Doll and robot back up

    The Doll and the Gynoid
Part 1: The Doll

      An old dusty storage locker filled with boxes of old magazines, comics, furniture, and various boxes full of various old odds and ends that havn't seen the light of day, or the light of a light bulb for that matter in years. Stored here by a middle aged man decades ago when moving his father to a retirement home. Now the the old father has long since passed away, the middle aged man has himself grown old; but in all these years couldn't bring himself to get rid of his father's old things. This old man's grand kids however, the original owner of these things great grandchildren as it were; would rather not pay rent on a storage unit they don't need. A young man and a young woman, as well as three spindly robots that can switch from quadraped to biped to even a hexapod stance to lift, carry, and move packages and items around have disturbed the silent rest of these old items. Sorting them into three piles, recycle, donate, and sell. With only the occassional knick knack being set aside to take to their own residence. Among these boxes however, buried deep in the center of the storage locker, as if wanting to be kept as far from another storage unit as possible, and buried with as much ontop of it as could be accomplished is a wooden crate. The spindly robots pause around it, whirring oddly, the young man shines a light from his wrist phone, as bright as any old flashlight, down into it, seeing several smaller boxes, wrapped in cloth with odd things wrapped around them, like prayer papers on one, rosaries on another, and even chains with a padlock on one.

    They pry the crate open and take out the boxes, finding six in total, three very small boxes, two about a foot long tied together with chain and padlock back to back, and one nearly two feet long tied up with rope. On the the inside of the crate there is a note, "To whom it may concern, when I was a young man I had a fascination with the supernatural. Most the stuff I found was just superstitious junk; however in my life I did find six genuinly haunted items; which I don't dare sell or destroy. So following the advice of a white witch I have bound them and buried them."

   "Haunted items?" asks the woman.

   "Find the right buyer," says the guy and stuff like this sells pretty well, "be surprised how many people love stuff with a history, especially if someone claims its haunted."

   The woman pulls the ropes down off the larger box and opens it to find lying back in packing material a plastic doll modeled after older pale porceline Victorian dolls in style; but at this time even this would be an antique; wearing a white and silver dress, with long slightly curly blond hair. As she tilts the box the eyes slowly open, the eyelids fluttering strangely as if bothered by seeing light for the first time in ages.


    ******
  Part 2: The robot

    *Purchase confirmed. Delivery On way.

    The automated delivery trolley pulls up to the rather large house, an old Bed and Breakfast that was refitted into a proper home some decades ago, a few years back when Joseph moved in he had the house re-wired, new security system, and all he modern conviences, including a house keeping staff provided by the Andros corporation. Joseph himself is not as young as he once was and remembers back when robots were something only the insanely wealthy could have. To have a company rent out a staff of robots, including the green plastic boxes on wheels looking yard drones which can unfold into various shapes for their various yard care functions including as simple rounded torso and arm coverings robots. With their nearly featurless green plates for faces save for two round eyes that rotate around inside still metal sockets they are a tad creepy looking to Joseph. Inside there are a few drones that stay at charging bays that come out to vacuum, scrub floors, and scan for pests, mildew, mold, dust, and clean the floors. However there is one that Joseph likes more than all these others; Victoria the house keeper.

  Joseph knows that underneath that fleshy human woman exterior and fancy dress she is a hard bodied gynoid, that the "skin" as is much clothing to this machine as the red and black dress it is wearing. He got to choose the details of her apperance and garments; he has her unlike the house maintenence machines on the rent to own list. It functions as a house keeper able to safely manuver in a human environment, with their specialized apperance so the home owner can feel secure as they clean, look after the house, tap into and review security, as well as working as a "comfort companion" for the home owner. Although Joseph didn't elect any sexual companion options as those would have cost extra and unlike the Brothel Dolls down town Andros Home Companions are much more sophisticated, human like, and keep a memory of everything. Not to mention these security units have been used to bait and trap rapists and murderers before so the knowledge of just how strong they are playing in his mind when asked for this option made him a tad weary. Not the just the consent issue given what other work these units have and fears of that, but also just the fact that one small malfunction and it could crush his spine.

   Of course now, a few years later, he somewhat regrets that decision and laughs at his fears. However he does wander if that option was a trap, because at times he forgets Victoria isn't human and treats her like a real live in housekeeper, reminded she isn't human when she asked for specific details, is confused by emotional reasoning, or simply displays inhuman strength or takes off a body part to clean it. Lately though she has displayed unusual behavior, moving around the house at night when she should be in rest mode and tapped in the security cameras, or checking on him frequently. When he asked the company about this, they told him it is because they are at their core design Comfort Companions. They need either someone to snuggle with at night, or more units. Most people apparently take the sexual companion option, they even told him those used to take care of family's will *wink wink* be assigned to the couple that bought/rented them; that it has something resembling a libido as a result, something that made them desire this adding to the stimulation and pleasurable experience of the buyer. Joseph however somewhat skirted around the issue, and learned they basically have a reward system. The libido was intended as a two way street, they got a reward for their work and performance that also benefited the home owner. However in situations, usually elderly care givers, or those that otherwise can't provide this, acts such as gifts, a room of their own, toys, simple geastures like that, even another Comfort Companion, it need not be another humanoid, a dog, cat, even artificial fish can do the trick.

   Jospeh had asked a few more questions regarding this situation and came upon a brilliant solution. He is a doll collector, he has a display case of old creepy dolls and toys. Its one reason he had specificed the manner of apperance and dress for Victoria, so she could when off sit in a chair beside the case, the largest doll in his collection. A fact that each night seeing her there in that chair, lifeless by the "less sophisticated" dolls and toys served to remind him what she was. He had for a few weeks after watching some shows on the net about looking for ghosts and haunted items thought it would be neat to add a supposedly haunted doll to his collection and set up a camera to see if it really moved. So two birds with one stone, the doll he was planning to order, he would tell Victoria was a present for her, having it sit by or on her when she is in rest mode. The company agreed this could work, but the person; whome after leaving the office isn't sure anymore was actually a person, didn't like his reasoning that since he would own Victoria eventually, he'd also own the doll anyway, so displaying one with the other to settle some odd programming  worked out fine for him.

   Joseph was thinking about all this, it had been a few weeks since he went down to the local Andros office after calling them and getting the weird, "just fuck her" talk. Now the automated trolley is here, the spindly delivery bot coming out the side and lifting the small two foot long parcel from the back of the truck. Just as Victoria is about to head for the door Joseph stops her, "Continue dusting, its just some art supplies I ordered."

   Victoria turns, her dress swishing against his leg, her gaze colder than usual. Joseph's *sighs* and signs for the package, taking it to his art studio where none of the house robots are allowed in, as they would try to organize and clean it. He sets the package on his desk, pushing all sorts of paints, brushes, and odds and ends of strings and bits of wood, his "art" is more a craft hobby as his job is mostly automated so he has a ton of time at home, only needing to go over data remotely on his computer. He takes the box cutter and carefully opens the box, inside is the antique doll. Its features are sharp, making it look more mature than most dolls of its size, its plastic so he knows while its an antique its not one of the older more valuable ones like some of the porceline and bisque dolls he has in the locked cabinet, its dress is silver and white, examining it he can tell it is hand stitched. The eyes have lids that close when the doll lies down, although lying it back down in the box one of the eyes shortly after opens back up. Joseph gives a slight *laugh* being starled seeing it after writing out a command letter (a small tablet on which chores and other commands can be left for the house keeper if he can't be around to give them). He leaves the doll in the art room the rest of the day until night fall. Through out the day, going about watching some shows on his television, having dinner, a perfectly normal day. Noting that Victoria has been walking closer to him, swishing his leg with her dress and glancing his way rather frequently. This behavior after all is why he went to the Andros company's office with his concern. But part of their advice given how far along this is; was not to reward this behavior, but to still give a reward, was to give it to her when in sleep mode, set it by her or on her lap with a command letter informing her it is a present for her hard work. He follows those instructions, that night when she is sitting in a chair beside the doll cabinet, looking for all the world like just a big doll he heads up stairs.

   "How'd these get on the floor?" he mutters picking up a few small brushes and pens that had been on his desk, "must have knocked them off when I put you here."

  He *smirks* lifting the doll from the box, its very human feeling hair brushing against his fingers. He takes the doll downstairs, looking in on the doll room, he sets the doll in Victoria's lap, setting the command letter tablet on the nightstand nearby.

   ******

   part 3

    doll meets robot

     In Joseph's large house, refurbashed from an old bed and breakfast, no one but him lives there. However he is not the only occupant. While he has the money from his office job in the city, he really owns this house more out of choice to be away from people; however he keeps it well furnashed, and rented out an entire team of robotic cleaners and grounds maintenence from the Andros company thanks to a good deal; including the option of rent to own on the human like house keeper gynoid. Which he did more so because of his love of dolls. In this house there is an entire room, one of the spare guest bedrooms, devoted to this purpose. On the wall is a large plexiglass cabinet filled with all manner of antique dolls; although an obvious style of dress among them stands out; all in victorian attire. For this reason when choosing the customization options of his house keeper he chose the same apperance and manner of dress, as well as the name Victoria. Intending to treat her as just another of the dolls. However it would seem Joseph's lack of knowledge of how such an advanced Artificial Intelligence works has come back to bite him, not realizing that this model requires "reward" for its services; to that end he has avoided what he views as (kinky) options the company much to his surprise suggested first and instead opted for a "gift".

    To that end Joseph has in his arm as he walks down the stairs from his hobby room an old, antique in this era, plastic victorian style even if not that old, doll, with the same blond hair and pale complexion as he had chosen for Victoria, only instead of a red and black dress is wearing a white and silver one. He peeks through the door into the room, against the right wall is the doll case, the far wall the window with the curtains drawn, the right wall a couch by a fish tank inhabited by mechanical multi-colored jellyfish making it more a lamp than a fish tank really, and beside the doll case a cushioned chair on which sits Victoria in sleep mode. Due to paranoia over his collection Joseph can be seen by a security camera looking into the room just above the door frame as he sets the doll on Victoria's lap, making sure she is still in sleep mode. No sound of a hum, her internal warmer isn't on; a feature meant to make her feel more human in the event of skin to skin contact; as well as the general heat of her internal workings; of which he knows nothing. Right now she should be tapped into the external security cameras, but not this internal private one that operates on its own battery. On a night stand by the chair he sets down tablet, a "Command Letter" that normally gives a list of instructions for the house keeper in the event he isn't home when her automated system turns her back on for the next work day; on it he simply instructs Victoria that the doll is a gift for her hard work.

   ******

     Hours pass and the room is still and dark, ever so slowly however the little doll in her white and silver dress begins to slide down. Just small movements, easily missed, taking hours to occur till gravity can do the rest and the silence of the room is disrupted by the sound of the doll hitting the floor. This sudden loud noise in the room is picked up by the microphones of the house's security system, checking to see that Joseph is still asleep and not able to access the solo camera in the room Victoria reactivates her body; her internal systems booting up, her body becoming warmer and her eyes opening to survey the room. She leans over looking down at the doll with a curious expression; it is not in her database as one of those in the collection. Her sensors pick up the *new choirs* signal of the tablet and leaning down she picks up the doll, whose weighted eyelids open being brought into a vertical position. Victoria carries it to the table and touches the tablet with her finger, data transmitting through data port wireless connections in her finger. She holds the doll up and examines it, smiles, and hugs it close to her soft silicon bosom before sitting back down; now with the doll held in her hands so it can't fall down.

   There is a warmth against the back of the doll's head emanating from Victoria, a warmth that slowly fades away as Victoria re-enters sleep mode, within an hour returning to her lifeless like state. The doll's eyes blink twice, in a manner that should be impossible, and begins to slide down again, this time meeting the resistance of the cold hands holding it there, the soft foam rubber like flesh, the stiff joints, and complete lack of a pulse. The doll suddenly jerks sideways pushing closer to the body to slide down under the hands. Before it can fall again however, the warmth return, and Victoria's eyes open again looking down. She lifts the doll and stands up, speaking softly, "Are you sliding off my dress?". The doll's eyes slowly close and reopen, Victoria however does not react, instead she walks over to the couch where she lean back further and place the doll in a more stable position. She holds the doll tighter beneath her bosom. A hum of a generator, and a warmth that of a person can be felt on the back of the doll coming from Victoria, once again these fade as Victoria re-enters sleep mode. The doll's eyes slowly close and open again as it faces straight ahead at the doll cabinet in the dark room.