Becoming the Perfect Wife

I felt like I was floating through the med center. It was a wonderful feedback loop of being programmed to be happy, and happy because I was programmed. I was halfway back to the transfer room before I realized the clicking noise was my high heels on the tile floor. My body didn't feel any strain or difference in balance.

When I opened the door, Dr. Ngoepe was in the transfer room... with my body on a tray pulled out from the pod installed against the wall. I didn't remember exiting the lower pod in my new body. I must have been in one testing mode or another with my personality and memory shut off.

It was definitely enough to clear my head and make me focus.

The doctor was removing my feeding tube, or at least the feeding tube for my human body. I was me, but that body was me too. My head was covered in a plastic shell with what seemed like hundreds of thin wires feeding back to the pod. I still had my hospital gown on, and a few wires were fed under it to monitor my vitals. I looked thinner. I looked older. I looked like I was still breathing.

And Dr. Ngoepe was smiling. Without the mask, goggles and hairnet, she looked stunning. But why would a gynoid look less than stunning?

"Hey there, UX-49a4." In my heels, and her in flats, I must have towered over her by 30 cm, but I didn't feel in control of the situation. I couldn't stop staring at my old body. I couldn't stop wondering if it was my 'real' body.

"Hi Doctor." I wasn't feeling verbally coherent at the moment.

"Please, you can call me UX-0118."

I couldn't tell if it was a joke. And that made me wonder if becoming a machine killed my sense of humor. No, I was just stressed. Or maybe I was missing some subtext that she thought of herself as a machine first and doctor second.

"Or you can call me Brittney."

Alright, the machine part just became less likely. "OK, Brittney."

"Feeling distracted?"

I nodded, "Why am I - my old body - still alive?"

"It's important to make sure the recipients of your donated organs are ready before we pull the plug. But they are now. Unless you're having second thoughts."

"You could undo this?" I didn't really want it undone, but I was having trouble with the situation.

The doctor snickered, "oh, not at all. Your biological brain is irreversibly damaged now. I meant if you were having second thoughts about being an organ donor. Maybe you wanted to hold a funeral with it." She pointed to me. The old me.

I shook my head 'no'.

"Do you want to do the honors? It's just the one button." She pointed to a switch on the pod.

I didn't know why she was torturing me like this. I was starting to feel like I wasn't myself anymore. That was Elizabeth Cochrane, and I was a machine purpose-built to replace her. I was a thing that inherited her identity. The part of me that wanted to be a perfect robot was delighted. The parts of me that wanted to be the perfect woman and wife wondered if it was possible to be those things if I was just a copy.

I was stuck, so I just kept staring at my old body. After letting me stew without a response, Dr. Ngoepe flipped the switch herself. The body didn't twitch. It just stopped breathing. My eyes darted over to the health monitor on the pod. Everything was flatlined.

"That was fast." I had a few living will cases early in my legal career. Usually the person could still go on a little while without the machines.

"Your brain stem is mush too. The probes were the only things sending electrical signals to your organs to tell them to work."

"So I'm dead."

"That is a philosophical question."

I couldn't stop myself from uttering, "No shit."

Brittney didn't look offended, "Do you know the Ship of Theseus Paradox?"

"Yeah, if you replace all the parts of a ship one by one, is it still the same ship?"

"Seems appropriate."

I mulled that over, "I assume you have an opinion."

UX-0118 started removing the vital sign sensors from the body. "We replace cells all the time. You only had a handful of cells that were there when you were born. Someone with a prosthetic limb isn't less of a person."

"The problem there is that we aren't being replaced by identical parts."

"Your biological cells weren't identical either."

I could appreciate a good technicality as much as the next litigator, but it was a bit of a stretch. "I was expecting a sharper dividing line between old me and new me."

"That would make it easier. But it wouldn't be much of a stress test for your psyche if this was an easy question."

I blinked and I stared down UX-0118. "This is just a test?"

"If you're going to have an existential crisis that breaks your brain, it's best to have it when your neurologist is in the room." She smiled at me. "But to answer the big question, I am exactly as much Brittney Ngoepe as I want to be." She pulled a sheet out of a cabinet and covered my old body. "Which is usually the amount my owners want me to be."

I was surprised enough about the casual admission that it took me a bit to notice the plural noun, "Owners?"

I didn't have time to look away before she tugged down the front of her scrub pants enough to show me the Sunny Valley Cybernetic Services logo printed just above her pussy. "I'm medical equipment." Her smile had turned into a huge grin. "The people who own the medical center own me. Not legally, but functionally."

I thought about being owned by more people than just James. Once again I felt the tension between wanting to be an object, and wanting to be the perfect woman. There was something appealing to being just an asset on a balance sheet.

UX-0118 pulled her pants back up. "It's why I wanted to meet with you instead of letting a nurse do it. I know what it's like to balance being a professional woman with being someone's property. I'm guessing your first meeting with your husband as your owner went well."

For the briefest moment, I was concerned that she knew what James had done to me. But thinking about the feeling of servicing him... I started grinning too. "It was one of the best moments of my life." It was instructive, how thinking about serving calmed me down so well and so quickly.

"And one of his too, I'll bet."

I was a little embarrassed. It was more about how I had acted before the transfer than how I acted after it. I just nodded in agreement.

Brittney took a card out of her front pocket and started writing on the back, "We have a little club for gynoids programmed like us. Nothing too formal, just a time to vent and brag." She set the card down on top of my old body.

I didn't know how I felt about it. Intellectually, it made me wonder how many robot women had been reprogrammed to be happy little toys. And as much as I complained about James behind his back before, doing so now seemed wrong. But a group of women who knew how to be perfect women, perfect wives, and perfect robots at the same time sounded like a great way to be a better gynoid for my owner.

"I'll have to ask my owner for permission." Even if it was the right thing to say, I felt my face flush. I hadn't asked for permission to do much of anything since I was 15.

"As a good robot should." Brittney took a few steps to the side. "But your owner is waiting."

Ah yes, the entire reason I came back to this room. My purse and street clothes were stashed here. I walked past the pods and bent down to put my thumb on the locker, but it unlocked before I made contact.

"RFID in my wrist?"

"Yup, right now it's just sending your chassis ID, but you can fiddle with your settings to make it do more."

"I guess my thumbprint is different now." I took a look at my thumb. There were still swirls of ridges there, but I couldn't tell just from looking if they were different from my human prints. That wasn't important right now.

I took my phone out of my purse and turned it on. A week's worth of notifications made it buzz to the point I just put it on top of the locker and ignored it. I looked over my shoulder to check if Brittney was going to give me some privacy as I undressed, then decided it was really dumb to care if a doctor saw me naked.

I kicked off the heels and slid my lingerie off. It was the first time I had really taken a moment to examine my body from inside it. Hot fucking damn. Every square inch of my skin was smooth and perfect. No moles, no ingrown hairs, no fat bulges, no tan lines, just smooth curves. I might have made a little purring sound as I let my fingertips move over my stomach and hips.

I adjusted the angle of my head to look at my bikini line. There was a white line along my groin that went over my hip. If I didn't know that it was the seam between the panel of skin covering my left leg and buttcheek and the panel around my torso, genitals and arms, I would have confused it for an old, curiously placed scar. There was a similar line on the other side to make it all symmetrical. I ran my finger over it and I could feel just the slightest rise to my skin at the join.

I smiled when I saw the serial number and manufacturer logo on my left hip. I had intended to hide it with a simple UV treatment, but now I wished it was in a more conspicuous place. Maybe not my forehead, but maybe on the inside of my forearm.

And while I was there, I had to take a moment to touch my new pussy. The outer labia were as smooth as the rest of me. I waxed myself before getting married, and it was never this smooth. No hair follicles had been installed.

Mmm, installed.

I had to spread the outer labia to see the inner. I saw my pink folds and my erect little clit just like I had designed them. But my first thought wasn't to masturbate and see how sensitive I was, it was how much James was going to enjoy sticking his dick inside me. And yes, my second thought was about how good my new pussy was going to feel, based on how amazing it had felt to give my owner a blowjob.

I smiled. James owned this pussy. These legs. These curves. I imagined my body with piercings and tattoos that he desired. Things that wouldn't be visible at work. Reminders I was his. My old body had no tattoos or piercings, but this wasn't an aesthetic desire. If only James had a logo he could stamp on me...

Brittney coughed to break me out of my daydream. "Trust me, I know the first few days after activation are intense, but we both have places to be." She smiled. It wasn't a judgment or an order, just a friendly reminder.

I nodded and pulled out the bag with the clothes I had bought for my new body. I felt a little embarrassed by my selection. The light tan-colored cotton bra and panty set was functional, but God was it boring. It wasn't like I needed something durable to hold up a big pair of breasts or keep a maxipad in place. It felt naughty, but I put them back in the bag.

I pulled out the taupe-colored Capri pants and sighed. I always dressed like I was going to run into a client. Or maybe I dressed like a middle-aged woman who didn't want to advertise how lumpy her body was. As fun as it would be to walk outside in just the gown from my activation, it wasn't really an option. I slid the pants on and then put on the dark blue top I had bought. I was a little pleased I had screwed up the length. There was an attractive centimeter or two of skin between my top and my belt. There were no sleeves, just two thin straps over my shoulders.

I couldn't decide if I was disappointed that the top was too loose and too dark to really see my nipples. I smiled at the thought of flashing my tits at James in public, so maybe it was nice that I could make it a bigger surprise.

I sat down to put the heels back on. I could go through my shoes later and decide what could be thrown out, but these were reasonably casual. I had felt like a genius for asking the manufacturer to keep my feet the exact same size, but at that moment I felt like I needed to purge every scrap of clothing the old me thought was 'nice'.

UX-0118 had been waiting patiently while I dressed, "Just a word of advice, don't buy too many clothes right away. You and your owner are going to go through a bit of trial and error about your new style. And there's always the possibility he'll decide your chassis needs tweaking. Let's just say I didn't start with these cantaloupes." She chuckled and groped one of her large breasts.

But I didn't feel inadequate. James didn't seem all that concerned about breast size when we were designing my body. He was mostly concerned about making sure I didn't look like Grace or Melody. And with my legs. But those looked great. Maybe he was concerned about irritating me before and would have new suggestions now.

I did feel bad about shutting down some of his other ideas. I should have agreed when he wanted inhuman channels for my pussy and ass. He was the one that was going to be using them, I was such a bitch to say 'no'. Who was really going to find out if my anus had undulating ridges?

I once again let myself imagine James modifying me. I thought of being awake, not feeling it as they cut into my skin and pulled away my original robot pussy. I imagined a technician letting me inspect the bumps and ridges inside my new cunt before sliding it between my legs and sealing me back up. And I imagined it all happening because my owner ordered it.

I didn't think I'd soak through the front of my Capris, but I willed myself to stop lubricating anyway. I could always turn it back on if James needed me to. I thought about what to do with the bottles of lube in my nightstand. Maybe I could fill myself up with them, or let James do it...

The realization of what I had done broke me out of the daydream. I had changed my own settings. I didn't need training, I just instinctually did it. It was programmed into me. I cycled through some options. I turned off simulated blood flow for a few seconds. I shut off my breathing, then realized it wasn't much different than holding my breath. I was enjoying the feeling, but a look at Brittney reminded me I shouldn't indulge myself too much just yet.

My purse and other stuff could stay in the overnight bag. I stood up and retrieved my phone. I tried to remember the last time I had gone a week without answering work emails. It was probably back before I was working. Add in school emails and... shit, was it elementary school? And all it took was being unconscious.

I checked for texts from Yves and Ida. Yves had sent me a courtesy 'let me know how you're doing when you're feeling up to talking' text, but there were no panicked 'call me immediately when you get this' messages. Nothing from James or my three girls, but Charlie had sent a 'Hi Mom' text three days ago, followed two days ago by a 'we can talk later' text. Technically I could set things up to receive calls and texts in my chassis, but it seemed even less like a worthwhile idea now than it did before my conversion.

I threw my phone in the bag. I spotted the card Brittney had left on my body and gingerly picked it up before slipping it into my pocket. I could almost forget I used to be inside the body under the sheet. The longer I was a machine - the more I enjoyed being a machine - the less stressed I got about the philosophical implications of everything.

Almost on cue, a nurse came in and asked if she could take away the body. Dr. Ngoepe nodded and there I went to be carved up as pieces and parts for other people. Or maybe just people. I was going to be rolling the question around in my mind for a while.

"Anything else before I'm dismissed, UX-0118? Do I need to be escorted out in a wheelchair?"

She smiled, "I think you'll be fine, UX-49a4. My number is on the card in case you have any questions or just need to talk."

I turned to the door, then turned back to the Doctor, "Thank you for your kindness and special attention to me. I'm sorry if I was a little rude earlier. I really do appreciate your work and the invitation to meet other women like us."

"It's my pleasure." Brittney walked forward to leave the room with me.

"And I know it's your programming, but thank you for reprogramming me. I can't imagine being happier with the personality I wanted - the one the old me wanted."

UX-0118 laughed, "That's even more my pleasure."

Leaving the medical center felt so anticlimactic. Despite everything that had happened inside, it was still a grey building sharing a large parking lot with more grey buildings. I lifted my face toward the clear sky and felt the heat on it. I smiled at the thought that after living here for over 30 years, I could stop worrying about sweating through my blouse or needing a shower at lunch. My internal temperature was on the high side, but not close to the red. I kept my face up and started thinking about things like fluid levels. It really made me feel like a machine to just 'know' what was happening in my body.

James honked the car horn to get my attention. I could have walked to the parking spot, but he was treating me like I had undergone major brain surgery or something like that. I could feel the difference in my posture as I went toward our reasonably-priced sedan. For maybe the first time in my life I was unequivocally happy with the way I looked, and I'm sure it showed.

I saw myself in the tinted passenger side window. It was the first time I had seen my new face. I mean, I had seen the simulations, I had seen it frozen in the transfer room, but I hadn't been near a mirror before. Even in a poor reflection, I was impressed by the job they had done on my newly-blue eyes.

But I didn't want to keep James waiting. As soon as I opened the door and saw him, I felt better. And I had already been feeling good. I wasn't self-conscious in the slightest about how much I was grinning when I sat next to him, set my bag at my feet, and shut the door.

If he hadn't started pulling away from the curb, I would have started making out with him right there.

"You look great, dear."

My heart soared. "I feel great." I couldn't take my eyes off him.

"Everything go alright with the doctor?"

I debated how much to tell him, "Clean bill of health, or all systems nominal, however you want to put it. She actually invited me to a little get-together with some of her friends."

"That's great. I'm sure the kids will be excited to see you."

"Did you plan something?"

"They're waiting for us at home."

I was initially disappointed that sex was off the menu in the near-term. But if my owner wanted it, and my kids wanted it, I could set my carnal needs aside.

"All of them?"

"Olive is calling in from New York, but the rest are here." Only James called our daughter Olivia 'Olive'.

"Do you mind if I check my face? I haven't had a chance to look in the mirror since I woke up."

"Oh really? Sure, take your time."

He probably had no idea how much 'take your time' meant to me. I flipped down the sun visor on the passenger side and took a better look at my face. I really did look like I belonged on a magazine cover. Maybe I wouldn't wear quite so much eye makeup at work, but the face itself was flawless, like it had never had a sunburn or a pimple. And I supposed it hadn't. I made a few faces at myself in the mirror, checking my stunningly white and straight teeth in the process. I couldn't help but hear James chuckle.

I turned to him, smiling, "I need to be sure this face can do more than suck cock."

He blushed. I never talked like that before. I found that I liked talking that way. From the side I couldn't quite tell if he liked it or not. If not, I'm sure he could warm up to it. He owned a cocksucking machine now, after all.

I turned my head to the side and saw the thin white seam along my jaw line and below my ear separating the skin of my neck and torso from the skin on my face. I lifted my head to see where the line continued, hidden by my chin. I felt behind my neck, and could just barely feel where the seam was at the bottom of my hairline, and the other seam traveling down my spine. That was the seam I saw when I first saw my chassis...