Obsolescence (Parts 1 and 2)

[D.Olivaw]

Well, I got bit by the writing bug today and didn't have much to do. I'll update this as often as I can, which probably means irregularly. I'd like to credit all the wonderful people on this board with helping inspire me and this is my way of (hopefully) giving a little inspiration back.

Part 1

The low hum of early morning traffic was barely audible when Eve abruptly opened her eyes. The illuminated dial of the alarm clock read precisely 6:00 am, though she never looked at it. Instead, she turned her head to make sure that Jake was still asleep. He lay beside her in bed; the covers disheveled where his nocturnal motions had disturbed them. He snored lightly, deep in sleep, and Eve’s full lips pulled into a smile. Sitting up at the waist, she pivoted her legs out from under the sheets and sat on the edge of the bed. After a short pause calculated to avoid disturbing Jake’s sleep, she stood up in a single smooth motion.

With measured steps, Eve made her way down the hall to the master bathroom and flicked a switch. The lights came on, illuminating her lithe figure. A bob of lustrous black hair framed attractive features: an upturned nose, high cheekbones, and large, round eyes with pale blue irises. Her nude form was lean but very feminine with wide hips and a pair of full, pert breasts whose pink areolae contrasted with otherwise pale, blemishless skin. The only features that marked Eve as anything other than a stunning young woman were the faint seams where her limbs and neck joined her body, as well as around a few polygonal sections of her chest and back.

The artificial woman stepped into the tub and gently lowered herself to a sitting position, the servos in her arms quietly whining in protest during the brief time they bore most of her weight. Reaching forward, she turned the tap so that a moderate trickle of warm water flowed down to the drain and removed a long cylindrical brush from the shower-caddy. She held it under the water until the soft bristles were thoroughly wet then spread her legs, revealing the soft pink folds of her sex. After spraying a gentle cleanser on it, Eve thrust the brush deep insider her and vigorously worked it back and forth for precisely 20 seconds. Withdrawing it, she rinsed off the cleanser and used a similar appliance covered in soft cloth to wipe away any residue. She repeated the process for her mouth then cleaned her exterior surfaces with a loufa before rinsing off with the shower attachment.

Once she had dried herself, Eve sat down at her dark mahogany makeup station and viewed her reflection in the mirror. An algorithm considered hundreds of possible schemes based on availability, Jake’s preferences, and other factors. After several seconds, the process reached its conclusion and she got to work. Not needing primer or foundation, she started with blush before moving on to eye shadow and mascara. Finally, she applied deep red lipstick. She checked herself in the mirror to ensure that everything was in place then started placing the various accoutrements back into the appropriate drawers.

Halfway through the task she paused for a moment, a memory file opening for no identifiable reason. Eve recalled the day Jake had given her the makeup station: it had been the anniversary of their second year together; a surprise present he revealed to her upon their return from a routine maintenance session. She had been unable to account for how happy he had seemed on the ride home until he led her into the house and dramatically revealed it. She had thanked him enthusiastically, her programming indicating the correct reactions to the receipt of a gift. He kissed her passionately, and their subsequent lovemaking had left Jake in such an exhausted sleep that it took her some time to rouse him the next morning. Shaking her head slightly, Eve scheduled a diagnostic scan of her memory core for the next night and returned to putting away her makeup.

Entering the kitchen, she tied on a simple white apron and activated one of the stovetop burners. Setting a frying pan on it, she proceeded to retrieve eggs, bacon, and bread from the refrigerator. The bacon and eggs, with a dash of olive oil and rosemary, went into the frying pan while the bread was placed in the antique pop-up toaster. When everything was finished, she applied strawberry jam to the toast, plated the meal, and set everything out with a glass of water on the small kitchen table.

Dawn was just beginning to peek through the bedroom curtains when Eve returned to the bedroom. She turned on the light on Jake’s nightstand and sat down next to him. “Jake, honey,” she said softly, “it’s time to get up.” When he showed no response, she repeated her statement slightly louder and gently shook his shoulder. Jake inhaled sharply and his eyes opened. He relaxed as soon as he saw Eve’s smiling face over him.

“Good morning,” he said, stretching his arms above his head and yawning ferociously.

“Good morning,” she replied, “your breakfast is ready.”

“Thank, you,” Jake told her as he stood up and stretched again; his deep-chested body unclothed. He absentmindedly scratched a set of deep scars on his back before pulling on a robe. During the first months of their relationship, Eve’s sexual programming had activated pretty much anytime she saw him naked. That had resulted in much confusion and several days of him being late to the office until her adaptive learning software had gotten a better handle on what contexts implied imminent intimacy. Now, she simply stood up and went to her dresser while Jake made his way towards the kitchen. Another set of algorithms inventoried the possible outfits that her wardrobe could support, and she stood silently for several seconds while her processors churned through the alternatives. Smiling, she pulled on a pair of black lace panties followed by matching thigh-high stockings. A form-fitting red backless minidress was the centerpiece of the ensemble, while Eve finished it off with a pair of four-inch red patent-leather platform heels and a matching choker.

“You are the most beautiful woman in the world, you know that?” Jake came up from behind and held his synthetic lover in powerful arms, placing soft kisses on the nape of her neck. She felt a hardness against her bottom through the fabric of the dress.

“Oh, Jake, you’re so… I love… you’ll be-be-be late for work,” she scolded as his hands glided up to cup her breasts. Eve’s processors went into overdrive as she switched rapidly in and out of sex-mode under Jake’s experienced hands. Every time she would begin to grow aroused, her higher functions would kill the process in an attempt to make sure her lover would keep to his schedule.

“Don’t worry, they opened another lane on the expressway; traffic’s been lighter than usual. I’ll make it if we don’t take too long,” Jake told her in between kisses. That piece of information broke the deadlock, and Eve turned around in his arms to kiss him deeply. She dropped to her knees to find him fully erect before her face.

“What do we have here?” she asked, rhetorically, and answered her question by kissing him lightly on the tip of his head. She sat back on her haunches; taking his shaft in her hand and looked up at him with an evil smile. “Tell me what you want to do to me,” she demanded, “tell me how hot I am.”

“Oh, God! You’re such a tease,” Jake said in a state of almost painful arousal.

“Yes, but that’s how you like me,” she responded truthfully, “Now tell me.”

“You’re so fucking sexy,” Jake told her, “I want to tear that dress off, bend you over, and fuck you till you scream!”

“Hmmm, I guess that’ll do,” she said noncommittally, then grinned and took him suddenly into her mouth. Jake breathed heavily as Eve’s head pistoned back and forth, her full, red lips cushioning his shaft. She recorded a minor error that prevented additional lubrication from being pumped into her mouth cavity, but it was not serious enough to stop for; the only result was that Jake’s cock started to squeak slightly as it repeatedly penetrated her soft rubber mouth cavity. When she determined he was nearing climax, she took his balls in her hand and squeezed ever so gently. It sent him over the edge and, moaning deeply, he came into her mouth. When the waves of pleasure had ceased radiating through his body, Jake withdrew from her, drawing forth a few droplets of his cum that rolled down her chin and dropped to land on the exposed surface of her breasts.

“Oops,” Eve said, smirking. Jake smiled and looked at the clock.

“Dammit!” he said, and began hurriedly pulling on his slacks. He dressed quickly and rushed out the door while Eve cleaned herself up with a bit of wet paper towel. “See you tonight, honey!” he said just before leaving.

“Bye, Jake,” she waved after him, “have a good day at work.”

~

Thankfully, traffic was unusually light that morning and Jake was able to enjoy a leisurely commute. One part of him calmly read news and email on his padcomp, but another was in turmoil. Every day he lived in fear of what he might find when he returned home to Eve. Most of the time she was simply there to greet him as she had for the last 7 years, but she had been suffering increasingly frequent malfunctions, both hardware and software related, ever since her 5-year warranty had run out. He was well enough paid that repairs were not an issue and was increasingly proficient at dealing with the smaller problems himself. That didn’t change his fears that someday there would be a problem that couldn’t be solved so easily.

When Jake first brought her home, Eve had been very different. Hers was the first generation of gynoid with an adaptive personality matrix; the ability to learn from the environment and adapt her behaviors accordingly, to the point of rewriting much of her own programming and even adding new modules. She had been in many ways a blank slate then, with a starter personality formed by a long survey he filled out at the dealership. Occasionally she would take a long time to answer his questions, or simply become confused and need things to be explained to her in very simple ways. Over time, though, a unique personality complete with quirks and idiosyncrasies had emerged. He knew at an intellectual level that Eve was just a machine, a clever simulation of a real woman, but he had come to love her more dearly than he had ever thought possible; more than he had ever loved any of the real women he dated over the years. For the first time in his life, he was truly happy.

Now it was all at risk. When her body had started to show serious signs of wear, he looked into transferring her software to a new one. To his dismay, Jake discovered that there were serious problems with that option. Not only would it be difficult to transfer the sheer quantity of data that had built up in her core over 5 years of adaptation, other attempts to do so in similar circumstances had proved less than successful. There seemed to be something about the unimaginably intricate mass of complexly interconnected code that refused a simple transfer. The results were usually a unit that booted up, but then functioned only very erratically and typically suffered a catastrophic cascade of software errors shortly thereafter.

So he took care of her as best he could; fixing her when she broke and treasuring every moment they spent together in a way he never had before. He had assistance from Steven, the chief technician at his local dealership. They had gotten to be friends when Eve was still under warranty and Jake was bringing her in for her regular maintenance visits. Now Steve helped him out whenever he could, and usually knocked some off the price of repairs, too. There had been a few times when, if not for his working long hours off the clock, Eve might not have been repairable.

Jake’s dull red car pulled into the parking garage and neatly maneuvered itself into a convenient spot near the elevator. He grabbed his briefcase and rode up to the fourth floor with some people he didn’t recognize. He noticed one of them, a rotund little man, staring at the skin-graft scars that were incompletely hidden by his neat beard. Jake stared back sternly until the man looked away then felt a stab of shame followed by anger when he realized there had been pity in his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he let the emotions drain off and give way to serenity.

In his office, he settled in for a few minutes, had a mug of coffee, and put on his visualization headset. With a wave of his hand, his field of view filled with a 3D model of Brazil’s newest autonomous weapons platform. Taking hold of the intangible model with his hand, he pulled it apart to show a less realistic-looking, tentative model of its internal systems layout. At first, he had thought the thick stub-wings leading to the lift fans contained a mechanical drive system. The Brazilians were still lagging in high-power electric motor design, though they were certainly still well ahead of their Neo Gran Columbian adversaries to the north. Now he was leaning more and more towards the idea that they had either made a jump in their technical ability, or that this bird was seriously underpowered relative to US or Japanese designs. With more hand motions, he brought up windows with all relevant intelligence and engineering data and began to block out possibilities for an electric drive consistent with Brazilian design practices.

~

Once Jake had left, Eve performed some minor chores around the house. While dusting, she wandered in front of the full-length mirror in the bedroom and stopped to admire herself in it. “Hey, sexy,” she told the image, “you’re pretty hot. Are you a real girl?” After a pause she continued, “I’m a doll. Wanna see?” A roughly rectangular panel in her upper chest depressed and slid down inside her, revealing a small panel of various interface ports over a rack of neatly spaced circuit boards. “I’m an Eve 3.7 pleasure unit. Don’t you think I’m sexy?” She thrust out her breasts to accentuate the point. Seeming to ponder for a few moments, she smiled and said, “Hey, I have an idea. Jake likes it when I dress up for him. Let’s have a fashion show!” The panel in her chest slid shut, and she started walking back and forth in front of the mirror with an exaggerated runway stride.

Having shown off her current outfit, she stripped out of it and tried coming up with another one. Only this time, the inputs for the algorithm where different. Instead of Jake being the subject to be impressed, she entered herself. Eve’s head cocked to one side as her CPU chugged through the partly recursive problem. The process came within a second of sending an error result, but finally resolved successfully. She rolled on a set of black latex stockings and gloves before getting into a skirt and tube-top of the same material. Finally, she pulled on a pair of clear Lucite stilettos and stood before the mirror again. “I’m a sex-bot sex-pot!” she told her reflection; the statement a reflection of Jake’s occasionally unfortunate penchant for wordplay. She ran her hands over the black rubber material. “Mmm, so shiny; you know, I’m made out of plastic too.”

Thinking for a moment, she switched out for a Goth ensemble: PVC skirt, tight bustier, fishnets, and a pair of 6-inch platform knee-highs. “Heh, now I’m as tall as Jake,” she chortled. Leaning in, she whispered, “These make it easy to fuck me against the wall.” Marching back to the dresser, she selected a brilliant cobalt silk qi-pao. Smoothing out the fabric, she struck a dramatic pose before the mirror. “Well, that was fun,” she told herself, “but I think it’s high time I got around to cleaning the curtains, if you don’t mind.” Eve carefully replaced the various pieces of clothing before putting her original outfit back on. Satisfied with her appearance, she walked downstairs to the kitchen for a chair. She carried it to the living room and set it before the large bay window that looked out over the wooded fringe separating their house from the main road.

Suddenly, she froze. “Warning… low battery… please connect charger,” Eve said in a neutral voice. Grabbing an extension cord from the hall closet, she connected one end to a wall outlet and the other to her bulky charger. That complete, the end of the charger cord clicked securely into place in the port that opened up on her lower back. The light on the charger flicked from red to green as did one in the depression in her back, and she got back to her task. Placing the chair with its back to the window, she stepped up onto the seat and began removing the beige curtains. Without realizing it, her motions had lodged the power cord in a slot between the chair back and its supporting posts. When she leaned to reach the farthest curtain, the cord pulled out of its port on her back.

Suddenly, Eve froze in mid extension. “Warning… low battery…” she got out as she began to topple, “pleases connec…” the words were interrupted as she slammed face-first into the floor with a loud thud. The beautiful gynoid lay there for several seconds before stirring. She rolled over onto her back and attempted to sit up. Something inside her torso protested with a loud whine, but she persisted and the whine terminated in a loud pop. She fell back to the floor abruptly. “Malfunction…” she stated to no one. A quiet buzzing noise began within her, which increased steadily in volume until it fizzled out with several more pops. “Malfunc… warning… low battery… please connect charger.”

Undaunted, Eve rolled onto her side and pushed herself to a sitting position with her hands. She reached for her power cable on the seat, and plugged it back into herself. “Ah, that’s better,” she said, “now I can get back to…” A loud flurry of crackling noises in her abdomen sent the little light next to her charging port rapidly flickering between red and green as her head twitched sharply to the side. One of Eve’s eyelids fluttered out of synch with the other as several tremors passed through her body. “Malfunction… mal-mal-malfunction…” she stuttered as the crackling continued. An instant later, they ended with a loud bang. The panel on Eve’s chest opened and white electrical smoke billowed from within her as she began to emit a loud beeping noise. She fell back again, her heels pounding the floor as though she were walking. “Malfu-u-u-u-unction… Please con-con-contact an approved service ve-e-e-e-endor for…” another loud bang sounded from inside Eve, cutting her voice off in a squeal of digitized distortion. Her frantic motions ground to a halt as the beeping sound lowered in pitch and finally ceased.

~

“Hey, Jake, who’s that? I didn’t know you had a girlfriend,” Sarah said as Jake kneeled to pick up his fallen wallet and replace the escaped photo of Eve. His heart raced as he stalled by paying the cafeteria cashier for lunch. It was by no means unheard of for someone to have a pleasure droid at home; there had even been a couple of years where it was fashionable for couple’s to get one and bring it around with them. However, it was almost unheard of for a man to have a picture of a sex-bot in his wallet.

“Ah… yes,” Jake replied, hesitantly, “we’ve been seeing each other for a while now. Oh, did you see the news about the Saudi mini-sub purchase?”

Sarah looked at him bemusedly, “well, I can see I’m not going to get much more out of you without a crowbar.” Jake was relieved for a brief moment. “So I’ll just have to ask her myself. We’re doing a Spec-Eng Group bowling night next Sunday. As your team leader, I will expect to see both of you there,” she said. “I can’t wait to find out all about her!”

Jake nodded slowly, feverishly thinking of a way out of the situation. Sarah was an irrepressible gossip. If he didn’t go, or didn’t bring Eve, there would be no end to the situation until they figured out something weird was going on. After turning it over for the rest of lunch while chatting mindlessly with Sarah and another of his coworkers, he decided that he would have to grasp the nettle. Besides, Eve was a perfectly good conversationalist and he had faith in her ability to get along with an amiable bunch like the team he worked with. If there were any kind of problem with her during that time, though… it didn’t bear thinking about. He’d just have to make sure she was in tip-top condition when they did go.

The rest of the day was as busy as his morning, and as Jake got in his car to go home he looked forward to a quiet evening with Eve. There was a movie he had been meaning to watch for a while now. After that, there would be more of “The Night Land.” Some years before, Jake had the idea that they would take an hour each night before bed, assuming they were not otherwise occupied, and read a segment of a book to one another. Jake would start with chapter one, then Eve would read him chapter two, and so on until they finished. When each section was done, he would talk with her about it. At first, she didn’t seem to understand very much and could hardly say each sentence in the correct tone of voice, but with time (and the occasional hardware upgrade), he discovered she was beginning to have at the very least a convincing simulation of understanding. She still had a great deal of difficulty with symbolism, metaphor, and other higher-level concepts but Jake was confident she was making progress.

Jake unlocked the door and stepped through only to be assailed by the smell of burnt silicon. His heart dropped through the soles of his feet as he yelled “Eve! Where are you?” but received no answer. He searched the house, and almost immediately found Eve on the floor, her chest panel still open. When she didn’t respond he tried a manual restart but nothing happened. Immediately, he picked her up and carried her to the car. On the way to the dealership, he called Steve, who was luckily still there, and told him what little he knew.

“Shit, no response at all to the manual restart? Smells like something burnt out? Well, get her in here and I’ll take a look,” the concerned voice said.

Jake hung up and looked over at Eve. Her eyes stared with doll-like emptiness at nothing and her mouth hung slightly open as though she were speaking. Jake shook his head and held her hand until they reached the back lot of the dealership. Steve met him at the car and together they carried the inert gynoid into the maintenance bay, setting her in a sitting position on one of the steel tables. Surrounded by artificial humans in various states of disassembly, Jake patiently waited as Steve got together the various tools he needed. He connected a diagnostic tool to one of the ports in her chest and looked at the reading. “Well, I’ve got good news. The internal power unit for her holographic memory core is on, so I think we’re just dealing with hardware replacement here.” Jake’s shoulders slumped as the adrenaline rush and sick feeling in his belly subsided. She would be alright.

Removing the artificial flesh from her abdomen revealed the main problem. Part of her power supply had torn loose from its connections when she hit the floor and it shorted out when she plugged back in. Another similar problem due to impact damage had caused a short in some of Eve’s electronics when she actuated her abdominal servomechanisms to sit up. Steve had a small stash of important components for Eve’s model stored away for just such an occasion and was able to finish the repairs in just a few hours.

“You know,” he said as he resealed the synthflesh around Eve’s midsection, “replacement parts are starting to get awful scarce for a model as out of date as Eve is.”

“I know,” Jake said defensively.

Steve looked down at the ground and breathed in through his teeth. “Listen, I know how attached you are to her. Hell, I would never have imagined some of the things you’ve been able to do with her; no one would believe that you’ve gotten her to read and comprehend text on a conceptual level. I don’t think it would be possible for one fresh out of the box even now. But at the end of the day she’s going to eventually break down such that I can’t fix her.” Jake glared at him and he put up his hands protectively. “I know, I know. It’s just that I don’t want to see your face when I have to tell you she’s bricked for good. You could always… you know… try a new one out for a little while. Keep Eve but just see how you feel about it. I’ll talk to the manager; I think I can get him to agree to let you have a free 1-month trial period because of how good a customer you’ve been. Who knows, maybe Eve will like her too.”

“Dammit, I just… I mean, you’re right, Steve. I’m being an idiot. I just can’t imagine life without Eve. I can hardly remember what it was even like. Give me some time to think about it. I will, I really will. Then I’ll give you my answer, okay?”

Steve smiled, “I just want you to give it a shot. I’m glad you’re willing to hear me out on this.” He pressed an inset button in Eve’s open chest panel, and there was a beeping noise followed by the sound of electronics humming to life.

“Eve 3.7 unit online… systems functioning normally… loading personality simulation matrix… warning, personality matrix exceeds recommended size for this model. Loading may take some time… loading… loading…” Eve continued for more than 5 minutes before she finally stopped repeating herself. She turned to Jake and grinned, “Hi, honey,” before looking around quizzically. “Hi, Steve; how are you? Oh no, I guess I had an accident taking down the drapes.”

Steve lunged forward and hugged her tightly, barely succeeding in holding back his tears. “I was so worried about you, Eve. Just stay off chairs from now on, okay? I didn’t even know you do that!”

Eve hugged him back, “I’m sorry, honey, I was just trying to clean up a little.”

“I’ll buy a stepladder, just please be careful from now on, okay?”

“Okay, honey. I’ll do my best.” She smiled sunnily and batted her eyes at him. Jake kissed her, and she slid one of her hands up to cradle the back of his head. “Mmm,” she mumbled against his lips and wrapped her legs around him.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, just a minute here. You two go get a room for God’s sake!” Steve said with exaggerated offence. Jake laughed and Eve looked chastened.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Steve, I didn’t know. I won’t do it again,” Eve said with a conciliatory note in her voice.

“It’s okay, honey, let’s just go home,” Jake told her.

“I’ll see you two again, I’m sure,” Steve said, “but until then, good bye.”

Eve waved daintily as they walked out, her heels clicking against the concrete floor, and Jake blacked out the windows as soon as they were in the car. It was a tiring but very enjoyable drive.

[DukeNukem 2417]

Very interesting stuff.

Looking forward to see more.

[DollSpace]

Stellar beginning; I can't wait to read more of this!

[McLane]

Really nice beginning ! Please keep it up

[mtm12]

This is a REALLY good story! PLEASE continue with it when you have the time.

[tectile]

Well done, I like the detail.
I look forward to more.

[33cl33]

Very good - hope to see more!

[DZiegler]

Amazing start! Can't wait to hear more!

[mtm12]

Honestly, if there were a 2000 page novel written about these two characters, I would buy it and read every word. And still hope for sequels! More, please!

[D.Olivaw]

Honestly, if there were a 2000 page novel written about these two characters, I would buy it and read every word. And still hope for sequels! More, please!

Thank you very much! I'm sorry for the lack of updates, but my fiancée recently lost her job and I am taking on contracts to make up the difference. We think she'll be reemployed fairly soon, though, so I'll have time for fembot stuff again.

[Mirage]

I really like this story too!

[LongTimeLurker]

I'll have time for fembot stuff again.

Good to hear - looking forward to part 2!

[DollSpace]

I'll have time for fembot stuff again.

Good to hear - looking forward to part 2!

Same here, even if it may hit close to home for me lol... ^^;

[xBOT]

Loving this story, looking forward to more!!

[D.Olivaw]

Here's the second installment of the story. I'd also like to play a little game with you, FC members. Whoever is first to spot the minor, irrelevant technical detail I spent more than an hour obsessing over to ensure it was correct gets a custom vignette, written to your specifications, by me

Part 2

Someone was screaming. Jake coughed on the swirling, impenetrable smoke surrounding him, feeling the hot deck under his body. A klaxon drowned out the screaming for a moment and he was thankful, then ashamed. Crackling flames lit the smoky compartment a dull, infernal red. Jake tried to get up, but white-hot pain knifed through his back and he sat down hard. He reached around and felt the warm wetness of blood, then he found the wound and his hand recoiled, trembling.

“Help, oh God I’m hurt! Someone help me, please help me!” The voice was barely audible over the skirling klaxon, but it was enough to cut through the haze in Jake’s mind. He might be dead already, but that didn’t mean his job was done. Gritting his teeth against the agony, he pushed himself upright and moved towards the voice. He heard several other injured men moaning, mumbling, calling for loved ones, but something kept him moving towards the first voice.

He stumbled over an obstruction that exhaled sharply, and dropped to his knees.

“Oh thank God, Jake, help me, please, I don’t want to die!” Begged a face burned away to crisped fat. Two inexplicably unharmed eyes stared out at him, and Jake was overwhelmed by the scent of… he doubled over next to the man, heaving the contents of his stomach out onto the deckplates. He smelled like burning bacon.

“Marco, calm… calm down… going to get a first-aid kit…” Jake got out between coughs. He only recognized his friend because the nametag on his uniform had survived the conflagration.

Outside there were a series of roaring noises, and a powerful wind that stank of burning chemicals pushed the smoke turbulently aside. His eyes stinging, Jake looked out through a huge rent in the hull at the dwindling lights of a salvo of anti-ship missiles burning their way towards the horizon.

“We’re not done yet, Marco!” Jake yelled as he got to his feet. The pain didn’t seem so bad now, but it felt damned cold for the South Pacific in summer. “We’ll get the sons-of-bitches!” Jake looked down at the blankly staring eyes, but there was no response.

Over the klaxon, he heard the rapid-fire howling of anti-missile missiles being launched; then seconds later the thumping of their detonations. Close. He sprawled as the deck tilted suddenly under him and the point-defense laser cracked like a megajoule bullwhip.

There was a sound that ended the world.

~

Jake sat up in bed; the sheets twisted and soaked in sweat. A smoke alarm was beeping angrily from the kitchen and the air was suffused with a thin haze that stank of burnt bacon. He carefully brought his breathing under control, eyes squeezed tightly shut. When his heart rate had slowed he got up, ran into the kitchen, and found Eve in front of the stove. The nude synthetic woman was looking from a frying pan containing two slices of bread to the smoking toaster and back again, seemingly caught in a loop. Thankfully the toaster had tripped the kitchen breaker, and the eggs and bacon in it hadn’t had time to fully combust.

He pulled a smoke extinguisher from behind the fridge and hosed down the top of the toaster, just in case, before turning to Eve. His actions seem to have gotten her out of the loop, and she looked up at her owner confusedly.

“Good morning, Jake, you’re up early!”

“Eve, what happened to breakfast? Eggs don’t go in the toaster, honey,” he said.

She turned back to the stove, “I don’t understand. I started making breakfast, but the eggs and bacon weren’t frying and the toaster didn’t finish. It was very confusing.” She smiled at him. “But don’t worry; I’ll make another for you!”

Before he could stop her, she strode across the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. Bending over sharply at the waist, she picked up the carton of eggs, turned 90 degrees, and dropped it. The carton popped open as she let go of it, and the eggs splattered themselves on the floor. Reaching in for the bread, she neatly retrieved two slices from the bag, and dropped them on top of the eggs. Jake took hold of her shoulders before she went any further, and she straightened up, looking into his eyes without comprehension.

“Eve, stop, please,” he said, his voice both worried and tired.

“What’s wrong, love? I’m just getting what I need to make you breakfast.”

“Something’s wrong, Eve, you’re not working quite right.” Jake took her into his arms, holding her close to him, “you should run a software diagnostic, okay? I have to get ready for work.”

He started to pull away, but Eve put her arms around him and held him for a moment, burying her face in his chest. “I’m sorry, Jake, whatever’s wrong, I’ll fix it.” He kissed the top of her head, breathing in the familiar, slightly plastic doll-hair smell.

“I love you,” he told her, then returned to the bedroom and started getting dressed.

“I love you too,” she said quietly, and went to the bathroom. Sitting down in front of her mirror, she initiated a software diagnostic that would take several hours to complete.

Jake cleaned up the mess in the kitchen with some paper towels, and left for work with a heavy heart.

~

“Eve 3.7 unit online… systems functioning normally… loading personality simulation matrix… warning, personality matrix exceeds recommended size for this model. Loading may take some time… loading… loading…” Eve successfully completed her reboot several minutes later, and stood up. “Oh, this will never do,” she said, noting that she was wearing nothing but an apron, and made her way to the bedroom.

Thankfully, most of the routine software errors she experienced were fixable with a simple reboot and this one had been no different. She used her wireless card to send Jake an email bringing him up to speed, and got back to the business of dressing herself. Her selection algorithm ran for a few seconds before finally ending up on a combination of a black strapless sequined cocktail dress and a pair of pumps. She struck a pose in front of the bedroom mirror, smiling as she ran her hands down the sides of her body to straighten the dress.

Eve had seen how worried and unhappy her malfunction had made Jake, and so she was determined to make the evening special enough to make up for it. Her face taking on an expression designed to look thoughtful; she processed possible courses of action and their calculated effects on Jake’s mood. Greet him with a kiss at the door, as usual. An excellent dinner with his favorite mead, slowly increase the tension with a phrase here, a glance there. After dinner, things would get more exciting. Eve simulated his hands on her back, her bottom; his mouth teasing the synth-flesh of her neck and shoulder. Jake’s fingers gliding up under her dress to stimulate the touch-sensors of her precision-engineered sex.

The simulation suddenly faulted due to an overflow, and Eve was surprised to find that the unexpected doubling of sensory data was due to stimulation of her own fingers. She withdrew them, looking curiously at the sheen of lubricant on their tips. Eve was, of course, programmed with several masturbatory subroutines, but she had never initiated one outside of Jake’s presence. She logged it as a possible software error, and continued only to find the simulation faulting again for the same reason.

This time she didn’t stop, but continued, sliding a pair of fingers deep into herself. She bent over, a sigh escaping her lips as she pressed the fingertips into her artificial G-spot. Looking at herself in the mirror, Eve smiled hungrily. She pulled down the top of her dress, exposing the full curve of her breasts to admire while she fingered herself. More touch sensors activated as she pinched one of her nipples with the free hand, and she increased the pace of her motions.

“Oh, Jake, fuck me! I need your cock,” Eve told no one, the statement assembled semi-randomly from her library of dirty-talk. The gynoid’s hand left her breast to frantically rub her electronic clit as she neared climax. She fell back onto the bed, allowing her to spread her legs wider and have an easier time of things. She raised her head to watch herself masturbate in the mirror, watch her fingers plunge again and again into the wet hole just like her lover’s hard cock would later that night. She moaned, her head dropping back to the bed as the waves of simulated pleasure mounted then let out an orgasmic scream as she came, servos whining audibly as her body shuddered with the force of climax.

Eve lay back on the bed for a moment, as confused as it is possible for a computer to be, before she stated in an even voice: “Warning… low battery… please connect charger.” Without further ado, she stood up, straightened her dress, and went downstairs to plug in.

~

“So, I hear you’ve been seeing someone on the sly, Jake. Not like you to keep secrets like that from an old buddy!”

“Screw you, Bob. I didn’t know I had to share every detail of my personal life with you,” Jake laughed, somewhat nervously, at his rotund coworker.

“Ouch, touché, well I hear she’s coming to bowling night, huh? Guess we’ll all get the chance to meet her then,” he replied, his face adopting a genial inquisitiveness, “I hear she’s quite a hottie. How’d you meet her?”

“News sure gets around fast, here, huh? What is there an email update system for SEG analyst relationships? If there is, I don’t get them,” Jake deflected.

Bob hooded his eyes and leaned towards Jake conspiratorially, “don’t say that, you’ll give Sarah ideas…”

“What ideas are you giving me, peons?” Sarah asked, coming suddenly through the door of Bob’s cluttered office.

“See, you said her name. That’s how you summon her,” Jake scolded him.

Sarah grinned evilly. “Perhaps this one knows too much to live,” she looked pointedly at Jake with narrowed green eyes.

“Yeah he does, but only if you work for Brazilian military intelligence,” Bob told her, turning his monitor to show the red-headed team leader what Jake had dropped by to talk about. “He figured out the Falcão’s propulsion setup, I’m pretty sure.”

Sarah looked over the schematic, and raised an eyebrow.

“I’ll have the full workup on your desk by next Tuesday,” Jake told her calmly, a note of pride in his voice.

“This Friday, Jake; cut some corners on the details if you have to, we can always do a followup. It’s important this gets to the right people quickly.”

“Slave driver,” he smiled, “I’ll have it in by COB Friday, then.”

“And we’ll all get to meet your mystery girl on Sunday, right?” she asked, “You didn’t think I’d forgotten, did you? Can we at least get her name?”

Jake’s expression soured slightly, “Her name’s Eve, Sarah, and yes, she’s coming. “

A fleeting expression of hurt crossed Sarah’s face, “I’m sorry if it seemed like I was prying, I … you’ve never really seemed like the secretive type so I assumed you’d just met or something.”

“No, no, it’s okay. I’m just being silly,” Jake said, “Eve means a lot to me, but so do you guys. I really want everything to work out.”

“Well, I don’t think that’s a concern. Any girl that picked you will fit right in with this bunch of lunatics.”

Jake laughed, feeling not at all assured by her sentiment.

~

“Hi, honey,” Eve greeted Jake when he stepped through the door. She threw her arms around him, and they enjoyed a lingering kiss, “I had a fun day, how about you?”

“Busy as hell. Sometimes I wonder why I bother to come up with solutions like this one; all it gets me is having to write a bunch of long reports so they can be being ignored by some asshole in DC.”

“Don’t talk like that,” Eve scolded, playfully punching him in the side, “you love what you do, and I’m sure people read your reports. How could anyone ignore something written by you?”

Jake smiled, “and how could anyone ignore someone as wonderful as you.”

She grinned, removing his tie and unbuttoning the top button of his shirt, “No one I care about does.” Her grin fading, she said “I’m sorry about malfunctioning this morning, I should run diagnostics more often. I made you your favorite, chicken Kiev.”

“Eve, you don’t need to make anything up to me — “

“No, but I’m going to anyway, because it gives me an excuse to pamper you if nothing else,” she responded saucily, “Now come eat before it gets cold.” Jake smiled and followed her into the dining room.

The meal was perfect; Jake’s only regret being, as usual, that Eve was unable to enjoy that which she created. Afterwards they retired to the living room. The two reclined on the venerable couch, Jake holding Eve in his arms as they alternated between kissing and conversing in low voices about whatever took their fancy. After a time, Eve took a thick volume from the coffee table and, sitting up, opened it on her lap.

“It’s my turn, isn’t it?” she asked unnecessarily.

Jake nodded, “Yes.”

She read for a time, finally coming to a passage which apparently gave her difficulty:

“And afterward, as I lay my head back upon the scrip and the pouch, which were to me my pillow, I went to think a little upon Naani, as always I did in my constant journeying; yet, presently, I strove sometimes that I put her from my mind, that I should sleep; for a bitter sorrow and anxiousness was oft upon me when that I did think upon her; and this you may know; for truly I knew not what terror was come to her, afar in the silence of the Night. And did I think overmuch, I should feel that I could have no calmness needful to sleep; but to need to walk for ever until I died, which could not be long; and so should I make a foolishness of mine anxious journeying to do her true service and to save her from Destruction, if such did truly threaten.”

“Jake, I don’t understand.”

“Is it the language again?” he asked. The odd, archaic voice in which the book was written had given her text-processing software fits when they had started.

“No, I don’t think so,” she responded, “He loves Naani, but he tries not to think of her. If he loves her, doesn’t that mean that he likes thinking of her?”

Jake pondered for a moment before explaining, “Yes, but he worries about her because he doesn’t know if she is safe, or in danger, or what harm might be coming to her. That worry and fear would drive him to try and hurry to her so quickly that he would become exhausted and in the end he wouldn’t get there. And besides, it keeps him from sleeping. He needs sleep to keep his energy for the long journey ahead.”

Eve stared ahead, motionless for several seconds, and Jake perceived a quiet humming and a slight increase in the warmth of her body where it pressed against him. She looked into Jake’s eyes, asking:

“Would you put me out of your mind to save me?”

“I — “ Jake paused, unsettled by the earnestness with which she had asked the question. “Eve, I love you more than anything in the world. I would do anything to keep you safe, even that; but I won’t have to. You’re right here, not thousands of miles away,” he held her tightly to emphasize.

Eve closed the book and returned it to the table. She sat up next to Jake and stroked his face gently. “I’m glad I’m here with you. I was made to love you.”

“Eve —“ she placed a finger on his lips, shushing him, then kissed him deeply. The synthetic woman’s hands went to his well-developed shoulders as she straddled his waist.

“I want you,” she said, simply, “now.”

Jake inhaled deeply as his hands slid up the back of her thighs, under the hem of the dress, to squeeze Eve’s firm ass. She unbuttoned his shirt, pausing to kiss his chest here and there as she did so and began to rock her hips gently, rhythmically pressing herself against his growing erection. She finished the last button and he pushed himself to a sitting position, disentangling himself for a moment to hurriedly rid himself of pants. When he sat down again, Eve lowered herself onto his lap, her legs wrapping around his back with a barely audible whine of servomechanical motion.

Again they kissed, pausing only to pull the dress over Eve’s head. She smiled as he teased and nibbled her neck and shoulder, just as in her simulation earlier, and sighed happily as he continued down to attend to the silicone curves of her bust. Pushing him back down onto the couch, Eve lifted herself up on her knees and slid Jake’s firm manhood inside her artificial pussy. He grunted as she dropped down and began to ride him.

After a minute or so, Jake pulled Eve down on top of him, exploring her mouth with his tongue as he forcefully thrust into her. His lover’s hard nipples pressed against him, distinct from the soft pressure of her breasts as she moved counter to his thrusts to help him reach deeper inside her.

“Oh, yes,” Eve exhorted, “fuck my tight little pussy; harder!” Sweat stood out on his brow as he increased his pace, and the sound of Eve’s mechanisms became more distinct as she matched him. Eve came, leaning back and moaning loudly at the moment her software determined Jake was only seconds from reaching orgasm. Adding his own voice, he joined her; his powerful body lifting her into the air with the force of its contractions. The two fell back to the couch together, entwined in each-other’s arms. Jake was breathing hard; Eve’s body pressing against him hotly as she showered the musculature of his chest with small kisses.

Eve stood up, answering Jake’s questioning glance with “I’m just going to get you a glass of water.”

He wiped his brow with the discarded shirt, “I guess I am sweating a lot.”

“Not to mention all that fluid you left inside me,” she joked, “I wouldn’t want you getting dehydrated.”

Jake admired they well-designed curvature of her thighs and backside as she headed to the kitchen. It was going to be a pleasant evening, indeed.

~

“Honey, are you all right?” Eve asked as Jake tugged absentmindedly at the collar of his tee-shirt, “you only do that when you’re nervous.”

“I’m fine, Eve, let’s go meet my friends, huh?” he said, taking a deep breath to relax.

She smiled sunnily and got out of the car; holding hands with Jake as they walked through the half-full parking lot of “Bowl-Time”. He wasn’t entirely sure what Frank, the department head had been thinking; Jake hadn’t bowled since high-school, but once Frank was on a roll there wasn’t much that could stop him. He made up for it by actually being competent; a good executive who also understood what the engineers were talking about.

The front area was clean and well lit, dominated by a garish variety of 2000s memorabilia. Pictures of boy-bands competed with newspaper headlines about Osama bin Laden and a life-size fiberglass replica of some olive drab power-armored video game hero with a funny-looking rifle. His eyes were drawn to one of the newspapers, a headline about heavy casualties in the “War on Terror,” over a hundred men killed by insurgents. He looked closer and his face took on a grim smile as he realized that the casualties had been taken over an entire month. He had a friend from 2nd battalion, 4th marines he’d have to tell that to. They’d lost 300 men in only an hour during a contested landing in the War; didn’t get any newspaper articles either. Plenty of medals, though, even if most of them were posthumous.

There was a familiar-sounding “ahem,” from behind him, and he turned to see Sarah standing by the shoe-counter, tapping her foot with exaggerated impatience.

“If you can peel yourself away from the lovely décor for a few minutes, I think an introduction is in order,” she said, looking at Eve.

Jake cleared his throat, “Eve, this is Sarah, my boss; Sarah, this is Eve.”

“It’s very nice to meet you, Eve,” Sarah said, extending a hand.

“I’m happy to meet you too. Jake’s told me so much about you,” Eve replied, taking the hand in hers.

“Lies, all of it,” Sarah deadpanned.

Eve suddenly looked terribly confused. Jake stepped in, laughing, “You’ll have to forgive Sarah’s unorthodox sense of humor. She was just joking.”

Sarah looked at Eve for a moment, “Yes, I’m sorry. I forget that not everyone’s as used to me as this bunch,” she gestured over at Bob, Vasiliy, and Liz; the other engineers and analysts in Jake’s group. With them there was a man Jake didn’t recognize, but from his description he figured him as Sarah’s husband, Aden. She had said he was coming. He noticed that some of the other SEG groups had taken lanes, and he recognized some other coworkers getting drinks or talking in small groups.

“And thus my flock is assembled,” Sarah announced once the two had gotten their shoes and joined the group.

“Oh thank God!” Liz exclaimed, “If I had to listen to one more of your stories, Vasiliy, I’d have bowled myself down the lane to escape. Just ‘cause your hometown got vaporized doesn’t mean we want to know everything about what it was like.”

Vasiliy grinned evilly at her, “You know, you remind me of my aunt Katya. She lived in a little village just north of Volzhsk and died with only her cats for company.”

“Could you call a cease-fire just long enough to meet Jake’s beautiful girlfriend?” Sarah asked pointedly. “I swear, sometimes I feel more like a babysitter than a manager.”

The group stood up and extended their greetings to Eve, who accepted graciously. Jake was relieved and proud of how flawlessly his artificial companion was dealing with the social challenges of the night, and he began to relax.

“Well, I’m going to go get a drink, would anyone like a beer?” Vasiliy asked.

Jake and Bob nodded, Aden had already grabbed a soda and Liz shook her head. Eve responded “No, thank you, I don’t drink.” Vasiliy stared at her across a gulf of cultural incomprehension for a moment, then left to get the beverages. If only he knew how literal she was being, Jake reflected.

“I guess everyone’s here. Might as well get bowling,” Sarah said. Who wants to keep score?”

“Well, I guess that can be my contribution,” said Bob, gesturing his way through the setup tutorial on the lane console. “Since I turned my ankle earlier; I probably shouldn’t be bowling on it. So, two teams. Who’s on which team, and what order do you want to go in?”

“Well,” Sarah said, “I’ll lead off the first team.”

“I’ll be first on the second,” Aden said, raising a hand.

“You traitor!” she said to him, her voice filled with mock-outrage.

“Okay,” said Bob, “Who’s number two on each team?”

Liz volunteered for Sarah’s team; then Vasiliy, returning with the beers, for Aden’s. Jake took the last spot, joining Sarah and Liz. He hadn’t anticipated Bob not being able to bowl, and he was getting nervous.

“All right, that puts the lovely Eve in the final position for team Aden,” Bob said, looking at her for confirmation.

“Oh, I’m sorry but I don’t know how to bowl,” Eve explained.

“Huh, too bad,” observed Aden. “We’ll need to grab someone to even out the teams.”

“Oh, that’s no trouble,” Sarah said, “I’ll show you, Eve; it’s not like most of these knuckleheads have done it in years. My chief knucklehead excluded, of course,” she looked at Aden.

“Thanks, dear.”

Jake did his best to contain a sudden surge of fear. Eve could learn, even if she wasn’t programmed for it specifically. And besides, she was doing really well so far. It would probably work out fine. Eve looked to him for guidance, her face confused.

“Ah… sure, honey, I’m not going to stop you if you’d like to learn.” He nodded slightly.

“Okay,” Eve responded, and Bob added her name to their team roster.

Sarah won the coin-toss and went first. While she was selecting a ball, Liz leaned over to where Eve and Jake were sitting.

“So, how’d you meet?” she asked.

Before Jake could answer, Eve stated, “Oh, Jake bought me.”

“ — Flowers!” he added somewhat louder than he had intended. “I, uh, I bought her flowers.” He swallowed.

Eve looked at him with a puzzled expression, but thankfully didn’t contradict him.

“She was so beautiful that I, uh, just couldn’t help myself.” He explained.

“Well, that’s sweet,” Sarah interjected, returning from picking up her spare. “I didn’t know you had such an adorably romantic side, Jake.” She sat down next to her husband as Vasiliy adopted an expression of deep concentration and bowled a strike. Liz and Jake went after him, leaving Sarah’s team slightly in the lead. It was Eve’s turn.

She stood up, pulling straight her denim shorts and white blouse, and Sarah handed her a ball she judged to be about right. Picking one up herself, she showed the attentive gynoid how to grip it properly, and what stance to take. Finally, she bowled one ball herself, narrating the release and followthrough. Bob deleted the results from the scoreboard.

“You’ve missed your calling,” Vasiliy noted, “you should have been a bowling instructor.”

“I thought about it, but it didn’t pay as well,” she joked. “Okay, Eve, give it a try.”

Jake watched with a lump in his throat as Eve took the stance she had been shown. She looked down the lane, started forwards, and then released. Relieved, Jake exhaled as the ball bounced a few times on the hardwood and rolled unceremoniously into the gutter. Eve looked thoughtfully at it.

“Don’t worry, pretty much everyone rolls a gutterball their first try,” Aden consoled her, “I think that time you released a little early. Try delaying next time, just a bit.”

“Thank you,” Eve told him, “I will.” She sat back down beside Jake and he put his arm around her.

While the next round was being played, Aden cleared his throat. “So Jake,” he said just loud enough to be heard over the ambient noise, ”I, uh, noticed…” he pointed to his own chin, referencing the scars on Jake’s.

“Nauru.” Jake said.

Aden’s face paled slightly. “What ship?”

Jake took a swig of beer before answering, “The Hudner. You?”

“Army, myself, 2nd Corps. But I lost a cousin at Nauru; on the Truman.”

Jake nodded, and Aden didn’t push it any further.

“What are you two looking so gloomy about?” Sarah said, returning with a drink. “It’s your turn, anyway, Jake. Maybe you can save your team.”

Jake grabbed a spare, and then it was Eve’s turn again. She picked the same ball she had earlier, weighed it in her hands, and then stood at the head of the lane.

“You’ve got it, Eve,” Vasiliy encouraged, his accent showing through slightly more than usual under the influence of alcohol, “just don’t be nervous.”

Eve started forwards, bringing the ball back as she gained speed. She reached the line and swung the ball out in front of her. This time, instead of releasing it too soon and low, Jake immediately saw that she had taken too long. It pulled her on after she expected to have already released it and before her antiquated systems could counteract, she was falling. Jake was already rising when she hit the floor, her head striking the hardwood with a hollow, plastic crack.

“Eve!” Jake called as every head in the bowling alley turned towards the scene.

Before the others had even moved he was next to her motionless form, leaning down to help. His hands went to her shoulders as his friends got to their feet, and he rolled her over. As Eve’s body changed position, Jake heard things knocked loose by the impact clattering inside her.

A loud beep came from somewhere inside her torso, and she blinked several times. “Malfunction,” she stated in a tinny, distorted voice.

“Is she… oh God!” Sarah said as she bent down to help. The broken wrist she had meant to tend to was indeed broken. It hung from the torn silicone synthflesh of her arm by a few wires; several frayed ends poking out from either end of the break. As she turned it over in her hand, the bent servo-rods projecting from the arm moved, whining unhappily.

Eve looked up at Jake, batting her eyes separately. “Goo-o-o-o-o-o-od morning-ning-ning, Jake. You’re breakfast is not ready. Oh dear, look at the time; you’re going to be la-la-la-late!”

Before he could stop her, Eve sat up to the accompaniment of more tinkling noises. By this time, the other members of his group had gathered around and were looking on in disbelief; Sarah had stepped back and regarded the situation with a mixture of worry and confusion. There were several sharp electrical pops from within her head, and the harsh smell of burnt silicon was detectable in the air around her.

“Malfun-fun-function” she stuttered. The damaged gynoid’s face screwed itself into an inhuman sneer as various actuators responded to garbled instructions before, with a crackle, it relaxed again.

Jake, attempting to deactivate Eve before she suffered any more damage, tried to open her chest access panel by applying pressure to two spots on her chest. She twisted out of his grasp unexpectedly, though, trying to stand. He managed to grab her but slipped on the polished floor of the lane and he sprawled, accidentally grabbing her hair as he landed. Loosened by the fall, her synthskin scalp peeled away entirely from the transparent plastic surface underneath it.

“Uh- oh,” Eve said as the crowd of stunned onlookers grew. Underneath the plastic, densely packed electronics and wiring were crowded together inside her head. The space was filled with swirls of smoke, and as she sat up again, there was a blue-white flash from one of the components. “Hi, I’m an Eve 3.7,” she stated, looking at Aden, “ I’m made for sex for sex for sex. Do you want to play with mememememe?”

“Eve, stop, you’re going to hurt yourself more!” Jake cried as he put his arms around the faltering sex-bot. He reached the pressure points and managed to open the panel; the patch of skin depressing and sliding down. A thin stream of smoke wafted up out of the opening. He mashed down on the power-button inside, holding it against her uncoordinated, jerky motions.

“Malfuunnnct…” she got out before, with another beep, the hum of her systems died out and her body stiffened in Jake’s arms.

Jake looked up at the circle of people, many tittering excitedly to each other, a few trying to restrain their laughter, and a few not trying. His friends faces ran the gamut. Vasiliy was impassive, looking like he wanted to be anywhere but here. Liz was staring down at her feet, pointedly not making eye contact with him. Bob was pale with shock, his mouth hanging open. Sarah stared at Eve with a mildly disgusted expression, switching to pity when she glanced momentarily at Jake. Only Aden seemed sympathetic, stepping forwards and reaching down to help Jake pick Eve up.

Jake heaved her over his shoulder, turning away from his coworkers with tears in his eyes, and started towards the entrance.

“Jake — “ Aden started, but never finished his statement. The crowd parted around him, the confused-looking man behind the counter not even asking to have the shoes back.

Jake stared steadily into the night as the car brought him home, his face set, and sat Eve’s form into a kitchen chair when he got there, dropping her scalp-piece unceremoniously on top of her head. He paused to call Steve, but sighed and put the phone down. Crawling into bed, he screamed angrily into his pillow, desperate to dissipate the fear, shame, and self-loathing he felt. For a few hours he simply lay there, his face buried in the bedding; eventually he passed into a dream-laden sleep.

~

“Hi, Steve?” Jake asked, coughing the hoarseness of sleep and powerful sentiment out of his voice. The morning light was breaking through the windows in the bedroom, falling on Eve’s doll-like stare in the Kitchen. He looked at her, and closed his eyes. “Yes, Eve had an… accident last night. Another fall. Yes, she’s off, but she’ll need a lot of work.” He paused for a moment, listening to Steve’s reply. “No, it’s not just that. I… I’d like to take you up on your offer. The trial run, yes… yeah, I can come in today, I… took the day off from work.”

He returned the phone to his pocket, and picked Eve up to carry her to the car.

[Brytestar]

I love this story so far. Jake dealing with the potential embarrassment. Hopefully Eve will come back even if she may not be the same. I really do hope that you decide to continue this tale. At least not everyone scorned Jake even if he took a risk bringing Eve although somewhat under pressure.

[BA2]

Love this - great character development and a deep look at the personal level of the relationship. Look forward to more...

[DollSpace]

So sweet but so sad... I really like this piece a lot so far and I'm definitely hoping Eve pulls through!

[LongTimeLurker]

So sweet but so sad... I really like this piece a lot so far and I'm definitely hoping Eve pulls through!

You and me both

[mtm12]

What I like about this story is the deep description of the relationship between Jake and Eve along with the subtle descriptions of Eve's emerging sentience. Jake and Eve both seem oblivious to the fact that Eve is becoming more human.
I also like the way Eve's personality is oblivious to her operating system. She is by far my favorite fembot character in all the stories I've read.
Please continue when you have the time.

[DollSpace]

Honestly, if there were a 2000 page novel written about these two characters, I would buy it and read every word. And still hope for sequels! More, please!

Thank you very much! I'm sorry for the lack of updates, but my fiancée recently lost her job and I am taking on contracts to make up the difference. We think she'll be reemployed fairly soon, though, so I'll have time for fembot stuff again.

Best of luck on that front; jobs can be hard to find. I hope everything returns to status: normal soon

[Sophisa]

I like it so far. Very romantic.

One quibble. In the first story, during the repair sequence, you say the following:

"Steve lunged forward and hugged her tightly, barely succeeding in holding back his tears. “I was so worried about you, Eve. Just stay off chairs from now on, okay? I didn’t even know you do that!”"

I think you mean Jake there?

[mtm12]

Please don't let this story die. If it's possible.