Android Malfunction (Closed)

The long buzz woke him with a start, and he nearly fell to the floor. Axel stretched his arms way above his head, and yawned. Mrs. Haru just rang the outer door for her appointment, and while he knew she was coming he hadn’t really moved from his desk in an hour. Easiest job out of school, someone once said, to be a field technician for Blackwood Corp’s At Home Robics, Android, and Hybrid Lines. Axel worked at a Blackwood Hub, a place where for years units were brought in for diagnostics, repairs, and updates; but the latest units reached a standard that few hubs were needed. The soft powder blue, smooth walls of the technical facility was meant to give customers a calming effect. The curves were broad across every shelf, every table, and every fixture. The light music from above was subtle and soothing. Add to it the lack of customers, Axel ends up napping a lot.

“Good morning, Mrs. Haru,” Axel greeted with a tired smile as the large metal curtains opened to allow her and her droid access. Other than the security door necessitated by the industrial espionage wars of the last decade, one could mistake this Blackwood Hub as just another storefront of the modern city.

“Good morning, Axel,” she replied with a Grandmotherly smile. She walked in with the droid close behind until Axel could close the door. The droid, nearly as tall as Axel, seemed almost to lurk over it’s owner. It moved mostly like a human, but it’s oddly plastic looking face and metallic helmet to hide the fact it had no hair. She had dressed it in a faded blue button down shirt and faded khakis, resembling a mannequin dressed like someone’s uncle.

Mrs. Huru looked around wide eyed at the hub, as if she has never been here before. The walls had silhouettes of the new models, readers for advertising, and an occasional compartment for spare parts. The front desk, where Axel sits and takes his naps, is next to simple couches colored red to offset the rest of the powder blue of the hub. Except for the examination table, this looks more like a doctor’s office specializing in people who can stomach powder blue.

“You getting along well with your Mark 8?” Axel asked as he guided her and the droid towards the table.

She waved her hand gently, “all these bells and whistles, so hard to learn. Was much simpler in my old one.”

Axel yawned as he elevated the table to a vertical. “What’s it’s command code?”

“Larry,” the old woman replied.

That got Axel’s attention. “Larry, you gave it a human name for a command code?”

“Larry’s my son’s name, and he helps me like my son.” She was a sweet enough old woman, but it’s old ladies like Mrs. Haru who forget the difference between androids and humans.

“And people can hack into your personnel files and see easy names for your Mark 8. AND people can easily guess Larry. AND it’s an Android, Mrs. Haru. AND there isn’t any resemblance your son, unless Larry’s skin is a synthetic silicon wrap.”

“Oh, Posh,” the woman said waving her hand at Axel. “That nice man from Blackwood said he was as good as a human when I got him, so I called him Larry.”

‘Larry’ being a Mark 8 had some structure that would be consistent with humanoid. Larry really had no face, except for two camera optics, one that typically remain disabled due to 3D optics available in all the post-Mark changeover from Blackwood Corp. The hated aspect of the Mark 8 was the moving jaw accompanying speech modes, since they hadn’t figured out yet how to time the jaw with the words. It had arms, legs, a head, and everything was generally proportional to a human. Except you were less likely to mistake a Mark 8 for a human than you were to mistake a vacation to the Moon for suntanning on the beach.

“Okay then,” Axel snickered. “Larry,” he started with a hint of sarcasm. The Mark 8’s eye’s spun towards Axel, recognizing a command was coming and triggered by a voice recognition on Blackwood technician mainframes. “Access Alpha Xylophone Echo Lima Three One Six”

“Access Granted,” the android stated in a sharp mechanical voice. “Hello Junior Field Engineer Axel Baniti, How Can I be of Service.”

“Move to the examination table please,” Axel requested, and the machine did as such turning to put its back to the table.

“Axel Baniti?” the woman inquired making chit chat. “What is that, Italian?”

Axel moved a diagnostic system closer to the examination table and laughed with a shake of the head. “I don’t know, Miss, to be honest. Been in the family for ages. My ma said Baniti means Teacher and Axel giver of life or something. But my brother said I sounded like engine parts. Disable vertical stabilizers, prone status affirmative, maintenance protocol three.” Larry gave a whirring sound and the eyes seemed to lose focus. Axel latched the machine into place and flipped it to lay the Mark 8 back.

“I hate this part, it makes him look dead,” Mrs. Haru grumbled, crossing her arms.

“He was never alive, Mrs. Haru,” Axel said as he settled in on a stool by it’s head. “Larry, panel indigo open, prepare port for diagnostics.” As soon as the words left his mouth, Larry’s cranium split in half and opened. Axel pressed the large plug into the socket exposed by the split, and turned to a keyboard. Three bangs on the board and Larry started to light up with flickering green LEDs under the silicone throughout it’s body. “If you wanted alive, you should have put in for one of the Gen 3 models, they at least are based on humans,” Axel spouted as he looked at the cranial interface.

“What’s that thing?” she asked. “Gen 3.”

The lights started to go out slowly. “It’s the newest technology. They used human clones for the structure and outer surfaces then connect up some of the organs into mechanical interfaces towards the inner core processing units. Flesh replaces silicon, bone replaces titanium, but circuit relays still replace brain matter.”

She didn’t respond at first, so when Axel looked up he wasn’t surprised to see that she was completely confused.

“It means it looks, feels, and even smells like a human, but its still a robot.”

“Ohhhh, like Larry,” she responded.

Axel shook his head and laughed. He could be quite a geek when it came to androids. Well, he was quite a geek in all aspects. Around the Hub, he wore a standard lab coat that seemed more and more unnecessary over the years of development of the craft, but it seemed to fit him perfectly. He rarely wore clean clothes that weren’t wrinkled or torn in some way, and even when he did they were to the latest story out of the Japanese Manga craze. His reddish brown hair usually hang tangled and unkept over his pale freckly skin. He was thin and short at five-and-a-half feet, but high energy (when he wasn’t napping), usually from the tubes of soda he kept at hand’s length. Yet, Axel had a real soft spot for geeking out on droids. Sure, he doesn’t get to see many of them being a field tech, he stays on top of the newest and greatest models rolled down the line every year.

“Those Gen 3, they really are human like,” he continued chatting while scanning data transfer numbers. “I guess they’ve been out there for a bit, though most of the owners are quiet about it, still you wouldn’t know because they look like us …or so the rumors say, they don’t share sales information like that to me.” Axel grabbed a tool from his table and reached into the Mark 8’s mouth. “I heard from a buddy in Rio that when you shake their hand, it actually feels warm. Crazy stuff.”

“Does he have a cavity?” Mrs. Haru asked.

Axel looked up, then back to the Mark 8 and laughed. “No, just part of the recall on the jaw movement.”

“Ohh,” she replied.

Her appearance just made it clear, she didn’t understand a word of what he was saying. So he just shut up and finished up what he had to do. In less than a minute it was done. “Larry, Eject Conduit. Reboot Type Beta.” With a pop and a hiss, the diagnostic cord sprung from Larry & the lights went out. Larry’s eyes spun to focus again, and it seemed to power up. “Alright then, all is good. He seems to have everything working as required. You need me to do anything else to him while he is here? Download a security package? Increase his joint speed ratio?”

“No no, my Larry is just fine as he is.” She patted his chest lightly and gave it a scratch like one will do a pet.

Axel shook his head one more time as he helped the woman out. Sure he may geek out about these things, but help him if he ever ends up treating them like a pet.

Gardenia

System start up, launched.

Multiple programs failed upon start up. Service required.

System shutting down.

"Come on! Why won't it turn on?!" A male teenager loomed over what looked like the dead body of a girl of a blonde girl. Her hair was so light it looked like it was white, or at least it did before the dirt and grime of the junk yard got to it. The boy was wearing cheap clothing that looked like someone spray painted with loud colors. His hair was spiked back but the hair gel was losing its hold.

"It's in the junk yard, why do think it's not turning on?" Snapped the pink haired girl who's hand was under the head of 'body'. The girl was pressing a switch and every time she did the android's, who was the white haired girl on the ground, eyes would open showing light purple eyes and then after a few moments they would close again. "Fuck, and she's a new model too.... Let me try something."

The teenager pulled out some kind of handheld device and turned the white haired driod's head to the side and then took a cord and connected it. Booting up both the Driod and the pocket computer she then started playing around, trying to see what was keeping it from functioning. "Jesus, someone really fucked around in her head."

"Can you get her working?" The boy asked, hopeful.

"I can get her to turn on, but I doubt she will be able to function." The pink haired girl tapped away on the screen, she could see all her files, a lot that were corrupted. "Someone tried to mod her... But like not? They tried to force multiple functions at once and then tried to remove her safety programs." The boy suggested that maybe they shouldn't turn her on after all. She smirked, "I said they TRIED. It's probably why she's busted. You mess with those, the system is no good."

The girl sighed and unplugged from the Driod. "That means, she's junk. I can't fix her, I don't have the tec for that." It was a shame too, not a lot of people trashed new Driod, and this one was one she never seen before. She started to walk away, her friend close on her tail and the two argued as they exited the dump about trying to fix it. There was no point.

System restart....


Loading......

Loading......

Multiple programs failed upon start up. Service required.

Locating nearest service hub.

Service hub found. Launching GPS to fastest route.

The body of the Driod slowly picked herself up. Though she was moving, it was clear that she was still not fully functioning. Her basic system was running only so that she could get repaired, no commands, no personality, just a shell until she was fixed. All she was dressed in was a oversized white men's undershirt that had seen better days. Slowly and steadily, her bare feet took her out of the junk yard where many other robic parts could be found and unwanted items.

As she walked, she got a few looks. She looked human, but she easing moving like a human did. She wasn't even looking where she was going, the GPS just knew and the program followed until she was right outside. The doors automatically opened, she stepped in, and the program automatically shut down.

The petite Driod stood there, lifelessly with its head hanging down and eyes closed, waiting.

Axel woke slowly from his nap. Yawned like he hadn’t in a long time. Rubbed his face to get the sleep from his eyes. Then nearly shat himself.

Axel jumped, nearly throwing himself off his chair.

Standing in the middle of the Blackwood Hub was a woman. Her head was dropped down, but was otherwise standing right in the middle of the maintenance hub.

“Whoa, Ma’am … sorry you scared me,” he laughed punching his chest lightly.

She didn’t react.

The lack of a response confused him. He cocked his head. Between the white hair that seemed like it hadn’t been washed for weeks, and a plain white t-shirt long since it’s better days; she looked like someone who was somewhere around their first month hooked on crystaltickers.

“How’d you get in here,” he asked.

She didn’t react.

“Are you alright?”

She didn’t react.

He took a long look at the woman.

He took a swig of soda.

He thought for a moment.

He took another swig of soda.

Slowly he got up from his chair and slipped slowly around the edge of the table.

“Just to let you know, I will call the police if I need to.” Axel moved closer to the woman, yet she didn’t seem to react even now that he was getting closer. “And I know how to defend myself.” She seemed to be about his height, maybe if anything a little shorter, but other than the near white hair seemed fairly normal - besides dressing like a drug addict. “Credit transfers only go one way.”

By the time Axel was standing in front of her, he finally came to the conclusion she was completely out of it. He tilted his head and tried to look past her bangs to her eyes, but they were closed. “Umm, sorry, you can’t pass out here, miss.” Tentatively, he reached forward and tried to poke her shoulder to wake her up. All it did was make her sway slightly. He poked again, same thing. “Alright, don’t blame me for the shock of shaking you awake, Miss.”

When he gripped her arm to shake her, that’s when things started to get weird. She was cold, or slightly cold. Not like the silicon based androids he was used to, but cooler than skin. Still, he followed his instinct to shake her, and she only moved when he pulled. Her skin felt like skin. Skin, but cold.

Skin.

Cold.

“Consult Technical Standards,” he called over his shoulder, “Where is the Gen 3 reset interface?”

A voice spoke throughout the HUB. “Gen 3 reset interface location - rear cranium, bottom.”

“Oh man,” he whispered, “either you are the most committed sleepwalker in the city, or I’m about to be the most popular guy in the droid forums.”

He reached behind the woman’s shoulder, felt around for something that could be artificial, and then … found it.

Axel started laughing and shaking his head. “A … Frickin … Gen 3!!” With a light pinch, he opened interface, and pressed the switch. As soon as he did, the skin under his hand grew immediately warmer.

In shock that it may actually be working, he pulled his hand away quickly, step back a few steps, and watch her. Nearly in fear, he blurted his security clearance “Access Alpha Xylophone Echo Lima Three One Six!” If she was any Blackwood model she would respond to allow him basic functionality. When her head started to lift, he gulped in anxiousness and in excitement.

Before her eyes could open, the software within her registered the Code, which stopped the multiple programs from running at once to cause her to crash over and over again, however it was still just a basic program currently running, like a computer working in safe mode.

"Access granted." She spoke clearly. Though her eyes were open, they did not look at him or anything. She was emotionless, like any other driod . "Maintenance required. Multiple programs failed upon starting. Data corrupted."

She was just standing there like a doll. It was almost sad really to look at her. She was filthy from being in the trash so long, which she should have never been. It was required that any Blackwood hardware that was broken or malfunctioning be sent back to the manufacturer to be refurbished or broken down for parts. It was also illegal to try and modify a driod, at least in the way the attempted modification was made. Her safety programs, the ones that kept driods as obedient slaves and from attacking had been majorly corrupted. Once those were tampered with, there was a failsafe, the driods could not operate once the programs were either broken or removed.

Thankfully what was messed up was an easy fix. One could just remove all the corrupted files, reinstall the safety programming and she would be good to go.

Axel stood at the diagnostic terminal, banging away at any one of four windows. As far as challenges go, this wasn’t one of them. It took Axel all of five seconds to notice the breakdown in the safety protocols once he had the Gen 3 plugged into the diagnostics; and they were making quick work of reconstructing the software breakdowns. Yet with layers underneath seemingly showing oddities, his curiosity was growing.

“Why can’t I access your identity files,” he murmured. He took another swig of soda. “And what’s this file doing here.” As much as the safety protocols were easy, it seemed that there were other issues deeper that may not be so. It just raised the strangeness of the situation even more.

She was now laying on the diagnostic table. Well, more laid upright.. There were some adjustments he had to make to accommodate the woman, since the Mark series tends to be bigger and, well, not as soft. That alone made him worried if his hub was actually equipped to deal with a Gen 3. It took him a couple of minutes to clear the dirt from the port as well, something it appeared that someone else didn’t take the time to do. Once she was plugged in, though, his diagnostics lit up like downtown at New Years.

Still, he could only seem to connect to rudimentary programs, and in frustration he slapped at keyboard. “Guess I’ll have to wait until you wake up, then we can go at this together,” he said meaning to say it to noone in particular.

He turned to look at droid, taking another long swig of his soda. A clone body. Not just a clone, a woman. She was dirty, needed a good bath, but still a girl. She even looked around his age. Axel couldn’t remember the last time he got this close to a girl … well, maybe he did, but that time was okay because she wasn’t as drunk as she said she was, and it was only that once since she wouldn’t return his messages. This was different, she was lying right there next to him, warm flesh all - there, right next to him.

Axel shook his head, “It … It is next to me.”

He turned back to the diagnostic screen to see the last of the safety repairs finish. A loud, ‘Dong’ sounded from the speakers, and the interface port flashed from amber to red to green. She was going to go through a restart and then … who knows.

“Alright, let’s see what you can do.”

This time, there was no delay in starting her up. Her head raised up and....

She yawned. Like she had just woken from a long sleep. With her eyes still closed she stretched, her chest jutting out like most people do when waking from a deep sleep. As she extended her arms she almost bumped Axel in the face. As her body relaxed, she rubbed her eyes. Her movements were completely smooth, just like that of an actual human. She opened her eyes, her pupils reacted to the light. When she was finally 'awake' she looked like she was taking in her powder blue surroundings. She didn't recognize where she was. Nothing came up in her memory. The last thing she remembered was Trevor hooking her up to his computer.

Turning her head, she looked right at Axel. Right away she knew he was a human, but that was all she knew. The two of them just seemed to dumbly look at each other. The driod shifted slightly from where she sat on the table, she almost looked uncomfortable. Finally she spoke.

"Hello."

Not the normal driod greeting that was expected from older models. The Gen 3 was built to be as close to human as possible, but they were still machines. Just high tech appliances with pretty faces. The way she spoke though, almost sounded like she was shy, along with her body language, the way her fingers nervously played with the hem of the dirty shirt and the way her toes curled.

To her, she was feeling the human equivalent of nervous. She woke up in a strange place with a strang young man looking at her. Neither one of her users was there. Maybe they were in the next room? Looking around, she determined it was unlikely that anyone else was with them.

Axel stared wide-eyed at the … droid. Never had he seen one move so flawless. Yet when she locked eyes with him, he was caught up with a churn of different feelings. The purple of her eyes seemed a reminder of her unnatural origin, which did nothing but fuel Axel’s curiosity. So much of her rang true with humans; and as much with human women with a cord still attached to their data port. Still, girls never looked at Axel like that, or at least when they did he didn’t talk back to them. But this wasn’t a girl … this was a droid … wasn’t it?

When she spoke, he was really caught off guard. No command response, no authentication request. Just a greeting.

“H-hullo,” he responded instinctively.

He shook his head, remembering who he was talking to. Clearly he repeated the security access code, specific to him, and should make him identifiable to the Blackwood Corp registry - or at least it did with the Mark series.

“Access Alpha Xylophone Echo Lima Three One Six,” he stated, “unit identification and command code.”

He gave out his code which alerted the Driod that he was a Blackwood technician or at least he was employed by them, she hoped. He asked her for her until number and command code. Instantly she rattled off her unit number, and then the command code given to her by her primary user.

"Gardenia13"

Again she looked around the room. She wasn't back at the factory. She reached her hand to the back of her neck and felt that she was plugged in to what she assumed was his computer. She closed her eyes and used the plug to her advantage. Gardenia13 wasn't trying to steal information, she just wanted to know where she was. Being connected to his system she confirmed that she was not at the factory, she was at a service hub. Opening her eyes, she looked relieved. She wasn't going to be refurbished or disassembled. Trevor must have taken her here when she didn't turn back on from whatever it was he did to her.

"Excuse me," she asked politely. "Where is my primary user? Will he be back soon?" Like all driods they imprinted onto a primary user. Trevor was hers, and the program in her head was focused on getting back to him. Something didn't seem right with her internal clock. Her hardware was saying that it was December 2nd... She was last with Trevor on November 7th... Almost a month she was decommissioned. That couldn't be right, why would he let her be in such a state for so long?

"What is today's date? I think my clock is incorrect." She hadn't looked at herself just yet, completely unaware that for the past few weeks she had been in the trash.

“Whoa,” Axel laughed as he ran his hands through his scruffy red hair. He just couldn’t help to amaze how lifelike Gen 3s were. Sure, they used clone material but still.

“Primary user,” he repeated. “Incorrect clock?”

He spun back to his monitor. He could see that she was accessing data and brought up his file monitoring screen. “Whoa, you are fast.” He took shook his head, and shifted over to a dashboard.

He shrugged and started to bang out some items. “No primary user here. They can’t drop you off without a job request and a work order, so we should see where they are at … and …” Onto his screen nothing came up with respect to a work order for her access name. “Whoa,” was his only reaction. He banged out a few more items, but it lead to another dead end.

He turned back to her, taking a swig of his soda. “Well, Gardenia13, here is the situation. I don’t know where you primary user is. I was .. erm … distracted and you were offline here in the hub.” He pulled out a pen light to do a little more of a physical examination. He lifted her hair up and checked again her data port, which seemed to be working away. “The correct date is December 2nd, 2097. What variation does that give you?” He flashed the light over her purple eyes, watching as they dilated yet still gave hints to the circuitry hidden behind them. “You have a lot of dirt and debris covering your exterior. Some of it found it’s way into your access panel.” He put the pen light into his pocket and reached for the hem of the white shirt. “You will need a wash and this covering is non-standard issue …”

He stop speaking at that moment when he raised her shirt. Innocently, he lifted it just to validate any physical damage; but lifting it lost it’s innocence quickly. Underneath, she was naked, completely, and every bit of her was as much like a woman as could be. Maybe he should have expected what she would look like without the shirt. Maybe he should have thought ahead what he may see. Instead, he just reacted with wide opened eyes.

“Whoa.”

Gardenia13 watched the screen as Axel tried to find a work order for her. Trevor was the kind of person to just drop her off and expect that someone like Axel would just work on her without going through proper protocol. Maybe that's what happened.

Quietly she allowed Axel to continue his examination. While he checked her eyes and data port, he told her the date. "I've been offline for four weeks..." She said dejectedly as she was mulling that information over. She was looking at her hands and legs as he mentioned how dirty she was. Trevor wouldn't have kept her around and let her get like this. He was a very neat man. Slowly the pieces were coming together. He had thrown her out like a piece of every day trash. Axel kept talking, but she wasn't listening anymore.

As soon as she felt him lift up her shirt, she raised up her arms to allow him to fully pull off the tattered shirt. Now she was sitting on the table completely naked. At first Gardenia13 had no problem with him examining her, until she realized that he stopped what he was doing. Turning her head to him, she saw that he was staring at her body. The way he was looking at her made her feel uncomfortable. She covered herself with her arms. Both over her breasts and then adjusted her legs to block his view of her lower region, which was completely hair free. Everywhere but her head and eyebrows was just smooth skin.

"If I give you his name, could you look him up in the Blackwood owner registry?" She asked him hopefully. Maybe if Trevor knew she was fixed he would take her back home.

Dry mouthed, feeling his blood begin to pump, Axel amazed at the utter perfection of the smooth skinned droid that laid in front of him. Her breasts were perfectly curved, small but supple seemingly shaped to form easily in a hand. The smooth turn of her sides and torso to her hips just gave a gentle flare of femininity. Even the soft lines drawing down to the rounded lips gave every indication of the perfection of womanhood. Maybe Axel didn’t know what to expect when he removed her clothing, maybe he assumed like any other droid she would be more masculine. If anything maybe he expected Gen3 to be non-anatomical. This Gen3 .. She … she was very anatomical.

When she began to cover herself up, he blushed slightly, reacting to his own lack of modesty. He turned quickly back to his tool bin and put the pen light back, slightly embarrassed.

But that’s when it hit him. She was being shy. She’s a droid. IT is a droid. It is exhibiting human emotions, and subtle ones at that.

But it is still a droid.

"If I give you his name, could you look him up in the Blackwood owner registry?"

“Oh, ummm, yeah,” he replied. “I can look that up. What’s his name?”

If it is still a droid, then he still has a job to do.

“In the meantime, let’s make sure you are in good working order to be as good as new when you go back to him. Gardenia13, run a physical diagnostic for any damage.” He turned himself back to her body, He tried to be a professional, but with her nudity just out of sight he struggled. “Umm … Gardenia13, do not cover yourself when I have you unclothed.” Swallowing hard, trying to concentrate, and trying to maintain eye contact he moved closer with his palm stretched out. “I will need to examine you for sensitive areas.” With that he placed his palm onto her stomach, and felt the warmth of her flesh radiate into his fingers.

"Trevor Hensley." The son of Jonathan Hensley who was a heavy stock holder in the Blackwood cooperation. It was no surprise that the Hensley would have a Gen 3, they were meant to be a luxury item for the elite. Trevor was studying at college and was expected to follow in his father's foot steps and work for the company in developing AIs. Trevor was also notorious for being a bit of a cold hearted bastard.

“In the meantime, let’s make sure you are in good working order to be as good as new when you go back to him. Gardenia13, run a physical diagnostic for any damage.”

Gardenia13 smiled, her eyes shining when he said she was going home. Just as instructed, her programming started to self scan for damages. There were some minor exterior scraps that could be easily repaired, but everything internal was fine and working properly now.

"Only minor cosmetic damage detected."

When he addressed her she looked right at him and let her arms down. Underneath the dirt her skin was very fair, even her aureolas were a light pink. She adjusted herself so that she laid down on the table, her head turned since she was still plugged in. Her sensors could feel the warmth of his hand on her skin. When he moved his fingers over her abdomen, it tickled for a moment which caused her to flinch and giggle but she soon got use to his touch. It was very different from how Trevor touched her.

As Axel continued to examin her, his system was recording her sensory reaction. It was obvious that someone spent a great amount of time to make sure that she could feel almost exactly the same as any human. Touch, temperature, pleasure and pain... It was all there in detail.

For the most part, Gardenia13 was quiet, but as Axel added more pressure or stimulation, her body was reacting as any normal human body would. Her face started to flush, and she softly sighed a pleasure started to build. She pressed her legs together and blushed bright red as she could feel herself getting sexually aroused there.

Where he first put his hand became the first chink in Axel’s armor. He skin was warm, much warmer than when he placed her onto the table. Warmer than his own skin. He felt the slight twitch of muscles under his touch. When she giggled, her voice rang in his ear like light bells. As his hand remained there on her stomach, he could feel the ripple of flesh and the warmth grow, gaining further and further comfort with his touch.

“Trevor Hensley,” he repeated, a slight wobble in his voice. “I’ll … I’ll look him up … in just a minute.”

His hand slid higher on her torso until it reached the underside of her breast. He looked up to her eyes, which seemed to be watching him. They were wide, but unafraid.

“Only minor cosmetic damage,” he repeated again.

Axel swallowed, and went for it. His hand scooped around the firm orb proving his original assessment that it was perfectly formed to fit. As he felt her breast he could feel the nipple rising up to rub into his palm. It was firm. It was supple. It was warm. It felt perfect.

His eyes caught the change in her skin just above her breasts. Reddening, like a blush. Not like any droid he had ever seen, she was blushing from the touch. He looked down the rest of her body, the way she turned and moved her legs. Her reaction was anticipation, desire.

Arousal?

There would be a way to know. Not just flesh changing color, or the reaction of body movements. That could be programmed. If she were made capable to … to … Well, there would be a way to know.

“I … I am going to … verify your functionality, Gardenia13.”

That was the only excuse he could think of for this next step, the one he felt he had to try.

Keeping his hand cupping her breast, he moved his other to her thigh. His fingers slipped slowly between them, feeling the pressure they placed on each other other in needful movements. Slowly, anxiously, he slid that hand up her thigh, until he was on the verge of touching her most intimate.

“Open up for me, Gardenia13.”

Gardenia13 was analyzing Axel as well. She could feel his heart rate through his touch against her skin, when she breathed, the filters in her lungs could pick up the pheromones his body was giving off, letting her know that he was aroused to a degree (he might not be aware of it) but his body language told her that he was genuinely curious about her and he seemed to be studying her reactions. Gardenia had to keep reminding herself that he was a technician, his intentions where different from that of her primary users when he touched her intimate places.

Trevor's touch never felt like this before. Axel was gentle and careful. The warm and smooth feeling of his palm as he kneaded her breasts made her arch her back slightly, craving more. Her legs kept tightly closed and then her body tensed when she felt his other hand touching her thigh.

“Open up for me, Gardenia13.”

His words made her shudder an anticipation. He just wanted to see... She trembled a bit as her legs parted a little at first, and then as he got closer to her gentians region, her legs opened fully. A stronger shudder ran through her as she held back a moan. It was just an exam of sorts... But why did he need to check her THERE?

"Mr. Baniti, why didn't you ask me in what way I am functional?" She asked, curiously as she cooed softly to his touch. "You don't work on many Gen3s, do you?" She smiled, her voice was soft and breathy as she continued.

"Since our bodies are mostly organic, we function as normally as any human would. Our minds are mechanical, how we feel or preceive senses are different. A Gen3 could procreate. To prevent that we are all made sterile; however a female Gen3s could be a surrogate mother if that is something the primary users would need. That would probably be a lot of paperwork to complete and depend on if they plan on keeping the Driod after the birth."

Briefly Gardenia13 wondered what it would be like having something growing inside her. Do women feel the child? How does that work? Her questions that run through her head was cut short when she asked her next question.

"Is your examination complete?"

Nikita Urel once got so pissed at her ex-boyfriend for screwing some girl at a party that she just grabbed a random guy and banged him right in the hot tub. Her athletic and firm body pressed back into the guy as she rode him splashing water and foam up around them making it clear what was happening under the surface. That's how Axel lost his virginity. Once in college, one of those engineering colleges where there are 10 guys for every girl, Axel got his hand into the panties of an evironmental engineering student he was tutoring in mechanics. She wasn't the most attractive but something was in the air in their dorm room. They kissed, they made out, he pushed his luck. He can still remember the way her curvy figure twisted and bent trying to reach his probing finger until she finally pushed him away without touching him at all.. The next day she called to say she was in love with another girl. When he was a kid, the neighbor girl played house with Axel a couple times; but that was so long ago he vaguely remembers what she looks like.

It was sorted and unreliable, but that was Axel’s extent of comparable experience.

Gardenia13 made no resistance once she executed his command to open up. He had first raised his hand along her inner thigh until his pointer finger measles up against her sex. He turned his hand, the Palm resting on the firm downward slope, his fingers touching her labia. Never had he though a woman's none could feel so smooth, like silk almost. She irradiated heat like a furnace of desire. Finally, when his middle finger slid between her folds there was moisture. If there was doubt in his head of this human like quality, it was now erased.

"Mr. Baniti, why didn't you ask me in what way I am functional?""You don't work on many Gen3s, do you?"

Dry mouthed he replied with a shake of the head. “Only the Mark series, Gardenia13. I have only heard stories of your model.”

His middle finger slid into her opening, finding it warmer and wetter inside. Her subtle movements and squirming egged him forward to begin soft entries into sex.

Her words were not lost to him. She spoke of sexual functionality. The ability to procreate. She could surrogate a child. She spoke as if it was an added feature to the Gen3 - but he couldn't feel that way about her. Her body, firm and smooth; her arousal so easy to build; her command structure so simple to make her conform -- she wasn't just functional in that way; she was made for sex.

It was then he realized that she had no hymen. Even a clone would, he thought, if she was untouched. Her users. Axel though, it was their right to do what they want. She was theirs to use her functionality … Not his … Wasn't it?

"Is your examination complete?"

His eyes shot to find hers. She was blushing, her chest rising heavily, but seeing her watch him
Made him self-conscious. Did an examination just turn into him molesting her? It felt wrong.

Axel cough, quickly pulled his hands away from her, turned to his monitor. He bent slightly to hide what was growing proof of his own arousal.

“Y-yes,” he studded. “Examination complete.” With shaking fingers he typed a few things into the command screen. “Trevor … Hensley … Going to search now.”

As the search began he looked down to his hand, noticed the middle finger of one still glistened with modifier. Unable to control himself he did the two things he always wanted to do … He raised his finger close to his face.

Her witnesses smelled musky and alluring.
And it tasted sweet.

Axel confirmed that he was done his exam. Once he moved back to his computer Gardenia13 sat up, her long white hair draped down her back. She retrieved the dirty shirt to cover herself once more and smoothed it down. Slowly she felt her body start to calm down from his stimulation. He never answered her question, which Trevor seemed to do a lot, but he normally ignored her, Axel seemed to avoid it. Pressing the question would be illogical as the exam was over. Looking down at herself, she realized that what she was wearing would not due. She doubted that Axel had any clothing for her to wear, but maybe they could at least clean the shirt while she bathed. What there even a shower here?

Quietly she watched as Axel searched for her user. If Axel didn't have a work order for her he wasn't required to service her, but he did. Mark 8... That was the model he said he usually worked with. As Axel pulled up Trevor's information, Gardenia13 was silently registering Axel as her primary technician. Doing this would alert his higher ups that he not only serviced her, but they would quickly recognize that the service hub he was working out of would need upgrades if he was going to be working on Gen3s. Even if he didn't work with them a lot, having updated equipment would even help him with the older driods.

Once she completed registration, which normally would require the primary user to confirm, Gardenia13 looked up to the screen. There was her primary user's information. Trevor Hensley, senior at the local prestigious college and top of his class. There was even a picture of him that came up, since he was also interning at Blackwood. There was a striking resemblance between him and Gardenia13. They both shared the white blonde hair, violet eyes, and pale skin. He was much taller than her though, but that couldn't be indicated from the headshot.

Gardenia13's lips turn up in to a bright smile. "That's him!" Then she paused, "It might be a little late to call him though. He takes evening classes until really late. He will most likely be tired and... cranky. I would not suggest trying to reach him now."

So what would they do? She supposed she could just powerdown into sleep mode here and then wait for Trevor in the morning. There was also her current condition.

"You don't happen to have a shower here, do you?"

Axel was surprised. Her primary user was nothing more than a kid. Well, not a kid kid, but only a few year younger than Axel. Regardless of how available Blackwood products were to the public these days, Gen3s were undoubtedly very expensive. So, for a kid to own one was crazy.

What drew his eyes away from the screen was her exclamation upon seeing his face. Axel turned away from the screen and sank a little. She was excited to see his face, happy that Trevor was found. It bothered Axel to see her like that … about him. The way she seemed to beam, the way she brightened up, the way she talked a little faster.

No girl ever looked like that when they saw Axel.

Though her words hung on him. The way she paused and mentioned Trevor to be ‘cranky’. And why would a kid allow her to fall in the state she was in.

Once again, it was her words that brought him back. "You don't happen to have a shower here, do you?"

Pointing to a cabinet along the wall, he started, “The droid wash is just over …” he stopped just as he began remembering what it was. “I forgot, you’re flesh. That is for the silicon based skins. It will tear you to shreds.”

He looked around the room for a short time, considered his options then shrugged. “I guess you can come back to my place, it’s just across the street. i’ve got a bath and shower there. It’s not much but … but I guess it’s something until we can get you home. I can wash your shirt there if you are attached to it, or could find something that fits you there. I mean, I guess I should find you pants or something, that surely get a little breezy with nothing down … there.” He felt awkward all of a sudden, offering to bring the droid back to his place and then seeming to remind himself that her nude genitals were just out of sight below her shirt.

“I just need to close up the Hub, it will just take a few minutes. If that is okay with you, I guess. Just until morning.”

Gardenia13 accepted his offer and waited for him to close up shop. Once it was time to leave, she grasped his hand and waited for him to lead the way. Once they were outside though, she found herself shivering. It was cold out but despite the cold, her eyes were locked onto the Christmas decorations that lined the street. Gardenia knew about holidays, but she never saw the lights before.

Thankfully the walk wasn't long, the cold ground stung at her feet, but soon they were within an apartment complex. She had never been outside of her home before. Seeing the street and the inside of different buildings... It wasn't strange because she had knowledge of these things she was seeing, it was just that she was seeing them for the first time.

"Do you like being a driod technician?" She asked him. They had been silent on the way over, and so she was attempting small talk.

Axel was in a mad dash around his small apartment, and almost missed her question. His place was what one could expect for a young, fresh out of college, robotics engineer. The loft was mostly a single room containing his bed, kitchenette (with dirty take-out cartons filling the sink), a small desk with four displays linked into a single massive computer, and a broken down couch sitting in front of a very large holographic imaging display hooked to a number of gaming consoles. Every piece of furniture had at least one article of wrinkled clothing tossed over it, with the majority of the dirty items thrown onto the single bed. Where there wasn’t dirty clothes, there were empty soda bottles making up for the spaces. The only interior door led to a bathroom with toilet, sink, and tub/shower - the door was propped open with towels that had seen better days. The loft clearly had not seen a cleaning, or a female would would be worth cleaning for, in many months.

Axel just tried to grab random shirts, pants, socks, and underwears to throw them into a corner, letting loose an apology here and there as he tried his best. The fact he was trying to not embarrass himself in front of a droid still yet to sink in.

That is, until her question sank in.

“Umm,” he mumble, now try to think of what he could find to have her wear, “Yeah, it’s interesting sometimes being a technician. I’ve always wanted to be a designer, you know, but … well .. you know, you gotta start somewhere. You can’t just be born into the Blackwood Corporate group.”

He found a t-shirt, too small for him, but should work. It was from an ill-fated ad campaign, that got pulled quickly, but is still laughed about. The shirt simply states:
Rumor is, they still use them during wet-t-shirt competitions out west.

There was a pair of flip-flops he kept around, while she seemed okay in barefeet keeping them off the pavement would probably be more comfortable. He found a pair of shorts that had a drawstring on them, which at least would allow her to not be so … naked.

“I’m sorry I don’t have anything for women to wear, I kinda don’t have stuff like that … that is, I don’t have any women staying here … ever.” His voice dropped off realizing how pathetic it sounded. He ran his hands through his hair and pointed to the door. “T-there is a shower, and a tub in there, if you want to clean up. Do you eat? Like human food? I don’t have much, but I think I have pizza.”

Gardenia held up the shirt and shorts, examining them. It wasn't what she normally wore, however these were suitable. "Thank you," She smiled to him and started to turn to the bathroom when he asked her if she ate food. The mention of food made her realize that she hadn't eaten in a month... well thankfully being turned off stopped the need for that.

"Yes, but normally Gen3's are just given a special meal supplement, however I can consume normal food." The supplements had basically no taste, and before she had been junked, she had no opinion on the taste of it. She was very curious about eating regular food.

The small droid entered the tiny bathroom. His place was very small considering her owner's home was a manor with multiple floors. Actually it was Trevor's father's home. Without closing the door, she pulled off the dirty shirt, standing completely naked. She hadn't really thought to close the door. Axel did already see her naked once.

Turning on the shower she was surprised by the warm water that touched her skin... she only ever took cold showers... She determined that she liked the feeling of the warm liquid on her hand. Stepping completely inside, she closed her eyes and let the water rain down on her head and run over her body. This was different, for sure.

And so was Axel. Trevor didn't really pay much attention to her... not until he wanted to play with her. Axel was very gentle with her and made her body feel weird but in a good way. Getting curious, her hands went over her body, just the way Axel had touched her.

Touching herself didn't give the same sensations, but she was arousing herself! When she grasped her breasts, her nipples became hard and then she could feel the slippery wetness from between her legs when her fingers rubbed between her pussy lips.

Gardenia13 couldn't help it, a moan slipped out while she was in the shower.

The first time he passed by the bathroom door, it was by accident. Still trying to collect the empty bottles of soda and clear off the bed, he stepped by the doorway just in time to see Gardenia from behind as she was entering the shower. Of course he had seen her naked already, but that was from the front. Now, from behind, he saw the rest of her body. The curve of her bottom - small, firm, but still shaped - seemed just as alluring as the rest of her.

He blushed as he looked away, still feeling the human instincts to give someone their privacy. So he grabbed a few more bottles, threw it into a bag, and returned to where they were piling up in his kitchenette. Grabbing a slice of pizza from his refrigerator, he slipped it into a duplicator/toaster and let the device rumbled as it started to create some stale and greasy twins to last night’s take-out. Replicating leftover pizza is probably more dangerous than fighting a shark, but it beats ordinginer some more trying to explain to Killjoy the Pizza Delivery Dude why he has company over.

Axel realized, that she would want to sleep somewhere, and the bed still had dirty bits all over it. That gave him the chance to pass by the door a second time; accident or not. She had turned to face the shower and through the clear curtain he could see her nude profile. She was letting the water cascade over her body, the steam rising around her, and the warmth envelope the room. From this angle, Axel could drink in her shape, over each curve, each line. She was small, she was fascinating.

She was perfect.

A light ring of the toaster brought him back to consciousness. The pizza, in all of it’s potential lousey, was ready. He scraped the clothes to the floor off the bed, and ran back to the oven trying to not let what lie in that shower pull him back to the Gen3 fantasy. He grabbed the pizza from the oven, tried to arrange them on disposable plates as if they were still eatable, and dug around trying to find paper towels or something to soak up an ever growing amount of grease. Of course he had soda too, sugar laden and maximized for caffeine, but no glasses so she would have be on her own.

The dinner maybe ready, but Gardenia13 was still in the shower. There probably wasn’t a rush, but it wouldn’t hurt to let her know that it was ready.

That was the excuse he needed for the third time he approached the open door.

This time, Axel stopped right at the doorframe, and kept himself slightly hidden. Slowly, he looked around the door jam, and what he first saw was so surprising he didn’t believe it at first. One hand was curled around her breast, sliding over it enticingly. Her other was down the front of her body, pressing into the junction where just a short time before he was exploring her ‘responsiveness’. Through the steam he could see that her mouth was slightly open, her body shifting as if it was igniting pleasure. His human instinct suggested he shouldn’t be watching this, but his analytical mind dominated based on the realization: She was not just capable of pleasure, she was capable of pleasuring herself - and would do so on her own desire.

That is when she moaned.

That is when he moaned, in response.

Regardless if his mind thought of her as a robot or a human - he knew he was caught.

Slightly dazed from the pleasure she was giving herself, Gardenia13 opened her violet eyes when she registered the second moan that wasn't her own. Her eyes saw Axel, standing somewhat hidden, but she could clearly see his eyes... And realized that he could clearly see her... Touching herself.

Silence hung in the air for what seemed like ages but was really only a few seconds, as the water from the shower continued to dowse her body. Her face was increasingly turning red before she finally thought to wrap her arms around her full chest and sharply turn from his eyes. This was a poor decision for the droid, because she lost her footing and tumbled out of the shower.

Her head hit a small cabinet. Now she was on the floor, holding her head as she whimpered in pain and still embarrassed from being caught touching herself. Her eyes were closed tightly now, the throbbing pain made her feel fuzzy.

Axel jumped to Gardenia13’s side within moments of her hitting the floor. He slid one arm under her head, letting it rest off the floor.

“You alright,” he fretted. “It’s okay, I am sure it’s okay.”

He brushed a little of her wet hair off her forehead looking for any cut or bruise or bump. “Where does it hurt? Does it hurt?”

The soft whimpers and look of pain was agony to him. In the moment, she seemed so helpless, a long far cry from what he had witnessed no more than seconds ago. Holding her there on the floor of the bathroom he slowly became aware of her naked body, warm from the heat of the shower, up against him; his own clothes getting wet from the shower water on her flesh.

He kept stroking the hair near where he was sure she it, gently touching her. “I don’t see any blood, it’s just a little bump,” he said more confidently, more comforting. “Here, I show you. Access Alpha Xylophone Echo Lima Three One Six - cranial scan, damage assessment.” He gave his command code, sure that when she did her software driven analysis that it would come back with no permanent damage. Sure that she would, but still hopeful as well.

Of course the scan came back with more damage to report, but that didn't stop her sensors from telling her it hurt. Gardenia13 wrapped her arms tightly around Axel as she pressed her face into his chest, whimpering softly from the pain that was slowly starting to subside. Her wet body was pressed tightly up against his and she could feel how warm he was.

If she had hurt herself like this, the last thing Trevor would have done was try to comfort her. Axel was genuinely concerned that she was either hurt or damaged. Trevor wouldn't have even batted an eye... if anything he was normally inflicting the pain, which before Axel had woken her up was more of a simulation. At that moment she realized that she never experienced her sensory software working the way it had been. Before she could mimic pain and please or at least recognize when the body was experiencing either of these things... now she could truly feel it... or at least she knew it was different. What happened to her when Trevor hooked her up to his computer?

Even when the pain stopped, Gardenia13 didn't want to move. She just stayed there with her head on Axel's chest.

Naturally, Axel held the girl as she dissolved into tears. He gave her soft gentle strokes across her back as he held her unquestioningly into his chest. He could feel her calm, feel the tension in her relax, like one who lets the pain subside.

He didn’t to let her go, however. The feeling of her warm body against him felt comforting, but intimate. It was rare he had any close contact with anyone, let alone it being a woman. Even then, it wasn’t as close, as gentle. Holding her was like filling a void in his life that he didn’t know was open.

As seconds moved to minutes, he couldn’t help but to become curious. She hadn’t answered her diagnostics request, yet she didn’t seem hurt beyond self-repair. Maybe it was the human instinct that drove her to crawl up into his arms when he held her, but if she really did start to relax when the pain subsided her programming should have reverted her to something else. As much as Blackwood programs emotion into their units, they are still fundamentally servants. They act only on their own needs from a basic operational level. Yes this was nice for, but how would a droid know this was good for him - if anything, it would be more pleasurable to her. That reminded him of what we was seeing before her fall. The pleasure.

“Gardenia13. Is your programming … different?” He didn’t know what he was asking, and he worried he would offend her, but the curiosity just ate at him.

With his arm still holding her to his chest, his other arm slid down to the gentle curve of her bottom. It happened … it just happened. In a way, it was just to hold her better, but he liked the feel of her curves in his arms.

“”You’re not like the other Gen3s, or any of the Blackwoods … are you. You’re special.”