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Subject: {ASSM} RP: Life With Alpha - Chapter Seventeen:  Going Hollywood (MF, FF, MF+, MC, SciFi, anime, cartoon, comic book)
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This story contains adult content, with explicit language and situations.  If you are not of legal age where you live, please do not read.
<1st attachment, "Alpha17.txt" begin>

Life with Alpha

   by A.  Pseudonym

   Chapter Seventeen: Going Hollywood
Codes: MF, FF, MF+, MC, SciFi, anime, cartoon, comic book
Disclaimer: All artificial persons herein are based on characters owned
by their creators, not the author.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Moon_Is_A_Harsh_Mistress
Author's Note: This chapter is the first time I have included vaguely
real people in this tale.  I am not so presumptuous as to think I can
realistically write real people as characters in erotic fiction, so I have
renamed them slightly for the story.  Disregard any connection between what
I write and who you think the real person is.  (At the same time, I AM
presumptuous enough to put a fictionalized real person in erotic
situations.) Also be warned that aside from the renamed actors, most of the
Hollywood characters are entirely fictional with no basis in reality at

all.

   Author's Note #2: I am not a fast writer and don't have as much free
time for writing as I used to.  Although my output is slow, it is coming.
Currently I have plans up through Chapter 21 (and have some sections of
each chapter already written) as well as plans for at least two more
chapters of the side story (with maybe 30% of chapter two finished).  The
main LwA story will probably finish in Chapter 21 or 22, but I have plans
for two possible series to continue the story.

   * * * * *

   Hackers had been a problem for AARD for pretty much the past two years,
ever since Alphadroid debuted.  Not a big problem, but there had been at
least a dozen noticeable incidents.  No serious breaches of security
though.

   Alpha herself was almost completely hacker-proof.  First of all, she had
been running her own unique OS for years.  Well, it might be more accurate
to say that she WAS her own OS, but she could still run almost any
application from other operating systems including her own self-designed
support applications and...  let's just say it's complicated.  The point is
that hackers often try to exploit the holes in known operating systems and
hers was an unknown one.

   That alone certainly didn't make her immune.  As long as a computer is
part of a network or online, it is vulnerable.  The other major part to her
extreme resistance to intrusion is along the same lines as a human's
resistance to surgery while conscious.  Any unauthorized or unexpected
access feels like someone poking her with needles, and we haven't yet come
up with any method to apply virtual anesthetic to an AI.  (Alpha tells me
that is not an accurate analogy, especially since it's not painful and she
does it to herself all the time, but it's the most easily understandable
comparison I could come up with.) She feels someone poking her and can
immediately react to block the intrusion.

   You should realize that there are a lot of different styles and
approaches to hacking, and I'm not going to discuss them all.  However I
will say that what Hollywood shows on TV and in the movies has as much to
do with real hacking as a child's crayon drawing has to do with
constructing a building from scratch.

   As for other online threats, she never gets viruses, and trojans and
worms never have a chance against her.  Plus she's the best spam filter
I've ever seen.

   That having been explained, it's also important to remember that not
every computer at AARD is an Alpha host system.  She likes to have about an
8-to-1 ratio of support systems to host systems so that she can offload
processing chores.  (I'm not addressing personal, office and lab systems
since intruders have to breach Alpha's network to access them.)

   These support systems, even though they are very well protected and run
a unique OS similar to Alpha's own, were significantly more vulnerable than
an Alpha host system, and it was mostly through those systems that all
serious security penetrations had occurred.

   Alpha monitors a lot of online hacker chatter, and there were certain
groups where AARD was becoming a favorite challenge.  So far no hacker had
ever gained access to any significant data or systems -- the most
successful hack had only gotten a list of project names (read on) -- but
apparently they had succeeded just enough to encourage more and more
attempts.

   Twice my login and password had been guessed or worked out, but as
effective as that strategy might be with other companies' systems, it was
the least effective strategy possible in our case.  Alpha always knows
where I am.  Always.  If I suddenly try to log in remotely from somewhere
else, she automatically knows it isn't me and kills the connection.  (For
that matter, I almost never actually have to log in.  Alpha sees me sitting
down at a terminal and logs in for me.  Working with Alpha tends to make me
pretty lazy in some respects.) The login/password strategy had been tried
with a few other AARD employees, but it was only slightly more effective.

   The most serious attack came from China, or at least we think it
originated in China.  The first time we noticed that particular individual
or group was with a denial-of-service attack which we think was designed to
test our reaction.  DoS attacks aren't really hacks, but they can be used
to see how fast the target reacts and how quickly they can correct the
problem.  In our case, it was almost as if the DoS didn't happen, because
Alpha was able to reassign IPs and reroute traffic for our affected servers
in less than a minute.  I honestly don't know how the instigators reacted
beyond their apparent refusal to give up.

   Our network was probed regularly for months, but that wasn't really
anything new.  Finally one day in August, AARD was hit by a very
sophisticated probe.  And NO, I'm NOT going to tell you what they did.  I'm
pretty sure that with any other system, they would have had at least
limited system access until the next in-depth system review.  And remember,
this was a hack into a unique OS designed by a super-intelligent AI. 
Personally I was seriously impressed with their skill.

   Fortunately for us, their access to one of Alpha's support systems was
noticed about 90 seconds after the initial access when the intruders
started trying to copy files.  They were greedy or fearful of being booted
or something, because they tried to grab a lot of files all at once, which
caused an unexpected dip in the available resources for one of Alpha's
support systems which drew Alpha's attention.  Before Alpha shut down the
system, they successfully copied an old project resources list -- not a
project description list, just a list of project names and the funds
allotted to them -- and may have gotten partial copies of a few other
files.

   Alpha locked down the firewall, powered off the affected system,
physically removed it from network access and analyzed it via a direct
cable.  Finally she removed the vulnerability in all her support systems.
It took a grand total of twenty-five minutes, but I think the scare was
worth it just so that she would not feel so complacently superior.

   Eventually even though the threat of being hacked wasn't terribly bad,
it led to discussions and then plans.

   Since we also had the longstanding threat of a government entity (the
NSA springs to mind) confiscating Alpha -- a theoretical but serious threat
we had to consider -- we decided to move beyond our current rather limited
plans to rebuild and restore Alpha if something happened.  We would
decentralize and copy Alpha much more than our current set of two main
copies of Alpha and five mobile platform copies (plus Epsilon Eiko -- and
actually, we had developed a few more mobile platform copies that I haven't
mentioned yet).

   That August, we began the process of building more Alpha host platforms
(ie cyborgs), this time with the intention to send them out around the
country in pairs.  We would provide them with enough money to buy their own
small businesses, which they would run.  These independent businesses would
also serve as hosts for secret, active copies of Alpha.

   Now I know how this sounds, like the setup in a
computers-are-going-to-take-over-the-world SciFi story.  I certainly can't
say that the idea never crossed my mind.  At the same time, I was confident
that humanity was in no danger from Alpha (as long as it didn't come down
to a choice between humanity in general or me in particular).

   The problem is that I know that trouble is coming eventually.  We can't
keep Alpha's existence a secret forever; for that matter, we don't actually
want to keep her a secret forever.  Unfortunately premature discovery under
uncontrolled circumstances is the most likely scenario.

   When she's finally discovered, depending on how and why the revelation
comes out, my little world could very well come crashing down.  As long as
certain things remain secret, I should be able to stay out jail, but the
increase in scrutiny that will come with the revelation is likely to mess
up or possibly even destroy my household.  And that's to say nothing of
things like religious zealots getting upset at the idea of creating
artificial life, and how they might want to take it out on Alpha and
myself. (Personally I'm hoping that extreme religious types will just deny
that Alpha is alive and ignore us.)

   There were just too many variables, too many things that could go wrong.
Sending out extra copies of Alpha increased the chances of discovery, but
it would also vastly increase the chances of Alpha's survival.  And it
would give us a huge advantage if we ever got into an online war.

   This was a major shift in our character-building strategy.  These would
be mostly male-female couples not based on any fictional characters. 
Outside of an initial cash outlay, they would be completely independent of
AARD and all ties between us would be hidden or deleted.  They would
interact with Alpha Prime online regularly, but even that would be kept
secret, with interaction mainly limited to using secure third-party sites
and would be heavily encrypted.  They'd still receive all of the updates
for Alpha's programming and be able to request updates specifically for
their individual platforms.

   These copies would still carry all of the same Asimov protocols
including an overriding need to protect me, but in all likelihood the only
time we would ever meet in person would be shortly after they were born.  I
would probably never even have...  well...  okay, I'm a low-down dirty
horndog.  I would probably only have sex with the women once before they
went out on their own.

   Their main purpose in existing was simply to help prevent the possible
extinction of a new form of life, ie Alpha.  They would also provide safe
locations to stay should the worst come to pass.

   These independent mobile units would use a double Greek alphabet naming
system -- Alpha-Alpha-Male and Alpha-Alpha-Female would support Alpha 3,
then Alpha-Beta-Male and Alpha-Beta-Female would support Alpha 4, and so
on. (Alpha 2 is hosted at AARD, and Alpha 1, aka Alpha Prime, is my
original home version.) Since the naming system is mostly for my benefit,
this would leave the rest of the single-letter Greek alphabet names
available for my own use.

   The first two pairs would be kept local to north Texas, then the pairs
would start spreading out across the country, then across the globe.

   There are a lot more details about the plans, such as how they would
constantly check on each other to be alert for programming failures, but I
don't see any need to get into too many specifics right now.

   This new expansion was begun in August, and we expected to send out two
new sets of couples every two and a half months or so.  We hadn't set a
specific limit as to how many we were going to send out, but we agreed on a
minimum of 50 sets.  Since each set would have their own nanite pod and the
ability to create new cyborgs, the expansion could theoretically proceed at
an exponential rate.

   Lovers of SciFi apocalypses, you may begin your worrying now.  (I kid, I
kid.  Personally I view it as seeding the world with secret protectors of
humanity.)

   * * * * *

   Our next big investment and venture into the public eye was done as a
gift-slash-reward for Alpha.

   One morning after I got to work, Alpha surprised me with a new proposal.

   "Frank, I understand that previously you have dismissed or delayed
consideration of this because the cost would be over $100 million, but I
have a new approach to the project which would keep the costs down to the
$25 to $40 million range."

   "Which project?"

   "Making a movie."

   Aaahhh.  Alpha had for years been upset at the mostly negative portrayal
of artificially intelligent computers and robots in all forms of media.

   Movies had such wonderful examples as I, Robot and 2001, Blade Runner
and Star Trek The Motion Picture, Alien and the ultimate example of
Terminator.  A few positive portrayals showed up in movies like A.I.  and
Short Circuit, but the ratio heavily favored villainous computers.

   TV had similar problems, like Battlestar Galactica (both versions) and
Star Trek facing off against mixed-to-positive portrayals like Star Trek
The Next Generation and Small Wonder.  TV actually had a lot more positive
portrayals than movies, but it was still just even at best.  (And from my
personal perspective, Small Wonder was really creepy in retrospect.  Yes,
it was supposed to be an innocent sitcom, but come on...  a man creating a
little girl robot to play with?  Or maybe it just hit a little too close to
home, with pedophilia inferences added in to mess with me.)

   Games were almost relentlessly negative.  Evil computers and robots are
easily defined opponents, with recent popular examples including the Mass
Effect and Portal series.

   Books were more mixed.  The further back you go, the more common it is
to have robots or computers as villains, maybe with Saberhagen's Berserker
series as the ultimate example.  (And don't even get me started on the
story/game I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream.)

   Alpha's favorite example of a positive portrayal of an intelligent
computer was Robert A.  Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.  (Spoiler
Alerts if you haven't read the book.) Mike (short for Mycroft) is a
computer that becomes self-aware on the Moon and is befriended by a
computer technician, Manny.  I'm really simplifying here, but the Moon
rebels against the oppressive and uncaring Earth authority kind of like the
United States rebelled against Great Britain except that the Moon has much
stronger reasons.  Mike joins and leads the revolution but is apparently
killed at the end of the book.

   There are a few parallels between Alpha and Mike, but I think Alpha just
really liked it because it was one of the few classic, award-winning pieces
of Science Fiction where the computer was a hero.  (And the lead male
character is a computer programmer/repairman who is part of a polygamous
marriage, so maybe there are some vague parallels with me too.) For years
she's wanted to make it into a movie, but the cost was always prohibitive,
not to mention the problems with getting anything done right in the weird
world of Hollywood.

   Alpha patiently explained her proposal to me.  She would start by
developing a new product for AARD: an easy-to-use special effects world
generator.  Basically it would be a very powerful computer with a huge
database and the ability to generate photo-realistic backgrounds for a
large range of environments and cities from all historical eras.  If you
want to set a movie or TV show in Paris of the 1700's or Shanghai of the
1950's, then just punch that up on the computer.  It would contain a basic
layout of the city and be able to populate it with buildings and houses
appropriate to that era.

   Creating such databases and software would take a lot of work, but it
was the kind of work that Alpha excelled at.  (It actually took five of her
systems a full week to get everything together, which was an enormous time
investment for her, plus another couple days working through the software
user interface with me.)

   Then we'd load everything into a powerful computer with strong rendering
engines and huge capacity hard drives and sell them for a quarter of a
million dollars each.  Or maybe half a million.

   The point is that it would be simple for even a layman to create quick,
easy and extremely high quality environmental special effects.  Expensive?
Yes, but a one-time investment would allow anyone to create a TV series or
movie set almost anywhere without ongoing extravagant costs.

   And one of the available settings could very well be a retro-future city
on the Moon.

   So we create the new product, then invest in the filming of a feature
movie -- The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, of course -- to prove how well it
works.

   I could see that this wasn't going to be as easy as Alpha was hoping,
but she really wanted to do this.  I considered it carefully, finally
deciding that making Alpha happy was worth the effort.  Plus if the movie
actually became popular, it might be a positive bit of pro-AI propaganda.



   The first thing we did was secure the movie rights.  The rights were
already floating around Hollywood along with an actual script, but
development had been next to nonexistent.  We paid the slightly extravagant
price of $2.2 million for an otherwise dead project so that we could have
the rights without needing to give a percentage to or bow to input from
anyone.  (And we only had three years to start filming for that $2.2
million price or the rights would devolve back to Heinlein's estate.)

   Fortunately no major studio was seriously interested in the property or
it would have cost a lot more time and money.  As it was, it still took two
months to get the rights secured.  (Stupid slow pace of non-computerized
people...)

   We read over the existing script and threw it out.  It was an updated
version of the book whereas we wanted a retro-future version much closer to
the source material.

   Alpha generated a script which was a straight adaptation of the book...
and would probably turn into an eight or ten hour movie.  Our first big
problem in trimming it down was that an important part of the first act has
three people and a computer talking in a hotel room, plotting the
revolution, then describing some of the minutia of how to foment a
rebellion against authority.  It was a fairly important section but a
straight translation would create a very dull first act.  I worked with
Alpha and we eventually decided on visual storytelling.  Instead of just
listening to Professor de la Paz explain why the moon's population would
start starving in a few years, we'd hear his voice overlay while quick
visuals giving an overview of the situation flash across the screen.  When
Manny worked out the revolutionary cell structure, we'd see quick cuts of
actual revolutionaries.  We worked that huge story section down to a 5 to
15 min scene in the film (give or take a few minutes).

   Acts two and three had plenty of great visuals and action pieces, and we
weren't really worried about the special effects budget, so we tried to
leave most of it alone for now.  Even then, we still had to make cuts.  The
whole subplot about Mannie's polygamous line marriage was dropped, which
also simplified the romantic subplot with Manny and Wyoh.  The visit to
Earth was cut in half using a few representative shots and some narration.
And so on.

   Now before everyone starts objecting, we understood that we weren't
professional screenwriters.  Alpha had digested a number of books on the
subject and I was a geeky movie fan, so we had a good starting point, but
we knew we would probably need to submit the script for rewriting and
polishing at some point.

   What we needed first was a producer, then director, then actors and
crew, THEN we would be ready for some movie magic.  Or so we thought.

   * * * * *

   November was a full month.  We acquired the movie rights.  We sent out
the Alpha-Alpha and Alpha-Beta couples to set up shop in Dallas and
Arlington.

   And at the beginning of November I had a meeting with the mayor of Fort
Worth.  We were trying to buy an abandoned property next door to AARD for
eventual expansion, but it was all tied up in red tape and we couldn't seem
to get any forward movement on a possible purchase.

   So there I was, all dressed up in suit and tie -- I hate wearing ties --
with Diana and Kara at my side, ready to ask the mayor for a favor.

   The mayor was, surprise surprise, a middle-aged white guy who smiled a
lot and seemed like a pleasant enough fellow.  As a rule I hate politics
and don't trust politicians, but it's a graduated distrust.  The higher the
post achieved, the less I trust.  The way the system works, it's virtually
impossible for an honest citizen to be elected to high office.  Being mayor
of a large city wasn't nearly as bad as it could it get, so I tried to
approach the meeting with an open mind.

   We exchanged introductions and pleasantries, and I was impressed that he
was able to keep his eyes off my ladies' assets for the most part.  He
expressed gratitude at how I was helping the economy and encouraged me to
create more local jobs.  He also asked if I knew when our hair growth
formula would be approved for use.  (Yes, his hair was definitely thinning
a bit.  The answer was that it would be a year at the earliest and at least
initially would require a doctor to apply the treatment.)

   Finally we got down to business.

   "So Frank, what can the city of Fort Worth do for you today?"

   "Well, Mr Mayor, next door to AARD is an old automotive repair shop with
a small attached shopping strip.  Maybe three acres worth of land in the
plot.  It's all abandoned and condemned, and the owner is gone.  No taxes
paid on it for years, that sort of thing.  And I'd really like to buy it so
we can expand someday.  Unfortunately it's all tied up in red tape.  We've
been trying to buy it for over a year now and have made very little
progress.  So..."

   "So you want to see if I can start the process moving again?  I'd have
to look into the specifics, but I can probably help out.  First I was
wondering if you'd be willing to help me out with a little quid pro quo."

   Here it comes, I thought, my mood swiftly darkening.  This is how the
political system really works.  It's just sickening how casual and...

   "The city's Parade of Lights has...  well, we just aren't getting enough
sponsors or participation this year."

   I think I got a bit of mental whiplash from my train of thought stopping
so abruptly.

   "The...  parade...?" was all I managed to say in response.

   "Yes.  We have a lot of schools who'd love to march their bands for us,
but with our education budgets the way they are, we need outside sponsors
and we just aren't getting enough of them.  If AARD could help sponsor one,
or even put out a float of your own, that would be a very nice gesture for
the city.  Or I'm sure everyone would love to see your android, so even if
you'd just put him in a convertible..."

   "You want...  Sorry, yes, I think we can..." I thought furiously. 
Looking back, I probably wouldn't have suggested what I did if I hadn't
been a bit off balance.

   "All right, Mr Mayor.  Pick out a school and send us the information,
and we'll be more than happy to sponsor it.  As to a float...  hmmm...  no,
not a float.  How about this: How would you like to have your parade this
year show up in newscasts all over the world?  In a good way, I mean."

   "What do you have in mind?"

   "I want to keep it a secret for now.  But I'll need a vehicle inspector
to come by and give us a permit before the show."

   "Well every float has to be inspected for safety reasons..."

   "This isn't a float.  Let's call it a...  uhhh...  a new type of car. 
Yeah, for now let's go with that.  An experimental car.  It was a challenge
project for one of my teams, and it turned out really well.  As far as
we're concerned, it's completely street safe, but it's unique so we're
going to need a permit to put it in the parade.  It's not really
Christmas-themed, but I suppose we could give it a holiday paint job."

   "So how can a new car get us noticed worldwide?"

   "Secret, remember."

   He chuckled.  "All right.  I'll have my secretary send you information
on a couple possible schools.  And send out an inspector.  Is your surprise
ready right now or is it still being built?"

   "It was just finished last week.  As I said, we'll give it a holiday
paint job...  maybe make it look like Santa Claus or something, but
functionally it's completely ready to go."

   "All right then, I'll see if I can find someone to send out next week.
Thank you."

   "Thank you, Mr Mayor." I gestured to Kara, who put a large envelope on
the Mayor's desk.  "And here's the information about the property we want
to buy."



   "I'll see what I can do." And he handed me a form to sign-up for the
parade in return.



   He was certainly as good as his word.  Paperwork started flowing again
fairly quickly, the local courts cleared the path for us in January and we
bought the property in February.

   As to the vehicle inspector, well he came by the following Wednesday...
riding in a limo with the mayor.  The mayor explained that he was very
curious and had a little free time, so he decided to tag along for the
inspection.

   I kept a smile on my face and ushered them into our warehouse.  I was
already starting to regret my offer, but I wasn't going to go back on a
promise.  I just hated the publicity it would bring.

   "Before I show you what's behind the curtain," I gestured to a large
section of the warehouse which was separated from everything else with
large tarps hanging down from the 25 ft ceiling, "I need to ask that you
put your cell phones in here." I held out a small plastic tub.  "I really
want to keep this under wraps for now, and the urge to take pictures will
be strong."

   Surprisingly the mayor was game, only asking that someone tell him if
his phone rang.  The inspector warned that he was probably going to have to
take pictures as part of his inspection.

   "That's fine as long as they don't end up on the internet in the next
month or two."

   Maybe I was building up the reveal too much?

   I took them behind the curtain and revealed...  what looked like a cross
between a Jeep and a short-bed truck.  I could sense their disappointment,
but didn't give them time to express it.

   "Beta," I called out to the statuesque brunette standing next to the
car. "If you please?"

   She slid behind the drivers seat, and we heard a very quiet engine start
up.  Then the hood opened, but opened up as if hinged in the front.  The
cab started shifting upwards and the rear wheels started moving forward
while the front wheels stayed in place.  Pieces seemed to break off from
the undercarriage and back while the front end split in two.  In the cab,
Beta continued to rise up until she was about twelve feet off the ground.

   After about 45 seconds, the transformation was complete.  Before us
stood an 18ft tall robot, a...  hmmm...  what to call it...  should be a
catchy name...  how about we call it a 'Transformer'?

   This particular Transformer didn't match any specific cartoon or movie
bot, but it had the same basic idea of cars that turn into robots.  The
transformation was definitely along the lines of the cartoon robots in
disguise.  Alpha had explained that while she might be able to make
something that looked like one of the movie-style Transformers, it would
require tens of thousands of moving parts and thus need huge amounts of
upkeep as things broke down.  The structural strength would also be
horrible, so we went with the simpler cartoon-style.

   Other people have built their own life-size Transformers before, but
they were rather limited in their capabilities.  This was actually an
intelligent robot (ie Alpha host platform) capable of transforming in less
than a minute.  The car could reach speeds up to 150 mph, though the robot
could at best only run about 20 mph.  And although it was certainly
stronger than any of the Alphadroids, it didn't have the power you'd expect
from a giant robot.

   Then the 18ft tall robot started walking -- forwards, backwards and in a
circle.  The arms picked up crates we had brought out for the demonstration
and stacked them up.  It waved at us.  It flashed out a quick little laser
light show from the face, only partly visible in the lit warehouse, and
followed that by shooting steam from weapon-like pipes along its forearms.
No juggling though.

   I looked over at our two visitors, who stood staring open-mouthed.

   "Well, what do you think?" I asked them, breaking the spell.

   "I think we're going to have the most popular parade in years," the
Mayor said quietly.  "The kids are going to go nuts over it."

   "Since it's a holiday parade, I was thinking we could paint up the robot
form to look like Santa Claus."

   "That sounds good.  How...  how did you make it?  I mean where does the
engine even fit, and..."

   We were interrupted by Blossom, who poked her head inside and called
out, "Mr Mayor, your phone is ringing."

   "Thank you.  Please answer it and tell them I'll be right there.  Is
this going to be a new product?  Are you going to start selling these
things?"

   "No, this was just a challenge project I put to one of my engineering
teams.  A gasoline version of the miniature motors they came up with has
been licensed for sale, and some of the modular designs and programming are
going to show up elsewhere...  but no, I don't have any plans to put giant
robots in the hands of drivers."

   "I suppose...  I suppose that's good.  I need to go get my phone... 
ummm...  Michael, a moment please."

   He gestured to the inspector and they walked off together.  Alpha later
relayed what he whispered.  "Michael, I WANT that thing in the parade. 
Unless it's going to hurt someone, I want you to pass it." To which Michael
replied, "Yes, sir, Mr Mayor."

   We really didn't have too many worries about it not passing inspection.
True, we couldn't put it through crash tests, but then we also weren't
planning to manufacture and sell it.  (For that matter, this lowly state
inspector couldn't do such an inspection anyway.)

   His main concerns were about possible damage to the road in robot form
(it had thick rubber soles and wasn't nearly as heavy as it looked),
emissions (it was electric) and its stability in robot form.  I had Beta
demonstrate how it could bend over at the waist, stand on one leg and hold
a weight off to the side and not be in danger of falling over.  Stability
was one of the big challenges to creating Alphadroid; this was just
applying the same setup on a different scale.

   He categorized it as an experimental car, we paid a fee and he mailed us
a license plate.

   The mayor kept the secret for us, but he also started a bigger than
normal advertising campaign for the parade.



   In the interests of full disclosure for this story, I should point out
that this was only the first 'Alphacar' we built.  (I was tempted to call
them KITTs but decided against it.) The others were kept secret.  We would
register a vehicle through a small front company in nearby Oklahoma, which
had done away with annual car inspections.  Then we would take it apart and
rebuild it as an Alphacar.  Some were transformers, most were not.  One was
even an awful lot like the Mach 5.  Over the course of a couple years, most
of our vehicles were turned into high-tech toys, full of hidden functions
and special abilities.  They all became Alpha host platforms and all could
drive themselves.

   Why did I have so many cars?  Mainly because we had over a dozen people
living in one house.  Once we started creating Alphacars, I bought more
because I kept coming up with ideas for new car gadgets.

   Don't make assumptions about these.  They weren't designed for combat.
We weren't loading these down with weapons.  Well...  okay, a couple got
high intensity lasers, and two could shoot silenced hidden rifles.  However
eighty percent had no offensive weapon beyond just being a car.  They were
a combination of experiments, just plain having fun, and creating potential
defensive surprises.  And a few of my cars were left as just plain cars.

   And just because I'm sure someone will be wondering, no I did not have
sex with any of the robot cars.  Inside them with someone else?  Sure. 
With them, no, don't be silly.

   * * * * *

   Before the parade, I took my first trip to Hollywood.  Now you should
understand that I didn't go expecting it to work out well.  I may be a
geeky fan of some genre movies and TV shows, but my overall impression of
Hollywood is fairly negative.

   (Maybe if they'd stop canceling good shows and instead get rid of all
the crappy reality shows I'd have a better opinion of the culture.  And
then there's the ridiculously over-the-top liberal politics out there. 
Okay, so I'm pretty liberal in some ways, but I'm also pretty darn
conservative in other ways.  For that matter, I'm kinda libertarian in
others.  I guess I refuse to be limited to any party's doctrines.)

   Back to the subject at hand, Alpha and I needed a producer of some sort
who could help us navigate the Hollywood culture and find the people we
needed to make the movie happen.  As I understand it, that's what producers
do, right?  They help get together the people that actually make the movie.

   Alpha believed that she and her platforms could handle most of the jobs
when it came to making movies, including directing, but she lacked a
certain artistic sense that I felt would hinder the movie's success.  So we
agreed that if we could find the right people, we'd try the Hollywood route
first before going entirely independent.  Alpha came up with a list of
about 20 different people for me to meet with and informally interview.

   About a week and a half before Thanksgiving, Rei, Beta and I took the
company plane to L.A.  -- Beta had finally been licensed to be able to
serve as co-pilot -- and began our search.

   I kept this group small for one main reason: Guilt.



   That past summer, after the Powerpuffs had been added to the household,
I finally admitted that the house was getting too full and that I was
trying to juggle too many women.  I decided that out of all of my women,
Rei should be the first to be recycled.

   Rei had never fit in smoothly, socially speaking.  She was very quiet
and rarely interacted with the others beyond what was necessary.  Plus
removing her would be easy to do 'story-wise'.  She knew she was a clone
who would be called back to Japan at some point to act as a pilot for
experimental craft, so all we had to do was 'call her back' to Japan.

   The night before we were going to instigate the plan, I had Alpha turn
Rei off and visited her room to say goodbye.  (Not sexually speaking. 
Goodbye sex was planned for the following night.)

   Her room was exceptionally messy, which seemed odd given her fastidious
appearance, but there was one area which seemed to be kept clean.  One side
of her desk had an almost shrine-like feel to it.

   A couple dozen little nick-knacks were carefully placed in a semi-circle
around a scrapbook.  There was a small stuffed bear that she won when we
went to the state fair.  A character figure from the one time I was able to
convince her to play a pen-and-paper RPG.  A pressed and vacuum-sealed rose
from one of our dates.  A die-cast airplane copy of her favorite fighter
jet from our trip to an airshow.  And more.  There were other items for
which I could recognize no significance such as a hair clip, a polished
piece of amber and a fist-size wire statue of a reclining human figure. 
The scrapbook was full of photos, drawings, ticket stubs, fortune cookie
fortunes and other ephemera.  And just above all of this on the wall were
Jane's framed nude drawing of Rei and myself and a group photo of the
household from a year ago.

   These were Rei's memories, carefully preserved and displayed.  In
keeping with her character's background, she had few memories of her own
before coming here, so she gave special honor to these memories which she
could claim as her own.

   For some reason I had no doubt that in case of a fire, these little
mementos would be collected before fleeing to safety.

   Handling them one-by-one, I started crying a little.  I should have
known before coming here that this would happen.

   I came to a realization, taking a final mental step to a conclusion I
had subconsciously known was at hand.  I couldn't get rid of Rei.  She was
too much of a real person for me to be willing to recycle her...  to kill
her.  And if I couldn't do that to Rei, the least integrated of any of my
artificial women, how could I do it to anyone else?

   When I started this whole thing...  this lifestyle...  I was planning to
keep each character for a few years at most, then replace them with new
characters as time passed.  The trouble is that they didn't stay simple,
fictional characters.  They grew and developed, and I had cheered them on
with each new step.  I had watched as they became human and gloried in the
accomplishment.  Now it was five and a half years since Kasumi woke up, and
they were too real for me to be willing to get rid of them.

   So what should I do?  Keep my current household forever?  Continue
adding new women and just expand the house itself and hope I can still
manage it all?  Start sending them out into the world on their own?  Ask
Alpha to make the decision for me?

   I wish I knew what the right answer was.

   One huge complication was another realization I had come to not long
before: I was mildly addicted to creating new women.  Seriously, the thrill
of first interactions, plotting out the story needed to bring everything
together, knowing all of a stranger's secrets and using that knowledge to
lure her to my bed...  it was just so exciting.  (I'm certain there are
some god-complex sociopathic tendencies in there, and that seriously
worries me.)
At the same time, the introduction and manipulation are only small parts
of what I love about it all.  I tend to only create characters that I
really like and that I think will be able to fit in within my little world.
I suppose in a way I'm creating women that I expect to fall in love with.
And despite my controlling tendencies, they also have to be intelligent
women who can act completely on their own.  As long as they are loyal to

me, I encourage them to do whatever they want to do.

   The day I think of them as toys or mere possessions is the day I hope I
die.  And I suppose that's the reason why my character creation recycling
plans were doomed to self-defeat.

   If some of that seems self-contradictory, then either I'm not explaining
it correctly or...  well, I guess I'm just human.

   At the same time, overcrowding wasn't something I had to worry about
right away.  I had slowed down the introduction of my characters to just
one set a year at most, and I still had three empty bedrooms containing
five beds.

   Still, as a small measure of space management, in January Elisa and
Jasmine moved into a small house of their own about half a mile away,
freeing up one additional room.  They still ended up spending up to a third
of their free time at our house.



   What was I talking about that lead to all this?  Oh yeah, Guilt.  I had
come very close to getting rid of Rei not long before the trip, so I made
sure she was going to be my main bed partner for this trip.

   Of course Alpha wouldn't let me go alone and was still very unhappy that
I only let Beta accompany me.  I had agreed to wear protective clothing,
stay online at all times and take Beta with me wherever I went, which was
just barely enough to keep Alpha from sending along more bodyguards.

   As it turns out, none of the producers I met with were remotely
acceptable.  Maybe half were actually familiar with the book or script,
though the rest had all read a summary of the book before the meeting.

   Everyone wanted to change things around and believed their own opinions
were the best possible thing that could happen to the script.  Their
suggestions were along the lines of: "It sounds like a great story, we just
need to bring it up to date with some Mission Impossible-style action." or
"I see it as Dune meets 2001." or "We should get Mel Gibson to make a SciFi
update to his character from the Patriot..." or "How about if we insert
some of your robots as guards to create some more action scenes, since it's
supposed to be a prison on the moon?" or "What if Mike was actually
programmed by aliens, and the moon people discover the alien technology
which is how they win their fight with Earth?"

   More than once I could barely restrain myself from giving hostile
replies.  The fat sixty-year-old man with a toupee and fake tan who
suggested that we bring aliens into the story was especially hard to
endure. On the flip side I have to admit the guy who described how
terrifying space spiders should be added to the story resulted in
restrained laughter rather than anger.  One producer even suggested we nix
the computer character since audiences wouldn't be able to relate to him.

   I did my best to smile and thank them all for their time and input.

   Only one meeting led to a productive result, and I'll get to that in a
minute.



   Most days I had lunch and dinner meetings scheduled -- for some reason,
movie people like to meet at mealtime, maybe so they could stick me with
the check?  -- but I made sure to take Rei and Beta out for a nice late
dinner some evenings, even if I wasn't hungry.

   Rei was her normal, quiet self, but she certainly enjoyed all the
attention I was giving her.  We slept together for five of the seven nights
we were in LA, and by the end of the week, she was regularly curling up
next to me while sleeping, getting me to cuddle her like she was an
oversized teddy bear.  Well, an X-rated teddy bear since she preferred to
go to sleep with my cock held inside her pussy or tucked up inside the
crack of her buttocks.



   Since she wasn't attending the meetings, Rei had some free time and
spent a lot of it going shopping.  For some of her shopping, she was
picking up requested items from the rest of the household.  For instance,
Zatanna had heard about a piece of Houdini memorabilia at an antique store
and asked Rei to check it out.  Linda wanted a designer purse from Rodeo
Drive.

   Most relevant to the story, Jane wanted Rei to pick out a couple
interesting things from a Los Angeles sex shop, Rei's choice, and she gave
Rei permission to try them out.



   The third night of our visit Rei had dinner alone, and I returned to the
hotel after a dinner meeting at which I was assured that the best thing we
could do with the movie was to get a certain professional wrestler to star
as Manny.  At that point I was getting depressed and was looking forward to
spending a night with Rei and maybe Beta.

   Rei was waiting for me in my room dressed in a shiny black PVC catsuit,
except that the catsuit had a lot more zippers in interesting places than
other catsuits I had seen.

   "Well, that's...  exciting," I said with a smile.  "You bought it for
Jane?" I asked.  Rei and Jane were about the same size and body type, and
they had shared clothes in the past.  Plus it was difficult to imagine
anyone else in the household requesting such an item.

   "Yes.  She also suggested I try 'role play'." And so saying, she pulled
out the last piece of the outfit: A PVC...  hat isn't the right word, and
mask is too small a description.  I suppose hood is the best description.
This was a vinyl hood which covered her entire head, with cat ears, a
zippered mouth, holes for her nostrils and zippered eye slits, currently
open.  She put it on, carefully zippering it up the back of her head,
pausing twice to adjust the various holes for accurate placement and to
avoid catching her hair.

   Once completely dressed in the shiny leather-looking black vinyl, she
went down on all fours, revealing that she also had a tail coming out of
her rear.

   I started to comment that I really didn't think this was what Jane meant
when she suggested role play, but stopped.  With Rei's quiet nature, almost
any other type of role playing would be problematic.

   "So you're going to be my pretty kitty-cat tonight?" I asked.

   She nodded at me and started awkwardly slinking towards me.  I'd guess
that moving and crawling sexily in a full-body catsuit is difficult if
you've never done it before.  Still, it was a very arousing sight.  The
suit was too tight to show any swinging breasts, but the shiny black mounds
seemed to draw my eyes.  So did her legs and ass.  The swish of the tail
was almost hypnotic as she circled me.

   "I'm not really interested in bestiality," I commented, "but if all cats
looked like you, I might be willing to change my mind."

   She blinked at me, then, obviously trying to emulate a cat's behavior,
rubbed her cheek against my leg.

   I knelt down in front of her.  "Before we go too far, come here for a
minute."

   I took her face in my hands and gave her a long, deep kiss.  She may
want to try playing a submissive role, but I wanted to be sure we started
by letting her know what she meant to me.  When we finally broke the kiss,
I shifted up slightly and kissed the top of her smooth, shiny black head.

   "All right, Miss Kitty, let me take a look at you."

   Feeling a vinyl-encased body for the first time was an odd experience.
You may think you know what PVC/vinyl/whatever-it's-called is like, but
until you have a loved one covered head-to-toe in the material, you haven't
really experienced the fetish.  The smell is strong, especially with a new
suit once the wearer starts sweating.

   I explored her body a piece at a time as she continued to rub up against
me.  I released her pretty little B-cup breasts by unzipping two removable
circular pieces on her chest.  I thumbed her nipples until they were hard,
then moved on down her torso.

   It turns out her tail was connected to a plug anchored in her anus.  I
played with it for a few minutes without removing it, enjoying how little
applications of pressure or twists would cause her entire body to move in
response.

   Finally, I undid the zipper covering her pussy, which went from a few
inches above her vagina all the way back to the anal plug.  I rolled her
over onto her back and applied my tongue to her clit for a couple minutes.

   Remembering her role as a cat, I sat up and looked for something to
tease her with.  On a bed was a riding crop, presumably another new
purchase.  I grabbed it and dangled it above the Japanese leather-ish kitty
cat before me.  She pawed at it halfheartedly, then looked at me and meowed
plaintively.

   "Aw, I'm sorry.  Is my little kitty in heat?"

   She nodded and said "Meow."

   "Well, you know what cats in heat do, right?  They have to present
before they get fucked."

   She rolled over, lowered her front end to her elbows and raised her ass
up as high as she could.

   I pulled off my pants and underwear and knelt behind her.  Then I
discovered the problem with full-body catsuit fucking, or rather with
zippered catsuit fucking.  Rei had a small strip of PVC layered between the
zipper teeth and her skin, so she was protected from pinching and scraping.
From outside the suit, there was no such protection.  If you try to fuck as
normal, your dick gets all scraped up on at least one side by the zipper
teeth.  The only way to avoid it is to constantly hold it open and apart
with both hands, meaning that you can't use your hands to hold her hips or
play with her breasts or anything.

   Oddly enough, her tail didn't get in the way at all, since I could
easily turn it so that it curved up along her spine, away from me.

   After a couple minutes, I paused and rearranged her position so that she
was resting her upper body and shoulders on a pillow, allowing her hands to
hold the zipper apart for me.  Then I was finally able to give her a proper
fuck.

   We stayed in that position for at least fifteen minutes before I came,
and I'm pretty sure she came at least three times.

   When we finished, I rolled her onto her back to kiss her, and noticed
she seemed a bit warm.  I felt her exposed skin (i.e.  her breasts) and
found them to be hot and covered with sweat.

   "Let's get you out of this and let you cool off," I said as I started
searching for which zippers would release her.  "How long have you been
wearing it?"

   "Maybe Two hours?" she replied in a questioning tone.

   Rei wasn't really overheating or in danger, but nearly all of her skin
had been covered by material that didn't allow evaporation of sweat or easy
dissipation of body heat.  She was sweating profusely when we got her out
of the suit and popped out her ass-plug/tail.  (In stripping her down, I
discovered a little pair of buttons by the crotch designed to hold it open.
Live and learn.) I carried her into the bathroom where I ran a lukewarm
bath for her.

   Once she was feeling better, I joined her in the tub and arranged myself
behind her so that she leaned back into me.  It was an enjoyably intimate
and erotic experience.  I had full access to her from behind, massaging her
breasts, rubbing her stomach and playing with her clitoris.  When she felt
my cock poking her from behind, she reached back and gave me a bit of a
handjob.

   After a minute of this, she pushed herself up and moved back a little,
slipping her pussy down onto my hard-on.  We didn't really fuck then, we
just sat and enjoyed the sensations.  While I cupped her breasts and played
with her nipples, I told her about my day.

   "...so I was really happy when the dinner was over.  You, my dear, have
been the best part of my day so far."

   Rei may not be a good conversationalist, but she is an excellent
listener.

   Eventually the time came to exit the tub and go to bed.  Obviously
tonight was a Rei-only night, and I was rarrin' to go again.  Rei put the
cat hood back on and plugged her ass with the tail again, but left the rest
of the suit off.  This time she was much more energetic and flexible, and
while I know a lot of people have vinyl fetishes, I'm perfectly happy with
bare skin.  We tried a few different positions and finished with me
pounding her ass like a piledriver with her shoulders on the ground and her
back propped against the side of the bed.



   On day five of the visit, Beta and I went by the offices of one Bernard
Blanchard, an older gentleman who had been in the business since the late
fifties.

   We arrived a few minutes early and spent half an hour talking with his
assistant, Jennifer Tuesday, until he was finally ready to see us. 
Jennifer was a lovely young lady, maybe in her mid-20's, with dark hair and
glasses.  Unlike most women I had met in town so far, Jennifer did not have
a hard-body.  She was by no means fat, but she was curved and looked
invitingly soft.  And best of all, she had more than two brain cells and
had read some of Heinlein's books for pleasure.

   The meeting with Mr Blanchard was basically a waste of time -- his big
suggestion was to change the setting to Mars -- but after we left, Beta
talked to me about Miss Tuesday.

   "We might consider hiring her instead."

   "As our producer?"

   "Yes."

   "She's pretty young...  and would she even have the contacts we need?"

   "As far as I can tell, her primary job for the past few years has been
to maintain Mr Blanchard's contacts for him."

   "How can you tell that?"

   "Her webpages.  She claims that her boss never goes online but instead
leaves all computer work to her.  I can see nothing online to contradict
her claim.  And the only computer in Mr Blanchard's office was an older
model, covered with dust."

   "I see.  Well, let's continue on with our meetings today and tomorrow.
If nothing comes of it, we'll give her a call and feel her out."

   "You wish to bed her?"

   "That's not what I meant by 'feel her out'...  but possibly.  No, it's
not a factor to be considered." Meaning it wasn't a factor for Alpha to
include in her calculations, not that she wasn't attractive.



   A day and a half later, I called Miss Tuesday.

   "Mr Blanchard's office, how may I help you?"

   "Hello, Jennifer?"

   "Yes, how may I help you?" she repeated, trying not to sound bored.

   "This is Frank.  I met you yesterday morning.  I was wondering if I
could talk with you tonight."

   "Mr Blanchard is unavailable for the rest of the day.  If you'd like I
could schedule..."

   "No, no.  Sorry if I wasn't clear.  I would like to talk to you,
Jennifer, about a possible job."

   "A job?  I mean, sure.  Or at least, we can talk about whatever you'd
like."

   "How about dinner tonight?  I can get us a table at Lite's." Pronounced
Lee-tay.  It was a local ridiculously pretentious restaurant, but the food
actually was really good.

   "I would love to go there, but you're new in town, right?  It can take
months to get a reservation."

   "I was there two nights ago and the manager said to call him for a table
any time while I was in town."

   That was entirely true.  I generally like to believe that ever since I
turned Alpha on, we've made our own luck, but sometimes bits of serendipity
just fall into your lap.

   My potential producer for that other evening's meeting had made the
initial reservation at Lite's.  During dinner Beta's reflexes and calm
demeanor had really impressed the manager when a bobbled flambe dessert had
briefly set our tablecloth on fire, and she had quickly put it out using a
water refill jug snatched from a waitress.  It was a moment almost worthy
of a 'funniest videos' entry had it been recorded.  (Personally, I think
the dessert waiter was looking down the front of Beta's dress at the time.)
The manager had comped the dinner bill to make it up to us, but I had left
a large tip anyway.

   "Wow.  I mean, yes, I'd be happy to meet you for dinner."

   "It'll need to be a little late, I'm afraid.  Let's try for 8:30.  I'll
call back if anything changes."

   "Sure.  Oh wait, here's my private line." She rattled off the number,
and I lazily ignored it, knowing Alpha, who listened in on all of my calls
unless I specifically told her not to, would add it to my address book
automatically.

   The reservation was made without a hitch, and we met for dinner.



   Jennifer had dressed up in a de rigueur little black dress with two-inch
pumps.  The rectangular cut in front showed off her breasts to nice effect,
but I was able to keep my eyes on her face.  Mostly.  By the end of the
evening I had decided they were either D-cups or pushed-up C-cups...  so
maybe I glanced a few times.

   I held the chairs for both Beta and Jennifer in turn as they sat down,
realizing that maybe one of the reasons men liked to do this for women was
the opportunity it allowed to take a peek down the woman's decolletage.

   "Thank you for inviting me out to dinner, Mr.  ___..."

   "Please call me Frank."

   "Certainly." She was clearly a bit nervous and wondering if she should
bring up the job offer or wait for me to do so.

   I didn't wait to let her decide.  "As you know, I'm going to be making
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress into a movie.  Unlike a lot of projects around
here, that isn't a question or subject to funding or approval from someone
else.  I have the rights, I'm funding it myself, and I'll be using a new
system for the digital effects.

   "I suppose it's going to be considered an indie film, but we should be
able to make it look like a big studio film to a certain extent.  On the
other hand, I'm not looking to make a mindless summer blockbuster.

   "Indie or not, I think it will be a lot easier to make the film and
we'll get a much better finished product if I can get some experienced
people to work on it.  Unfortunately, so far my meetings with people around
town have been...  disappointing."

   She barely suppressed a laugh, turning it into a cough.

   "Everyone I've talked to wants to add their own personal touches, and
while I realize we're not making a completely authentic adaptation of the
book, none of the input I've gotten has shown any understanding of the
work. Not meaning to speak ill of your boss behind his back, but he wanted
to change the setting to Mars, which makes no sense on a number of levels."

   "Mr Blanchard has produced some very successful movies, but he's not
well known for faithful adaptations."

   "Indeed.  Jennifer, I'm curious.  What suggestions would you have for
the movie?"

   "Me?  I'm not a...  I mean, I actually really enjoyed the book as it
was. The only problem is that it covers too much for a movie to handle,
which is normal for adaptations.  If I remember right, there are lots of
bits and pieces about everything from creating subversive literature before
the rebellion to discussions of different types of marriage on the Moon.  A
lot of that would have to be cut out for a movie script."

   "True.  Go on..."

   "Ummm...  I suppose there would have to be a big focus on the fighting
at the end of the book for most of your action elements, but I guess that
depends on whether you want to make a political movie or an action Sci-Fi
movie.  There have been other movies that handle both elements successfully
-- I'm thinking of Avatar here -- but those are pretty rare."

   We broke off our conversation here to order drinks and glance at the
menus.

   "I disagree about Avatar having anything politically significant to say,
and regardless I'm not looking to hire James Cameron," I continued a moment
later.  "For one thing I'm not planning on a half billion dollar budget. 
Who would you suggest for director?"

   "I'm not sure.  You seem to be in a rush about this, so scheduling would
be a big factor in that case.  Del Toro has some geeky fanaticism about him
so he might work well with what you want, but he has so many projects right
now it's not even funny.  I guess Spielberg would be the ideal candidate,
but the odds of convincing him to do it are nil.  Abrams might be good, but
he'll insist on rewriting the script."

   I was almost 100% certain she couldn't connect me with the big names she
was throwing around, but I let her keep going.

   "Come to think of it, most big directors will bring in their own
writers. If you want to maintain creative control, you'll have to find a
fresh director, someone with good skills but who hasn't done any big
projects yet.  Or maybe an actor who wants a chance to direct.  Actually
that might be your best bet.  It's a bit of a risk, but some actors are
willing to relinquish some creative control for a chance in the director's
chair."

   "Good point.  Any suggestions?"

   "Probably not A-listers.  They'd want to show off their own creative
visions.  I'd really like a chance to research it a little before
answering. You kinda caught me off guard here."

   "A reasonable request.  Jennifer, here's my situation.  As it stands
right now, I have a few indirect connections to some television writers and
a handful of technical people.  To make this process go smoother, I need
someone with connections to a lot more than that.  Someone who knows who to
suggest, who to contact and how to contact them."

   She sat up straighter at this.

   "I've seen your webpage and did a little research.  I'm guessing Mr. 
Blanchard rarely or never goes online or he probably would have been rather
upset at a few things you wrote about him, Insider Girl."

   She froze up.  "I don't know what you're talking about."

   "If you want to really stay anonymous, you need to spoof your IPs. 
'Insider Girl' posts her blogs from both Mr Blanchard's office and from
somewhere in your apartment building.  That really limits the number of
suspects doesn't it?"

   Insider Girl was a minor blogger in Tinseltown.  She regularly posted
insider gossip about the Hollywood elite and behind-closed-doors movie
production deals.  She never posted things that could hurt a production,
which was something I liked about her, and that lack of exploitative
salaciousness was also the reason she was only a minor blogger.  On the
other hand, she rarely had good things to say about her boss 'who was so
out of touch that brain death might make his creative input better'.

   Before we had even finished our meeting with Jennifer's boss, Alpha had
sorted through her posts and come to the conclusion that she must have very
good access and contacts around the industry.  It all matched up with what
we knew of Miss Tuesday.

   "What do you want?" She suddenly looked like her world was crashing down
around her ears.

   "Don't worry.  I haven't told anyone and won't.  Your secret identity is
safe regardless, not that I've seen many negative entries on your site, so
I doubt it would be a big deal either way.  What I want is someone who has
the connections that I need.  I want a producer with a brain larger than a
walnut.  So far, you're the best candidate I've come across, which is a sad
commentary on this town since you're not actually a producer." I let the
back-handed compliment sit for a few seconds before adding, "Yet."

   "You want ME to produce your movie?"

   "Possibly.  But I'm not going to hire you until I'm certain you can
actually do the job.  And I need to know if you have a non-compete clause
in your contract with Mr.  Blanchard."

   "I don't think so...  about that contract thing, that is.  For that
matter, I don't think I ever signed an official contract.  Mr.  Blanchard
doesn't really...  I mean, he does contracts for movie work, but his hiring
me was along the lines of him asking if I can type and work his, and I'm
quoting, 'electronic computer things'.  I said yes, and he hired me.  I
think part of it is that he wanted an eye-candy assistant, but he's too old
to do anything more than play a little grab-ass.  He pays me with
hand-written checks, and I think he's had trouble from the IRS because he
doesn't always remember to take out Social Security and such."

   "For our purposes, that sounds good.  The next question is do you think
you can do the job?  And do you want to try?"

   "Absolutely.  I don't have any resume I can give you to prove it, but if
financing is already handled then I know everyone else around town that you
could need..."

   I held up a hand to stop her for a moment.  "I wouldn't have invited you
here tonight if I didn't think you had the potential.  Here is what I
propose: I'm heading back to Texas tomorrow and won't be back in California
for two weeks.  When I get back, I'd like to meet with you again and hear a
proposal from you on the best options I have for a director, writer,
casting director, and so on.  I'm not asking you to fill out every berth,
just give me a reasonable list of options for the most essential ones.  If
you want to create a wish list of actors, go ahead, but that's not my first
step here.
"I expect to be able to talk with your top suggestions about the movie
during my next visit or at least have contact information available for
them.  I don't expect you to have any agreements made or even necessarily
to have discussed any specifics with any of them, though you can if you
want.  I do expect you to at least be able to get a foot in the door so to

speak.

   "I realize this might cause a conflict of interest with your current
employer.  Work on your own time for now, and if I hire you, then you can
resign or take a leave of absence or whatever you work out with Mr. 
Blanchard.  I also realize your time is not free and that you might even be
risking your current job by doing this preliminary work."

   I pulled a check out of my breast pocket along with my business card.

   "Here is a check for $10,000 dated for December 15th.  As long as you
make a good effort to fulfill my requests, the money is yours.  However as
soon as you cash the check, you have an official, on-the-record conflict of
interest with your current job.  As I see it, until December 15, you're
preparing for a job interview.  If your work is good, the $10K is payment
for that work.  If I hire you, the salary would be a minimum of a quarter
million.

   "Check me out if you want.  I am for real, and I am generous to
employees.  And I don't like the spotlight.  I don't see myself doing
interviews regarding the movie, so a photogenic producer would be a bonus."

   "One thing, sir.  Two things, actually.  From what I can tell, you're
already going to be the producer here.  You're the one with the script and
creative vision, as well as the capital investment."

   "But not the contacts.  And aren't there half a dozen types of
producers? Executive producers, associate producers, assistant producers...
ummm...  carbon emission producers...  Pick your own title if I hire you.
It really doesn't matter much to me.  Call yourself the Great and Powerful
Poobah Producer of Oz for all I care.  What matters is the job."

   "I see what you mean, sir." Her cheeks dimpled nicely with a mirthful
smile.

   "From your perspective, I suppose the most important thing would be the
resume credit."

   "Yes, sir."

   "Please stop calling me 'sir'."

   "Yes, si..  Mist...  Frank.  Sorry.  Force of habit."

   "So, what was the other question?"

   "Oh, right.  Well...  I don't mean to count chickens, but...  well... 
producers usually get a percentage of the gross."

   "I have no objection to that in principle, but I'm not ready to discuss
numbers.  The quarter million I mentioned would be a minimum payment for
the job, not a maximum.  I suppose something like X dollars minimum plus Y
percent if the movie grosses Z amount.  But remember, you don't have the
experience to demand too much.  I said I'm generous, not stupid.

   "Is my proposal agreeable so far?"

   "Absolutely, s...  Frank.  I appreciate the opportunity you're giving
me."

   "In all fairness, you should understand that I'm willing to make the
movie with only local talent in Texas if I need to, ignoring Hollywood
completely, but I'd like it to be noticed and hopefully even profitable
which is less likely if I don't have professionals working with me."

   "Why are you so set on making the movie?"

   "There are a number of different reasons, some of which I'm not planning
to share.  If you need a business reason, consider this to be both an
investment and an advertisement."

   "An ad?  This movie is an ad?"

   "Remember what I said earlier about special effects?  My company has a
new system to create CGI environments for TV and movies.  The idea is that
you can buy one of our systems for half a million, then any layman with the
ability to use a computer would be able to quickly and easily create
whatever setting they need.  The system has the ability to quickly generate
backgrounds for anything from the Flintstones to ancient India to modern
Japan to Renaissance Italy to a moon colony to a post-apocalyptic New York
City.  It covers about 2500 locations in up to 64 different time periods
and allows for a couple dozen different weather effects.  And it's as
simple as putting checkmarks in boxes."

   "Are the cities accurate?  I mean, are the layouts and monuments
correct?"

   "As correct as we can make them, but there are hundreds of generic
unnamed locations too which will have randomly generated layouts.  Which
you can then change around as you see fit."

   "Won't that put special effects companies out of business?"

   "No, but it might force them to step up their game.  Our system does not
include CGI animals or people...  well, it includes background vehicles,
but that's about it.  It doesn't do explosions or lasers or sound effects.
And of course, it doesn't do practical effects."

   "It still sounds like it would have taken millions of man-hours to get
all that data gathered together and processed."

   "Or some really good programming to gather and sort the data."

   "That's going about a thousand times further than my poor programming
skills take me.  So this movie is just to show off what your system can
do?"

   "That's one of the reasons."

   "Wow.  I'll be curious to see it in action."

   "I'm sure I'll be demonstrating it a few times over the next few
months."

   "You know, this really isn't the normal way movies are made."

   "I'm fine with that.  If an established method works well, then we'll
use it.  If it doesn't, we'll do it our way.  I plan to start filming by
next summer, so I expect we'll be doing a lot of things using non-standard
methods just to get things done in time."

   I gave her a copy of the script on a flash drive, and we spent the rest
of dinner talking specifics and generalities.

   Before we said good night, I told her to be sure to watch for the Fort
Worth Parade of Lights on the news in the next few days, which left her
with a puzzled look.



   Alpha monitored her over the next few weeks.  Publicly 'Insider Girl'
mentioned that I was in town looking for people to get my movie made and in
a different posting she said that she was working to prep for the job
interview of a lifetime.  She kept everything separate.

   Privately -- yes, Alpha had easily hacked her login information --
Jennifer (not 'Insider Girl') was working frantically with friends to get
things ready.  She had young scriptwriter friends who were working on
script ideas and draft revisions.  She had put feelers out to a dozen
actors and actresses for their schedule information and interest in
directing.  Her apparent choice for casting director was limited to one
person though, a middle-aged motherly type who had worked with a LOT of big
names but only for cartoon and voice-over work.

   The people she was talking to and working with were mostly the
up-and-comers, not really the established Hollywood elite.

   She emailed me regularly, asking if I wanted this or that or what type
of actor I wanted in what role, etc.  The only request I made of her, after
a five-email day, was that she limit herself to one set of questions each
day.

   * * * * *

   Remember when I said that November was a busy month?  Still not over.

   In those two days between my return from California and Thanksgiving,
the first two independent Alpha pair platforms were completed and readied
to send out.

   All of the independent pairs were cyborgs.  The Epsilon-style non-cyborg
platforms were still considered a viable build option, but not for
independent functionality.  We believed if Eiko was separated from me for
more than a couple weeks, she could possibly become very unstable and a
danger to those around her (and this was over a year after her creation).

   Physically the units would include some basic upgrades, including
greater than human strength, flexibility, vision and hearing.  They would
have some increased protection from damage, but we would not be able to
produce, sort and install enough nanotubes to offer serious damage
resistance to any but the first few pairs.  As further upgrades, materials
or designs became available, they would be upgraded.

   The Alpha-Alpha couple was to be placed in Dallas and the Alpha-Beta
couple in Arlington.  There were many reasons for the local placement,
including the option of using them for local support when needed, the
ability to observe them if problems arose with the independent pairs and
the ability to easily support or abort the independent operation.

   Each pair would be given at least a quarter of a million dollars in
starting funds, with the expectation that they will find a small business
to buy or start.  In both their home and business locations they would
secretly host normal computer Alpha platforms.  Each pair would receive one
nanite pod and a supply of nanites.  In most cases, the independent pairs
would not have access to the facilities needed to produce nanites, so we
would have to produce them at AARD and ship them as needed.  (Also meaning
we had greatly increased our nanite production capabilities.)

   Their mission was (1) protect me should the need arise, (2) protect
themselves and humans in general, and (3) produce more Alpha platforms. 
Goal three was of limited duration.  At some point we would cease
production of more mobile platforms.  We were estimating that by the end of
next year, we should have close to twenty pairs available for independent
operation.  A year after that would give us over sixty pairs; then about
200 pairs; then about 600 pairs.  I still wasn't sure when we were going to
halt production.  I mean, how many is too many?  How many is not enough?

   Goal two had a lot more details to it, but basically consisted of a need
to protect their own existence but not to do so at the expense of their
human neighbors.  They were not to act as vigilantes, but they were to
protect humanity as best they could on an individual level, whether it be
through charities or personal action.

   The first couple were perfect Aryan specimens on the surface: blonde
hair, blue eyes, tanned athletic bodies.  The second pair appeared to be
Mexican-Americans: dark hair and eyes with light brown skin.  The legal
documentation Alpha provided showed them to be married citizens-from-birth
of the United States.
Later couples would be of varying ethnicity, and we even planned on
creating a few gay and lesbian couples for target communities likely to

welcome such.

   One concession to vanity was that all cyborgs grown locally would be
attractive.  I suppose to really blend in we should have made most of them
of average appearance and a bit overweight, but...  I just couldn't do it.



   I arrived home from California on Sunday.  Alpha-Alpha and Alpha-Beta
were completed Sunday night and went through full testing for most of
Monday.  Monday night after the rest of the household was in bed, we
brought them all up to my room, dressed in simple white smocks.

   "Hello," I said in greeting.  "I realize that this is a pointless little
interaction from one perspective, since all of you have memories copied
from Alpha and the other cyborgs.  But sooner or later you will develop
your own individual personalities while staying within your programming, so
I want to personally meet with as many individuals as I can.

   "In a non-genetic but very real sense, you are all my children, and I
want you all to succeed.  I want you all to blend in with humanity.  I want
you to live long lives and improve the world.  I want you, your progeny,
humanity and our world all to be better because you were here.

   "In many ways you are superior to humans.  Remember though that to whom
much is given, much is required.  Or if you prefer, with great power comes
great responsibility.

   "Eventually Alpha will be revealed to the world.  And at some point your
existence will also become public knowledge.  I do not know if your
individual identities will become known, but if that happens, I want your
lives to be examples to show the world how computers and humans can live
side-by-side.

   "Make friends in the community.  Help your neighbors move furniture if
they need help.  Go to parties to watch sporting events or knit or gossip
or play games.  Go to church, at least on major holidays.  Go to showers
and bachelor parties.  Sponsor a little league team once your businesses
are successful.  Things like that.

   "I even want you to have children when you think you're ready for the
responsibility.  Normal human children, I mean.  Pets too if you can find
some that like you." (From previous experience, some dogs got really
freaked out around the cyborgs.  Cats got a little skittish but usually
didn't have any major reactions to them.)

   I walked down the short line, giving each of them a handshake and kiss
on the forehead.  Then I stood back and looked them over.

   "You're also here because I would like a physical bonding experience.  I
almost feel like I'm asserting some kind of droit de seigneur, but I would
like for Amy and Beatriz to join me in bed, if you are willing."

   It was a rather odd physical pair that I had sex with that evening.  Amy
was a little taller than me, blonde, blue-eyed with a small upturned nose.
She was a bit Nordic-looking, with nice little B-cup breasts with puffy
nipples.  Beatriz was almost a foot shorter than me, with dark hair, dark
eyes and heavy D-cups topped with larger, classic dark nipples.

   Of course both were in excellent physical shape, and I spent the next
hour examining their bodies in intimate detail.  One significant difference
that jumped out at me when compared to my household women was that these
bodies were designed to look mature.  They weren't teenagers, and they
didn't have pristine skin.  Alpha had built in little scars and
imperfections, and I didn't doubt that there were background story elements
to go with each little piece of forged history.

   I started by placing them side-by-side on the bed and pulling off their
smocks.  I kissed Amy, the tall white blonde, exploring her mouth with my
tongue while caressing her breasts with my hands.  Then I moved over to the
shorter, darker-skinned Beatriz and gave her the same attention.  I worked
my way down each of their bodies in turn, sucking their nipples and tasting
their skin, until I reached their vaginas.  I ate them out in order,
Alpha-Alpha Amy first, then Alpha-Beta Beatriz.  Their pussies still tasted
bland; the human body just needs time to develop flavor.

   I didn't spend much time down there before pushing them back fully on
the bed and crawling up on top.  I don't mean to break out of the moment,
but the cyborgs couldn't actually orgasm, so there was no point to eating
them out.  They greatly enjoyed the intimacy and attention that came with
sex, but trying to give them orgasms was a pointless endeavor.  (Once after
an extended Sisyphean attempt, I was able to give Beta's organic body an
orgasm of some kind, but her computer brain received no rush or feeling or
benefit from the experience.)

   Despite having mature bodies, Alpha had built each of them with their
hymen intact specifically so that I could take their virginities.  But for
whatever reason, Alpha had requested that I leave their pussies for last,
so I started with Amy's ass.

   I had her hold her legs folded close to her torso so that her ass was
raised up slightly.  Entering a willing cyborg's asshole is so much easier
than with a human woman who would usually reflexively tighten her anus when
touched.  My cyborgs had virtually complete control over all of their
bodies' muscles and reflexes.

   It was wonderfully tight and only a few minutes of fucking moved me
closer to the edge than I wanted this early in the encounter.  I pulled out
and spent a couple minutes playing with her breasts until I no longer felt
about to come.  After the previous day's homecoming fucks, I doubted I had
more than two orgasms in me that evening and didn't want to rush things.

   Alpha has gotten very good at reading my body language, and as soon as I
had calmed down sufficiently, I felt a mouth gently engulf cock.  Looking
down, I saw Beatriz's small dark head swallowing my cock to the root. 
Please realize that this wasn't as nasty as an ass-to-mouth usually was
because neither of these ladies had yet had a bowel movement in their
entire lives.  Their colons and intestines were almost pristine in their
cleanliness.  (Seriously.  Over the next few days, they would each be
eating yogurt and such to try to develop the bacteria necessary for proper
digestion.)

   Beatriz obviously wasn't trying to bring me off, but she did keep me
hard until I decided to restart the fuck.

   Amy's pussy was wonderfully tight as I entered her, and Beatriz licked
as much as she could, both providing exciting stimulation and cleaning up
the virginal blood.

   Alpha's skill at simulating natural sexual reactions has greatly
improved over time, so it was very easy to imagine that I was making love
to a real woman.  When I spewed my semen at Amy's cervix, she would have
convinced any outside observer that she too had just climaxed.

   The two of them applied their tongues to the task of helping me regain
my full hardness.  While they were working, I struggled to ignore the two
husbands who were passively watching me perform.  I was accustomed to
having an audience, but the fact that they were men was starting to
seriously throw me off.

   I could ask them to leave, but I didn't want to seem like I was
rejecting them.  I know they don't have human emotions, but they would
eventually develop their own personalities and I did not want the memory of
me asking them to leave the room while I fucked their wives to be part of
their early individual memories of me.

   I could ask them to join in, except that I wasn't even remotely gay
myself.  Then again, it's not as though I would have to fuck them if they
joined in.

   "Okay, you two," I said looking at the husband cyborgs.  "Ummm...  Bert
and Nick." Short for Albert and Benicio.  "It's a little weird just having
two guys watch while I make love to your wives.  How about if you two join
in a little?  Let your wives suck you off while I fuck Beatriz."

   They both immediately pulled off their smocks and walked to the bed,
their cocks hardening.  Both were an average six inch length, I noted.

   I pulled the ladies off of my penis and lay Beatriz down, having her
hold her legs just as Amy had done.  Her skin was much darker, like a
Hispanic woman.  Her breasts were much larger than Amy's and her nipples
both thicker, larger and darker.  I spent more time in her ass than I had
with Amy, but I was much less likely to come quickly this time around.

   It was a little exciting watching Amy and Beatriz, lying side-by-side,
holding hands while they sucked off their respective husbands and I pounded
Beatriz's ass then cunt.  This was my first orgy with other men in the mix.
Well, with other 'men', that is.

   When I finally came into Beatriz's pussy, both men came as well and
their wives drank down their sperm.  I briefly wondered how their computer
brains triggered and reacted to their male orgasms; they probably just
registered a small rush of chemicals and that was it.

   After I recovered, I wished them all good luck and said goodbye, kissing
the women and shaking hands with the men.



   Alpha gave me updates on their progress over time.  The Alpha-Alphas
bought a small computer parts and repair shop, while the Alpha-Betas
started a small accounting firm, with emphasis on their multi-lingual
support (English, Spanish, French, Korean, etc).  They started their
families quickly, with both Amy and Beatriz giving birth within a year.

   * * * * *

   The Fort Worth parade was scheduled for Thanksgiving weekend, and we
were ready for it.

   Our Alphacar had been repainted so that it looked a bit like the Santa
robot from Futurama but more jolly and without the lasers and missiles.  I
had assigned Beta to be the driver and had everyone who wanted to ride
shotgun put their names in a hat.  Bubbles won.

   Most of AARD was in the crowd that day, including my entire household
(minus androids).  The weather was decent enough for late November, and the
parade was in the evening so there were lights everywhere -- lining the
streets, on the floats and attached to marching band instruments.

   Our Alphacar came in the middle of the parade, right in front of the
high school band we had sponsored, and there was already a buzz in the
crowd from rumors about it.  When we saw it, it was approaching as a car,
but it seemed to have been given a lot of parade space for just a car.  It
drove up close to the float in front of it, stopped and started its
transformation.  I noticed Bubbles waving enthusiastically during the
changeover and was momentarily worried she might bounce out of her festive
low-cut top, but it held fast.

   A mighty cheer went up when the car stood revealed as an eighteen foot
tall Santa Claus robot.  Then the car-robot started walking and waving. 
Before it left our view, it had started a small laser light show on the
pavement in front of us, and Bubbles was tossing small handfuls of candy to
the crowd.

   Since both of the points of interest in the parade had passed for me, I
started working my way to the end point to check in with Beta and Bubbles.

   I found out later that there was one worrisome moment when a little boy
of about six escaped his mother's grasp and ran out from the crowd because
he wanted to ride in the robot.  As soon as he got within ten feet, Alpha
froze the robot to avoid stepping on him or kicking him or something.  His
mother quickly retrieved him and the parade continued.

   As it turns out, there's a tradition of leaving the floats available for
viewing after the parade for a few hours.  I'm sure someone told me or it
was in the literature somewhere, but I certainly didn't remember hearing
about it.  The result was that Alphacar continued entertaining the crowds
for another couple hours.  Not that it did any special tricks, but it
cycled through its transformation every five minutes or so.  I noticed a
couple news cameras over by Beta and sent Zatanna, our head of Public
Relations, over there to help out though I made a point to avoid being
noticed myself.

   Bubbles found me though, running over with her low-cut top showing a
very healthy bounce for just B-cups, and leapt onto me, throwing her arms
around my neck and plastering her lips against mine.

   She pulled back and squealed, "That was so much fun!  Everyone loves
your Santa-bot, especially the kids!"

   "I'm glad you enjoyed it.  Did you get a chance to see the other floats
or bands?"

   "Blossom recorded it all for me.  Do you think we'll be on TV?"

   "Yes, I'm pretty sure you'll be on TV.  Don't worry, Alpha will record
everything for us."

   She gave me another kiss, then leaned in close and whispered, "You're
mine when we get home tonight." Then she let me go and raced off to find
her sisters.



   A few hours later, we had all gotten back home, sipped cups of hot cocoa
and slowly drifted off to bed, one or two at a time.

   Bubbles and Beta accompanied me to bed, obviously chosen because they
were the Alphacar drivers that evening.  They were an odd pairing because
Beta usually only joined in with other Alpha platforms, and Bubbles usually
had her sisters with her.

   As we were climbing the stairs, I asked, "Bubbles, you must have been in
a lot of parades before back home.  Why so excited about this one?"

   She looked thoughtful for a moment.  "I think it's because this time no
one knew who I was."

   "Come again?"

   "I mean before it was always The Powerpuff Girls on parade.  This time I
got to be in a parade as just me."

   "In a giant robot car."

   "Yes, as me in a giant robot car.  This time I could just have fun
without having to be a...  uhhh..."

   "Superhero?"

   "A role model."

   We entered my bedroom, and I turned to close the door behind us.  By the
time I had turned back around, Bubbles was just finishing her wiggle as her
pants and panties fell to the floor, her shirt and bra already tossed off
to the side.  I think even Beta was surprised at her speed.

   Apparently dissatisfied with our slow place, she manhandled me onto the
bed and proceeded to quickly strip me down.  Beta caught up with us and
joined us on the bed, naked, just as my undershorts were pulled off,
leaving me clad only in my socks.

   I hadn't been given time to get hard, so Bubbles and Beta lay down on
either side of me, sharing my cock between them.  Bubbles is not bi-sexual,
but she has no qualms when it comes to putting on a display with other
women to get me hard.  Though lacking in a certain smoothness, she and Beta
shared the occasional kiss as they slobbered over my cock.  When Beta had a
solo moment with my cock and deep-throated me, Bubbles gave a whistle of
appreciation.

   "Can you show me how to do that?"

   "I can show you how to start learning.  Most of it will just take
practice on your part."

   "Let's start now."

   "Okay.  The hardest part is overcoming the gag reflex and being willing
to keep trying until you succeed."

   Beta actually didn't learn her techniques this way.  For that matter,
she doesn't have a gag reflex.  But she had literature, videos and Eiko's
experiences to draw from.  Overall it would have been easier just to stick
Bubbles in a nanopod and add the knowledge and skills to her brain, but
there's something special about watching a woman be willing to learn a new
skill so she can provide pleasure for you.

   They spent about fifteen minutes working on it.  Fortunately Bubbles
never actually threw up, though I think she came close more than once.  By
the end of their training session, Bubbles was able to take my penis in far
enough to touch the back of her throat, but not much further.

   I wrapped up the lesson, saying, "Okay ladies, as much as I appreciate
helping a young woman with her education, I think it's time to move on
tonight."

   "Sure," Bubbles said happily.  "I hope you'll let me...  learn...  with
you more later."

   She hopped up and swiftly impaled herself on my cock as I lay on my
back. She bounced a couple times, making sure I was in as deep as she could
get me, then leaned forward and kissed me, pressing her breasts against my
chest.

   As we kissed, she clutched me tightly, then surprised me by rolling us
over together so that I was suddenly on top.  Bubbles was more than willing
to try other positions, but she always preferred the missionary.  Not that
I minded very much; I get plenty of acrobatic positions with my other
women.

   She was very energetic, bouncing her hips up to meet my every thrust,
occasionally wrapping her legs around my ass to hold me still while she
kissed me.  About five minutes after we started fucking seriously, she
screamed out an orgasm, announcing her climax to the household, and she
kept right on coming for the next few minutes until I finally let loose
inside of her.

   "Oh," she whispered hoarsely, "that's always so good.  Your turn, Beta."

   She lazily pushed me off of her and toward our dark-haired companion. 
Beta dutifully sucked me clean and helped me regain my full hardness.  She
then crawled over on top of Bubbles, positioning the two of them so that I
could have easy access to both of their pussies, knowing that that is one
of my favorite images.

   I spent ten minutes pounding both of Beta's holes before she faked an
orgasm, after which I switched so that I was alternating between the two of
them.  We just kept that position while I moved up and down the female
offerings before me -- pussy, pussy, ass, back and forth.

   Bubbles screamed out two more long comes and Beta faked one more before
I finally put my second load in Beta's ass.

   I left it there for the night, pulling the ladies over to a less sweaty
part of the bed before switching off the lights.  We went to sleep that
night in a triple-spoon; my cock was nestled between Bubble's asscheeks and
Beta's breasts were pressed up against my back.



   Alphacar didn't get nearly as much notice as I felt it should have,
which annoyed me.  Oh sure, there were clips of it on the news nationwide,
and to a lesser extent, worldwide, for the next couple days, but no major
followup stories.  Alpha told me it was heavily covered in Japan, where
various company executives were being asked why we were allowed to beat
them in construction of such a robot.

   We received a number of invitations to join other parades around the
country, but we politely declined them all.  (Well, except for a couple
months later when a Make-A-Wish Foundation kid wanted to ride in a real
life Transformer.  We made an exception for him.  Made a big production of
it.  There's actually a minor side story there: We gave him a drugged
drink, let him take a nap in an office, kept the mother distracted and
snuck him into a nanopod for half an hour.  The doctors later reported he
seemed to make a miraculous recovery.)

   I suppose I shouldn't have been too upset since I normally would have
preferred to avoid the publicity anyway.  It's just that...  darn it, it
was one of my favorite personal projects.  It should have garnered as much
interest as Alphadroid.  Maybe the public had just started to expect this
kind of tech from AARD or maybe they didn't really understand all of the
brand new design elements needed to create it.  Whatever the reason, most
of the world failed to truly appreciate my newest toy, thus my annoyance.

   I don't invest too much of Alpha's resources in developing my personal
geeky toys, but I usually have her make me a couple different ones each
year.

   For example, I have a Batman-esque compressed air grapple gun; it works
great though you have to change out the air cartridge with every use.

   I have a phaser-like stun gun which would more accurately be called a
neural disruptor, but it's shaped like an old Mark II Phaser.  It has a
fairly short range, but it does work...  although maybe I should also admit
that it destroys the target's short term memory along with the stunning
effect.  It is designed to interfere with the brain's neural electronics.
Getting it to stun instead of kill was apparently very difficult, even for
Alpha.

   I have Portal-style long-fall boots which could theoretically let a
normal 200 lb human fall up to 52 ft before risking damage.  That's
assuming said normal human has been extensively trained in how to land
while wearing the boots.  Alpha absolutely refuses to let me try them out
any higher than five feet though.

   I have a jetpack which can let a 200 lb person fly for 15 to 20 minutes.
Kara and the other characters who remember being able to fly on their own
absolutely love it.

   I have a helmet that lets me see what kinds of thoughts someone is
thinking.  It isn't mind-reading; it just shows types of thoughts --
long-term memory access, creativity, lying, dreaming, etc.  It doesn't
technically have to be a helmet though.  I just wanted it to look like Doc
Brown's contraption from Back to the Future.

   I have a Dick Tracy-style watch videophone, a wearable jacket/computer
with contact lens displays, and a new Alphadroid shaped like R2-D2 with a
very short range hologram projector included.  There are other projects,
but I'm letting myself be distracted.

   To move on with the story, Alphacar's appearance prompted a few requests
from the military to see if we could propose a design for a next generation
tank.  We refused the first two inquiries, but eventually put the requests
on hold while we thought about it.  I really didn't want to get involved in
military contracts, mainly for security reasons, but there were a few
benefits to the idea.  A few months later we quietly sold a few designs to
another military tech designer and let them handle the development.

   * * * * *

   On my next trip to Los Angeles, I took along Eiko as well, finally
bowing to Alpha's demands that I have a minimum of two bodyguards when I
travel.  Eiko had been developing wonderfully, both mentally and
emotionally, and I felt she deserved a reward.  (While not really needed
with the cyborgs, Eiko's purely organic mind benefited from positive
reinforcement like any other human.)

   Our small company plane was too cramped to allow for comfortable sex, so
a few months back we had removed four of the seats and replaced them with a
padded bench which could fold out into...  well, it was still way too small
to be termed a "bed" but it was a large enough padded surface that I was
able to introduce Eiko to the mile-high club.

   On this visit, we rented a larger suite and set up a sample AARD
Environment Generation System (EGS) in the main room.



   Miss Tuesday had a fairly comprehensive list of people to meet with and
consider.  I stayed for a week, having about three meetings a day.

   One of the first interviews was with Jennifer's top choice for writers,
and she introduced us to the writing team of George Chen and Franco
Rodrigez.  The two had written for TV and had tried writing for movies, but
had not yet had any feature work actually produced.

   George was a Chinese-Californian who rarely ever talked.  Franco on the
other hand...  Well first of all, yes, Franco intentionally spells his last
name incorrectly, without the 'u'.  Apparently he believes it visually sets
him apart or something.  Second, he was obviously gay.  I mean really,
over-the-top, limp-wristed caricature gay, with a prancing gait, lipstick
and mascara, wearing pink, flowery shirts with ascots.  (Thank god he
didn't go around calling everyone 'girlfriend'.) Third, he had the energy
of a ferret on sugar-coated crack, constantly bouncing around the room,
pacing, jumping and even skipping back and forth.  He even spoke as if
pausing to breathe was something to be done only on special occasions.

   "...So when the movie ends, you have the professor dead, which is a
downer, but he's old and he finally got his 'Free Luna' so it's not so bad.
It's like his death was the sacrifice needed to pay for the victory.

   "Mike on the other hand has the potential to be such a fun character in
the movie, especially if you play up his sense of humor, so his death at
the end of the movie will actually turn a victory, rah-rah-we-won ending
into a downer ending, and movies that have downer endings don't do as well.
They just aren't as popular; people don't want to go see them again or
recommend them to friends.

   "The thing to realize is that the big relationship in the movie isn't
Manny and Wyoh, it's Mike and Manny.  Mike really only helps the revolution
because Manny asks him to.  Before the bombing at the end, Mike sends Manny
out of the city where it's safe because he's worried about him.  They are
the real center of the story, and when Mike dies, that turns a good SciFi
movie into a tear-jerker, though admittedly not a traditional one.  In a
way, I suppose it's kinda like Old Yeller.  Well, no, not really.  Never
mind.

   "So here's my suggestion: First you make sure you include the story bit
about him printing out jokes for Manny so Manny can tell him if they're
funny and if they are funny then whether they can be funny more than once.
We put that really early in the film and then once or twice in the middle
of the film we show Manny reading through the jokes and marking notes on
them for Mike.  Then at the end, after Narrator Manny tells us that Mike is
dead but he hopes he'll wake up again someday, the last shot in the film is
Mike's printer starting up on its own and more jokes printing out for Manny
to read.  That way you aren't technically saying that Mike is still alive,
but the audience will want to believe it's true.  Plus it bookends the
film. Gives you a good sense of closure, that everything is going to be all
right."

   Finally he took a deep breath and paused.  "So...  what do you think?"
George and Jennifer looked on expectantly.

   I paused a moment to consider.  Having Mike alive at the end had been
suggested before, but no one had ever come up with a good way to do it that
kept things true to the story.  "It sounds like it could work out well. 
Beta, what do you think?"

   "In general I always prefer a faithful adaptation.  At the same time, I
admit that I would like for Mike to survive the story.  I'll leave this
decision up to you."

   "Well, I would also like to see Mike survive, and this sounds like a
great compromise between a completely faithful ending and a happier ending.
All right, Franco, George, welcome to the team."

   I stood up and shook hands with them.  Or more accurately, I shook hands
with George, and Franco laid his limp hand in mine and let me shake it.

   When I stood back, he jumped up and let out a loud 'whoop'.  He ran over
to Jennifer and swept her up in a big hug, saying, "Thank you, thank you,
thank you, Girlfriend!"

   I sighed mentally at the completion of the stereotype.  At least he
wasn't trying to call me 'girlfriend'.  I like to think I'm socially
liberal and open-minded enough, but he was just a bit too over the top for
me.  It really felt like he should have been on a bad TV sitcom.

   Still, he seemed to understand the story and its themes and had come up
with a good change to the ending.  Actually it was the first significant
addition to Heinlein's story that I had accepted.

   I had the two writers sign a contract requiring them to deliver their
first draft by the end of January.  Not a huge amount of time, but they had
a starting script and it was just an adaptation.  They would be paid $25K
now and $25K more on delivery of the draft.  If I liked it and wanted them
to continue working on it, additional payment would be made.  If they
remained the primary writers throughout the entire project, their salary
would come to a total of $500K.  For writers who have never before had a
movie made, I thought it was good pay, and it stayed within Alpha's
projected budget.



   The casting director Jennifer had picked out for me was a middle-aged
woman who looked like a suburban mom wearing a power suit.  Her name was
Andi Groman, and she had the most extensive resume of anyone on Jennifer's
interview list.  (And she was indeed a suburban mom in a power suit.) While
she had worked with a huge list of top actors and actresses, all of her
casting work had been for cartoons and other voice work, and she was
looking to expand her resume a bit.

   Her rolodex was lacking the top A-list names, the actors who commanded
$5+ million per picture, but then again we didn't want them anyway.

   I was ready to hire her after only a few minutes.



   After liking her writers and casting director choices, I took Jennifer
back to our hotel and led her into the bar.  I ordered us a round of
champagne and we sat down.

   "I know we're not finished going down the list, but I'm comfortable
enough to hire you based on your results so far, so congratulations!"

   We clinked glasses and drank, Jennifer looking slightly flushed.

   "Wow.  I guess I need to...  I mean, I had an agent friend of mine work
up a contract just in case, but...  ummm...  what terms were you thinking
of?"

   "Terms will need to wait til we finish going through your list of names.
Your pay and/or percentage will be based on your usefulness, but...  if
it's not too rude to ask, what do you earn working for Mr Blanchard?"

   "About three and a half grand a month."

   To me that sounded like a lot given that her job was mostly just a
glorified receptionist/secretary for a man who had maybe one job every
couple years.  Maybe it was a cost-of-living thing on the west coast?

   "Well, if nothing else you suggest works out and the movie is a complete
flop, I think I can still guarantee you...  hmmmm...  a hundred grand from
this project.  If you and your list continue to be as useful as you have
been so far AND the movie makes a profit, you'll probably end up a
millionaire.

   "As to a contract, give it to Beta and let her look it over, but I think
we need to wait til we finish seeing how useful your list is before we sign
any specific terms."

   The four of us sat and talked for a while, eventually ordering dinner
too.

   Beta later reported this conversation which occurred while I was in the
men's room.

   "So is Frank dating one of you?" Jennifer asked.

   "Not really," replied Beta.  "He doesn't have a single, steady
girlfriend."

   "Is he in the closet or something?"

   Eiko laughed.  "Definitely not."

   "If you want to seduce him, go right ahead," Beta reassured her.  "I
understand he's quite a skilled lover."

   Jennifer blushed, and that ended that little conversation.  I'd
speculate that Beta's comment stuck in Jennifer's mind because she started
acting differently toward me.  Up until then she had regarded me with a
combination of respect and condescension -- probably respect for my
self-confidence, my achievements and my self-made wealth, and condescension
definitely because of my naivete regarding how Hollywood worked.  In some
ways, I was like a near-sighted bull trying to navigate a maze by charging
straight ahead.

   At the same time, I had swept her up in my confidence that I would make
the movie.  I certainly am confident because I have seen what Alpha and I
have accomplished so far and know that very little is beyond our
capabilities when we focus on a task.

   Adding to that was the self-confidence I had developed regarding the
fairer sex.  Sure I was smoother and more relaxed within the controlled
setting of my household, but I had amassed enough experience with the
opposite sex that I felt with certainty, rightly or wrongly, that I could
give any woman the night of her life.  And yes, I know my ego has been
over-inflated, so I try not to let things go to my head (which was
difficult given how Alpha kept trying to send women to me).



   Between Jennifer and Andi, they had come up with an interesting proposal
for director: Baron Hart.  Baron was an actor who had slowly been rising to
prominence over the past few years, with roles like being a major villain
in a Batman movie, but my favorite one of his roles was as a very likeable
PR man for the tobacco industry.

   Baron was a pretty talented actor and like many actors, he was
interested in trying out the director's chair.  He was also one of their
top choices for the role of Mike (and his virtual alter ego, Adam Selene)
so we had an opportunity to fill both a character slot and the director's
slot for a single salary.

   They had already felt him out for the possibilities, but I was concerned
that he may not have the experience to direct a technically difficult
movie. At the same time, I had to admit that he would probably do well as
Adam, and maybe as Mike too.

   As it turns out, Baron was in town so we arranged a meeting.  We got
caught up discussing the movie and talked for four or five hours.  Beta
subtly quizzed him to determine his movie-making knowledge on the other
side of the camera, and he seemed to be pretty solid in most areas except
when it came to how to do CGI, green screen and special effect shots.

   We eventually worked out a plan for Beta to be Baron's assistant and
handle the technical details for him (which also involved convincing Baron
that Beta knew enough about film making to be able to handle the job).

   We set up our first demonstration of the AARD Environment Generation
System for Baron (and Andi and Jennifer).  We rented a 100+ inch HD TV from
the hotel and hooked it up to the system.  Then we spent the next few hours
demonstrating the power and flexibility of the system by taking requests
(or more accurately, being challenged).

   "Rome in 0 BC."

   "Okay, now do post-apocalyptic Seattle, Washington."

   "How about Shanghai during the Ming Dynasty?"

   "Chichen Itza before Columbus."

   "World War II Dresden."

   We were able to show and explore the desired locations for about 9 out
of 10 requests.  And of course, we spent some time showing off our designs
for retro-futuristic Heinlein-style lunar cities.

   The system was able to show everything from sweeping overhead shots to
back alleys to inside most buildings.  In long distance shots, we could
show crowds and vehicles, though such mobile animations were not intended
to be viewed close-up.

   These were high quality environments, generally rendered in less than
ten minutes.  And when I say 'high quality', I mean the settings could be
cranked up to many times better than HD quality (though each jump in
quality also increased the rendering time -- 1080i generally took 5-10
minutes to create and render a new city from scratch).

   I showed off some of the more in-depth options and flexibility of the
system, such as how to customize the city layout or individual buildings.
You could select the weather, blow up buildings, show buildings under
construction and more.  Those options were all there, but the big benefit
was how you could spend one minute making selections, then sit back and let
the computer provide you with a finished realistic city.

   We were to repeat this demonstration four more times before shooting
began, each time for increasingly larger groups.  Eventually we left behind
a system for Baron to work with so he could customize the moon cities for
the movie and set up all types of camera shots.



   When we started discussing who should fill the other roles, Andi
cautioned me.

   "Don't expect to get Angelina Jolie to play Wyoh or Morgan Freeman to
play the Professor.  While there's always an outside chance of getting a
big name to join your movie, I think the best we're likely to get are
former big names or up-and-comers.  We may have a decent chance to snag
someone who used to get above-the-title billing and wants to make a
comeback, but our best bet is for B and C-list actors."

   I'm going to skip over a lot of the casting discussions, interviews,
setup and fiddly bits.  I'm pretty sure most readers would consider it
dull, and it's not necessary for the story.  Still there are some points
that could use discussion.

   I don't know if the "casting couch" still exists in Hollywood or not,
but I made sure we didn't have one.  That may surprise some people, but I
disapprove of the notion of using sex to get ahead in business or requiring
sex for someone to be hired.  That's not to say that I didn't have sex with
people involved in the movie.  I certainly did, and I'll get to those
stories in a little bit.  BUT those encounters all happened after our
business relationship was decided.

   When it came to the major movie roles, I actually only got one of my
ideal castings: Jonathan Heart signed on to play the Professor.  If you've
seen Hellboy, he played the professor in that movie too, and I wanted him
to partly repeat that performance.  Oh sure, the Professor in TMIAHM is an
older, devious, radical political revolutionary, but the character fits
very well.

   We got one A-list movie actor to play a supporting role: Mick Gage. 
Mick is known for explosion-laden action movies, but he's done a lot of
well-regarded drama and comedy roles too.  He's also a bit of a nerd when
it comes to SciFi and comic book stuff.  When he heard that someone was
making a big-budget-ish Heinlein movie, he wanted in.  After meeting him in
person, I was persuaded to give him the role of Stuart Renee LaJoie.  He
doesn't quite fit the role (a rich European tourist with a vaguely
ill-defined aristocratic background), but adjusting the character to be an
American ex-patriot tourist would still work perfectly well for the story.
Plus since we cut the polygamous line marriage, the role was a little
smaller than in the book so we would probably only need a couple weeks of
Mick's time, which also meant that he wasn't going to expect a $10 million
payday.

   For Wyoh, we almost went with Julia Bend (two auditions), an actress I
mainly knew from her recurring role as an evil vampire in the Buffy and
Angel TV series.  Then we almost went with Lori Finn Broyles (three
auditions), who was on Twin Peaks and played the bad guy in MiB2. 
Eventually we decided on an up-and-coming TV actress named Olive Wilder
(five auditions).  Olive had been making a name for herself on a TV medical
drama on FOX, but she was also just finishing filming a major role for Tron
2 for Disney.  We happened to catch her at exactly the right moment. 
Another year and her schedule probably would have been too full to sign on
with us.

   Manny, the lead role, was a tricky one.  Manny is largely an every-man
character.  Yes, he has a Russian accent, has an interchangeable cybernetic
arm, is the top computer repairman on the Moon and is best friends with
Heinlein's first A.I., but for all of that, he's still a very down-to-earth
guy who gets caught up in the revolution by accident.  We didn't want a
super-handsome guy or a smooth-talker.

   My personal first-choice was Benny del Tono, but he wasn't interested.
We went through a few other possibilities and eventually we signed Carey
Afflick (five auditions).  Although Carey may be best known as the younger
brother of Ben, he's been in a large number of films, including the Oceans
Eleven series.  He wasn't a master actor, but he was pretty good.  He just
never reached the A-list and was rarely the leading man.

   I never would have thought of him when casting for the role, but his
agent got in contact with Andi and convinced her to give him a shot.  This
role would be a little out of type for him, but he gave some very good
readings at the auditions.

   Jennifer continued earning her pay, finding a special effects company to
make our costumes and props, a good camera crew, etc, etc.  (It takes a LOT
of people to make a professional movie.)



   Amid all of the preparations and meetings, during my fourth trip to
Hollywood, I visited the office we had rented for Jennifer to work out of.
She had a secretary of her own now (which she negotiated for in her
contract with me) and was feeling on top of the world.  Or more accurately,
at that particular moment she looked like she was feeling like hell.

   Her L-shaped desk was piled with DVD cases, a few VHS tapes and a small
pile of paperwork.  Jennifer herself was looking a bit bleary-eyed as she
turned away from a TV/DVD set on a side table.

   "What's wrong," I asked, trying to sound sympathetic.

   "I've been watching audition videos for the past six hours while
simultaneously fielding calls from their agents and trying to keep George
from crashing."

   "Isn't most of that Andi's job?"

   "Yes, but half of everyone are sending their tapes to both of us."

   "I've been getting some myself, but I just send them back unopened."

   "Wish I could do that."

   I snapped my fingers in front of her face a few times.  "Jennifer!  You
absolutely can do that too.  Now get up!"

   "I can't.  Even without the videos, I still have about a thousand
different calls to make."

   "Consider this an order from your boss.  You need to relax a little or
you're going to burst.  Or collapse.  Or collapse due to bursting."

   I rounded her desk and hooked my hands under her arms, pulling her up.
She didn't give much resistance, except to step back enough to grab her
purse.

   As I pushed her out of her office, I instructed her secretary to hold
all her calls and to take a shot at organizing the discs on Jennifer's
desk.

   "Where are you taking me?" Jennifer asked as I pushed her out the door.

   "Don't know," I admitted.  "Where do you usually go to relax and have
fun?"

   "Uhhh...  different places.  To just relax, maybe a drink at Around the
Corner?"

   "Around the Corner?"

   "It's a...  well, kind of a bar, I suppose."

   "Kind of?"

   Jasmine, my bodyguard and chauffeur this trip, drove us to 'Around the
Corner'.  Aside from being short and female, she did her best to look the
part, dressed in a dark suit and sunglasses.

   As it turns out, 'kind of a bar' means a club mish-mash that sells
alcoholic drinks.  They had pool tables and darts, like bars and pubs, but
they also had video games, skeeball, karaoke and a small dance floor.

   We got there maybe around 4, so it wasn't overly busy yet.  Jennifer
excused herself to 'powder her nose' and returned looking much less
hell-bound.  We got a couple very good burgers, drank some beers and played
some games.  We did our best to avoid talking about the movie, instead
exchanging stories about our other jobs.

   Jennifer became gradually more and more relaxed, and we left around 7:30
before either of us actually became drunk.

   Jasmine drove us to Jennifer's apartment building where she hesitated
before inviting me up for a nightcap.  (Yes, she actually used the word
'nightcap'.  Perhaps she's seen too many movies?)

   Her apartment was small but clean, with one wall covered by bookcases
full of DVDs.

   "So would you like some coffee or wine or...?"

   "Whatever you're having will be fine."

   I sat down in her loveseat, making sure to leave room for her to join
me.

   "Are you feeling more relaxed now?"

   "Yes, but in the back of my mind I still know I have huge to-do list
waiting for me back at the office."

   She sat down next to me and handed me a glass of white wine, which I
politely sipped.

   "I think you're just used to doing everything that's been handed to you.
You need to learn to do the important stuff and let other people handle
their own jobs.  I had the same problem not too long ago.  I burned out
trying to do too much and crawled into bed for a couple weeks as a result.
I don't want that to happen to you."

   "Thanks.  I'll try."

   We each took another sip of wine and sat quietly for a moment.

   "So..." she said, obviously prompting me to take a first step.

   "Jennifer," I said quietly.  "One of my personal rules is that I will
never make the first move on anyone who is working for me.  You are a
beautiful, attractive young woman, and if you want anything to happen
tonight..."

   I let the sentence drop.  She obviously had a moment of internal debate,
then took my glass from me and set them both down on a side table, quietly
muttering "The hell with it."

   Then she jumped me, kissing me intensely and moving so that she was
partially on my lap, her breasts pushing against my chest.

   We sat there for a moment, just making out...  kissing supplemented with
wandering hands.  Then clothing started being pulled off and our breathing
became a bit more labored.  She pulled me upright and, not letting go, led
me to her bedroom while we dropped pieces of clothing all the way.

   By the time we reached her bed, I was naked and she was down to her
panties.  I pushed her gently down to her bed, took in her form and
followed her down.  I may have mentioned before that she had a nicely soft
body, as opposed to the tight, toned look so popular in Hollywood.  She was
by no means fat, but she was very curvy.  Now uncovered, I estimated her
breasts to be maybe small C cups, with large pale areolae (having
previously guessed D cups...  push-up bras maybe?).

   Having been taken to her bed, I took the lead, slowly working my way
down her body.  Her breasts rolled around so wonderfully, with such stiff
nipples, that I found it difficult to move past them, but eventually I made
it down to her pussy, pulling her panties down her legs to give me access.

   Her pubic hair was trimmed enough to avoid showing when wearing a
bathing suit, but was otherwise unrestrained.  I brushed it to the side and
pulled her lips apart to reveal damp, pulsing inner lips.  Surprisingly she
tasted faintly of strawberries.  I tried to make a mental note to ask her
where that came from later on, but ended up forgetting about until our
second intimate encounter.

   I spent a few minutes down there, exploring and experimenting to
discover her likes and dislikes.  I had her coming fairly quickly, getting
her off twice with my tongue within maybe five minutes.

   She lay back, looking radiantly tired.  "Oh god, that was good.  Quick,
go.  Bathroom." She pointed.  "Gargle.  Condoms in the cabinet, top shelf."

   With my hard-on pointing the way, I went to follow her commands.  I was
a bit shocked too.  I had never before had a woman tell me to open her
bathroom cabinet.  It's like they try to protect their mystique by never
letting us see that they use toiletries or hygiene products.

   She had Scope by her sink, so I rinsed off my mouth and gave a quick
gargle.  Just before I reached for her above-the-sink medicine cabinet, an
arm reached out from behind me and a voice said, "It's all right; I'll get
it!" as Jennifer apparently decided that she didn't want me peaking into
her cabinet after all.

   She patiently waited for me to leave the bathroom until she retrieved a
box of condoms for us to use.  Two boxes, actually.  After closer
examination of the size of my cock, she tossed one box off to the side.

   Once back in bed, she gave me a quick kiss before moving down to my
manhood, applying lips and tongue enough to return me to full hardness. 
Then she tore open a foil packet, unrolled a condom onto my cock, tore the
condom in doing so and repeated the attempt a second time with a fresh
rubber, finally succeeding.

   Far from taking me out of the mood, all of this was exciting me a bit. A
lot of my bedroom encounters were unrealistically perfect -- perfect
bodies, no hang-ups, coordinated movements, synchronized orgasms -- that a
little bit of fumbling this time just gave the experience some personality.

   She gave a very pleasant, ego-boosting hiss as I worked my way inside of
her.  Though no virgin, she felt pretty tight and I think I bottomed out
just before I was fully inside of her.  It apparently didn't matter because
she wrapped her legs around my buttocks and pulled me in close, reaching up
with her hands to pull our faces together for a kiss.

   That kiss was the last bit of tenderness for awhile because after it,
the fucking began.  And I mean 'fucking', not 'making love'.  Jennifer
wanted sex.  She wanted orgasms and sweaty bodies plastered against each
other.  She kept us facing each other the entire time, but even with that
one limitation, we were rolling around, changing pace and position all the
time.  She didn't want more than a minute at a static pace or in the same
position.  And when we kissed, her tongue went everywhere.  Mouths were
attached to nipples, ears and necks.  She didn't want anal sex, but fingers
popped in bottoms with regularity.

   About forty-five minutes later, I was worn out, having filled two
condoms.  Jennifer was...  well, she was satisfied at least.  I'm pretty
sure she could have enjoyed a few more orgasms, but she was willing to let
me call it a night.  (I'd like to point out that I have lasted longer than
that before and since, but the constant changes in pace and position
apparently wore me out sooner than normal.)

   After we had rested for a few minutes, I leaned over and kissed her
cheek.

   "I have morning meetings and don't have a change of clothes here, so I
really need to head back to my hotel room.  Is that okay with you?"

   "Huh?" She took a moment to register what I said.  "Oh, sure.  And thank
you.  That was very...  not sure if 'relaxing' is the right word..."

   "Stress relieving?"

   "Hah!  More than that, but yes."

   "I'd really like to do this again.  Maybe we can even have an official
date."

   "I don't know.  Tonight was pretty date-ish, though I usually don't go
this far on a first date."

   "Well, from a certain point of view, we've been out to dinner together a
number of times already, so if you wanted to..."

   "Hmmm...  nope, not dates, but thanks for trying.  I guess I can just be
kinda slutty on occasion." She said this lightheartedly with a hint of a
hidden grin.

   "Don't worry.  It's our little secret," I reassured her.

   I grabbed a damp washcloth from the bathroom and wiped away the worst of
my sweat as we talked.

   "So, how many girlfriends do you have?"

   "Hey now," I chided.  "I don't kiss-and-tell.  But I will say that I'm
not in any kind of exclusive relationship right now."

   "I've noticed that you're...  uhhh...  a very...  private...  person."
This was a rather halting comment, and she was obviously afraid she might
offend me if she chose the wrong phrasing.

   "Very true," I agreed.  "My desire for privacy is somewhat at odds with
my appearances alongside my android and such, but I really do prefer to
stay out of the spotlight."

   "I was going to see if you wanted to go to any 'Hollywood parties,' but
I'm guessing..." (She did the air-quotes hand gestures when she said
'Hollywood parties'.)

   "I would probably thank you for the offer then say no.  It would take a
lot for me to want to mingle with people who thrive on publicity."

   "If that's so, then you must have serious personal reasons for wanting
to make a movie.  People generally don't produce movies because they want
to avoid publicity."

   "That's one of the reasons I hired you, remember?  One of your jobs is
to shoulder the burden of publicity."

   "I remember, I just didn't believe you at the time.  I'm still not sure
I do, but I'll try to take you at your word."

   Now mostly dressed, I sat down on the bed next to her.  Jennifer was
stretched out naked above the covers, showing no modesty at the moment. 
She was, however, avoiding my eyes.

   "I did a porno once," she blurted out.

   I have no idea why she felt she had to tell me or why she had to tell me
now.  I'm sure there was some chain of logic in there somewhere, but I
couldn't see it.  Still, this was obviously something of a confession for
her, so treated it as such.

   "I see," I said, trying not to sound too serious.

   "I needed money really badly at the time, so I bleached my hair as a
disguise and went in.  I had one scene with another girl and gave a blowjob
to a guy who joined us.  Then I cleaned up, cashed my check, dyed my hair
back and never did it again."

   "I understand why you might not put it on your resume, but at the same
time it's not much to be ashamed of.  Why tell me?"

   "It's just that, if we're going to date at all -- and I'm not trying to
put pressure on you, because we live two time zones apart, so I'm pretty
sure nothing would work out even if we wanted to try -- but if we're going
to date even a little, then you should know now before you find out by
accident."

   Alpha hadn't told me, so it's likely she didn't know about that
particular tick on Jennifer's resume.  And if Alpha didn't know, then it
wasn't readily available information online.  I think Jennifer just had the
wrong idea about how likely she was to be found out.  Or about how much
porn I watched.

   "I'm glad to know, but it doesn't really make a difference one way or
the other.  It would probably matter if you were still making pornos, but
other than that...  no."

   "This...  this isn't going to change anything, right?"

   "Which thing?  Us having sex or the revelation of earlier wild days?"

   "Ummm, either, I suppose."

   "Well, I now feel I can call you for a date without risking sexual
harassment, so I suppose that's a change.  As to the other, I don't watch
that much porn anymore, but I'll keep an eye out for you when I do."

   She whacked me with a pillow.

   "I deserved that," I agreed as I stood up.  "Are you free for lunch
tomorrow?"

   She crawled to the side of the bed and looked around for her purse.  She
pointed across the room to a chair, and I dutifully retrieved her purse
from where it hung from the arm.  After checking her phone's appointment
calendar, we worked out a lunch date in two days.

   Before I left, she made me promise to give her at least one 'booty call'
every time I visited California or she visited Texas.



   Overall the pre-production setup went pretty well, especially given that
we were planning to start filming less than six months after we hired
Jennifer.  It helped a lot that we had Alpha and her system covering most
of the special effects.  Heck she designed and directed the building of the
most complex wire system in Hollywood history.  Well, movie or Texas
history, since it wasn't built in California.

   Since the movie was set on the moon and we wanted a large degree of
realism, the actors would need to look like they were walking in a low
gravity environment.  We could avoid some of this by having the actors
mostly stationary in some scenes, but that wouldn't be a useable approach
most of the time.

   Alpha set up a large warehouse-sized shooting stage in North Texas with
a largely automated wire system.  Someone would put on a harness, zero out
the weight balance with the press of a button while your feet were pulled
up, then be able to walk, run or jump as if they were under 1/6th normal
Earth gravity.  Most of the harnesses didn't allow more than 30-40 feet of
movement, but there were half a dozen 'star' harnesses which could move
across the whole stage.

   The lines were designed not to cross paths and tangle, but in the combat
scenes, we ended up having three or four tangles each day.  We also had an
average of one harness per day needing repair.  Still the system worked
pretty well overall.

   The actors had a lot of fun getting used to the system and figuring out
how to move around smoothly and naturally.  I tried it out myself and it
was like a private carnival ride.

   On a side note, after the movie wrapped, we kept the shooting stage and
rented it out a few times a year to different movie productions.

   We wanted more realism in this movie than was normally seen in SciFi. 
While the source material was fairly scientifically realistic, we went one
extra step beyond.  For their lasers, we did not add in visible beams
except for one scene where they had smoke and dust.  That is how lasers in
the real world work.  Unless you have a scattering effect, you cannot see
the laser beam as it travels through the air.  And renaming 'lasers' to
something else like 'phasers' or 'blasters' does not get around the problem
that a beam somehow radiating energy in all directions is losing power in a
very inefficient way.

   Instead, bowing to the needs of visual media, we added little pieces of
transparent colored glass-like plastic to the top of each gun.  When the
shooter (or camera) looked through the plastic, he was able to see the
laser beam, but otherwise you would only see the effect on the target.  We
justified it by saying the plastic sightings showed the infrared heating of
the air or something.  At least it was a step in the right direction (where
'right' means 'real').



   Before actual filming started, I was offered a cameo appearance but
turned it down.  I think I've been pretty clear on the whole
don't-want-to-be-in-the-public-eye aspect of my personality.

   On the other hand, I did offer roles as extras to everyone at work and
home who wanted to be in the movie.  AARD practicality closed down for a
day when we bussed most of the employees a few miles across town to the
movie stage for a crowd scene.  I had decided that since 90% of the movie
would be filmed in a sound stage, one location was as good as any other so
why not film somewhere convenient for me?

   As for my household, everyone but the cyborgs signed on.  Bubbles,
Blossom, Jane and Linda all tried out for speaking roles, but only Blossom
actually got one (consisting of one line).  Bubbles and Linda got a crowd
reaction close-up which made the final cut.  Jane...  well, she didn't take
her audition very seriously, so you have to freeze-frame to pick her out of
the crowd.



   Before I get into the next part of this story, I'd like to state for the
record that I didn't know that Olive was married at the time.  I try to
never mess with married women.  Marriage may not be for me, but I still
respect the institution.  Okay, she was separated, and she didn't wear a
ring or act like a married woman, but she was not divorced, so if I had
known, I never would have slept with her.  Probably not.

   That having been said, she's really hot.  She has elegant features and
long auburn hair, dyed blonde for part of the movie.  (Point of trivia:
She's actually a natural blonde who dyes her hair dark to be taken
seriously as an actress.) I was attracted to her right away, but that's not
uncommon for me.

   I first met her at her audition, where she gave Wyoh's speech from the
meeting at the beginning of the book, then did a scene with Carey to see if
they had any chemistry.  They worked together pretty well, which was a
little surprising to me, mainly because I had never seen Carey in an
on-screen romance where he wasn't a smarmy lothario.

   Later when we were filming in Texas, Olive occasionally joined me in the
catering tent, but it didn't seem like a big deal because we always ate in
groups.  Heck, I was only on set maybe one day out of three on average.  I
flirted with her a little but not seriously.

   She seemed pretty interested in my charitable works and eco-friendly
products, just like many of the other liberal people I had met in
Hollywood. I don't mean to imply that 'liberal' is or should be considered
a derogatory term, though I'm perfectly willing to promote 'Hollywood
liberal' as a new universal insult.  You know, they'd be people who read an
article, think they understand the subject and believe that their opinions
are much more important than the views of experts, let alone the rest of
the world.

   One odd note that I don't think I've really covered before is that Alpha
is the pro-environment part of our duo.  She tends to take the long view
about things.  While she doesn't care very much about miscellaneous species
going extinct, she does care about things like overpopulation, a stable
ecosystem, 'super-bug' disease strains, disappearing natural resources and
other things that may threaten our existence a hundred or a thousand years
from now.  Me?  I'm pro-environment, sure, but only in a general and
non-specific way.  Still I take Alpha's concerns seriously and help her
work towards her goals as best I can.

   To continue, Olive was (and presumably still is) a Hollywood liberal,
which I say in a non-insulting way.  I refused to get involved in any
political discussions with her, telling her that I don't care much for
politics one way or the other.  (Which is true, although Alpha has started
making calculated donations to try and build up some political favors which
we may need in the future.) At least she seemed to come by her beliefs
honestly, as opposed to just ignorantly going along with the crowd.

   Regardless, our differences were enough that I did not pursue her with
anything more than polite flirting.

   She, on the other hand, was very curious about me.  I had come out of
nowhere a few years ago and had quickly established AARD as the preeminent
developer of future technologies in the country, maybe in the world.  I
occasionally gave away inventions that could have been worth millions for
the good of the planet.  I refused to develop for the military.  And now I
had come to Hollywood to make a movie, which was promising to push special
effects forward a few years with a single product.

   To top it all off, I kept mostly out of the public eye, though every
time I was seen, it was in the company of gorgeous women who appeared to be
utterly devoted to me.

   From her perspective, I was the perfect mystery man, now sitting next to
her in the flesh, physically fit and flirting with her.

   At least, that's how Alpha analyzed the situation when she started
asking everyone questions about me.  Beta, of course, suggested she go
ahead and try to seduce me.  I know she talked to Jennifer, but don't know
what was said in that conversation.  (Jennifer and I only had sex three
times during the filming, due mainly to incompatible schedules, and we both
knew that we were only having fun, not pursuing a relationship.) No one
else Olive might have talked to knew me in any intimate sense.

   One Tuesday in June during lunch, Olive asked me for a tour of AARD. 
She didn't have any scenes to film for the next couple of days and was
looking for things to do.  I was in a good mood at the time and agreed.

   After we finished lunch, we hopped in my car and drove back to Fort
Worth.  (We were filming most of it in warehouses which had been converted
to sound stages just south of the DFW Metroplex.)

   I spent a couple hours that afternoon showing her around a few labs at
AARD, introducing her to Alphadroid and my transformer Alphacar, and even
gave her some sample as-yet-unreleased no-chip artificial nails.  (Those
things are seriously no-chip.  Alpha made them with some weird new type of
thin lattice ceramics that she sometimes uses to enhance my women's
super-strong bones.  I smashed one between a couple bricks to demonstrate
its resiliency (a fake nail, not a bone).  A lot of our Alphacars were
coated in that material too.)

   She smiled a lot, signed a couple autographs for employees, laughed at
all my jokes and showed an intelligent curiosity for our work.

   At one point when we were alone, she asked, "How do you find the time to
do everything?"

   "What do you mean?"

   "Well, you talk about a lot of these projects like you developed them
yourself.  You have your robots, your new special effects system, your
artificial limbs, your surgery thingie, and...  well, all the other stuff.
Plus you're producing the movie and running your company."

   "Ah, I see what you mean.  Well, I am pretty busy, but for me, there are
three different levels of involvement.  There are personal projects where I
usually work on the project every day.  Then there are projects where I
give input and help with ideas or put together some data processing or data
mining software, depending on what's needed.  And there are the challenge
projects, where I'll come up with a challenge for one of my engineering
teams and let them handle it.

   "I probably work on a dozen projects every week, but only one gets my
full attention, like the artificial blood or Alphadroid.

   "You should also remember that not all of our projects are intended to
be commercially viable.  Heck, remember Alphacar?  Well, we're not planning
to sell those to the public.  It was a challenge project for fun.  But at
the same time, some of the designs they came up with for the car are being
used elsewhere."

   All of that was true, for a certain value of truth.  At least it was
mostly true, assuming you treat Alpha as multiple teams of engineers and
researchers.

   We talked more as we walked, but when we reached the front desk, she
excused herself to visit the Ladies Room.

   I chatted with LaShonda, one of our receptionists, for a few minutes. 
LaShonda was a very attractive young black woman who had been with AARD
almost since the beginning.  I had attended her wedding a year or two
before, and at the moment she was pregnant with her first child.  (And no,
I had never slept with her.)

   Our conversation eventually touched on Olive, who had signed an
autograph for her.  Unfortunately, LaShonda was one of those people who buy
gossip magazines and idolize movie and TV stars a little too much.

   "...  and seeing her like this, she seems like a regular person!"

   I suppressed a sigh.  "That's because she IS a regular person."

   "Oh, I know," she quickly backtracked.  "What I meant was that she..."

   Over the past few months, comments like that had become one of my
'buttons,' and I interrupted her.  "I know what you meant," I said
matter-of-factly.  "One of the problems with society is the star mentality.
Yes, good actors should be congratulated on being successful in their
chosen field, and I can even somewhat understand how they can sometimes
command ridiculous salaries.

   "BUT I think the longer they work in Hollywood, the more likely they are
to believe that their opinion is somehow more important or weighty than
anyone else's.  Or that they deserve reverential treatment because they
might be recognized in public.  And a lot of people, especially in
California, buy into those notions.

   "Thank god at least Olive hasn't let her ego become overinflated.  There
were so many people I met in California who have mostly wasted their lives
but their enormous egos cause them to believe they are immortal in the
public's memory because..."

   I trailed off, noticing that LaShonda's eyes were focused on something
behind me.  Turning around, yup, Olive was standing behind me.

   Damn it!  I hate when I get into a lecturing mode.  I come off as a
know-it-all complainer.  I've sworn off posting comments online precisely
because of that.

   "Hi, sorry.  I was just complaining about the better-than-thou phonies
in Hollywood..."

   "So I heard," she said with an odd half-grin.

   "Did you at least hear the part where I pointed out that you aren't like
that?"

   "Yes, but I think there was an implied 'yet' in there somewhere."

   "Not necessarily.  No one completely falls into any sweeping
categorizations like that."

   "Actually I know quite a few people who fit into your description pretty
exactly.  One of the things I like about your production team is that
they're mostly too young to have egos like that yet."

   "Yeah, it is nice that my ego is the only overinflated one around."

   "Oh really?"

   "Yup, I'm horribly full of myself at times, I'm just too shy to show
it."

   "Uh huh," she said, not impressed with my attempt at humor.  "Didn't you
promise me dinner at some point?"

   I glanced at my watch.  It was nearly five.  A little earlier than my
normal dinner time, but doable.

   "Sure," I said feeling relieved that I hadn't offended her.  I took her
arm in mine as we walked out.  "What kind of restaurant would you like to
visit?"

   She chose BBQ, after which we wandered around just enjoying each other's
company.  Fortunately her hair was currently blonde and she wasn't
recognized, or at least wasn't bothered by anyone who did recognize her.

   When I drove her home (ie.  to her rented condo), she invited me in for
a drink.  I'm not much of a drinker but accepted a Tom Collins as we sat on
her couch together.  Somehow a few of her blouse's buttons had come undone,
and she was sitting just a little inside my personal space.  Now I've been
'seduced' many, many times over the past few years, but mostly only by
women who have been programmed to lust after me.  Still I easily recognized
where things were headed.  And if I'm going to be honest about it, the
seduction wasn't one-sided.

   After only a couple minutes, we were making out.  A couple minutes
later, we had hit a feverish intensity and were struggling to strip
ourselves, then each other as we stumbled towards the bedroom.  We didn't
make it.

   In the hallway, I pushed her up against the wall, sliding my cock inside
her.  Her slit was wet and slick, practicality dripping with juices.  She
wrapped her arms and legs around me, and we kissed as I started pounding
her against the wall.  I held her up against various walls for at least
five minutes of upright fucking before she came, biting down on my earlobe
as she squealed.  The pain set me off and I blasted off inside her much
sooner than I had planned.

   When she came down, she slid from my grasp and looked me over.

   "I'm sorry.  I think I drew a little bit of blood there."

   I touched my ear, which was sore and stung a bit, but it didn't seem
like anything was missing.  "I'll be fine.  Now come on.  I'm not done with
you by a long shot."

   I led her into the bedroom, then suddenly stopped in realization that I
hadn't even paused to consider...  "Condoms!  I'm sorry, I completely
forgot."

   "It's all right.  I'm all pilled up."

   "Oh, well, in that case..." I picked her up and tossed her onto the bed,
then pounced on top of her.

   We kissed again for a moment.  Her hands wandered down and fondled my
equipment which was regaining its hardness.

   She broke off the kiss, pushed me over onto my back and slid down the
bed.

   "Here, let me help you out a little," she said before taking a long slow
lick up the shaft of my cock, obviously tasting our mixed juices.

   I took a moment to enjoy the view of her naked body, laid out before me
on the bed.  She was in her mid-20's but looked like she was at least 30...
not old, just adult.  Her breasts were somewhere in the B or C cup range
and rolled around as only natural breasts do.  She was slim and healthy and
had thin dirty blonde hair lightly covering her pubic region, though much
of it was slicked down with her leaking juices.

   I was hard again a moment later, and she moved up my body and slid into
place above me.  Once I was again seated inside of her, she bent down for
another kiss, her tongue teasing mine.  She rode me for a few minutes, and
I bounced my hips up to meet her downward thrusts.

   After she came, I rolled us over so that I was on top and fucked her
that way through at least two more orgasms before coming a second time
myself.

   I rolled off of her so that we lay side-by-side.

   "That was a thing of beauty," I said.

   "Yes, it was," she agreed.  Rolling over slightly to look at me, she
continued, "You aren't looking for anything long-term, are you?  I mean,
don't take this the wrong way, but I want to keep this casual."

   "Really?  I mean no, I'm not looking for anything long-term, but I
thought we both had some fun there.  If you're still not...  not satisfied,
I can go again..."

   "No...  I mean, yes, I'm pretty well satisfied.  Very well satisfied, as
a matter of fact.  I just..."

   "Then why the immediate brush-off?"

   "It's not a brush-off.  Well, I guess it is, but not one that takes
effect right away...  ugh...  It's just, I've had guys get too clingy
sometimes, and I wanted to be sure that you...  I mean, I know you have
other women, but I wanted to be sure you didn't make this out to be more
than it is."

   "Oh, I thought you..." I laughed.  "Sorry.  Misunderstanding.  It's
just, you know, the first thing you say after we finish was that you don't
want to see me again, it makes me think you weren't satisfied..."

   "That's not what I said...  meant...  whatever." She sighed and paused.
"I guess I could have phrased that a bit better, or picked a better time to
bring it up.  No, wait a minute.  I did say it right, you just took it the
wrong way." She twirled a finger around my nipple distractedly.

   This was turning into one of the odder post-coital conversations I had
had recently.  I honestly couldn't entirely tell if she was being hostile
or defensive or playful or what.  Plus I had apparently misinterpreted what
she said earlier.

   "Did I hear you say something earlier about going again?" She reached
down and lightly stroked my cock.  "Got a little blue pill in your
stomach?"

   "Never touch the stuff."

   "A manly man, huh?  Prove it."

   "I'm feeling a little too sweaty.  Let's go get cleaned up and see what
happens."

   Her bathtub/shower was large enough for two people, but not by much.  By
the time we were halfway through washing each other, I was fully hard
again. I pushed her up against the shower wall and fucked her hard from
behind.  This being my third time in less than two hours, I was in no hurry
to come again, so after she came again, I pulled out, turned her around and
we fucked some more face-to-face.

   By the time I finally came in her a third time, pounding her doggy style
back on the bed, I think she must have come at least four more times.

   I had enough presence of mind to text Alpha that I was spending the
night before falling asleep.



   I woke up to find the smell of coffee wafting through the condo.  Olive
was in her kitchen dressed in my shirt, and possibly nothing else.  Feeling
a bit like I was on a TV show, I wandered in wearing only my undershorts
and pants.

   "Good morning, stranger," she said with a smile.  "I'm not much of a
cook, but I have some fruit and some good organic cereal.  Not the crappy
stuff you get in the store, the real stuff, hand-made."

   My heart sank a bit at the idea, but when I tried it, it turned out to
actually be pretty tasty.

   As we sat eating breakfast, somehow I expected her to be running her
foot up and down my leg or something, but it didn't happen.  We just sat
there, crunching hand-crafted granola cereal.  Between bites, I looked her
up and down.

   "Hmmm....  How adventurous are you?  Sexually speaking?"

   "That's a bit of a dangerous question.  I like to think I'm pretty open
to having fun, but I'm not really into much kink."

   "That's not what I...  weeelllll...  I guess it could be slightly
kink-ish.  No, it's just that there's something that I've been wanting to
try, and it's kind of only available for a limited time."

   "What is it?"

   "A surprise.  I don't want to build it up too much, but I think it could
be pretty fun."

   "It's not public or anything?"

   "No, no, no.  And no special clothes or bondage or anything like that.
But it will have to be late at night.  Hmm...  not tonight...  how about
tomorrow night?"

   "Sure, but I reserve the right of refusal if it's not my thing.  What
time?"

   "Of course.  And let's say...  I'll swing by and pick you up around
11pm."



   The next evening I picked her up and drove us to the movie set. 
Everything was shut down, though we did have a security guard at the gate
who waved us in.  Our 'movie studio' consisted of one main converted
warehouse, a couple of smaller buildings, a parking lot and a fence.

   We went into the main building where I double-checked that everyone had
left for the day.

   "So?" Olive asked.

   "So.  Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have sex in a low
gravity environment?"

   "You're kidding."

   "Nope.  We'll have to be careful to avoid tangles if we want to change
positions, but I'm pretty sure the equipment will work just fine."

   "Isn't this a bit...  public?"

   "The only person still around is the gate guard.  All the rest of the
security is computerized...  automated.  You know...  completely under my
control.  We'll get buzzed if anyone else shows up."

   I dragged over a prop bed then started to strip, and she slowly followed
suit.  I was almost giddy with anticipation.  Ever since the idea came to
me a couple weeks earlier, the idea had sparked a child-like anticipation
and enthusiasm.  I was originally going to wait for filming to end, then
invite a few members of the household for some high-flying fucks...  but if
I wanted to do it with Olive, the time was now.

   She dug through her purse for a couple of little bands she used to pull
her hair into a long ponytail, which was probably an excellent notion or
tangling lines would be the least of her worries.

   Naked, we strapped ourselves into the harnesses, then gave each other a
quick safety check, with maybe a bit less professionalism than during
filming.  The body harnesses were designed to be concealed under clothes,
so they were lightly padded and comfortable.  We zeroed out the electronics
(to set the virtual counter-weights), then sat on the bed and started to
make out.

   Olive was a little stiff and not nearly wet enough, so I moved into
position between her thighs, ready for cunnilingus.

   As I stroked her labia, I looked up at her and said, "And no acting
tonight.  I only want honest orgasms, all right?"

   She gave me a humorously exasperated look and told me to "Just get to
work, tongue boy.  I missed out on your famous oral skills last time."

   "Famous oral skills?"

   "According to rumors."

   "What rumors?  And what about my cocksmanship?  Shouldn't I be famous
for that too?"

   In response, she shoved my face into her pubis.  In all fairness, I
wasn't being serious.

   Although trimmed a bit, Olive didn't shave her privates.  Fortunately
for my preferences, her pubic hair was naturally thin and did little to
hide her labia as they pushed out from her mound, eager for attention.  I
dove in with enthusiasm, enjoying the opportunity to explore a new taste
and discover her likes and dislikes, how to give her pleasure.

   I had forgotten about the harnesses until she got close to her first
come and jerked her thighs down a bit on my shoulders.  In normal
circumstances, it would have done no more than push her vagina a little up
at my mouth.  Under our pseudo low-gravity setup, it bounced her a foot off
the bed and out of my grasp.

   A bit surprised, we both stopped for a moment, then laughed.  We
restarted, this time with her legs anchored under my arms.  That didn't
give me good enough access, so we readjusted so that her thighs were over
my shoulders as before, but I kept at least one hand gripping her leg.  For
her part, when she got close this time, instead of pushing her legs down,
she instead gripped my head, holding me close.

   I ate her through two orgasms before getting up and joining her on the
bed.

   "How about if we keep it simple to start with.  Missionary position
okay?"

   "Sure.  Are you sure the lines won't tangle?"

   "I think we'll be okay, but no, I'm not sure." Even with Alpha
monitoring and controlling the harness reactions, tangles were still going
to be a risk.

   Olive lay down and adjusted her lines so her torso and limbs were
relatively free to move.  Then I carefully moved in from below.  Some of
our lines were rubbing, but not by much.

   We quickly found out that we needed to hold onto each other tightly or
I'd bounce right off of her and she off the bed.  I swore to myself that
next time I'd bring a few little bungee cords to keep us together.

   It took a while, but I fucked her to another orgasm, then came myself a
couple minutes later.

   We carefully extracted ourselves and spent a moment resting.

   "You still good to go?" she asked?

   "Yup.  I'm good for at least one more, but I'll last longer the second
time."

   "I want to try doing it standing up, just to see what happens," she
suggested.

   What happened was that we left the ground, lost control, got tangled and
landed with me on top of her.  Her shoulder got a bruise, and Alpha got an
untangling job for the morning.  And that was it for doing it standing up.

   Despite the bruise, Olive laughed delightedly.  "That was hilarious. 
What should we try next?"

   I had her wait while I retrieved some elbow and knee pads the set had
available.  Then as we hooked up to two new harnesses, I said, "I think
doggy style has the least risk of tangling, but since missionary worked
out, I think cowgirl would be fine too."

   "Oooo, yeah.  Let's try that."

   So Olive rode me like a cowgirl while I held onto her knees.  When we
bounced off the bed, she insisted on trying to bounce us back up onto the
bed without uncoupling our loins.  Eventually she succeeded and celebrated
her accomplishment with another orgasm.

   We finished up our little adult adventure with a doggy style fuck.  I
was thankful for the kneepads because we ended up bouncing off the bed and
circling the set a number of times before I finally came again, though not
before giving Olive another two cums.

   We both had minor bruises from the ride, but neither of us regretted it.

   As we were getting dressed, she said, "You know, if I ever write my
memoirs, this is getting a chapter all its own."

   "Please don't," I pleaded.  "Or at least wait til I'm dead and gone
before you publish."

   "You're not going to die," she insisted.  "I'm positive that you're
going to end up with your brain in a robot body someday."

   That...  hit a little close to home for me.  I tried not to show a
reaction, but something must have leaked through my mask.

   "Okay, okay," she said reassuringly.  "How about if I keep you
anonymous?"

   "That would be much appreciated.  I really don't like publicity for
myself."

   "Boy are you in the wrong business."

   "My business is computers and technology.  This movie is just a one-time
hobby."

   She gave a dismissive and unladylike snort.  "Hollywood is an addiction
all its own.  Once you've gotten a taste, you'll always come back."

   Rather than insult her chosen profession, I ignored the falsehood.



   I drove her home, gave her a good night kiss and went home to sleep in
my own bed.  Alpha gave me a quick check-up, as she always does after I
sleep with an unmonitored woman.  She was a bit worried about my bruising
and wanted to fix it.  They really weren't that bad, so I refused, which
led to another discussion where I tried to explain to Alpha why humans
often enjoy pastimes which damage us physically in small ways.

   She has a great deal of difficulty understanding why we do things like
that.  A reasonable amount of risk for productive or otherwise beneficial
results was something she could understand.  Bruising our bodies,
potentially risking serious injury to play a game or have sex in a new and
interesting way?  She just couldn't wrap her mind around it.  Even
suggesting that the benefit was psychological didn't help, since there are
plenty of psychologically beneficial activities which don't involve such
risks.

   Alpha has developed hugely when it comes to predicting human behavior,
likes and dislikes, most especially when it comes to yours truly, but at
the same time that does not mean that she understands why.  Maybe twenty
percent of human recreational pastimes are mysteries to her.



   Filming continued and went relatively smoothly most of the time.  I
slept with Olive twice more while she was in Texas, then I discovered she
was still married.  She said she understood my concerns, and we broke it
off.  We're still friendly when our paths cross.

   One of the most annoying things about my relationship with Olive came
months later when I found out that she was bi-sexual.  Sure, her TV
character is bi, but I never thought she actually was.  I probably could
have arranged a threesome with her back then but didn't because I didn't
know she would be open to the idea.  I'm still kicking myself over that.

   Since Olive, I've slept with two different actresses, though neither
encounter was part of this story.  Hopefully I'll get to them in later
chapters.



   Olive was far from the last person I had sex with in the harnesses. 
Jennifer giggled like a crazy person all throughout our harnessed hookup.
Jane thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread.  In all, about
three-fourths of my women tried it with me at least once and most enjoyed
it, though only a couple were eager to try it again.



   The final budget for the movie came in at $29 million.  Without Alpha,
I'm sure it would have topped $50 million, possibly even $100 million.

   That actually raises another question we've yet to answer properly: How
much is Alpha's time worth?  Depending how we rate that, it may well have
cost $200 million to make.  Fortunately we didn't have to pay her a wage,
though I have told her multiple times that I consider a minimum of half my
money to be hers, and even then that would still be severely underpaying
her.

   Still that $29 million required some shifting of resources on my part,
especially since we hadn't yet seen much money from the hair growth formula
or any of our other big-money projects -- that income would start coming a
year later.  Since most of my liquid assets were needed elsewhere, we took
out a $10 million loan against future earnings.

   Some readers may ask why didn't we just play the market to get the
money? The market was too unhealthy to support Alpha's aggressive trading
style.  Yes, we'd get the money, but it had a decent chance of causing
damage to market stability.  (The thing is, it's not just her trades.  Some
other traders picked up on our success years ago and will follow any moves
we make in the market, magnifying our impact.) Still, we were debt-free
again in less than a year.

   We debuted the movie at the Sundance Film Festival the following
January. (I wanted to show it at the Fantastic Fest in September here in
Texas, but the final cut wasn't ready in time.) Our retro-sci-fi epic
lacked the artistic drama needed to win any awards, but we got lots of
positive buzz and easily signed a good distributor.  Working with the
distributor, we even set up a San Diego ComicCon booth and Q&A session. 
(Maybe at some point, I'll tell the story of taking my comic book and
cartoon women to ComicCon, a trip equal parts nightmare and fun.)

   The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress was released in November with pretty decent
advertising for an "indie" film; it hit theaters just over two years after
we bought the rights to it.  The U.S.  box office topped $70 million, but
not by much.  International box office added almost another $100 million.
It was re-released the following Spring because...  well, I don't want to
get too far ahead of myself and that's a few chapters away...  and we
expect decent home video and broadcast rights as time goes by.

   Even with the money being shared by the distributor, theaters and the
points due to Jennifer and a few of the actors, we still easily made a
profit.  (I know it's practically forbidden to admit that in Hollywood,
with their 'creative accounting' practices, but we did.  So there.)

   It received pretty good reviews with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 84%, and
we won a few technical awards (including one Oscar).  We even got a
thumbs-up from Harlan Ellison, which somehow excited me a lot more than a
special effects Oscar.

   Jennifer earned over $1 million from her base pay plus a half-percent of
the gross, and she set herself up as a producer for Hollywood newcomers and
up-and-comers.

   The AARD Environment Generation System was a decent success in that we
were able to sell a couple hundred units worldwide over the next few years
at half a million dollars a unit.  You may ask, what was the first movie to
come out using the system?  Even before TMIAHM?  A porno called The
Nymphomania of Queen Georgia.  Porn companies were early adopters of the
system, and eventually most major companies bought a system and used it for
dozens or even hundreds of movies.

   And most importantly, Alpha was happy with the results, finally getting
a well-done and positive portrayal of an AI.  (Now she wants to start
working on some Asimov-based movies and possibly the Ender's Game series.)

   * * * AUTHOR'S POSTSCRIPT NOTES: 'Insider Girl' is no relation to
'Inside Girl' which is apparently a series of tweeny-girl books that I
didn't even know existed until midway through writing this chapter.

   Also note that while the Fort Worth Parade of Lights is real, I have
never seen it and am assuming it is just a normal parade, set in the
evening.
   

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