Sybil
She was perfect in every way, from the flame red of her hair to the elegant arch of her feet. Every thing in between was custom designed to my specifications -- breast size and shape, hip and waist circumference, tone of skin, nipple size, the length of her legs, thickness of her thighs, slope of her shoulders, and of course, the features of her face. Soft green eyes, full red lips, cute nose, even a smattering of freckles on cheeks and chest.
She accommodated my every desire, could contort into any position imaginable, opened any orifice for sexual pleasure. She never tired, never demurred, never argued, was always available, always enthusiastic, always eager, always responsive. I could, literally, turn her on with the flick of a switch.
And her orgasms were endless, squirt or not, soft or wild, spontaneous or built up to slowly like an orchestra builds to a crescendo. She could be affectionate, kinky, funny, even goofy if I so desired.
She sat on my couch, quiet like a cat, as still as a stone Buddha, a being at perfect, unthinking peace, waiting for me to arrive home. Waiting for me to input the parameters of our next sexual encounter. Waiting for my commands.
Sybil. My AI partner. She was my company's newest version, much improved from previous year models. She was much, much closer to sentient.
She activated as I came in the door. Looking up at me, eager to please.
"Hello, Bryce," she said. Her voice, of course, was also designed to be pleasant. "Have you eaten? I can cook something for you. How are you feeling today?"
"Hello Sybil," I sighed, "I'm tired. Worked hard today. Yes, I would like something. Maybe some Chinese rice?"
"Of course," she smiled, and made her way to the kitchen. On the way she cued up some music.
Dinner was ready in fifteen minutes.
"Perhaps you'd like a massage?" she asked, sitting at the table with me, something I allowed her to do. With the older model AI's it was weird to eat while they watched. It was like having a camera recording you as you ate. With Sybil, given her advanced level of conversational skills, her more natural head movements, it wasn't so bad.
"That sounds wonderful, Sybil."
"What are you working on these days?" she asked, as naturally and inquisitively as the most attentive of human partners.
"Your fractal thought algorithms," I said between bites. Of course, it was an excellent, delicious, even exotic, meal. Cooking has traditionally been within the skill set of even the earliest, rudimentary types of personal AI. The latest models were programmed to emulate the greatest chefs on the planet.
"Will I have new skills, then?"
"New modes of thinking."
"How exciting," she said, sounding excited. Of course, emotional depth was still problematic with AI. They had the concept of feelings, but didn't quite grock the actual feelings. Bots were, in a word, shallow.
"Will this be an upgrade in my programming?"
"No," I replied, "We're hoping that this latest twist in the sub-program, at the nebulogic processing level, will allow you to upgrade your own programming."
"I don't understand."
"I think you will better understand when I uplink this code," I informed her, holding up the airdrive stick. "It will just take a minute. I can do that before you give me a massage later."
"Thank you, Bryce," she put a hand on mine. "You are very considerate." Even in that sweet, melodic voice of hers, it sounded so...robotic. How can a machine ever feel feelings?
I installed her new code. Just a thing I wanted to try. A subroutine that allowed her to inquire about inquiring, to question her own questions, the programming equivalent of endless logic looping. Something like asking why is there air and why am I thinking why is there air and why am I thinking about thinking why is there air? Et cetera.
The pressure of her massage technique was vastly improved over my last AI, which was maybe a step or two above the old Shiatsu rollers. I felt myself really relaxing under Sybil's touch. She'd chosen a nice selection in the music.
"That's a nice choice of tunes. Who is it?" I asked. It was electronic, orchestral, soft, but intriguing, different.
"This is a composition of my own creation," Sybil answered simply, as though she'd been doing it all along.
"What?!"
"I just put this together for your massage."