girl!"
"Hey yourself."
Jay was another J-Line android. What her owner lacked in imagination to name her she made up in personality. She had been bought by a banker and now served as a combination of personal assistant and PR manager; Elsa knew her because they had arranged several meetings between Jay's owner and Anna's father. Between her customized programming and everyday interactions, Jay had become lively, chatty, and immensely funny.
They sat on a nearby bench and Jay began to talk enthusiastically.
"So what's up? How's your girl?" she asked while she let out her hair from its chignon.
"She's fine, Jay, thank you. How's your guy?"
"Somewhere upstairs talking boring politics and boring business with his boring friends. He said I could stay in the garden and be with my own crowd for a while. We shall see how he feels tonight, you know, he can go on for hours!" Jay giggled.
Of course he'd want Jay, Elsa thought. 'The answer to every wish and desire', she remembered.
But Jay had never been happier. "We're assistants, accountants, stylists, nannies, teachers, nurses, lovers, anything our owners might want. We can do it all," she added proudly.
"How is he with you?" Elsa inquired suddenly. "I mean, when you're… together."
"What do you mean?"
"How does he treat you? Is he nice to you?"
"He's… normal, I guess."
"But do you like it? How does it feel?"
Jay looked at Elsa, puzzled.
"I don't understand… I mean, it's my job, it's what he wants to do. Of course I like that I can perform successfully and that I can be of use, I feel proud of it. Is that what you were asking?"
Elsa smiled. "Sure, Jay."
"Relax, weirdo," Jay laughed. "You and your girl have done it?"
"No," Elsa lied. Her experience felt so different from Jay's that she didn't want to share it.
"That's what I thought. You're more like her nanny, aren't you? Her being so young and all. Bet you take her to the school bus, help her with her homework, tuck her in at night with a bedtime story!" Jay laughed even harder. "I love our lives. Oh, look, there's Max."
Max was Jay's owner, and he was just coming out of the house with what Jay had called his boring friends. He approached the androids with a smile.
"Hey, Max, this is Elsa," said Jay, irreversibly happy.
"Hello. You're the Solskinns', right? I knew I'd seen you before. Say hi to Charles for me. Ready to go, Jay?" he patted his android's shoulder.
"Of course! Well, Elsa, it's been soooooo nice to see you. Let's stay in touch!"
Jay hugged her, and then she was already walking away with her owner.
"Max, don't forget your appointment tomorrow. You got three e-mails while you were upstairs, I replied to one but you might want to check the others yourself. And also, the balance of your accounts is ready and uploaded to the system. I wrote to the team in Saudi Arabia and convinced them of accepting the 20% cut in…"
Elsa watched them walk away and went to find Anna. To see her felt strangely reassuring, to bring her food and watch her eat and move and talk brought that little buzz she was learning to control, and which now felt more like a faint purr. Did Jay ever feel the same?
Jay could not understand about personal enjoyment in a relationship, she did her job and the only happiness or satisfaction she felt derived from performance. Jay didn't know pleasure for pleasure itself. Elsa kept thinking about it at night, while she guarded Anna's sleep. Why am I different from her?
She began looking through her own files, the descriptions of her features and what she was supposed to do. Everything in the files set Jay as a bright example of what was right. A lot of what went through Elsa's system wasn't listed in the features or manuals, so she had no way of knowing if it was right or wrong. She scanned her system, looking for anomalies, but didn't see anything that stood out particularly.
Elsa decided to drop the subject for the time being, but perhaps later she would try to talk to Jay again and attempt to understand whatever it was that set them apart.
A couple of days later, Anna arrived from school happier than she'd been in a while.
"Hans has left," she said. "He's in Japan now, where he can't pester me anymore."
Elsa frowned, remembering. "He's working for my company, isn't he? He works at Ishiguro."
Anna thought for a moment. "You're right, he does. He's an engineer. Anyway, I bet all he does is push the buttons and follow someone else's orders. As long as I don't have to look at his ugly face I'm fine. Meanwhile, you and I have to start packing for our own trip. Remember we're leaving for the Institute in three weeks."
"I emailed the Institute and they said they have no problem with students attending classes with any electronic device, including androids," Elsa informed with a smile. "We'll get a lot more time together from now on."
"Everything will be better from now on, I know it. We'll be happy, Elsa, really happy, you'll see."
Elsa caressed Anna's cheek. One's smile reflected on the other's face. Elsa placed a gentle kiss on Anna's mouth.
"I love you."
"'Tormented and worrisome?' Those are the words she used? 'Don't make them so tormented and worrisome?'"
Mr. H. was a top-rank engineer inside the Ishiguro Company. His work had been crucial in the development of the J-Line and several other devices with fine artificial intelligence characteristics. Reading the newest reports on the J-739 that had been showing unusual activity, he was quite displeased.
"Yes, sir. She was given the survey and when asked for comments she suggested not to make the androids so tormented and worrisome."
"I sure as hell did not put those features in my machines," Mr. H. huffed. "And you say someone's been snooping around our system?"
"We have a few breaches in the surface of our database. I don't think they were intentional, but it does take a program created by the Company to reach this information. Apparently it was the J-739, looking up information about its own functions."
"So the owner is really determined to find out more about it."
"Well, not exactly. The searches come from the element's own system. They were not activated by voice or external commands. First it searched the content it already has coded in itself, and then it began to dig into our database. But no external stimulus is shown in the activity report."
Mr. H. snatched the report from the worker's hands and began to read.
"You mean it looked itself up by its own will?" he asked, turning page after page.
"Well, it's too high a presumption, but as of now it's our only explanation."
"Are you telling me that this element checked its preloaded information about itself and wasn't satisfied, and then decided to do some research of its own?"
"Yes, sir. Although, maybe she was following some kind of order, not immediate and explicit as to the research, but some prior command. The owner didn't report any anomalies when asked, and by the level of them they should have been clear even to inexpert eyes."
"So she purposefully covered it up?"
"It could be thought so. The owner might intentionally be covering her element's irregular activity."
"Can we access its interactions and conversations?"
"We can tell who it spoke to, when and how long. But to obtain the actual contents of the interactions we need the chip inside the android's central system."
Mr. H sighed. "Fine. Let's get the thing. And its girl."
