Chapter 1
"She's a knockout,
Frank, but does she give good head?" That was the first thing
George said when he saw Cyndi as she opened the door to let him
into my apartment.
"Come on in, George.
Cyndi, get George a beer."
We both fixed our gaze
her size 2 body as she sauntered off in high heels with absolute
grace towards the kitchen. Well, that was the problem. Cyndi wasn't
really a she. In fact, she was delivered just a week ago. Cyndi
was one of the latest models from CyberSapien, Inc.
"Tell me all about
her," George continued, "Is she good in bed?"
"Is that all you
think about?" I laughed back blushing slightly - oh yes, I
used her for masturbation but she was still "inexperienced"
when it came to sex. What I did, I guess was done years ago with
blow up dolls. What I told George was, "I didn't get her for
that. She has a basic software package plus what I've been able
to train her on this week."
"So why did you
make her the way you did?"
"Actually, she's
a standard model. I had to pick a gender, so I picked female. I
had enough living with guys in college."
I went on as I went down
her specification sheet. "She's 5 foot 2, proportional to a
weight of 105 lbs and is set to appear as 21 years of age. As for
her face, Cyndi has many "twins" but she is a limited
edition."
"Her skin color
is centered on DEB8A7 with standard variations. I elected the get
the option that shows the subtle tanning associated with wearing
clothes."
"I picked a standard
hair color and length. She has only the basic package on grooming
it. I'd either have to take her to a hairdresser or buy her a module
that will train her to do it herself. The same goes for makeup."
George laughed, "You
mean to tell me she looks that good, just getting out of bed?"
"Well, that's the
other thing. She doesn't sleep. She is capable of a sleep mode so
it looks like she is sleeping, but she is 'awake' all the time."
Continuing with the specification
sheet I said, "I only have a couple of outfits for her. I really
do have to get her something more practical to keep house in. I
have a complete spec sheet on all of her sizes."
I stopped and laughed,
"At least that's one thing I won't have to worry about. She
will wear what I buy for her and she will wear it when I instruct
her to wear it. Can you imagine any real women getting along with
just a handful of shoes?"
George was impatient,
"So what does she do?"
"As I said, she
has a basic software package. She does housekeeping, laundry and
cooking. She knows how to operate basic household appliances. For
example, I didn't get a childcare module installed. She wouldn't
know how to change a diaper if her life, or whatever she calls her
life, depended on it."
"I think the first
module I am going to buy for her is an extended cooking module.
Her menu is rather limited, and I taught her
or rather she
downloaded at my command a couple of new meals. But rather than
buy them piecemeal, I'd rather buy the whole package. The whole
package contains a 'creativity' module that will allow her to figure
out how to use existing foods in my pantry, and how to adjust recipes
based on my feedback on meals served."
This was hardly true.
I was already working on getting one of the so-called "sex"
modules I've heard so much about. While it was a generally known
fact that cyber-sapiens were used for masturbation by both sexes,
true sex modules were left to a special market. I guess this was
sort of like the adult book stores and sex toy shops of yesteryear.
Even in this enlightened century, people still had problems with
what consenting adults, or in this case a consenting adult and a
machine, did with each other in private.
Women's groups in particular
didn't want to compete with machines for sex. I considered this
to be somewhat of a double standard since I've heard stories about
the male models and their capabilities. No human male could possibly
compete with a penis that is built to a specified length, width
and shape, erects on command, stays that way for as long as the
woman wants it, and vibrates.
I already had Cyndi browsing
the web for some sexual activities I would like. Web browsing for
her was different than it was for me. I had to use a keyboard, mouse
and monitor. She just had to be within range of the transmitter.
I've already "taught"
her how to give me a hand job, but it was "mechanical"
there was no "feeling" in it. As with the cooking module,
without the full programming behind her, she would be just going
through the motions.
I must have been daydreaming.
From a distance, I heard George, "Earth to Frank, come in,
Frank."
I laughed, "I'm
sorry, my mind wandered off, and I had a hard time finding it."
"Speaking of hard
times," George continued, "Do you think she could do a
strip tease for us?"
It was my turn to laugh,
"That would require a dancing module. This mama don't dance
and she certainly don't rock and roll. But it's a good idea. If
I bought her a dancing module, she could teach me how to dance."
"Can I see what
she looks like?"
"You mean you want
to see her naked."
George nodded. I shrugged.
"Cyndi, stand in
the middle of the room and take your clothes off." I noticed
that she stood precisely at what could have been at the point of
intersecting diagonals from the opposite vertices of the room. How
does an artificial life form interpret "middle?" I guess
without these many so-called modules, a literal interpretation is
the only way. If she has such a problem with the concept of "middle"
how is she ever going to learn the nuances of sex?
Cyndi was, however, smart
enough to see that we were looking at her, and that further orders
were not forthcoming. I did have to train her not to respond with
a "Yes, Frank" every time I gave her an order. If I had
visual contact with her, and she understood the order, I told her
that she could "assume" that I know she got the order.
Cyndi quite calmly stood
before George and me and started disrobing. To my eye, there was
no sensuality to it at all. She took off her clothing one item at
a time, folded it, and put it on a nearby chair. Messiness was not
in her makeup.
Soon she stood before
us completely naked. I suppose I could have told her to leave her
heels on. A real woman might have.
She had the perfectly
proportioned body. At least my definition and specification of what
a perfectly proportioned body was. CyberSapien allowed you to specify
not only height, but also how that height was distributed. I wanted
long legs, and I got them. Said legs were shaped in a slightly athletic
configuration. The calf was nicely developed, but not overly muscular.
The legs went into a
set of hips that were perhaps a little wider than some consider
ideal. I ordered them that way to counterbalance the little extra
on her rear end. I was surprised how wide CyberSapien would allow
you to order this part. Mine was a step or two larger than standard.
Up front, her pubic area
was lightly haired and anatomically correct. The problem was it
was not physiologically correct. It had the look, but not the feel
of the real thing. There was no responsiveness. There was no lubrication.
She didn't get wet, and there was no way she was going to experience
orgasm.
She just lay there. I
joked, "You can at least pretend you like it." Her response
was based on a general concept of "like" which to her
meant smile, giggle and laugh - hardly the thing a guy wants to
hear in bed.
Once I got over the insult,
or came to the realization that Cyndi was incapable of intentionally
insulting, I actually laughed. Cyndi, being taught to laugh when
those about her did, joined in. However the mood was ruined. I really
needed one of those modules.
Her breasts were small,
but firmly shaped. They were actually a step or two down from the
standard model. They felt exactly like the real thing, but again
elicited no response to whatever I did to them. In the deluxe childrearing
models the breasts actually synthesize milk from ingested raw materials.
I really didn't need that.
I had Cyndi pirouette
slowly for us so we could take in her perfection. She did so without
the slightest trace of self-consciousness.
Receiving no further
orders, she simply stood there in front of us. I nudged George,
"seen enough?" He nodded.
"OK, Cyndi, you
may go about your business."
Apparently that was an
incomplete order as Cyndi responded, "Do you wish me to resume
my clothes?"
"Yes, resume your
clothes," I said woodenly. Must she always be so damned clinical?
I was warned about this. Eventually she would adapt my manner of
speech, although there was a module for that too! I selected the
voice, and a rather bland dialect. I toyed with the idea of a French
or British accent, but decided against it. She could speak any number
of languages and in any accent and with any idioms, if only you
could afford the damned modules!
"Cyndi, fix us some
snacks."
"What shall I prepare?"
came the response. Damn! I wanted to scream at her, "Use some
imagination!" But how can a machine, no matter how intelligent,
have the smallest bit of imagination. She had to be taught to imagine,
or at least how to simulate imagination.
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