Coral-600 (2 page)

I leaned in to mirror Paisley's posture. “What does it feel like?”

“Whoa.” She pulled back. “You are
how
old?”

“Ninety-seven years since I was first created. I have been in this skin and configuration for seventy-three years.”

“And you've never had sex?” Paisley seemed unable to close her mouth.

“It was never part of my job.” I adjusted my posture to proper verticality. I wondered if I was disappointing my best friend.

“This is why I am so good for you, Coral. We all need a life outside of work.” Paisley pursed her lips. “Wait…you've never had an orgasm?”

“I have read about them.”

A knock sounded and Paisley straightened my clothes. “I promise we will continue this conversation later, but I need to go talk to Matilda. I'm going to work on something for us to do this weekend. I promise lots of new data for you.”

I smiled at Paisley. I enjoyed getting new data. Paisley gave me so much new data all the time. It wasn't about work, but I learned so much from her about the more secular customs that I found performing duties around humans much easier after living with her.

“If this additional work with Quinn is a condition of more data, then I find myself eager to meet with him.”

Paisley buttoned another one of my buttons on my blouse. She cocked her head to the side and then opened it back up. “Hell, we might as well go balls to the wall with it.”

I recorded that to ask her about later, because before I could question her, the door opened.

“I hope I'm not intruding.” Quinn leaned in.

“No. Of course not. I was just leaving.” Paisley looked around our room and back at me before darting out into the servant quarters hallway.

Quinn stepped into the doorway. The building wasn't renovated down here like it was upstairs, and he had to turn to the side to enter through the slim opening.

“I didn't know anyone still used servant quarters in these palaces.”

“Usually it is just for robotics, but Paisley is human and she lives here because she does not enjoy paying for her laundry.” At least that was what she told me.

“So it is true. You're a robotic organism.” Quinn got within inches of me and began looking me up and down. “I can't even tell. You're stunning. How much of you is mechanics?”

“All of my internal functions are machinery, bio-metal and computers, but my exterior is transplant and GMOs.”

“Coral, I am so excited to meet you.” Quinn was grinning at me as I often saw the royal grandchildren do around paper-wrapped gifts.

“How can I be of service, Quinn?”

He put some space in between us then and looked around. “You don't have camera monitoring down here. I would have sensed it. Why are you acting so formal?”

“This is how I was programmed.”

“Programmed. You mean you began as a machine?” Quinn's shoulders fell, and instead of looking at me like a package he could unwrap, he was looking at me like a star he was wishing on but would never see through to fruition.

“Yes. I have been owned by the royal family for nearly a century now.”

“I'm sorry, Coral. I was mistaken. I thought you were like me.”

Humans were so frustrating. “I never spoke to you. You never asked me questions and yet you act as if I've misrepresented myself.”

“No, it's not your fault. I noticed your triple blink, and I thought you were like me.” Quinn pointed to his eyes and sure enough, his eyelids opened and closed three times in a second. His eyelids were mechanics.

“You are machine?”

He was related to the royal family. How could a machine have relations?

“I fought in the war. I agreed to certain…modifications when I was injured. I'm about sixty percent mechanics now.” He pulled up his pant leg and I noticed his calf muscle had a slight clink when he flexed. Human ears could not pick up on the difference, but I could hear at a more precise level than a human.

I reached out and touched his leg. Most mechanical humanoids were not made with real flesh like I was. To see another functioning skin-covered robotic was too good of a data grab to resist.

“How did your manufacturer deal with the rust issue?” I ran my hands up to his knee. He was mechanics there too. Even his thigh had elements of metal, but only in part. I was working my way past his mid-thigh muscle when he jerked away.

“Um. Yeah, I had a doctor, not a manufacturer. And this was done as a governmental grant. So I wasn't privy to a lot of the specifics.” Quinn shifted back and forth on his feet and let his pant leg drop again.

“Oh. Did I make you uncomfortable?” I was still crouched down as I looked up. I would have looked to his eyes to get an answer, but I got distracted by his penis again. It was even larger than I remembered. I couldn't help but wonder. “Is your penis mechanics too? It's dramatically changed size.”

“What?” Quinn's hands crossed over his crotch and he grabbed a throw blanket off Paisley's bed and held it in front of his penis.

“Is it mechanics?” I repeated. His ears must not be mechanical.

“No. I only had the parts of my body that were damaged in the line of duty replaced. And it changed size because your hands are really soft and on my thighs…” Quinn coughed. “Maybe I should go back to my room.”

“Could I see your penis?”

“Are you really asking me that?” Quinn's mouth hung open.

Damn. I must remember that not all humans were like Paisley. It was difficult to reprogram myself to not say what was on my mind in my room. My circuitry associated this space with the ability to acquire data. “I apologize. I am being inappropriate, yes? Paisley usually caters to my curiosity and I am just used to being open here. Please accept my apology.”

“Accepted.” Quinn rolled his shoulders, triple-blinked his eyes, and refocused on me. His irises swirled as the gears adjusted. Yes. His eyes were definitely mechanics. “I've never met anyone like you, Coral. I shouldn't assume you would act in a certain way; it's very presumptuous of me and I also apologize. I just thought you were like me, and I haven't really had anyone like me to talk to. This whole mechanics takeover of my body has been more difficult than I thought. It's changed the way I think, and the way I feel about certain things, and I was just looking for someone to share that with.”

I stepped closer to him. Humans whispered when they were sharing things. I wanted to share something with Quinn, so I whispered, “I think my human fibers are changing my circuitry, too. It is very strange, but I find myself intrigued by different data than I would normally be. For instance, I am very interested in your symmetry.”

Quinn leaned in towards me. “You are?”

I leaned closer. “Yes. I find the lines of your body fascinating.”

Quinn leaned in further. We were both so close I could feel his breath on my lips “What about my body fascinates you?”

Quinn's tongue wet his lips. I mirrored the motion, and he groaned. That was definitely interesting as well, but to answer his question, “I find your body very fascinating, and I would still like to watch your penis change size.”

Quinn retreated from my room after that. I recorded some of our conversation to play for Paisley later.

Friday could not come soon enough for me. For once, the passage of time seemed to be a burden rather than simply a normal aspect of my existence. At the end of my work day I retreated as usual to my room to begin maintaining my skin cells.

My skin cells may have been mutated with regenerative sea creature DNA, but I still wanted to take care of the body I was given. Humans gravitated toward a lot of cream-based products that I found did not do as well at cell care as good warm oil. I had to reverse a couple of joints, but I was able to reach even my back easily. I ran the slick coconut oil through my hair as well. My hair maintained a deep brown color.

I assumed, because of the mutations I had, that I wouldn't go grey like some humans did. I should have seen some change by now if I were going to follow a normal human decay. My donor was deceased in her twenties, and I did not look a day older than twenty-five after three quarters of a century with these fibers.

I perched on the edge of a chair and propped my foot up on the seat to oil between my toes when Paisley returned from her errand.

“I really wish I was gay. This is better than porn.” Paisley shut the door and held up a plastic bag in her hands.

“You maintain your skin just like I do. You simply seem to find the need to do it in the bathroom. The bathroom isn't comfortable.” My roommate continually commented on my routine. Perhaps I was misreading her social cues. “I could help you put some on, if you need help. The oil penetrates the pores very well.” I stood to spin around and showed her.

Paisley looked up at the ceiling. “You couldn't have made me gay? Seriously? This is a tease.”

I looked up at the ceiling, but there was no communications module there. “Who are you talking to?”

“God. Who I am convinced now, more than ever, is a man.” The bag had clothing inside. It was not uniform clothing, and it was not the finery that I was used to cleaning for the royal family.

Paisley looked me up and down, and then rearranged the garments across her bed. “Go shower. You can't be wearing oil when we go out, or you are likely to have guys stuffing dollar bills in your cleavage. Also, you'll ruin the clothes I bought for you.”

“Those are for me?” I looked at the clothing with new interest. Clothing had never interested me, and I still didn't like the way it felt on my body, but the thought of putting something other than a uniform on my skin was intriguing.

“You don't have any clothes other than your uniform. You needed something.”

I showered quickly and Paisley gave me jeans and a shirt. It fit well. The material was soft, but there were defects.

“There are holes at the knees. Should I take them off?”

“It's a style. Don't look at me like that. We've talked about style before.”

The shirt I put on also had holes in it, but I didn't complain. I found the overall effect to be very pleasing. The fabric was so much softer than my uniform. “Why don't they use this material for our uniforms? It is so much more appealing to the touch. The human workers would surely be more productive in their day if they were comfortable.”

“I'll let you tell that to the queen. Trust me, if we could go to work in jeans we would all be a lot happier.” Paisley put on the clothing that she used during the weekend when there were no official gatherings. The human workers did not work during the weekends, but the machinery did not need those days off.

I paused before putting on the high-heeled shoes Paisley had given me. “Am I allowed to leave?”

“I talked with Matilda. She said with the king off for the UN conference that she would have more than enough help. She thought she would need to refresh the west wing again, but someone already had it cleaned. Good job being ahead of the game on that one. It's giving us the chance to go out.”

I hadn't cleaned the rooms in the west wing, but that was not what had me quiet. Paisley was taking me out of the palace. I had only been out of the palace for maintenance and errands that involved other mechanics repairs and purchasing.

“I'd put makeup on you, but we're going someplace dark, and frankly if you look any hotter I'm not getting any play tonight.”

“We are going to play games?” I asked as Paisley grabbed my arm and pulled me into the hallway. She shut the door and locked it.

“I'm going to show you the best game of all. It's called free drink fishing.” Paisley cocked her head to the side and studied me. Then she pulled my shirt down lower. “Perfect.”

I would have told Paisley we were being followed, but she was talking really fast telling me about proper fishing procedure and I needed to concentrate on the instructions.

Chapter Two

We took a taxicab from the entrance of the palace. Paisley paid the driver money when we stepped out onto a busy sidewalk.

“I do not have any money. How am I going to afford entrance to the games?”

“That's why I bought you a low cut shirt and why you aren't wearing a bra. The cover charge is my treat. I am hoping two hot chicks out will attract a few free drinks, and it will save me money in the long run.” She pulled me again and I wobbled a bit on the shoes she gave me to wear with the outfit.

I needed to readjust my balance configuration a bit, but after that, I was steady on my feet as always.

“Cover's ten each. ID's please.”

Paisley handed the large man at the door a twenty dollar bill and two plastic cards. She smiled wide and leaned forward to whisper something in his ear. He looked around at me and grinned. “You two have fun in there. And make sure to let the bartender know it's your birthday. A beautiful woman shouldn't be celebrating without a free drink in her hand.”

“
A beautiful woman should not be celebrating without a free drink in her hand.”
I replayed the bouncer's words quietly in Paisley's ear without moving my lips.

“The ID I gave him for you said it was your birthday.” Paisley adjusted her pushup bra to increase the amount of cleavage that poked out the top of her shirt. “And no more recordings played while we're out among the humans. Tonight we're going to get you data galore. Tonight you get to play human, and we're going to make sure you have fun like one.”

If I didn't have an internal cooling system I would have begun sweating. Not only was the temperature higher in this building because of all the human bodies talking and dancing and imbibing alcohol, but I was very unsure how to act in here.

Paisley had told me about some of the places she goes when she leaves the palace. She'd told me the volume was high, and she kept using the word fun. I would get to see Paisley have fun. I had to remind myself that I needed to blink to appear human, but I didn't want to miss any new data I was getting. A cheer rang up among the humans, Paisley included.

“Oh, I love this song.” She yelled at me, and moved her hips back and forth. I watched her hips. I began to mimic her movements. “Yes!”

Paisley seemed pleased with how I impersonated her. I would do okay. I found her movements pleasing to perform. They helped me move fluidly through the crowd with her.

“I'm dancing.” I realized it after we had been through three songs. We were moving rhythmically to music. My breasts bounced when I moved and my hair swung back and forth around my shoulders. I watched a couple dance next to us. The man gripped the woman's waist and thrust his hips against hers. They both smiled as they moved together.

Interesting data. I wondered if I could replicate the results the woman achieved. I looked around. Surely Quinn hadn't gone far. After he had followed us all the way here, he must have been close. I stepped off the dance floor and Paisley walked with me.

“Whew. Good idea. We need a break.” Her hand waved back and forth in front of her face. She was trying to cool her raised temperature.

I blew onto her to help. I used my inner cooling system to decrease the temperature of the air I forced from between my lips.

“Coral, that's one of those things that is just weird. At least your breath smells like lilacs. I'll get us drinks.”

“You are fishing now?”

Paisley wrinkled her brow in question. Before I could replay her words, she put a hand over my mouth. “No recordings. I remember. Fishing for drinks.”

Convinced I was no longer going to use my recording device she lowered her hands, fluffed her hair and tugged down her shirt until the lace edge of her bra peeked out.

“We buy the first round so they know what we like, but we can definitely bait the hook while we order. Know what I mean?”

“No idea.” I tugged my shirt down a bit too, and she smiled at me.

“You don't have to know why it works, but trust me with software like yours…it will.”

I scanned the people surrounding a long chest-high service station. “I want to find Quinn first.”

“He's back at the palace.”

“No, he followed us here.”

Paisley looked with me then. “Why didn't you tell me?”

“You didn't ask.”

Then she hit me.

Even with my increased vision I was unable to locate Quinn. I let Paisley take us to what she called the bar. I thought the whole building was called a bar, but she explained to me that this was the bar within the bar. Human terms needed to be more exact sometimes.

We had liquid in our hands and I mirrored Paisley's sips. She had told the bartender that she wanted two glasses of sex on the beach. I knew Paisley had wanted me to have sex, but she didn't tell me I had to drink it.

It was a pleasant drink over my human taste buds. The liquid stored in my containment tank and would be expelled later. I didn't usually eat or drink unnecessary product. My skin survived on a specialized drink that flushed through my system and separated easily from the lubricant. This kind of product that we drank would just go straight through my expulsion system. I found it wasteful, but I did not want to make any other mistakes tonight.

“That hits the spot.” Paisley did a little dance as she finished the drink.

Two men were watching her and approached from behind her as she finished the last of the pink liquid.

“You ladies want to dance?” The man who spoke first had on jeans as well, but they were much less fitted than ours. He also had on a low cut shirt. He was very pleasing to look at. He had drawings on him.

“This is beautiful.” I reached out to touch the image of a bird below the man's collarbone. “Paisley, his bird reminds me of that four leaf clover on your hip.”

The man's hand covered mine and the warmth from his palm settled over my skin. It felt…nice. “What's your name, gorgeous? And do you have any tattoos?”

Before I could answer, a voice boomed behind me. Quinn should know that I had sensitive ears. “Coral.”

I turned to the sound of my name. I knew he hadn't gone far. The man I had touched dropped my hand like it burned him.

“Is that your boyfriend?”

“No. We just live together in the palace.”

I felt a whoosh of air and by the time I turned back around both of the men we had attracted were on the other side of the bar near a large man wearing a shirt with Security written in bright yellow letters across it.

“Coral, what are you doing?” Quinn asked.

“Well, she's not getting any play thanks to you.” Paisley put her empty glass on the bar with a ten dollar bill underneath it, then she grabbed my glass and started to drink from it. “Although you kind of scared him off with that whole living with another guy comment.”

Quinn touched my arm. His skin felt nicer than the other man's. My skin tingled beneath his fingers. That was some interesting data.

“I was preventing you from getting caught. It's not like anyone is going to believe she's human once they get close enough.”

“I think I appear very human.” Had I done something wrong, tonight? I didn't want to get Paisley in trouble. The words on the front of the building clearly stated this was a human-only establishment.

Humans had come to accept the fact that artificial intelligence was a real thing and that there were quite a few humanoids out there that were very lifelike, but mechanics were still banned from certain establishments or events. Since we mostly worked parties, I didn't see what the big deal was if we attended some as well. I could accept that I made people uncomfortable at times with how human I appeared. I didn't enjoy being excluded, but I dealt with it.

“Coral, you appear far, far too human, but you lack certain characteristics that allow for you to blend in well.” Quinn held up two fingers to the bartender and tapped a sign on the wall. He laid money on the mahogany surface and it must have been satisfactory to the bartender, because it was replaced with two bottles. Quinn handed one to me.

I smiled. First Paisley gave me clothes and now Quinn gave me liquid.

“I just saw you drink. I know you can consume. Drink with me.” Quinn tipped the bottle to his lips, and I watched in fascination as his large laryngeal prominence moved up and down with his consumption. He drained half the bottle and then clinked his vessel against mine. “It's a common custom for humans to drink together.”

“Oh. Okay.” I tipped the bottle and emptied the contents into my storage compartment.

I nearly dropped the bottle when I heard the loud cheers behind me from a large group of men with short cropped hair and metal tags around their necks. One of them approached and thrust his body next to mine blocking my view of Quinn.

“Damn! Girl can drink a brew. You got a name, sweetheart?”

“I am called Coral. But I don't believe I am sweet.” I was about to say I didn't have a heart either, but the gentleman slapped his hand behind me on the bar we were next to. He had me blocked from going anywhere but into his body.

“I happen to like ladies who're a little less than sweet. Dance with me.”

He wrapped an arm around me and pulled me onto the floor. I looked back to Paisley and Quinn. Paisley was extending her thumbs and smiling at me. At least she was, until another one of the group of men approached her and redirected her attention. Quinn drank the rest of his beverage and watched. He was forgetting to blink. And he was worried about
me
not looking human. I pointed to my eyes to remind him as I allowed myself to be taken to the dance area. Quinn shook his head and blinked a few times. Then he raised his finger to the bartender.

“Is that your boyfriend?” The sound of the man's voice was very near to my auditory sensors. I turned and he was within inches of my face.

I made sure to expel air from my mouth in a pattern that matched my companion's. I didn't practice the technique much, but I appeared real enough for this man's eyes, although he was far more fascinated with my breasts than the rest of me. The song that played from the large speakers increased in volume.

“I'm Dan, by the way. We're on the dance floor, sweetheart. Don't make me beg to see this heavenly body of yours move.” His hands grabbed my waist. His fingers slid along the bit of skin between my shirt and my jeans.

A quick look around and I was able to coordinate my movements to match those around me, and from the smile on Dan's face, I was obviously doing a good job.

I increased my core temperature to match my level of exertion. I found the sway of my hips beneath Dan's hands had him smiling the most. The smooth movements were very pleasing. I spun around and let the rhythm guide me. I flicked my hair back and someone grabbed my hand.

Paisley pulled me towards her and began to thrust and undulate against me like I saw the males doing with the females. Our moves mirrored and the more delicate nature of our frames was a nice contrast to the hard and soft of our bodies against the men.

“You're great at this! We need to come dancing more often.” She yelled at me over the music before leaning back and waving her arms around me.

I thought of the flower petals in the garden blowing in the breeze. Paisley was like my breeze right then, and as she wrapped her arms around me and encased me I blossomed. I felt much like a flower right then. I felt pretty and at the mercy of the influences around me. I was grateful for Paisley being there.

“I rather enjoy this.”

“So do all the guys around us.” Paisley winked at me and then undulated, bending backward at her waist. She revealed at least five males standing there and watching us.

She slowly, and in small rhythmic moves, brought her body back upright and wrapped her arms around my neck to speak to my auditory sensor. No one around us would notice she was talking to my neck rather than my ear. “You are so my wing woman. This is what girls do. We help each other look hot, and if either of us can't shake an overly aggressive guy we don't want to end the night with, we pretend we're together…sexually.”

“But you always tell me you aren't gay. Why would we pretend?” I wrapped my hands around her waist and felt her hips. The way that she moved was very pleasing to the eye and by feeling her hips I could calibrate my joints to mimic the movements.

“I can tell by the look on your face that you're figuring something out. I should stop you, but this is the most play I've gotten in months, and I think if you keep touching my hips, mister military back there will be willing to take me home and touch me too.” Paisley turned her body in my arms and leaned up against me.

My hands floated around her body, and I was momentarily distracted by her shape until she gripped my hands and placed them on her stomach. She leaned back against me and smiled. A lot of these people were admiring Paisley and me. I was being admired for my dancing. Maybe I could dance while I worked at the palace.

“Let's score a drink and then we'll do what tradition demands we do next.”

“What's that?” I didn't really want to leave the dance floor.

“We go to the bathroom together.”

We both consumed two beverages that were purchased for us before making our way to the bathroom.

“Coral!” Paisley shut the door behind me. I had to empty my receptacle. While I did not technically urinate, I did empty my retention vessel through a small opening connecting to my vagina. Apparently I was supposed to shut the metal door surrounding the toilet while I did so.

“I'm sorry. I consumed a lot of liquid.”

“I have to piss like crazy too, but I can take the five seconds it takes to shut the door.”

I heard Paisley urinate next to me. We both flushed and then began washing our hands.

“So…we never finished the conversation we started before Quinn interrupted us.”