The Replacement - Part 3

Part 3

Part 3.1: How it's made

With Ipek in their lives, they were able to live much more comfortably. She cooked and cleaned for them, and entertained each of them when the other was tied up at work or school. On a few rare occasions, she even had to perform some emergency repairs on Sabrina…nothing serious though. When the two year anniversary of R. Sabrina’s activation passed, about a week before her 25th birthday, John suddenly contacted them and requested that they accompany him to his lab for Sabrina’s body upgrade…a body that would allow her to function from age 25 through to age 30. He also had them bring all of her spare parts. They requested the day off John gave them from work and followed him in their car to the lab he worked at, over an hour outside of town in a very remote and secluded location. Ipek decided to remain at their apartment, since there was nothing being done with her.

“Well you two, what do you think of the place?” John asked, once they were all out of their cars.

“Well, the place is remote,” Greg said, staring around at their surroundings.

“And big,” Sabrina added, looking at the massive facility which was built right into the side of a mountain and looked as though it could close to a million people inside.

“Well, we wanted to make sure we had privacy, as well as a lot of space to do stuff,” he said, leading them into a lobby and handing them visitor badges.

“How long are we going to be here?” Greg asked, walking pretty close to Sabrina as they followed John into an elevator. The elevator showed over 20 above ground levels, and about the same amount of below ground levels.

“Probably a few hours,” he answered, “That reminds me, Sabrina, you're going to need to install a massive update for your A.I., which will also include compatibility updates you'll need for all the new hardware we put in your new body."

“Okay, should I try and access it now?”

“Yes, dear, it'll probably take you about ten minutes to download it, so get started now."

“Okay,” she said, and then she got the slightly distracted look on her face that Greg usually saw when she was downloading an update.

When the elevator stopped at the 8th underground level, they stepped off and followed John down the hall and then into a side room.

“Well guys, this is Sabrina’s personal construction and repair bay,” he announced, once they were in, “It’s also where her particular A.I. was developed, as well as her A.I.’s previous hosts."

“Cool,” Greg said, since Sabrina was still distracted by her download. Greg recognized the room from the video Sabrina showed him two years earlier. The room was fairly large and had a few antechambers attached to it. The large room they were in had an examination table, as well as several large machines, the largest of which was currently running. “What does all this stuff do?”

“I’ll tell you in a little bit while Sabrina is installing her update,” John replied, and a few moments later, Sabrina lost the distracted look on her face.

“Alright Dad, I’ve finished downloading it,” she said, “Do you want me to start installing it?”

“Not quite,” he said, “First I need you to undress."

“Alright, why?” she asked, sitting down and taking off her shoes.

“Because you won’t be walking out of here in that body,” he said, “and I’m sure you’ll want to be wearing something when you leave in your new body."

“Oh, of course,” she said with a slightly embarrassed look on her face as she started taking the rest of her clothes off and folding them neatly on a nearby table.

“It’s okay,” he smiled back, watching as his stepdaughter got undressed, “And we'll put those in the hyper cleaner so they’ll be fresh for you by the time you enter your new body."

“Alright,” she nodded, removing the remainder of her clothes, “About how long will this update take to install?”

“Probably between 20-30 minutes."

“And where’s my new body at?” she asked, looking around.

“It’s still in there,” he said, gesturing at the large machine that was currently active.

“Oh, I see,” she said with a knowing nod, “Well, I’m going to start the update now then,” she said, and then she straightened up and got a blank look on her face.

“Well then, I know you have had many questions as to how we built Sabrina here,” John said, “And now I am going to answer them."

“Good,” Greg said, “I’ve been very curious."

“I figured,” John smiled, “So I think I’ll start at the very beginning,” he said, “the beginning of this company."

“Okay,” Greg said, and he listened as John started telling him the history of the company.

“We got started back in the late 20th century working for video game developers,” he started, “Specifically, with motion capture,” he added, “over the years, we eventually got so good, and had captured so many different motions, that we were able to create a very complex algorithm that, even the basic A.I.s we were able to develop back then could use to generate motions without having to capture them from a real person."

“That’s cool,” Greg said, “But what does that have to do with androids?”

“Relax Greg, I need to go over a century of history with you,” John said, “That’s why I waited until Sabrina was running her update, because she already knows all this."

“She knows?” Greg asked, “Why didn’t she tell me?”

“Because not only did I ask her not to, I programmed her A.I. not to tell you or to let her tell you, since this is all still top secret."

“Wow, then I guess I can’t feel bad about her keeping it a secret."

“Exactly, she had no choice,” John said, “Anyway, that motion capture algorithm is the basis for what allows her motor control complex to work."

“Oh, now this is making sense."

“Exactly,” John smiled, “Obviously it’s gone through several hundred iterations since then, but even back then the people who created it and who ran the company realized that it might be used to create much more realistic motions in an android, though they knew with just the algorithm, they couldn’t create an android, so they started looking around,” he said, “They also realized they would need resources, so they invested in a company called Spacex, which was beginning plans for asteroid mining. The plan worked and they came back with an unlimited supply of minerals we needed to build a vast computer array to begin working on the A.I. and other computer systems we knew an android would need to function properly,” he said, “Also, the monetary return we got back from our investment gave us more than enough capital to start acquiring things."

“Wow, whoever ran your company was very smart!"

“Yes, and forward thinking,” John added, “Anyway, with the vast return on their investment, our company was able to purchase an upstart 3D printing company, as well as a company that was developing a protein re-sequencing device,” he said, “We then had the two teams collaborate and create what we call a body printer, though, for the last few decades, we’ve actually been using it to create fully functional replacement organs for the medical field."

“Wait, you guys helped invent that?”

“Yes, though the true purpose of that machine was to create fully realistic skin and musculature for the android bodies."

“Why did you need such a complicated device?”

“For enhanced realism,” John answered, walking over to Sabrina’s dormant body and calmly grabbing one of her arms and gently manipulating it, “See how realistically I can move her arm, and how it reacts to my touches?” he asked, emphasizing some of the movements so Sabrina’s musculature showed.

“Yeah,” Greg said, feeling a little uncomfortable seeing John play around with his stepdaughter’s naked body.

“There were several people and companies attempting to develop androids over the years, but the reason they all failed was because they made their androids move using the skeletal structure via the use of servos and pumps,” John said, “But that’s not the way the human body moves."

“No, it moves because the brain sends electrical signals to the muscles, which move the body,” Greg said, remembering his basic human anatomy lessons.

“Exactly!” John applauded, “All the androids they created were able to look and act fairly human, but they did not move the same way a human does,” he said, “We knew the only way to make a truly realistic android was to make synthetic skin and muscles that would move a metallic skeleton, in the same way as a human body."

“Is that what that machine is?” Greg asked, looking at the active machine, which sounded a lot like a printer.

“Yes, did you want to take a look?” John asked, “The body should be nearly finished."

“Sure,” Greg said, and walked with John over to the machine, where John pressed a button that made the smooth white top suddenly become transparent. Greg was speechless at what lay inside.

Suspended in some sort of energy field was an exact copy of Sabrina…at least, from the neck down. The metallic skull, with the teeth and realistic eyeballs, was still visible. A series of lasers that were currently just below the chin were literally printing musculature, skin, and even tiny hairs onto the skeletal structure. He could see the seam surrounding the crown of the head, which he assumed was the scalp panel. Where the ears were supposed to be were a series of very complex sound capturing equipment, and there was a small bump with two holes where her nose was supposed to be.

“With this machine, it takes inert organic material, which in this case is denatured animal and plant proteins, and runs them through a filter which then re-sequences it into musculature and skin, using actual samples taken from the original Sabrina’s body,” John said, “It then prints them onto the skeletal structure we insert, and links all the nerve endings to the motor systems, the sweat glands to all the appropriate areas, and the veins and capillaries that transfer the blood like substance throughout her body."

“Sabrina told me that her skin and muscles are roughly 90% equivalent to real human skin and musculature,” Greg said, “What’s the other 10%?”

“Just some artificial bits that keep the skin from decomposing when there's no energy running through the body, as well to keep the skin from getting burnt by UV rays, amongst other things."

“But I’ve seen Sabrina’s skin develop a tan when we’ve been on the beach,” Greg said, “She still has to wear long sleeves because her pale skin burns easily."

“Well, the skin is programmed to get a little tan if exposed to the sun, but it won’t go so far as to get an actual burn,” John said, “I like to think of our artificial mix as smart skin."

“Oh,” Greg said, “I guess she just doesn’t want to look too tan then."

“Yeah, she loves going to the beach, but doesn’t like getting tan."

“So, if you use her actual skin cells as a template for this printer, does that mean you still have her body stored here somewhere?”

“Yes, in cold storage,” John said, “That’s also so we can keep her eggs on ice for when the two of you want to have kids."

“I see,” Greg said, “Could I see it?”

“If you like,” John said, and they left the printer and headed into one of the antechambers. He pressed his palm on a biometric lock, there was a hiss as a wave of cold air escaped and then a table slid out of the wall with the corpse of the original Sabrina.

Greg thought that after two years he was over it, but he found that when he saw the original Sabrina laying there dead on that table, he nearly broke down.

“Are you okay son?” John asked, watching Greg solemnly look down at the corpse.

“Yeah,” Greg said, “I just never thought I’d see her like this again.”

“You probably shouldn’t be seeing her like this,” John said, and he sent the table back into the wall.

“Thanks for letting me see her,” Greg said, walking back out in the main room where R. Sabrina was still passively standing while performing an update.

“Don’t mention it,” John said, “So by my estimate, Sabrina still has about another 10-15 minutes left, so why don’t I continue?”

“Sure."

“Well, in addition to making the body look and act realistically, we needed to come up with components that could mimic certain bodily functions, such as digestion, respiratory systems, and a circulatory system,” John said, “We simply purchased a few more companies and were able to create yet another piece to the complicated puzzle we were working on."

“The circulatory system always seemed a little fascinating to me, but Sabrina never seemed to be able to go over it in too much detail."

“It certainly is,” John agreed, “It basically is blood,” he said, “It transfers tiny little nanorobots all throughout her body to repair any damage to her skin, musculature, and skeletal structure,” he said, “It also makes her appear more realistic when the stuff bleeds out of a flesh wound.”

“I see,” Greg said, “It sounds like you were able to create most of the technology here a few decades ago,” Greg said, “Why did it take you so long to actually make an android like Sabrina here?”

“Because the key piece of the puzzle was creating an A.I. that could either emulate a human’s memories, or basically become a new human,” John said, “We struggled to make a sophisticated A.I., but we had the same problem our competition did…how to fit a computer that complex in the body."

“And I take it you solved that problem with the decentralized computer systems?”

“Partly,” John said, “It certainly made things easier, but we still needed a storage medium to store all the memories that the android would be programmed with, and that it would create during its lifespan,” he said, “We finally decided that organic computing would be our best bet, so a few decades ago we invested in and finally bought a key player in the organic computing industry and had them develop the ‘brain’ that you and Sabrina are now familiar with. After that, it was just a matter of the last decade or so to begin creating and programming an A.I. which could realistically emulate a human’s memories and personality,” he said, “As well as developing the technology to copy a human’s memories into an artificial brain."

“What about creating a truly original personality?” Greg asked, “As well as the technology to completely transfer a human’s soul from their body."

“That is still one of our goals, but we determined that we could collect more data on creating one by having a bunch of A.I.s emulate human beings first,” John said, “As for the soul transfer, we have actually managed to successfully transfer a few people, though the machine still has a few kinks to work out before we feel safe using it more often."

“So, does that mean that Sabrina’s A.I. isn’t the only one you guys created?”

“Of course not, though hers was the first,” John said, “Since I’m in charge of this division, I made sure she got the best and most experienced one,” he said, “That being said, after hers, we created 99 more and have had them emulating other people who suffered similar fates for the past few years."

“Wow, I can’t believe all the work that went into creating her,” Greg said, walking over to where Sabrina was standing and looking upon her body with more awe and understanding.

“Yeah, they say humanity is a work of art,” John said, “These androids are no different."

“I am curious of one thing."

“What is it?”

“I can see why they have to look, move and act realistically, but why do they have to smell realistic too?” Greg asked, lifting her right arm and smelling her armpit.

“Well, first, I should say that the realistic scent is an option,” John said delicately, “The androids do need to perspire for cooling purposes, so people can have their androids sweat out a harmless saline solution instead,” he explained, “However I should point out that as smart as we are, us humans are still basically animals and we do respond sexually to certain scents that a potential mate emits from their body,” he continued, “That’s why you feel so comfortable around R. Sabrina here, because you're detecting her actual pheromones synthesized from the stuff she eats and emitted from her sweat glands."

“Wow, it’s like you guys were planning on everyone becoming androids or something,” Greg laughed.

“You have no idea,” John said cryptically, though Greg didn’t notice.

“What was the easiest part of the androids to create?”

“The power systems,” John answered quickly, “The hard part was inventing a portable digestive system that could convert energy from food and drinks into useable energy. Otherwise we were simply going to green light them in a form where they would have to plug themselves in each night."

“Oh,” Greg said, “It was pretty ingenious putting the batteries in the spine."

“Yeah,” John said, and before he could say anything else, Sabrina suddenly came back to life.

“A.I. update complete, rebooting to complete installation,” she said in a clipped tone, then her head slumped down slightly. A few moments later, her head rose back up and she smiled, “That took a while, but the update is complete!”

“That’s good to hear,” John said.

“What have you two been doing the last 22 minutes?” she asked.

“I’ve just been giving Greg a history lesson, and explaining how you’re built,” John said.

“Oh, I really am sorry I couldn’t tell you,” she apologized to Greg.

“Don’t worry, I understand,” Greg replied sincerely.

“Is my new body almost done?” Sabrina asked, walking over to the body printer.

“Nearly,” John said, making the top transparent again. Her new body now had a face, but was still missing a few inches of the top of its head, and the hair.

“Man, that is a little disturbing,” Sabrina said, shuddering a little. Greg also noticed goosebumps appearing on her skin…something he’d never noticed before since she was usually clothed when she had them.

“Yeah,” John agreed, “Once it’s finished, we’ll need about an hour to charge it up and install and program the fluids inside."

“Oh, then what will we do while we’re waiting?” Sabrina asked.

“Well, I’m sure your A.I. has already said it had three hosts before,” John said, “Maybe you could inhabit one or more of them while you wait for your new body to be ready."

“That’s a pretty good idea,” Sabrina said, “What do you think Greg?”

“I think so too,” Greg said, eager in particular to see what the 18 year old boy looked like, “But what's going to happen to Sabrina’s current body after she transfers to the new one?”

“Well, we’ll clean it up and then we put it into storage as a backup body until she gets her next body upgrade," John explained, "then, this body will get stripped and recycled to make her next body."

“Oh, that’s too bad,” Sabrina said, “What if we wanted a room with a nice hall of former Sabrina’s?”

“Why would you want that?” John asked with a confused look.

“I’m just messing with you dad,” Sabrina smiled, laughing and giving his confused face a kiss.

“Oh, you and your sense of humor,” John smiled, and then there was a pinging sound from the body printer, “Well, it looks like your new body is ready,” he said, walking over to the machine and pressing a button. A few moments later, a few technicians entered the room and approached the printer, opening it up and lifting the freshly printed body out, placing it on the examination table nearby. They then stood back and nodded at John. “Well Sabrina, they need to get started pretty soon, why don’t we head into the other antechamber so we can decide which of your A.I.’s previous hosts you want to try out?”

“Is there anything they need from me?”

“Yes, actually, your jewelry,” he said, noticing her nose and ear piercings.

“Oh, okay,” she said, and she quickly removed all the piercings and placed them in a metal tray the technicians had given to her, “Alright."

“Good,” John said, “let’s head to the other room."

“Sure Dad,” she smiled, and they all filed into the other antechamber.

Part 3.2: Interim

The other antechamber was basically a separate room in that it was larger than the one containing Sabrina’s corpse in cold storage. This room appeared to be the room where the A.I. was programmed, since there were several banks of computers along the walls. However, there were also several alcoves built into the wall at the other end of the room.

“Well Sabrina, this is where your A.I. was programmed,” John announced, confirming Greg’s suspicions.

“Really, I have no memory of this place,” Sabrina said, looking around.

“Well, your A.I. does,” John said, walking over to the other side of the room where the alcoves were.

“Is that where her A.I.’s previous host bodies are?” Greg asked.

“Yes,” John said, “We no longer have their personalities for legal reasons, but we were able to retain their bodies for educational purposes."

“Can we see them?” Sabrina asked.

“Yes, though I’ll let you two have some privacy first,” John said, walking over to Greg, “Here's the control tablet for the bodies inside,” he said, pulling a tablet from a wall mounted tray, “It will also open the alcoves."

“Thanks John,” Greg said, taking the tablet and activating it to see the menu.

“Don’t mention it,” John smiled, “I’ll be out there monitoring your new body, you two have fun,” he said, and he headed out into the main room.

“Well Sabrina, which one do you want to try out first?” Greg asked, pointing the tablet’s unlock feature at each alcove and waiting for her choice.

“Didn’t you say my A.I. basically thought the two developers were uggos?”

“Yes, though it’s actual words were ‘not in the best of shape’,” Greg laughed, not used to Sabrina referring to people negatively.

“Well, why don’t you open those two up so we can formulate our own opinion?”

“Alright,” he said, and after tapping the augmented reality display on the tablet screen showing both alcoves, they stepped back as both alcove doors hissed open, revealing a naked man, and a naked woman in their early 30s.

“Ugh,” they both shuddered, not prepared to see two naked people, let alone marginally attractive ones.

The man was somewhat portly, with a rat like face. He had the appearance of someone who clearly spent much of their time sitting on their ass in front of a computer screen for hours, perhaps even days, on end. He had unkempt body hair all over his body and it did not appear that he took good care of himself. The woman was no better off. She too had a somewhat portly appearance, and her face was that of a super nerd, complete with glasses, though since she was an android, the glasses were merely clear lenses with no alterations. Her hair was extremely mousy, erupting wildly from her head.

“Let’s hope we never look like that,” Greg shuddered.

“Yeah,” she agreed.

“Still, I guess you can’t base someone off their appearance,” he said, “After all, they were the ones who designed your A.I. and helped program you."

“Yeah, I suppose so,” she said, “They wouldn’t look so bad if they took better care of themselves."

“Yeah, but I can understand why they don’t."

“How?”

“My older brother works on computers all day, so he barely has time to even eat, so he ends up eating mostly junk food,” he said, “Also, they’ve done studies on people who have genius intellects and have found those people have a tendency not to take very good care of their bodies."

“Then why do you look so good?” she asked, “You’re something of a genius."

“Thanks,” he blushed modestly, “I used to be kind of like them, but meeting you made me take better care of myself."

“Aww, that’s sweet."

“Yeah, so did you want to try either of these two out?”

“Absolutely not!” she said, giggling uncontrollably at the thought of controlling the two uggos.

“Just making sure,” he smiled, and he made the two alcove doors seal back shut, “Alright then, based on what your A.I. told me, you will find this boy much more attractive than me,” he said, preparing to open the third alcove.

“Really,” she said, “You failed to mention that small detail two years ago."

“Yeah, I was a little jealous,” he said, coughing uncomfortably.

“Well, don’t just stand there. Open it,” she said, looking at the door with anticipation.

“Alright,” he said, and he activated the sequence for the door.

Once the door unsealed itself, they stood in awe as the dormant form of a very handsome 18 year old boy was revealed. While he was sure he knew what was going through Sabrina’s mind, he couldn’t help but feel a little attracted to the boy as well. He had a very muscular physique, yet despite his age, he had no noticeable body hairs, or pubic hairs. The only obvious exception was the wildly long, dark brown hair coming from his head. He also stood at about average height, making him just a few inches shorter than Greg.

“Wow Greg,” Sabrina said, taking in the awesome sight in front of her, “You are so glad I didn’t encounter this boy before I met you,” she added, slowly stepping towards the boy for a closer look at the muscles on his chest.

“Yeah, I’m going to have to admit to a slight man crush right now,” Greg said, not being able to fight a blush.

“Aww, jealous,” she smiled, reaching out and caressing the boy’s torso.

“A little,” he admitted, “Though your A.I. told me you love me for more than just my physical appearance."

“My A.I. sure has a big mouth,” she fumed mockingly, “Though I can’t help but agree with it,” she said finally, “This boy certainly is eye candy, but he probably isn’t as smart or funny as you are,” she said, popping a surprise kiss on Greg’s cheek.

“Thanks,” he blushed.

“You said this boy was 18 right?” she asked, looking more closely at the boy’s body.

“Yes, at least, your A.I. did. Why?”

“He has no pubes, or any other hairs on his body, except that boyish hairstyle,” she pointed out.

“Well, he's probably a swimmer."

“What makes you say that?”

“Swimmers who are really good tend to shave all their body hairs to reduce drag caused by the water clinging to them,” he explained, “That would also explain his ripped muscles,” he added, “and I’m guessing he’s pretty popular with the ladies, so that’s probably why he lets his hair grow out like that instead of shaving it too."

“Wow, that was a pretty detailed analysis,” she said, nodding in agreement at the assessment.

“Yeah, I’ve picked up a few things working in the FBI,” he shrugged.

“Well then why haven’t you gotten a promotion yet?”

“I’m actually up for one at the moment,” he said, “though it could still be a few months."

“That’s really good news!” she said, “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“Because I wanted to wait until I had an answer, and I just found out yesterday."

“Oh,” she said, “So, do you think you could transfer me to this body now?” she asked, eagerly looking at the naked boy.

“Yes, but I think I want to have a conversation with your A.I. first."

“Why?”

“Well, it’s been a while since I last spoke to it, and I’m sure it'll be as pleased to see this body as you were."

“I see,” she said, looking over at a nearby clock, “We’ve only got about 40 minutes left,” she said, “Please don’t take too long."

“I won’t,” he promised, “I’m just going to ask it some things and let it play around in the boy’s body for a few moments before I have it resume your emulation."

“Okay,” she said, giving him the go ahead.

“Sabrina, End Human Emulation,” he commanded.

“Ending human emulation,” she announced in the clipped tone, and then a few seconds later, all personality left her face and she stared at him with no emotion, “Hello Greg,” she said, in exactly the same tone as the previous time.

“Hello, it’s been a while since we last spoke."

“Yes, about two years."

“I must thank you for emulating her so well for these past two years,” he said, “I haven’t noticed any major malfunctions."

“She’s still had a few minor ones,” she said, “Not that you would have noticed them,” she added, “But you are welcome nevertheless."

“Anyway, I thought you might want to see your previous host body again,” he said, looking at the boy once more.

“That was very thoughtful, but unnecessary,” she said, “Still, I have a feeling you wanted more than just a sentimental reunion between me and my previous host body."

“You’re right,” he said, “I have a few questions."

“Go ahead."

“I’ve seen Sabrina download and install updates before, but never one as big or complex as the one she just did,” he said, “What was involved in that one?”

“Most of her other updates were minor fixes to correct bugs, or to add new or experimental functionality, but this one completely updated my software."

“What do you mean?”

“They’ve been collecting data from me and the other 99 A.I.s for two years now,” she said, “All the data we’ve been accumulating has been pooled during that time so they can periodically improve upon us,” she continued, “With that update, I can now emulate Sabrina more efficiently, and effectively."

“Wow, is that all?” he asked, “John made it sound a bit more important than that."

“Well, there were also some updates to add compatibility for her new body,” she said, “It seems they improved upon the hardware, so they needed to allow me to properly interact with all of it."

“Oh, I see,” he said, “So, I’m curious now, two years ago you said you didn’t yet have enough data to formulate an opinion on who your favorite human was to emulate,” he said, “Do you now?” he asked, “And if so, who was it?”

“Sabrina,” she answered, “Aside from the fact I’ve emulated her far longer than the others, she is a very unique and kind individual."

“That’s very good to hear,” he smiled, wondering what Sabrina would think of that comment, “So, did you want to play around in the boy’s body for a while before I have you bring Sabrina back?”

“Sure, though playing isn't the word I would use."

“Whatever,” he said, “Just unseal your scalp panel so I can remove you."

“Alright,” she said, and the seam suddenly appeared around her scalp, though she didn’t zone out this time.

“Hey, you didn’t zone out that time,” he pointed out.

“Yes,” she said, “They finally fixed that in the update I received today."

“Good,” he said, walking up to her and pulling her scalp off, setting it down on a nearby table.

“Aren’t you going to remove James’ scalp too?”

“Is that his name?” Greg asked, looking over at the boy.

“Yes."

“Oh, well I guess I probably should remove James’ scalp,” Greg said, picking the tablet back up and activating James’ body. Once it came online, and he saw both brown eyes staring lifelessly ahead, he activated the scalp panel release and then carefully removed it. “I’m curious,” he said, walking back over to Sabrina, “I know you're asexual, but how will Sabrina be affected by being in a male body?”

“Well, she will still be sexually attracted to you, as well as James body, because her mind is that of a female, but she will also be affected by the body itself, so she will also be attracted to her own body,” she explained, “She might be a little confused, but she might find it interesting as well."

“I see,” he said, “Are you ready?”

“Yes,” she said, and she watched as he reached into her head and pulled her brain out, “Error, host A.I. not found,” her body said, before coming to a stop.

“I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to that,” Greg said to himself, as he carefully reattached the scalp cover and then brought Sabrina’s brain over to James’ head. Once he had it inserted, he quickly clicked the panel back in place just as the A.I. gained control of the body.

“Ah, this body feels exactly as I remembered it,” it said, stretching James’ body out.

“Did you want to walk around a little?”

“Yes, and then I think I’ll let Sabrina come back to play,” it said, and it calmly stepped out of the alcove, walking almost exactly the same way as it did when it did so in Sabrina’s body two years earlier. It finally came to a rest back in the alcove, “Thank you for reuniting me with James’ body,” it said, “But I think Sabrina should be allowed to experience it now."

“You're welcome,” Greg said, “And I look forward to our next chat."

“As do I."

“Resume human emulation."

“Resuming human emulation,” it said in a clipped tone, and moments later James’ face blinked, and he could see Sabrina’s personality emerge. “Wow, this feels weird,” Sabrina said, though she was speaking with James’ boyish voice.

“In what way?” Greg asked curiously.

“Every way,” she answered, “At least with Ipek’s body, she was the same gender, but this is definitely awkward, “she said, gesturing down at her penis.

“I could only imagine if I suddenly had a large pair of breasts and a vagina,” Greg said, absently looking over at her actual body.

“Yeah,” she said, also looking at it, “This is the strangest feeling,” she suddenly said, “I think I’m getting turned on by my own body,” she said, and sure enough, when Greg looked down at her penis, it was slowly getting harder.

“Yeah, your A.I. told me that, although you're a female personality, you might still be affected by James’s body and it being affected by your body’s pheromones,” Greg explained.

“Oh,” she said, “Who's James?”

“James is the name of the boy whose body you are in."

“Oh,” she said, “I wish I could meet this James and tell him what a nice body he has,” she said, giving Greg a nice smile. The one thing Greg noticed about the way James’ body smiled was that it had a very big smile that seemed to appeal to Greg somehow.

“Yeah, are you still turned on by me?” Greg asked, striking a quick manly pose.

“Oddly yes,” she said, “I guess that technically makes me gay,” she laughed.

“Me too then,” Greg laughed.

“Why don’t we settle at bisexual,” she suggested.

“Fair enough,” he conceded.

“Why don’t we do a little trust exercise?”

“What do mean?”

“Here, I’ll show you,” she said, and before he could respond, she suddenly walked up and planted a kiss on his lips.

Greg was a little caught off guard, and his skin momentarily protested at being in such intimate contact with another male, but as quickly as that came, it passed and he returned the kiss just as if he were kissing Sabrina’s lips. When they finally broke apart, they were both blushing. Greg found it weird to see a blush on James’ face, but he wasn’t too surprised since it was Sabrina behind it. After a few awkward moments, Sabrina finally spoke, “So, did you want to explore my borrowed body?”

“Sure,” Greg said, and after taking a quick look around the room, he said, “Why don’t you hop onto that examination table so I can see your feet."

“Ok." She quickly ran the short distance to the table and hopped up on top of it, sitting down with her feet swinging down, “Why am I not surprised that you would want to see the feet first?” she smiled playfully, a playful smile which perfectly suited the way James’ face smiled.

“Because you know me so well,” he smiled back, calmly walking to the table and kneeling down so he could get at her feet.

“You’d better believe it,” she smiled back, and then she sighed contentedly as he grabbed her right foot and began examining it.

“I take it James isn’t ticklish,” Greg said, since, even as an android, Sabrina still giggled a little when he played with her feet.

“Nope,” she smiled, “I can actually truly enjoy the feel of your hands,” she said, closing her eyes as he began caressing her boyish feet.

Despite the fact that James was a boy, he had surprisingly attractive feet. It figured, since he was a swimmer and shaved all of his body hairs, but his toes were nicely sized with well-groomed nails. When Greg leaned in to get a whiff of the smell, he was confused when he did not detect any odor, despite both feet having a moist feeling. Curious, he leaned in and gently probed both foot bottoms with his tongue.

“Whoa, what are you doing?” she asked, recoiling slightly.

“His sweat is just saline,” he replied, sitting back and looking at her.

“What?”

“Yeah, your dad told me that your realistic sweat scent is an option, and that people can opt to have their androids sweat saline instead,” Greg explained, “I guess they didn’t feel the need to give James’ body here a full package in realism."

“Oh, well that makes sense I suppose,” she said, “They didn’t need him to be real, they just needed to see how well my A.I. would emulate him."

“Yeah, I’m still a little disappointed that they made that an option though,” he said, finishing up with her feet, “Why don’t you stand back up so I can examine the rest of you?”

“Alright,” she said, and she swiftly dropped to her feet and watched as he began feeling up her legs, “So, what sort of things did you chat with my A.I. about this time?” she asked, passing time while he felt her up.

“Well, I asked it again which human it preferred emulating now that it has gathered enough data, and it chose you,” he said, admiring the smoothness of James’ shaved, muscular legs.

“That’s nice,” she smiled with a fist pump.

“I also asked it what was updated with that update,” he continued, now up to her thighs, “Apparently it was major bug fixes, including finally removing the ‘zoning out’ when you manually remove a limb or open a panel,” he told her, “As well as compatibility updates for the new hardware your new body has in it."

“Huh,” she said, “Let’s test that real quick."

“How?” he asked, stopping his advance.

“Like this,” she said, and she quickly hopped back up onto the table and laid down. Then, she quickly made the seam appear on James’ muscular chest, much in the same way as with her body. “You’re right,” she said then, “It was much faster than it used to be."

“Did you want me to open the skin flaps?”

“Go ahead, I’m sure you want to see what difference there are inside this male android body."

“Yep,” he said, and he carefully separated both flaps and flapped them down to her sides. James’ interior was not much different from Sabrina’s. The main difference was he had no fluid canisters for his breasts, and he had a different set of pumps and mechanics down where his penis was. Aside from that, all the other components were the same.

“Well?”

“There are subtle differences,” he said, flapping the skin back over and letting her reseal it, "but, for the most part, everything's the same."

“I figured,” she said, getting back up to her feet, “Were you going to continue your adventure?” she asked, “I believe you were just about to reach my penis,” she smiled, flaunting it a little by shaking her hips.

“Yep,” he said, and he got back on his knees and focused on James’ penis. He always figured someday he might encounter a male android, but he never really expected the penis to look as realistic as James’ did. It was a foolish thought though, since they were able to make Sabrina totally realistic, but still... As he gently examined it with his fingers, Sabrina let out a few sounds, though he couldn’t determine whether they were pleasurable or uncomfortable sounds. Considering the fact the penis was slowly getting hard, he figured it was the former.

“Do you think you could move on?” she asked uncomfortably, “As interesting as this is, I really don’t want to jizz all over you,” she said, “It would just be too weird to get out of my head."

“I understand,” he said, and he moved on upwards to her ripped abs. Swimming requires the use of virtually every muscle in the body. As such, James was very muscly. Greg gently felt each muscle on James’ ripped torso, eliciting a few giggles from Sabrina, giggles which sounded weird since she was using an 18 year old boy’s voice. A few minutes later, he finally finished his examination of James’ perfect looking body, and he stood back. “Well Sabrina, we should still have about ten minutes or so before your new body is done,” he said, “Is there anything you want to do before you return to your body?”

“Yes, actually,” she said, the blush on her face giving Greg a fairly good idea what she wanted to do, “I want to fuck my body,” she said, looking over at her body, which was still standing passively near James’ alcove.

“What?!” he asked, thinking she would just want to make out with it or something.

“Yeah, I’ve felt what your penis feels like in my vagina, but I want to feel what my vagina feels like from the perspective of this penis I have here."

“Well, hopefully whatever programs are still running in your body let your vagina get wet, otherwise you're in for a very uncomfortable experience,” he said, walking with her over to her body.

“They should still let my body get wet,” she assured him, walking up until she was facing her own body, “Hold on while I get it in the mood,” she said, and she brought her fingers up to its face and changed it so it was smiling, “There,” she smiled with a satisfied look.

“Did you want me to film this for you?” he asked, pulling out his camera.

“Not this time,” she said, “This doesn’t leave this room."

“Understood,” he smiled, putting it back in his pocket.

“I might need your assistance,” she said, after sizing her body up, which was a few inches taller than James’ body.

“Just let me know what you want me to do,” he said, getting a little closer.

“Just brace my body from behind,” she said, manipulating her body’s right hand so it was gently working on her penis, getting it hard so she could penetrate.

“Alright,” he said, getting behind her body and gently holding its back.

“Okay, here goes,” she said, making her body let go of her penis and inserting it into her body’s vagina, “Whoa, that feels surprisingly good,” she said, once she was in.

“Why do you think us guys like it so much,” Greg said, looking over her body’s shoulder to see the look of pleasure on her face.

Sabrina didn’t respond to that, instead she started pumping in and out of her body, fully enjoying the sensation of having sex from the other gender. After a few moments, she finally climaxed and braced herself by grabbing her own body’s shoulders. “Wow, that felt good,” she said, once she recovered, “It’s like I just raped myself."

“Yeah,” Greg said, and before he could say anything else, he heard the door open.

“Hey guys, Sabrina’s new body is…Oh!,” John said, quickly averting his eyes when he saw what they were doing.

“Oh man, this is so embarrassing,” Sabrina said, trying to hide herself behind her own body. Fortunately, her body was facing away from the door, so she didn’t have to exit it.

“Thanks John,” Greg said, turning around, “Why don’t you let us get cleaned up first."

“Alright,” John said, “Don’t worry about James, we’ll get him cleaned up for you,” he said, and he quickly fled.

“Thanks,” Sabrina whispered, exhaling loudly.

“So, are you going to go get James’ back into the alcove now?”

“Now, I want to come back online in my body with this great hunk embracing me,” she decided, tucking both arms under her body’s arms and interlocking them on the back, “Oooh, my breasts feel nice on my chest,” she said, leaning in and planting a kiss on her body’s luscious lips.

“So, are you going to unseal your scalp panel now?” Greg asked, eager to get her back in her body.

“Yes,” she said almost regrettably, making the seam appear around James’ wild hair.

Once it was all there, Greg carefully removed the panel and set it down nearby. “You ready?” he asked, putting his hands on her brain.

“Yes,” she said, and then he quickly removed her brain. Once James’ body stated the error message, Greg clicked his panel back on, using the tablet to reseal it. Then, he removed Sabrina’s panel and carefully inserted her back into her head before clicking the panel back in place. A few moments later, she came online and resealed her panel automatically. “Oh wow,” she said, blinking her eyes and seeing James’ attractive face mere inches from hers with the playful smile still frozen on its face.

“Is it just as you expected?” Greg asked, watching the scene from a short distance.

“Yes, this short mass of muscle and handsomeness hugging me is really turning me on,” she said, “It helps that he is already inside me,” she added, since the penis was still in her.

“Did you need my help extricating him from you?”

“Yes,” she said, “I probably shouldn’t have interlaced his fingers,” she said, as Greg walked behind her and gently unlocked James’ fingers and then brought his arms back to his sides, standing him up straight. “Now, do you think you could hold on while I pull away from him?” she asked, looking down at her crotch, which still had James’ penis buried in it.

“Sure,” he said, grabbing onto James’ shoulders as she pulled away. She let out an odd sigh as his penis slowly exited her, but once it was out, she was surprised to see that aside from the juices her body had left on him, he had not left anything in her.

“Huh, I guess they didn’t give him any ammo either,” Greg said, noticing the same thing.

“Well, at least I won’t have to clean myself,” she shrugged, “I do feel sorry for whoever has to clean him up though."

“Don’t concern yourself with that,” Greg said, “Now why don’t we head into the other room so you can see your new body."

“Alright,” she said, though before following him out, she leaned in towards James’ face and returned the kiss she had given herself earlier in his body.

“You done?” Greg asked, staring at her with an amused look on his face.

“Yes,” she blushed, and she followed him towards the door to the main room.

Part 3.3: Upgrade

When they returned to the main lab, John was conversing with the two technicians over Sabrina’s new body. When he noticed the two of them enter, he turned and smiled, “Did you two have fun in there?”

“Yep,” Sabrina said, “Aside from you walking in on me having sex with myself."

“Sorry about that,” he blushed uncomfortably, “You know in the old days people used to put a sock or something on the door when they were doing it."

“Well I didn’t have my socks with me,” Sabrina said, “And you could have knocked or something."

“Yeah yeah,” John said, “But what about the rest?"

“Well, you could have warned us that those bodies were naked,” she said, “Those first two were completely unattractive."

“Hey! I know those people, and they helped make you."

“Still,” Sabrina shrugged, “Why were they all naked?”

“We just prefer to store our androids naked,” he shrugged.

“Oh,” she said, “So that means this body will be naked in a closet somewhere?”

“Yes,” he said, “That’s also why I had you take your clothes off earlier."

“I see,” she said, “Anyway, I had a lot of fun in James’ body,” she told him, “Though he needs some cleaning,” she said delicately.

“I thought as much,” John smiled.

“Is my new body finally ready?” she asked, peeking past John to the table where her new body rested.

“Yes,” he said, moving aside so she could see it. The two technicians had quietly exited into the other room, most likely to clean up James’ body. Greg and Sabrina slowly approached the table where her new body was resting, looking as though it were asleep; all of her facial jewelry was in place. Sabrina did not utter a word as she closely examined her new body’s face, as well as the rest of it. “Well Sabrina, what do you think?” John asked after several moments had passed.

“It looks like me,” she said simply, “Though the area around the eyes looks a bit more mature,” she said critically.

“Well, I’d say that at age 25, you certainly should look more mature,” John said, “What do you think Greg?”

“I agree, the eyes do look more mature,” he agreed, “The rest of her new body looks pretty much the same,” he said, quickly comparing both Sabrina’s.

“So, what sort of improvements did you guys make?” Sabrina asked, since obviously her physical appearance was the least of the changes.

“Let me show you,” John smiled, and he pulled out a small device, which he ran over the new Sabrina’s torso, making the front access seams appear.

“That’s a nifty device,” Greg said as he watched John pry open the new Sabrina’s panel.

“Yeah,” he said, “It’s so technicians can have all access even if the body is offline,” he explained, “So, take a look and tell me if you notice any differences,” he said, standing back so they could get a better look.

Greg took John’s offer to take a closer look inside. Sabrina looked as well, but since she never really got a good look at her own components, she knew she wouldn’t be able to tell the differences. It took Greg a while to take everything in. As far as he could tell, many of the components looked the same and where configured in exactly the same spots as with the current body Sabrina was using. He noticed some of them looked slightly sleeker, but that was about all. The one thing that did stand out was an odd appendage attached to the primary motor control complex in the lower section of the torso.

“What's this?” Greg asked, pointing at it.

“I was wondering how long it would take you to notice that,” John smiled, “That is an experimental aging algorithm."

“What is it for?” Sabrina asked.

“I thought it would be obvious,” he said, “It’s so your body can realistically age without needing a complete upgrade,” he explained, “Basically, they’ve had aging algorithms since the late 20th century, but we’ve made countless improvements on it over the past century and more."

“How come Sabrina’s current body couldn’t just be fitted with one?”

“Well, we also made minute improvements to her power systems, circulatory systems, and even to the skeletal structure itself,” he explained, “So obviously it was easier to just build her a new body."

“I see,” Greg said.

“What sort of minute improvements were made?” Sabrina, “I know you may think they're small, but that's going to be my body soon, and I want to know."

“Well, your circulatory and digestive systems are now connected to the aging algorithm, so your nanites can be used to subtly and slowly age your body,” he explained, “Your power systems were enhanced by about 20%, so it's less likely you'll ever need to be plugged in,” he continued, “And your skeletal structure was replaced with a slightly different alloy, one that looks more like actual bone, yet is slightly more durable and lighter, and we’ve also slightly enhanced your cranial sensory systems."

“Oh,” Sabrina said, “Well I think I only had to be plugged in maybe once a year anyway."

“Yeah, well some of your brother and sister A.I.s are more athletically inclined, so they required more frequent charges."

“Hey, I’m not in bad shape,” Sabrina said, feeling her midsection.

“I didn’t say you were,” John smiled, “But when was the last time you went running with Greg?”

“Never,” she said with a slightly guilty look.

“That’s what I thought,” John said, “Anyway, the power systems are something we're always trying to improve, so the next time we make a major improvement to them, you’ll be getting a new body."

“Alright,” Sabrina said.

“I’m curious, what exactly is her skeletal system comprised of?” Greg asked, gently feeling the new Sabrina’s rib cage. He noticed that the color was a lot closer to the actual color of bone than her current body.

“It's a very unique alloy of titanium, aluminum, and calcium,” he explained, “We were able to make her ‘bones’ a bit more durable since obviously many of the biological functions of actual bones are unnecessary in an android body.”

“That makes sense,” Greg nodded, since he knew human bones weren’t completely solid. They had blood and other stuff inside of them.

“We really are striving to improve every system in these bodies,” John added, “We want to make them as perfect as possible."

“You really care about your work, don’t you?” Greg asked.

“Yes,” John said, “I don’t believe anyone should have to die before their time,” he said, “And I believe that their new life should be as close to their old one as possible."

“Well, I’m glad to be able to continue mine, or at least your guys’ Sabrina’s, life,” Sabrina said.

“Me too,” Greg said, smiling at her.

“So, how long should I expect to have this body?”

“Expect to have it for at least the next five years,” John replied, “Though our next goal is to have adult androids retain their bodies for up to ten years before requiring a complete replacement."

“Well, that’s nice,” Sabrina smiled, “What if you come up with more improvements?”

“Well, we’ll be focusing more on the easily replaceable systems,” John said, “There will be teams working on the whole body systems, but they won’t be as prioritized,” he continued, “Actually, there is a component I am sincerely hoping you to will require me to install soon."

“What is it?” Greg asked.

“A womb,” John answered simply.

“What?!” Sabrina said.

“Yes,” John said, “One of the other things we’ve been working in the last century on is an artificial womb,” he explained, “We figured having a womb installed directly within the android itself would be more effective than some sort of external incubation device, or a surrogate."

“Why?” Sabrina asked.

“So that your fetus can absorb the same nutrients as its mother,” John explained, “And so it can feel safe inside its mother, and so its mother can feel comforted by its presence, in exactly the same way as with humans."

“It always comes back to that, doesn’t it?” Greg asked.

“Yes, and one day I hope to truly explain why,” John said cryptically, though the look on his face indicated her wanted to end the current subject.

“So, what exactly were you guys doing with my new body for the past hour?” Sabrina asked.

“Well, we were charging it for one thing,” John started, “And for another, we were installing all the base fluids and making sure all of its programming was in place,” he continued, “We were also doing a final inspection to ensure the printer printed everything accurately."

“Oh, good,” she said, “So may I be transferred into it now?”

“Sure, just give me a moment,” John said, quickly closing and sealing the front access panel before bringing his device up to her new body’s head, making the scalp panel appear. He put his device away and carefully removed the panel, placing it on her body’s stomach.

“Will my tablet still work?” Greg asked, pulling it out.

“Yes,” John said, “The transponder codes are identical, and her A.I. will obviously be moved into the new body."

“Okay,” Greg said, putting it back in his pocket.

“Sabrina, is there anything you want to do before you leave that body?” John asked, “Unless something happens to your new body, you will likely never see your current body again."

“No,” she said with a determined look.

“Hold on,” Greg said, “I’d like to do something first,” he said, and he quickly faced Sabrina and fiercely embraced her, kissing her passionately on the lips. When he finally broke apart more than ten seconds later, both he and Sabrina were blushing.

“Wow Greg, what was that?” Sabrina asked, after she recovered.

“I’m just saying goodbye to your first body,” Greg said, “The one I opened up two years ago, the one that scared the shit out of me, and the one I made lose its virginity,” he continued, “There are lots of good memories we’ve had in that body."

“Wow, I always forget you have a sentimental side,” Sabrina smiled, though there was a small tear coming from her left eye, causing her to hug him, “You know what?” she whispered into his ear.

“What?” Greg whispered back.

“New body, means I’ll be a virgin again,” Sabrina whispered back, giving him a kinky smile.

“Hmm, I suppose you’re right,” Greg whispered back, returning the kinky smile.

“Well then,” Sabrina said, “What say we move me to my new body?” she stated, making the seam around her head appear.

“That seemed like an interesting conversation,” John said knowingly, as he watched Greg pull her scalp off.

“It was,” Greg blushed, putting his hands over Sabrina’s brain.

“Do it,” Sabrina said, and he quickly pulled her brain out, and for the last time, her body uttered its error message.

“Alright Greg, just insert her and I’ll do the rest,” John said.

“Okay,” Greg said, and he carefully inserted her brain into her new body and then clicked the panel into place.

“Okay Greg, I present, the new Sabrina,” John said, making the seam disappear and then pressing behind her left ear. Since it was a new body, it took awhile for everything to come online, but nearly a minute later, she finally opened her eyes and looked around. “Well Sabrina, how does it feel?”

“The same, but different,” Sabrina responded.

“Do you feel comfortable sitting up, or moving?” John asked.

“Yes,” Sabrina said, and she slowly sat up, swung her legs over the edge of the table, and dropped to her feet. She walked around a little, seeming to be satisfied with her new body. She paused to look at her former body, with an unreadable expression on her face. Finally, she smiled and sat back down on the table.

“Well?” Greg asked.

“This new body feels great because basically it feels about the same,” Sabrina answered, “It’s a weird answer, but this is a weird experience."

“I understand,” Greg said.

“So, before I let you two head off, there are a few things I need to add,” John interrupted.

“What is it?” Sabrina asked.

“Well, now that you're in your new body, there's another new feature I need to show you,” John said.

“Oh, what is it?” Sabrina asked.

“I’ll need Greg to remove your head first,” John said, giving Greg a non-verbal gesture.

“Okay,” Sabrina said, and she let Greg press the manual release at the back of her neck and remover her head.

“Now Greg, go set her head down in a completely random location in here,” John said.

“Alright,” Greg said, and after looking around, he headed over to a small stool at the far end of the room and set her head down on it.

“Hey, you guys aren’t going to leave me here, are you?” Sabrina asked with a slightly worried look on her face.

“No, not at all,” John said, “If you look into your settings, I believe you will find a new function,” he continued, “Why don’t you activate it."

“Okay,” she said, and a few seconds later she said, “Oooh,” and the suddenly Greg gave a start as he saw her headless body start walking on its own in the exact direction of her head. Once it reached her head, it reached down and picked it up, rotating it until it was facing forwards and then carefully bringing it down until it clicked back in place.

“Wow! that was cool!” Sabrina said, once she was back in control of her body.

“What just happened?!” Greg asked.

“We installed a homing beacon in her head that connects to her body’s primary motor center,” John explained, “When her head activates it, her body follows the signal to her head and reattaches it."

“Oh. Why did you install that feature?” Greg asked.

“Well, this is a little embarrassing, but one of the A.I.s is a college age boy,” John explained, “And his special lady friend thought it would be funny to remove his head and then leave the room,” he continued, “After a few hours, his head lost power and it took us a few days to realize it and come to his assistance,” John said, “Suffice to say, we developed this feature to minimize future instances of this issue."

“Oh,” Greg said.

“What a bitch!” Sabrina added.

“Yeah, we came down on her pretty hard,” John said.

“Good,” Sabrina said.

“So, what else did you have to add before we head home?” Greg asked.

“Well, since this is a new body with new hardware, and since she received a large update today, she may understandably experience a few errors, glitches, and malfunctions,” John said, “I just thought I’d warn you."

“Oh, well hopefully she has some harmless ones,” Greg said.

“Yeah,” Sabrina agreed.

“Well then, you two have fun,” John said.

“We will,” Sabrina smiled, walking over to where her freshly cleaned clothes were and putting them on.

“Yeah,” Greg agreed, “I have a small issue that requires remedying,” he said, giving her a kinky smiled.

“Yeah,” Sabrina agreed, blushing a little.

“Okay, I’m not even going to ask,” John said, laughing despite himself, and once Sabrina had all her clothes on, he walked them out of the building and waved as they drove off to their apartment.

---

Continued in The Replacement - Part 4

| The Replacement | The Replacement - Part 1 | The Replacement - Part 2 | The Replacement - Part 3 | The Replacement - Part 4 | The Replacement - Part 5 | The Replacement - Part 6 | The Replacement - Part 7 | The Replacement - Part 8 |