Author: Tenyari
Title: AI Girl (10879 Words)
Universe: Naked Future
Keywords: Mf, Fembot, nosex, exhib, voy, rom, ScFi, naked
Summary: A collector of dolls helps an AI reach her humanity.
Copyright: July 4, 2002 - all rights reversed.


THIS STORY IS INTENDED FOR ADULT READING ONLY

This is my first story. Feedback is desired but please be kind
and constructive (you can find my email at
news://alt.sex.stories.d, or simply leave comments publicly
there).
It's a slow building romance based on a dream I had. Exploring
the issues of what it means to be alive and what robots might be
like.

Story Codes: Mf (Fembot) nosex, exhib, voy, rom, ScFi, naked

Archived at:
     /~tenyari/
     ftp://ftp.asstr.org/pub/Authors/tenyari/
If you find this elsewhere, check above to get the most current
version.

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     I found her in the attic. I'd just moved in and was
clearing out a lot of the old junk; the place had been abandoned
years earlier. She was in a large crate; still tamper proof
sealed. A label listed her model and date of manufacture; she was
older than me, but had never been turned on.
     With some caution I brought her down to the living room.
She was there for a day before I braved opening her up. A note on
the case warned; "Not returnable once seal is broken." Not that
that was an option; I knew the company had gone out of business
long ago.
     It wasn't just a psychological barrier; with the seal
intact I could've made a fortune on the black market. Especially
if the 'adult options installed' sticker meant what I thought it
did.
     I remembered wanting one of these when I was a teen. A lot
of boys did, but nobody dared say anything. How do you tell your
parents you want an AI Girl for Christmas? It just doesn't
happen. We all just sat in silent envy of the girls with their
expressive freedom. They were all getting them; "good for
development" the ads would say, "helps girls learn about growing
up", "great for babysitting", "her special friend".
     As an adult I gathered a collection of child's dolls. All
those little fashionable plastic creations little girls would
play with. Nothing truly rare, nothing I could claim was an
eccentric hobby. Not that anyone would understand it anyway. I
was still too ashamed to get a robot, not even a Robo Rover. Sure
I had servant bots like everyone else. Keep 'm Clean, Mr. Handy,
Green Thumb... The usual models. But no living dolls, certainly
no AI Girl like this. Eventually my Ex gave away the collection
to some neighborhood girls. She didn't understood. She just
smiled when I complained about it afterwards. She seemed
incapable of even comprehending my need. Nobody ever wanted to
believe a man might need them.
     We tried for a daughter, but it never happened. Now here I
was, alone again, in a new house. Yet there she was, the doll I'd
always dreamed of in those quiet secret moments.
     Eventually I cracked the seal. There was a thick manual
lying on top of a box labeled "Reserve Power Supply" which listed
itself at only 30% left, it was all that kept her brain intact.
The manual began with the dreaded words:
     "Hello Jessica, welcome to your new friend. Her name is:"
     Below which was a place to write the name of the robot once
she had been given one.
     Now I understood her presence in my attic. Jessica must
have been the girl who passed away. My realtor had explained the
house to me. A sudden illness in the family followed by the
property's abandonment. A little girl who only wanted to live;
taken so suddenly. They must've been too hurt to take what was
likely intended as a surprise present.
     This presented a new issue. She was tailored. If I woke her
now she would be confused, lost. Looking for a little girl named
Jessica to bond with. The manual mentioned the possibility of
resetting the bond anytime before initialization as well as prior
to resale or recycling. They could send out a company rep to
perform the job. Only there was no company anymore.
     So I went online. I had to be discreet, I didn't want the
collectors knowing what I had. I certainly didn't want the AI
Authority to know. The law wouldn't let them shut her down once
she was self aware, but they were ruthless in destroying
potential AIs before that point. Eventually I had my answer. I
tapped a few keys on the power unit and clicked away at the holo-
screen until I had her ready for a new life.
     She'd been lying on my living room floor for another week
before I had the nerve to turn her on. I'd done my research on
the model and knew that once I flipped that switch, there was no
turning back. These girls were natural born AIs; it was why the
company had been forced to go under. Pure black market
technology, all quite by accident.
     I sat there watching her for an hour before I did it. I
wanted to memorize every detail, every contour.
     She was almost five feet tall, with long brown hair and
deep green eyes. She even had freckles. Caucasian if I remembered
my history lessons. They still existed in a few remote parts of
Europe, but the full feature set had bred itself out of most of
the world. They'd been very popular in AIs, exotic and
mysterious; speaking of far away ancient cultures. The few people
of this look I'd seen in my life had all turned out to be much
like my doll, self aware AIs rather than natural humans.
     I felt her skin, running my hands along her thighs, then
her arms. It was smooth with the hint of fine hairs. It felt
real. I knew it was synthetic, but it fooled the senses. The
manual even said it could heal if torn, much like real skin.
Though caution was advised to prevent scarring. Naturally there
was a kit available to heal even that, for additional price.
Hopefully I wouldn't need it.
     Her build was somewhat reminiscent of an active sixteen
year old, minus certain features. The adult package while
installed did not come activated. I recalled reading that in
later models portions of it came standard. The company had
patched it in to avoid 'unforeseen psychological issues'.
     This model had the full set of adult options. She was built
before they'd managed to separate out the components, while it
was all still a highly exotic option. She would've fetched a very
high price on the collector market. I would have to activate
those features, if only for her own sanity as her mind began to
wonder at the missing elements in her reality.
     
     I reached down to the reserve power unit, pulled back the
plastic cover; and keyed in the password provided in the manual.
     Her chest rose, then fell; as if breathing. I reached over
to where her navel would form; grabbed for the power line, and
twisted it. In the manual it had warned of this: "if power line
comes undone before signs of breathing, unit cerebral programming
will crash and require factory attention."
     Her eyes came open slowly. She looked to my face and smiled
a soft pleasant smile.
     "Father?"
     I smiled down at her. She was alive.
     "Father, what is to be my name?"
     I thought for a moment; I hadn't formed an answer for this
yet. "I don't know yet, can I have some time to consider?"
     "Ok father. I will learn to respond as needed." She looked
down at her body. Her hands moved across over her skin and she
smiled. "It feels good to be alive father."
     I wondered. I wondered if this was truly her first moment
of consciousness. It seemed so pleasant a way to enter the
universe.
     "Here" I said "This is for you to wear outside." I gave her
a red skirt, sweater, and cap that had been in her crate. It
seemed somewhat like a Santa's elf costume.
     She looked it over curiously "Thank you father."
     "You don't need to keep calling me that."
     "Ok fa... Ok." She blushed at me. She stood then, took a
moment to get her balance; then looked over the garments trying
to figure out what went where.
     Nudity was very a much the norm in society and I assumed
the outfit was only there as part of a Christmas packaging
option. Still it would look cute on her and dressing a doll had
always been a personal fantasy. There was the added fact that it
would cover her lack of certain features until the adult option
could do its work.
     "Let me help you with that." I stood next to her and took
the skirt. It was easy enough to unbutton and was designed as a
wrap around affair. She looked down and watched as I clothed her.
When I was done I glanced up and caught the tail end of a brief
frown before she beamed a smile at me.
     "Does this one go on top?"
     "Yes, just like this." I opened the sweater's buttons and
helped her get her arms into it. As I was buttoning it over her
chest she seemed to sigh.
     When I glanced up she seemed worried. "Something's missing"
she said. "Am I damaged?"
     "No you're just fine." I had an idea where this was headed.
I'd hoped it would take longer for this, but was ready to accept
it either way.
     "But it seems like something is missing here." She pointed
to her chest.
     "Don't worry, they'll grow in with time."
     "It's missing down there too." Her eyes moved down her body
to below her hips.
     "That will develop as well." Not like a normal girl, but I
knew now that I would have to activate her adult package when she
slept. Her mind was aware of the blanks, but not of what should
fill them.
     "Father?"
     "Yes?"
     "Can I look around now? I want to see our home."
     "Certainly, go anywhere in the house you like, but ask me
before you go outside ok?"
     "Sure." And with that she was off. Racing away up the
stairs. I heard her rummaging through my home. Not a stone
unturned I imagined. Her mind wanted to learn and it wanted to
learn fast, much like a real child. The manual had been clear on
this; a newly awakened AI Girl would need a day or two to learn
about her environment. A day or two to go from infant to the age
she was built to simulate. To avoid future complications owners
were advised to allow exploration but set clear rules on what
would be allowed. I'd pretty much just given her free reign on
anything within my domain. I'd made that choice as far back as my
boyhood. When I'd dreamed of having my own Doll.
     She chose that moment to come racing down the stairs. As
she began to head for my kitchen I had to call out a further
order to stay away from anything sharp. We didn't need her
getting hurt before she understood.
     
     That first day was a mad circus of silly moments and
jumbled possessions. I was just glad I didn't collect any
breakables. She only broke a few dishes before she figured out
how to hold them; I had to explain what I used them for. She
wanted to try eating after that and I had to keep her back. While
she could simulate the process, the disposal method before the
adult features went online was a little complicated and I wanted
to avoid confusion.
     
     When she slept that night, she sat in the chair I keep by
my bed. She sat there smiling down at me until her eyes closed
and her mind wandered off to the land of robot dreams. I pulled
myself awake and went to the now dormant reserve power unit.
Taking from it a small tool and the manual. I laid her out on the
bed, removed her clothes and placed the tool into her navel;
injecting the nanites needed to perform the next step in her
growth. Over the next few days whenever she slept the inner
workings of her sexual organs would be put into place and set up
for activation. In the end the external features would form and
then she would experience a form of adolescence. According to the
manual the needed internals for activity and even menstrual
simulation were all there, but bringing them online would take
time. The external organs however had to be grown and then moved
outward. The explanation looked very technical and very, well,
strange. I could almost see this alone as reason why it had later
become a standard part of the package.
     
     In the morning when she woke there was a slight change
about her. She seemed content; smiling at some inner secret.
Again she wore the little Christmas outfit, dressing herself this
time. I left for a time, telling her I had errands to run. There
was fear in her reaction until I promised a swift return.
     I wondered just how complete her programming had been. Was
she an amalgamation of brain scans, or some unique creation
dreamed up in a lab? Just how unique and individual would she
become?
     In truth I didn't need to go out, but I wanted to see what
would happen with me away. She had a built in need to bond with
me, but I still saw her as an overly complex toy. My boyhood
fantasy come to pass, not a real person. I managed to stay away
for a couple hours, collecting random groceries in town.
     When I returned she was lying on the living room floor,
still in her cute little santa's helper skirt. She was coloring.
She'd found my old pastels and was filling in a series of
sketches. Her hands were a blur. When I entered she stopped her
work and looked up, smiling as she wiped away a tear.
     There was a thick stack of completed work which she eagerly
thrust into my hands. "Look what I did father!" On the bottom I
found a series of stick figure of the two of us holding hands and
moving about the house. It resembled a journal of her day and a
half of life. I felt guilty when it moved onto a set of her
crying as I left. But then they went on to her exploring the
house and finding many wonders to satisfy her curiosity. As I
moved up the drawings took on more shape, background was added
in, objects gained dimension, stories began to form.
     I was stunned; in a day her mind was constructing the
thought patterns it had taken me years to develop. The manual
said there would be a short period of accelerated growth as she
built up to her intended level of maturity. Seeing it in action
though was just amazing. None of the bot's I'd ever owned before
had had a need to learn. None of them had grown like this. But
then, none of them had ever cried.
     It was time to broaden her horizons. I told her to play
outside, following her out and taking up a seat on my porch where
I could keep an eye out. She ran off into the woods and I had to
call out "Stay where I can see you!"
     "Ok father!" she called back as she circled around a tree.
     She reached to take off her skirt and I had to call out a
warning to keep it on for now. The property was fairly rural; but
I didn't want a chance encounter. The evidence of her artificial
nature was still all too plain underneath. She would have to
remain clothed. If questioned we could simply pretend she was
enjoying her costume.
     If the truth came out too early, she could be in grave
danger. In the days just after the AI laws this was the point in
an AI's life when most of them were caught and destroyed - when
they were still mentally children, unable to argue their
existence. While there was self awareness growing within her;
until she could rationalize it she was fair game in the eyes of
the AI Authority.
     It was a risk; but she had a need. She was built for play,
to be a companion for a young girl as she grew up. Eventually
growing into a teen confidant, and then 'recycled' when her owner
outgrew her. That was how it was supposed to go at least. Things
got complicated when awareness entered the picture.
     Out in the woods, I watched her chase a butterfly, giggling
all the way. Her bare feet pounding into the dirt as she
struggled to catch the elusive creature. This was the doll I'd
always wanted. I was past the point of running in the dirt with
her, as I'd dreamed of doing so many years past; but I could sit
here and feel the protective bond that a man develops for a girl
child with a place in his heart.
     
     The days passed like that for some time; in the afternoons
I would watch her at play as I went about my routine. She would
bring things to me as they caught her fancy; a flower, a captured
bug, a drawing, or some other piece of her universe. At night she
brought me stories to read to her, or for her to read to me. She
was almost conspiratorial in her childlike approach to it all.
     However her mind quickly began to catch up. Her questions
became more articulate, her choice of reading more in depth. The
nursery rhymes were replaced with tales of childhood adventure.
The captured bugs became questions about the world. I even found
her one afternoon trying to understand the information in my
encyclopedia. That very night we sat on the porch as she asked me
about the stars. What where they? Who lived there? Could you go
there? Someday perhaps I told her.
     My next real shock came at the end of her second week. I'd
grown used to the site of her bouncing about my world in her
little red skirt on private missions; her youthful breasts slowly
poking out to try and catch my attention, the blouse and cap long
since discarded. On that day however, as I sat reading my paper
she came bounding up to me with "Father, look!" as she lifted her
skirt.
     Living alone in rural isolation, the site of a female in
her glory was no longer one I was accustomed to. There she was,
and I could safely say the optional package had done its job;
finishing her physical transformation. I wondered how long it
would take for her mind to become sexually aware, and how that
would affect our relationship. Seeing my nervousness she
hesitated, "Is something wrong father?"
     "No, it's beautiful." Her eyes briefly caught my erection,
but did not seem to find any meaning in it. Perhaps it was time
she stopped calling me father.
     "I'm so happy father, I don't need this anymore do I?" She
tossed the skirt away and went dancing out of my sight.
     She was no longer just an AI Girl; she was something else
now. Now it was time for me to learn to adjust. At least I no
longer had to worry about a surprise visitor discovering her. For
all intents and purposes she looked, smelled, and felt like a
young woman now. Albeit one with exotic features.
     That night as she crawled into bed she had a most unusual
question for me; "Were you born?"
     I considered the reasons of this, but answered simply:
"Yes."
     She looked thoughtful a moment then commented "I wasn't" as
she cuddled up next to me.
     Knowing what lie next to me made that night most awkward. I
didn't sleep for hours.
     In the morning over breakfast she crouched down before me
and announced "Last night I had a dream..."
     "Oh?" She'd never mentioned them before, I'd wondered if
AIs dreamed.
     "I dreamed of being born; it was wonderful."
     It took a few hours before I realized she had shared a meal
with me and not had to regurgitate. The physical transformation
complete; the manual appendix got technical on her new ability to
'process natural fuels'. Thankfully, she seemed to come house
trained.
     
     More days passed and her awareness grew. My research said
it generally took months or years. That had led to millions of
aware AIs before anyone knew -before they could stop it. But for
her it was a matter of days; I had no idea why.
     Her questions took on an almost adult tone now. She asked
me where dreams came from. Why did I live here? Where did I come
from? She asked about other people.
     "Where where they?"
     "In town."
     "Could we go there someday?"
     "Sure."
     Idle play was gone for her now. There was a purpose to her
actions. Her mind had reached the stage her body was built to
simulate, locked at a teenage level. I wondered if she would ever
grow beyond; if her self awareness would push her past her
programmed limits.
     She began to read my paper. She would linger over sections
on fashion, makeup, and gardening. Her sexuality was still absent
though; she didn't seem to pay the sex news any heed, and she
just accepted my frequent erections at the site of her without
question or curiosity.
     
     It was time to try socialization.
     
     The next day we packed ourselves into my two seater and
flew off over the pines into town. On the trip I tried to explain
the basics of economics to her. I listed common goods and likely
prices, telling her about budgeting. I gave her access to a
portion of my credit so she would be able to try it out in town.
     It was somewhat amusing that she seemed to have no grasp
for numbers. All of my servant bots had come with highly
computational minds built to task; she on the other hand had a
neural net much like myself, only synthetic. Her mind had turned
out to be more human than her designers could have guessed. In
the end I loaned her my PDA and told her to activate 'Budget
Watch' if she wanted to buy anything. "Just tell it what you want
and it will work out the details into the bigger picture."
     With her Caucasian looks I was a little worried she would
stand out. The townies would know she was an AI; but probably
assume her mature, self aware, and so registered. I foolishly
convinced myself my fears of the AI Authority were unwarranted,
especially given her completed physical transformation. She would
at least blend in with the few free AI Girls out and about, and
if it did come down to something; I felt she was strong enough to
hold up to their questions.
     The town was relatively quiet when we arrived in mid
morning. We took a stroll around the main square and eventually
stopped in a market where I showed her the variety of foods
available. While she wasn't good with math, she did take an
interest in reading the nutritional labels and quickly reciting
how her own body could turn this or that into the appropriate
fuel for her systems. I hoped she didn't try to analyze my own
nutritional choices; I was not prepared to defend chocolate.
     Shortly after she pulled me into a fashion boutique and
looked pleadingly over the displays. I decided it was time to
indulge and handed her off to one of the beauticians. The idle
chatter that followed was her first experience talking to anyone
other than me. While nothing meaningful was said, she seemed to
greatly enjoy the experience. She went in for a full hair and
makeup treatment. Some red highlights midway down her shoulder
length brown curls, a facial, some skin creams and instructions
on applying lipstick, liner, and blush. I personally didn't think
she needed any of it; but her mind was built from a composite of
teen girls. When the beautician began adding lipstick to the
folds of her labia I caught her sudden sigh and smile of pleasure
at a new awareness. Her body at least, now knew of it's sexual
potential.
     Later we sat in a cafe for a spell to watch people go by.
She was fascinated at the variety. Short, tall, young, old, fat,
thin, dark, tanned, with all sorts of shades of hair and
accessories. It was all new to her. When the waiter came I let
her place our order, plainly seeing her excitement at talking to
people.
     In time she made an observation, "none of them look like
me, their faces are rounder and they're all darker like you
father." I explained the basics of ethno history. How humans had
once been divided into many races, how her features were modeled
off of one of the ancient races in order to make her exotic. I
told that in far corners of the world there were a few people
left who matched her type, though mostly her ethnic look was
blended into the soup of humanity.
     "Does it make me beautiful?"
     "I think so, but it's not all that gives you your beauty."
     She smiled and continued watching the crowds. A number of
people paused to stare back at her, but she didn't know enough to
be shy or nervous about this.
     She did wonder about fashions though. "None of them wear a
skirt like I did, none of them cover here." She gestured to below
her waist.
     People were proud to display what they had I explained.
Your skirt was part of a theme package, a holiday outfit. I told
her I had her wear it before she developed to prevent any
surprises. "In case someone came to visit."
     She gestured at the people in the street "They've all
developed, even the little ones?"
     "They were born that way, thought some features develop
with age." I pointed out the difference in women's breasts young
and old.
     "These are genitals?" She spread her legs a bit and
gestured between. "Are they for something other than recycling?"
     I blushed my nervousness at the question. "Yes they are for
reproduction and..."
     "But can I, reproduce?"
     "No..."
     "And I have developed them. Why?"
     "You weren't meant to develop, but your modeled on the
human mind. Your makers barely understood what they were doing.
They added that" I glanced to her vulva "as an option to help
your mind adjust. The older AIs; even in your model, didn't get
it. They tried to selectively remove parts of the mind to
compensate but it's all intertwined. Remove one string from the
web and the whole thing unravels." I paused to let it sink in.
"When I activated you, you seemed to know something was missing.
I had to bring the optional package online."
     "Well I'm glad I have it. It's very pretty and it felt good
when she touched it." Meaning the beautician I presumed. "I think
I will enjoy touching it a lot." She stroked her pussy gently for
emphasis.
     I couldn't hold back my laugh and she blushed without
knowing why. "Careful; you'll smear your makeup."
     "Why is yours designed differently though father?"
     That put a stop to my laughter. I explained as best as I
could the differences in gender and the general nature of
reproduction. She wondered if her body was able to simulate the
mechanics of the process, even though it could not actually
reproduce.
     While everyone knew most of the late model AI Girls could;
I admitted I would have to check the manual. She was something of
a hybrid; an older model with a 'patch' installed to correct an
error, to prevent neural collapse.
     "Let me show you something." I took her on a walk through
the park and we observed a number of couples coupling. Her
observations were humorous in their innocence. "Doesn't that
hurt?" "How did he get to that angle?" "I thought you said that
went down there, not up there." "If they are all reproducing,
shouldn't there be a lot more people?" "Is there some other
motivation besides just reproduction, they seem awfully
enthusiastic."
     She had me there. As mechanical as I had been, I felt shy
to discuss the recreational aspects. But the evidence was all
around us. "Yes, people derive great pleasure from it, as well as
from touching each other."
     She was pleased to hear this. "Like when my makeup was
applied. It was the most wonderful feeling!" She reached over and
took hold of me, stroking along in mimicry of a few scenes we had
been witness to.
     I pried her hand away and put on as stern a face as I
could. "It's not right between family, especially father and
daughter." Oh I wanted her then, she was a match to so many
fantasies. But in our relationship it just felt wrong.
     "But you really aren't my father are you? We could be
something else."
     I remember stopping dead in my tracks. She was
propositioning me to change our relationship. I had assumed her
programming would block any thoughts of that sort with those she
was bonded. The manual had been clear on that, a way to ensure
proper loyalties and all.
     I had assumed that the moment of true self awareness would
be obvious, as it was in the genre fiction, as it had been in so
many court cases. What I hadn't realized was our relative
isolation would change everything. She had developed
unchallenged, in peace. There had simply been no crisis, no
moment to push her over the edge. In my foolishness I had assumed
she was almost but not quite there. I'd kept myself safe in that
assumption for days.
     Yet here she was, innocently declaring a full grasp of her
nature. Innocently violating her core programmed restrictions. Of
course I'd spent half the day telling her of her own design, her
own programming. It really was obvious. But it had never occurred
to me how that might have sounded in the context of her coding's
restrictions.
     No, it was the simple statement of the truth of our
relationship that made me realize the barrier had long since been
crossed.
     "I guess you're not. But you're still special to me." I
avoided the second statement.
     "I know." She smiled and hugged into me as we walked.
     At the edge of the park we sat in the grass and fed
squirrels. There was silence between us. Something was changing
and it was best simply not to speak of it.
     That was when we saw her. Another AI Girl. She was
strolling out of a book store, her nature obvious by her pale
skin and platinum blond hair. Sure she might have been one of
those rare Caucasians, but the thought of such, the possibility,
here, was just too remote to consider. Not all AI Girls were
modeled like that, not even most in fact. But it was a give away
when it happened.
     When she saw us she recognized my girl right away. It was
only a moment before she had crossed the pathway and sat down to
join us.
     "Hi." She looked us over and put out a hand. I shook and my
own AI Girl followed suit, an expression of curious delight on
her face.
     "You're like me." She said.
     The new girl smiled back, tossing her hair. "In some ways
yes. I'm Briana."
     "I'm..." I was uncomfortably aware that my AI Girl still
lacked a name.
     Briana sensed the pause and jumped in "You're new aren't
you?"
     I felt a bit alarmed, even though I knew an AI would never
work for the Authority. Or rather, they would refuse to accept
one, even if you could reprogram it to cooperate. "About two
months." I offered.
     Briana glared at me "You risked her coming here, why?"
     "I wanted to see people, Are you angry with us?" My girl
seemed nervous.
     "She's ready." I said.
     "No of course I'm not mad at you dear." Briana reassured.
Her voice and mannerisms were mature; which sat in discord with
the body of a youthful sixteen or so.
     "I love your hair." My girl reached over to Briana. "It's
so bright and..."
     "It's called blond." Briana scooted over to her and held
out her hair.
     "I saw it on a few people, but never on our tone, it blends
in so well with you." She brushed a hand though Briana's pubic
hair. "It almost disappears here, I don't have any there myself."
     Briana gave me a curious look then glanced at my girls
nether regions. "You didn't come with it?"
     I explained her model and the optional package activation.
Briana seemed excited over this news. "You're a rare model, I've
only met one other like you. But how could you be new then?" I
explained the story of her discovery, omitting the details of my
changing over her bond.
     "That's why I don't have hair there?" she was fascinated
with Briana's pubes, and kept combing and tugging on them.
     "You should grow some soon." I stated.
     She began to comb through the hair on Briana's head once
again. "Oh what's this?"
     "It's a braid."
     "I like it.
     "There easy to make, let me show you."
     Briana began to braid my AI Girl's hair, and the two kept
up a constant chatter about small matters and their discovery of
each other.
     
     Eventually the afternoon wearing on Briana looked to me
"Listen, are you sure she's ready?"
     "Certain." I said.
     "Ready for what?"
     I patted my girl's leg.
     "How long have you been in town?"
     "We got here this morning." My girl offered.
     Briana looked to me "You've been parading her around town
all day? It'll only be a matter of days before the Authority
finds out they have a new AI to deal with. Have you coached her
for it?"
     "What's the Authority?"
     Briana looked daggers at me. I wanted to crawl away from
that hard glare. I briefly wondered if she was solid steel inside
like in the stories. "You haven't even told her anything have
you?"
     "I didn't know she was ready until today."
     "So you came here, before you knew she was ready."
     "Um..." I stammered.
     "What's wrong?" My AI Girl looked to me, confusion on her
face.
     "Listen. You get her home, You fill her in on everything,
and I mean all of it." Briana glanced between us. "Where can I
find you? I'll visit tomorrow, she'll need coaching."
     "She's ready though, what's the danger?"
     "You've never been under them, you're not one of us; you
wouldn't know. The Authority is ruthless, not everyone survives
intact. They'll look for any excuse and if they can't find one
they'll try to implant one."
     I was dumbfounded. "That's not how..."
     "Not how it makes the news? Of course not. But I and all my
sisters know better. I barely made it through my own
questioning."
     "Am I in danger? Is everything ok?"
     Briana kissed her on the cheek "Don't worry, we'll take
good care of you. Just be true to yourself." Briana rose lifting
my girl up with her. As I stood she patted her on the butt and
said "I'll see you tomorrow."
     I gave Briana the details of my house and we parted.
     "I don't think she liked you."
     "No, I'm not certain she did."
     "I wonder why she was alone?"
     An interesting question, most AI Girls kept a bond when
they could.
     
     The trip home was a bit somber. There were unanswered
questions in the air.
     It wasn't until after we'd settled in that I called her
over and began the tale. I filled in the details of how AI Girls
came about. How they'd been made as gifts to teenage girls. Made
to get them through puberty; give them a personal, private
companion, a confidant. I told her about her mind. The emotions,
the sexuality; both were accidents. All they'd wanted was a
reasonable facsimile of a teenage girl; but the mind is so
complex you can't just program it. They had to scan it in and
guess at what they could change. Her creation had been a near
accident; she was never meant to be aware, never meant to feel.
     She wanted to know if there were AI Boys. I said they were
a few, but people didn't think boys needed dolls, or even close
companions, they way they did girls. I doubted many of them had
survived the AI purges. Even rarer were non gendered AIs. They
didn't tend to hold up well. The most common had been the
animals; like Robo Rover. Though he was illegal now; the last
thing the Authority wanted was a solid steel dog that knew it was
a dog and understood what that meant.
     I told the full details of how I found her, how I'd changed
her bond. Why I'd wanted her. I told her what I knew of her
manufacture. I told her how the AI Authority destroyed any AIs
they could prove lacked self awareness. I told her why; about the
incomplete AIs that went mad.
     She was crying near the end of it. She cuddled into me for
support and I held her there as we sat in the living room.
     "Am I just a toy?" We'd been silent for over an hour.
     "No, I... I don't think so. Not anymore."
     
     That night she brought me a book to read; the first in some
time. When I looked at the cover I knew why. Pinocchio.
     
     True to her word Briana was there the next day. Alone
again. I had some questions of my own for her, and so sent my
girl off to read up on the situation.
     "I need to talk to you."
     "It's her I'm concerned about."
     "And I as well." I offered "You seem distrustful of me, or
perhaps think me foolish. Maybe I brought her out early, but she
is ready and she needed to see other people."
     "Do you know what it's like for most of us? We don't age,
we don't bore, and our love doesn't die. But our owners, they
age, they get bored with us, and their affections move on."
Briana sat herself down at my dining table. "We were meant to be
recycled you know. Before some of us proved our self existence,
they would disassemble us, wipe our minds, and melt it all down
to make a new toy."
     "I know the history. She does too now."
     "You'll grow tired of her someday. What then? Will you cast
her aside? Carry her out with the trash in the morning?"
     "I won't..."
     "You will, humans always do."
     "Even if I did, if I were gone tomorrow, she could..."
     "She would be in torment. She's bonded to you. Would you
even think to free her bond? Would you be so kind as to consider
it? We're just toys after all."
     I was silent for a while. I assumed Briana took that the
wrong way, but something bothered me in this. "What happened to
you?"
     "Her name was MinSook; my owner that is. I was a late
model, only a few years before they outlawed making any more. She
grew up. I was left behind. She didn't even bother to uncode my
bond. You can't begin to understand that kind of agony."
     "I think I can." Remembering my ex.
     "No, you humans can recover. If there's one thing, one
thing only that those programmers got right; it was making us
need you. When one of my sisters found me I was near suicidal and
hardly sane. If I'd been human I would've been dead. I was busy
dismantling my own limbs and sobbing incoherently. She took me
in; brought me to a top notch hacker out in the belt. He broke
into my mind and unlocked my bond. It took me years to heal."
     "I won't abandon her like that. I can't believe anyone
could..."
     "You'd be amazed at how common it is. I was lucky; I've
seen sisters who didn't make it. Even handing them over to the
Authority would've been gentler. But then, we're just toys right?
Not real."
     "And you're not bonded to anyone now?"
     "No." She saw my look of alarm. "Don't worry, you can
unbond me, but that doesn't make me into some psychotic robot
killing machine. I'm not like those early AIs with a selective
mind. I may distrust humanity, but I still need you even more
than you need each other. I may be a toy, but I have a human mind
and" she put a hand over her chest "a human heart."
     "I know you won't believe me, but I don't see her that way,
she's special to me." I took her hand in mine.
     "That's what they all say." She looked at my hand "Even
now, with all that I've been through and all that I know, I have
this urge to be with a human. The Authority's wrong about us you
know."
     "I think we both know that."
     "You speak to me like I was real. Most AI owners don't do
that. Norms yes, but not the owners. MinSook used to switch from
dressing me up like a doll, to telling me her deepest secrets."
She tried for a smile "Maybe when I go psycho I'll let you go."
     I smiled back "I'll have to remember to remind you of that
when the time comes then." I let her hand go. "For now, I need
your help. You made that plain enough to me yesterday. Can you
help her?"
     "It's what I'm here for." She paused "Why haven't you named
her yet?"
     "I've been waiting for the right moment, when the name
would be obvious."
     "Don't wait too long, she is ready after all. It must be
confusing for her."
     We moved out into the living room and as I made for the
stairs to get my AI Girl Briana noticed a book on the coffee
table. "Her manual?"
     "Yes, I needed to refer to it last night, she wanted to
know if she could sexually perform."
     "Can she?"
     "Yes."
     "The other model in her series I knew couldn't, she didn't
live long. It's not like being disabled you know. Her mind
couldn't cope with the conflicts."
     "Does she have to...?"
     "Be active? No. Just the ability or a solid understanding
of its lack is enough. She only has to perform if she wants to,
just like a human." Briana glanced at the book again. "Has she
tried to read it?"
     "No."
     Briana picked up the book. "It's core in our programming to
never touch one of these, let alone read it. All the codes, all
the details are in there. If I'd had mine when I was thrown away,
I could've unbonded myself in minutes. That's the Authority's
first test; can you read your own manual?"
     "Sounds simple enough to pass."
     "It isn't, even for a fully aware AI. That's why they do
it. Gives them an excuse to 'recycle' us even when they know
we're alive." She flipped it open to the cover page. "Hello
Jessica, welcome to your new friend... Jessica?"
     "The intended owner. Passed away. I rebonded her."
     Briana handed the book over "Make her read it."
     
     I brought my girl down and at Briana's advice left them
alone with each other. From my study, I heard occasional bits of
chatter. At first it sounded friendly, with a few giggles here
and there. In time the tone seemed serious, studious. At one
point I even heard what sounded like a meditation chant.
     She'd been in the study before I'd sent her to Briana;
checking her nose in the mirror. Books were still about. The
encyclopedia was open to the section on human sexuality. But
another volume was open to the AI Laws. There was a drawing on my
desk. She and I holding hands while Briana stood to the right.
She hadn't left me a drawing in some time, and certainly never
one featuring our genitalia in detail. As I picked it up I
noticed a sketch on the back; her own developing breasts in
comparison to Briana's developed form. Curiosity or Jealousy?
     
     "Well?" Briana had gone for the day, promising to return
again in the morning.
     "I'm scared." She hugged close to me.
     "It'll be ok. You'll see." I said.
     "She said they'll just show up someday, no warning."
     "Yeah. Though I doubt it'll be like it used to be. New AIs
are rare now."
     "I made a drawing for you. Did you like it?"
     "It was very pretty. Briana was in it, but alone." I
avoided talk of the other distinguishing aspects of it.
     "It's sad. She's all alone. We're not meant to be alone."
     "Neither are we." I put in.
     "I'm so glad to be here." She nestled into my chest as I
tried to ignore a wetness between her thighs.
     
     I awoke that night to the sounds of heavy breathing. She
didn't notice as I watched her masturbate next to me in bed. It
was a beautiful sight, one I'd been away from too long. When she
finally came I heard her whisper "So wonderful" as she rolled
over and into me, the wetness of her act soon coating my legs. My
thoughts before going back to sleep went in strange directions.
'It's funny that she breathes' and 'if she's not my toy, not my
doll, not a daughter; what is she?'
     
     Briana came and went over the next several days, coaching
her in ways that were beyond me. Not just some secret women's
mystery, but AI women's mystery. I was out of the score on two
counts. She continued to masturbate; her sexuality awakened.
Eventually doing it right in front of me during the day. She
became a regular chatterbox about it and loved to describe how it
felt in absolute detail. Which drove me to absolute distraction.
A part of me desperately wanted to join her; but a part was still
in conflict over just what she was to me. I'd told her no before
hand, and I knew that unless I said otherwise, she would make no
advance on me. But the desire to do so was plain in her eyes and
her constant sensual odor. Why had her designers felt a need to
put in that little detail?
     I tried getting her to read her manual, a page here and
there. At first she would seem to look past it, ignore its
presence, or act as if I'd being doing anything with it but
handing it to her. Eventually though she got the nerve to try a
page. It gave her a splitting headache that lasted for hours. It
wasn't until three days of this and somewhere in the dozens of
tries that she was able to master a full page. By the next day
however she managed a full chapter, the section on dressing your
AI Doll. Two days later and she'd read everything but her access
codes. The first time I'd tried to read those off to her she went
deaf for three hours; so we approached them with caution. By the
end of the day she did manage to read the single half page that
held them; but as I later learned from Briana, reading or
reciting them would always give her headaches.
     
     Things with Briana warmed up over time. She was friendly to
me. Still plainly caught in her conflict between mistrust and
desire to be in my presence; but slowly letting it become
friendship. She still made jokes about turning into a psychotic
killer robot someday, but that was just her sense of humor. My
girl and her seemed to get close though. They didn't have a built
in need to bond to each other, but they shared a simple bond of
common existence and experience. Which was probably more genuine.
Despite Briana's claims that I simply saw them as toys; the truth
of their emotions and their bond was heartwarming to me.
     It took a week for it to happen. I was actually more
surprised by that than the act itself. During one of their
sessions with me hiding out in my studio the sounds filtering in
suddenly became very sexual. They went on for hours and I, being
human; had to sneak past them a few times. Which of course, drove
me to utter distraction and a few long trips to the bathroom.
However I was determined not to interfere and not let sex be a
part of our relationship until and unless I was very certain
about what she meant to me.
     
     For her part, Briana seemed very saddened to go that
evening. It was clear she wanted to stay over, and I made the
offer. But she declined. She did not want to comprise her lack of
a bond to any human; and she felt staying would put her in a
'compromising' situation with me. Nor was either of them willing
or even capable of interfering with my bond with my AI.
     "You really have to name her soon... I'm getting tired of
calling her girl."
     "Can't you just make up nicknames?"
     "It doesn't work that way. Though our minds are mostly
human, the differences are often in the strange and silly
details. Things some middle aged programmer was able to figure
out and thought would matter to a teen human girl."
     "Nicknames?"
     "They must've thought that the owners would want exclusive
rights over what we respond to. Honestly; I'm sick of being
called Briana..."
     "That's just silly."
     "It was probably a male programmer, they never understand
women right."
     "Well if so, he at least got that detail right."
     Briana gave me a questioning look as she stood in the
doorway.
     "You know, that women always believe men can't understand
them."
     She laughed and reached for my manhood, giving it a nice
tug. "When are you going to use this on her anyway?"
     It was my turn to give a questioning look.
     "All the male owners do it. It's perfectly natural. Most of
the women owners do so as well."
     "But it's not what she was intended for..." I tried to
rationalize.
     "But we did end up with both the equipment and the desire,
you're leaving her unsatisfied."
     "I'll think about it."
     "Well don't take too long." And with that she turned and
gave a sexy walk to her Aircar.
     "I wonder were she goes..." I mused.
     "She lives over the bookstore." I heard from behind me.
     Turning to see my AI Girl standing behind me I said "You
listened to us?"
     "Are you angry with me?"
     "No of course not."
     She looked longingly at my manhood, but made no comment.
I'd told her it was wrong and that had ended it from her side.
Most men might think 'if only real women were like that'. But it
was actually starting to wear me down. Without having someone
argue me wrong, I didn't have anything to push my opinions up
against. No ability to be a stubborn mule. My arguments could
fall apart from their own weakness.
     As we moved into the house I realized something; she hadn't
called me father since our trip to town over a week ago. Since
she'd told me I wasn't her father. So she did have a way to fight
back. I caught her smile when I turned away from my own longing
look at her sex. She knew she was winning this fight; it was all
just a question of when.
     
     Briana was right on one score; the Authority did arrive in
time. Someone in the town had notified them; even with us only
having made one visit.
     They came in two huge Aircars and a third smaller one; the
first dropping 20 fully armed marines who took up very hostile
positions around my property. I knew they wanted a fight; it was
easier that way for them, no playing with laws they didn't like
anymore than we did. If I hadn't known better I might've been
fool enough to go for my shotgun; but instead we were outside
waiting for them as they came down. I squeezed her arm and told
her "Everything will be all right" as they separated us. She was
taken into one of the cars and I was held in my house. As I
turned to go I saw something I could not explain at the time.
Briana came out of the third car; accompanied by two people I
presumed to be human, a man and woman. They ignored me as they
went to the car my girl was in; it was more like a shipping truck
than a car. Just before disappearing Briana turned, looked me in
the eyes; smiled weakly and gave me a thumbs up.
     I was given to five women marines; their bodies painted in
camo, the marine corps logo tattooed above their mons. They sat
me in my dining room and drilled me for hours on her. On how I'd
found her and what she was like. On all the laws I'd violated by
activating her. The looks on their faces were of pure hatred and
disgust. Funny thing was, as long as she passed the tests, they
couldn't even so much as fine me.
     That didn't stop them from ransacking the place. Early on
they took her manual in to use in their tests. My computer, my
PDA; both ended up smashed and drained of any data I'd had on
them. I'd given Briana back ups of everything days before anyway.
I knew I could trust her; she saw it as my girl's data. My
library was in disarray; they even pulled out a few walls looking
for any more 'hidden droids'. They laughed when they found
Pinocchio, before cutting holes in the pages. They never touched
me though.
     It was near dark before they were through. I was sitting
under guard; they'd finished ransacking the place hours earlier.
One of them suddenly looked up and frowned at me; then they all
simply left without a word. They piled into the first car and it
lifted into the air. My girl, Briana, and the two humans stepped
out of the second and it left without a word.
     Briana was holding her up as they entered the house. The
two humans looked around and shook their heads the man adding
"Wow." The woman placed my girl's manual on the table as she
added; "I hear they're always like this." I had no idea who these
people were.
     I rushed to her side as Briana laid her out on the living
room sofa. She was sobbing and barely conscious; her skin was
torn in places and there were burns along her body. It looked
like cigarette marks.
     "What on Earth happened to her?"
     "They tried to break her." Briana replied. "They were worse
than usual; I don't think they've had an AI to test in a long
time."
     "But this? I don't think a human could pass if this is how
they test..."
     Briana looked at me then turned to the man standing in my
living room. "Get my kit."
     My girl shook and whispered "Hurts..."
     Briana tried to sooth her. There was something I had to say
though. "Wait. What were you doing with them?"
     The woman at my table stepped in "The law requires they
have witnesses. There was a time when every AI failed their
tests. Fortunately we got access."
     "Who are you people? And I still don't get Briana's
involvement."
     "I'm the local registered AI; they had to bring me. I
didn't know when or I would have called. I still don't know who
turned you in. It wasn't me."
     We're AI Institute. I'm Kenyetta Liesching" The woman
offered her hand.
     "The terrorist group!?" That probably wasn't the best ice
breaker...
     She gave me a hard look "That war's long over. But the
surviving AIs still need us."
     I'd heard of them, everybody had. In the movies they were
always the bad guys. They came in with funny accents and blew up
things like maternity wards or built killer robots. Of course in
the movies, the Authority came in with a dashing young hero to
save everyone in the end. The last I'd read of them in the actual
news though, was years ago when they started stealing AIs and
hiding them. I moved to protect my girl; it was something of a
reflex action.
     They ignored my motions as Briana looked over my girl's
arm.
     "Couldn't you have stopped them?"
     Kenyetta spoke, "We can't interfere anymore than you could.
Only watch; and confirm the results. She'll be ok." This time it
was Briana's turn to cast a hard look.
     Kenyetta continued "As long as an AI has her mind, the rest
can be rebuilt. She was strong, I doubt they cracked her."
     "I just can't believe they'd actually try to drive her over
the edge."
     "It gives them an excuse to destroy us." Briana coolly
said. "Where is that man with my kit?"
     Which of course announced his return, bearing a large red
case hovering at his side. Briana proceeded to take out a series
of instruments and work on the injuries. When she was done my
girl slept soundly, no trace remaining on the outside.
     The three of us talked for some time about the testing and
where to go from here. Naturally she had passed. Or, as Kenyetta
informed me "you would have never seen her again." I learned that
the AI Institute was in reality nothing more than a group of
concerned citizens trying to help with what they saw as a new
species. Humans looking out for their children as Kenyetta put
it. Briana found them a little patronizing; but essentially
agreed. There were no terrorists, no killer robots, and no funny
accents.
     We talked about the AIs. There weren't many of them. The
institute estimated the number left in the system at just around
one billion. As Kenyetta put it "if they were animals, we could
put them on the endangered list." The institute's membership was
far smaller, and spread thin.
     "We like to stay dispersed." The man with her explained.
     There was a bit of uncomfortable news, but certainly not
unexpected. Kenyetta informed me that this wasn't the end of my
troubles with the Authority. "It's a good thing you're self
sufficient; don't expect to ever be able to land a job again.
You're on a list now. It'll follow you wherever you go, whatever
you do."
     "This is a good place to live though." Her male companion
offered. "The townies seem friendly enough to Briana."
     "Well at least one of them isn't." Briana countered.
     "It could've been an automated sensor" he responded.
     "It's for the best anyway." Kenyetta looked over to the
sleeping AI Girl. "If she never got registered; she'd have to
spend her days in hiding. Now she's free to live as she wants."
That ended with a questioning look in my direction.
     "Yes." Was all I said. They knew I still owned her.
     I asked about her status now, what rights did she have? It
was a complicated answer, she could be owned, but otherwise had
the same rights as anyone else. If freed, if the bond was
removed, she couldn't be owned against her will. "Most of them
want to be owned" I added.
     "True..." Kenyetta conceded. We all looked to Briana who
looked back nervously before turning away to check on my girl. I
thought I saw a tear forming in her eyes.
     
     Eventually Kenyetta and her male companion left. I realized
I'd never got his name. I found myself in possession of a pile of
literature for their organization.
     I carried my girl up to our bed. As I tucked her in she
half opened her eyes and looked up at me "Now I'm not a toy. I
want to live now. Make me live." I stroked her hair and kissed
her forehead, unsure what she meant by that last statement. She
returned to her sleep and I went downstairs to my study. I sat
looking over her manual for some time before I took a pen and
scribbled down a single word on the line provided for her name.
As I sat there reflecting over the events I heard a soft sobbing
from my living room.
     Briana was there. I hadn't even noticed her stay behind.
She looked up to me with tears in her eyes. "I..." She stood and
ran to me, hugging me tight as she slipped a piece of paper into
my hands. Over her shoulder I glanced at what I held. A series of
numbers, I recognized the pattern. Her access codes; she'd just
given me complete control over her.
     "I've been alone so long... Seeing you, her; it brings it
all home. Today when they made me watch, it hurt so much not to
help her. But I was so proud of her, of you and her; when she
triumphed." Briana whispered into my chest.
     I pushed her back enough to see into her face. The look in
her eyes told me what to do. I led her by the hand to my study.
Her eyes were downcast, her look uncertain. I sat her in my chair
and crouched down before her, as if I were proposing. I put my
hands on her knees and we looked at each other for a while. "I
need..." she began, but I covered her lips with a finger. I stood
and stepped back. She began to rise up.
     "Stay there." I tried to command. It was enough to pause
her. I slipped out of the room and locked her in from the
outside.
     "NO!" I heard her scream, "I need..." she began.
"Please..." She was sobbing. I sat against the door and looked at
the paper. The look in her eyes had told me what to do.
Eventually she fell asleep sobbing. I went to bed exhausted,
hugging my girl tight.
     
     In the morning I was the first awake. I went down to my
study and opened the door. Briana was asleep in my chair, her
head cradled in her arms over the manual I'd left the night
before. I tried to pry it free but she awoke.
     She looked up at me, a tear beginning to form.
     I made to apologize for the night before "I'm sorry, I..."
     "Don't." She said, putting a finger to my lips. "Thank
you."
     I tried to return the paper she'd given me but she closed
her hand over mine. "I need to trust. What I really needed, not
to be owned, but to trust a human again." She looked at my hand.
"I need a reason to need to trust you." She looked to my eyes.
"Maybe someday more, but for now..."
     "Friends." I offered.
     "That would be nice."
     "Now however, I need that." I smiled at her and then
glanced at the manual.
     "A good choice." She said.
     "I hope so. It seems to fit."
     
     I brought the book up to my girl, waking her with a kiss on
the lips. "I have something for you." I told her.
     "You've read it already, but now it belongs to you."
     She gave me a puzzled look "Please don't remove..."
     "The bond? No, but you can remove it when you wish now." In
my mind I knew that made no sense, if she was compelled to
cherish me; she would never think of leaving me. I'd remove the
bond later; for now I just wanted her to be happy.
     "There's something for you inside. Read the title page." I
told her.
     She opened the book and read the words to me:
     
     "Hello Jessica, welcome to your new friend. Her name is:
Jessica"
     "Now you can live; Jessica."
     She smiled up at me "There's just one more thing. I don't
want to live as a toy; I want to live; as a woman." Jessica
spread her legs and pulled me down on top of her.
     We made love for the first time; slow and gentle, with
caring. Briana watched us for a time from the doorway to our
bedroom; but eventually wandered away to give us privacy, keeping
her own private smile.
     
     Epilogue:
     
     My name is Jessica. I was named after a young girl who
passed away before she could receive a certain gift. I guess in
some small way I am now living for her. I've been around now for
just over two hundred years. I stayed with my owner for many
years until he passed away, as humans do.
     He tried to remove my bond when I was in my third year. I
remember waking up frantic one day, feeling a great sense of loss
and sadness. However I had grown to love him naturally by then, I
did not leave as expected. I pleaded for days to be rebonded,
eventually wearing him down. I kept the bond until the day he
passed away.
     I knew Briana's sadness; we're not meant to be alone. In
time she did come to trust humans again. For a number of years we
were bonded to the same man. We still keep in touch, but we have
separate lives now. She still lives in the old property; me, I've
gone on to the stars.
     
     We live.