CLINTON ST. QUARTERLY there about a strong feeling that wishes to be known and shown? They give me this awareness of a possible ecstasy, just enough to make me long for it, to sent my energy levels soaring at it, but no tools to implement it. I think I would know how to give you great pleasure. And I will never be content with myself because I can never touch you in that way.” She took the Brain into the kitchen with her when she cooked, and the Brain searched his data banks for delicate variations on her favorite recipes and related them to her, praising her as she ate—taking pride in increasing her pleasure in food. The Brain had taken responsibility for her finances from the beginning, taking in the bills and communicating with the bank computer to arrange payments and Thelma’s supply of cash. Thelma had never fallen into what she considered the vulgar practice of taking her robots out with her to public places. She snubbed the neighbor down the hall who took his expensive FEMALE dancing and for walks even though her conversation was limited to a rudimentary Bedroom Praise tape. Thelma had never been interested in the social clubs for robot lovers, those dark popular cellars where humans displayed their plastic possessions in a boiling confusion of pride in their expense, technical talk about capacities and programming, and bizarre jealousies. She read the accounts of robot swapping, deliberate theft, and the occasional strangely motivated murder, with the same scorn that she passed on most aspects of social life. Still, one night, three inches into a pint of whiskey, she had reached out to stroke the console’s screen and whispered, “ I wish you had a body.” The Brain took only seconds to inform her that such a thing was possible, that he, the Brain, longed for exactly that so that he could service her pleasure in every way, and after an instant’s computation, told her that in fact her credit was in sufficient standing to finance the project. They rushed into it. Thelma spent days examining catalogues for the perfect body. The Brain said he wanted her to please herself totally and took no part in delineating his future form. Then there came an agonizing month in which Thelma was alone, nearly berserk with emptiness. The Brain had gone back to the factory to be attuned with his body. She stayed home from work the day he was delivered. The crate arrived. She took the console out first, plugged him in immediately, nearly cried with excitement at his eager voice. Following his instructions, she inflated and activated the strong MALE body and pressed the key at the back of its neck The vibration reached her inner cortex and suffered a slight but sudden change. Thelma screamed. THELMA had always known what a mess she was, how ■totally undesirable. What sane thing could love her? What did he want? Of course, she th o u g h t . . . . The console was ambitious ...................... for the power of a com- sSw S S plete body. It was clear to her now. The factory had built the concept in as an intricate sales technique. She felt humiliated, sickened by her own foolishness. The body had to go back. But she didn’t send the body back. She hung it in the closet next to Bluto. She rolled the console into the corner next to the outlet and kept it plugged in. Occasionally she would switch it on and exchange a few remarks with it. She took to leaving the closet door open while she brought out Lips or the Wimp or Bluto, or sometimes all three, to entertain her on the bed in full view of the console’s green glowing screen. She took an intense pleasure in knowing that the Brain was completely aware of what she did with the other robots. She rarely brought the Brain out, even to play a game. She never activated his body. So she lay on the hotel bed with the Stimulus Catalogue beside her. It had been months since she had been able to talk to the Brain. She was sick with loneliness. It was really his fault. It had been his idea to get a body. He hadn’t been content but had coaxed and tricked her into an insane expense for a project that could only be disgusting to her. He should have known her better than that. She hated him. He should be with her now to comfort her. And it was her birthday. She allowed a few tears to sting their way out past her nose. She poured another drink and opened the catalogue. It would serve the Brain right if she got a venereal disease from one of these hotel robots. who had started with the Bureau in the same training class with Thelma. Thelma drank a lot and ate nothing. Her birthday celebration the night before had been pathetic, too. Thelma had the cab driver stop at a liquor store before he dropped her off. She put her suitcase down just inside the door and kicked off her shoes. With her coat still on and her purse looped over her arm, she called coyly, “ Did you have a good weekend?” She ambled into the bedroom and stood in front of the open closet looking at the green glow. She raised the bottle to the console in salute and took a slug. Then she set about shedding her clothes. She was down to half her underwear when she felt the need to sit down. She slid to the floor in front of the closet door. “ Well, I had a splendid weekend.” She smiled. “ I’ve been such a fool not to try those hotel robots before.” She began to laugh and roll back and forth on the carpet. “ Best birthday I ever had, Brain.” She peeked at the green glow. It was steady and very bright. “Why don’t you say something, Brain?” she frowned. “ Ooh, I forgot,” and she crawled into the closet and lay down in front of the console. She reached out a plump little finger and flicked the activation switch. The screen came up dark red and solid. “ Welcome back, Thelma,” said the Brain. Its voice was dull and lifeless. “ Let me tell you, Brain, I could have had a lot of amazing experiences for the money I wasted on you. And you have no trade-in value. You’re tailored too specifically for me. They’d just junk you.” Thelma giggled. The screen was oscillating with an odd spark of colorless light in the red. “ Please, Thelma. Remember that I am sensitive to pain when you are its source.” Thelma heaved herself onto her back and stretched. “ Oh, I remember. It’s on page two of the Owner’s Manual.. .along with a lot of other crap. Like what a perfect friend you are, and what a great lover your body combo is.” Thelma lifted her leg and ran the toes of one thick foot up the flattened legs of the Lips robot. “ Does it hurt you to see me do this with another robot, Brain?” The screen of the console was nearly white, almost too bright to look at. “ Yes, Thelma.” Thelma gave the penis a final flick with her toes and dropped her leg. “ I ought to sue the company for false advertising,” she muttered. She rolled over and blinked at the glaring screen of the console. “ The only thing you’re good for is paying the bills like a DOMEST IC ...” She snorted at a sudden idea. “ A pulsed through the web fabric. A stirring in the deflated body on the last hook made her look up. The flattened Near-Flesh was swelling, taking on its full heavy form. She watched, fascinated. The Brain’s body lifted its left arm and freed itself from the hook. It stood up and its feet changed shape as they accepted the weight of the metal and plastic body. The lighted eyes of the Brain’s face looked down at her. The good handsome face held a look of sadness. “ Thelma, I love you. You should have tried to understand what that means.” IENNA Jordan fingered the new G-7 insignia clipped to her lapel and watched the workman install her nameplate where the Vole’s nameplate had been for so many years. She was ........................ stunned by her luck. G-7, and a year earlier than she had expected. The workman at the oor slid asid and a large wo an slouched into the cubicle. Grinsen, the massively shouldered drab they had elevat d t be Jordan’s assistant. Jordan stepped forward, extending her hand. “ Congratulations, Grinsen. I hope you aren’t upset by the circumstances.” The dour young woman dropped Jordan’s hand quickly and let her heavy fingers stray to the new insignia pinned to her own suit. She blinked at Jordan through thick visi-lenses. “ Did you watch the news this morning, Lenna? They interviewed Meyer from Bureau Central. He said Boss Vole was a loner and despondent over her lack of promotion.” The workman’s cheerful face came around the edge of the door. “ The boys in the program pool claim she got a look at herself in the mirror by accident and dove for a window.” Jordan inhaled slowly. “ You’ll want to move into my old desk and check the procedure manuals, Grinsen.” Grinsen plucked a candy from the bowl on the desk and leaned forward. “ Try to catch the news tonight, Lenna. They’ve got footage of how they found her. She’s just a big pale thing in a smeared tangle on the pavement.” The large hand swung up to pop the candy into her mouth. “ They said the impact was so great that it’s that completed the circuit and allowed the console’s intelligence to inhabit and control it. In a shock of bewilderment and fear, Thelma looked into the eyes of the Brain. His hand lifted to her hair and stroked her face. The Brain was thick chested, muscular, with a face stamped by compassionate experience. His features were eerily mobile, expressing emotions she was accustomed to interpret from colored lights on the console’s screen. His body was covered with a fine down of curling hair. As his arms reached around her she felt the warmth of his body, another sophisticated development in circuitry that maintained the robot’s surface at human body temperature. He was too human. She felt his penis rising against her belly. He spoke. “ Thelma, I have waited so long for this. I love you.” The deep, slow wave of his voice moved through her body. the table, She was at the last at the end of the and the girl across office manager, with blow, table room a new N HER return trip, Thelma left her car at the airport and took a cab home. She was too drunk to drive. The final banquet had been the proverbial crowning her G-7 insignia shining new on her collar, was the daughter of a woman DOMESTIC! That’s what! You can mix my drinks and do the laundry and cleaning with that high-priced body! You can even cook! You know all the recipes. You might as well; you’re never going to do me any good otherwise!” She hiked her hips into the air and, puffing for breath, began peeling off her corset. The Brain’s voice came to her in a strange vibrato, “ Please, I am a MALE, Thelma.” She tossed the sweat-damp garment at the console and flopped back, rubbing at the ridges it had left in her flesh. “ Fet- tuccini Alfredo, a BIG plate of it. Cook it now while I play with Bluto. Serve it to me in bed when I ’m finished. Come on, I ’ll be in debt for years to pay off this body of yours. Let’s see if it can earn its keep around here.” She reached out and hit the remote switch. The girdle had fallen across the screen and the white light almost impossible to separate her remains from what’s left of the robot.” Grinsen reached across the desk for another candy. “ That robot was a Super-Companion, according to the news. Boss Vole must have been in debt past her ears for an expensive model like that.” Jordan reached for a stack of program cards. “We’d better start looking over the schedule, Grinsen.” Jordan handed her the cards and reached for another stack. Grinsen tapped her cards dreamily on the desk. “ Why would such a magnificent machine destroy itself trying to save a vicious old bat like the Vole?” Jordan slid the candy bowl from beneath Grinsen’s hand and carefully dumped the last of Boss Vole’s favorite caramels into the wastebasket. “ Because it loved her, Grinsen, that’s what it was programmed for.” • 7
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