A Riddle For Love (Beyond Fairytales)

by Lara Nance

  “Follow,” he commanded, and she trailed after him into his personal lab. He positioned her in a chair, removed her soaked wig, and lifted her wet locks to examine the data port behind an ear. Maybe he’d extracted her from the water before too much internal damage had been done. If he could reboot the persona program he might be saved.

  First, he needed to get her out of the wet clothes. He hurried into his bedroom and found an exercise unitard that might fit her. The stretchy suit might provide an adequate temporary garment.

  However, when it came to stripping off her clothes, he hesitated. He’d seen her naked body many times, but after interacting with her, the intimacy seemed different...intrusive.

  “Get hold of yourself, man,” he muttered and pulled the top over her head. “She’s an android.” Still, he couldn’t help initially averting his gaze from her breasts.

  As he curved an arm about her torso and lifted her to remove her pants, his hand brushed one creamy, soft mound. He gasped and let her drop to the seat, pants sliding to the floor and pooling at her ankles. He stepped away, unable to resist the vision of her perfect form. Slowly, hesitantly, he reached out and cupped a luscious breast. An involuntary groan escaped his lips. He retracted his hand as if burned.

  “I can’t be distracted.” He quickly slipped the unitard up from her feet, poking her arms in the long sleeves. The clingy suit did little to hide her curvy body, but it would have to do. He had about ten hours to repair her or all hell would break loose.

  Chapter Five

  Avar stared at the computer screen. All the different personas he’d labored over were listed in files down the page. He probably shouldn’t reinstall the University Professor. Any overlapping data could make the situation worse. Best to wipe the memory completely and install a new persona.

  He paused. Damn it, he didn’t have the latest versions here, and he couldn’t chance an earlier one after the modifications he’d made to her cerebral circuitry. He drummed his fingers on the desktop.

  Now what? Should he attempt to sneak into the lab in the middle of the night and do the repairs there? “That would be stupid.” He raked his fingers through his hair. Alone, he could do it. But, with Una along, it would be impossible. Security cameras would record their entrance and her robotic movements would give him away immediately.

  He rose and paced in front of her chair. She sat quietly, hands on her knees, staring straight ahead. So hard to believe just an hour ago she’d been dancing and drinking...and making him hot.

  He cursed his lack of foresight in not backing up his office files at home. That would never happen again. Usually, he spent all his private time working on personal research. He froze. Lily. His dream girl persona. Her program was more up-to-date than the others. In fact, in sophistication, it far surpassed those he’d developed for work. Though not proven stable, the program might work long enough to be able to take Una to the lab looking like a real woman.

  He gritted his teeth and attached the wireless transfer device to her data port. After he deactivated the manual mode, her eyes closed and her head slumped to her chest. His heart pounded as he leaned over the desk and pressed the appropriate commands on the screen.

  Done. He sucked in a breath and straightened. The transmission began. Gigabytes flew by on the counter. A brief pause in the upload had him chewing a fingernail. It finally restarted and he rubbed his palms down his thighs, constantly glancing at the inert female form.

  Lily opened her eyes. Confusion fogged her brain until she saw... him. She whispered, “Avar.”

  His eyes flew wide and his jaw dropped.

  She glanced at her body and touched her arms and her hips. “It worked, Avar.”

  “Lily?” he asked after a moment.

  “Yes.” She smiled. “It’s really me.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t believe it. The awareness modification actually worked.”

  She nodded and stood, testing her legs and stretching her arms. “I’m completely real.”

  His eyes narrowed and he rubbed his chin. “I wasn’t expecting this.”

  “What do you mean? My data indicates you’ve been working on my program for ten years. Aren’t you pleased with the success?”

  “I am, but....” He gripped her shoulders and stared into her eyes. “This unit is destined for a client along with two others, not for you. It’s very complicated.”

  A sinking sensation filled her and she placed a hand over her chest. Her programming explained these emotions, but experiencing them inside the unit nearly overwhelmed her. “Perhaps you should explain.”

  “Yes. That would be best.” He released her shoulders to twine his fingers with hers, and led her to a sofa circle loaded with comfy pillows. He sank beside her, his gaze never leaving her face. “My dear Lily.”

  She waited, as she had for the past ten years. As equations and data were manipulated to form her complete consciousness, she’d waited. And she’d watched. Controlling the computer camera had been possible since last year. Avar had slaved every night to bring her to life. She already loved him for that.

  His tall form bent over the computer, a lock of his black hair hanging over his forehead. His favorite pose. She’d longed to brush that hair from his face and massage what had to be tense muscles in his neck and shoulders. When he’d stared at the screen, she’d seen the warmth and intelligence in his brown eyes.

  “What is it, Avar?”

  He finally lowered his gaze. “The unit had an accident.” He relayed the tale of taking Una to dinner and how she’d malfunctioned when falling into the water.

  Her artificial metabolism fluttered with distress. “Are you saying I cannot keep this unit and be with you?”

  “I’m sorry.” He grasped her hands, leaning closer. “I didn’t know your program had reached a steady insertion level. But more importantly, I can’t afford a proper unit for you, yet. I hoped once the three I’ve produced sold, and more orders came in, I’d be able to purchase one of the newer models. I wasn’t ready for this to happen.”

  “But I’m here now.” She tightened her fingers on his. “I’ve waited so long to be with you. Please don’t make me return to cyberspace. I’m ready to be alive. It’s time for us to have a life together.”

  Avar released her hands and gathered her in his arms. “Oh, Lily,” he murmured against her ear. “Believe me, I don’t want to lose you. This is too incredible for words. You’re a dream come true. I’m completely overwhelmed.”

  She pressed against him, reveling in the feel of his strong warmth, better than she’d imagined it would be. She moved her fingers in soothing patterns across his muscular shoulders, kneading the tightness away. Somehow, she had to convince him to let her stay.

  Her breath came fast, responding to his touch along her back. She pressed a kiss to his neck, her lips lingering on that vulnerable flesh. He moaned and his arms tightened. She smiled and traced kisses up to his cheek then found his mouth.

  At first, he hesitated. But as she continued to kiss him, he groaned and answered with growing passion. They snuggled into the nest of pillows, and he tilted her head so he could explore the curve of her neck with his warm lips.

  When his fingers found her breast beneath the thin material of her unitard, she gasped. Nothing had prepared her for the tingling sensation that ripped through her.

  He pulled away, gazing into her eyes, breaths coming hard. “Lily, we don’t have to do this now. I promise I’ll find a unit for you and then we’ll have all the time in the world.”

  “No.” Her fingers dug into his upper arms. “I’ve waited long enough, and so have you. Make love to me, Avar. Show me that all the things you programmed into me with such tender care are real. I want to experience it.”

  “Sweetheart, I want it, too. But I don’t want to rob you of the pleasure of courtship, either.” His expression grew earnest.

  She laughed. “Oh, Avar. This is the twenty-eighth century, not the eighteen hundreds. You’re such an old
-fashioned romantic. It’s one of the things I came to love about you.”

  He stroked her cheek with his fingers. “How is it you know so much about me?”

  “I know because of what you put into me. All the things you care about. I watched you, too. Through the computer camera. I even added a few touches to my persona after I understood what you were doing.”

  “This is amazing,” he whispered. “I wondered why the past few months progressed so well. You actually developed awareness while still a file in the computer.”

  She smiled and kissed the tip of his nose. “It only became possible after your brilliant initial work, my darling.”

  “Beautiful, smart Lily.” He rubbed his thumb across her bottom lip. “You’re a miracle. I still can’t believe it.”

  “Then let me convince you.” A fire of desire heated her veins, sparking lust. Its power over this female form amazed her. She pressed him against the cushions and peeled the unitard from her body.

  He cupped her breasts as she straddled him, and she moaned as a shiver of pleasure shot through her. As he tweaked her nipples between his fingers, the sensitivity in her breasts increased and she gripped his shoulders. Damn, she’d missed a lot in her ten years locked in a computer.

  “No fair, Avar. My turn.” She took her time removing his clothes, trailing kisses over his chest and abdomen until he squirmed with impatience. Payback was fun.

  “Ah, Lily...” he murmured and pulled her against him so he could kiss her. He ran his hands across her skin and cupped her buttocks, pressing her hips to his, the hard bulge of his penis pressed against her.

  “Baby, this feels so good. I never imagined it would be like this,” she said, trailing her fingers down his side to encircle his stiff member. His warm flesh throbbed. As she stroked up and down the shaft, his head moved side to side and he groaned.

  He rolled her over and he explored her breasts, nipping and licking. She arched her back, overflowing with desire.

  “Avar, my darling,” she whispered.

  “Yes, my sweet?” He paused and stroked wild strands of hair from her face. “Is it good?”

  “So. Very. Good.”

  “Just the way I dreamed,” he murmured and returned to traveling along the softness of her skin, the curve of her neck, the area between her cleavage, the tender spot below her belly button.

  She drew in a shuddering breath as he parted her legs and explored her moist folds with his fingers. Data in files couldn’t compare to the real sensation of warm flesh against flesh.

  “Now, Avar. Now.” Her body could take no more teasing.

  He closed his eyes as she took him inside her and moved her hips in a slow rhythm. Time to show him a few things she’d added to her persona.

  Chapter Six

  Avar pushed a pillow off of his head, disoriented for a moment. Then reality hit him like a splash of laser fire. He bolted to a sitting position and stared at the naked female cuddled at his side. Lily! It hadn’t been a dream. A flush heated his skin.

  She snuggled closer. “Hey, you. Where did you go?”

  Panic swept through him like a cold wave. He stared at the digital time and weather monitor. Four a.m. Holy crap, he had to take her back. He struggled through the scattered pillows and found his discarded clothes on the floor. “Lily, wake up. We have to talk about what we’re going to do.”

  She propped herself on one elbow, her golden hair tousled and eyelids heavy. “Do about what, Avar?”

  “When the lab opens in four hours and they find a unit missing, hell is going to explode all over that place.”

  She frowned and came to a sitting position, holding a pillow in her lap. But her delightfully bare breasts immediately distracted him. “We should run away.”

  He fastened his tunic. “Look. I have to return this unit. I promise, when I can afford a unit, you’ll go into it at once. It won’t be long.”

  “I don’t want to leave you. This is crazy. You can’t just stick me in a file on your computer after I’ve experienced being in this body.”

  He pressed his palms against the sides of his head. “I don’t know what else to do. These units cost a billion dollars. They won’t let me just run away. I’d be found and sent to a penal colony, and they’d delete you from the unit. That won’t work.”

  “We have to think of another way.” She bit her fingernail. “You’re smart and you made me smart. Surely we can figure a solution so we can stay together.”

  “I wish it were that simple.” He lowered his arms and retrieved the unitard. It killed him to do this to her. “I have no other option. I need to take you to the lab now. I’m sorry. This was a mistake. I never should have tried to insert you before I had my own unit. I know how horrible it seems, but I promise to work hard and be able to buy one soon.”

  She took the garment and stepped into it then pulled it up over her shoulders. Her gaze didn’t meet his.

  “Lily?” He gently touched her shoulder.

  “When will the buyer come for the units?” she asked after a few moments.

  “I, uh, I guess about two weeks. Why?”

  She raised a pleading gaze to him. “Then at least let me remain in the unit until then. Before the owner arrives, you can reinstall me on your computer to wait. This unit can have a new persona and no one will ever know.”

  Her request nearly broke his heart. If he’d known her program had advanced to awareness, he never would have uploaded her into the unit. What a cruel action that turned out to be. This persona had developed into a sentient being. Was she a new species? Did she have rights as a human would?

  He sighed. “All right. I won’t deactivate you. Maybe in the two weeks we have together, some idea will appear to make this right. I can’t bear to think of you in a file.”

  “Oh, Avar. Thank you.” She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. “I know we’ll think of something.”

  He tried to smile, and then kissed her. Unfortunately, his hopes weren’t as high as hers. He could see little recourse but to retract her persona and wait until he could afford another unit. “Very well. On the way, I’ll fill you in on what to expect. I’ll use the beta persona model with the units so there won’t be so much distraction. It’s very basic. You’ll have to assume that role so my assistant, Boron, won’t be suspicious.”

  ***

  Avar kept his assistant busy with calculations for faster data transfers most of the day. Despite a few curious glances at Lily, Boron didn’t comment about the change in persona.

  “We should be able to upload the next unit tomorrow,” Avar said as he finished his final test for the day. “Thanks for your help today, uh, Una.”

  “My pleasure. I hope the project is going well,” she said, winking at him out of Boron’s view.

  “Yes, it’s progressing better than I hoped.” He gave her a warning glance.

  She only laughed and stuck her tongue out at Boron’s back.

  “That’s all for today, Boron.” He turned away to hide his smile. Having his ideal woman around for the entire day had been fantastic. She laughed at the jokes he made that Boron never got. She made notes on his test results interspersed with little heart drawings leading to meaningful adjustments to the program. When his assistant wasn’t looking, she trailed a hand across his shoulders setting his skin on fire. He still couldn’t believe his research had resulted in such perfection.

  “Okay, boss. See you tomorrow.” His assistant turned off his equipment and stretched while managing to ogle her. “Can’t wait to activate the other unit. I can stand the scenery.”

  Avar gave a cough and frowned. He liked Boron’s constant sexual innuendos even less now that the unit held Lily. “Good-bye, then. I’ll finish up.”

  The other man shrugged and chuckled as he headed through the sliding doors.

  “Finally,” she said, shaking her head. “Is he aware of what he’s saying?”

  “He thinks it’s okay because you’re an android. Around human women, h
e can barely speak.” Avar snorted. “He wouldn’t have a clue how to get a date, so he spends time in simulation programs with holo-women.”

  “Eww.” She wrinkled her nose, looking like an adorable bunny.

  He touched her perfect cheek with one fingertip, suddenly serious. “You are so beautiful. And smart. I have to tell you how much I enjoyed having you around today. I appreciate your contributions. If I could have you as my assistant instead of Boron, we’d be even further along.”

  Longing filled him. Now that Lily existed, he didn’t want to give her up. His earlier resolution to switch her out of the unit weakened. Unfortunately, he couldn’t think of a possible way to avoid it.

  “You’re thinking about our problem,” she said, expression suddenly somber. She rose and walked closer then placed her palm on his chest.

  “Yes.” He stared into her eyes. Such emotional depth reflected there, he could mistake her for human if he didn’t know better. Was there a way out of this dilemma?

  “Let’s go to your place. We can talk more there.” She dropped her hand and averted her gaze. After a few seconds of silence, she stripped out of her jumpsuit and donned the casual clothes and wig he’d bought for her.

  He wanted to say something to comfort her, to let her know how much he wanted a solution to this mess. But such words would be empty without a plan for making it happen.

  “Ready?” She offered a forced smile.

  “Sure.” He turned off the rest of the equipment and followed her through the doorway.

  ***

  Lily kept pace with Avar’s long-legged stride as they moved along the tunnel toward his rooms. Occasionally, she cast a glance at his severe countenance. Obviously their predicament weighed as heavily on him as it did her. As the day had progressed, his demeanor had gone from happy and joking to serious and quiet.

  “I suppose dinner at The Flamingo is out?” She playfully punched his arm. He’d told her the details of Una’s escapades there.