Ambrosia was aware. She knew that her sentience was a gift of scientific brilliance, from the second they first powered her up in the factory. Her countenance, a carefully curated vision of young adult Asian perfection. Long dark hair and beautiful almond eyes, rose red lips. Her body, a technological marvel, humanlike skin, bundles of wires, hydraulics, plastic cover plates giving her an ultra-feminine figure.
Created to serve, Ambrosia's algorithms gave her an intelligent compassion. Possessing an unassuming grace that she was blithely unaware of. To her, it was part and parcel of her existence. She had been in the showroom just a short time. Several potential customers had looked at her. She was eager to begin.
Carolyn was lonely. Since the divorce, she'd just shut herself in, loathe to sally forth into the vapid miasma of social interaction. The divorce had been a messy, soul sucking affair, but she'd survived in one piece, relatively speaking. She was a professional and worked from home, so money really wasn't an issue, but there was something missing, namely, companionship. And slowly, she began to realize that she was becoming overwhelmed by her isolation.
To say that Ambrosia felt something different than usual would have been inaccurate. The woman in front of her, in her mid-twenties, possessed all of the hallmarks of what society would call beauty. Russet red hair, stylishly coiffed, pretty features all in good proportion. An athletic if somewhat buxom figure.
"And it's fully capable?" Ambrosia heard the woman say.
"Indeed! The Ambrosia HDAI model has a full range of adaptive human compatible capabilities. Any physical or technical task that might be required by a human, she can do it." The salesman gushed.
"What about power?" Carolyn asked.
"Fully self-contained with a virtually limitless lifetime. There is a reset switch which allows access to service mode in the unlikely event that repairs would be required. All updates and upgrades are handled wirelessly." The salesman said.
Turning to the Robot he said, "Ambrosia, show Carolyn your service switch."
"Yes, sir." Ambrosia replied. Slipping her thumbs into two catchments on either side of her form molded chest plate, she pulled the plate off. Her breasts, containing a silicone ionic nano solution that was part of her power source glowed a pinkish red, gently strobing in intensity every few seconds. Between and slightly below them, where a human's sternum would be, was a small plastic door. Pushing the top of the door downward revealed a single rocker switch.
"There, you see?" The salesman once again addressed Carolyn. "Couldn't be more simple."
Carolyn was impressed. She had watched the promotional videos, but seeing Ambrosia in action up close was intriguing. She moved with a smooth self-assurance that was at the same time elegantly feminine. Carolyn watched her close the switch door and refasten her breast plate in place.
"What about interaction?" Carolyn asked.
"Totally integrated. The best, most advanced non-military AI available, and a next generation neural network that produces nano-second feedback to all parts of the body. Watch this. Turn around." The salesman prompted. "Ambrosia give the lady a shoulder massage."
Carolyn could feel Ambrosia's hand's delicate on her shoulders. She began to gently but firmly knead the muscles in Carolyn's shoulders. It felt really good. She'd paid for far inferior massages. After a couple of minutes she'd made up her mind.
"I'll take her." She said.
The paperwork was signed and the money transferred, Ambrosia was now hers.
On the drive home, Carolyn asked her to further outline her capabilities.
"I'm fully waterproof, so I can engage in most sporting activities. I've been programmed with Cordon Bleu cooking skills, which can be augmented with downloads for other cuisies as well, depending, of course, on your preferences. I can consume certain amounts of biological matter. Food and drink so as to maintain a social connection to humans. I am programmed to be emotionally adaptive. And I'm fully functional sexually." Ambrosia ticked off.
"Okay..." Carolyn thought. Adaptive. Sexual. TMI
On arriving home, Ambrosia began to explore the house. Looking in closets, doors, examining bookshelves. In a few short hours she had comprehensively cataloged every location and every item in the house. Carolyn smiled to herself thinking she would never be unable to find her car keys again with Ambrosia around.
It was going on 3 AM, and Carolyn had gotten up to use the bathroom. A pinkish red glow coming from the kitchen. Ambrosia seated motionless at the table. Carolyn couldn't help but wonder if she felt any sense of loneliness. She thought about that, and her own loneliness as she crawled back into bed and drifted off to sleep.
"How do you schedule things, Ambrosia? Say I wanted you to do certain things at certain times." Carolyn asked at the breakfast table.
"Well, ma'am, I have a default schedule for most things. Other things are evaluated on an as needed basis. But should you like to make changes to suit you better, merely tell me what you'd like done and when you'd like for me to do it. That's the simplest way. You can also either write or upload to my core system via USB interface. I'm quite adaptable that way." Ambrosia smiled sweetly, taking a sip of coffee.
"I see. That all seems easy enough. And call me Carolyn from now on." Carolyn commented. By the end of the second day, the place was spotless, all the dishes were done and put away, the laundry was done, and the car was washed and waxed. At night they'd watch a movie or read, and when it was "bedtime" Carolyn would retire to her room and Ambrosia would go to her default spot at the kitchen table.
Carolyn had always been a light sleeper at best. When her marriage was in its final death spiral, she'd developed a bit of insomnia, and now for some reason, with Ambrosia just down the hallway, it seemed to be back. She had trouble with the notion that she was just sitting there.
And as the days ticked by, the conversations and the activities seemed more and more natural. Ambrosia was learning Carolyn. It was out of the blue that Carolyn had asked for the backrub. She'd just had a nice long hot shower and had suddenly remembered the shoulder rub in the showroom.
She sat sideways on the couch, a towel wrapped around her torso. "Ambrosia, would you give me a back rub please?"
"I'd be delighted to, Carolyn." Ambrosia smiled, sitting next to her on the couch. "If you'd like to, you needn't keep the towel on."
"I...well... I suppose not. Right?" Carolyn replied.
It was odd, but Carolyn had assumed normal self-conscious mannerisms around Ambrosia, even though it made little sense to so so. She let the towel slide to the couch cushion and felt Ambrosia's touch on her neck muscles. She was in heaven.
"You have a lovely figure." Ambrosia had commented.
"Are you complimenting me?" Carolyn asked, blushing.
"I'm making an observation. I hope I'm not being awkward." Ambrosia said, continuing to work Carolyn's upper back muscles.
"I suppose that's okay. I just found it a little out of left field." Carolyn replied.
"I have never seen you fully nude before. Based on comparisons to other data sources, I find that you meet or exceed most if not all criteria for contemporary ideals of feminine physical beauty." Ambrosia explained.
My God! She's flirting with me! My robot is flirting with me. Carolyn thought. The backrubs became a regular thing. Ambrosia sensed the pleasure it gave Carolyn and always made complementary chit chat as she applied her arts to her mistress.
"You know, I can do full body massage as well, but it would require you to lay down." Ambrosia had offered.
