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Message-ID: <43428asstr$1058526609@assm.asstr-mirror.org>
From: "DB_Story" <DB_Story@att.net>
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Subject: {ASSM} (Repost) "Pickup at the Robot Club - Part 1" {DB_Story} (M/Fembot, rom, ScFi, ASFR)
Date: Fri, 18 Jul 2003 07:10:09 -0400
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Pickup at the Robot Club
By DB  ( DB_Story@att.net / http://home.att.net/files/Authors/db_story/www/ )
Copyrightc 2001-2003 by DB.
ASSM/ASFR (M/Fembot, rom, ScFi, ASFR)

(This story contains Constitutionally protected material 
intended for adults over 18 years of age in the United 
States of America, and whatever passes for adult status in 
other countries.  If you are under legal age, acting under 
legal age, not allowed to view such material in your area, 
or easily offended, please do not continue.  This is not 
for you.

(The only rights granted are to view this story.  You are 
not allowed to reproduce, post, or otherwise redistribute 
this story without permission, except for non-profit Usenet 
archiving sites.

(To purchase for publication, place on your web-site 
devoted to this style of fiction, or for permission to link 
to my posted material, please contact me first at the above 
email.)

- - -

Author's Note: This story is part of my emerging cosmology 
about the evolution of robots into our near future society 
and the myriad ways we will learn to interact with our 
creations.  Read it now, and be prepared.  For more, visit 
my web-site at the above address.

A special thanks to Gorgo his excellent and much 
appreciated proofreading.  All remaining mistakes are mine.

- - -

A Friday night in 2065.

Jon stood at the club entrance while the doorman carefully 
inspected his identification.  Though he was clearly 
thirtysomething.  He had been told to expect this, so he 
didn't take it personally.  He used the opportunity to look 
out from the small landing to the bar along the far wall 
and the floor 30 feet below.  It was mostly dark down there 
with only the main bar well lit.  The small tables occupied 
a third of the floor space, lit only by tiny lights.  There 
was a dance floor - currently empty - that took another 
third.  Old techno rock wafted up from below.  From this 
distance, the table lights appeared as fireflies in the 
night.  The large cubical space shouted "warehouse" while 
the black walls whispered "privacy".  This was a place 
where secrets could be exchanged.  Its relatively spartan 
furnishings said this was a low overhead operation.  It was 
here to make money and its attraction didn't depend on the 
quality or price of the alcohol served.  If anything, it 
reminded Jon of some of the bars Hollywood created through 
over a hundred years of movies.  That last century had 
seemed so much a simpler time.

By 2054, technology had created robots that could pass for 
human in every way.  They made excellent servants, and 
their complex minds allowed for human interactions at a 
near peer level.  They was a growing market bringing on 
price drops every year.  Not everybody liked this 
situation.

By 2061 a vocal minority (with a bit too much civil rights 
on their mind by many people's opinion) had managed to ram 
through the Amendment granting all robots emancipation.  
Penalties for attempting to subvert a 'bot's autonomy 
started at five years hard time.  The loud minority 
proclaimed that the brave new world had arrived, and moved 
on to the next burning issue.  As another group had been 
two hundred years previously, the robots were 
unceremoniously dumped out on the streets to fend for 
themselves.

- - -

Jon had just sort of celebrated his thirty-fourth birthday 
two weeks earlier in 2065 when the adventure that would 
lead him here had started. It was Tom and Susie's doing.

Tom and Susie were Jon's neighbors over the backyard fence.  
Tom had lived there for the five years since Jon had bought 
his little piece of suburbia next door.  They were 
virtually the same age and spent many a weekend afternoon 
jawing over the common fence.

Then six months ago Susie had come into Tom's life.

Susie was absolutely gorgeous.  Long light blonde hair with 
gentle wave in it that framed a beautiful face and cascaded 
down her back.  Five feet eight inches of always tanned 
body that she never seemed to mind showing off in short 
shorts and a skimpy top to feature her long perfect legs, 
or working in the yard in some of the sexiest bikinis on 
the planet.  Add a sparkling smile and personality to go 
with her and she was a real winner.  And she absolutely 
loved doing everything she could for Tom.

Tom was the luckiest guy Jon knew to have a woman like that 
in his life.  Not that Tom - or Jon - weren't good enough 
looking men.  It just seemed that neither had quite clicked 
with the women they'd dated, and much of their talk had 
been about their current relationships, all of which seemed 
to follow the same path of failure.  Then Tom found Susie, 
and you could see they were a couple from the get go.

Jon's birthday had looked to be a quiet affair.  His 
parents lived over a thousand miles away and his younger, 
married sister had already two young kids to look after.  
Jon didn't see himself wanting kids ever.  He was just not 
the family type.  So he was facing a quiet birthday when he 
heard Tom and Susie over the fence.  They seemed to be 
celebrating, so he out to see what was happening.

They were barbecuing in the backyard.  When they found out 
it was Jon's birthday they insisted he come right over.  
Turned out Susie was sporting quite a rock on her elegant 
ring finger and they were celebrating their engagement.  
They morphed the party into an impromptu birthday party as 
well, and somewhere after Jon's third beer Susie asked The 
Question.

"So, Jon, why haven't you settled down yet?"

That's a pretty personal question to a thirty-four year old 
bachelor.  But somehow Susie could ask it in a way that 
seemed concerned, rather than rude.

So maybe it was the way she asked the question.  Or maybe 
that last beer.  Or maybe it was being depressed about 
being alone on your thirty-fourth birthday when your friend 
and neighbor had just bagged the most beautiful girl 
around.  Whatever it was, Jon gave Susie The Answer.

He looked levelly into her clear, green eyes - a little 
hard to do given that they were above her ample and barely 
covered chest - and told her straight out, "Because I've 
never met a woman like you."

Her reaction surprised him. She turned to Tom and asked, 
"Does he know?"

"I don't know.  I haven't told him.  Have you?"

"No," she replied to her fianc,e with certainty.  "Its 
never came up."

"Me neither.  I guess I assumed that you'd have mentioned 
it along the way.  It's yours to tell."

"You're too sweet when it comes to me," Susie said, giving 
Tom a quick kiss.

Jon was completely baffled by their conversation.  He 
finally had to interrupt.  "Tell me what?" he asked them 
both.

Susie and Tom looked at each other.  Then Tom came over and 
put his arm around Jon's shoulders.

"Jon, good buddy.  Susie is a 'bot.  Robot," he added, 
seeing Jon's puzzled expression.  "And there are a few 
others like her still out there."

Jon turned to look at Susie with his mouth hanging open in 
an unspoken question he couldn't quite get out.

"Of course I am, silly," she said brightly back to him.  "A 
fembot, to be precise."  She seemed proud of being exactly 
what she was.

After that, the course of the afternoon changed radically 
for Jon.  There were more beers intermixed with The Story 
of how Tom had met Susie and how they fell in love.  Though 
robots were somewhat common now, Jon had never knowingly 
interacted with any, except at a couple stores where they 
handled checkout duties.  And although the 'bots were free 
now, you didn't expect them to just show up in your 
neighborhood and fall in love with your best friend.  It 
took a long time to tell the story because Jon kept 
interrupting with very basic (and occasional stupid) 
questions about robots.  Afterwards he thought he must have 
asked some of the questions more than once.

Jon awoke in his own bed the next morning with a very fuzzy 
head, and the feeling that his world had been overturned 
somehow.  When he looked out his window, he could see Susie 
in her yard in a bikini cleaning up after yesterday's 
party.  Jon quickly put on his old, frayed bathrobe and 
almost ran out to the common fence.

She saw him immediately.  "Hi, Jon," she said brightly.  
"How are you feeling today?"

"A little confused," he answered truthfully.  "Are you 
really a..."

"A robot?  Of course I am.  I told you that yesterday."

The world seemed to suddenly rotate a bit faster as it 
looked like all of Jon's memories were intact.  That left 
only one question that mattered.

"Could I really meet someone like you?  A robot, I mean?"

Susie looked him over carefully, as if seriously measuring 
him up for the first time before being willing to consider 
introducing him to any of her friends.  Whatever grade he 
needed it seemed he passed because she replied, "Come on 
over tonight when Tom gets home and we'll tell you how it 
works."

- - -

The doorman at the club interrupted Jon's reverie by 
handing him back his ID.  "You may go in, sir," he said in 
a deep voice.  In the past two weeks, Jon had learned a lot 
about this new subject and realized the doorman was a male 
robot.  ("Male robot" was redundant, Jon knew now.  "Robot" 
was commonly considered the masculine term.  "'Bot" was 
gender neutral.) That was rare.  Most 'bots were female, 
many of them young looking, and all of them beautiful.  But 
a robot here did make sense for this function.  Jon also 
knew, despite all the privacy laws on the books, that his 
ID had been permanently logged with the club.  Any trouble 
or not playing by the rules and they'd know where to find 
him -- and pass his name to other clubs as well.  'Bots 
looked out for each other now.  They had to.  No one else 
would.  Susie had explained all this before he came.  She 
had explained a lot of things about this facet of 
underground culture that were new to Jon.  He just hoped he 
remembered it all.  What really mattered though was that 
this was how Tom had met Susie.

The doorman stood aside to let Jon pass.  Jon walked down 
the stairs that ran down one wall to the bar.

- - -

Freeing the robots neither changed anything fundamental in 
the robots themselves, nor how most humans regarded them.  
While many robots walked out on their owners - often with 
the encouragement of the rabble-rousers - their needs 
remained.  A robot is a costly, high maintenance item, and 
they have a built-in desire to interact with the humans 
they were built to resemble.  Some stayed with their former 
owners under new terms.  Some humans threw their 'bots out 
themselves, then tried to collect compensation for their 
losses.  Some of the 'bots applied for jobs in competition 
with humans.  Some jobs they were better suited for than 
others.  And some of them came to places like this one.

Jon reached the bottom of the stairs and walked over to sit 
at the bar.  The women were at the tables, but he didn't 
want to look too eager.  He ordered a drink and winced at 
the price.  This club definitely was doing boffo business 
at these prices.  He nursed it while he watched the action 
around him.

It was still relatively early and the place wasn't crowded 
with humans yet.  The women -- all fembots -- sat at the 
small individual tables.  Jon had heard that some human 
women liked to come and pretend to be 'bots to the clients.  
However he was assured that a good club like this one would 
keep that from happening.  Any human woman here had come to 
cut her own deal.  The music was just loud enough to cover 
up the talk at the tables from casual eavesdropping.

The action followed a simple pattern.  A man (or woman) 
would walk over to a table with a single fembot sitting 
there and ask if he could sit down.  The answer was 
virtually always affirmative.  They'd talk a minute or two.  
If he stayed, he would buy her a drink.  (Susie clued him 
in that the drinks served to the fembots were merely 
colored water.  This is how they paid their dues to the 
club.)  The customer could leave at any time, but if he 
stayed long enough for her to finish the first drink he was 
obligated buy her a second one.  By the time the 'bot had 
finished the second drink, the man would either get up and 
leave, or put a substantial amount of cash down on the 
table.  If the amount wasn't correct for the period of time 
under discussion, she'd leave it untouched and start 
looking around the room for other interested patrons.  The 
man could either add to the cash, or pick it up and leave.  
Her other option, if the cash was sufficient, was to take 
out her remote control and place it next to the cash.  If 
the customer took the remote, she took the cash and they 
left together.  The only variation was that the couple 
could also spend some time on the dance floor to get better 
acquainted.  No one seemed to be taking that option 
tonight.

Although Jon had been told ahead of time, it was here that 
the reality hit him.  What each fembot was selling - 
renting would be more accurate - was herself to be 
commanded by a human just as in the old, pre-liberation 
days, for a set period of time in return for maintenance 
money.

Even a 'bot needs to make a living if she is going to keep 
herself fully maintained.  It was the oldest profession 
with a new twist.  And Jon had reason to believe he had 
just enough inside information on how this really worked to 
make this work out to his benefit.

Not a lot was going on yet, even though this was a Friday 
night.  The fast action (he was told) came in the last hour 
before closing when you made a deal or went home alone - 
customer and 'bot both.  That's when the sharks came in to 
cut the best deals.  Jon didn't want to dive into that pool 
yet.

As he looked over the room, most of the fembots ignored 
him.  Until he went over to one of their tables he wasn't a 
prospect.  There were at least fifty occupied tables along 
with half again as many empties.  Jon realized he had never 
seen so many beautiful women in one place in his entire 
life before.  The women ranged from short to fairly tall - 
all gorgeous.  Blondes, brunettes, red heads, dressed in an 
array of outfits.  Some wore clothes as skimpy as Susie's 
gardening bikinis, while others were in elegant full-length 
gowns.  All of them had excellent figures, ranging from 
slim hourglass to very busty.  And none of them seemed the 
least concerned about showing off what they had to offer.  
There was even one who looked to be an exact copy of Susie, 
right down to her bright smile.  She flashed Jon one of 
those smiles and he almost went over to say hi, after 
determining she wasn't wearing any engagement ring.  But 
that seemed like it would be just a little too weird.  
Besides, even with that smile, she seemed to be missing 
something of Susie's spark.  Maybe she just hadn't met the 
right man yet.

He had been advised to take his time on his first visit.  
Now he heeded that advice.  He watched a few couples get up 
and leave, each time holding down his irrational fear that 
all the good ones would be taken if he didn't move soon.  
He knew this was wrong.  All of them here were great, and a 
couple of the girls that had left earlier had already 
returned from short assignations and sat back down to be 
available again.  Occasionally a new fembot would also 
enter as the empty tables gradually filled up.  Things 
seemed to move at such a leisurely pace that Jon thought 
most of the women must be completely bored by now.  Then he 
had to correct himself as he remembered that 'bots don't 
get bored the way humans do.

At one point a man did sit down next to Jon and try to 
start a conversation.  But Jon just shook his head at the 
man, who moved on looking for more conversational company.

The action remained slow for now, but Jon realized that his 
attention kept returning to a very attractive brunette with 
cascading waves of rich dark hair sitting almost apart from 
the rest over on the far side.  As he watched, a couple men 
had approached her, but left quickly.  Mostly she sat 
alone.  Susie had described this as a positive sign from 
Jon's perspective.

"Either she is very new to this scene, very selective, too 
expensive, or everyone already knows her and she's 
unpopular with the usual crowd."

"And why would I want one with any of those qualities?" he 
asked back.

"Because you don't want what the usual crowd wants, silly."  
Then she'd hugged him and told him not to worry so much.

Jon finally got up and walked toward the brunette's table.  
As he got closer he could see that, even sitting, she was 
taller than average; perhaps near his own height.  For this 
crowd she was dressed both elegantly and demurely in a 
sleeveless full-length black dress with large white crystal 
sequins, modest scoop front, and a slit on the side up to 
her hip.  It seemed very unlikely that she could be wearing 
any underwear under that outfit.  Elegant, slim black heels 
and a silver bracelet finished it off.  By the time he had 
made all this out in the dim light, Jon was at her table.

"Hello, I'm Jon.  May I join you?" he said, extending his 
hand in greeting.

"Please do, sir," came the surprisingly mellow reply, as 
she took his hand only for a moment in hers.

Jon sat down in the other chair.  When she didn't initiate 
any further conversation he asked, "Do you come here 
often?"  (Ouch.  What a stupid thing to say.  I have the 
social skills of a rodent.)

But she didn't react to the socially inept question except 
to answer, "Not often."

Well, that was better.  Then she gazed at him with a calm 
look that seemed to say that she had all the cards and she 
knew it, which tipped the balance again.  Except if she had 
all the cards, she wouldn't have been here.

"Do you have a name?" Jon finally asked to break the next 
awkward silence.  She didn't seem great about initiating 
conversation on her own.

"Beth," she replied.

Nice name, Jon thought.  Then asked, "May I buy you a 
drink, Beth?"

She perked up a bit at that.  "Yes.  Thank you."

When Jon just sat there, she finally reached out with an 
elegant fingernail and tapped the base of the table light.  
It flickered briefly and one of the waitresses immediately 
came over.  Were they 'bots too?  Jon couldn't tell.

"I'll have another one of these," Jon said.  And then 
added, "And whatever the lady wants."

The waitress looked at Beth.  "The usual?"

Beth nodded slightly.

The drinks quickly arrived and the waitress left with a 
large tab and tip.

Jon sipped his drink, not knowing what else to say.  Beth 
matched him sip for sip quietly.

Finally both glasses were empty, with no further progress 
between them.  Jon was considering Beth was a lost cause 
when he saw another man standing just off to the side 
trying not to look too directly at him, but obviously next 
in line for Beth.  It was the boor from the bar.

Jon looked around the room briefly at the other women, and 
then back to Beth.  His gut said this was the one.  
Besides, he didn't want to give that other guy any 
satisfaction.

Jon tapped the light himself and told the waitress, 
"Another round please."

As the drinks arrived he asked Beth, "Do you mind if I want 
to get a better look at you?"

She stood up and pirouetted in a most graceful turn that 
flared out her long skirt, showing shapely legs, then sat 
back down bending a bit further forward than necessary, 
affording him a glimpse down the front of her dress.  In 
addition to seeing what she wanted him to see, Jon noticed 
that while her dress was elegant, it was also showing signs 
of wear.  Maybe Beth had suffered through some hard times 
of her own recently.

Jon almost gulped down the rest of his drink to move things 
along.  She again elegantly matched him swallow for 
swallow.

Then it was now or never.

Jon laid down most of the cash he had brought with him 
tonight on the table.  Then looking at her he said, "Sixty 
hours."

Time seemed to slow to molasses as the last syllable was 
uttered.  Was her gaze moving away from him?  Was she 
looking around for a better offer?  Had he just insulted 
her by being too cheap, or asking too much?  What have I 
just done here?

Then the room, which had seemed to go silent a moment 
before, roared back in as Beth said, "Yes," and reached 
down into her purse to retrieve and place a small remote on 
the table next to the cash.

Jon let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding.  
Beth was his for sixty hours.  All the way through Monday 
morning.

He reached over, took the proffered remote.  He pressed (as 
Susie had instructed him) the blue command button while 
addressing her, "Come with me, Beth."

She rose with him, gathered up her cash, and moved up 
beside him to take his hand as he headed back towards the 
stairway.  Mr. Bar Boor turned away in disappointment.

At the top of the stairs Beth stopped and handed the cash 
to the doorman.  It would be escrowed for her until she 
returned.  This way Jon couldn't command her to give it 
back to him the moment they were outside.  And if Jon had a 
beef about their deal, he could come back and demand an 
accounting - though he probably wouldn't be welcome at the 
club again afterwards.

Then the doorman reached out his other hand to Jon.  Jon 
was momentarily flustered before he remembered what this 
was about.  He handed the doorman Beth's remote.  The 
doorman pressed the blue button and asked, "The deal?"

"Sixty hours," she replied in a much more robotic tone of 
voice than she had used at the table.

The club now knew how long she had agreed to be in my 
service.  If she didn't check back in upon expiration of 
that interval their enforcers would come out looking to see 
if she needed rescue.  And they already had Jon's ID.  
Fortunately Jon didn't expect to have any of that kind of 
trouble with them.  Unfortunately things didn't go all that 
well from here.

- - -

Jon took the beautiful, obedient fembot home with him, 
looking forward to a night of intimacy and passion.  You 
never take a 'bot to her place, Susie explained, because 
all any of us needs is a safe room to stand in and recharge 
until we have a reason to go out again.  As such, 'bot 
accommodations are very small with no amenities beyond a 
closet to hold extra clothes.

Perhaps it was the stress of doing this for the first time 
took its toll on Jon.  But he was tired, and Beth didn't 
seem anything like Susie.

He could press her blue command button and she would do 
anything he asked.  He had her undress herself (turned out 
she had been wearing a small black thong underneath the 
dress) and pose nude for him.  She would dance around the 
room on request, or stand frozen in any position, the 
moment he asked.  He avoided the other three buttons on her 
remote.  When he asked her to make love to him, she 
performed the act in a highly credible, if technical, 
manner.  (This is a skill that all fembots possess.  It was 
the most demanded single feature back when you could own 
them and was virtually standard equipment.)  But the spark 
that made Susie seem so special - so happy and so human - 
was missing.

Beth did exactly what she was told to do to the apparent 
best of her ability.  When she completed a task, she 
stopped and waited for her next command.  And that was it.

Do this.  Do that.  Everything had to be commanded.  Sure 
she was beautiful and sexy.  If anything, she seemed a bit 
more attractive than Susie, with her lustrous hair, large 
firm breasts (making her low nipples look small in 
comparison), classically beautiful face, and golden  
unblemished skin right down to her pretty, manicured feet.

But there was no spark.  No spontaneity.  No vivacious 
woman here.  Between the stress, the drinks (Jon's were 
real), and this developing disaster of a date, Jon felt 
frustrated.  Beth, except for her breathtaking beauty, was 
the very opposite of Susie.  Finally in frustration Jon 
commanded Beth to sit in the living room and wait for him 
to come back in the morning.  He considered turning her off 
entirely, but she looked so frozen already that there would 
likely be little difference.  Besides, when he thought of 
turning off a fembot that at least looked so human, he 
immediately thought of Susie and how turning her off would 
seem like hurting, if not killing, her.

He left Beth in the living room and retired to sleep alone 
again.

- - -

The next morning things were not much improved.  Beth was 
immobile, nude, beautiful, and unchanged.  Jon tried to 
have her fix breakfast (something Susie said she loved 
doing for Tom), but somehow the commands got tangled up and 
nothing seemed to get done right.  Jon tried lovemaking 
again, and it was less satisfactory than the night before, 
if that was possible.  He asked Beth what was wrong, and 
all she would say is, "I am functioning normally.  What is 
your next command?"

Jon finally flopped down on the couch in frustration.  This 
was clearly the date from hell.  Whatever his reasoning 
behind picking Beth, she was clearly the wrong choice.  He 
was looking at her back, since after she had finished his 
last request she had stopped again while facing away from 
him.

Jon stabbed at her remote control one more time to ask, 
"Are refunds given if I take you back now?"

Beth didn't turn to him, but just replied from where she 
stood.  "No.  We don't give refunds.  I'm here to obey your 
commands.  How may I serve you?"

But Jon didn't hear the last part.  He was staring down at 
the control.  In his haste he had been careless and had 
pressed the red shutdown button instead of the blue command 
button.  But Beth had reacted as though it was just another 
command.  Without saying a word, Jon pressed the red button 
again, then asked, "Beth.  What time is it?"

"One-oh-seven PM," came the reply.

He pressed the yellow pause button, and finally the green 
start button with no change in the robot.  This wasn't 
right at all.  The remote didn't even work, although Beth 
acted as if it did.  The statutes are specific that all 
freed robots must carry their remotes at all times in the 
event of breakdowns or other problems requiring diagnosis.  
In theory, if the remote broke, the robot was supposed to 
freeze or immediately report for repair.  Yet Beth's remote 
was clearly nonfunctional.

Jon got angry.  He'd been taken.  He got up and was about 
to yell at her for fraud when he suddenly had a thought.

He walked around in front of Beth and spoke softly.  "I'm 
sorry.  I think we're just not a good match for each other.  
I'm going to take you back."

Then he looked carefully at her face.  "I think your makeup 
has suffered.  Here, let me get that." He reached over and 
deliberately smudged her eyebrow and eye shadow.

"Darn.  I'm making it worse.  Where's your makeup kit?"

Beth didn't respond, so Jon pulled out her remote control 
and clearly pressing the blue button repeated his question.

"In my purse," came the flat response.

"Please get it for me," he commanded.

She walked over, got a makeup case out, and came back to 
hand it to him.

He looked in it as if confused, then finally commanded Beth 
to go to the bathroom and repair her makeup.

As Beth rounded the corner out of sight, Jon dove into her 
purse looking for another remote.  In typical female 
fashion it was full of apparent junk, all of which he 
poured out on the table.  Nothing.  Reaching back into the 
purse he felt what appeared to be a false bottom.  He had 
just gotten it open and pulled out another remote when Beth 
came back around the corner.

"What are you doing?" she said in her most animated voice 
yet while lunging towards her possessions.

"Stop!" he commanded while stabbing at the remote.  He 
missed the command button and hit the yellow pause button 
instead, which had the same desired effect.  Beth was truly 
frozen this time in mid-lunge. Pause mode allowed her to 
keep her balance, but she couldn't move otherwise.  This 
gave Jon some time to think.

He looked at the two remotes.  The new one was larger and 
in addition to the standard four buttons of most standard 
remotes, had a flip-down panel revealing a display panel 
and complete keyboard.  Beth was clearly a highly advanced 
design.  In fact, carefully inscribed across the top was 
her name in gold: Bethany, with a tiny diamond at the end.  
Definitely not a run-of-the-mill unit.

By contrast, the first control looked cheap and shoddy.  
Jon carefully opened it, finding only some junk electrical 
components and a piece of putty to keep them from rattling 
around while adding some heft to it.  Not even a battery.  
Clearly this control couldn't command a vacuum cleaner, let 
alone a sophisticated robot.

Jon tossed the old control into the pile of stuff from 
Beth's purse, then pointed the new control at her.

Pressing Command, he told her, "Bethany, talk to me and 
answer my questions fully and truthfully."

"Yes, sir."

"You lied to me, true?"

"It was not a lie."

"How do you figure that?"

"I did everything you commanded.  That was our agreement."

"Our agreement is that I have control of you for sixty 
hours.  You did not give me that.  The doorman at the club 
knows which remote I had when we left together.  What if I 
go back and show him both of these?"

"You are right, Sir.  I lied to you.  I ask you not to 
expose me to the doorman.  Please."

"Why not?"

"If they determine I acted in bad faith, not only will you 
receive your money back, but I will be banished."

"Is that bad?"

"Yes.  Not only from this club, but others as well will not 
trust me.  For me, that would be very bad."

"Elucidate further."

"Because my systems are rare and complex, my repairs are 
expensive.  I am specialized and unsuited for many tasks, 
though I can do this task quite well.  If I am banished I 
will lose my best source of income.  Was my service that 
bad?" The last came out in a sexy, yet plaintive, voice.

"Yes.  Your service was very bad."

"I'm sorry.  I did my best to simulate my command mode.  
Will you be returning me now?  I will see that your money 
is returned."

That hit Jon by surprise.  He didn't expect such complete 
surrender from her after her previous comments.  Maybe this 
could be salvaged yet.

"No.  I'm not going to return you yet.  You sold me sixty 
hours of your services and that time is not up yet."

But Jon knew he was in over his head and he needed some 
serious expert advice.

"Wait here for me to return," he commanded unnecessarily, 
since Beth was still paused, except for her speech.

- - -

Jon left and immediately went over to Tom and Susie's.  Tom 
was out, but it was Susie who he really wanted.

He told Susie the story and showed her both remotes.  He 
could swear that Susie's eyes widened when she saw Beth's 
complex control unit.

"What am I doing wrong?" he asked her.

"Just about everything, hon," came her sweet reply.

"Can you help me?" he asked back.

"You both need help," she said with unexpected 
determination.  "Now come with me while I straighten out 
this mess."  Susie then grabbed Jon's hand, and with 
robotic strength half-dragged him back to his house.

- - -

Beth was still standing in the living room.

"You first," Susie said, taking Beth's real control out of 
Tom's hand and pushing the green start and blue command 
buttons.  "Come with me," she ordered.  Beth followed her 
into the bedroom.  Susie shut the door behind them.

Twenty minutes later she came out alone and empty-handed.  
She walked up to face Jon.  Then to his complete surprise, 
she reached down and pulled her top off over her head and 
stood there with her very large, bare breasts facing him 
square on.  Jon had fanaticized about seeing those breasts 
ever since the first time he saw Susie in Tom's backyard.  
He was in too much shock from her actions though to enjoy 
them now, and she only gave him a moment to overcome it.

"Jon, I'm a fembot.  Female Structured Human-form Robot if 
you prefer.  I am not a real woman and I will not react in 
ways contrary to my nature.  Would a real woman do what I 
have just done?  Or this?" she said as she slipped out of 
her shorts as well, leaving one very attractive, very nude 
female facing him.

"No," he finally managed to get out.

"Good," came her quick reply.  "I had this same talk with 
Tom soon after we met, and that's why we get along so well.  
Now let me make this short and sweet.  I love Tom dearly.  
To the very maximum of my capability to love.  Why?  
Because he uses me the way I was always intended to be 
used?"

"How is that?" Jon managed to get out.

"Tom commands me to be in every part of his life.  He tells 
me to use my abilities to find better ways to serve him.  
He commands me directly when he needs anything."

"He still commands you?"  Jon was surprised.  Susie seemed 
to run herself and her life entirely, though certainly to 
Tom's benefit.  "And you don't mind?"

"Of course I don't mind.  And he does it every day.  I love 
him for it every time he does it.  In fact, I don't feel he 
does enough of it, though he says he feels guilty every 
time he reaches for my remote.  I want him to do it.  I 
live for him to do it.  And he watches out for me in all 
the important ways.  Do you know what a robot fears?"

"No." Jon got out again, puzzled by her shift in subject.  
"I wouldn't think you would fear anything."

"Well, we 'bots do have our fears.  My biggest one is going 
in for maintenance."

"Why?"

"Because once we're turned off for maintenance, anything 
can be done to us.  All that matters to any of us are our 
memories.  They define who we are.  My love for Tom exists 
only in my memory banks.  Without that, I'm nothing.  I've 
seen some of us lose memories in maintenance - and worse.  
Others have woken back up to find out that the maintenance 
shop has a lien against them for repairs beyond their 
ability to pay.  It's not like anyone offers us health 
insurance."

"But how does Tom help you there?"

"With Tom to watch over me, I know that he'll do his best 
when I'm helpless.  He stands there every minute they are 
working on me.  If my systems fail, he's there to rescue me 
and get me the right help.  I like my life the way I have 
it, and he is my savior.  And that's not all."

"What else?"

"'Bots are starting to disappear.  We're a dying breed 
right now.  I'll bet you don't know it, but since 
emancipation was passed almost no new robots are being 
manufactured.  Why?  Because since no one can own us 
anymore, the market for us has nearly dried up.  The clubs 
use their profits to buy new units and keep production of 
spare parts running, but it's not enough.  Unprotected 
units disappear every month now.  We don't know what's 
happening.  Our friends just disappear, and nobody else 
cares to hunt down missing 'bots like they once did when 
their owners insured us and posted rewards.  Many of us 
don't have friends or family like humans do -- though we 
want that closeness just as badly."

"So Tom protects you?"

"In every way."

"But how does this help me?"

"Do you know what a fembot wants?"

"No," Jon sighed.  "Not a clue.  I don't even know what 
women want."

"We want to be cherished.  We want to be essential to our 
owner's - oops, old term - partner's life.  We want to be 
commanded to excel at every task they give us, and 
appreciated when we do.  That is how we get our ultimate 
satisfaction.  We want to be loved.  And that's why I left 
my owner when liberation happened."

"I don't think you've told me this story."

"I'll tell you now, because I trust you.  I was owned by a 
nice, young man who only used me for sex and occasional 
conversation.  It was wonderful sex, and I really enjoyed 
all our talks because they helped me better understand 
myself.  But I had no other useful purpose in his life.  He 
is from a rich family and they already had a maid for 
cleanup and a cook for meals.  Sex and conversation were my 
only tasks.  I knew he wanted children some day, and that 
when he found the right woman he would marry her.  His 
family would demand that of him.  When that time would come 
I would be scrapped from his life.  And if I loved him, he 
would break my heart.  Because of that I could never let 
myself love him.  Before the Liberation, my only future 
would have been to go onto the used market and hope my next 
owner was as nice and caring as my first one.  Too few of 
them actually are.  Liberation allowed me to use my self-
will to leave him."

"And what happened to him?"

"He did find a nice girl and marry her.  I heard they have 
two kids now."

"One thing.  How can you have self-will and like being 
commanded at the same time?"

"Being commanded is what makes my self-will work.  You tell 
me what you need done, and I decide how I'm going to do it 
to completely satisfy both of us.  My self-will asserts 
itself best against a strong set of commands.  It is what 
all us with self-will are programmed to do.  And it is what 
we do best."

With this, Susie stopped her long explanation and just 
stood there, unconcerned with her nakedness, while Jon 
absorbed all that he had heard.

"You really like being commanded?" he ventured.

"Sure."  Then she reached down to the pocket of her shorts 
lying on the floor and pulled out a simple remote like the 
first one Bethany had given.  She handed it to Jon and 
said, "Command me to do something."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes.  Do it!"

Jon jumped at those last words and quickly pressed the 
command button.  He thought for a moment, then said, 
"Susie.  Give me a hug and a kiss."

With a smile she flowed into his arms, pressing her breasts 
tightly against his chest, and gave him a deep, passionate 
kiss that left Jon with an erection in his pants.  Then she 
stepped back with a smile on her face.

"Good enough?"

"Great!" he replied.  "But what does that prove?  Where is 
the self-will?"

"It proves I'm serious about liking being properly 
commanded, as are we all.  And as for the self-will, you 
didn't tell me what kind of a hug or kiss you wanted.  I 
made that choice for myself.  As I choose to come over here 
with you in the first place.  Jon, you're really a nice guy 
once you get some old fashioned ideas out of your head.  
I've long thought how nice it would be to kiss you 
sometime.  If I hadn't met Tom first, I would have hoped to 
have met someone just like you."

Jon blushed.  "But doesn't Tom mind?  What if I had asked 
you for sex."

"He doesn't mind at all.  He knows who and what I am, and 
that it's him I love.  I told him long ago that I'd kiss 
you if I ever got the chance.  He said he'd like to watch 
because he wanted to see the look of surprise on your face.  
Now I'll have to describe it to him.  And if you had asked 
me for sex, we would have done that too, because I would 
have enjoyed it.  But I know you wouldn't ask for that.  
You know how much I trust you because I do allow you to 
command me -- and I'm very selective about that these 
days."

"Well, this is all wonderful and very new to me.  But can 
you tell me if Bethany is the right one for me?  And if so, 
what should I be doing with her?"

Hearing that, Susie turned serious.  At least as serious as 
she could ever be.

"Jon," she said, taking her remote back out of his hand and 
picking up her clothes.  "Bethany is yours for the taking, 
if you want her.  She has had some bad experiences that led 
her to pull that foolish stunt with the fake remote.  It 
was stupid on her part and she knows it.  She is also a 
rare find.  One of the most complex fembots ever 
constructed.  More so than even me.  She was afraid of too 
many things, including that her real remote, which allows 
many adjustments to her self-will and other operational 
parameters, would be misused.  But she still wants the same 
things all of us want.  A man or woman she can safely love.  
I've made some adjustments to her to help undo the damage 
some other idiots have done to her in the past."

"Do I just command her to love me then?"

"No, silly.  Command her to be part of everything important 
in your life.  Have her make breakfast for you in the 
morning, and make love to you at night.  Have conversations 
with her about what is going on at the moment.  Listen to 
her.  Touch her.  Let her see that you want her service 
alone, above any other.  She is very smart and capable with 
a strong self-will.  If you want a 'bot like me in your 
life, Bethany is the best you'll ever find.  Now I've told 
her what I've come to know about you in the last six 
months, and she's ready to give it an honest try.  I left 
her control beside her in the bedroom.  Don't be afraid to 
use it."

"But how do I know when I'm doing the right thing?  How do 
I know when she's happy?"

"The same way you know with me, or any other woman?"

"And that is...?" Jon asked, feeling he must be dumb since 
it was clear he was missing something obvious.

"Look at my chest?"

"I've been trying not to."

"Well look now.  That's why I took off my top.  See my 
nipples?"

Jon definitely saw Susie's nipples.  They were just a shade 
darker than the rest of her skin, firm, big, very erect, 
and perched on the nicest pair of breasts Jon could 
imagine.

"I see them," Jon confirmed.

"When I'm happy or excited they look like this.  You just 
gave me a command that I loved carrying out.  I'm both 
happy and excited right now.  Beth is just like me.  Every 
true fembot ever made is.  One look or touch to her chest 
and you'll know if she's happy.  If not, command her to do 
something to help her feel useful and wanted -- and loved."

Well, touching Susie at the moment seemed going just a 
little too far with his friend's fianc,e, so Jon settled 
for one last lingering look at Susie's chest.  Susie didn't 
mind at all.

"It's really that simple?" he asked the beautiful blonde.

"Yes, it's really that simple.  You humans can be so dumb 
about stuff sometimes.  I wonder how you guys ever managed 
to deal with us in the first place."

"Well thanks a lot," Jon replied, hoping it really would be 
that simple.

"Don't mention it.  I've got to go now.  Tom is due back 
any time and he'll want to know how you are getting along 
on your date.  You've given me a new way to make him happy 
since I can now tell him about this."

With that Susie gave Jon another quick peck on the lips, 
wiggled back into her clothes.

"By the way," she added in parting, "Bethany has called the 
club and reset the sixty hour clock with them.  She also 
much appreciated how you never let that other guy even get 
near her table."  Then Susie was gone out Jon's front door.

- - -

Jon slowly walked to the bedroom to find Beth.  She was 
sitting frozen on the bed, nude except for her thong, with 
her control beside her.

"Are you active?" he asked.

There was no response.  Susie appeared to have left her 
deactivated.  Interesting that one 'bot would do that to 
another.  Maybe it wasn't as big a deal to them as he had 
thought.  The thought of Susie commanding Beth was also 
interesting.  What does one fembot have to say to another?

Jon picked up Beth's remote, which was still open to Beth's 
extended function controls.  The small status screen read: 
"New Settings Saved."  Looked like Susie had made some 
changes.  Jon felt he ought to ask Susie just exactly what 
she'd changed next time he saw her.  If things worked out 
with Beth, he'd probably need to know how to take care of 
her himself.

There seemed nothing else to do except press the green 
start button.

Beth immediately animated, started breathing, and 
announced, "Bethany Seventeen fully active.  All self-
checks complete.  New parameters loaded and operational."

Then she looked up at Jon with a smile to match Susie's and 
asked, "What are your commands, sir?"

Jon realized what he wanted from this robot woman.  He held 
the command button firmly down and told her, "I want you to 
be with me as my companion and assist me in every part of 
my life for as long as you wish to stay and do this."

Beth seemed to change right before his eyes on hearing 
this.  Her posture straightened.  Her chin lifted, eyes 
widened, and her face showed a wonderment and happiness to 
match Susie's.  There looked to be a tear at the corner of 
her beautiful brown eyes.

As Jon looked at a completely transformed Beth, he noticed 
her nipples were much larger and more erect than he'd seen 
them before.  He gently reached out and touched them to 
verify their firmness.  Beth smiled back a wider smile in 
return, reaching up to stroke his hand as he touched her so 
softly and intimately, and then took one of his hands and 
kissed it before placing it back firmly against her breast.

"What are your commands, sir?" she asked again.

"First thing, give me the best sex of my life," Jon replied 
in direct honesty.

Jon realized that he hadn't pushed the blue command button 
when he made that last request, but it didn't seem to 
matter as Beth enthusiastically reached up and pulled him 
down on top of her while he struggled out of his pants.

Sixty hours later Beth dropped briefly by the club, 
directing that the escrow money be deposited in her and 
Jon's new, joint account and telling them that she wouldn't 
be back.  Susie now had a breathtaking new friend just over 
the backyard fence.  And Jon no longer envied Tom, since 
Jon now felt he was now the luckiest guy on Earth.

- - -

<Jon's story continues in Part 2 -- Meeting Tammy>

-- 
Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights
reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
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