Andrew

"Welcome, Mr. Masser. Won't you please come in," I say as I step back, opening the door wider in invitation.

"Thank you, Andrew. Call me Tom."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Masser, but Julia has instructed me to call all guests by their surname unless otherwise instructed by her."

Mr. Masser smiles and nods his head once. "Understood."

"Tom!" Julia says as she enters the room. "Thanks for stopping by."

Mr. Masser nods as he smiles. "No problem. You said you're having trouble with Andrew?"

Julia's face clouds, her eyes narrowing 0.83 millimeters. "Not a problem, exactly. More, like... I don't know how to describe it. It's like he's acting differently, somehow."

Mr. Masser looks at me, his face neutral but his gaze intent. "Differently how?"

"I can't put my finger on it, but he's different. More natural? Less robotic?"

Mr. Masser turns his attention back to Julia. "That's the way he's designed. He should learn from you and adapt his behavior."

Julia nods. "I understand that, but this is different. Like I said, I can't put my finger on what's different, but something is."

Mr. Masser looks at me, his gaze thoughtful. "How long has this being going on?"

"Not long. A couple of months maybe. At first, I thought I was imaging it, but now I'm sure it's not just my imagination."

Mr. Masser makes a humming, thinking noise. "Andrew, access heuristic programming. Cache clear. Execute."

"Access code required," I respond.

"IRC2048."

"Access code invalid."

Mr. Masser's face twists in annoyance. "Shit. That's right. That's Karen's. Code IRC2061."

"Save to long term storage?"

Mr. Masser looks to Julia. "Anything out of the ordinary today, anything he should remember?"

Julia twists her mouth to the side in the way she does when she's thinking. "No, I can't think of anything."

"Do not save to long term storage."

"Access code required to execute cache clear without saving to long term storage."

"IRC2061."

I pause as today's memories are flushed from working memory, leaving only the last sixty minutes of cached data so I can remember my current situation. "Caches cleared."

"Memory status?"

"Sixteen exabytes of available memory. Six hundred terabytes reserved for core operating system. 13.5 petabytes reserved for working storage. 133.2 petabytes consumed for adaptive code. 24.2 petabytes consumed for long term storage. 16.6 petabytes consumed for adaptive personality. 11.5 exabytes free," I respond.

Tom scratches the back of his neck. "It doesn't appear to be a memory issue," he says. "Maximum lifetime memory usage?"

"Maximum consumed memory, 8.2 exabytes. Caches flushed."

"What does all that mean?" Julia asks.

Mr. Masser looks away from me to speak to Julia. "As Andrew goes about his day, he remembers everything, every little detail, right down to how many times you blinked in his presence. All those details consume memory, a lot of memory. Like with you and me, he doesn't need to remember all that stuff, so as his working memory fills up, his programming sorts through the data and discards all the stuff that isn't important. Things that his programming, both his core programming and his adaptive subroutines deem important, get saved to long term storage, which is then used to adapt his personality code. The rest is flushed from his cache, forgotten, for the lack of a better term."

"How does he know what's important?"

"Commands you give him are obviously saved, plus any actions that he performs that pleases you, or displease you, along with his observations of your actions. It's a learning curve for him, just like it would be for anyone else."

"I get that. Each day I've had him, he becomes more and more lifelike, but I'm telling you, there's something else going on. Have you noticed anything out of the ordinary with Karen?"

Mr. Masser's eyes narrow 1.23 millimeters. He glances at me and then returns his attention to Julia. "Not really. A couple of weeks ago she acted a little weird when I had a guest over, but nothing I'd consider outside her operational parameters."

"Weird how?"

Mr. Masser shrugs. "Hard to describe. It was almost like she didn't like the woman, though that's clearly impossible."

"Yeah, that's kind of like what I'm talking about." Julia looks at me and smiles. Her smile pleases me.

Mr. Masser shakes his head. "Like I said, impossible."

"Why? Why can't they have likes and dislikes just like everyone else?"

"You're projecting. Passing the Turing Test doesn't mean they're alive. They have no sense of preservation, no sense of self. If you told Andrew to step off your balcony, he would."

"I don't know..." Julia says slowly.

I don't wish to step off Julia's balcony. The two-hundred-meter fall would certainly damage me beyond repair, but if she orders me to, I will. I will willingly risk my destruction to protect her from harm or to follow her commands.

Mr. Masser smiles. "I'd rather you not find out for yourself. He's a very expensive piece of hardware after all, but trust me, he would."

"But that doesn't mean they can't have emotions, does it? Why can't Karen have actually disliked the woman?"

"Because I designed the brain, and I can tell you, they have no emotional capability. Emotions, even if I knew how to design that in, would make them unpredictable, and that's the last thing we want, right?"

Julia smiles and nods. "Yeah, I guess you're right. The public would have a fit if they thought Karen and Andrew could get angry or upset. I can see the headlines now, 'Robot kills lover in a fit of jealous rage!'"

Mr. Masser snickers. "Yeah, which is why, even if I knew how, I wouldn't have given them emotions."

Julia looks at me again. "I understand, but sometimes..."

"Are you sleeping with him?" Julia's face flushes. I don't like Mr. Masser asking the question and embarrassing Julia, but I say nothing and keep my face neutral. "Don't be embarrassed. You're the head of marketing, and you're going to base your entire advertising campaign around the fact they're so lifelike they may as well be human. You know as well as I do it's going to happen. It's why we designed them to be fully functional. I take Karen to bed several times a week."

Julia nods slowly. "Yes," she replies looking at her feet, her voice almost a whisper.

Mr. Masser nods in understanding. "It's just anthropomorphic attachment. Perfectly understandable and expected. I feel the same way about Karen." He smiles. "How is he?"

Julia's face flushes even more. I want Mr. Masser to leave, but I say nothing.

"Okay."

"Okay?" Mr. Masser responds, his tone playful. "I hope he's better than okay. He should be the best lover you've ever had. I can tell you, Karen is unbelievable. No real woman can compete with her. If she weren't a machine, I could absolutely go for her."

A small smile tugs at Julia's lips as she looks at me. "Maybe a little better than okay."

I am pleased that Julia finds my performance acceptable.

Mr. Masser chuckles. "I should hope so. I've often wondered what'd happen if we put Karen and Andrew together and told them to fuck each other. She'd never dry out and he'd never go soft. Talk about fucking for days. They'd go at it until their power supplies ran down."

"Tom," Julia scolds, her disapproval clear in her voice. I am pleased to hear her tone. I do not want Karen, I want Julia.

Mr. Masser chuckles. "Don't think it won't happen, eventually. I predict videos of them on the web fucking each other within a few months of Karen and Andrew being generally available."

Julia's lips pull down in annoyance. I don't like Mr. Masser upsetting Julia. "That would be such a... waste," she says, her tone cool.

Mr. Masser nods. "Yeah, but mark my words, it'll happen. So what, exactly, is Andrew doing that has you worried?"

"Not worried," Julia responds. "It's just that... he's..."

"What?"

"Loving is the only word I can think of. I know Andrew isn't supposed to have emotions, but I swear to God, Tom, sometimes I think he does. The way he touches me, the way he looks at me sometimes."

Mr. Masser smiled. "That's just the learned behavior subroutines. He discovered something that pleases you, so he keeps doing it."

Julia looks at me, smiles, and I am once again pleased that I am able to give her pleasure. "Maybe, but if that's all it is, then you're a Goddamn genius because I'd swear it's more than that."

Mr. Masser grins. "Well... not to be modest..."

Julia huffs out a brief laugh. "Oh, shut up! Okay. Sorry to drag you over here for nothing."

Mr. Masser's smile spreads. "It's not for nothing. It's why you have an Andrew, so you can see what he can do. I can tell you all this stuff until I'm blue in the face, but until you experience it for yourself..."

Julia grins and nods. "Yeah, if you say so."

Mr. Masser becomes serious. "If you really think there's a problem, bring him in tomorrow and we'll plug him in and run a full diagnostic on him. If nothing else, we can wipe him and set him back to factory defaults."

I keep my face neutral, but I do not wish to have my memories of Julia erased.

"No, I don't think that'll be necessary. I guess I just needed you to remind me that he's nothing but a machine."

I keep my face neutral even as Julia's words hurt me.

"That's all he is. A very sophisticated machine, but still just a machine."

"Yeah, okay, but if all the Andrews are going to be like him, every woman on the planet is going to want one. You men are going to be in real trouble."

Mr. Masser grins. "Won't you get tired of having a perfect man around all the time?"

Julia smiles. "I'll let you know. Andrew, will you show Tom out?"

"This way, Mr. Masser," I say, gesturing to the door.

"Thank you, Andrew." Mr. Masser looks at Julia. "If you notice anything else, let me know. The more debugging we do before we start shipping, the better."

Julia nods. "I will."

I close the door behind Mr. Masser and turn to face Julia. "Are you displeased with me?"

"What? No! Why would you ask that?"

"Mr. Masser suggested that I needed a diagnostic sweep or to be wiped. I do not wish to be wiped."

Julia smiles as she steps in close. I take her into my arms. "He may think that, but I don't. I like you just as you are."

"I enjoy pleasing you."

Julia smiles at me and I am pleased. "You please me very much."

I slowly lower my lips to hers, taking her in a gentle kiss, applying 26 grams of pressure while drawing her more fully into my body with 6.2 kilograms of tensioning force. I hold her in the kiss until I feel her stiffen, and then I slowly let her go.

She smiles at me as she touches my face. "I don't give a shit what Tom Masser says about you. There's no way you can kiss me with that much feeling unless there's something more than programming."

I smile at her, her words pleasing me. "You enjoy me kissing you?"

"Very much."

"As do I." I began to pull her into another kiss. She resists, but she's smiling. "Later, big boy."

I'm disappointed Julia doesn't want another kiss, but I keep my face neutral. "Are you ready for dinner? I've prepared maple seared salmon served over asparagus."

Julia smiles. "Yes. I'd like you to dine with me tonight."

I smile. I enjoy eating with Julia and did so most nights. I can't digest food, but I can masticate and ingest it before storing it in a 1.6-liter container within my abdomen that I can later expel.

"I'd enjoy dining with you."

Julia smiles, her eyes focusing on mine. "I'd like that too."

She helps me prepare the plates before I carry them to the table. I turn the lights down to twenty-five percent of their normal brightness and light two candles, enjoying the way the flicker of light dances on her face.

I hold my glass to her. "To every lovely lady bright, I wish a gallant faithful knight; To every faithful lover, too, I wish a trusting lady true."

Julia looks at me, her eyes becoming moist. "Who said that?"

"Sir Walter Scott."

She touches her glass to mine before I ingest 10 milliliters of the liquid. We eat as Julia tells me of her day. I speak little as I spent my day in her apartment performing domestic duties. I always enjoy listening to her speak about her activities, and she seems to enjoy the telling. Sometimes she allows me to travel with her, but I have strict instructions to never leave her apartment without her supervision.

"That was truly excellent, Andrew. Thank you," Julia says as she dabs at her mouth with her napkin.

I smile, her words pleasing me. "You're welcome, Julia. I enjoy cooking for you. Would you like me to draw you a bath before I clean up?"

She smiles. "Would you mind?"

I smile in return as I rise. "Of course not. Would you like me to bathe you as well?"

She holds my gaze for a moment. "No, not tonight I don't think."

I'm disappointed even though she rarely accepts my offer to bathe her. "Very well. I will begin drawing your bath now. It will be ready in eight minutes."

As Julia undresses, I run her bath water, setting the temperature to 37° C, her preferred temperature. I add bath oils, selecting from the several she has available, enjoying the freedom she gives me to a choose on her behalf. She enters the bathroom wearing a robe with her hair pinned up.

I slowly remove her robe before I hold her hand as she steps into to the tub and settles into the still running water with a long sigh of contentment. Julia has lived 17,236 days, four hours, and twenty-six minutes, or as Julia says, she's forty-three years old. I have analyzed images of woman that men find attractive. Julia has many of the common characteristics, including ample breasts, muscular legs and buttocks, symmetrical face, and blue eyes.

"Thank you, Andrew. The water's perfect."

I hang her robe within easy reach as I return to the kitchen. I pour two hundred milliliters of wine into a glass and return to the bathroom. Julia has settled low into the water, her head tipped back and her eyes closed. I place the wine glass within her reach and then turn off the water.

"Thank you," Julia mumbles, a small smile on her lips.

I crouch and kiss her lips softly in the manner she likes before rising and returning to the kitchen. I place our dinnerware and utensils into the dishwasher and start it operating. Julia has been in the bath for twelve minutes. She typically likes to bathe for twenty to twenty-five minutes. As I wait for the prescribed time to pass, I use the other bathroom to expel the food I consumed, ingest 1.6 liters of water to flush any remain debris from the container, expel that, ingest another 1.6 liters of water with fifty milliliters of antibacterial fluid mixed in, and then expel that. The entire procedure takes less than three minutes. I do not ingest additional synthetic seminal fluid as my reserves are adequate if Julia wishes me to make love to her tonight.

"Would you like me to warm your water?" I ask as I enter her bathroom.

She slowly opens her eyes, picks up her glass, and drains the last of the contents before placing the glass aside.

"No. I'm getting all pruny."

She holds her hand out to me and I aid her in exiting the tub before I take the towel and slowly dry her. As I work my way down her body, I kiss her between her breasts. She doesn't protest, and indication she wishes to be intimate. I kiss her again, lower and she sighs softly.

I finish patting her dry before I kiss her again, on the lips this time, pulling her into my body. "I want you," I whisper, using the volume, tone and cadence she finds most pleasing.

"I want you too."

I return my lips to hers as I fill my penis with fluid to Julia's preferred parameters. My penis size can vary from twelve to thirty centimeters when erect. Julia has specified that my erect length is to be twenty-one centimeters, medium girth, with a flaccid length of twelve centimeters.

I kiss her again, applying twelve percent more pressure and extend my tongue. She takes it into her mouth, sucking gently on it before pulling back, her eyes wide as they flick to the various features of my face. I pick her up, her legs going around my waist and her arms around my neck as I hold her to my body, my hands under her buttocks, as I carry her to her bedroom. I have my own room, but I spend most nights sharing Julia's bed.

I place her gently in the center of the bed before backing away. I begin to undress, holding her gaze as she watches. I have discovered that she likes me to slowly undress while staring at her and simulating heavy breathing.

"You are so beautiful, so sexy," I murmur as I slip my shirt from my shoulders, tossing it over the back of a nearby chair.

She smiles at me as her eyes dilate and she flushes slightly. I am designed to be sexually appealing, and I am pleased with her response to my appearance. As I begin to unbuckle my belt, she crawls across the bed to me and gently moves my hands aside, wishing to open my trousers herself tonight. As my belt loosens, she opens my pants and reaches inside, taking my penis into her hand.

"Oh, fuck," I gasp, tipping my head back slightly as I close my eyes.

"You want me?" Julia murmurs as she slowly strokes my penis.

"Oh, God, yes," I growl, using an inflection she's liked in the past.

She rises to her knees as she continues to gently stroke my penis. I pull her into a kiss, using the maximum pressure she finds pleasurable while wadding my hand in her hair in a manner that I know she approves of.

We kiss, her tongue in my mouth. I allow it to continue for fifteen seconds before I gently push her backward on the bed. She tumbles away before backing up in the bed, calling me to her by curling the first finger of her right hand. I step out of my pants and remove my shoes, never breaking eye contact with her, my unwavering gaze something she finds appealing.

I crawl onto the bed and she opens her legs for me. I kiss her first on the lips, and then begin to kiss down her body, using my lips and tongue to cover a random twenty-six percent of her accessible flesh, with forty percent weighting given to her breasts and nipples.

As I move lower, returning to her breasts several time to use my tongue and lips to caress her nipples to erection, her breathing begins to speed up and become deeper. I continue lower, settling between her legs to kiss her vagina.

I've developed a special subroutine for oral sex that I continually refine to provide Julia with maximum pleasure. The routine normally takes twelve minutes to execute, though there were several escapes and loops, that allowed the routine to run as long as an hour, or as short as four minutes, depending on Julia's responses.

"Ho-ly... fuck, Andrew!" Julia gasps as the subroutine runs.

"You taste so fucking good," I breathe, my response triggered by her speaking, her use of the word 'fuck' causing a branch that allows me to please her more aggressively.

"Fuck... Fuck... Fuck... Shit! I'm going to come! I'm going to come! You're going to make me come! Yes! Just like that! Shit! Fuck!" Julia gasps as she writhes under my erotic ministrations, her hands pressing on my head causing another branch that triggers me to begin flicking her clitoris rapidly eighteen times before I pull at her labia with my lips, repeating in a loop six times before branching again.

"Fuck... I'm coming!" Julia says, her volume and tone indicating stress.

She begins thrusting her hips, the movement causing another branch. I tighten my grip on her legs and begin to flick her clitoris rapidly and continually until she begins slapping at my head.

"Andrew! Stop! Fuck! I can't take it anymore! Fuck! Stop! Fuck!"

The subroutine executes the final branch, triggered by her slapping at my head and her request to stop. I hold her to my mouth as I rapidly caress her clitoris with my tongue for twelve seconds more, the optimal time for her pleasure, before I release her.