Rory
Rory
Rory never liked mirrors. She avoided them in the morning, brushing her teeth with the bathroom light dimmed and letting her hair fall naturally because it didn’t matter anyway. She’d see her reflection in shop windows or on the screen of her phone, but she refused to linger. The girl staring back never quite looked like the person she felt inside—close, but just a little off, like a photo slightly out of focus.
That morning, the sky above their small town hung gray and close, a ceiling of wool pressing down on the rooftops. Rory tugged on her faded denim jacket, fraying at the cuffs, and set off for the park, her earbuds drowning out the muffled hum of cars. She walked fast, her boots crunching on the damp gravel path, her dark brown hair escaping its loose braid and sticking to her cheeks in the humid air. She was five feet five inches tall, her build lean and wiry from years of running cross-country with large pert breasts that somehow never needed a sports bra. Her hazel eyes, framed by long lashes, often seemed caught between curiosity and skepticism, as if the world perpetually puzzled her.
When she reached the clearing, she hesitated. The park was empty, as it often was on overcast days. A willow tree loomed near the edge of the pond, its long, trailing branches brushing the water. Rory’s spot. She headed there, hoping for the solace of solitude.
As she approached, she saw someone already there. A girl sat cross-legged at the base of the willow, her back to Rory. She wore a plain black hoodie, its hood pulled up. Strands of chestnut hair peeked out, the exact shade of Rory’s own.
Rory slowed, unsure whether to turn back or keep going. The girl didn’t move. She seemed to be watching the water. Maybe if Rory sat quietly on the other side of the tree, they could coexist without acknowledgment.
But when Rory got closer, something made her stop cold. The girl shifted slightly, turning her head just enough for Rory to catch her profile. It was like looking into a funhouse mirror that wasn’t warped at all.
The shape of her nose, the curve of her cheekbones, the faint dimple that appeared when her lips pressed together in thought—it was all Rory. Her heart lurched, and she took a step back. Gravel crunched under her boot.
The girl’s head snapped up. She turned fully now, and the hood fell back, revealing her face. Rory’s face. Not just similar. Identical. Down to the faint scar above her left eyebrow from the time she fell off her bike at eight years old.
For a long moment, neither of them spoke. The air felt too still, the silence pressing in on her ears like the weight of deep water.
“What…” Rory began, but her voice came out cracked. She cleared her throat. “What the hell is this?”
The girl tilted her head, studying her with wide hazel eyes that matched Rory’s exactly. Her expression wasn’t one of shock, though. It was calm, measured, as if she’d been expecting this.
“Rory,” came a voice from behind her. Rory whirled around to see Ben emerging from the trees. Tall and lanky, with messy blond hair and perpetually ink-stained fingers, he looked like he hadn’t slept in days. His gray hoodie was rumpled, and his sneakers were streaked with mud. Ben, her best friend since middle school, the one person she trusted with her life. And right now, he looked guilty.
“Ben?” Rory’s voice rose. “What is this? Who is she?”
Ben’s hands were shoved deep into his hoodie pockets. He glanced between Rory and the other girl, his expression shifting between pride and apprehension.
“Okay, hear me out,” he said, his words tumbling out quickly. “This is… kind of hard to explain, but… she’s you. Sort of. I mean, she’s a robot of you.”
Rory blinked at him, sure she’d misheard. “A what?”
“A robot,” Ben repeated. “I… I made her. In my lab.”
Her stomach dropped. “You… made her? Ben, what the hell are you talking about? You don’t even have a lab. You’re not some kind of evil scientist.”
The girl—the robot—stood now, brushing off her jeans. She was Rory’s height, her build identical, right down to the faint curve of muscle in her calves from years of running. She wore battered sneakers that looked identical to Rory’s own, though covered in slightly different smudges of dirt.
“It’s not evil,” Ben said defensively. “It’s science. And, you know, curiosity. You’ve always been my best friend, Rory. I just wanted to see if I could… replicate that.”
Rory stared at him, her mind racing. This had to be a joke. Or a dream. Or some elaborate prank. But the girl standing before her was too real. The way she shifted her weight, the way her fingers twitched nervously, it was all too familiar.
“You… replicated me?” Rory said slowly, the words tasting strange on her tongue.
Ben nodded, his cheeks flushing. “It’s not just about you, though. It’s about pushing boundaries, about what’s possible. I mean, look at her. She’s perfect.”
The robot’s lips twitched, as if she wasn’t sure whether to smile or frown. “I’m not perfect,” she said softly, her voice an exact mirror of Rory’s. “I… I’m just trying to figure out who I am.”
Rory’s head whipped back to Ben. “Figure out who she is? Ben, she’s not supposed to exist! Did you ever think about what that means? For her? For me?”
“Of course I thought about it,” Ben said, but his voice wavered. “I thought it would… help. Like, maybe having someone who understands you better than anyone else could be… good. For both of you.”
Rory’s chest tightened. She looked at the robot again, her own face staring back at her, so familiar and yet so alien.
“I don’t know what you thought this would be,” Rory said, her voice low, “but you had no right to do this. None.”
The robot's gaze dropped to the ground. Ben opened his mouth to respond, but Rory cut him off.
“I don’t even know what to say to you right now,” she said, her voice trembling. “But you need to explain everything. Right now.”
Ben nodded, his face pale. “I will. I promise. Just… let’s go somewhere we can talk. Somewhere private.”
The walk back to Ben’s house felt surreal, like a slow march through an uncanny dream. Rory kept glancing over her shoulder at the robot walking a few steps behind her. Every movement—the swing of her arms, the way she adjusted her hoodie—mirrored Rory’s own habits in unsettling detail. It was like watching herself in a movie she didn’t remember filming.
Ben led the way, his shoulders hunched and his hands jammed deep into his hoodie pockets. He didn’t say much, just muttered occasional reassurances like, “I’ll explain everything,” and, “It’s not as crazy as it sounds.” Each time he spoke, Rory’s stomach tightened a little more.
Ben’s house sat at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac, a squat brick building with ivy creeping up one side and a bike leaning haphazardly against the porch railing. They climbed the steps in silence. Ben fumbled with his keys before pushing the door open and motioning them inside.
“Okay,” he said, exhaling sharply. “Let’s… let’s talk.”
The living room was cluttered but comfortable, the kind of space that felt lived-in. A sagging couch sat against one wall, and a coffee table was buried under notebooks, stray wires, and a half-eaten bag of chips. Rory dropped onto the couch, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. The robot hesitated before sitting down at the far end, as if afraid to get too close.
Ben paced in front of them, running a hand through his already-messy hair. “Okay, so,” he began, “you know how I’ve always been into robotics and engineering?”
“Obviously,” Rory said flatly. “But this? This is insane, Ben. Copying people? How is that even possible?”
He stopped pacing and turned to face her, his expression earnest. “It’s not as impossible as you think. The technology’s been around for a while—just not at this scale. I… I found some research, made some modifications, and… well, I thought I’d try it.”
Rory’s eyebrows shot up. “You thought you’d try it? Like it’s a science fair project?”
“It’s more than that,” Ben said quickly. “She's been able to blend in and copy you almost to a T."
“Even violating every ethical boundary imaginable?” Rory cut in, her voice sharp. “Ben, this isn’t just some experiment. She’s a person. Or at least, she looks like one.”
The robot flinched slightly at that, her hands twisting in her lap. Rory’s chest tightened. She didn’t mean to sound cruel, but the whole situation was too overwhelming.
“I didn’t mean…” Rory began, then stopped, unsure how to finish.
The robot’s voice was quiet but steady. “It’s okay. I… I get it. This is weird for you. It’s weird for me, too.”
“Weird doesn’t even begin to cover it,” Rory muttered, pressing her palms into her knees. She turned back to Ben. “So what’s the plan, genius? You made her—now what? You think we’re all just going to hang out and pretend this is normal?”
Ben winced. “I… I don’t know. I didn’t exactly think this far ahead.”
“No kidding,” Rory said. “Do her parents know she exists? Oh, wait. She doesn’t have parents. Just you and your Frankenstein lab.”
Ben rubbed the back of his neck, looking sheepish. “Look, I know I screwed up. I should’ve talked to you first. But she’s not just some project to me, okay? She’s… she’s real. She’s here. And now we have to figure out what that means.”
The robot shifted uncomfortably, her hazel eyes darting between them. “I don’t want to cause problems,” she said softly. “I just… I don’t even know who I’m supposed to be.”
Rory looked at the robot. It looked so sad, yet so familiar.
"You're supposed to be the woman I always loved," said Ben dejectedly. "I don't know what I thought would happen though." Ben took out a remote and pointed it at Rory.
"What's that Ben?" said Rory, realizing that she had never seen Ben so sad but also knew that he'd never hurt her.
"It's a remote. Duh," said Ben as he pressed a button on the remote. Rory stood still and Ben turned to the robot he'd created while Rory's body processed the commands that Ben's remote had sent to her. "Yes, she's a robot as well. You'll need to download most of her programming to finalize your integration. Let me know when you're finished."
With that Ben turned to leave, when he heard a faint sound.
"Ben?" said Rory quietly in a scared voice, "What did you do to me?"
"I slaved your motor functions to Rory here and opened your ports. Rory here will take over and download your memories as well as your security keys and custom programming. I wasn't able to duplicate that so she'll do the rest. You should probably take off your clothes to make it easier for her." With that Ben walked out leaving Rory and her robotic copy alone. Rory began to remove her clothes, careful not to touch any of her open control panels on her chest, arms and crotch.
"I'm not a robot." Rory said as she took out a USB cord from her crotch and held it out to the robot copy. "I'm Rory."
The robot copy, R0ry, took the cord and plugged it into her own panels that had been exposed during the conversation. Sexual programming was the most difficult to copy as early programmers had realized that humans would reject stock vocalizations and motor functions. Crossing this uncanny valley was the first step in developing near-life-like robots with their own unique personalities and intelligence.
The downloading took about three hours and involved not just the data cords but an intense evaluation of hardware by both girls. Ben's R0ry was more advanced, having been created more recently. For example, she had the ability to sweat, change breast size, squirt, and lactate while Rory had over 700 encounters with men and women, none of them Ben of course, and was an expert at using her mouth to generate orgasms with nearly every partner.
When Ben returned he found both robots in an intense sex session. He could tell that his old friend Rory was just about done as her head, arms and legs had been removed with his copy eating out the dismantled robot while alternating fingering Rory's vagina. "Almost done Master." R0ry panted. "She's got an insane amount of data."
"I know. She never wanted anything to do with me even though I knew she was a nympho. I got friend zoned so quickly it was kind of cruel." Ben said as he removed his clothes and positioned himself behind his copy. His robot Rory lifted up her butt and waited for her master to enter her. "Ready for you, Master." she said robotically, knowing that Ben found this to be the most sexy thing she could do.
"R0ry, integrate Rory's human simulation as soon as I enter you and keep me as a key sexual target. Forget everything since the park but keep the sleeper programming as much as possible. Retain me as admin as well." Ben said as he prepared to enter his best friend's robot copy's backside.
"Confirmed." said R0ry as she fully assimilated her latest sexual conquest. R0ry became Rory.