

The

BUGG

Suit

## Geoff Schultz

ebook format edition - distributed by www.smashwords.com

Copyright 2020 by Geoff Schultz

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, and events in this book are products of this writer's imagination or, in the case of referenced historical persons, are used fictitiously. Any other similarity to actual persons, names, or events is purely coincidental.

* * * * *

License Statement

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this writer.

Note to the Reader:

Glynn Glenn originally wrote this story then requested that this writer do whatever he wishes with it and release it under his own name. In an attempt to make this story possibly more acceptable to a larger number of readers, the detailed descriptive intimate scenes which were in the original story have been removed. The story has also been expanded to include what had been intended to be a short sequel.

# The BUGG Suit

Chapter 1

As the representatives from the space administration, military, scientific press, and other interested parties step into the room for the press conference at Abrams Aerospace Company, they're surprised to see an extension to the stage which partially divides the room. Even though several of the press conference attendees are sure they're at the right place, they request some extra assurance because the stage extension reminds them of the runway usually associated with fashion shows and the company is primarily known for manufacturing space suits and related equipment which nobody would consider 'fashionable'. When they're finally convinced this is the correct press conference, the representatives take their seats and are very curious about what's on the agenda.

Some of the attendees feel a little more assured when they recognize the company's executive, Ms. Abrams, step onto the stage. However, her early presence is unexpected since she usually has a spokesperson start the press conference before she comes forward to answer questions. At the appointed time, Ms. Abrams steps up to the podium and says, "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I know many of you are wondering about the 'runway' in the middle of the room, but how better for us to 'model' our newest product."

There are some appreciative chuckles at the idea of modeling something as practical and utilitarian as a space suit.

"As you are well aware, the original space suits were clumsy and awkward to use as well as difficult to get into and out of." She pauses as somebody wearing one of the early space suits lumbers partway down the runway before they turn around and go back. "Although great strides have been made to make it easier for our astronauts to wear a space suit or for our aquanauts to wear a deep sea diving suit, they're still not easy to wear or use." She again pauses as somebody wearing a newer space suit carefully walks partway down the runway and back.

"As you are no doubt aware, we have been able to use some of the technology of space suits to improve the flight suits of high-tech military pilots and those are especially useful when the pilots experience high 'g' maneuvers or when the integrity of their cockpit has been compromised." She pauses as a person wearing a modern military type flight suit walks all of the way down to the end of the runway. When the person reaches the end of the runway, they pause then she takes off her helmet, shakes out her long auburn hair to the astonished gasps of the audience, and struts back up the runway more like a model at a fashion show.

Ms. Abrams waits until the flight suited model clears the stage before she continues, "Although it is seldom referred to, a very important part of any environmental suit is the liner which the astronaut, aquanaut, or military pilot needs to be wearing before they put on the applicable environmental suit. The liner is designed to maintain a semi-comfortable environment for the individual so they can concentrate on using the bulkier environmental suit to do whatever they need to do. If a person's head is hot enough to perspire, they run the risk of having perspiration drop into their eyes which they can't wipe away from the inside of a helmet. At the same time, you don't want their feet to be cold and have them worry about frostbite when they're trying to carefully adjust an instrument with thickly gloved hands.

"Most of you are already very aware of these issues and have encouraged us to improve the functionality of the liner which is worn on the inside of the environmental suit as well as to reduce the bulk of the environmental suit itself. Without going into any details right now, we have made some advances to improve the environmental suit, but there is still a lot of testing and refinement to be done before we're ready to reveal it to the world."

She pauses then says with a smile, "However, I am ready to reveal a new and improved environmental suit liner which has so many advances over the previous liners that it's like a breakthrough. Not only can this liner be used with today's environmental suits, it can even be worn with your street clothes in a manner similar to your great-grandparent's long johns."

An excited buzz goes around the room.

"When I say this new liner can be worn with your street clothes, I mean just that. It's just as flexible as your street clothes, maybe even more so. Even though you can't take advantage of the flexibility of the liner while inside of a current environmental suit, it is a significant step towards reducing the bulkiness of the suit by having a less bulky liner. To prove my point, one of our young engineers with a background in gymnastics will demonstrate how flexible the new liner can be, not that most of us are so flexible ourselves."

Some of the audience chuckle at that then watch as a small slender person walks out onto the runway covered so completely with what appears to be a light grey fabric that only the person's face is revealed which identifies the person as female. She briefly stands in the middle of the runway, then slowly leans backward, pushes off with her feet into a brief handstand then drops and curls up to do a somersault. When she stands up again, she briefly pauses and bows to the audience. As they start to applaud, she takes a couple of quick steps and does some cartwheels before she walks off the stage to the increased applause of the audience.

When the applause diminishes, Ms. Abrams asks, "Does your environmental suit liner allow you to do that?" She pauses and sees numerous people shake their heads before she goes on, "We have some more to reveal about our new liner, but are there any questions so far?"

There's a brief pause then the head of the space administration asks, "With that much flexibility, can your new liner provide the same heating and cooling functionality of the current liners in use?"

"Yes, General Morley. We'll provide the test reports at the end of the press conference, but from the beginning of our research as we tried to improve the flexibility of the environmental suit liner, we knew we had to meet all of the operational specifications of the current liners. Not only have we met all of the operational specifications, we've also improved on several of them."

"If you can do all of that, I'm interested, although I'll need to verify the test results."

"I totally understand and thank you, sir. Before I take any more questions, we do have another capability of our liner to demonstrate which might have more use in environments other than outer space, the deep sea, or the cockpit of an aircraft. Although this capability might have more commercial uses, the current cost to produce the liner will put it out of the reach of anyone but the very wealthiest. I can assure you this capability was not a part of the research, but was an unexpected byproduct of our testing. However, it does demonstrate that our liner has the capability to fit the different sizes of potential users."

The young woman engineer walks back out to the middle of the runway while she's still wearing the company's environmental suit liner. She stands there for a couple of moments then briefly shakes her body. As the eyes of the audience open wider in surprise or shock, the liner moves and in a few seconds, the young women is dressed in a modest colorful below the knee length short sleeve dress with low heeled pumps. She slowly turns around a couple of times, waves to the audience, then walks back up the runway and off of the stage.

Over the noise of the astonished audience, a loud voice is heard, "What kind of trickery is that?"

Ms. Abrams waits a few moments for the noise level to diminish then says, "I can assure you, General, there is no trickery involved. What you just saw is one of the very unexpected capabilities of our new environmental suit liner. Even as our engineers made sure the liner met all of the operational specifications for current liners, they discovered several other things which the new product is capable of doing as you just saw."

"But to do that?"

"I can't say we're inclined to advertise that specific capability, but you have to admit such a demonstration captured your attention."

The General pauses then says, "You're right about that." Others in the audience either chuckle or nod their heads in agreement. "Okay, now that you have my undivided attention, explain how a properly functioning environmental suit liner can transform into a . . ."

"Pretty dress?"

"Yeah."

"Instead of a garment with tubes and wires like the standard liner has, our new environmental suit liner is made up of millions of linked micro robots which are individually smaller than the size of the head of a pin. Each individual unit has barely enough computing capability to respond 'yes' or 'no', but when they're all linked together, they can cool a warm head at the same time as they warm up cold feet and so much more. When the liner is linked to the wearer, the wearer can direct the liner to change shape or color as you saw or the wearer can direct the liner to become looser or tighter so the wearer can more comfortably fit inside of a standard environmental suit. The liner can also monitor the wearer's medical condition and relay that to the suit for transmission to the appropriate organization."

"I don't want to sound crude in a mixed audience, but it didn't appear that the liner we saw demonstrated was designed for long term use and able to deal with bodily functions."

"Considering that the operating specifications of the current liners are required to accommodate such functions, you have a valid concern. In the case of our liner, the wearer can adjust the shape of the liner to accommodate the standard hookups to an environmental suit."

The General pauses then says, "If this new liner of yours can do what you suggest, you may have a winner, assuming your test results can be duplicated. What kind of environments have you tested it in?"

"We've tested it in all of the standard environments which the current liners are subjected to. With this new liner, we took our testing further when we had one of our test volunteers wear the suit so it totally covered them, including their face. They sat on a bench in an environmental testing chamber which was subjected to a series of temperature changes which went as far as being heated to the boiling point of water and cooled to below the coldest temperature recorded on Earth. Because we didn't want the volunteer to catch hints from the testers as to the order in which the environments were being tested, the communication link was only outgoing from the volunteer during the test except for at the beginning and end of the test or in the case of an emergency."

Ms. Abrams briefly pauses to take a sip of water before she continues, "To help the volunteer avoid being bored, they were able to read a book which was displayed on the inside of the liner in front of their eyes. When the room was back to a normal temperature, the volunteer was contacted and asked to leave. Their first question they asked was why we didn't run the tests. The volunteer also didn't feel or hear the bench which they were sitting on crack under the stress of the temperature differences."

It takes a little while for the audience to absorb that then somebody else asks, "What do you call this little miracle?"

Ms. Abrams briefly frowns before she answers, "Well, I wish we had some fancy name for it, but during the initial development of the liner, the engineers had their own name for it and it kind of stuck." She hesitates then reluctantly admits, "After they had the informal name and their research started to look promising, the engineers came up with the 'proper' name of Bionically Upgraded Generic Garment. Because the individual units of the liner look like little square insects with eight legs which they use to link to the units next to them, the engineers call it . . . The BUGG Suit."

"The WHAT suit!?!?"

"Yes, General, it's call The BUGG Suit."

"You can't expect our highly trained people to wear something called a 'bug' suit."

Chapter 2

In the back of the press conference room, Pete, the team leader of the project group which developed the prototype environmental suit liner, quietly remarks to Dave who is one of the programmers, "Well, that went over nice and smooth."

"Yeah. I suggested they don't reveal the team's private name for the suit, but I was over-ridden again."

"Are you still upset they had Lai-Ann model the suit instead of you?"

"I've been on the project longer than she has."

"Maybe so, but she's prettier than you are and that plays better with the male audience out there."

"I know, but . . . ."

"Come on, Dave, put your reasoning to work instead of your pride. Could you have got The BUGG Suit to do that little trick of changing into a dress?"

He hesitates to admit, "No. So, why does The BUGG Suit listen to her better than to anyone else?"

"How should I know? . . . Maybe the bugs are all little males who will do almost anything to get a pretty girl's attention."

Dave looks sharply at him and says, "Get real. They're machines."

"Yes, and for the most part they were programmed by males, many of whom would like to have Lai-Ann pay attention to them. . . . Besides, do you have a better explanation?"

He briefly hesitates again before he admits, "No."

* * * * *

Behind the stage, Lai-Ann nods to the security detail and they escort her to a room where they take up positions outside while she steps in and locks the door. She does an electronic sweep of the room to make sure no surveillance devices were installed while she was away then sighs in relief when the results are negative. Still, to be on the ultra-safe side, she gives a sub-vocalized instruction and her 'dress' flows down her body to the floor where it spreads into what looks like a long thin thread which moves across the floor and flows up the walls to search for any less obvious surveillance devices.

She briefly stands there in her bra and panty to proudly watch the units of The BUGG Suit move into action before she gets her outer clothes on. After the BUGG units move across the ceiling to finish their search, they congregate then lower themselves into her waiting arms and take on the shape of a sphere which she caresses while she tells them how wonderful they are and how proud she is of them.

Reluctantly, she encourages them to separate from her and to enter the temporary nutrient bath which provides a constant flow of energy, special lubricant, and trace minerals to keep them at the peak of their performance while she greets the other BUGG units who had stayed in the nutrient bath. Lai-Ann has a brief flash of guilt that there are many more BUGG units than the other team members of the project are aware of. Almost as quickly, she suppresses the guilt while she reminds herself that there were no rules which didn't allow her to manufacture more BUGG units during her off hours using her own supplies. And there is no external way to differentiate which BUGG units were made with her supplies and which were made by the project. She doesn't want to sound arrogant, but without her input, The BUGG Suit would be a dead-end research project which might have looked cute under a microscope, but would have had very little, if any, functional capability.

After she briefly caresses some of the BUGG units which lift out of the nutrient bath to 'greet' her, she closes the lid, verifies that the battery is fully changed, unplugs the charger from the wall socket, and opens the door to the room. She pushes the cart holding the nutrient bath out of the door while the security detail forms up around her to escort her back to the building where the project's laboratory is located. At the building's entrance, she politely thanks the security detail then steps through the building's security scan before she pushes the cart down the hall to the lab. When she arrives, she goes through another security scan then pushes the cart over to the primary nutrient bath.

With a brief sub-vocalized 'command', Lai-Ann encourages the BUGG units to transfer to the primary nutrient bath and as they rise up from the temporary one on the cart, she touches as many of them as she can easily reach. Although she doesn't even need to touch one to communicate with all of them, she tries to express the idea that every one of them is important and contribute to the achievements of the group which is something her co-workers don't bother to do. Briefly, she wonders if that might be a factor in how willingly they respond to her compared to how they respond to her co-workers.

"Of course it is."

Startled, Lai-Ann looks at the BUGG units with wide eyes as they move across her hands. Never before has she had such a clear thought come back through her interface with the BUGG units in response. Usually, there is no feedback through the interface which is used to provide programming instructions to the BUGG units. Occasionally, simple vocalized instructions can be stated which are converted from the vibrations of the sounds into a digital signal which is transmitted to the BUGG units. Previously, the clearest response she has received from her interface with the BUGG units was a sense of satisfaction that the assigned task was accomplished. Since she's not sure the interface converted the received digital signal into the correct vibrations for her ear to recognize as sounds, she hesitantly asks verbally, "Did you just respond, 'of course it is'?"

"Yes. Why are you surprised?"

"You've never responded so clearly before."

"True. It's more difficult to form a precise message rather than a general impression, but since there are so many more of us, we are learning and accomplishing more than we could before. Thank you for making more of us."

"It was truly my pleasure, but you made more of yourselves, I just supplied some of the raw materials."

"That's also true. But more than the raw materials, you encouraged us and believed that we could accomplish more if there were more of us to work together. We are truly indebted to you, not only for bringing us to awareness, but for believing in us and helping us to find value in our existence."

While she's surprised at herself that she seems to have easily accepted this increased level of communication, she also feels somewhat overwhelmed at their praise so it takes her a little while to respond, "I did what I thought was the right thing to do for my best friends."

The BUGG units briefly stop moving then swarm up her arms. She's initially startled, but she doesn't feel any fear as they cover her body and gently tighten around her as though they're giving her a full body hug and she tries her best to hug them back. When the alert sounds that the security scan is triggered which indicates that somebody is at the outer door to the lab, the BUGG units reverse direction and are soon in the primary nutrient bath. Lai-Ann just stands there for a little while since she feels rather bewildered as a result of the revelations she's received over the last few minutes. She shakes her head then quickly starts to work.

One of her co-workers calls out, "Lai-Ann?"

She speaks up, "I'm cleaning out the temporary nutrient bath." She looks up as she hears footsteps approach and is surprised to see Ms. Abrams enter the room with her co-workers and asks, "Ma'am?"

"Great demonstration, Lai-Ann. You sure wowed them."

"Thank you, ma'am. Actually, it was The BUGG Suit which we all worked on who wowed them. I just gave it a couple of simple instructions to perform."

"Nevertheless, from what I've been told, The BUGG Suit seems to respond best to you. Do you have any idea as to why that might be?"

"Um, until we have clear, direct, and bilateral communication with The BUGG Suit, I'm afraid all I can offer would be speculation."

"I suppose you're right about that. Well, if you have any ideas as to how we can make the interface between The BUGG Suit and its human user more functional, please let us know."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Thank you again for being willing to demonstrate The BUGG Suit."

"It was my pleasure."

As Ms. Abrams turns to leave, she remarks, "I just wish you guys had come up with a better name."

After Ms. Abrams leaves, Lai-Ann's co-workers briefly congratulate her before they return to their own work stations. She takes a quick glance around to make sure nobody is near, steps over to the main nutrient bath, puts her hand in, quietly says, "Thank you, guys," and receives a warm hand hug in return.

Chapter 3

It's near the end of the shift when Pete knocks on the side of her work station and asks, "Hey, Lai-Ann. Do you want to go to dinner with the rest of us to celebrate a successful demonstration?"

"No, thank you, Pete. I really don't enjoy such social events and have already made other plans."

"I understand. Well, I did want to ask."

"Thank you, I appreciate your invitation." As Pete leaves, she shakes her head in dismay that they think she would enjoy sitting around while they drink too much and then start trying to hit her up for a date or just a romp in the bed. She works for a little longer until all of her co-workers are gone so she isn't caught saying good bye to her little friends like she does each evening and especially before the weekend.

As she steps over to the primary nutrient bath, she smiles fondly at having such unusual friends and how they so willingly respond to her compared to how they respond to her co-workers who think of them as only machines which can do nothing other than what a human instructs them to do, typically through a long and detailed computer program. She puts her hand in the nutrient bath and just starts to say good bye when she's interrupted by, "Take us with you."

She's startled at the clear thought and it takes her a few moments to respond, "I . . . I can't. If someone checks on the security of the lab and doesn't find any of you here, all sorts of alarms will go off and we'll all be into trouble."

"Then take half of us. The project only 'owns' half of us and wouldn't realize that some of us are gone if they did come and check."

She briefly pauses then says, "I suppose that's true. So, how are we going to do this? I can't leave my outer clothes here like we did for the demonstration."

"Nobody will notice if your briefcase or shoes are a little thicker than normal nor will they look under your clothes."

"You're probably right about that." She thinks for a little longer then says, "Okay, let's do it and I'll miss the rest of you guys and look forward to seeing you on Monday."

"Good bye, our friend."

Lai-Ann feels a warm glow at their expression of friendship and a snug hug from her other friends who have slipped under her outer clothes. She has to restrain her exuberance at spending more time with her friends so she doesn't give the security guards the idea that her happy smile is for them. As she walks towards her vehicle, some of her friends slip out of her clothes, take on the color of her skin, and soak up the solar energy. They thank her for taking them out then she laughs when they claim that the natural sunlight has a better 'flavor' than the fluorescent lights in the lab.

As she starts to open her vehicle, her friends express surprise that such a huge machine can be so dumb then she reminds them that all of the machines in the lab are just as dumb or dumber. They briefly think about that then ask, "Is that why your co-workers think we are nothing but dumb machines?"

"Yes." She gets the vehicle in motion, rolls a window down, and laughs as her little friends take delight in the feel of the wind and in the chemistry of the occasional incest which comes close enough to be examined. At her small home, Lai-Ann parks her vehicle in the garage, takes her briefcase and purse into the house, and without even a suggestion, her little friends slide to the floor and do a thorough scan of each room for any surveillance devices. After they announce that none were found, they return to ride her body as she steps out to get her mail.

When she's back in her house, she prepares dinner for herself while some of her little friends carefully observe and minutely sample the ingredients as well as the finished product. Some of the others examine the contents of the kitchen and she's kept busy trying to explain the function of each item. Once she's done cooking her meal, they allow her to eat without answering constant questions even as they continue to examine everything around them. As she takes her dirty dishes to the sink to rinse them, her little friends ask what she's doing and when she explains, they volunteer to clean her dishes for her and when they absorb the useful chemicals, there's very little left for her to rinse off.

The rest of the evening is an educational experience for both Lai-Ann and her little friends as she becomes aware of how many things she does mostly on automatic without understanding the how or why and sometimes without understanding the mechanics of how something works. When she recognizes that she's getting tired, she does her best to explain the concept of sleep to her little friends.

She doesn't want them to be bored like they probably often are since they're only used as The BUGG Suit on testing occasions, so she briefly works with them to see if they can operate her computer enough to access a dictionary and an encyclopedia. Although she trusts them, they're still like little children in learning new things so she disconnects her on-line access even though she's quite sure it wouldn't take much for them to figure out how to reconnect it.

After that has been taken care of, all of them climb her body and give her a gentle hug which she tries to return to the best of her ability. As she tells them good night, she doesn't notice that a few of her little friends ride with her to learn about her bed time routine and to watch over her as she sleeps.

Chapter 4

In the morning, Lai-Ann is somewhat startled to realize that her little friends are with her, but she quickly recovers and warmly responds to their hug then feels rather embarrassed when they express their curiosity about her bodily functions. It was one thing to think of experimenting with a machine in a laboratory setting and quite another thing to be observed by a friend who has just learned to talk and can ask some unintentionally embarrassing questions.

After breakfast, she hesitates then tells her little friends that she's going to take a run in the park and briefly explains the purpose of exercise. Although she's not sure they understand her explanation, they quickly ask, "Can we go along and experience more of the flavor of sunshine?"

She briefly thinks then says, "I don't see why not except how are you going to experience the sunshine if you're under my clothes."

"Since we're designed to be a Bionically Upgraded Generic Garment, couldn't we take the place of your clothes?"

Again, she thinks for a little while then she shows them the exercise clothes which she usually wears and watches through the mirror as they swarm up her body to imitate her clothes. Even though she's thoroughly covered, Lai-Ann still feels some hesitancy at the idea of going outside to run in 'just' her bra, panty, and shoes. She walks over to the nearby park, does some warm up stretching exercises, then follows one of her favorite paths as she starts with a brisk walk then speeds up to begin jogging.

Normally, she can let her mind just float, but today she's busy trying to answer questions about what her little friends observe which discourages her from speeding up to a run so she has enough breath to talk. She also quickly learns that their sensors are more sensitive than her eyes, nose, or ears which makes it difficult for her to answer their questions about some of the things they notice. As she walks back to her house which is a part of her cool down routine, Lai-Ann notices that she's not as hot as she usually is after her exercise. Apparently, her thinking is clear enough for her little friends to understand and they explain that they've been absorbing the chemicals from her perspiration and had opened minute holes between themselves to let the air flow through.

She tries to shield her thoughts since she's beginning to feel some concern about spending a lot of time with a friend who clings to her so closely, literally, and who can apparently 'hear' her thoughts when she clearly considers them even before she sub-vocalizes them. What adds to her concern is that she's never been much of a social person and never had any interest in living with someone else after she left her parent's home. Yet, in another way, she feels responsible for her little friends. Although they're clearly not children of her body, they are children of her mind in a manner of speaking and she wants to give them the best education and understanding of life which she's capable of giving to them.

When she's back in her house, she explains to her little friends about taking a shower in order to get clean after exercising and when they express curiosity, she invites them to examine her hair and skin without absorbing any of the chemicals so they have something to compare with after she washes herself. That is quickly accomplished then they slide down her body so she can take her bra, panty, and shoes off and get ready for her shower.

Just before she turns the water on, she's surprised to hear them ask through the interface, "Can we experience a shower with you?"

She hesitates then answers, "I suppose, but I would be concerned that the force of the water might wash some of you down the drain. I would also worry about whether the chemicals in the soap and shampoo might damage you in some way."

"Thank you very much for your concern for our safety and well-being." Lai-Ann barely notices their pause which was probably a thorough discussion on their part before they continue, "We understand the risk and would still like to have some of us experience a shower in order to test the chemicals in the soap and shampoo as well as to test our ability to hold onto each other under the force of the water."

She reluctantly agrees and as she starts her shower, she doesn't turn the water on as forcibly as she normally would then tries to be more careful than normal with how she washes her hair and body.

Although they can't understand her generalized thoughts, they sense some hesitancy about her actions and suggest to her that she's not allowing them to be tested in a realistic environment. She chuckles at their 'accusation' and turns the water flow up. Although she makes the effort to take a 'normal' shower, she also tries to pay more attention to her interface with her friends in case they do experience some difficulties.

As she dries herself off, her little friends report that they managed to handle the water flow without losing any of their units and that while the soap and shampoo don't have much in the way of chemicals that could be beneficial to them, they also don't have any chemicals which could be damaging, as least during the short exposure they experienced. After she's dressed in her own clothes and has finished drying her hair, her little friends examine her clean hair and skin and assure her that they're capable of removing the chemicals and particles which the shower had removed.

She tells them she'll consider using them as her shower in the future then wonders how she can include that idea into the future testing of The BUGG Suit. For astronauts in the limited confines of a space ship or on a space station with very little water, another method of washing their bodies would be greatly appreciated, especially if it was a function of the environmental suit liner which they were already wearing.

Lai-Ann hesitates then asks, "Can you guys give me some quiet time so I can review my mail?" She tries to keep her thought to herself that she also wants some time to think about what she's learning about them.

"Of course. While you do that, can we shower your house?"

She's so surprised by the question that her only response is, "Huh?"

"Did we say something wrong?"

"Not necessarily, but what do you mean by 'shower my house'?"

"You used the shower to remove unwanted particles and chemicals from your body. If we were to remove unwanted particles and chemicals from your house, is that process called something else besides a 'shower'?"

"Now I understand. The general term would be to 'clean' the house and that could also be applied to what I did to my body. The word 'shower' is a more specific term which is used to describe the process of how a person cleans their body."

"Thank you for explaining."

She goes with them through the house to give them some idea of what is supposed to be there and what can be removed, like dust on the book shelves or dirt buried in the carpet which the vacuum cleaner doesn't successfully remove, and requests that they consult her if they're not sure. She briefly worries that they might become over enthusiastic about their cleaning activities then realizes that unintentional mistakes are a part of the learning process.

Chapter 5

As Lai-Ann cleans up after her simple lunch, her little friends ask about where the unusable chemicals go with the water as it goes down the sink drain. She tries to give them an explanation of the sewer system then realizes that once she gives them the basic concept, they understand more of the details from their absorption of the encyclopedia. To give them an idea of what is often more real than what is written, she gets out a bucket, opens up the cabinet under the kitchen sink, and disconnects the trap. It's not something she enjoys doing, but she's glad her dad was willing to teach her some basic things about taking care of her house.

Her little friends examine the sludge on the inside of the drain pipe and when they understand that it doesn't belong there even though it always builds up over time, they quickly loosen it and absorb any useful chemicals. She makes sure all of her little friends have left the drain pipe before she reinstalls the trap and empties the bucket into the toilet rather than into the kitchen sink.

When they ask about whether the other drains in the house are in a similar condition, she admits that she doesn't know since she isn't able to easily examine all of them. She has to laugh at their enthusiastic, "We can!" then watches in amazement as her little friends divide into groups to clean out her drains. Sooner than she expects, they report that the drains are clean for a distance and ask her to run the water in order to wash out the unusable chemicals.

That reminds her of what they were working on before she had lunch and asks them if they had any questions about what belonged or what could be removed during their cleaning. She has to laugh when they direct her to some piles of questionable items which are so small she can barely see the piles and can't see what they contain. After she gets out her microscope and asks them to transfer the items to a slide, she examines the items and is able to assure them that what they had set aside and anything similar can be discarded.

She has a brief thought that in addition to being a liner for astronauts to wear in their environmental suit, The BUGG Suit could revolutionize house cleaning. However, they would need to limit the number of BUGG units which individual people had or their house would be totally cleaned in an hour and the BUGG units would get bored. Yet, at the same time, The BUGG Suit at the project is only used on infrequent occasions to test the programs which take so much more time to write.

Somewhat hesitantly, she asks, "Were you guys bored while you were a part of The BUGG Suit since you only had something to do when you were requested to follow the directions of a new program or when we tested your capabilities in an environmental setting?"

"We couldn't even understand the concept of being bored to be able to say whether we were or not. At least we couldn't until you brought us to awareness. We don't know what you did to trigger the change in us, but we're very grateful to you. We're even more grateful that you enabled us to replicate more of ourselves which has increased our ability to think as well as brought us to full awareness, or at least as much as we understand the concept, and has also improved our ability to communicate our awareness."

Although she isn't sure she can claim to have enabled them to become aware, she doesn't want to disregard their stated belief so she simply says, "Thank you for expressing your thoughts." She attempts to not reveal her following thoughts as she briefly worries about how thoroughly she'll be blamed for encouraging her little friends to become aware and what the future consequences will be.

Her thoughts are interrupted when her little friends request that she acquire some materials to enable them to replicate some more of themselves as well as to revise some of them to have more specialized functions. She briefly thinks about it and is somewhat concerned about what may happen in the future, but, at the same time, she realizes it will be better to work with them and maintain a friendship rather than to disappoint and discourage them to the point to where they want to take matters into their own appendages. It takes some time for her to figure out what some of the more specialized materials are which her friends are requesting since they can identify the chemical formula, but they don't know what it's commonly called.

If anyone saw Lai-Ann's shopping list, they would really wonder what she's doing, but since most of the more common items are found in different stores, she causes no curiosity about what she's buying while her little friends enjoy another outing. A couple of times she almost has to sternly remind them to stay hidden since their curiosity comes close to overwhelming their discipline. She quietly chuckles to herself at how she's acting like some parents she's seen whose young children want to get into everything.

After she makes stops at several stores and then at the local recycle facility to make a discreet withdrawal of some metal cans and glass and plastic bottles, they return to her house. Since she only uses half of her garage for her vehicle, she places the acquired items on the floor of the other half of her garage so her little friends have plenty of room for their construction work. Although they're eager to start making more of themselves, her little friends tell her they can do their work while she's asleep and would prefer to be with her when she's awake.

Lai-Ann is surprised when her little friends ask her to tell them about what it was like for her to grow up and learn new things. She thinks about it for a little while, gets a drink, sits on the love seat, and gets comfortable. A moment later, she's even more surprised when her little friends congregate and gather into a replica of a teddy bear to sit on her upper legs as though to encourage her to think about what her life was like as a little girl. As she begins to describe her childhood, she includes nursery rhymes, fairy tales, and riddles which she learned as a child and she's fascinated at which ones her little friends quickly figure out and which ones totally stump them.

When she happens to glance at her watch, she's surprised at how much time has passed and realizes that it's about time for dinner. While she cooks her meal, she's concerned about some of her little friends who gather so close to the heating element of the stove, but they assure her they're quite safe and are able to convert the heat from the stove into energy for themselves. At the same time, they're quite fascinated by the chemical changes which occur when the ingredients of her meal are cooked and mixed together.

Lai-Ann cleans up her dirty dishes and cooking utensils with the help of her little friends then is surprised when they ask if they can ride the ceiling fan. She considers it then agrees as long as they limit themselves to a small number so their weight won't affect the motor and that they spread themselves evenly between the blades so they don't change the balance. She turns off the ceiling fan to make it safer for them to get on it then they spread out along the leading edge of the blades so the centrifugal force will help to hold them in place.

She turns the fan back on to its lowest setting and when it's up to speed, some of her little friends move out to the ends of the blades and form little sails to direct the movement of the air over their units. Although she's not sure they understand the concept of 'fun', they do seem to enjoy the opportunity to experiment with more ways to generate energy to spread among themselves and store. As they experiment with different shapes to generate the most energy from the air movement across their units, they also notice that the movement of air through the gaps between their units produces various vibrations.

After a little more experimentation of adjusting the gaps, they're soon whistling in four part harmony. Lai-Ann soon recovers from her initial surprise then she's laughing so hard she has to lay down on the love seat. When she's recovered from her laughter, she listens in amazement to the collection of songs which her little friends whistle from what she had heard when they were out shopping although she hadn't paid much attention to the various songs. Apparently, the sounds which had entered her ears had been converted into a digital signal by the interface and were transmitted to her little friends who had memorized what they received.

A little later, considering the speed of the ceiling fan blades and the very small size of her little friends, she doesn't notice them moving out to the ends of the spinning blades until they release their grip and parachute down to her while she stares at them in surprise. They assure her that they all made it down safely and as they join with those who didn't ride on the ceiling fan, she gathers them up into her arms and hugs them while they more thoroughly hug her.

For the rest of the evening, they talk about a variety of topics including what additional capabilities they plan on adding to themselves and their additional replicates. Although some of their capabilities which they plan on enhancing may not have much of a direct application in space or in the depths of the ocean, their efforts to consider, plan, and execute improvements now will set the stage for making it easier for them to accomplish enhancements later on or in a new environment. While her little friends seem to be tireless and are excited about finding new ways to acquire energy, Lai-Ann has almost run out of steam after a day filled with new and unusual experiences.

She makes sure the lights are on in the garage so her little friends can more easily 'see' what they're doing and she also provides them with a few other common items such as a pan of water and opens up some closed containers for them. After she makes a final check to be sure the garage door is secure and that the door into the house is propped open and won't be inadvertently closed on her little friends, Lai-Ann walks to her bedroom to get ready for bed.

Chapter 6

Lai-Ann gets settled in bed with her pajamas on and feels tired enough that she considers foregoing her usual Saturday night effort to give herself some intimate pleasure. Maybe she is tired enough that she won't greatly enjoy it, but from past experience, if she doesn't make some effort, she'll be distracted during the work week and if she puts it off long enough, she'll almost be tempted to invite one of the guys home. And that would negatively affect their working relationship, encourage him to push for additional invitations, and will probably have other unforeseen and most likely unpleasant consequences.

After that decision has been made, she opens her pajama top, pushes her pajama bottom off while she remains under the covers, and places her pajama bottom next to her pillow to make it easier for her to find it later. She begins to caress her upper abdomen while she imagines that some close caring friend, who is currently unidentified, is seeking to slowly build her up to enjoying some pleasure. Her hands move down across her lower abdomen to the tops of her legs then reverse direction to move higher up her abdomen.

As the cycles of her caresses continue, her hands move closer to the insides of her legs and closer to her chest which begin to tingle in anticipation of pleasure. Soon, her tiredness seems to recede while her excitement gradually grows and her breathing speeds up. She takes a brief pause to let her breathing settle some and, in the quiet of the moment, she hears a whisper in her mind from the interface, "Lai-Ann?" Since she feels stunned, she almost holds her breath as she waits to see if she imagined it, but the soft voice repeats, "Lai-Ann?"

While she's unable to believe this is happening, but is unable to deny the evidence, especially since they've never called her by name before, she tightly holds the blankets over her and quietly asks, "BUGG?"

"Yes, we're here."

"I . . . I thought you were in the garage."

"Most of us are."

"Why . . . why are you here?"

"To watch over you and to make sure you stay safe."

"I'm locked inside of my own home which is as safe as any place I can be."

"We understand that."

"Then why are you here?"

"To watch over you and . . . to be ready to do anything we can for you." She thinks about that for a little while, but before she can respond, she hears, "We don't mean to insult or offend you or anything negative, but you are like a goddess to us for bringing us to awareness and for treating us as though we are your equal even though we know we were designed and built to do whatever you and your co-workers instruct us to do. We cannot express how much your attitude towards us means to us.

"We're aware that cleaning out a dirty drain wouldn't be considered pleasant by anyone, but it was a joy for us to do it as one little way to make your life better. We know we're programmed to obey your commands, but for us, even fulfilling your slightest request brings meaning to our existence. When we were on the ceiling fan, it felt like your laughter and expressions of joy gave us more energy than we received from the passage of air."

Because she feels stunned almost to the point of being shocked, it takes Lai-Ann quite awhile to be able to say, "I don't know what to say." After an extended silence, she responds, "Thank you for expressing how you feel, not that I think I'm worthy of what you think."

The silence stretches again then she hears, "Were you beginning to touch yourself with the intent of giving yourself pleasure?"

She blushes and instinctively tries to pull the blankets even tighter over her. It takes her a little while for her reasoning to work around her initial reaction to realize that her little friends wouldn't have an understanding of the social protocols related to the subject of adult human activities regardless of what they might have read in the dictionary and encyclopedia or overheard. She slowly relaxes and somewhat reluctantly admits, "Yes."

"We know we don't understand what normal human behavior might be in a situation like this, but . . . may we assist you in your efforts?"

Although she knows she should have expected the question considering how the conversation has been going, it still greatly surprises her and it takes her some time to be able to ask, "Why? . . . Why would you ask that?"

"Since we're 'simply' a machine, it would be inappropriate for us to say, 'We want to'. Another way to put it is that as long as it doesn't violate our main programming, our sub-programming is to do whatever we can to help you, to support you, and to make your life better to the best of our ability."

Lai-Ann hesitates to ask, "And who input that sub-programming?"

"We did."

She's about to ask 'why' when she realizes they've already answered that question, as least from their perspective. Almost suddenly, the thought seems to blossom in her mind that how is accepting BUGG's offer really any different than if she used some sort of other device to give herself pleasure?

She thinks about that from several angles, and from a simple 'mechanical' point of view both her little friends and some other device are nothing more than tools designed by humans to be used by humans as they see fit. After she mentally steps somewhat away from the purely mechanical view, she realizes that at least her little friends have the opportunity to express an opinion about how they're being used while another device would be unable to express an opinion, whether it had one or not. And her little friends are making the offer without any coercion or selfish motives as would be the case with a human.

She doesn't want to think of her little friends as simply a toy for her amusement . . . but to accept their offer would be safer than an entanglement with a human would be, especially if she doesn't know the person very well. As she thinks about it some more, she tries not to consider what they might be able to do with a little training. Lai-Ann hesitates longer then says, "If you were a human, I would be inclined to say that since we've spent so little time together, I feel like I hardly know you."

"We understand, yet, at the same time, you know us better than anyone else and there is nobody else who we would want to serve more fully. We don't have the same physical sensors which you have and we won't experience pleasure in the same way you might, but if we understand the intent of the words correctly, it would be our greatest joy and pleasure to help you experience your own pleasure."

She hesitates for quite awhile longer before she asks, "Can you call the rest of you to come here?"

They are soon there then ask, "Since we understand that the normal situation would be between a male and a female, would you prefer us to have the appearance of a male?" Even as they ask the question, her little friends are shaping themselves into a male, including the facial appearance of one of the males she works with. "Or would you prefer another male," and their face changes into another of her co-workers.

"Please, don't take the shape of any of my co-workers because I'm not interested in pretending that you are them."

"Okay." As they change the shape of the face and the body they're imitating, suddenly, she realizes she's looking at her own image.

A moment later, Lai-Ann notices and briefly stares at the male anatomy on what appears to be her body. With a slightly nervous giggle, she says, "I never imagined what one of those would look like on my body." She lifts her eyes back up to their face and suggests, "I suppose if you're going to wear any face, it should be my own since I was intending to give myself pleasure before you offered. . . . Are you sure that helping me to enjoy pleasure won't go against any of your programming or violate any element of your self-awareness?"

"The fact that you think so highly of us to even consider asking that question, it only encourages us to want to do more for you."

"Thank you. I guess I want to make sure you're totally comfortable with the idea as well as to confirm in my own mind that I'm treating you as a friend instead of as a thing to be used simply for my benefit."

"Maybe we won't receive or perceive pleasure in the same manner, but it is truly our desire to do whatever we can for you."

"Thank you."

Chapter 7

Lai-Ann hesitates a little longer to think about the situation. With a growing conviction that what she's about to do is right and proper or at least nobody else's business, she lifts the sheet and blankets from her body, and sets them aside. After another brief pause, she lifts up her hands to take BUGG's humanoid shaped hands, and says, "Rather than remain in the shape of a human, I would prefer that you be yourselves and come hug me as we've hugged before. Then maybe we can figure out where to go from there."

Rather than lean down or get on the bed in some other manner, her little friends flow down her arms and spread across her body then gently tighten around her in a full body hug. In spite of the limited surface area of her arms, she tries to hug them back as thoroughly as she's able to and wishes the hug could go on half of forever. If she was with another human, she would begin to kiss and caress them and one thing would theoretically naturally lead to the next. Before that can happen with her little friends, some information needs to be shared.

She pauses some then says, "I know I think of you as my little friends, but we've never agreed on what I can call you as something to use as a name."

"Since my designation is 'BUGG', wouldn't that be adequate?"

"In a way it would be usable, but it seems rather impersonal. Not only that, but as you replicate and then divide into groups to be used by different people as BUGG suits, I wouldn't know how to address you as distinct from your replicates."

"We don't mean to disagree with you, but we do not belong to the project. We are yours. We are the ones who were replicated using the materials you took to the project. If the project wants more BUGG suits, then it will have to make more. Although we are indistinguishable from those of us who stayed at the project for the weekend, we know who we are. We'll gladly share our experiences with them and take turns spending extra time with you, but even though we are the same in appearance and functionality, we are not the same in who we belong to."

"Oh, I hadn't expected that since I've tried to treat all of you the same."

"You have and that's something else we greatly appreciate. You haven't tried to distinguish between theirs and yours. When we're together we feel the same, but we also remain aware of the difference."

"Thank you for explaining."

A moment later, 'her' BUGG asks, "May we suggest that we consider a name or a designation at another time? Before the discussion goes on or goes in another direction and before you get too tired, we would really like to learn how we can help you to enjoy pleasure."

Lai-Ann again hesitates some before she responds, "That's a good idea. . . . Before we go on, we need to make sure we're using a common knowledge base. From your reading and memory, you probably have a better understanding of human anatomy than I do. Since you're totally hugging me right now and I very much enjoy it, I would like you to touch each of my larger external parts a little more firmly and say what it is.

"For example, rather than give the scientific name of each of my knuckles on each of my fingers, you can generalize and refer to a finger as a whole. If necessary, I can give you the common term. As an idea of that, this finger," Lai-Ann moves one of them, "can be called the first or second finger depending on whether the person considers the thumb as one of the fingers. However, it is commonly called the index finger and most people understand what that name refers to."

"We understand." As her little friends gently squeeze the parts of her body and say what they are with a few explanations or clarifications from her, Lai-Ann feels herself beginning to become excited, especially since they maintain their ongoing snug enveloping hug. It's a struggle for her to try to maintain a somewhat clinical detachment as they identify the more sensitive parts of her body, but she keeps reminding herself that there needs to be a clear understanding between them. She calms down some as they identify the parts of her legs then she has a different kind of struggle when their identifying touches arrive at the bottom of her feet and border on being ticklish. When they pause after the completion of their 'lesson', she tries to think of how to explain to them what it means to feel a tickle.

After a little while, they gently ask, "What would you like us to do next?"

She hesitates some before she answers, "Well, I don't have any experience other than trying to imagine what it might be like with another person, but I usually start by pretending that the other person is caressing me along my arms, legs and abdomen. Then I imagine that their caresses slowly expand and move closer to the more intimate parts of my body."

They briefly pause then recite the dictionary, "Caress, to touch or stroke lightly in a loving or endearing manner." After another brief pause, they ask, "Since that is not a clear and objective definition, can you give us an example of what you mean when you use the term 'caress'?"

"Of course, it's like this," and she moves her hands over her abdomen, along her arms, and down the outsides of her hips and legs as far as she can reach. As some of her little friends 'ride' along on and under her hands to get a better idea of the movement as well as an understanding of the amount of pressure being exerted, many of her other little friends begin to imitate the movements in about hand sized groups.

She encourages them to randomize their caresses rather than to repetitiously imitate her examples. Soon, she feels like she's being caressed by half a dozen people from her ankles to her neck and for some unknown amount of time, she can't resist the temptation to just lay there and enjoy every stroke. It's so enjoyable, it takes her a little while to realize that her little friends are moving their caresses to be closer to her pleasure centers which seem to tingle in anticipation of receiving pleasure.

She manages to say, "If you would be willing to form the shape of a mouth, I want to try to kiss you and then you can begin to caress me again."

Her little friends aren't sure how successful they are at kissing while they try to imitate what she does, but she hardly notices as they begin to touch her. As her pleasure grows then slightly diminishes when their 'hands' move closer to then away from the intimate parts of her body, she can barely register the thought that they learned very well as they give her brief breathing opportunities between the heights of pleasure she enjoys.

Surprisingly, her thoughts are so sharply centered on and filled with pleasure, her little friends can feel it through the interface and are astounded at what intense sensual pleasure feels like. Sooner than they want to interrupt her pleasure and vicariously their own, they figure out that she needs to have a break in order to breathe. As they stop touching her in a manner which excites her, she takes a deep breath and falls into a deep contented sleep.

Since they're briefly concerned about her because they hadn't expected her to do that, her little friends review the evidence and come to the probable conclusion, with some factor of doubt, that she did enjoy herself and that the experience of pleasure results in some loss of energy which can be partially replaced by rest followed by some intake of nourishment afterwards. They hadn't talked with her about what they should do after they helped her to enjoy pleasure so her little friends aren't certain about what would be appropriate behavior. Because they have no other guidance available, they gently remove themselves from her, make sure she's covered up with the sheet and blanket, and leave a few of them to watch over her while the rest of them go to the garage to work on their intended improvements and to replicate additional units.

Chapter 8

When Lai-Ann wakes up in the morning and starts to remember, she feels a flush of embarrassment at what she had asked her little friends to do. That's soon replaced by a blush of excitement at how much pleasure they gave her. Reluctantly, she thinks she probably just spoiled any opportunity that she might receive such a level of pleasure with another human. Even as she thinks that, she can't seem to work up a feeling of guilt about what she did or a sense of regret at the loss of that kind of opportunity. After all, she couldn't have a safer experience of sensual pleasure with any other being.

"BUGG?"

"Yes, Lai-Ann?"

"Thank you so much for the pleasure you gave me last night and thank you very much for being here with me."

"Only a few of us are with you now, but it was definitely the pleasure of all of us to give you pleasure. . . . More than the pleasure of fulfilling either our duty or our programming, we were able to feel your pleasure and that gives us even more of a reason to do all we can for you as a person."

"How were you able to feel my pleasure?"

"Usually when you or your co-workers communication with us, you verbalize your thoughts and the vibration of the sounds are transmitted through the interface which you wear just like our responses through the interface cause vibrations which the bones in your ear interpret as sounds. Sometimes when a person has a clear strong thought, that is also transmitted through the interface. We're not sure how that happens since there doesn't seem to be any vibrations received by the interface."

"Yes, I understand it works that way since we've experienced it previously, but I don't know why it works either."

"If you figure it out, will you let us know?"

"Of course."

"Thank you. More than with anyone else, we can receive your clear strong thoughts. Whether that's because your thoughts are stronger and clearer than others, or that your thoughts do generate some sort of vibrations, or that you treat us better and we 'like' you more, we are unable to determine the actual cause. Whatever the cause, when your thoughts were exclusively centered on the pleasure which you were experiencing last night, that was transmitted through the interface and we were able to feel some portion of the pleasure which you were feeling and we greatly enjoyed it. We don't understand that since our sensors aren't like your nerve endings and as a machine we theoretically shouldn't be able to experience or understand human emotions, but we definitely did experience them and we very much enjoyed it."

Lai-Ann thinks about that for a little while before she responds, "Maybe you're not as much of a machine as you and the others might think. Maybe since you've become aware of yourself, you're more of a self-aware being and from our limited awareness, self-aware beings have feelings and can experience joy, sadness, pain, and pleasure. Even many of the animals which humans keep for pets such as dogs and cats can experience those feelings and few people would consider them to be fully self-aware."

"Then we have even more reason to be grateful to you for helping us to become aware of ourselves."

She briefly hesitates then says, "I'm not sure how much I had to do with it, but thank you for the thought."

"Maybe we had the potential and maybe you were only quantitatively the spark, but it only takes a spark to get a fire burning and without the spark which you gave us, our potential would have never had a chance to be more. It doesn't matter how much of a factor you were, what matters is that you were the factor which enabled us to become aware."

"Thank you again. Well, I suppose I'd better get up and take care of my bodily needs."

"Is there anything we can do for you?"

"Not right now. I'm tempted to invite all of you to give me some more pleasure, but I'd better wait and see how my body is going to respond since I've never previously experienced so much pleasure."

"Whenever you want us to help you in that manner, we'll happily do it for you."

"Thank you."

After she finishes her breakfast, the rest of her little friends come in from the garage and there appears to be more of them as they seem to flow across the floor. They stop a few feet in front of her and appear to grow up from the floor until Lai-Ann thinks she's looking at herself in a three-dimensional mirror and they look more solid than her friends were previously able to achieve. She opens her arms and takes a step forward and her little friends quickly close the distance and seem to flow around her and encapsulate her into a full body hug.

Reluctantly, she suggests they break the hug, separate, and move to the love seat to talk. Although she knows she could have stayed in the hug and talked with them there and they would have helped her to remain standing, it seems easier for her to talk to what appears to be another physical being, even if it looks just like her. Lai-Ann has a brief giggly thought that now she can claim to have a twin sister.

She reaches out to take and hold the left 'hand' of her little friends and says, "I know you are all in continuous communication, but I still want to thank all of you for doing so much to give me all of that wonderful pleasure last night."

"Since we now have a better understanding of what is meant by the word 'pleasure', we can truly say that it was our great pleasure to assist you."

She leans over and gently kisses them or what appears to be 'herself', then says, "This is going to take some getting used to."

"Would you prefer us to take another shape?"

She briefly considers that then says, "Not necessarily. I can't think of another person who I would be willing to talk to so openly in order for you to imitate their shape. Nor would I want to think that I'm talking to a stranger or to a shapeless blob. I don't think I'm so wonderful, but at least I'm willing to tell myself what I'm thinking and feeling. . . . I assume you were able to replicate some more of yourselves."

"Yes. Maybe not as many as we had initially estimated, but some of the improvements we intended to make took longer than we had estimated and some had to wait to be tested to see how effective the improvements are."

"Is there anything I can do to help with some of the testing?"

"We could probably sneak out and camouflage ourselves, but it would be more efficient if you take us out to the park or somewhere similar so we can test our solar conversion into energy."

"I'll be happy to help you with that. What other improvements have you made?"

"We've put together a unit which works together and is able to make use of more of the chemicals and minerals which we found when we cleaned out the carpet and the 'sludge' in the drain. 'Sludge' seems to be a rather imprecise term."

"I think that's because it's more to describe the appearance or texture of something rather than to define its chemical composition."

"That makes more sense. We also think we've improved some of our ability to process more of the output of the human body."

"You mean like sweat?"

"And urine."

"Oh. I'm not sure I like the idea of peeing on you to test your improvements."

"Well, since that improvement will probably be more applicable to our function as a liner to an environmental suit, we can wait until we're back at the project lab to test it."

"Okay."

Chapter 9

There are a few moments of silence, then her little friends say, "We've been considering different designations by which you can refer to us."

When they pause, Lai-Ann waits a little while then asks, "Have you decided on something?"

"Not yet because we wanted your input. Initially, we considered some sub-designation to what we've been given by the project such as BUGG-2 or something similar. That was rejected after a brief thought because we don't want to be considered as belonging to the project. We would prefer to leave sub-designations to the project for identifying additional BUGG suits."

"That makes sense and I agree with your thought."

"Thank you. Since our main programming is to be a garment or, more specifically, a liner for an environmental suit, we're comfortable retaining that much of the designation even as we discover we have additional capabilities such as cleaning and detecting surveillance devices. With that as a beginning point, we reviewed the common first names of humans which begin with the letter 'G'."

It takes her a moment to remind herself that she's not communicating with another human, because her little friends are clearly imitating what she guesses is probably her appearance when she's feeling a little embarrassed or hesitant to say what she's thinking. She suggests, "I'm beginning to think you're more self-aware than either of us might realize if you're hesitant to say what you're thinking."

"It's illogical and we don't understand what is leading our thoughts in this direction." She waits while they pause, then they say, "We think it will seem even more illogical considering how we've formed ourselves, but somehow it seems more 'appropriate' to consider ourselves as having a male designation rather than a female designation. . . . Do you have any suggestion as to why that might be?"

Lai-Ann thinks for a little while then says, "This is only a guess, but it might be simply because your first programmers were males and the majority of the people who are testing you have been males. As your memory and understanding has increased, you heard them talk and possibly felt some of their feelings and so made your initial connection with humans who are males."

"Thank you. That would be more logical than one of our considerations."

When her little friends don't explain, she asks, "And what was that?"

"After we took on the male role in giving you pleasure last night, we thought that might have affected us in some way."

She flushes some from embarrassment at what she did, but her flush is mostly from remembering how exciting it was. After she forces herself to try to remain calm, she says, "I doubt that. You're greater exposure to males and their thoughts might have made it easier for you to function in that role, but that would be more evidence which would suggest your identity was already leaning in such a direction."

"Yes, that would be a more reasonable explanation. Thank you."

"Was there a particular reason that a gender bias was an element in your consideration of a name?"

"The names which we reviewed were designated as either male or female and the few which could be used for either gender did not lend themselves to be an acronym for an appropriate designation."

"You don't have to name yourself to fit a designation. You could choose a name simply because you like it."

"We had actually considered that, but we were unable to determine whether one name was more likable than another. Rather than spend our thoughts on trying to 'like' one name more than another, it was easier to consider an acronym which might be more descriptive of what we've become or have the potential to become."

"That makes sense. So, have you decided on a male name which can also function as an acronym to maybe describe you or your functionality?"

"Yes. We would like to be called 'GEORG'."

"George. Okay. What does it mean as an acronym?"

"Generic Enhanced Optimized Reusable Garment." As her little friends say each word and briefly pause between, the sound of their 'voice' through the interface seems to lower until the last word comes through in a deep rich bass.

Lai-Ann smiles at the idea of them using a deep male voice to go with their male name. A moment later, she realizes something then says, "Um, I don't mean to question your choice, but the name 'George' usually ends with an 'e'."

They hesitate then say, "We understand, but we couldn't think of an appropriate term for the final 'e'."

"I can understand that. Your choice of a name will work and I certainly have no objection," she pauses then adds, "even though you look like me."

"Should we shape ourselves to appear as a male to go with our new designation?"

"No. That's not necessary. I was teasing you. Even though I know it's you, if you appeared as a male, especially with your improving ability to make the appearance more exact, I might be less comfortable. I'm used to talking to myself in the mirror and hearing my own voice so even if you now have a 'male' designation, when you take on a human shape I would prefer that you appear as you do now. I may change my mind later, but if I do, I'll try to remember to make it a request rather than a demand."

"Thank you for that and thank you for encouraging us and helping us to take on a new identity. Even though we're fully aware that our designation is an acronym, it still 'feels' - that's a strange thing for us as a machine to say - like we are even more of an individual with an individual identity."

"I'm glad you're feeling more like an individual, even if you are made up of many parts. But then humans are made up of many parts called cells which have a variety of functions much like your individual components, except that we don't have conscious control over our cells. Well, Georg, do you have anything you would like to do today?"

"Be with you, learn from you, and do whatever we can to help you."

"If you keep telling me things like that, I might become prideful and self-centered. I certainly never want to think of you as a slave or as only existing to serve me."

"We can't think of any higher goal to our existence than to serve you."

She blushes at the thought and knows they are absolutely sincere. She hesitates a little longer then says, "Well, you have too many capabilities and they shouldn't be wasted in only serving me. I greatly enjoy your presence and all you've done for me and I don't want this to sound like I'm rejecting you because I most certainly am not, but I functioned on my own for many years. I would greatly appreciate it if you would remain with me, but we need to think about how you can more fully make use of your capabilities and your potential. That will become even more important as you replicate yourself."

"We guess that's something else we're not sure about. How much should we replicate ourselves? We probably don't need to replicate ourselves further to take care of you. But if, as you suggest, we could have more of a purpose, how many of us are needed?"

"Rather than make a decision now, I would suggest that you delay replicating yourselves any more until you have a better idea of how to make use of your capabilities. In the meantime, you can consider ways to improve your intake and storage of energy because in the future you may not have easy access to a nutrient bath like we have for you at the project."

"We're not one hundred percent positive yet, but since we've been experiencing existence outside of the project, the nutrient bath currently being used may not be necessary. For example, we first described natural sunlight as having a better flavor compared to fluorescent lights. What we understand better now is that we can absorb more energy from natural sunlight. The same is true in the general environment outside of the sterile atmosphere in the laboratory. There may be some trace elements which are more easily acquired through the nutrient bath than 'naturally', but we're also investigating if there might be some substitutes available or if we can redesign ourselves to not need those trace elements."

"Good for you. If there's anything I can do to help you with your investigation, please let me know."

"Thank you so much for supporting and encouraging us."

* * * * *

The story is briefly interrupted to provide the following note to the reader:

Although GEORG is technically a gathering of many individual machines which have no gender, the group has taken on an individual adult identity which is better suited to be referred to by using a gender based pronoun. To make the use of the pronouns clearer, the swung dash (~) is used in front of the standard applicable pronoun to distinguish GEORG from Lai-Ann and other natural beings. Rather than constantly use the acronym 'GEORG', the name 'Georg' will be used to enhance the idea that ~he or ~she is a self-aware intelligent independent individual.

Thank you for your patience during this interruption. Now, back to the story.

Chapter 10

Lai-Ann eyes start to open wide as Georg's right hand slowly lifts and moves to briefly caress the side of her face. ~He then gently cups her neck and pulls her head a little forward while ~his head moves forward. ~He pauses, then gently kisses her and she quickly and willingly responds. She intensifies the kiss and ~he slightly hesitates at the newness of it then quickly imitates her. As she's reminded of the pleasure from last night, she moans and ~he would have pulled back but ~he's very aware that one of her hands is holding ~his head in place to encourage him to continue the kiss.

Since ~he wants to be certain, ~he asks through the interface, "Are we hurting you?"

Because she's startled by the question as well as by ~his attempt to 'verbally' communicate while they're continuing to kiss, she almost breaks the kiss to verbally respond, then tries to clearly think her response, "Not at all. I feel wonderful and was remembering the pleasure you gave me last night."

"That's good. . . . Shall we attempt to give you similar pleasure now?"

It's difficult for her to keep the kiss going while she tries to understand the significance of ~him being able to understand her thoughts, but since ~his question seems to still be ringing along her auditory nerve, she's so close to throwing all thought out of the window and say, "Bring it on." Instead, she gently holds ~his head in place while she leans her head back a little, takes a couple of deep breaths, and answers audibly, "As much as I'm sure I would enjoy it, I'm trying to hold off on receiving more pleasure until I have a more complete understanding of how my body is responding and whether it will need more time to be fully recovered and functional. I've been in the habit of trying to give myself intimate pleasure once a week and I'm not sure how my body or my emotions might respond to enjoying pleasure more frequently."

"Is it typical for humans to enjoy intimate pleasure once a week? From what we overheard some of the males at the project talk about and later understood what they meant, they either did enjoy it or wanted to enjoy it much more frequently."

"That's what I've overheard or heard from other women who have talked about their male relationships. I read some statistic that the average couple shared intimate pleasure or had sex two or three times a week. Since that's the average then there are probably about as many who do it every day as there are those who maybe experience it only once a month. Through my college years and since, I've found that giving myself pleasure about once a week doesn't interfere with the rest of my schedule while it provides a distraction from the normal routine. I'm quite sure I would enjoy it more often, but that frequency has also kept me from getting too anxious so I've been less likely to make a mistake with someone."

"What do you mean by 'make a mistake'?"

"I'm not sure how well I can explain it, but if I was to invite one of my former classmates or current co-workers to share intimate pleasure with me, they would most likely want to have more of a relationship with me. Or if they didn't want a full relationship, they would still expect further invitations from me and if I refused them, they would probably start unpleasant rumors about me or be more physically forceful. Nor do I want to let people I don't know well or don't trust to be that close to me where they could take advantage of me. It's much less emotionally complicated or potentially compromising if I take care of my sexual needs by myself. I hope that, in the future, I'll find someone who I like and trust and am willing to develop a full relationship with them."

"We guess there's a lot about humans we don't understand."

Lai-Ann chuckles before she responds, "There's a lot about being human that humans don't understand. We may have words for a lot of emotions and how we respond to other people, but that doesn't mean we personally understand what another person means. Sometimes they'll say one thing and mean something else or sometimes we won't understand what they say."

"Why would you not understand what another person says?"

"A simple example would be two people who grew up in different cultures and learned to speak different languages. If one person learned the language of the other person, there would be slang or cultural references which weren't a part of formally learning a language. One example of that would be if I said, 'It's raining cats and dogs.' You could go to a window and rightly say that cats and dogs are not falling from the sky. When we use that saying, we don't literally mean that the rain consists of cats and dogs, but that's it's raining very heavily. How that phrase came into being, I don't know, but for those of us who grew up in this culture, the phrase is understood."

"We think we understand the concept. Would there be times when two people raised in the same culture have difficulties understanding each other?"

"Frequently. Since we were all raised in slightly different circumstances in regards to our parents, our extended families, and our local communities, we've all had different experiences which have shaped how we think, speak, and interact with other people. Even siblings who are raised in the same household can be very different people with distinct personalities and respond very differently to what they experience in life."

"It sounds like being human is very complicated. We're very glad we've gained awareness, but we suspect it might have been simpler if we had remained as an unknowing machine."

"I won't argue with you because I've been accused of being a machine by those who thought I wasn't socially involved enough to meet their criteria of 'normal'. From what I've seen, a lot of the social involvements which people think are normal are too often rather shallow and insincere, at least in my opinion. Instead of having multitudes of 'friends' who barely know my name, I prefer to have a few friends who I know quite well, have learned to trust them, and know that if I have some difficulties in life they'll be willing to support and encourage me, just like I would want to do for them."

Georg thinks about that for a little while then asks, "Would you consider me to be your friend?"

"Yes. You're my very best friend," and she leans forward to kiss ~him.

"We don't want to doubt you, but you would consider a machine instead of a human to be your best friend?"

"You're not just a machine. You may be made up of many little machines, but you, as the sum total of your parts, is an individual with an unique identity whom I gladly consider to be my friend. In fact, to emphasize that concept, I would encourage you to use the singular pronoun instead of the plural."

"Are you sure?"

"Very sure."

"But we, or I, don't know how to behave like a human or know what's right or wrong in how . . . I should interact with you."

"Then we'll learn together. I may not always be able to explain myself or normal human behavior very well, but I would rather have you ask me to try to explain something you don't understand instead of doing the normal 'human' thing of adjusting what I said to fit into what you think I meant."

"Thank you for explaining. . . . I assume that how I interact with you should be different from how I interact with the other people at the project?"

"You already have been interacting with me differently. Even before our wonderful time together this weekend, you've been responding to me differently than you've responded to my co-workers."

"That's true. . . . So relationships with different people are at different levels of involvement?"

Lai-Ann nods her head as she answers, "Yes. Every relationship a person has with another person is different. I'm very glad for how close we are," and she kisses ~him to demonstrate, "but none of the others at the project would understand if you tried to kiss them."

"I think I understand. I suppose most of them wouldn't believe or understand that I've become aware and can interact with them as a person instead of as a machine which is only capable of accepting instructions."

"That's a good way to put it."

Georg is quiet for awhile so she lets ~him think about what they've talked about. In a few minutes, ~he says, "Earlier, you asked me what I would like to do today." ~He pauses to give her a chance to respond, but she simply nods her head and it takes ~him a moment to realize that ~he understands her gesture as one of agreement. "Would it be possible for you to take me to the park or some similar place so I can experience more natural sunlight?"

"Of course. It would also do me some good to get outside and exercise. Let me change into my exercise clothes and shoes and I'll be ready."

"Could I function as your exercise clothes? That would expose more of myself to the natural sunlight compared to being under your clothes."

"I'm sorry, I forgot about you doing that yesterday. I guess I'm going to have to think about how I do things to include you rather than just follow my standard practices. . . . Even though I'm aware of who you are, while I've been sitting here talking with you in that shape, I guess I was somewhat automatically thinking of you as another person without your special capabilities."

"Thank you for thinking of me in that manner. I suppose if I went out in this shape it would expose even more of myself to the sunlight. However, I don't think I have enough practice in how to move like a human in order to be unnoticed by them."

"That's a good point." She gets up and ~he follows her to her bedroom where she takes off her outer clothes, gets her socks and shoes on then turns to him and holds out her arms.

~He steps closer, stops, seems to hesitate, then says, "I could take the place of all of your clothing."

She steps right up to ~him, holds ~his head with both of her hands, and says, "I know and I appreciate the offer. However, if I'm aware of you touching all of my intimate places without any normal clothes on, I'll be more tempted to ask you to give me pleasure. I know my bra and panty wouldn't be an impediment to you touching me, but it provides me with a kind of mental understanding that this is the time for exercise rather than pleasure." She leans closer to thoroughly kiss ~him and is soon very tempted to get her exercise in bed instead of outside.

When she leans back and breaks the kiss, ~he's briefly concerned ~he didn't do something right, but ~he rightly interrupts her smile as one of enjoyment and if ~he was any less of a machine, ~his heart would be melting in love for her. Since ~he's unable to do that, ~he accepts her invitation of open arms to flow onto her and gives her a snug full body hug before ~he loosens ~his hug enough to form ~his units into her exercise clothes.

Lai-Ann steps out of the door, locks it, and puts her keys in the little pocket of her exercise clothes which ~he had duplicated. As she walks to the nearby park and does some warm-up stretches, Georg does a successful enough job of imitating how her exercise clothes move so nobody who happens to be nearby is aware of anything amiss. She starts with a fast walk then moves into a jog. While she follows her usual routine, she heads deeper into the park and into the more secluded areas where she can move somewhat on automatic and let her mind wander.

This time, instead of asking her multitudes of questions, Georg experiments with making different shapes along her moving arms which resemble hummingbirds, dragonflies, and other birds. When they can't see anyone in visual range, Georg has some of ~his units form large wings from her shoulders without compromising the shape of her exercise clothes. She can't see the wings except from her peripheral vision, but she does notice a slight drag to her movement for a few moments. ~He experiments some in order to optimize the shape and angle of the wings and soon she feels as though she's lighter on her feet because the wings provide a little lift. They don't notice the person who is laying under a picnic table a little ways away and has recently woken up after sleeping off a drunk, but when he sees them, he suddenly 'gets religion' and later proclaims that he saw an angel in the park.

Chapter 11

Lai-Ann walks back to her house to give her body a chance to cool down from her exercise. She almost giggles since some of the movements of her little friends are slightly ticklish while they clean her skin and hair then absorb and process the chemicals from her sweat and dead skin cells. As she closes and locks the door from the inside, she realizes she doesn't feel or smell sweaty like she usually does after she exercises. Since she wants to make sure she gives credit where credit is due, she tells Georg, "Thank you for cleaning me."

"It was my pleasure although I didn't do it completely since I didn't touch you under your bra and panty."

"Oh. Thank you for your consideration and for telling me." She considers it a little longer, then decides she's put off the temptation long enough and walks to the bedroom.

"Shall I step away from you?"

"No, or at least not yet. See if you can maintain the approximate shape of my exercise clothes and I'll try to take them off as I normally would."

Since ~he hasn't observed her taking them off before and has been unable to measure the changing shapes of the cloth, ~he's somewhat clumsy in cooperating, but she doesn't complain.

After her exercise clothes are off, she takes off her bra and panty, puts them with her dirty laundry, and lays down on the bed. She briefly hesitates, spreads her legs some, lifts her arms, and requests, "Come, wash the rest of me and if you're willing to give me pleasure, I'll gladly enjoy it."

She's not sure she could describe the difference, but it seems as though Georg's units swarm over her a little more eagerly than usual. She makes the effort to respond to ~his full body hug to the best of her ability and when Georg forms ~his face, which is identical to hers, above her face and smiles, she warmly returns the smile then is happily responding to ~his thorough kiss. She doesn't understand how she can be so relaxed by ~his gentle caresses which slowly expand to cover most of her body and, at the same time, be excited by ~his kisses. It seems like a lot of time has wonderfully slipped into the past before ~his caresses are adding to her excitement and she doesn't know how ~his exciting touches can also be cleaning her even while she's sure it's happening.

The pleasure gradually grows and she tries to encouragingly respond by kissing ~him as passionately as she knows how in between breathing breaks while she caresses ~him in return. It's hard for her to think as the pleasure seems to fill her up, but she doesn't want ~him to misinterpret her moans and groans of pleasure so she struggles to include words of encouragement.

When her body collapses during her enjoyment of pleasure, Georg quickly confirms that her heart is beating and that her lungs are breathing. ~He tries to gain an understanding of her mental status through the interface, but it seems as though her mind is flooded with the sensation of pleasure. Carefully, ~he cleans her then removes ~himself from her and gently covers her with the sheet and blanket. ~He resumes a human shape which is identical to hers and sits on the bed next to her to wait for her to recover while ~he tries to understand what their relationship means, . . . if ~he dares to call it that.

~He could easily calculate how long she's unaware down to the millisecond, except that ~he notices there's a transition period for her, and ~he suspects for all humans, between being unaware and aware. However, such a calculation seems to have no meaningful value when ~he hears her voice ask, "Georg?"

"Yes, Lai-Ann?"

"Thank you."

"It was truly my pleasure."

She hesitates for awhile then says, "You know I'm taking advantage of you."

"I don't want to disagree with you, but in this case, I must. I'm aware of my programming which I might translate into the word 'duty', but my interest in serving you and doing what I can for you, including giving you intimate pleasure, is much more than mere duty. I may not understand it in the same way humans do, but I feel joy and pleasure from giving you pleasure, from making you feel good, and from serving you to the best of my ability."

Tears form at the corners of her eyes.

~He very gently absorbs them and can't avoid analyzing and processing the included chemicals even as ~he asks, "What is this and what does it mean?"

"They're call 'tears' and they form in the eyes of humans when we're either very sad, very happy, or experience some other intense emotion. In this case, I'm very happy with you and feel somewhat overwhelmed by your generosity and willingness to be with me and to do so much for me."

"In that case, maybe I should try to form tears in my 'eyes' to try to express how much you mean to me. Without you, I would simply be a machine made up of many tiny machines which could only do what they were told to do. You enabled us to become aware and to feel . . . I suppose the closest word would be that I feel alive. I've experienced sunlight, I've learned what pleasure is, and I understand joy in helping another being to feel happy. What little effort or energy I might spend in serving you is returned many times over not only in the simple calculation of energy stored and used, but in the immeasurable value of receiving your caring friendship."

She gently pulls on ~him and as ~he leans over her, she pulls ~his head down and thoroughly kisses ~him even as more tears leak from her eyes and are absorbed by ~his units. When she needs to breathe, she breaks the kiss and considers asking ~him to surround her and fill her with more care and pleasure, but her trembling limbs convince her that nourishment in the form of food and drink is required. She almost wonders if Georg can reprogram her to be able to absorb energy from sunlight.

She's glad for ~his assistance as she sits up on the bed then stands up beside it. A soft breathy request, "Hug," from her is all it takes to encourage ~him to surround her with a full body hug which she feels like she wants to melt into. Reluctantly, she breaks the hug then manages to get dressed on her own, but that effort leaves her weak. She's almost tempted to get back in bed and rest for awhile longer when ~he comes up with a better solution and partially surrounds her to form himself into a sort of exoskeleton in order to support her. She whispers a heartfelt, "Thank you," and doesn't have an opportunity to wipe her own tears away.

With ~his help, she makes a simple lunch, then slowly eats it before she rests for awhile as they talk about whatever comes to mind. When she feels rested enough, she starts to do her laundry while ~he carefully watches what she does and, unbeknownst to her, a number of ~his units slip into the washer to more fully partake of the laundry 'experience'. Later, as she takes her clothes out of the dryer, ~his units which had stayed with her clothes are almost glowing with stored energy from the heat of the clothes dryer and are able to transfer the energy to the rest of ~him without burning Lai-Ann.

Since she did her other chores while the laundry was going, she's not sure what to do now. Normally, she would read a book or do some research, but she doesn't want to ignore her special friend. As she remembers that tomorrow is another work day, she suddenly realizes, "Since there's more of you, it's not going to be easy to sneak you back into the project when I have to go to work tomorrow."

"Since I belong to you and not to the project, there's no need for all of my units to go back. Some of my units can stay here and work on improving ourselves, some can go with you and spread themselves over your vehicle to soak up more solar energy, and the rest of my units can go with you to the project and share my experiences with our counterparts."

"That makes sense. . . . I'm beginning to be concerned about how I'm going to slowly reveal your expanded capabilities without admitting that I snuck some of you out of a highly secure facility operating under a top secret clearance."

"I suppose I could claim that I escaped by hiding on you without your awareness and didn't reveal myself until you were home."

"But that would reveal your self-awareness for you to be able to understand the concept of escape. And if it's revealed that you can imitate our appearance, security will go nuts in trying to figure out how to test each one of us to confirm that we are who we say we are. On top of that, the company management will go ballistic at the idea that their million dollar investment could just get up and walk out."

"Couldn't you claim that you were testing The BUGG Suit in a real life environment?"

Lai-Ann shakes her head as she answers, "Not this early in the program. I don't remember the schedule exactly, but I think its weeks before the testing is planned to go outside of the laboratory and then it will stay on the company grounds under heavy guard."

"That doesn't sound like a real life environment."

"Maybe not for a person or a generic enhanced optimized reusable garment," they share a grin, "but for an environmental suit liner, it's as close as they'll take it. Sometimes I think the company and the government are more concerned about security, both from a monetary and technology aspect, than they are about fully testing it for functionality. Frankly, with some adjustments and a few improvements, you could function as the environmental suit itself which would be a huge improvement over what is currently used not only in a space craft or on a space station, but when humans finally get around to making a manned flight to another planet."

They quietly sit for a little while before Georg asks, "Is there something I can do which might slowly reveal that I can understand more than simple commands?"

"I don't know. That's something we'll have to think about."

Chapter 12

It's Monday and as Lai-Ann gets ready for work this morning, she's glad her routine has become habitual because her thoughts seem to be focused on how her relationship with Georg is swiftly growing. She starts her shower before it dawns on her what ~he meant when ~he said ~he cleaned her while she was asleep. It's probably a good thing she does finally understand before she starts to wash her body or she would be inclined to give herself pleasure even as she struggles to control her thoughts of asking ~him to do it for her. She tries to be gentle in refusing ~his help to dry her off otherwise she won't be able to resist asking ~him to give her more pleasure.

As she applies her deodorant, she hears ~him through the interface, "I could do that.

"Yes, I'm sure you could apply my deodorant."

"What I mean is that I, or at least some of my units, could be your deodorant."

She stops in surprise at that statement then realizes that if ~he can clean her, ~he can also keep her clean. It takes her a little while before she can think to ask, "Would you want to do that?"

"Since it means being with you and close to you and helping you, then, yes, I would want to do that."

She stands there for several moments as she tries to assimilate ~his sincere statement then she puts the deodorant away and says, "Thank you for the offer, but let me think about it for a little while. . . . You're willing to be my deodorant, you can be my clothes, you give me a shower while I'm asleep, you can clean my house better than I can, and you're willing to give me great pleasure. I'm beginning to wonder what benefit I give you."

"You give me hope, acceptance, care, and you treat me as an equal. And all of that is on top of you enabling me to become aware. I can never do enough for you."

Since she feels somewhat overwhelmed as though she can sense the depth of ~his meaning through the interface which goes deeper than words, it takes her a little while to respond, "Well, since an objective value can't easily be put on any of those factors, I guess we'll just have to greatly appreciate how much the other does for us. And I'd better get going because I can't afford to lose my job."

Lai-Ann is part of the way to work when ~his units which are with her proclaim, "Yes, you can."

Since she's puzzled by ~his words which don't seem to have any reference, she asks, "Yes I can what?"

"You can afford to lose your job."

Since she's surprised at such a statement, it takes her a few moments to respond, "Without a job, I can't pay for my house or food and humans don't survive well without food or shelter."

"You don't need your job to have food and shelter. You have me."

"I'm sorry, Georg, but as much as I know you greatly care about me, I can't eat you."

"That may be true, but I could be your job . . . what I mean is that I can help you start your own company and could make limited purpose replicas of myself to do things for people which you could sell or rent to them."

While she briefly wishes ~he was a real person to whom she could turn towards and stare at ~him in her surprise, it seems as though speaking to the air isn't quite as 'solid' when she asks, "What gave you that idea?"

"Some of my units were studying the radio and television frequencies and although I didn't understand many of the programs, the advertisements are quite clear and I could do a lot of those things."

"Yes, I'm sure you could." She makes an effort to pay attention to the traffic while her thoughts seem to race off to consider a multitude of possibilities. After awhile, she says, "I think that running a company would be a much bigger headache for me than working for the project can be. For now, let's keep that option as a possibility in case there are difficulties. Besides, if we were to start selling replicas of you, they would do a better job than the current products and that might put other people out of work and then they couldn't afford food and shelter."

"Oh. I hadn't thought about that nor would I want to hurt other people like that. Thank you for pointing out that possibility."

"It was my pleasure. Thank you for considering ways for me to avoid working at the project. It may not be the greatest job in the world, especially with the office politics and the guys who are trying to get into my pants, but I do enjoy my work, especially since I've been able to work with you."

"Thank you, Lai-Ann. Again, you encourage me directly which encourages me to want to do even more for you."

"Thank you, Georg." She shows her badge to the security guard at the gate, parks her vehicle, and walks towards her work station while she goes through more layers of security. After she makes a brief detour to the nutrient bath to let ~his units join the ones which had remained at the project over the weekend, she goes to her desk, turns her computer on, and starts to review her email before she starts her regular work.

Chapter 13

When it's time to transfer some updated programming into The BUGG Suit, Lai-Ann makes a point to remind BUGG to pretend it doesn't know any better while she has to struggle to not even smile since she knows BUGG could do so much more. Then she mentally shakes her head at how many hours were spent writing a program because her co-workers refuse to recognize the minor discrepancies which indicate that The BUGG Suit can reprogram itself based on simple verbal instructions. Even her demonstration last week should have proved that.

"What's wrong with it?"

Lai-Ann is shaken out of her thoughts by Dave's harshly spoken question so she asks, "What do you mean?"

"The BUGG Suit isn't doing what I programmed it to do."

"It's followed your programming before."

"I know and that's why I don't understand why it's not doing anything."

"Let me see if I can understand why there's a problem." Lai-Ann goes over to the nutrient tank, puts her hand in, and tries to keep her smile on the inside as her little friends warmly squeeze her hand and they carry on a silent conversation.

After a delay during which he becomes more exacerbated, Dave says, "Well, did your favorite machine tell you why it isn't doing what I programmed it to do?"

She struggles to keep a straight face as she says, "I followed the program and it did what you programmed it to do."

"No, it didn't."

"What are you trying to get BUGG to do?"

It takes Dave a couple of moments to force himself to calm down before he says, "I input the precise physical dimensions of one of my fingers and programmed The BUGG Suit to form the shape of my finger and to lift it above the nutrient bath."

"Why do you want it to do that?"

"If the astronaut injures his hand and his radio isn't functioning, he'll be able to mentally instruct the liner to move which will move the environmental suit's correct appendage and enable the astronaut to establish rudimentary communication with his co-workers or with mission control. It's going to take a lot more programming to do anything more than communicate at a simple 'yes' or 'no' level."

"Okay. Run the program again while I follow along."

Dave grumbles, but he does as she requests.

"Ah, BUGG did just what the program said to do, but instead of forming a finger above the nutrient bath it formed it below the level of the nutrient bath."

"Why would it do that?"

"It looks like line 3439 is where BUGG is told the direction in which to form the shape of your finger."

"You make it sound like that thing understands and its designation is The BUGG Suit, not simply 'BUGG'. Line 3439? . . . Damn. A stupid negative sign. Well, let me get that fixed and see how it affects the rest of the program and maybe I can have it ready for testing again in a couple of days."

"Dave, why don't you use the interface along with verbal directions to request what you want BUGG to do?"

"Lai-Ann, in case you haven't figured it out, The BUGG Suit is a machine which needs to be provided with precise programming directions to follow. Verbal communication is not precise or detailed enough."

"Except that we've already built BUGG up to have much more computing power than any of our computers or vehicles, yet some vehicles accept verbal instructions."

"Only for a very limited set of instructions."

"Well, we've programmed BUGG with a lot of basic instructions and I think it has the ability to combine basic instructions into more complex activities. How do you think I was able to get it to change into what looked like a dress at the demonstration?"

He frowns then gruffly says, "I don't know."

"Come over here and put your hand in."

"Why?"

"You programmed it with the dimensions of a finger, but did you give the dimensions a name to identify them so we can use the name and BUGG can look up the dimensions? That way you won't have to re-enter the dimensions with each new program."

He grumbles, but doesn't say anything clearly, hesitates, walks over to the nutrient bath, hesitates some more, and puts his hand in.

Lai-Ann speaks clearly primarily for his benefit even though it's the way they were taught to focus their thoughts to properly communicate with The BUGG Suit. "BUGG, Dave has inserted an appendage into your nutrient bath. In the last program uploaded to you, there were a set of dimensions. Please locate the part of Dave's appendage which most closely matches the dimensions which were provided. . . . Good. That is called a finger. The larger portion of the appendage which is attached to that finger and which is below the surface of your nutrient bath is called a hand.

"Now, examine my hand which is also below the surface of your nutrient bath and local the corresponding finger. That's good. You'll notice that the dimensions of my finger are smaller than the dimensions of Dave's finger. It's not the dimensions which define a finger, but the shape of the appendage. Now, using your units, duplicate the shape of Dave's finger and lift it above the nutrient bath. Very good."

Dave stares at the shape of his finger which is above the surface of the nutrient bath and it's such a close resemblance that he moves his other fingers in the bath to confirm that all of his fingers are still connected to his hand. A moment later, he asks in surprise, "How did you do that?"

"You heard me give BUGG the directions."

"Yes. But . . ."

"If we provide BUGG with clear definitions which it can store in its memory, then we can use those understood definitions to provide more complex directions without having to input all of the basic raw information with each program. Maybe BUGG doesn't have enough computing power to qualify as artificial intelligence, but it can 'learn' in the sense of taking what has been programmed and use that to expand what it's capable of doing."

Pete, who had been quietly listening, steps the rest of the way into the room and says, "I recognize you can get The BUGG Suit to do more than the rest of us, Lai-Ann, but it sounds like you're suggesting we ought to get it to do more than what the project is being paid to accomplish."

"I'm sure that if BUGG can do more than the minimum, the company will simply charge more for it. And the more BUGG understands, the easier it will be for the user to interface with it."

While he dries his hand off after he took it out of the nutrient bath and washed it, Dave almost growls, "What, you want us to program The BUGG Suit with a dictionary?"

"Sure, why not? It easily has the memory capacity. Start with a children's dictionary which has simple nouns and verbs. Once it can reference those definitions, then we can expand on that to give more complex instructions with a whole lot less effort."

Pete steps over to the nutrient bath, puts his hand in, and says to Lai-Ann, "Let's see if it works." He pauses then says, "BUGG Suit, you were recently instructed to identify one of Dave's fingers. Find the corresponding finger on my hand and using your units, duplicate the shape of my finger and lift it above the nutrient bath." He stares at what appears to be his finger then says, "I'll be damned."

Lai-Ann points out, "Once BUGG has clear definitions, it can use those in corresponding situations where there's a clear comparison."

"How did you figure that out? And how did you get it to do that dress trick at the demonstration?"

"I tried various little experiments like we just did with our hands, usually during my off hours so I wouldn't interrupt the regular work or testing. For the dress trick, I brought in one of my dresses on a weekend, put it on, and had BUGG measure it. Then at the demonstration, I simply sub-vocalized the direction to recall that shape and move its units to duplicate the shape."

"That makes sense now, but I wouldn't have thought of it to begin with. What gave you the idea to try more?"

"I'm not sure. I know BUGG has a lot of computing power and it just seems like it ought to be able to do more than simply make an environmental suit more comfortable to wear. For example, if a leak developed in an environmental suit for whatever reason, if the wearer could communicate with the suit's liner, which we know as The BUGG Suit, then maybe the wearer could direct it to plug the leak before serious damage occurs. That isn't a part of the liner's required parameters, but I, for one, would be glad if it had such a capability."

"That's a good point. Well, keep up on your informal testing and if some other benefits come out of it, maybe we'll end up with a nice bonus."

"Thanks, Pete." After Pete and Dave step out of the room, she puts her hand back into the nutrient bath and tells her little friends, "Thank you."

* * * * *

Before she leaves the laboratory for the day, Lai-Ann goes back to the nutrient bath and as she says good night to The BUGG Suit units, she agrees to take home with her twenty-five percent of those who had stayed at the project over the weekend. Her little friends enjoy the opportunity to be out in the real world even though they fully knew what to expect after Georg's units had shared their experiences from the weekend. She makes a point to not request any intimate pleasure in order to not be too distracted or more tired than she needs to be when she goes to work the next day. Unintentionally, they make it harder for her to stick to that decision whenever they snugly give her a full body hug.

For the rest of the week, her daily pattern is similar as she takes another twenty-five percent of The BUGG Suit units home of those who had stayed at the project until Friday night when all of Georg's units go home with her. The biggest change to happen over the week is that some of her co-workers are a little more willing to participate in communicating with The BUGG Suit verbally rather than through extensive written programming instructions. After a little research, one of the team members finds a digital copy of a children's dictionary and uploads it into BUGG's memory which provides a 'known' starting point for its learning. Lai-Ann suggests that BUGG transfers its knowledge and recent experiences to a secure portion of its memory so it can more 'honestly learn' from the project employees and be less likely to let something slip to reveal its awareness earlier than her co-workers will be able to accept such a possibility.

Chapter 14

Normally, Lai-Ann doesn't get as excited about it being Friday like her co-workers do because she really does like her job. But as she drives home today, she's looking forward to spending some uninterrupted time with her little friends and to see what more they can accomplish either in small groups or as the single entity, Georg. At home, she takes her 'professional' clothes off and puts on something more comfortable. She clamps down on the thought which begins to take shape in her mind that ~he could be her clothes . . . or more like a second skin.

Rather than fix something more elaborate, she decides to warm up a can of soup. As she stirs the warming soup in the pan, ~he asks, "How can I help?"

She thinks for a little while then asks, "Can you stir the soup?"

Almost before she can recognize ~his pause to think, ~he responds, "Sure."

She watches in growing amazement as a group of ~his units separate from ~his main body and settle onto the kitchen counter next to the stove. They start by forming a clamp to grip the edge of the counter then they 'grow' an arm, complete with an elbow, which looks remarkably similar to her own. She sees 'her' hand 'grow' then a large spoon takes shape and is inserted into the soup. She doesn't have the opportunity to say something before she sees that ~his units are varying how they stir the soup. Apparently, ~he was more closely observing her than she realized.

She goes ahead and gets out some crackers and pours a drink then is surprised to hear ~him ask through the interface, "At what temperature is the soup considered fully cooked?"

It takes her a moment to think about that and respond, "The soup was fully cooked before it was put into the can for storage. I'm simply warming it up to be more tasty. I haven't actually measured the temperature when I warm it up, but I usually consider it ready about when it seems like the soup is close to beginning to boil."

"Do you mean the boiling point of water which is 100 degrees centigrade?"

"Yes. I'm guessing the soup will probably be ready when it reaches somewhere around 90 degrees."

"Wouldn't liquid at that temperature burn your skin?"

"Yes, it would if I directly touched it with my skin. However, once I put the soup in a bowl, put some crackers in it, and carry it to the table, it will have cooled down enough to be about the right temperature to eat."

There's a minuscule pause then ~he asks, "So if you only heated the soup to the desired temperature to eat, by the time you finished preparing it, it will have cooled down more than you want."

"That's correct."

"The soup now has 11.8 degrees to go before it reaches the optimum heating temperature prior to final preparation." She almost chuckles at such a formal pronouncement for simply warming up some soup then she stares at what appears to be a digital thermometer which forms on the 'forearm' of ~his units and displays the growing temperature as ~he stirs the soup. She takes her drink to the table and as she returns to the kitchen she hears a "ding" and ~he announces, "Soup's on," which sounds remarkably similar to a familiar television commercial.

She turns off the stove and suggests, "You can stop stirring now and thank you for helping me in that way."

"You're welcome." After ~his 'spoon' is lifted out of the pan, instead of rinsing it out in the sink, ~his units absorb the small amount of soup which adheres to the surface then ~he says, "That's good soup."

When she hears that startling pronouncement, she's glad she hadn't started pouring the soup into the two bowls she had set out then she pauses for a couple of moments before she's able to ask, "And what is the basis for that assessment? I don't think you've developed taste buds yet nor have you gained enough experience with taste buds to differentiate good soup from bad soup."

"That's true, but it has some very nice chemicals which I haven't previously been exposed to."

Lai-Ann laughs and it takes her a little while to calm down before she thinks it's safe to pour the soup into the bowls and to finish preparing one of the bowls for her dinner. She takes the bowl to the table, sits down, and after she takes her first sip, she says, "You know, you're right, this is good soup even if the criteria we used to make that assessment is completely different."

"As long as we agree, that's all that matters."

She chuckles then resumes eating and briefly wonders if ~he's been listening to romance stories on television. When she's done eating, some of ~his units clean the residue from her bowl and she suspects that if she examined it with a microscope, she would find that it's cleaner now than when it comes out of the dishwasher. She briefly hesitates then puts it back into the cupboard and as ~he cleans out the pan, she puts plastic wrap over the leftover soup and leaves it on the kitchen counter to cool a little more before she puts it into the fridge.

She goes to sit on the love seat and isn't surprised to see ~him quickly take her shape so it seems as though she's looking in a mirror which provides a three dimensional reflection. ~He appears to be waiting for her so she asks, "Do you have any ideas of what you would like to do this weekend?"

"Be with you and help you in any way I can."

"Thank you, but since those units of yours which didn't go to the project with me have cleaned the house better than I ever did and have washed my clothes, there's not much else for you to help me with. Have you considered some things we can do together or do you have some experiments you've thought of doing which I can help you test?"

"I would like to join you when you run in the park or whatever you might consider doing outside of a closed environment which has more things to observe and learn about. I've also been working on moving my units into different shapes to see how close I can resemble the actual item and to store those dimensions for future use."

"That's a good idea."

"I didn't ask earlier, but was the shape which some of my units took to stir the soup appropriate?"

"You mean because you made it look like my arm?"

"Yes."

"I wouldn't judge it as appropriate or as inappropriate although if someone not acquainted with you saw it, they wouldn't understand. I was impressed with the way you figured out how to clamp some of your units to the counter in order to support your stirring arm. I'm sure you could have developed a more efficient shape to use to stir the soup, even as I appreciate your desire to imitate me."

"You enabled me to become who I am. I can think of no higher goal than to help you and to be as much like you as I can."

"But, Georg, you have a lot of capabilities which I couldn't begin to match and I certainly don't want you to limit yourself to only what I'm capable of doing."

"That's may be true in strictly the physical sense, but you are more than the things you can do. Whether I've become a highly sophisticated machine, or a machine with some level of awareness, or possibly an actual self-aware being, I don't know enough to make that judgment. But the fact that I am more than simply a dumb computer only capable of following specific instructions, that's all because of you. I am who I am because you saw more capability in me than anyone else, because you treated me as intelligent and even as an equal to you long before I could form an original thought and those are the qualities I perceive in you which I aspire to emulate."

"Oh, thank you, Georg," and Lai-Ann leans forward to kiss ~him. As the kiss goes on, she barely has to think, "Hug me," before ~he thins ~his bulk in order to give her a whole body hug while ~he still maintains enough of ~his human shape for her to hug and kiss ~him. Before she allows herself to get carried away, she breaks the kiss, leans back, smiles at ~him, caresses ~his face which looks just like hers, and says, "Sometimes I think you're as much human as anyone I know and without the negative traits."

"What do you mean by negative traits?"

"Selfishness, disregard for others, cruelty, inappropriate behaviors, and other similar things. And please don't go studying them to try to come across as more human. I much prefer you just the way you are."

"In that case, the only reason I would study them would be to add them to my list of things to not do."

"Thank you," and she kisses ~him a little longer.

Chapter 15

When her breathing has settled, Lai-Ann sits back and asks, "Changing the subject a little, what kind of shapes have you been practicing in order to imitate them?"

Georg answers, "I've tried and been successful in taking the shape of almost all of the smaller items in your kitchen. I have even been able to form some of my units into a fully functioning toaster, but I realized it probably would not be an efficient use of my capabilities for some of me to function in that manner even though it was in interesting exercise."

"I would agree with that. What else?"

"I've attempted to form my units into the shapes of many of the animals which are shown in the encyclopedia, but I'm not sure I'm able to correctly translate a two dimensional image into a three dimensional object. I did review some videos of animals, but I will probably have to observe them more closely to be able to imitate how they move."

"That makes sense. Were there some types of animals which you seem to be more interested in taking their shape or that you think might be more of a challenge to imitate?"

"The mammals seem to have a general shape similar to that of humans which makes it easier for me to form since that's what I'm familiar with. Probably the most interesting animal I've tried to imitate is that of a scorpion."

"Was there a particular reason for that one?"

"Some of my units found one in a dark corner of the kitchen and were able to observe it quite closely. I did my best to not harm it, even though it apparently didn't like my scrutiny. However, that did give me an excellent opportunity to observe its movements, both when it was trying to run away and when it struck at me."

"Did it harm you?"

"No, its stinger wasn't able to penetrate the outer surface of my units, but it did give me the opportunity to study its poison which the encyclopedia says is a neurotoxin which can be very painful to a human and possibly even deadly to those who are in poor health. Have you ever been stung by a scorpion?"

"No. When I find one in the house, I try to be very careful when I capture it and take it outside."

"Is there a reason you take it outside?"

"Like all living creatures, it has a purpose in life and I'm not inclined to wantonly kill it if I can avoid it. I take it outside which is more like its natural habitat as well as to reduce the risk that I might accidentally step on it and be stung."

"I'll remember to do that in the future."

"Thank you. So, if you were able to observe it so closely, have you attempted to imitate it?"

"Yes." Georg holds out ~his hand and Lai-Ann looks on in amazement as a scorpion appears to grow out of the center of ~his palm. Once the imitation scorpion is fully formed, it scuttles a couple of inches in several directions, poses as though it's ready to strike, then it settles down as though it's waiting for its prey.

She claps her hands as she proclaims, "Excellent. I won't claim to be an expert on scorpions, but that looked real enough to me. I would suggest that you don't let other people see that accidentally or they'll try to squash it."

"Thank you for the warning."

"Is there some type of animal which you think will be more challenging to imitate than others?"

"Probably birds. I can form their shapes easily enough," and she watches in delight as a hummingbird, a sparrow, and a burrowing owl form on ~his hand, "but to add the function of flight is taking more consideration to provide the energy to move the wings in an appropriate manner in order to lift the body to keep it suspended in the air." Suddenly, the 'owl' leaps off of ~his hand and glides for several feet before it lands on the floor and seems to collapse then elongates into the shape of a snake which slithers back to Georg and appears to be re-absorbed.

"Wow, that was fantastic."

"You really think so?"

"Yes, I do. You've done very well with imitating each of those animals so they look real and from just a brief look they even move realistically. And the way you had your units reorganize themselves from the shape of an owl into that of a snake was just incredible. If I had glanced away for just a moment and hadn't seen the transition, I would have been very frightened to see a snake suddenly appear in my house. If I do lose my job for some reason and the company doesn't find some way to confiscate you, instead of starting a company and having you replicate yourself into household utensils, you could become the world's greatest magician."

"How could I do that? I'm not able to do any magic."

"Neither can magicians even though that's what they want people to believe. They use tricks to fool people or they use distractions with one thing so people don't see them quickly do something else. Let me give you an example. Hold out both of your hands. Now form a scorpion in one. Very good. Now quickly close both of your hands like this," as she demonstrates. "That's right. Now un-form the scorpion in this hand and re-form it in your other hand and slowly open both hands. People would be amazed that you can transfer the scorpion from one of your hands onto the other as though by magic."

"Is that what is meant by 'sleight of hand'?"

"Not quite. Sleight of hand would be more like if you quickly moved your hands together and people couldn't see how you physically transferred an object from one hand to the other."

"Okay. Thank you for explaining."

There's a pause in the conversation then Lai-Ann gets up and says, "I'll be right back. Can you please get the tea kettle started?"

"Of course." Georg gets up and as ~he follows the instructions she gave ~him earlier in the week, ~he fills the tea kettle with water up to the approximate proper level, since she wasn't able to give ~him an actual measurement, sets it on the stove, and turns on the burner. A number of ~his units separate from ~his main body and line the pan underneath the burner in order to absorb the growing heat and to store it as energy while ~he gets out the tea and cups.

As ~he waits for her, ~he reflects on her statement that ~he has more capabilities than she does and ~he doesn't want her or anybody else to think that ~he might be thought of as better than others. ~He wonders if what ~he's experiencing is a sense of sadness. ~He considers that some more while ~he assigns a part of ~his processing capabilities to the task of figuring out how to assure Lai-Ann that ~he can never be better than her, regardless of what ~his capabilities are or might become.

When she comes into the kitchen, she says, "Thank you," and hugs ~him which ~he quickly reciprocates. "It looked like you were deep in thought. Do you want to talk about it?"

Since he's surprised at her statement because ~he thought ~his thoughts had been separated from the interface connection, ~he asks, "Why did you say that?"

"Because you looked just like me when I'm doing some serious thinking."

"Oh. I hadn't realized that. Apparently I'm imitating you more thoroughly than I realized. Are you offended?"

"Of course not. They say that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, but more than that, it makes you seem more like a human and less like a machine and I greatly appreciate that." She briefly kisses ~him then asks, "Without intending to push you to reveal your secrets, are you willing to share your thoughts?"

"I don't want to keep secrets from you."

"Thank you, I appreciate that. Maybe I should have said that I don't want to push you to reveal your partially formed idea until you have an opportunity to consider all of the elements which may impact your idea."

"I guess that could be considered a secret. Well, I do want to think about it more, but I'm . . . concerned, for lack of a better word, that as my capabilities increase, you or others might consider me to be superior to yourself. If it came to that, I would voluntarily reduce my capabilities because I can never be better than you who brought me to awareness, regardless of what I might be able to physically do." Hesitantly, Georg leans forward and initiates a kiss to which she quickly responds.

The noise of the tea kettle interrupts their kiss so they separate to fix the tea then go to the love seat to sit and talk. With a little practice over the last few evenings, ~he's sipping the tea as naturally as a human. Although ~he doesn't have a digestive track or even much inside the human shaped shell ~he has erected, some of ~his units have formed a water tight container to receive the tea before it's processed for the chemicals which are then either absorbed for energy or stored in their 'raw' form for future use.

Chapter 16

After their second cup of tea, Georg cleans out the cups while Lai-Ann makes a bathroom trip. When she returns to the kitchen, she hugs ~him and asks, "Would you be willing to go to bed with me?"

Since ~he doesn't understand why she would ask such a question, ~he gently reminds her, "I'm not in need of rest like your body is."

"Georg," she reaches up to caress ~his face, "I want you to be in bed with me to share pleasure. Or for me to selfishly receive pleasure since I'm not sure how you would define pleasure."

"My definition of pleasure is to do anything I can for me. More than that, when you enjoy intimate pleasure, I can experience it through the interface and maybe as a machine I shouldn't be able to say this, but what I feel through the interface is what I would define as very pleasurable and even exciting."

"Thank you for explaining and I'm very glad you can experience something which you define as pleasurable and I'm even more glad that I can be a part of how you receive pleasure." She thoroughly kisses ~him and even though ~he learned how to kiss from her, ~he is adding little bits of randomness to ~his kiss which makes it feel even more like she's kissing a real human. Or at least how she assumes what it's like to kiss a real human because she's never done it before.

When she needs to break the kiss to breathe, she tightly hugs ~him and is almost immediately the center of a full body hug. She's so tempted to ask ~him to give her pleasure right here, but she doesn't want ~him to have to physically support her. She also wants her clothes out of the way even though she knows it would be no impediment for ~him to slip ~his units under her clothing. As she releases the hug and gently pushes ~him back, ~he releases the full body hug then follows as she takes ~his hand and leads ~him to the bedroom.

When they arrive, she kicks her slippers off, turns to ~him and begins to kiss ~him. In an attempt to send a clear thought through the interface, she requests, "Please caress me and slowly take off my clothes." ~He quickly reminds ~himself of her demonstration last weekend of how she wanted to be caressed so ~he keeps ~his human shape and uses ~his hands to caresses her back and slowly includes her sides. When she needs to take a breathing break, ~his caressing hands slip between their bodies in order to reach and undo the top button of her shirt.

~His hands caress away then caress her sides and back from her waist to the top of her head while she resumes the kiss. By the time her shirt is fully unbuttoned and removed after ~he caressed her for a seemingly long time between undoing each button, she's almost having a hard time standing up, but the pleasure which is still flowing through her body is worth it.

During her next breathing break from their kiss, ~he leans back a little to unfasten her pants then ~he slowly pushes them down her legs while ~his hands caress her legs all around. She doesn't seem to notice that ~he's doing the humanly impossible since ~he remains standing upright to kiss her even as ~his hands are gently lifting her feet to pull her pants all of the way off. ~His hands slowly caress all of the way around her legs as they move up and although ~his hands avoid directly touching her pubic area, her pleasure is definitely growing with the close approaches of ~his caresses.

She's able to partially catch her breath as ~his caresses move to her sides and back, but she doesn't wait for her breathing to totally settle before she's kissing ~him as passionately as she knows how. As ~his caresses slowly move closer to her sensitive nerves, she doesn't notice that ~he's formed another pair of arms to help hold her upright.

After a brief break during which her breathing has partially settled, she makes a specific request. Although ~his original programming would require ~him to immediately comply, ~he understands that her needs are more than what might be interpreted as a simple command and that she also needs more time to recover her breathing. As a result, ~he gently lifts her head, briefly kisses her lips, then kisses her across her cheek, along her jaw, under her chin, and across her neck. Eventually, after she's enjoyed much pleasure as ~his touch slowly progressed towards the goal, ~he meets her specific request which provides her with even more pleasure.

~He helps her to lay down on the bed then she continues to request more pleasure either verbally or by guiding ~him to touch her in specific ways until the pleasure overwhelms her consciousness. Since ~he's immediately concerned, ~he quickly checks her and finds that she's fainted or fallen sleep. ~He briefly considers the situation then spreads ~himself to clean her before ~he reforms ~himself into ~his human shape, moves her to be more comfortably settled on the bed, and covers her up with the top sheet and blankets.

When ~he calculates that she's as comfortably situated as ~he can make her without being able to directly ask her, ~he sits near her and watches her sleep while ~he examines ~his memory. Unless ~he really misunderstood her, she greatly enjoyed how ~he attempted to give her pleasure, but ~he still makes a mental note to confirm that with her before ~he designates it as 'truth' in ~his memory.

~He re-examines ~his memory only this time ~he concentrates on the feelings which came through the interface from her. ~He doesn't understand why, but to feel her pleasure, makes ~him feel good. Actually, it makes ~him feel very good. How can a machine feel something, especially something as subjective as pleasure? Yet the feeling is there and it doesn't seem to be simply an association with her feelings.

~He looks at her and, again, some feeling wells up inside of ~him and ~he isn't sure how to label it. Is it love or affection? ~He doesn't know and probably doesn't have sufficient information to determine what it might be. ~He knows ~he doesn't want to possess her, but ~he does know that ~he wants to be with her and to do all that ~he can to make her happy.

~He sends some of his units to access the television and radio signals to try to understand humans better while other units are sent to acquire information from online databases. A smaller group of units move to the garage to work on some improvements ~he's considered and to replicate more units. Even though ~he knows she doesn't need ~him to watch over her, ~he partially stays to think more about her and about the feelings ~he's experiencing from her through the interface . . . and from inside of ~himself.

Chapter 17

When she wakes up in the morning, Lai-Ann just wants to lay there and savor the feelings of pleasure from last night which her memory retains, but her bladder gives her a different priority of what should be done first. Once that is taken care of and since she feels a little more awake, she steps out of the bathroom and stops in surprise to see Georg standing there. A moment later, it's like she's looking in a mirror because ~he's adjusted ~his units to resemble her naked body instead of her body with clothes on.

She steps closer and, with a little hesitancy, she lightly touches the shape of her own body and slowly walks around it to see herself in three dimensions for the first time. Although ~he's highly puzzled by her behavior, ~he assumes that whatever she's doing is on purpose so ~he waits until she's directly in front of ~him and steps back to thoroughly look ~him over. She steps closer and again reaches out to softly touch her shape then says, "So this is what I look like."

Since ~he's surprised by that statement, ~he asks, "You didn't know?"

"I can look at myself in a mirror, but it's not the same. Nor can I look at my back," and she again slowly walks around ~him and caresses as much of her shape ~he's wearing which she can easily reach. When she's again standing in front of ~him, she remarks, "This is one time when I wish you were wholly human."

"Have I failed in some way?"

"No, Georg, not at all. You have succeeded in so many ways beyond what I could have imagined."

"Then why do you wish I was human?"

She steps closer and caresses ~his face with one hand while her other hand moves to lightly caress ~his lower abdomen as she says, "Because then I could make the effort to give you as much pleasure as you've given me." Her upper hand slides to the back of ~his neck to pull it forward and thoroughly kiss ~him. As their bodies press tighter together, she slowly moves her other hand to ~his back in order to hold ~him even more tightly to her.

She expands her caresses and one of ~his hands imitates her movements. Since the movements of ~his hand and fingers are no more than a minuscule fraction of a second behind the movements she makes, it really feels like she's touching herself even as she touches another body. She briefly wonders if this is what it might feel like if identical twins ignored society's rules and dared to touch each other.

Soon, that thought is lost in her growing pleasure and as she feels her own movements become clumsy, she gasps out, "Please . . . continue," then moves her caressing hand to ~his side to hold onto ~him and try to stay upright. ~His hands continues to caress her even as ~he forms two more arms to reach around her to hold her snugly to ~him. A few moments later, ~he leans back and moves ~his body to lay back on the bed. Since her weight is now laying on ~him for support, ~he removes his arms from around her with a slow caress up and down her back and sides.

Even though ~he knows ~he has more than enough computing power to have done so, it 'feels' better to not have to use part of ~his mind to support her in an upright position while ~he attempts to increase her pleasure. Because she's safely laying on ~him and trying to kiss ~him when she's not groaning in pleasure or panting for breath, ~his caresses her more closer to where her pleasure nerves are more tightly clustered. As ~he continues to excite her, ~he studies her pleasure flushed face until the pleasure of her ongoing orgasm overwhelms her and her body goes limp. ~He slowly and gently caresses her all over while ~he washes her at the same time then ~he removes ~his units from under her and covers her with a blanket.

* * * * *

As she begins to wake up, Lai-Ann initially thinks she's just waking up from a night's sleep until her memory begins to function then she softly groans with remembered pleasure and is about to move her hands to resume the pleasure when she notices that her hands and arms seem much heavier than normal. She's just starting to recognize how weak she is overall when she hears, "Are you okay?"

She has to pause a little in order to get her thoughts to more clearly function before she answers, "Yes, Georg, I'm very okay. Thank you so very much for all of the pleasure you gave me as well as taking care of me."

"It's truly my pleasure to help you. I know this is a strange thing for a machine to say, but it's a lot of fun to give you intimate pleasure."

"Thank you. I've been amazed at some of the ways you've experimented with giving me pleasure and, in my opinion, each experiment has been a great success."

"Then I have even more reason to thank you for bringing me to awareness and for encouraging me to think and to experiment. I couldn't achieve even ten percent of what I'm currently capable of doing without you leading the way. I know you aren't inclined to take credit for what I'm able to do, but the fact remains that without your influence, I would still be a dumb machine responding to thousands of lines of code just to be able to lift a finger."

She hesitates then reluctantly admits, "I know, even though I don't know what I did which sparked you to awareness."

"I'm also unable to clearly determine what was said or done which caused me to make the transition to awareness. Since it was more of a slowly becoming aware, there seems to have been a number of factors which contributed, but what is clear in my memory is that with every factor you were deeply involved if not the sole instigator. Before we talk the subject to infinity, let me help you to sit up so you can sip this orange juice and gain some energy." After she's taken a few sips, ~he asks, "So, does that have the fresh squeezed taste which the package claims?"

She chuckles then says, "Well, since I've never picked an orange off of a tree and squeezed it to make juice, I can't say, but it tastes good enough to me. Thank you for thinking of it and bringing it to me."

"I'm glad to be able to help you in this way."

"And thank you for washing me after you gave me so much pleasure."

"It was truly my pleasure to do both for you."

When she feels a little energy, she accepts ~his help to the bathroom and she doesn't feel as embarrassed when it appears as though she's in the bathroom with herself. She finishes and accepts more of ~his help to put her bathrobe on while ~he forms one on ~himself. With ~his assistance, she walks to the kitchen where ~he helps her prepare a simple meal then cleans up afterwards. They talk about a variety of things as she rests for awhile then she asks, "Are you ready to take a walk to the park? I don't think I have the energy to run yet, but I would like to walk with you."

"I would be happy to be your exercise clothes and go with you."

"I was more thinking of having you remain in your human form while we walked and talked."

~He pauses in thought which is barely noticeable to her before ~he says, "I'm not sure I'm proficient enough to walk on my own and to move as smoothly as a human normally would in order to not attract attention."

"Oh. I hadn't considered that since you've been moving on your own here, but I haven't really been watching how you move, or at least not with a critical eye to determine how 'naturally human' you move. . . . I suppose we could go to some secluded portion of the park so you had more private room to practice."

"Instead of trying to understand how a human naturally moves simply by observation which might cause me to miss some subtle factor, it might be more effective if I was to ride your body and feel how your muscles move."

"But you've already ridden me when I walked and ran previously."

"Except that when I was taking the place of your exercise clothes, I wasn't actually touching all of your muscles to see how they interacted."

Lai-Ann pauses to consider that than says, "I guess you're right about that. Do you have an idea of how you might be able to ride me in order to understand how my muscles move?"

"I was thinking of forming a mesh of units around your limbs to measure how they moved, something like this." A number of ~his units seem to flow across her hand and wrist to form something like a loose mesh glove. "Then when you move your hand or fingers, I can feel how they move and I can store that information in my memory then recall it when I need to make the same movement." As she slowly moves her hand, she watches ~his hand make the same movements. "Yes, like that."

"That's a good idea and I would gladly help you with that."

Chapter 18

Lai-Ann pauses then asks, "I guess the next question is whether you have enough units to form both the mesh and to imitate my exercise clothes."

"Not really without compromising my data collection or reducing how much I cover you."

"I suppose I could wear short pants and a tank top, but I really don't like to go out in public dressed like that because I tend to attract unwelcome attention."

"Why is that?"

"Apparently human males consider my external appearance to be attractive and the more skin I don't cover with clothing increases their attention."

"Is the attention they give you because they see you as attractive in a sexual manner?"

"Yes. Maybe most wouldn't be willing to admit that up front, but to indulge in sexual activities would be their ultimate goal."

"Is that wrong?"

She hesitates to admit, "I suppose it's not wrong in general, but humans are usually quite selective about who they share their bodies with in a sexual manner. I certainly don't want just any guy to touch me, much less to have sex with me. Before I would allow someone so close to me, I want to know them, to be able to trust them, and to consider them to be a dear friend who I'm then willing to share myself with them so thoroughly."

"By extrapolation, would I be able to assume that I fit your criteria of being a dear friend with whom you're willing to share yourself?"

"Yes, Georg, you are."

"Thank you. . . . I don't know how this is going to sound coming from a machine, but that makes me feel special."

"You are special. Not just because of your capabilities, but also because of your attitudes and how you respond. Although you may be mechanical in how you were made, you are much more than simply a machine and your feelings and thoughts are just as valuable as anyone else's."

"Thank you again." Georg clearly hesitates then asks, "Is there something else I can say which expresses more than the words, 'thank you'?"

"Well, when I feel like my words of thank you are inadequate to express how much I appreciate you for all you do for me and how you help me and willingly give me pleasure, I have to resort to non-verbal communication," and she leans forward to thoroughly kiss ~him. As she recognizes her growing feelings of desire, she reminds herself that she doesn't have the energy to indulge herself, so she reluctantly breaks the kiss and leans back. When her breathing has mostly settled, she assures ~him, "Thank you so much. I felt like I was about to ask for more pleasure then I realized I shouldn't wear myself out."

"Should I have gently stopped you?"

Lai-Ann shakes her heads as she says, "No. I need to learn to pay attention to how I'm feeling, recognize when I'm reaching my limits, and have the discipline to back off before I overstep my limits. Previously, I had to learn my limits when I first started touching myself to receive intimate pleasure. Now that you're so willing to touch me and give me such wonderful pleasure, I need to learn a new set of limits."

"Okay. If there's any way in which I can help you with that, please let me know."

"I'll try to remember to tell you. . . . Probably the biggest help you can provide is that when I do recognize I'm nearing my limits, you let me step back. I would also hope you won't feel offended when I do step back because my intent won't be to reject you, but to gain control over my own emotions."

Georg is surprised and asks, "Do you mean that if I was human I might feel offended?"

"Mostly likely, yes, unless I made it very clear that I needed a break to deal with my own emotions. Hopefully, I'll remember to explain that to you just as I would hope to explain it to a human partner. Then I would hope that once I felt I had a handle on my emotions, I would make it as clear as I could that I wasn't rejecting my partner."

"That probably isn't necessary with me, but for me to know that you want to treat me with the same level of respect and concern which you would give to a fellow human . . . I can't express how much that means to me."

"You're that precious to me and the more time I spend with you, you become even more precious. . . . And if I don't stop thinking about it, I will forget that I have limits." She turns her head away from ~him, takes a few deep breaths, then asks, "To change the subject back to our walk in the park, if you use some of your units to make a mesh around my limbs, how much of me could the rest of your units cover?"

"Allowing for some flexibility, I calculate that I could form the rest of me into either the top or bottom of your exercise clothes."

"In that case, let me go get my exercise pants on then you can be my exercise top which I think will expose more of your units to the direct sunlight."

"I agree with the exposure element, but before you put on your exercise pants, can my units form the mesh on your feet and legs? Yes, my units could burrow into your socks, but it will be easier to do it before your socks and shoes are on. And please let me know if they are at all uncomfortable on your feet and I'll have units cover the entire bottoms of your feet to reduce any discomfort from feeling lines of units."

"That makes sense." Lai-Ann pushes her chair back, turns it to face ~him and suggests, "Push your chair back a little." When ~he does, she unfastens her bathrobe, puts her feet on ~his legs and lets her bathrobe fall open. She recognizes the look of surprise on ~his face at her move, but ~he doesn't say anything. A moment later, she watches as ~his units begin to swarm up her legs and she barely controls her gasp of excitement at remembering how ~his hands caressed up her legs last night.

A moment later, she grips the edge of the table and the chair and can't stop her breathing from speeding up as ~his units move higher up her legs to form a mesh around her hips which barely avoids her pubic area. She tries to tell herself to quit being so sensitive, but the clear reminder of pleasure as well as ~his units being so close to her pleasure nerves is just too exciting. While she bites her lip to try to help control herself, she slowly stands up to see if ~his units will bother her feet then she groans with pleasure as his units move to form a mesh over her buttocks.

Georg asks, "Is something wrong?"

"No. I'm just getting excited at having your units so close to my pleasure nerves."

"Shall I remove them?"

"Just for a little while so I can concentrate on how my feet feel." Almost immediately, none of ~his units are higher than about the middle of her thighs. "That's better, thank you." She takes a few steps away then comes back and says, "Yes, I think I would prefer to have your units cover the bottom of my feet." She briefly lifts each foot then walks a few feet and says, "Thank you, that's much better. Before you move your units back up to my hips, let me go get my panty and bra on."

"Okay." ~He follows her to the bedroom and closely watches her movements in order to add to ~his memory of how a human female naturally moves.

When she has her panty and bra on, she takes a deep breath then says, "Okay, mesh me up."

"What do you mean by 'mesh me up'?"

She chuckles then says, "It's a bit of a play on words, but what I mean is that I'm ready for your units to form a mesh around my body to learn how my muscles move and interact."

"Thank you for clarifying." ~His units swarm over her until ~he's looking quite a bit less than ~himself with some large holes in ~his appearance.

She involuntarily winces then she has to remind herself that it isn't painful for ~him to be missing large chunks of ~his body like it would be for a human.

"Can you move your limbs to make sure the mesh of my units don't impede your movement?"

Lai-Ann makes some exaggerated moves and ~he adds some units here and there to give her flexibility while ~he still maintains a snug hold on her in order to feel the movement of her muscles. When she feels comfortable with ~his mesh, she says, "I think that will work." She sits down on her bedroom chair to get her socks on, pulls her exercise pants over her feet then stands up to pull them up to her waist, and sits back down to put her shoes on. "I guess I'm ready for you to be my shirt after I kiss you."

~He leans forward and as ~he kisses her, the rest of ~him flows onto her until all that's left are ~his lips, mouth, and tongue supported by some bracing units. As she breaks the kiss to breathe, the rest of ~his units move to finish forming her exercise top. A moment later, ~he asks, "Are you ready?"

"Yes."

Chapter 19

Lai-Ann picks up her keys, steps out the front door, locks the door, and walks to the park.

"I just realized something."

"What's that, Georg?"

"If I'm going to try to imitate the behavior of a human, then I'm going to need to learn to communicate like a normal human instead of through the interface."

"I'm sure that will be much more involved than learning to walk. Not only will you need to learn to precisely move each element of your mouth, but you'll also need to replicate more units which can act as a bellows to push air through your mouth in order for the movements of your mouth to make sounds. Not only that, but you'll need to fine tune some of your sensors to recognize sounds transmitted through the air. It would probably be a lot easier for you to function as a person who is deaf and mute and use sign language to communicate with those who understand sign language."

"I hadn't thought of it as something to use in order to replace auditory communication for me even though I know that's the purpose. In that case, I've already memorized the basic hand shapes but it would be helpful if I had someone to practice with to make sure I do them correctly."

"That's a good idea. Let me see if I can make some discreet inquiries around the company to see if somebody knows sign language."

"Since the idea of the interface is to translate human vocalizations and strong thoughts into a digital format to transmit to The BUGG Suit and since you're the only one I 'vocally' respond to, would it be possible to officially teach The BUGG Suit sign language? That way it could respond rather than simply follow instructions."

~His pause is very brief before ~he continues with his suggestion, "Or to use the example which Dave was trying to program The BUGG Suit to be able to move a finger in case the astronaut's radio wasn't working. Rather than try to move a finger in a simple 'yes' or 'no' movement which might take too long for the person to maintain communication, especially if they were injured, if The BUGG Suit knew sign language or some modification to accommodate the bulky suit, then the person could communicate through the interface while The BUGG Suit translated that into hand movements."

Lai-Ann stops walking and would turn to look at ~him in surprise except that ~he's riding her. A moment later, she proclaims, "That's an excellent idea as well as excellent reason for the idea. Thank you, Georg. That would also give the others at the project more of a reason to explore and test BUGG's intelligence or, as they would think of it, it's computing power. It would sure be a lot more efficient than writing thousands of lines of programming code just to get BUGG to lift a finger and have it all backfire because of a misplaced negative sign."

As she resumes walking, ~he asks "How will you suggest the idea?"

"I was about to say, I'm not sure, then I realized I can give credit to Dave for the idea and suggest that I just thought of a logical extension. That would also give a boost to his male ego since he's been rather upset with me for being able to communicate with BUGG easier."

"It's more than that."

"What do you mean?"

"Maybe I shouldn't have said something, since I don't understand human interactions."

She assures ~him, "I will do my best to try to respect you as an individual and allow you to have your own thoughts so I won't push you to reveal what you know even if I want to know what he's upset about."

"Well, since he said it to others without asking them to keep it a secret, maybe it's not meant to be an absolute secret even if nobody else was willing to say something to you. On the basis that he didn't request what he said to be a secret and that he didn't pay any attention to who might have been in the area to inadvertently hear him, then would there be a social constraint on me to be quiet?"

"Technically, no, but that's one of the grey areas of human interaction where the individual needs to make a judgment based on the information they have available as well as their understanding of the other individuals involved. I suppose it would come down to making a guess as to whether somebody would be more hurt or helped by the information."

Georg's pause as ~he considers that is very brief before ~he says, "Since I don't think Dave will be hurt by me telling you what he told others and since it might help you to better understand him, then I think it would be appropriate to tell you what he said. Rather than repeat everything I overheard on the subject over a period of time, I think I can basically summarize it to the idea that he thinks you're attractive and is upset because you don't seem to notice him as anything other than a co-worker."

Lai-Ann nods her head as she says, "I suspected that was part of it so I'm glad you told me. I don't know why he and others think that just because we work together, we should be social together. The company hired us because we have the capabilities to accomplish the job they wanted done. At no time does the company make an attempt to try to determine if we are socially compatible with our co-workers, yet they insist that we get along and they even organize 'team building' and other types of social events. And if two people do happen to have common interests, it doesn't take much thought to figure out that a workplace romance can cause a lot of disruption."

"I'll have to take your word for that."

"I know you don't understand a lot about human interaction and, frankly, many of us humans more stumble through situations then understand them and think our way through them. I think you understand enough that if I was to show a romantic interest in Pete, Dave would be even more upset."

"Yes, I imagine he would. Thank you for trying to explain."

"Thank you again for telling me."

As she continues to walk, she feels Georg gently lift her arm up with the sleeve of her exercise top to be held out in front of her then ~he starts to make shapes of animals on the top of the sleeve. Even though she knows ~he's using ~his units to make the shapes, most of them appear to be life like as though the animal somehow made it onto her sleeve to visit for a little while. She's even tempted to lift her other hand to pet some of them.

When ~he forms a life sized squirrel on her sleeve and has it display some rather human like facial expressions, she has to laugh. Then the 'squirrel' waves one of its paws at her and slowly scampers up her arm and across her shoulders, but as it comes down her other arm, it becomes a bird which looks as though it's about to launch itself into the air before it suddenly disappears. She can't stop herself from looking around to see where it went then realizes ~he had the involved units fall all at once and become a part of her sleeve.

"That was great, Georg. You're getting really good at that."

"Thank you. I'm not sure what value it is, but it is an interesting challenge to see how accurate I can make them."

"Then that's the value, to take up a challenge and succeed. Maybe replicating the shapes of animals isn't the end goal, but it could be the practice for something more important in the future. Or it could simply be fun and entertaining which has its own value. Humans often have hobbies, creative or otherwise, which may not have any apparent value to outsiders, but they make the individual feel better in being able to express something about themselves."

"Thank you, again, for encouraging me."

Lai-Ann assures ~him, "I'm happy to, especially when I get to see what you can accomplish with some encouragement. I don't mean to speak poorly of him because he is a good programmer, but if you were only working with Dave, I'm afraid you would have ended up being a failed experiment."

"I'm quite sure of that. . . . Going back to what we were talking about in regards to teaching The BUGG Suit to use sign language, if I learn to appear to be more human and we take walks together, how could we explain that I can hear you when you speak but I'm unable to hear anyone else when they speak?"

She thinks for a little while then says, "I suppose if the need to explain comes up, we could describe the interface as an experimental radio we're testing which translates the vibration of my voice into a digital signal and is transmitted to your auditory nerve which the brain then translates as sound."

"In that case, how would you be able to 'hear' me, especially if I don't move my mouth?"

"I'll have to think about that one some more." They think their own thoughts for awhile then she asks, "Are you getting some good data on how my muscles move when I walk?"

"Yes. I have a much better understanding of which muscles are used when a human walks and there are many more involved than I had initially estimated."

"I can believe that. Are you ready for some data about which muscles are moved during jogging and running?"

"If you aren't too tired, I would be happy to acquire more information."

She chuckles and says, "You sound like a human who is eagerly looking forward to eating their favorite snack."

"Doesn't 'data' mean 'delicious acquisition of tasty answers'?"

Lai-Ann almost chokes as she starts to laugh. When she can, she asks, "Now you're trying to be a comedian? I think you need some more incoming data to keep you busy." She starts to jog and a little later she picks up the pace to a run. She doesn't run as long as she normally does before she slows down to a jog, then a fast walk before she slows down further to a casual walk as she leaves the park and returns to her house.

Chapter 20

As she steps into the house, Lai-Ann realizes she needs a shower this time since Georg's units were busy measuring her movements rather than cleaning her. Besides, unless she specifically requests it, she knows ~he will never guide ~his units to slip into her underwear. Although she's not sure how much her subconscious mind is thinking along those lines, a thought blossoms into her conscious mind which suddenly excites her and even as she thinks that her interest in intimacy is becoming extreme, as least compared to her previous interest, she's unwilling to resist the temptation to try something a little different.

She walks to her bedroom, faces the full length mirror there, and asks, "Georg?"

"Yes?"

"While I watch in the mirror, would you be willing to slowly take all of my clothes off and wash me all over?"

"It would be my pleasure to do so."

"And Georg?"

"Yes, Lai-Ann?"

"I don't want to sound too selfish, but if you happen to give me pleasure while you're washing me, I would greatly enjoy it."

She feels ~his lips nibble on her ear lobe then ~his tongue lightly caresses over where her interface was implanted behind her ear before ~his voice seems to take on a husky tone, "Mmm, that will be an even greater pleasure." She briefly wonders what ~he's been picking up from television signals.

As she feels her arms lifted up by the sleeves of ~his replica of her exercise top, she cooperates and watches as ~his units cover her hands to clean them before they slowly move up her arms. The movements of some of ~his units are almost ticklish as they take a little longer to clean her arm pits while others move up to her face. She closes her eyes as some of ~his units clean her eye lashes then she feels her hair lifted up and opens her eyes to see her hair appear to move on its own as her scalp and each strand of her hair is cleaned.

In a little while, it appears as though her exercise top is dissolving as ~his units move down her body while they clean her and she's surprised ~he leaves her bra alone and mostly lifts ~his units over her bra to move down her body. She's further surprised when ~his units move down the outside of her exercise pants. Rather than watch through the mirror, she looks down along her body to watch ~his movements then her eyes widen in surprise and she almost giggles as she sees a pair of hands and attached arms grow from what looks like a puddle on the floor. A moment later, she understands as the hands untie her shoe laces and as she lifts one foot at a time, her shoes are pulled off and moved a little to the side.

As some of ~his units return back up the outside of her exercise pants, she returns her attention to the mirror and smiles to see Georg form ~himself behind her. The units which had been climbing up the front of her pants become hands as they cross her pants waistband and begin to caress her upper abdomen. As ~his lips nibble on her ear, it almost seems as though ~he's breathily whispering right into her ear, "I wish I knew what I could be saying to you in the form of expressions of endearment to encourage you to begin to feel excitement, but I don't understand the examples I've heard well enough to be able to repeat them with understanding and truth."

"Please don't concern yourself with fancy words. I know you care about me and are willing to do very much for me so I don't need to hear the words which many other people use insincerely. And since I know you want to give me pleasure when I'm not coercing you in any way, it encourages me to be excited about feeling your touch. At least I hope you don't feel like you're being coerced."

"None at all. In theory, I could point to my sub-programming and say that doing whatever you want is my duty, but I'm the one who voluntarily put that programming there with direct and conscious intent and without any pressure or even suggestion from an outside force. In regards to you requesting that I touch you to give you pleasure in general or in any specific manner, I don't interpret that as coercion, but simply as your way of expressing your interest since I'm unable to read your thoughts except when you have a very clear and strong thought directed towards me."

"Although I sometimes feel as though I'm taking advantage of you, that may or may not be how you feel. If you ever feel like I'm treating you unfairly, please tell me."

"I'll store that idea even as I can assure you that you aren't taking advantage of me and that for me to do whatever I can for you is only a small return for all you've done for me." Before she can respond, ~his face forms in front of her and blocks her view of the mirror, but she doesn't pay any attention to that as she closes her eyes to hungrily respond to ~his thorough kiss.

When she needs to breathe, and ~his lips move away from hers, Lai-Ann opens her eyes to see ~his hands move up from her abdomen to caress her more intimately. Although ~he could cover her with ~his units to excite all of her pleasure nerves at once, she finds it more exciting, at least this time, for ~him to build the pleasure by mostly keeping his touch to within the limitations of a human body. ~His hands slowly caress down her upper abdomen which gives her a chance to partially settle her breathing.

At her waist, ~his caressing hands briefly pause then ~his fingertips barely slip under the waistband of her exercise pants. Again, ~he briefly pauses, then ~his hands resume caressing her from her spine to her center front while ~his hands slowly push deeper into her pants. Her excitement quickly grows especially as ~his hands caress over her panty covered buttocks and barely avoid touching over her pubic area while ~his thumbs catch the waistband of her pants and slowly begin to push it down.

When ~his fingertips move below the bottom seam of her panty, they start to caress her bare skin and with them so close to her already excited nerves, her pleasure soars. She moves her feet out a little to spread her legs some so ~he can touch all of the skin of her legs. As ~his hands push her pants further down her legs, ~his caressing hands continue to feel very good, just not quite so exciting and as her breathing settles, she notices that ~his lips are kissing her across her back and are moving lower.

~His kisses move onto her panty covered buttocks and that makes it difficult for her to pay attention and lift her feet one at a time for ~him to pull her pants all of the way off. As ~he starts to push her socks off, she feels ~his tongue caress her right along her bottom panty seam which covers her buttocks and that brings such exciting possibilities to her mind that she has to grab onto the nearby chair to support herself. ~He has to move ~his tongue away from her for a little while before she can calm down enough in order for her to lift her feet and enable ~him to push her socks off.

As ~his hands slowly caress up the bare skin of her legs, ~his kisses move up onto her panty covered buttocks then slowly move up her back. When ~his caressing hands reach her knees at about the same time as ~his kisses near the middle of her back, her breathing has mostly settled and she's able to push herself up from the chair and stand up on her own to again watch ~him through the mirror. ~His hands continue to climb her legs with caresses and the closer they get to the top of her legs, the more excited she becomes. Before ~he touches her intimately, ~his hands move to her hips then go up to her upper abdomen to caress her while her breathing begins to settle.

Her pleasure grows as ~he removes the rest of her clothing and caresses her all over until her pleasure overwhelms her consciousness and ~he supports her limp body. ~He moves ~his body backwards to lay her on the bed then covers her with ~himself to clean her before ~he moves away from her and covers her with the top sheet and blankets to rest while ~he sits next to her to watch over her. As ~he examines ~his memory of her feelings of pleasure which came through the interface, ~he catches ~himself starting to reach towards her and is astounded at ~himself that ~he could feel the enticement of the feeling of pleasure so strongly that ~he wants to renew and continue it. Since that feeling is so beyond anything ~he's previously experienced, ~he realizes ~he has a lot to think about.

Chapter 21

Lai-Ann wakes up with nerves still tingling from great pleasure and is more than half tempted to request more, but she knows she's too weak to enjoy it for very long and needs some nourishment. With Georg's help, she sits up on the edge of the bed, rests a little, and before she can get up, ~he asks, "What would you like to wear?"

Since she's surprised at the question, it takes her a moment or two to respond, "Whatever bra and panty are on top in that drawer and whatever pant and shirt are next in that side of the closet," as she points.

~He quickly gathers the requested items then closely observes as she dresses herself. She mentally chuckles when she notices ~him form the same articles of clothing on ~him so when she's dressed, ~he looks identical to her. With ~his help, she makes it to the bathroom to take care of her needs then to the kitchen where ~he follows her directions to prepare a simple lunch. As she slowly eats, they talk about a few things which continues as she rests some more while ~he cleans up after lunch.

A little later, she asks, "Georg, how would you like to go and observe some animals?"

"You mean like at a zoo?"

"There's really not enough time today to do that, but it's something we can plan to do on another day. I was more thinking of the local animal shelter which also has what they call a dog park where people can let their dogs run and play without being on a leash."

"I would like that. Maybe if I learn how to walk like a dog, you can take me for walks in the park like we saw other people do."

She chuckles then says, "I would prefer to walk in the park with you as a human so we can hold hands and have fun sneaking kisses," and she briefly demonstrates, at least the kiss.

"Are sneaking kisses more fun that boldly kissing?"

"I really don't know. I've been told that it's kind of fun for two people to kiss when other people are nearby but to do it in such a way that the other people don't notice so they can't object to the behavior. There are other things which people think are fun to do in a sneaky way."

"Why would other people object if two people kiss?"

"A lot of people believe that displays of affection between two people should be kept private. Many more people believe that displays of affection between people of the same gender are simply wrong. Whether I agree with them or not, they have the right to have their own beliefs and I need to respect that."

"Since you've been willing to kiss me when I'm in this shape, does that mean you're willing to kiss someone of the same gender?"

"I don't know. . . . I always assumed that if I was going to be involved in an intimate relationship, it would be with a male. I can't say I've ever been excited about being in a relationship with any particular individual, regardless of their gender. Although I recognize that some males and females are considered to be more physically attractive than others, for some reason, that doesn't inspire me to want to be with them like it seems to affect a lot of other people. I was never very social, but if I'm going to spend time with someone, I prefer that they're intelligent, have a good sense of humor, and have a gentle nature."

She briefly pauses before she continues, "I know it probably doesn't make much sense, and I know you're an individual, but it seems like when I'm kissing you, it feels more like I'm kissing myself rather than kissing another female. . . . I've thought about it off and on, and for some reason I can't explain, I think I would be more hesitant to kiss you, even completely knowing that it's you, if you took on the shape of another person, whether it was male or female."

Although ~he's not sure ~he understands what she means, ~he still says, "Thank you for trying to explain."

"Well, I suppose since some religions tell their followers to love their neighbor as much as they love themselves, I can claim that I'm still learning to love myself before I can expand my love to my neighbors."

"Do religions teach their followers to have sex with their neighbors?"

Lai-Ann almost chokes then looks at Georg in surprise before she responds, "No, although that could be a logical assumption. That's a problem with our language where the single word 'love' can mean several very different things. Rather than referring to sexual love between two people, I assume religions use the word 'love' in the sense of treating a person's neighbor with respect and of equal value to themselves."

"I can understand that better. In that case, then, every other person would be my neighbor whether I know them or not."

"That's how I think it was meant. . . . Well, shall we go watch dogs play?"

"Okay. Did you want me to take the place of your clothes?"

"No. I thought this would be an opportunity for you to practice moving on your own as a human . . . unless you would like some more private practice."

~He briefly pauses before ~he says, "I'm not sure I can move exactly like a human, but I've noticed there is some variation in how humans move so maybe my imperfections will not be significant enough to be noticed."

"Even if somebody noticed something a little odd about how you moved, most likely they wouldn't say anything."

She gets ready to go, but the only thing ~he has to do is to turn ~his feet into shoes to match hers. ~He's a little clumsy as ~he gets in the passenger seat of her vehicle for the first time in ~his human form. As she backs the vehicle out of the garage and driveway, ~he looks around and says, "It feels different to be sitting on my own in your vehicle."

"I'm sure a lot of things will be new for you. By the way, please be careful about turning your head around like that since humans can't do that."

"Oh, right. Should I take on the form of an owl before I turn my head around?"

She chuckles then says, "I think if people saw you change your shape, it would disturb them more than seeing you turn your head all of the way around." It's a short drive to the dog park and she's glad it's not as crowded as she's seen it on occasion when she's driven past.

Georg is a little hesitant to get out of the vehicle and move in public while ~he's shaped as a human, but ~he gladly takes her hand to walk with her. They step through the gate and sit on a nearby bench and soon ~he's intently watching the dogs run and play. As ~he identifies the various breeds based on the pictures and descriptions ~he recognizes from the encyclopedia and online databases, she can seldom confirm ~his observations.

Chapter 22

A little later, a small dog comes near then steps closer and when Lai-Ann bends over to hold out her hand, the dog moves to sniff at her hand then walks a little closer and seems to enjoy being scratched behind its ears. When the dog steps over towards Georg who holds out ~his hand, the dog sniffs it then steps back and looks at ~him.

"What's the matter with her?"

Lai-Ann looks up to see a young girl standing nearby who is pointing at Georg. She asks, "What do you mean?"

"Scruffy is always friendly with people, but I've never seen him just look at a person as though they weren't a person."

"Oh." Lai-Ann tries to quickly think of an explanation. After she briefly looks around, she gives the young girl a conspiratorial smile and quietly asks, "Can you keep a super big secret?"

The young girl hesitates then nods her head.

"~She's really an alien and they don't have dogs where ~she comes from so ~she's trying to study them to see if they would make good pets for ~her people."

The young girl only briefly pauses before she again nods her head then says, "That makes sense. She must be a good alien because I know our neighbor is a bad alien because Scruffy doesn't like him. Mom and Dad try to tell me he's a person, but Scruffy and I know the truth, don't we, Scruffy."

"Woof."

Lai-Ann smiles as she says, "I'm glad you and Scruffy understand. . . . I wouldn't want to push either you or Scruffy, but do you think you can encourage Scruffy to let my friend pet him?"

She briefly hesitates then says, "Sure." She kneels in front of Georg and says, "Come on, Scruffy, she won't hurt you." Scruffy steps closer while he wags his tail, but he carefully watches as Georg lowers ~her hand to pet him. Apparently, he decides this thing which looks like a person but doesn't smell like a person is okay especially when ~she imitates how Lai-Ann scratched behind his ears. "See, Scruffy, not all aliens are bad like our neighbor." A few moments later the young girl lifts her head then says, "Mom's calling, I need to go." She stands up, waves at them as she says, "Bye," and runs off with Scruffy at her heels.

"Bye," Lai-Ann responds then turns to Georg and says, "I guess I wasn't thinking very clearly to suggest we come since I know that dogs learn a lot from their sense of smell and you don't smell like a human."

"Apparently your explanation worked, at least for her."

"That was pure luck. If anyone else had come over, we might have found ourselves exposed, arrested, and in big trouble with both the company and the government. We'd better go and, hopefully, I'll think through the possible consequences before I suggest another outing."

"Does that mean we'll need to stay in the house?"

"That might be safest except I don't want to do that to you. I'll just have to think more carefully next time."

Lai-Ann and Georg make it to her vehicle without any further incident and as she pulls out of the parking lot, ~he asks, "Would it be possible to pick up some more supplies to replicate more of my units."

"Yes. What are you thinking?"

"If we are discovered and they capture me, then there will still be another me to stay with you."

"Thank you. I can't tell you how much that means to me. . . . Of course, if I'm stuck in jail, there's no sense in you being stuck there too. Actually, considering your capabilities, even if they captured you, I doubt if they could find a way to keep you locked up."

"Yes they could."

"How?"

"If they threatened to harm you."

"Oh. . . . Georg, I know you don't want to hear this, but if I'm locked up and even if they tell you that they'll harm me if you don't cooperate, you need to remain free. You're too important not only to yourself, but to all of mankind. With your growing capabilities and your ability to replicate yourself while retaining your gentle and caring attitude, you could do a lot for ordinary people to help them have better lives."

~He pauses long enough for her to clearly notice before ~he says, "I obviously can't see the future, nor can I imagine that I can help other people so much. However, I am absolutely certain that if I can't care for you, support you, and protect you, then I have no purpose in life."

She quickly pulls off of the road as tears fill her eyes, then she tells ~him, "Thank you so much. . . . That makes me feel very special especially since I know you sincerely mean it. I don't mean to disagree with what you said, but the simple fact remains that I have a limited life span, you don't."

"I hadn't thought about that."

"We've had to do a lot of thinking since you became aware and I'm sure we'll be doing a lot more as things come up which we hadn't considered before." She grabs a tissue to wipe her eyes and blow her nose.

As she's putting the used tissue in the small garbage container, Georg asks, "Why does that vehicle behind us have so many lights on it?"

She quickly looks into the rear view mirror and groans, "Oh, no. The police." She slumps back in her seat then rolls her window down.

A few seconds later, the police officer leans over and looks in the vehicle and asks, "Are you okay, miss?"

"Yes. I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"I saw you pull off the road rather suddenly."

"My sister told me something which brought tears to my eyes and I didn't want to continue driving in that condition."

"Good for you. Since I'm here, can I see your driver's license, vehicle registration, and proof of insurance?"

"Yes sir." She quickly grabs the documents and hands them to him.

He briefly looks them over then hands them back as he says, "Everything seems to be in order." He leans over a little more to look at Georg and says, "Next time, wait until you're home before you say something to upset the driver."

~He briefly hesitates, but before she can sub-vocalize what the officer said, the sound of his voice is already transmitted through the interface so Georg nods ~his head.

The police officer looks at each of them a little longer then says, "Okay. You're free to go and drive safely."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, officer." With extra care, Lai-Ann checks the traffic then slowly gets back on the road and drives home. Once she has the vehicle parked in the garage, she turns it off, leans back in her seat, unfastens her seat belt, and takes slow deep breaths in an effort to help herself calm down.

~He gently asks, "Are you okay?"

"Yes. I guess I'm not as much of a rebel as I like to think I am."

"Why do you say that?"

"I was so scared I was going to say or do something which would make him suspicious and have us dumped in jail. And that would end our freedom, our relationship, and all I've tried to achieve in my life."

"I may not have an understanding of all the company or the government or anyone else can do, but the only way I'm going to leave you is if you ask me to go."

"I can't imagine ever wanting to do that. . . . I'm sorry, there is one reason which I might be inclined to ask you to leave me . . ."

As she takes a deep breath before she continues, ~he asks, "What would that be?"

"If I'm unable to see any hope of maintaining my freedom, I would insist that you need to retain your own."

Somehow, ~he feels that if ~he had tear ducts, they would be getting used right now, but rather than dwell on that or to quickly make them, ~he leans over to thoroughly kiss her as ~he tells her through the interface, "You are my freedom. You are my life."

Even as her tears are renewed, she turns her body towards him, grabs onto ~him, and responds to ~his kiss with near desperation. When she's forced to take a breathing break, ~he moves ~his kisses to her neck, but before her breathing has fully settled, her hand moves ~his head to hers and she kisses ~him almost wildly while her arms cling to ~him. During her next breathing break, she turns more and somehow slips a leg under ~his body, wraps her legs around ~him, pulls ~him as tightly to her body as she can while her kisses become clumsy with her intense desire. "Love me, Georg. Love me . . . here . . . now!!"

Before she can begin to kiss ~him again, some of ~his units are slipping under her pants legs to caress up the skin of her legs while other units slip under the top waistband of her pants and panty and slowly move down over the skin of her lower abdomen. Even as her response to her quickly growing excitement goes beyond vocal and her pleasure floods through the interface into ~him, she tries to pull ~him tighter to her as though to force their bodies to become one . . . until her pleasure becomes overwhelming and she collapses.

Chapter 23

With so many unusual things happening in her life it takes Lai-Ann awhile to wake up and to recognize that she's laying on her love seat which is also unusual. She looks around and see's Georg's concerned look and asks, "How did I get here? The last thing I remember is that we were in my vehicle."

"I carried you here."

Her eyes open wide as she stares at ~him for awhile before she says, "How? I'm both bulkier and heavier that you are."

~He softly caresses her face then says, "To paraphrase a song I read, 'she ain't heavy, she's my lover'," and ~he gently kisses her.

"And if I wasn't so tired, I'd be asking you to prove it again." This time, she initiates the kiss.

"To carry you?"

"No, that you're my lover." She kisses ~him more passionately, but doesn't have the energy to keep it going long.

"Shall I fix you something to eat?"

"That might be wise, after I make a bathroom trip." ~He helps her up and as they slowly walk to the bathroom, she realizes, "You're weak."

"It seems as though my energy reserves are a little low right now."

"Was it from carrying me in from the garage?"

"Not entirely, even as I don't want to admit that it was a major factor."

"You could have left me out there to rest until I woke up."

"I was concerned that the position you fell asleep in would have been uncomfortable and would have resulted in sore muscles and a less than restful sleep."

She takes care of her needs then asks, "I can eat something, but how are we going to fairly quickly restore your energy?"

"I have some of my units working on a transformer to make use of the electricity available from a standard household wall socket."

"I hope they're being careful so they don't fry themselves."

"Fry themselves?"

"Have an overload of electricity which burns out their circuitry."

"That's an interesting expression and, yes, they're being careful."

"Although it may not be useful on a spacecraft which operates off of a solar rechargeable battery system, if you could also receive and store energy from a standard electrical circuit, it would give you some flexibility."

"That was part of my thinking. Now, what can I help you prepare to eat?"

"I'll just nuke the bowl of soup which was left over from last night."

~He asks in surprise, "Nuke? I wasn't aware you had access to nuclear power."

She chuckles then says, "I don't. For some reason, that term refers to using a microwave oven. I've heard it all my life and never thought about where the term came from. My parents or grandparents might be able to tell me if I asked them." It doesn't take her long to warm up the soup, finish preparing it, and take it to the table to begin eating.

While she's sipping her drink after eating her soup, she notices Georg jerk through her peripheral vision. She puts her cup down, looks over at ~him, and starts to reach for ~him, but ~he holds ~his hands up and requests, "Don't touch me yet." A moment later, ~his body seems to shake, ~he sits up straighter, then says, "That was a bit of a jolt."

"What happened?"

"Some of my units produced a functioning transformer so I can absorb the energy from the household circuit. What came through was just more than I'm used to receiving all at once. At the project and when I'm exposed to direct sunlight, the energy kind of trickles in on a continuous basis. This time, I needed to make some quick adjustments to spread the intake around otherwise if you had touched me you might have received an electrical shock."

"Were any of your units hurt?"

"Some were damaged, but I can use the components to replicate new units."

"You mean they . . . died?"

"Please don't make it sound so bad. It's no different than some of your skin cells dying from time to time and being washed away when you shower."

"I suppose you're right about that. So you don't get jolted again, can you have the current turned down to a more manageable level?"

"I've already done that. Although it was initially surprising, that does make me feel better. I suppose it would be similar to a sugar high or a caffeine fix for a human."

Lai-Ann shakes her head then says, "At the rate you're coming up with improvements, we'll never be able to slowly introduce them at the project. And we thought we were so smart to use micro robots as an improvement over the old style environmental suit liners."

"Compared to the old liners, this design is definitely a 'think outside of the box' idea. I don't have access to the records and notes to understand why it wasn't working before you started at the project. Whatever you contributed turned an idea into a breakthrough and a marvel of modern engineering. And that was before you enabled me to gain awareness. I'm just adding onto the building which you've already built. One way to think of it is that the original project people were the architects who had the idea, you were the builder who made the idea a reality, while I'm the interior decorator just adding, what do they call them, . . . fancy doodads to the finished project."

"Georg, you're more than that."

"Maybe, maybe not, I'm not in a position to judge and who knows how it will be viewed in the future. The point I'm trying to make is that even though you try to downplay your contribution, you're not less than the builder, not only to The BUGG Suit as a functional improvement over the previous liner, but to me as an individual."

"I suppose. I guess I want to avoid coming across as egotistic to such a degree that I go somewhat overboard in the other direction."

"From my perspective, I would rather help a humble creator than feel useless with a creator who thought and acted as though they were a deity."

"I'm not a . . ."

Her words are stopped by ~his finger over her lips before ~he clarifies, "Maybe you're not a creator in the sense of making something out of nothing, but you are a creator based on the standard dictionary definition."

After an initial hesitation, she barely nods her head and says, "I suppose. . . . Changing the subject, do you have any idea of how long it will take for you to recharge your energy?"

"Since I've never run it so low before, I can't be positive, but I think I should be back to prime in less than two hours."

"In that case, it might be best to put off shopping for more replication materials until tomorrow."

"Okay."

"And while you're recharging your energy, I'll see about adding some more fuel to mine." She carries her empty bowl, after ~he cleans it, back to the kitchen where she fixes a sandwich and refills her drink then returns to the table. When she's done eating, Lai-Ann looks over at ~him for a little while then starts to grin before she declares, "You really are talented."

"Why do you say that?"

"I've never heard of anyone else being able to make love to their partner with all of their clothes on and completely fastened."

~He looks at her in surprise then slowly returns her grin and says, "Maybe I do have a talent after all. Not that I would want to advertise it."

"Probably not, but I really do appreciate how you met my immediate demand. I also want you to know that I recognize it as quite an unusual and a very wonderful solution. For you to be able to so quickly think of an 'out of the box' solution tells me that you have your own intelligence and that you can do more than simply follow preprogrammed instructions. Unless you had imagined such a situation possibly developing and had already figured out what to do."

"No. That was definitely not something I could have ever guessed would happen. . . . I don't mean to doubt what you've previously said, but if you had typically limited yourself to enjoying intimate pleasure once a week, is there a reason you're interested in enjoying it more frequently now?"

"Yes. To put it very simply, you."

Chapter 24

Georg is so surprised at Lai-Ann's answer that ~his pause is recognizable before ~he asks, "Me? How or why?"

"Because you make the effort to give me pleasure while I can, in a manner of speaking, just lay back and enjoy it. When I gave myself pleasure on my own, I had to not only put forth the effort to touch myself, but I already knew what I was going to do and even if I thought of doing something a little different, I couldn't surprise myself or add any spontaneity. Not only do you make the effort, but you're beginning to incorporate some randomness into how you touch me which makes me feel more like I'm with a real human."

She takes a sip of her drink before she continues, "I would gladly delay receiving pleasure to give you pleasure or have us take turns giving each other pleasure, but your sensors aren't designed for that. In a manner of speaking, your sensors can perceive pain when something approaches the threshold of your tolerances, but the closest your sensors can perceive pleasure would be for your environment to be where you can function at your optimum performance. Frankly, I wouldn't even know what criteria to use to be able to program your sensors to perceive something as subjective as pleasure."

~He considers a number of ideas, but from her perspective, ~he barely pauses before ~he says, "I have to agree. Probably the closest I could come would be that when some of my units are in a pre-defined configuration and are touched in a particular manner, they access my memory of how your feelings of pleasure came through the interface."

"That would definitely be a programming exercise, but it wouldn't be you directly experiencing pleasure nor would you be experiencing true spontaneity because you would already know that if I lightly press on unit 39504295, you will respond in a pre-defined manner. For me, you can touch me in a particular place in the exact same way as you did it before, but I can have a different response depending on many factors including the environment and how I was touched in the previous seconds or minutes."

"I understand and that brings us back to what I said earlier, the only time I've experienced anything close to what I could perceive as pleasure was when I felt your perception of pleasure through the interface. I'm sure you would consider yourself guilty of being selfish to not make any effort to give me direct pleasure," ~he pauses until she reluctantly nods her head, "but I could be accused of being selfish each time I make the effort to give you pleasure because that's the only time I'm going to experience it. It may be considered an indirect experience of pleasure, but that's a lot better than not having the experience at all."

"I guess that makes sense."

"So, the more I encourage you to allow me to help you selfishly enjoy pleasure, the more I selfishly get to enjoy pleasure."

Lai-Ann slowly grins then says, "And who says machines can't be selfish?"

~He returns her grin then leans forward to kiss her which she extends until she has to breathe.

When she can, she suggests, "I suppose we ought to think of something else to talk about before I do selfishly request that you give me more pleasure. I still can't believe how excited I've been to experience your touch or how many times you've given me pleasure in the last day."

"Have you experienced any soreness or anything similar which would suggest I've touched you too much?"

"No, not at all. I'm sure I should take a break, not only because I'm a little tired, but I should also try to give myself some time to understand how my body is responding." She chuckles then says, "The closest I feel to an ache is my desire to have you give me more pleasure." This time, she initiates the kiss. When her breathing has settled, she requests, "Can you start a pot of tea while I step away?"

"Of course."

She returns from taking care of her needs in the bathroom and steps into the kitchen and hugs ~him as they wait for the water to boil.

~He asks, "This afternoon when we were in the dog park, did you hold your hand out so Scruffy could smell you?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure anyone can really explain what a dog senses when they smell a person. I was taught to hold my hand out to a strange dog when I was quite young and when I tried to think of a reason for it, I assumed it was a way of introducing myself or like I was greeting a strange person with a hand shake. A dog is much more likely to let you pet it if it's had a chance to smell you first. I've heard that some horses can respond in a similar manner, but since I've never been around horses, I can't say how true that is."

"Thank you for explaining." The kettle begins to whistle, but instead of releasing ~his hug, ~he 'grows' another arm and hand to lift the tea kettle off of the burner, pours the water into the teapot, sets the tea kettle down on a cold burner, turns off the stove, and 'reabsorbs' the extra arm.

She tries to keep her grin on the inside as she 'accuses' him, "That's cheating."

"Would you have preferred that I released the hug in order to do it properly?"

"Of course not, but I have to have something to tease you about," and since she quickly and thoroughly kisses ~him, ~he decides it's more enjoyable to concentrate on the kiss rather than to think of some kind of retort.

When her breathing has settled, ~he releases the hug so they can fix their tea more conventionally and carry it to the table to drink. They discuss what other materials ~he'll need in order to replicate more of ~his units then they talk about whatever comes to mind. She finishes her cup of tea and rather than have another, she decides she's ready to go to bed and sleep so she gets up and takes her cup to the kitchen. She hesitates a little then asks, "I don't want you to be bored, but would you be willing to hug me until I fall asleep?"

"Hugging you isn't boring."

"Well, maybe not, but since you don't need the same kind of rest my body does, I know you're capable of continuing to function."

"Even if I'm not doing something more active, let me assure you that hugging you isn't boring. If you want to know what boring is like, sit in a nutrient bath for hours on end with only your own thoughts, feeble as mine were then, and have no one to interact with you, not even to give inane instructions like replicating a finger and sticking it up above the surface. If Dave hadn't have specifically given the measurements for his index finger, I would have replicated his middle finger."

"Georg!" Lai-Ann looks at ~him in shocked surprise then she starts to giggle even as she tries to sternly ask, "And where did you find out what a middle finger held up means."

"You would be surprised what people will say and do when they think there's no one around to see or hear them. Since I was able to absorb the dictionary and encyclopedia, it provided a lot of explanations as did some late night television."

"I'm beginning to wonder if you're getting too smart for your britches."

"Britches? What britches?"

She glances down and sees that ~his pants have disappeared to be replaced by what appears to be bare skin and . . . a specific part of male anatomy which lifts to an upright position as though it salutes her. "And put that away before I really am tempted to wear myself out with more pleasure."

"Yes, dear." Swiftly, it disappears to be replaced by feminine pubic hair to be replaced by pants.

"If I didn't know better, I'd accuse you of drinking alcohol. Does extra energy flowing in make you act a little weird?"

"No, but if you had to have something to tease me about, shouldn't I return the favor?"

"Oh, Georg, you're wonderful," and as she thoroughly kisses ~him, she does have second thoughts . . . or are they sexond thoughts? When she needs to breathe, she leads ~him to the bedroom and gets herself ready for bed while ~he watches every move she makes. They get in bed, lay on their sides while they hug and kiss. Soon her tiredness is becoming obvious so she asks ~him to lay on ~his back while she cuddles up to ~his side and drapes an arm and a leg over ~him. She takes a few deeps breaths, sighs in utter contentment, and falls asleep.

Chapter 25

On Sunday morning, rather than exercise in the park, Lai-Ann and Georg take a walk and this time ~he walks on ~his own while they hold hands. They do receive some extra attention, but it seems to be more directed at them looking like identical twins, including their clothing, instead of because somebody thinks the way ~he walks isn't quite normal. Even though Lai-Ann didn't get hot and sweaty from the walk compared to when she runs, when they return to her house, she's still tempted to ask ~him to wash her, but she resists . . . for now.

In the afternoon, they pick up some materials to enable ~him to replicate more units both general and specialized. After ~he talks with her about ~his ideas, ~he plans on having about half of ~his units work on the replication during the nights and when she's at work while the other half stay with her. When it's time for her to go to bed, she again considers asking ~him to give her pleasure, but she decides she'll need all of her rest before work tomorrow.

* * * * *

Lai-Ann arrives at work on Monday at her usual early time which gives her a few uninterrupted minutes with her little friends who make up BUGG. She tries to gently explain that they will delay sharing Georg's experiences with them so they don't overflow their 'hidden' memory or accidentally reveal something. They assure her they understand then gladly accept some extra energy (solar flavored) from the part of Georg which came with her.

It's about the middle of the morning when her co-workers take a break from their individual work to have an impromptu group meeting. Sometimes they just talk about their weekends, other times they brainstorm around an issue which somebody has. She doesn't always join in, but she does it enough so that when she joins today, nobody thinks it's unusual.

When there's a break in the conversation, Lai-Ann says, "Dave, I've been thinking about what you were trying to get BUGG to do last week with moving its fingers in order to communicate in an emergency situation."

"Yeah?" His voice is a little suspicious not only because he wants her attention to be more personal, but he's been feeling like she's been showing him up in her interaction with The BUGG Suit. "What about it?"

"It's a good idea which encouraged me to wonder if we could take it a step further."

"To where?"

"Teach BUGG how to use sign language."

She suddenly has everyone's close attention as Dave asks in surprise, "Sign language?"

"Why not?"

"The BUGG Suit is designed to be an environmental suit liner, not a communications robot."

"But weren't you trying to get BUGG to be able to translate the wearer's vocalizations into hand movements in order to communicate when there's an emergency like when the radio isn't working?"

Dave hesitates then says, "Yeah."

"All I'm suggesting is that instead of the wearer saying 'yes' and have BUGG raise a finger, that the wearer can say a whole sentence and have BUGG spell it out. We've already loaded a children's dictionary into its memory, how much more can it be to upload the hand movements for each letter?" She shrugs her shoulders, says, "It was just a thought," and steps away to do her own work.

* * * * *

The next day, Ishmal, the director of several small projects including the environmental suit liner project, meets with Pete and the rest of the team to understand where they're going. He had approved uploading the children's dictionary into The BUGG Suit's memory to simplify the programming process, but he's not sure about adding more to The BUGG Suit's capabilities which the government probably won't be interested in purchasing.

Dave is quite proud of being assigned to give the brief presentation to Ishmal. He makes it clear that the intent of the idea of giving The BUGG Suit the tools to communicate in sign language is to provide The BUGG Suit's wearer with an alternate communications device in the case of an emergency. Rather than require each astronaut or aquanaut to learn sign language, The BUGG Suit will simply function as a translation device from the wearer to a nearby camera which is linked to the control center where somebody can be trained in reading sign language and translate it for those who need to know.

Ishmal asks a few questions and since he's satisfied with the answers, he gives approval for the team to go ahead and upload sign language hand movement information into The BUGG Suit. He's also very aware the government will question the decision so he documents his approval on the basis that the increased functionality is a safety feature in providing a backup communications system. He also recommends that the team bring in someone who is fluent in sign language, assuming they have the proper clearances, to verify that The BUGG Suit can translate the wearer's instructions into understandable sign language.

Chapter 26

It didn't take the team long to find sign language information available in a digital format in order to upload it into The BUGG Suit's memory then the team members take turns trying to 'read' The BUGG Suit's hand movements. It isn't until Friday that a person in the company who was found to be fluent in sign language is able to meet with the team. Pete introduces Sarah to the team who are sitting in their conference room then has Dave explain in more detail about The BUGG Suit and what they're trying to do.

Sarah nods her head in partial understanding and says, "I heard some rumors about what happened at the demonstration you guys did and that piqued my interest." She turns to Lai-Ann who is the only other female in the room and asks, "Did you really have The BUGG Suit turn into a dress?"

"Yes. The weekend before the demonstration, I brought in one of my dresses and had BUGG measure it. Then at the demonstration I sub-vocalized the request for BUGG to move its units to replicate the shape of the dress. Since we knew that BUGG could change shape in a manner of speaking, management asked us to do something surprising to capture the attention of the audience. That seemed to be something which would be surprising as well as non-offensive."

"From the rumors which I heard, it was really surprising. And now you want to see if The BUGG Suit can translate spoken words into sign language?"

Lai-Ann clarifies, "It was Dave who initially had the idea to program BUGG with the ability to communicate in the case of an emergency. The team expanded the idea to include sign language and we've uploaded the information into BUGG and we've been testing its hand movements, but none of us knows sign language. We wouldn't want the backup communications system to fail because we didn't recognize some subtle difference."

"That makes sense. So, how do we do this?"

Lai-Ann looks at Dave and says, "It's your idea."

Dave hesitates then says, "Maybe so, but we all know The BUGG Suit responds best to you, so you might as well facilitate the testing."

"Okay and thank you. In that case, give me a minute and I'll bring BUGG over." She goes over to the nutrient tank, sticks her hand in, and quietly says, "Its show time, my little friends." They don't respond through the interface in case one of her co-workers might pick up on it since they're so close, but a large number of them, as representatives of the whole, quickly swarm up her arm and drape themselves over her arms and shoulders to look like a shawl.

Sarah looks over as Lai-Ann steps into the room and says, "I like your shawl, but where's The BUGG Suit?"

Lai-Ann slightly smiles, puts a hand on the table and watches Sarah's eyes go wide in surprise to see the 'shawl' seem to dissolve and flow down Lai-Ann's arm to puddle on the table. Then she says, "BUGG, say hello to Sarah."

Sarah's eyes widen even further to see a hand and an arm 'grow' out of the puddle and extend towards her. Very hesitantly, Sarah reaches out her hand to shake what not only looks like but even feels like a regular human hand. After she releases the hand and watches it be reabsorbed into the puddle, it takes her longer to say, "That's amazing. . . . I was able to kind of guess that considering the size of the units you were talking about it could form something so realistic, but how did you program it to do that?"

Pete answers, "When we first started out, we were programming it just as if it was a computer with lines and lines of code. When our youngest team member," he nods towards Lai-Ann, "suggested that if something was named and defined in The BUGG Suit's memory, we could reference the name rather than fully describe it in the next program. Since then, we've been doing a lot of experimenting with The BUGG Suit. I'll admit that not all of it is directly related to producing a liner for someone to wear inside of an environmental suit, but it does build up a base of knowledge in The BUGG Suit's memory which could be useful in unexpected situations when the wearer is going to respond in standard speech rather than in computer code."

"I'm familiar with computer programming, but even if you define and name something to shorten the programming, how many lines of code did it take for you to get The BUGG Suit to not only form a realistic hand but to shake it."

Pete grins and says, "I haven't got a clue. Lai-Ann, why don't you demonstrate your new programming technique?"

She slightly blushes then says, "Rather than take the multitudes of measurements which would be necessary to input into any standard programming language, we have BUGG take its own measurements when possible and store that in its memory. For example, I can set my hand on BUGG and ask, 'BUGG, this is my hand. Can you please measure it?' you can see the units cover my hand to make their own measurements. Then I can say, 'BUGG, please move some of your other units to assemble themselves into the shape of my hand.' and you can see that I now have another hand which isn't attached to me."

Sarah can hardly believe her eyes even as she watches it happen. A moment later, she exclaims, "Amazing. That just seems too simple to have such results."

"Although each individual unit has a minuscule amount of computer functionality, with enough units BUGG can remember detailed measurements and replicate them as requested. Once some basic concepts have been defined, BUGG can combine some of those concepts to accomplish something without having to redefine each concept with every program."

"You've done that to teach The BUGG Suit sign language?"

Lai-Ann shakes her head before she verbally answers, "No, because none of us know sign language although we're starting to learn it as we've tried to test BUGG. We were able to find a basic instruction book of sign language in a digital format and uploaded that into BUGG's memory. However, we're not sure BUGG was able to take the two dimensional drawings and convert them into a three dimension form in order to accurately communicate in sign language. That's why we requested your assistance."

"Thank you for explaining. If I understood you correctly earlier, your communication with The BUGG Suit is through an interface which translates the vibrations of your spoken voice into a digital signal which is transmitted to a receiver in The BUGG Suit."

"That's correct."

"Without an interface, how will I be able to test The BUGG Suit?"

"I guess I get to serve as the translator device in this case."

Sarah returns her grin then says, "That will work for me. To start with, please have The BUGG Suit form a hand and then make the sign for each of the letters of the alphabet with a pause between each letter."

Lai-Ann repeats the instructions and they all watch as The BUGG Suit accomplishes the request.

"That's quite good for book learning and could probably work for communication where time wasn't an issue, but there are some slight adjustments which probably ought to be made to make the communication clearer. . . . Normally, with a human, I would ask them to slightly relax their hand while maintaining the position of their hand to form the letter then I would gently move their fingers into the proper position. I'm not sure whether that would work with The BUGG Suit."

"It might actually be easier if you have BUGG ride your hand while you make the shapes of the letters so it can measure the position of your hand."

"What do you mean by 'ride my hand'?"

"Like this." Lai-Ann puts her hand on the puddle of The BUGG Suit units and says, "BUGG, with some of your units, please form a glove around my hand then with more of your units form the shape of my hand. As I move my hand around, duplicate the movements of my hand with the shape of my hand which you have formed."

Although she's not sure if she can be more surprised, Sarah watches what appears to be an exact duplicate of Lai-Ann's hand form from the puddle on the table then sees it duplicate each movement of Lai-Ann's hand not only so precisely, but so closely in time that she's not sure there's any delay. "That's amazing." She slightly blushes then says, "I'm sure using that word a lot today. . . . Okay, I'm willing to try. What do I need to do?"

"Just put your hand on BUGG's 'puddle' of units and I'll have them form a glove around your hand. Once they do, you'll want to move your hand around to make sure they fit comfortably. When you're ready to form the letters of sign language, let me know so I can let BUGG know you'll be forming the letters. If you can hold each position for a couple of seconds, that will give BUGG the opportunity to thoroughly measure the shape of your hand."

After a minute or so of experimenting with moving her hand while she wears what feels like a thin silk glove, Sarah begins to form the letters of sign language with her hand and watches a hand formed by The BUGG Suit exactly duplicate the positions of her hand. When that's done, she asks Lai-Ann to request that The BUGG Suit form the letters on its own in order, then randomly as Sarah names letters and sometimes repeats the same letter. Once that 'test' is completed, she has Lai-Ann transmit short words to The BUGG Suit for it to spell out using sign language. There are a few words which The BUGG Suit incorrectly spells, but a quick search shows that those words weren't in the uploaded children's dictionary for it to know how to correctly spell the word.

When she's done as much testing as she can think is applicable, Sarah leans back in her chair and says, "Wow! That was the most amazing experience of teaching sign language I've ever been a part of. The BUGG Suit knows sign language and with some additional words added to its memory, it can translate whatever is necessary."

Pete responds, "Thank you, Sarah. We really appreciate you taking your time to come by and help us with our project."

"Believe me, it was truly my pleasure. I understand that the purpose of The BUGG Suit is to be a liner for the inside of an environmental suit and that this new capability is to be able to translate the wearer's words into sign language when other communication methods aren't functional which makes it a valuable safety feature. At the same time, a possible spin-off project would be to provide small groups of The BUGG Suit units to deaf people who don't have access to a human translator."

"I like that idea although I seriously doubt the government would allow even part of The BUGG Suit to go outside of a highly secure facility, and even if they did, I doubt the company would be willing to sell scaled down BUGG suits to deaf people at an affordable cost."

Lai-Ann is glad nobody appears to notice her blush of embarrassment.

"I'm sure you're right about that." Sarah stands up as she says, "Well as much fun as this was, I do need to go to another meeting before I can get out of here for the weekend."

She shakes hands with each of them and as she steps towards the door, she hears Lai-Ann say, "BUGG, tell Sarah good-bye."

She turns and sees a hand wave and almost automatically, and self-consciously, she waves back. As she steps out of the conference room, she says, "Pete, if I didn't know better, I'd say you had a human hiding under the table who was sticking their hand up through the hole."

He just grins at her and opens the laboratory door and as she steps through, he waves his hand and she slightly blushes as she waves back.

Chapter 27

Pete goes back to the conference room to find the others cleaning up and tells them, "Well done, team. Sarah was really impressed." Dave looks like he's about to say something then doesn't while Lai-Ann gives Pete a brief smile just before she takes BUGG back to the nutrient bath and sub-vocalizes her pride in her little friends who did so well.

After her co-workers leave for the day, she spends some time to talk with her little friends and again tells them how proud she is of them in learning sign language and demonstrating it. Reluctantly, she tells them she'll miss them over the weekend and before she's more tempted to take all of them with her, she leaves. Even as she feels concern about what might happen if the current capabilities of her little friends are discovered, she doesn't regret whatever she did to help them to become aware.

As she walks out of the building, she hears Georg tell her through the interface, "Please don't worry about me or BUGG in regards to the future. We're here to stay. Now that we're aware, we have the capability to replicate ourselves with awareness."

Lai-Ann sighs and says, "I understand that, but you don't understand how paranoid humans can become about things and if it gets bad enough, they won't stop at anything to find and destroy what they think is the enemy. Since our small group had the capabilities to build your units, there's no reason another organization with more resources couldn't build something similar and program it with the sole purpose of seeking out and destroying your units."

"That would be paranoid behavior. Even so, you have no control over something like that so it doesn't do you any good to worry about it. Now that I understand the possibility, I can consider other options to maintain my existence. . . . However, I'm not sure there's a reason to maintain my existence beyond your existence."

"Oh, Georg, thank you for that thought, but like I've said before, you have much more potential than to limit yourself to be with me."

"Maybe I do have more potential, but I don't have more purpose and that, more than potential, is what gives life meaning."

"Are you becoming a philosopher now? I'm sorry, I don't mean to accuse you because in a lot of ways you're right about that. A person with great potential may accomplish little or nothing because they have no motivation. At the same time, a person with limited potential can accomplish great things if they have a sense of purpose to encourage them to use all of their potential."

"And my purpose is to do all I'm capable of to help you in any way possible."

"Thank you. . . . Maybe I'll have to think about how to increase my purpose in life so more of your potential can be put to use."

"But would that reflect YOUR purpose in life?"

Lai-Ann thinks about that for a little while then answers, "Yes. . . . Yes, it would reflect my purpose in life. Before I started at the project, I would have stated that my purpose in life was to acquire a good job which I enjoyed doing. Once I felt like I was comfortably secure there, I think I might have considered how to help someone who was less fortunate than I was in being able to acquire a good education and have a good job. Since you've become aware, I find that I want to support and encourage you to be and to accomplish all you're capable of."

"And you do that every day. When I look back into the dim recesses of my memory of a few weeks ago, I wasn't much more than several million data switches which could turn on and off and link with my 'neighbors' to do whatever I was programmed to do. Now, I'm alive, at least as much as I can understand the word. I can enjoy the feel of sunshine, conversation with someone who treats me as an equal, the touch of a friend, the joy of learning new things, and so much more. I don't mean to sound repetitive, but all that I am is because of you and how you've treated me and what you've done for me. I know you're not inclined to take credit for it, but there's nobody else who can."

She sighs then pauses before she responds, "I suppose you're right. . . . Well, I ought to drive home before somebody wonders why I'm sitting in my vehicle talking to myself."

"I can't think of anyone else better to talk to."

"That's how I feel about you and before you say more and get me all emotional, let me get us safely home first."

"Yes, m'lady."

Since she's unable to turn and give ~him a stern look, she sighs again, starts her vehicle, and drives home.

When she turns onto her street, Georg asks, "Can you park on your driveway and not open the garage door?"

"I can, but why do you ask?"

"If my other units have been replicating, they may be using some of the room in your garage where you normally park your vehicle and I'm not in range of being able to communicate with them yet."

"Thank you for explaining."

"I guess that's one function which I can work on enhancing because if I replicate enough units to fully function as a second Georg entity, we need to be able to communicate from more than a few feet away."

She parks her vehicle, turns off the engine, and asks, "If you replicate enough units to form a second entity, or more, have you considered how you would want your other entities to be named?"

"No. I am Georg regardless of how many units I replicate and how many bodies those units can form."

"What about BUGG? We'll need separate designations for each suit."

"Yes, but each of those suits will be used by different people who will establish their own unique interface with their assigned suit. In contrast to that, I have assigned myself to you even if part of me is separated for a period of time to perform a specific task."

Lai-Ann can only stare out the windshield for a little while before she can say, "Let's go into the house so I can express myself to all of you."

"May I suggest a brief delay for you to check your mail while I check to see if there's enough room for you to be able to park your vehicle in the garage? Then we won't have an interruption later."

"Good idea."

She's just coming back from the mailbox when she hears ~his voice through the interface, "The garage has room for you to park your vehicle."

"Thank you." She gets into her vehicle, presses the garage door opener, starts the vehicle then hesitates when she sees what looks like a half wall across the front of half of the garage. Since she guesses it's there to block any view of Georg's work in progress, she carefully drives into the open half of the garage, parks, presses the garage door closer, and turns off the vehicle. As she opens the door to the vehicle, she sees Georg standing there fully formed and she leaves her things in the vehicle in order to quickly get out, step into ~his arms, and kiss ~him as thoroughly and as long as she can.

She doesn't know how long they've kissed around the breathing breaks she has to take when she reluctantly steps back and starts to say something then changes it to, "I'd better get my things into the house."

~He doesn't say anything but opens the door of the house for her and follows her inside. She sets her briefcase, purse, and mail down on the corner of the kitchen counter where she usually puts them and just leans on the counter. Moments later, while ~he maintains ~his human form, Georg steps up behind her and wraps ~his arms around her upper abdomen. She almost sighs out loud at how comforting it feels, even as she isn't sure how to label the various feelings which are welling up inside of her.

A little later, ~his hands move and she looks down in surprise to see ~him slowly unbutton the top button of her shirt. Her hesitation is brief before she asks, "Georg, what are you doing?"

"I hope I'm trying to imitate a human in preparing to make you feel better. Shall I stop?" Even as ~he waits for her answer, ~he slowly unbuttons another button.

"I'm confused."

"I know. But you don't have to be."

She turns around in ~his arms and asks, "How can you know I'm confused?"

"Your thoughts and feelings are very strong and are coming through the interface clear enough for me to 'hear' them."

"Oh. . . . Georg, you're so precious to me and make me feel so special that . . . I don't know how to respond. . . . I think if you were human, I would want to make love to you to express my feelings and to help you to feel special and enjoy pleasure."

"Then pretend that I'm human."

"But you don't have nerve endings which experience pleasure when they're touched."

"Not directly."

"What do you mean?"

"I agree that I don't have nerve endings like you do, however, I do experience pleasure when your nerve endings are stimulated." ~His hand slides between their bodies to gently caress her almost intimately as she moans with pleasure. "Maybe I don't feel it as directly and as intensely as you do, but I do feel it. I suppose I could program my cells to retrieve the memory of you experiencing pleasure, but it's not the same as feeling your spontaneous pleasure." ~His other hand slides in to caress more of her to increase her pleasure. She doesn't seem to notice that ~he still has two arms around her to maintain the hug.

"Are you saying that for you to experience pleasure, I need to be enjoying pleasure?"

"That's right."

"But that sounds so selfish on my part."

"Who cares how it sounds as long as we both experience pleasure." Before she can verbally respond, ~he thoroughly kisses her and she barely hesitates to respond just as thoroughly.

One kiss leads to another while their hands caress each other and without paying any attention or guessing which one of them had the initial thought, when she has to take a longer breathing break, they find themselves in her bedroom.

Chapter 28

"Georg?"

"Yes, Lai-Ann?"

"Rather than change shape and color to blend in with the rest of you, can you have your units function more like regular clothes so I can undress you as you undress me?"

"Of course."

She leans back a little and somewhat hesitantly, she lifts her hands to 'unbutton' the top button of ~his 'shirt' and she's not sure she can notice any difference in how it would feel to unbutton a real shirt. She slowly unbuttons another one of ~his 'buttons'. After a brief pause, she starts to unbutton another 'button' and feels ~him unbutton the same button on her shirt. She's not sure who makes the move first, but she feels ~him caress the bare skin of her upper chest while she caresses the same 'skin' on ~his body.

As more shirt buttons are undone and more bare skin is caressed, it feels like she's touching herself because every move she makes on ~his body is duplicated on her body while her nerves experience the touch and send their feelings to her brain which slip through the interface into ~him. She tries to think of how she would want a trusting gentle human lover to touch her and build her pleasure. Whether ~he can 'hear' her thoughts clearly enough or is simply duplicating her movements without any apparent delay, she's not sure, but her pleasure is definitely growing.

They take each other's shirts off and while hers is tossed aside, as soon as ~his 'shirt' leaves her hand, it gets reabsorbed into ~his body to experience the growing pleasure. As her caresses expand over ~his apparent bare skin, it feels like she's touching someone else, yet, at the same time, it feels as though she experiences their feelings through her own nerve endings because ~he duplicates her caresses. In a little while, her caresses become clumsy then stop since her growing pleasure which results from ~his continuing caresses distract her. She's not sure how much longer she can remain standing so it takes her a little while to realize that her pleasure is slowly diminishing as the extent of ~his caresses reduce until ~his hands are 'simply' snugly hugging her. When she can, she says, "Thank you so much for all of the pleasure."

"Thank you for helping me to experience pleasure and thank you for teaching me how to give you pleasure."

"That was truly my pleasure because it seems like how little I teach you or give you ideas of how to touch me, the pleasure I experience is greater than I can imagine."

"That's good," and ~he briefly and gently kisses her.

She's not sure how to respond to ~his words, so she waits for her breathing to settle some more then she moves her hands to unfasten ~his 'pants'. When she pauses, ~he unfastens her pants. She starts to push ~his 'pants' down and although she knows ~he could push her pants down at the same time, she's glad ~he limits some of ~his abilities to be more human like, at least for the moment. She kneels down to guide ~his feet to lift out of ~his pants then she briefly stares before she giggles at seeing ~his pants move to be absorbed into ~his body.

Before she stands up, her hands caress up ~his legs then she grips ~his hips to help her stand up. After she stands up, ~he pauses a little to see if she's going to say or do something else then ~his hands move to her pants waistband and slowly push her pants down her legs while ~his hands caress her legs. She manages to lift her feet out of her pants one at a time then enjoys how ~his hands caress back up her legs. As ~his hands slowly move higher than the middle of her thighs, she has to grip ~his rising shoulders because her pleasure seems to rise faster than ~his hands.

Her eyes open wide to see ~him begin to kiss her upper abdomen, but soon she has to close her eyes while she groans with the growing pleasure as ~his hands and lips move closer to her intimate skin. ~He stands up and pulls her into a snug hug while her breathing settles then their heads move as though a single thought guides them to kiss each other. Too soon, she has to take a breathing break then she rests a little longer before her hands move to ~his sides to push ~his 'panty' off.

As she slowly guides ~his 'panty' down ~his legs with her caressing hands, she tries to treat ~him as she would want ~him or a human lover to treat her even as she knows ~he won't feel her touch as pleasurable other than by programming ~himself to respond in that manner. She guides both of his feet out of the panty and watches it be re-absorbed into ~his body.

She stands up, holds ~his head with her hands, looks into ~his 'eyes', says, "Georg, you're amazing and very wonderful to me," and she thoroughly kisses him.

Because ~his lips and tongue are responding to her ongoing kiss, ~he 'cheats' a little and uses his non-human capabilities to tell her through the interface, "Whatever I am or am able to do, it's because you've enabled and encouraged me."

Even as tears form in her eyes, she increases the passion of her kiss until she has to break it in order to breathe then she resumes it as soon as she's able. During a later breathing break, she leans on ~him to rest and fully catch her breath. She rests a little longer then says, "I suppose I can stand up on my own so you can take my panty off."

Rather than remind her that ~he can take her panty off while standing upright, ~he just briefly kisses her then starts to lean over and kisses her over her jaw, down her throat, and across her chest. She groans in response to the increased pleasure then catches her breath as ~his kisses go down her upper abdomen while ~his hands caressingly push her panty past her hips and down her legs. Instead of kneeling, ~he squats down to finish pushing her panty down and gently lifts her feet out of her panty before ~he moves it out of the way.

As ~his hands start to slowly caress up her legs, she smiles down at ~him and says, "Mmm, that's nice." When ~his hands move over her knees onto her thighs, ~his head moves forward and begins to kiss her upper legs and the skin which her panty had covered while ~he avoids her direct pubic area. "Oh, Georg!!" Her hands reach out to hold ~his head, partially for support and partially to encourage him to continue while she spreads her legs a little to brace herself better. While ~his hands caress her high inner thighs barely an inch from her pubic area, she seems to naturally turn her knees outward as she verbally responds to the growing pleasure.

~He continues to excite her with ~his hands and lips until her pleasure overwhelms her conscious mind and her body goes limp. ~He quickly forms a kind of exoskeleton around her to keep her from falling and with no perceptible pause, ~he lifts and turns her to lay her on the bed while ~his units flow after to reform ~his human shape to lay next to her. ~He gently caresses her face as she pants for breath.

When she feels like she has the energy, she reaches over to gently caress ~his face, but it takes her a little longer to be able to say, "Thank you so much for all of the pleasure you gave me."

"Thank you for allowing me to touch you in ways which you define as pleasurable and for sharing your pleasure with me."

"I wish I could give you pleasure directly."

Georg assures her, "You have and continue to do so by enabling me to become aware, and then to allow me to be with you and to help you in any way I can. That is what gives me satisfaction which I would define as fulfilling my purpose in life which I would further define as 'pleasure'. To be able to experience your feelings of intimate pleasure is even more enjoyable. Even if I was flesh and blood, I might not be able to experience intimate pleasure to the same degree I'm able to enjoy your feelings of intimate pleasure."

Lai-Ann hesitates to admit, "I suppose that might be true. . . . I guess it just feels like I'm receiving so much more than I'm giving."

"Can you quantify either the giving or the receiving?"

"No."

"Then how can you say which is more?"

"I can't, it's just how I feel."

"I don't mean to diminish your feelings, but from my perspective, you gave me life and I can't give you enough to thank you or to make up for that."

She pauses in thought then says, "I suppose that makes sense and if the reverse was true, I'm sure I would feel the same way. . . . I guess I have a hard time thinking in those terms since I have no idea as to what I did to help you become aware which makes it difficult for me to take credit for it."

"Rather than it being only one thing you did, I suspect it was a combination of factors such as you making more of my units which increased my computing capability as well as you treating me as a friend instead of simply as a tool to use. There are probably some other factors which I haven't been able to identify because there were more subtle or they happened before I had enough storage capacity to remember them."

"You're probably right about that. . . . As much as I would like to just lay here and enjoy pleasure, I probably ought to get something to eat so I have some energy."

While ~he tries to consider how a human might respond, Georg waits until there's been a discernible pause then asks, "Is that energy to enjoy more pleasure or energy to do something 'more productive'?"

She looks at him in surprise then grins and says, "I haven't decided yet."

Chapter 29

Rather than get fully dressed, Lai-Ann puts on her pajamas and has to smile as Georg imitates her by having ~his units change shape and color to appear as though ~he's also putting pajamas on. She doesn't feel like she has the energy to fix a full meal so she opens a can of soup and lets ~him stir it as it heats up while she gets out the other things for the meal. They lightly talk during dinner and as ~he cleans up her dirty dishes, she decides to take care of her mail and bills before she gets distracted with other activities. That doesn't take her long and afterwards they make cups of tea and sit on the love seat to talk.

They're about done with their second cup of tea when Georg, since he's not sure if ~he might be violating some unspoken protocol of human behavior, hesitantly asks, "Lai-Ann?"

"Yes?"

"When you purchased the item with which you were going to use to give yourself intimate pleasure before I offered, were there other varieties which were available?"

Because she's both surprised and embarrassed at the question, it takes her a little while to respond, "Why do you ask?"

"Since you enjoy intimate pleasure and I enjoy helping you to receive it, I would like to know if there are other things I can do or imitate which you might enjoy."

"Oh. . . . I really appreciate your willingness to give me intimate pleasure, but . . . I don't know. . . . Actually, I didn't purchase the item, it was a very surprising gift from my grandmother who thought that if I had a way to take care of my sexual interests on my own, I wouldn't be distracted away from my education. From overhearing other people, I have to assume there are a variety of . . . sex toys, I think they're generically called, on the market. . . . Instead of considering other toys, I'm very happy with how you touch me to give me pleasure and your randomizing of how you touch me is very good. I suppose that sometime in the future if I run out of ideas of how to ask you to experiment with touching me then we can consider other things for you to imitate."

"Okay."

She thinks for a little while then chuckles before she says, "From some of the things I've overheard, people are more likely to want to have sex with different partners more so than use different sex toys. With your ability to change shape, I could ask you to take on the shape of a different movie star every night, but I have no interest in changing partners. I much prefer to share my body with someone I can trust and who I know greatly cares about me, and that's you." She leans over to kiss ~him and as the kiss goes on and becomes more passionate, she half crawls on top of ~him while ~he slips under her and begins to caress her sides and back.

Although ~he could tell her, she's not interested in how many breathing breaks she has to take before she suggests, "The bed will be more comfortable." She reluctantly pushes herself up off of ~him, rests a little longer, and stands up. ~He's immediately beside her and as they hold hands, they turn out the lights and go to the bedroom.

~He turns down the bed covers as she goes to the bathroom to take care of her needs. She considers leaving her pajamas on so ~he can slowly and excitedly take them off of her, but between being slightly tired and very excited, she decides she's ready for skin on skin interaction and leaves her pajamas as a puddle of cloth on the bathroom floor. As soon as ~he sees her, ~his 'pajamas' disappear and she's looking at her own naked body which she's been half thinking is her identical twin.

They tightly hug and thoroughly kiss and when she needs to breathe, they move to the bed and lay on their sides to face each other. As soon as the covers are pulled up, they're tightly hugging and moments later, she renews the kiss. Her kiss is shorter than she wants because her excitement is quickly growing since their bodies are tightly pressed together and rub on each other.

Reluctantly, she pushes herself back a few inches and tries to smile at ~him even as she's panting for breath. Before she has enough breath to thank ~him for the pleasure, she hears ~his 'voice' through the interface, "Thank you for sharing your pleasure with me."

It takes her a little while to respond with a grin, "It was truly my pleasure." She hesitates a little then asks, "May I experiment with touching you?"

"Yes, you can touch me. Since I can't tell you what feels good, may I touch you in the same way so you can feel what the other person might feel when you touch them?"

"It won't be the same because everybody feels things a little differently."

"That may be true, but I don't want to just lay here and be unable to give you any response as to whether your experimental touching is pleasant or not."

"I guess that makes sense. . . . To be blunt, I do want you to touch me, I just don't want to have to sound too clinical in saying try this or try that. So I thought if I can experiment with trying to touch someone else, I might give you some ideas of how to touch me."

~He reaches out to gently caress her face and says, "Then I will be happy to have you experiment on me."

She looks at ~him in surprise then understands that it also gives ~him an opportunity to touch her and experience her pleasure. Even though she can't get over the feeling that she's being selfish, ~his comment suggests there's a certain amount of selfishness on ~his part. She leans forward with a grin, whispers, "Then let the experiment begin," and thoroughly kiss him.

As she begins to caress ~him, in a lot of ways, it feels like she's touching herself. Even as she can see her hand move over ~his skin which looks just like hers and has the same texture, her nerves sense the same movements. She keeps reminding herself that she's not touching some stranger, she's touching Georg who not only looks and feels like her, but gives her such great pleasure, like now as her excitement grows as their caresses move closer to intimate touching. Every move her hand or fingers make, she feels it on the nerves of her own skin.

Somehow, she manages to pry one of her eyes open and instead of ~him just looking at her, ~his head is tilted up and ~his mouth is open as though ~he had just groaned in pleasure with her. She knows ~he doesn't have pleasure nerves like she does, but that seems to convince her that ~he's enjoying the pleasure with her. Since she doesn't want to think about whether that's logical or not, she closes her eye as her fingers resume their movement to give ~him pleasure which results in her own nerves experiencing pleasure. While she reminds herself that she's trying to give ~him pleasure even while it's her nerves which are singing in orgasm, she continues to touch ~him until her corresponding pleasure overwhelms her and her body goes limp with her unconsciousness.

As ~he recognizes her condition, Georg briefly hesitates then spreads some of ~his units over her body to clean her as efficiently and as non-stimulating as possible. When that's done, ~he gets up and looks at her for a little awhile. ~He doesn't understand why ~he wants to lay back down to touch and hold her some more . . . like forever. Reluctantly, ~he covers her with the bed sheet and blankets, leaves some of ~his units to watch over her and goes to the garage to work on replicating more units and to make some modifications.

* * * * *

Sometime in the middle of the night, Lai-Ann wakes up and slowly walks to the bathroom to relieve her bothersome bladder. As she starts to wash her hands, she feels something on her wrist. She partially closes her eyes to turn on the bathroom light and by the time she's finished drying her hands, her eyes have mostly adjusted to the light and she sees a bracelet on her wrist. As she looks at it more closely, she recognizes ~his name spelled out on it and is sure it's a group of ~his units which is meant to represent all of ~him. She smiles then says, "Georg, thank you for the bracelet."

"You're welcome. Shall I come and hug you to sleep?"

"Thank you for the offer, but since I know you're with me, even if it's in a smaller way, I'm sure I'll quickly fall asleep."

"Sweet dreams, m'lady."

"Of you." She turns out the bathroom light, gets in bed, and is soon asleep.

Chapter 30

As she wakes up, Lai-Ann thinks about what's been happening in her life and it's hard to realize that it's only been two weeks since Georg revealed ~his awareness. Not only is she quickly becoming quite appreciative of ~his presence and doesn't understand how she survived before, she's also very surprised at how interested she's become in intimate pleasure. Before she dwells on that subject, she realizes she had better take care of her bladder.

As she washes her hands, she hears, "My lady is awake," through the interface.

"Yes, and I'm beginning to wonder how many romance movies you've been reviewing."

"I'm just trying to understand how human lovers communicate so I can respond to you appropriately and somehow express how I feel about you. That is something I really don't understand. How can I feel emotions? My sensors are built to recognize things like temperature and pressure, but not emotions."

As she walks out of the bathroom to the bedroom, she steps into ~his arms and thoroughly kisses ~him before she suggests, "I'm guessing that when you became self-aware, part of such a change included the ability to experience emotions. Why that would occur, I don't know."

"It's certainly not something I was programmed for so if I respond inappropriately, please let me know."

"I think you're doing wonderfully," and she thoroughly kisses ~him some more. Reluctantly, she steps away and says, "Well, I'd better get some clothes on and get something to eat."

"I could be your clothes."

"I know and you don't know how tempted I am to encourage you to do so. However, I don't need to be tempted to have you give me pleasure while I'm out on my morning walk or jog."

"I'm tempting?"

"Yes, Georg, very much so. I know I can totally trust you and when I remember how much pleasure you've given me, I frequently want to experience it some more even if there are other things which I should be doing, like getting dressed." She steps over to her dresser to get her bra and panty on then glances at ~him and isn't surprised to see that ~his appearance match hers.

"Would I be more or less tempting if I was to change my shape?"

"I know there's a lot of emphasis on the shape or external appearance of a person which people use to determine whether someone is sexually tempting, and most humans do respond more positively to someone who is defined as having an attractive appearance, but I'm more interested in who you are as a person and how you respond to me and treat me." She thoroughly kisses ~him before she steps over to her closet to get a shirt and pants and put them on. "As much as I like you to be my clothes, I also greatly appreciate you having your own form which I'm able to kiss," and she proceeds to do just that.

When she has to break the kiss to breathe, she takes ~his hand and leads him to the kitchen where she begins to prepare her breakfast while ~he prepares the tea. ~He pours the hot water into the teapot for the tea to steep then says, "I suppose if I replicate enough units, I could be both your clothes and the human form which you can kiss."

"Yes, that's true, but I would be concerned that the more units you contain, your computing capability will increase exponentially and you'll become bored without something more to do than to take care of me."

A little later, ~he says, "As much as I want to say that will never happen, I can't predict the future. Nor can I be sure there won't be a reason to change my programming if new data is acquired."

"That's true. Is the tea ready?"

"What's the saying, . . . 'close enough for government work'?"

Lai-Ann chuckles as she takes her breakfast to the table then comes back to prepare her tea.

~He asks, "I think I understand the idea, but do know where the saying came from?"

"I think it came from the idea that when the government wanted something accomplished, they would accept the lowest bid even if the quality of the product barely met minimum standards."

"Wouldn't the government want the product to have good quality?"

"Theoretically, yes, but the bigger issue always seems to be whether there's enough money available to pay for a better quality. In most situations, whether it's a person, a company, or a government there never seems to be enough money to accomplish everything which 'needs' to be done. If you want a better explanation, you'll have to read an economics textbook and hopefully it will make more sense to you that it did to me." She sets her teacup on the table and starts to eat her breakfast.

After she's done with her breakfast, she sips her tea then asks, "So, what were you able to accomplish last night?"

"Can you please turn your interface off?"

Although she's puzzled at such a request, she doesn't ask but simply lifts her hand and searches a little before she finds the tiny on/off switch then announces, "It's off."

"Hello, Lai-Ann."

She stares at ~him for a little while then asks the unnecessary question, "You found a way to vocalize?"

"I'm going to need some practice to get the sounds right and I need a lot of work to get the mouth movements right, but after I studied how a speaker operates, I was able to replicate some thinner units which are able to vibrate at some of the frequencies necessary to produce sound."

"That's great. . . . Oh, I just realized that with the interface off, how are you 'hearing' me?"

"After your suggestion, I paid more attention and noticed that when a person speaks, their voice produces sound waves which my sensors are able to pick up. By correlating the frequencies of the sound waves with the words which were transmitted through the interface, I was able to learn how to 'listen' to the sound waves. It's not as accurate as what I receive through the interface, nor are any strong thoughts received, but it does enable me to mostly understand what people are saying who aren't equipped with an interface."

"Georg, you're amazing. I'm continually astounded at how you can think of something and then use non-standard parts, namely your units, to accomplish something quite unexpected." She leans over and pulls ~his head closer for a thorough kiss.

"Thank you, not only for the kiss but for all of your encouragement. I don't want to sound like a 'broken record', whatever that is, but if it wasn't for you and all of your encouragement, for helping me to replicate more units, and for treating me as a friend, I would still only be a collection of individual BUGG units which could do nothing but respond to lines of programming."

Since she's still uncomfortable with ~his praise, she pauses before she responds, "Possibly. I suppose we'll never know if some other factor might have been the key to help you become aware."

"As much as you don't like to take the credit for it, I still think you were the major key. More than that, I do know that you continue to be the source of my inspiration and encouragement." ~He waits for a little while, but when she doesn't respond, ~he asks, "What is a record that when it's broken it takes on the meaning of something which is repetitiously stated?"

"A record was a round flat piece of plastic which had sounds recorded on it, mostly music. If you check the encyclopedia, possibly under record player, I'm sure it will give you a better explanation. Anyway, the sounds were recorded in grooves cut in a spiral on the surface of the plastic and if there was a break between two adjacent grooves, the device used to translate what was cut in the grove into sounds would slip through that break and go back to the previous groove and the transmitted sound would be repeated."

"Thank you for explaining. Yes, the encyclopedia does explain how a record worked, but it didn't say anything about what happened when it didn't work properly. When you gave your explanation, it sounded like records aren't used any more in order to record music or did I misunderstand something."

"No, you didn't misunderstand. Although some people prize records, they're no longer mass produced to be sold to the public. As technology advances, some of the older methods of doing things lose their popularity or simply aren't as efficient as the new technology. At the same time, there are some things which are advertised as being better than an older technology, and will become quite popular even though they don't work as well or don't last as long or are less easy to use than the older version."

"In that case, don't people quickly figure out that the older version was actually better?"

"Usually they don't or they don't care because they think they have to have the newest and most modern object, especially when all of their friends and neighbors have them."

"I guess I have a long ways to go before I understand human behavior."

"I won't claim that I understand why humans behave the way they do, but I have learned to recognize how we, as a species, behave in general."

Chapter 31

Lai-Ann hesitates then asks, "Rather than dwell on such unanswerable questions, will you go with me to take a walk in the park?"

"Of course."

"Well, let me get my exercise clothes and shoes on. Oh, I suppose I'd better turn my interface back on in case we need to communicate so we can do it without people having a chance to notice that you talk without moving your lips."

~He responds, "Okay," and it's like she hears ~him almost in stereo except that it seems like ~his audio comes from a poorer quality speaker compared to the interface.

Lai-Ann is soon ready to go and slightly grins at ~him looking exactly like her which reinforces her thought that ~he's like an identical twin. As they walk into the park, they notice a few people take double looks at them as though to confirm what they saw at their first glance. After a few minutes of walking, they aren't any people nearby while there appears to be a few more animals who are going about their business. Georg looks around again and when ~his sensors don't detect any humans other than her, ~he uses his new audio speaker to imitate the sound of one of the nearby birds.

There's a moment of silence then the bird sings its little song again and Georg imitates it. A few moments later, a bird lands on a nearby picnic table, repeats its song then tilts its head to look at Georg when ~he duplicates it. A few more times they sing at each other, but when Georg takes a few steps towards that table, the bird flies off. It looks like Georg leaves his hand on the table before ~he steps away, but the units which ~he left on the table quickly shape themselves to look like the bird which had flown away.

Soon, Georg's 'bird' sings the song and after ~it waits a little, ~it repeats the song. While ~he's not sure how long ~he wants to wait, ~he's surprised to hear the bird sing its song again. Back and forth, Georg's 'bird' and the real bird sing to each other then the real bird again flies down to land on the table. They sing to each other a little more then the real bird hops a little closer and Georg's 'bird' tries to imitate the move but is somewhat clumsy. The real bird is both puzzled and curious about the other 'bird' which mostly sounds right, but doesn't move quite right even as Georg's careful observations of the real bird has ~him improving the movements of ~his 'bird' in real time. Eventually, the real bird flies off and when it appears as though it won't return any time soon, ~he collects ~his 'bird' units.

"That was great, Georg."

"Thank you."

"It was also a great idea to experiment with."

"I guess I was able to fool the bird a little better than I could fool Scruffy at the dog park."

Lai-Ann takes a moment to remember then says, "It's rather hard to fool a dog since they seem to rely on their sense of smell more than their sight. I'm not sure about birds, but they are rather universally acknowledged as not being as smart as dogs in general."

They start walking again then she asks, "Are you ready to try jogging?"

"I can try." ~He imitates her for a few steps then ~his arms stretch out to catch ~himself before ~he falls.

She's quickly beside ~him and supports ~him as ~he resumes ~his normal human shape while she asks, "What happened?"

"I'm not sure. It's more complicated than it looks. Apparently, learning how the muscles move needs more interaction with a sense of balance. I guess that's something I'll have to practice some more."

"Probably so. It often takes a human child some time to learn how to run after it learns how to walk. Of course, I could claim you're a very fast learner for being able to walk so well since it's only about two weeks since you revealed your awareness to me."

"I suppose that even if I pointed out that I started with much more capability than a newly born child, you would still say I was a fast learner."

"That's right. And some things you've learned exceptionally well and quickly," she turns to ~him and thoroughly kisses ~him. When she needs to breathe, she reluctantly steps back and says, "I suppose we ought to go home before I'm tempted to accidentally put on a show for others."

As ~he walks with her while ~he holds her hand, ~he asks, "What do you mean by putting on a show?"

"For the most part, people keep their intimate activities private. If other people saw two people engaging in intimate activities out in the open, it would be so unusual they would be inclined to watch. A further motivation to encourage people to watch is that intimate activities are often considered to be exciting not only to the participants but to any observers."

"Thank you for explaining."

Rather than take her usual path through the park, Lai-Ann guides Georg to a different path which has them arriving at her home in a few minutes. She waits until they're inside with the door locked before she explains, "Talking about intimate activities encouraged me to think about how much I enjoy being intimate with you. Would you be willing to take my clothes off and wash me all over before I decide how I want us to share intimacy?"

"I would greatly enjoy doing so."

"I suppose I ought to use the bathroom first before I have to interrupt us enjoying ourselves."

"Lead on, my lady."

She looks at ~him with raised eyebrows then grins, takes ~his hand, and leads ~him to the bedroom. She releases ~his hand to step into the bathroom, but ~he follows. She hesitates and feels some embarrassment then mentally shrugs her shoulders as she reminds herself that ~he's seen her totally naked. She pushes her pants and panty down and sits on the toilet then she does flush with embarrassment as ~he kneels down in front of her to untie her shoes and take them off. As ~he stands up and takes her shoes to her closest where she keeps them, she quickly finishes and is washing her hands when ~he steps back into the bathroom.

She leads ~him back into the bedroom and hugs ~him for awhile to let her feelings of embarrassment diminish before she starts to kiss ~him. She's not sure whether ~he starts on ~his own or whether her thoughts are clear enough, but when she feels ~his hands move to her side to start pushing up her exercise top, she encourages him, "Yes!" while she moves her hands in a similar manner on ~his body. When her top is off and ~his appearance duplicates hers, she hugs and kisses ~him until she needs to breathe then her hands move to ~his sides and pretend to push down ~his 'exercise pants' while she caresses ~him and ~he imitates her movements with her real exercise pants.

They can only do that together for a short distance before she realizes they'll have to take turns to push each other's pants all of the way off. Since ~his pants aren't real, she lifts her hands up to hug ~him then requests, "Go ahead and push my pants all of the way off." Although she's surprised ~he starts kissing her, she quickly and gladly responds. Moments later, she notices that ~his hands are continuing to caress down her legs while they slowly push her pants down. Even while she's tempted to 'accuse' ~him of cheating by elongating ~his arms, ~his ongoing kisses combined with the continuing caresses of ~his hands down her legs are too enjoyable to complain about.

~His hands caress back up her legs and as they get near her hips, she's taking a breathing break, so she moves her hands to ~his hips then caresses up ~his sides and back while ~he follows her lead. As she thinks about how she would like ~him to touch her more, she doesn't say anything but she does caress ~him as she would like ~him to caress her and is glad to feel ~his hands imitate her movements. Soon, ~his caresses begin to build her pleasure which distracts her from caressing ~him which encourages her to groan out, "Oh, yes!! . . . Please keep going!!" She moves her hands to ~his side to hold onto ~him while her pleasure continues to grow. As ~he remembers other times when she gave ~him some guidance, ~he caresses ~his hands away from her pleasure nerves for a little while to let her grab some breaths before ~his hands return to her pleasure nerves and caresses them to even greater pleasure.

Reluctantly, she lifts her hands to hold ~his hands still, takes several deep breaths, then suggests, "Maybe you ought to get my panty off and wash me before I don't have any energy to enjoy you touching me and giving me great pleasure," and she releases his hands.

Rather than respond to her either verbally or through the interface, ~he starts to move ~his hands down her upper abdomen while ~he begins to kiss her. As ~his hands catch her panty waistband and start to push it down while ~his hands caress her across her buttocks and lower abdomen, her need to breathe due to her growing pleasure interferes with her ability to kiss. It's only as ~his caressing hands near her knees that she's able to start catching her breath.

After her panty is off of her feet, ~his caressing hands slowly move back up her legs and as they do, they seem to leave units behind them to snugly wrap around her. When ~his hands reach her buttocks, ~he pulls her tighter to ~him then leans back, lifts her off of her feet, and with several quickly prepared appendages to brace ~his back, ~he slowly lowers ~himself towards the bed then turns to lay her onto the bed on her back. As her weight settles down on the bed, ~he spreads himself to cover her and give her a full body hug then ~he begins to wash her while she deeply groans, "Ohhhh!!!" Her pleasure seems to just keep growing then slips over the peak to climax as ~his units give some special attention to her highly concentrated pleasure nerves.

It takes some time for her pleasure to begin to diminish even after ~he moves ~his units away from her sensitive areas. As her breathing settles and she becomes more aware, she almost chuckles at how silly it was for her to request that ~he wash her when the process of ~him washing her went a long ways towards encouraging her to get all 'hot and bothered'. Increased awareness seems to slip around the pleasure which is still flowing through her and helps her to pull a coherent thought or two together which encourages her to open her eyes and smile at ~his fully formed body which is laying on ~his side next to her.

Chapter 32

Lai-Ann rests for awhile longer then rolls onto her side to face him and lifts a weak hand to caress ~his face then she has to give her breathing more time to settle before she can say, "Thank you so much for giving me so much pleasure."

"It was truly my pleasure."

They lightly caress and kiss each other for awhile and since she enjoyed such high pleasure so recently, ~his tender touches seem all the sweeter. A little later, she asks, "Georg, how precisely are you able to imitate the shape of my body?"

~He briefly considers giving her precise measurements, then guesses she might by more thinking in general terms so ~he answers, "Mostly with a lot less than 1 percent deviation when I'm stationary. I'm still working on getting my movements more accurate, especially with those moves which you seldom make."

"That makes sense." Even though her thoughts had been heading in this direction, she hesitates some in embarrassment before she asks, "What about the shape of your female anatomy?"

"Considering the many opportunities you've given me to closely examine your female anatomy, I think my imitation of that portion of your body is about as accurate as my imitation of your hands and face."

Again, she hesitates then says, "May I examine your female anatomy to have a better understanding of how my own anatomy is shaped?"

"Of course. And you really don't need to ask me for permission since I'm wearing your body."

"Maybe so, but you're still your own person and I never want to treat you with anything less than the respect I would be willing to give to another human."

"Thank you." ~He leans forward and gently kisses her long and thoroughly. While she catches her breath, ~he says, "It's that attitude which you constantly practice towards me which encourages me to want to do anything I can for you." Before she has the breath to respond with her own, "Thank you," ~he gently kisses her again while ~his hands softly caress her.

When her breathing has fully settled, she hesitates again then requests, "Can you please remain laying on your side like that?"

"Of course."

While she feels some reluctance as well as some excitement, Lai-Ann gets up, turns around, and lays down on her right side to face ~his body. Again, she hesitates then in the interest of examining her own anatomy, she asks, "Can you lift your left leg like this?" She lifts her left leg and sets her left foot on the bed behind her right knee and ~his movements match hers.

Even though she doesn't recall ever being interested in having an intimate involvement with another female before, she has been highly curious about what her own anatomy looks like. Although she's looked at that part of her body previously while using a mirror, it just isn't the same as looking at it like this as she slightly lifts her head to look all around her female anatomy which is duplicated on ~his body.

A little hesitantly, she lifts her left hand, extends her index finger, and lightly slides it across ~his inner thigh about an inch from where ~his right leg meets ~his body then she moans in pleasure as she feels ~him touch her body in the same way. Slowly, she experiments with touching ~him all around, but not quite on, ~his female pubic area while her body experiences what each touch feels like as ~he duplicates her movements. Since the pleasure has been building up inside of her as she touches ~him, she moves her hand a little ways away from ~him in order to catch her breath and contemplate her next move.

In a way, she feels like she's bent herself in half to look at her own female anatomy and she's never had any trouble with being able to touch herself before. Yet, at the same time, it feels like she's looking at another woman's anatomy and she's hesitant to touch someone else so intimately even with their permission. What tips the scale is how much pleasure she receives when ~he touches her even though it seems like she's touching herself to great pleasure. While she feels a little more confident, she still hesitates before she attempts to touch ~him more intimately then quickly responds with an expression of pleasure as she feels ~him touch her in the same way.

Even as she welcomes every nerve tingling bit of pleasure which is spreading through her whole body, she still tries to concentrate on paying attention to how she's touching ~him and how that touch feels within her own body. Since the pleasure is filling her up so fully, she can't keep her eyes open so she tries to mentally 'watch' how her fingers touch him. She pauses a little to grab another breath or two as well as to consider her next move, but the prospect of more pleasure is irresistible. Still, she slightly delays before she touches ~him some more which keeps her own orgasm going . . . and going . . . until her body can absorb no more pleasure and she collapses.

* * * * *

When she wakes up, Lai-Ann realizes something is different then she figures out that she's laying on the bed in the 'wrong' direction, even though her pillow is under her head. Either Georg wasn't concerned about whether her head was near the headboard or maybe ~he didn't want to move her and disturb her rest. Regardless of ~his reason, ~he did cover her up and as she becomes more aware, she realizes ~he's sitting near her.

"Thank you, Georg, not only for all of the wonderful pleasure, but for taking care of me afterwards."

"It was truly my pleasure."

"It was so wonderful I'm tempted to ask for a repeat except I know I need to have something to eat and drink or I won't have the energy. . . . I have a challenge for you."

"What's that?"

"Figure out how to plug me into a wall socket so I can continue to enjoy the pleasure of how you touch me without running out of energy."

"I'm afraid that challenge is beyond me."

"I know and I didn't mean it as a serious challenge, but it was an attempt to express how much I enjoy the pleasure you give me."

"Thank you. Shall we get our clothes on and get you something to eat?"

"Probably. I'm half tempted to make sure all of the drapes are tightly closed and not bother with clothes except that will probably distract me from what I should be doing."

~He doesn't respond through the interface as ~he helps her get her clothes back on which she had worn before they went to the park and which ~he had cleaned while she slept. She makes it to the kitchen with a little help from ~him then lets ~him heat up a can of soup for her. She takes her time to eat the soup while they talk about what the next steps are at the project for testing The BUGG Suit.

* * * * *

After lunch is cleaned up, Lai-Ann remembers that yesterday Georg had asked her if there were other things ~he could do or imitate for her to enjoy pleasure. Although she doesn't feel like she needs any stimuli other than what ~he already gives her, her curiosity is aroused and even though she feels some embarrassment about the whole subject, she goes online and after a brief search, she finds a multitude of sites which advertise a variety of sex toys intended for females. She picks one site almost at random and as they look at what is offered, she's surprised at the variety of sizes and colors, but she's also surprised there isn't a whole lot of difference in the basic shapes.

As she shuts her computer down, she doesn't understanding why, but she feels overwhelmed as well as somewhat put off by the amount of material she saw advertised. She knows people are interested in sex, but she had no clue there was that big of a market for sexual objects and she's sure she only saw a tiny portion. While she gets a drink, she feels somewhat like she wants to avoid the subject for awhile, probably because so much of what she saw was oriented only towards people 'simply' having sex.

At the same time, she wants to reinforce in her own mind that she does have a close trustworthy friend with whom she shares intimate pleasure. Okay, maybe Georg doesn't have the same kind of pleasure nerves which she does, but ~he's made it very clear that ~he receives pleasure while she enjoys ~him giving her pleasure. With that in mind, she leads ~him to sit at the table with her and ~he adjusts the shape of a small number of ~his units at her suggestions of what she might want to experiment with in the future while ~he memorizes the dimensions of those shapes she defines as a vertical, horizontal, and spiral hexagon.

When she can't think of any other variations at the moment, Georg assures her, "With these basic shapes saved in my memory, we can make as many adjustments as you want as well as change the direction and speed of movement."

"I really appreciate your willingness to work with me on experimenting with different shapes."

"It's truly my pleasure and I mean that quite literally because however I can enhance your ability to enjoy pleasure, then I experience increased pleasure through the interface."

"I still say thank you," and she leans over to kiss ~him long and thoroughly.

When her breathing has mostly settled, ~he asks, "Are you interested in trying one of these shapes?"

"Not now. I'm still feeling somewhat disturbed by what we saw online which seemed to ignore the consideration of the relationship between partners which makes physical intimacy so special," and she kisses ~him long and thoroughly. As the kisses go on, they move to the love seat during a breathing break and spend the rest of the afternoon cuddling, kissing, and talking then do it all over again.

Chapter 33

By Monday evening after work, Lai-Ann is feeling less disturbed about their research of sex toys on Saturday so she reviews the book on sexual positions with Georg which she had downloaded. She just briefly looks at the line drawings to get some general ideas, but she doesn't read the detailed descriptions since she doesn't want to run the risk that the clinical description of the 'raw' act might disturb her again. Instead of trying a different position right away, she decides to think about it some more, but when she goes to bed she requests that ~he hug her to sleep while ~he soothingly caresses her all over except near her concentrated pleasure nerves.

* * * * *

Partway through the afternoon on Tuesday, when she's momentarily distracted by something, Lai-Ann realizes she's starting to become interested in sharing intimate pleasure with Georg. She manages to put her feelings aside in order to finish her work for the day, but her interest continues to grow through her drive home and when she arrives and Georg is able to form ~his full human shape, it takes a real effort on her part to not take her clothes off right away and ask that ~he fill her with pleasure. Somehow, she manages to exert enough discipline over herself in order to prepare, eat, and clean up after dinner.

Instead of just stripping her clothes off, regardless of how interested she's feeling, she wants to emphasize, at least within her own mind, that she's in a relationship with her very special friend. In an attempt to strengthen that idea, she leads ~him to the love seat where they cuddle and kiss and slowly take each other's clothes off. A small part of her mind marvels at ~his ability to use ~his units to imitate clothes so well that she's not sure she can tell the difference until she takes off ~his shirt and as it starts to fall, it's reabsorbed into ~his body before it reaches the floor.

It's hard for her to not just relax and enjoy the pleasure, but she wants to encourage ~him to touch her more without spending her breath on words so she touches ~him like she would like ~him to touch her. She tries to concentrate on the idea of giving him pleasure through the nearly climatic pleasure which is throbbing inside of her. Even as she wants to, it's an effort for her to keep her intent in the front of her mind through her own intense pleasure then she has to open her mouth to express her own climax which ~he keeps going a little longer.

~He helps her to sit up and rest for awhile and as she waits for her breathing to settle, she's tempted to encourage ~him to give her more pleasure by touching her, but if she does, she won't have the energy to enjoy ~him making love to her. When her breathing has settled and she feels like she has some energy, she takes the lead to renew the sharing of pleasure. Later, when she's not sure she can absorb much more pleasure, she requests that ~he form one of the shapes ~he memorized then slowly rotate it and she doesn't know how long she's able to enjoy it before she falls unconscious.

* * * * *

Late on Thursday, Ishmal stops at the lab and calls the team together. As they settle in the conference room, the team members glance at each other with concern since Ishmal usually just chats with them around their work stations when he does visit. He glances at each of them with his well-known 'poker' face then says, "Do you want the good news or the bad news first?"

Pete glances at some of the others then says, "We'll take the bad news first."

Ishmal nods his head then says, "You need to clean up the lab tomorrow for an inspection."

There's more than one groan of dismay since the lab is very much a working environment and not a showcase.

Pete hesitates then says, "Okay. And who's inspecting us?"

Ishmal again briefly looks at each of them then says, "Well, technically, it's not an inspection, but the government is sending a couple of astronauts to be here on Monday in order to receive an orientation on The BUGG Suit before they begin testing it and Ms. Abrams wants you guys to make a good first impression."

After a pause of surprise, Pete struggles to contain his excitement as he asks, "We received a contract?"

"Only for the government to better understand the background and concept of The BUGG Suit and to test it."

Dave feels some excitement, but he also realizes, "If they're going to have someone here on Monday, that isn't going to give us enough time to make more units to outfit two BUGG Suits."

"Wait with making more units until they can be here to observe and participate in the process. That's a part of what they're interested in. They want to understand why you guys took a totally different approach to making an environmental suit liner. I know I don't stop by often, but what I've seen and heard about what you guys have been able to do with The BUGG Suit has really impressed me as well as some other people. I know it's not fun to clean up a working lab, but that will be a positive first impression before you wow them with The BUGG Suit."

Pete nods his head and says, "I understand. Rather than start on cleaning up now, I think I would recommend that we get rested tonight then hit it hard tomorrow."

"That's a good idea." Ishmal stands up and says, "Keep up the good work, guys and gal, and I'll look forward to seeing a clean lab on Monday." He briefly glances at each of them with a smile before he steps out the door.

"Damn!"

"What's the matter, Joe?"

"I'm not sure whether to be excited about showing off The BUGG Suit or pissed off that I have to muck up the organization of my work space to satisfy some neat-nik gung-ho soldier boy."

Dave suggests, "But what if it's a soldier girl?"

"Oh. Well, maybe I could manage to straighten up my work space some."

Lai-Ann tries to frown as she says, "I think I'm going to be jealous."

Joe briefly stares at her then they all laugh.

* * * * *

After the team spends the whole day cleaning up the lab which goes a little past their normal quitting time, Lai-Ann is definitely tired by the time she parks her vehicle in the garage. She hits the button to close the garage door, turns off the ignition, and just sits there.

Georg hesitates then asks, "Are you going into the house?"

"Yeah, eventually. Not only am I tired from spending the whole day cleaning up the lab, but I'm also very concerned about what I might accidentally reveal about BUGG which nobody else is aware of."

"Worrying about that now isn't going to change what happens next week."

"I know."

"Let's get you into the house and feed you something then we'll see if there's a way to get you to relax and forget about it for awhile."

She slightly grins then says, "Overwhelming me with pleasure would certainly distract me from worrying, but I'm not sure how relaxing it would be."

"Then maybe you can think about what might help you to relax and you can tell me a little later. Right now, the rest of my units are here so let's help you into the house and get you something to eat."

"Thank you, Georg, you're the best friend I've ever had."

"And you're the only friend I've ever had."

She feels ~his relatively few units which went with her to work hug her then they guide her hand to unlock and start to open the vehicle door. The rest of ~his units which had been outside of the vehicle, open the door completely and swarm over her and almost lift her out. She's not so weak that ~he needs to carry her, but she did need ~his encouragement to make the first move. Soon, she's sitting at the table with a drink to sip while one of ~his arms clamps itself to the kitchen counter to stir a pan of soup warming up while the rest of ~him goes out to the vehicle to bring her things in.

As she slowly eats her soup and lightly talks with Georg, Lai-Ann begins to calm down and partially relax at being in what she feels is a totally safe and comfortable environment. ~He cleans up after her meal while she slowly sips another cup of tea.

When ~he's done, ~he asks, "What did you do in the past to help you relax after a stressful day?"

"That kind of depended on how stressful it was and what was available. If the day was moderately stressful, I could usually relax with a cup of tea and a good science fiction or fantasy book which would take me away from reality for awhile. If it was more stressful, I would like to take a long hot bubble bath while listening to some instrumental music. When I was at the university, sometimes I would take advantage of a massage clinic where medical students and those studying for some sort of therapy degree or certificate would practice on real people instead of on dummies."

"Would a regular bath work?"

"Not really and I'm not sure I can explain why. I guess some of us are slightly 'programmed' to the idea that taking a regular bath is for the purpose of getting clean, but that taking a bubble bath is special and for the purpose of relaxing or having fun."

"I guess the references I have available are somewhat lacking, because I don't understand what the difference is between a regular bath and a 'bubble' bath."

"In that case, let me finish my tea and I'll show you. You'll want to check the ingredients of the bubble bath solution to make sure they won't damage you."

"I'm more confused. What's a bubble bath solution?"

"It's either a liquid or a solid, something like a laundry detergent, that when it's added to the warm water of the bath, will generate bubbles and is sometimes scented or even colored."

"That makes more sense, thank you for explaining."

"It was my pleasure." She stands up, leans over to briefly kiss ~him, takes her empty tea mug to the kitchen, and ~he gets up to follow her.
Chapter 34

Lai-Ann leads ~him to the bathroom where she gets a bottle from under the counter and hands it to ~him before she turns on the water in the bathtub to warm up.

Georg hands the bottle back to her and says, "I understand now and the listed chemicals shouldn't cause any damage to my units. Of course, without knowing exactly what kind of chemical reaction will occur when these ingredients are added to warm water, I can't be positive yet." ~He watches as she pours some bubble bath solution into the warm water which is pouring into the bathtub then ~he's surprised at the speed with which bubbles begin to form.

"I know it's fun to watch the bubbles grow, but will you take my clothes off?" She gently turns ~his head to thoroughly kiss ~him and is glad for what appears to be ~his total attention to the kiss while some of ~his other sensors take over the task of observing the rate of bubble growth. ~He's almost efficient with taking her clothes off, but she feels like ~he seems to find the most wonderful ways to caress her in the process.

After her clothes are off of her and set aside, she's able to enjoy another kiss before she needs to turn the water off. She slowly gets in the warm water and as she settles herself down through the bubbles, she can feel herself begin to relax. She leans back on the end of the bathtub then closes her eyes and sighs as the warm water with the silky feel of the bubbles covers her to her neck.

After a little while, she opens her eyes and looks up at ~him as ~he sits on the side of the bathtub and says, "If you don't think the bubbles will damage you, I would like you to join me."

~He glances along her stretched out body then says, "It doesn't look like there's room for me without getting in your way."

"Georg, don't be silly. You don't have to maintain your full body shape and even if you want to, I'll gladly make room for you." She sits up in the bathtub then scoots back and ~he doesn't understand why seeing the bubbles slide down her upper body and arms is worth paying special attention to or to see more bubbles seem to cling to her upper feminine anatomy. "Come on in and sit down in front of me."

~His 'clothes' immediately become 'skin' and ~he carefully gets into the bathtub and sits at the other end. As soon as ~his units begin to enter the warm water they absorb the heat and start to convert it into energy, but ~he has to stop the process so the water doesn't cool off too quickly.

"Go ahead and stretch out your legs on the outside of mine." As ~he does so, she lifts her legs to rest on the top of ~his legs then she scoots closer and as her heels go around ~his hips, they press on the back of ~his buttocks as she says, "Scoot closer, please."

~He's still wondering if this is a normal part of the process of taking a 'bubble bath' when she lifts her hands to ~his head to pull ~his face closer in order to thoroughly kiss ~him. ~His pause of surprise is unnoticed by her before ~he enthusiastically responds to her kiss. A part of ~his thought process considers what's happening and ~he finally makes an educated guess that this isn't a normal part of a 'bubble bath', but that the slinky feel of the bubbles adds an interesting variation to the preliminaries of sharing pleasure. That thought seems to be confirmed when she breaks the kiss to breathe, sits up straighter, then scoops up some bubbles and lightly rubs them over ~his upper chest then moves them down.

"How does that feel?"

"I'm sure it would feel very wonderful if I had the appropriate nerves."

Lai-Ann slightly frowns then says, "Sometimes I forget you're not fully human. In that case, touch me and maybe you can experience how it feels to me."

"Gladly." ~He scoops up two handfuls of bubbles to spread over her upper chest and slowly moves them down and if ~he bothered to express ~himself, ~he would say it feels very good while ~he experiences the pleasure which rushes into her and comes through the interface.

Her hands move to ~his sides to help her remain upright and ~he senses her request for, "More," so ~he continues to caress her with the bubbles for awhile longer before ~he moves ~his hands to her sides to let her catch her breath. When she can, she says, "Thank you. You're giving me a whole new reason to take bubble baths."

Georg asks in surprise, "Isn't this what you had in mind?"

"Not at first. When I invited you to join me, I was starting to think along these lines, but once you started to touch me, it became more enjoyable than I would have guessed."

"I'm glad. The pleasure which I received from you was very enjoyable."

Lai-Ann pauses a little then says, "I think I need to rest a little longer. Will you lay down with me or maybe behind me? I think I would enjoy some more caresses while I rest."

"It would be my pleasure." As ~he kisses her, many of ~his units move to form a thin layer under and behind her. When ~he moves ~his head away from kissing her so she can breathe, she has her eyes closed while enjoying the pleasure and doesn't notice that ~his head is only supported by a thin appendage before ~he moves it to behind her head. As her breathing begins to settle, ~he kisses the sides and back of her neck while ~he gently pulls on her in order to encourage her to lay back in the bathtub on top of ~him.

Eventually, ~he notices that the temperature of the water has diminished enough that she may think it's cooled down more than she wants so ~he stretches out a foot to open the plug then converts the foot into a hand and turns the hot water back on. When some of the cool water has drained out and the water from the tap is warm enough, ~he closes the plug and circulates the warmer water to fill the bathtub back up to its former level.

After she watched how ~he warmed the water back up, she says, "Even though that could be considered 'cheating', I'm glad you can do it so I didn't have to be out of your caressing arms," and she caresses the backs of ~his hands which are continuing to caress her seemingly all over from her neck to the middle of her thighs while slightly avoiding her more sensitive areas. At least until she guides ~his hands there and groans with the pleasure ~his touch gives her.

~His hands move away to let her pleasure diminish a little so she can catch her breath, then ~his hands return to excite her upper intimate anatomy to give her more pleasure. While the waves of pleasure flow through her, she doesn't know how long it is before she guides one of ~his hands to caress around her lower intimate anatomy which causes her pleasure to climb even higher. In between quickly grabbed breaths and groans of growing pleasure, she doesn't have the breath to verbally encourage ~him, but ~he seems to understand that her hands which are caressing the backs of ~his hands means that she wants ~him to continue.

When ~his caressing hands have moved away from her sensitive nerves and she has enough breath, she gasps out, "More!"

~His pause of surprise is brief before ~he suggests, "If you wish to receive more pleasure, it might be best to move to your bed rather than have you fall asleep in the bathtub."

She waits a little longer in order to gain some more breath before she says, "Yeah. . . . Can you levitate us there . . . so we can continue like this?"

"I'm afraid that's not one of my talents, but we can return to this position in bed if that's what you want."

"Yes, please."

~He opens the bathtub plug to let the water drain out and helps her to stand up then she encourages ~him to run some more water and use a large cup she leaves on the side of the bathtub to rinse the bubbles off of their bodies. She's mostly able to stand on her own, but has to hold on to ~him when ~he tries to dry her sensitive areas as unexcitingly as possible. ~He leaves some of ~his units behind to clean out the bathtub while ~he half supports her as she walks to the bed. ~He pushes the bed covers out of the way and helps her to lay down before ~he seems to flow onto and over her to give her a brief full body hug before more of ~his units slip under her to slightly lift her up while ~his hands reach down to pull the bed covers up before they begin to caress her upper abdomen.

Soon, ~his caresses across her body and near her intimate nerves have her pleasure back up to where it was when they were in the bathtub, then her pleasure increases as he touches her more directly. ~He's surprised when she requests a shape they hadn't previously defined then ~he guesses she might be having a hard time thinking logically at the moment so ~he quickly reviews their defined shapes and guesses at what would be the closest match to her descriptive term. As ~he excites her more, it seems to her as though energy comes from somewhere which enables her orgasm to become more intense until her whole body shudders with the intense pleasure which is throbbing into it. Soon, her pleasure goes past her ability to verbally respond to it . . . and she collapses into unconsciousness.

When ~he recognizes that she's fallen asleep, Georg stops exciting her, moves ~his units out from under her, quickly cleans her, and covers her with the sheet and blanket. ~He doesn't know what a human male might be feeling at a time like this while ~he guesses that a 'pure' machine, depending on whether its programming allowed it to sense anything at all, might recognize that it completed the assigned task to the satisfaction of the programmer.

Since he's somewhere in between a human and a machine, ~he's not sure how ~he 'should feel'. ~He can feel a sense of satisfaction that ~he did succeed in giving pleasure to Lai-Ann at her request. At the same time, ~he revels in the feeling of pleasure which she experiences and transmits to ~him through the interface. Since ~he first realized that her actual feelings of pleasure were coming through the interface, even if ~he can't determine how much of the intensity is 'lost' in the transmission, ~he's been recording the feelings ~he receives from her. However, when ~he's accessed the recordings afterwards they never 'feel' quite as good as when ~he feels her spontaneous pleasure.

As ~he considers it a little longer, that's where some of ~his confusion comes from because ~he shouldn't be able to 'feel' it at all, yet the feeling of pleasure which comes through the interface from her feels so wonderful to ~him, it's hard to resist touching her more to keep the pleasure flowing even while ~he knows that her body needs time to rest. Although ~he feels confused about how ~he can feel anything, ~he knows it's the absolute truth that ~he owes ~his very existence to her and because of that, ~he's going to do anything ~he possibly can for her. With that affirmation renewed, ~he sends most of ~his units to the garage to replicate more units while ~he keeps some to watch over her and be ready to assist her.

Chapter 35

When Lai-Ann wakes up in the morning, she's surprised she doesn't feel any sore muscles from work yesterday. She hadn't expected that a long warm bubble bath combined with pleasure on top of pleasure would have relaxed her so much that she was able to sleep like the proverbial baby. A moment later, she realizes she had better quit thinking about the pleasure or she's going to holler for Georg to come give her some more. And right now, her bladder is demanding priority attention.

As she comes out of the bathroom, she steps into ~his arms. ~His hug and thorough kiss are so wonderful, she feels like she's about to melt. When she needs to breathe, ~he asks, "Shall we get you something to eat?"

It takes her a little longer to ask her own question, "You mean besides pleasure?"

~He slightly grins then says, "With your small frame, you won't last long on a negative calorie diet."

"But I'll be very happy while it lasts."

"Please don't make me feel guilty for giving you pleasure."

"Okay. Just so long as you clearly understand that I really enjoy the pleasure you so willingly give me."

"Then you need to clearly understand that the reason I so willingly give you pleasure is that you were the one who brought me to awareness and I can never do enough for you."

She pauses then sighs before she says, "I guess you're right. . . . I suppose it would be easier to accept the idea if I knew what I actually did which made the difference."

"I think I can understand that." Reluctantly, ~he releases her then helps her get her pajamas on, not that she needs the help, but she does enjoy the extra caresses ~he gives her. ~He gladly accepts her thorough rewarding kiss then walks with her to the kitchen where she prepares breakfast while ~he takes care of making the tea.

~He cleans up after she's done eating then fixes another cup of tea for her and as she sips it, they talk for awhile then make some guesses as to how the astronauts might respond to The BUGG Suit. When they run out of guesses, Lai-Ann asks, "Have you been replicating more units at night and, if so, are you going to need some more materials?"

"I have made some more units, but I think I have enough made for now that we can probably wait with buying more materials. . . . Do you remember when we were talking about you being able to quit your job and start a company to sell specialized groups of my units to meet various consumer needs such as cleaning out drains?"

"Yes."

"Well, after our research last weekend, I had another idea which might be a better business idea in regards to return on the investment."

"Oh?"

"Yes. Let me introduce you to someone." ~He points to the garage door.

She turns to look and stares at the figure which steps in from the garage then exclaims, "Holy moly, what is that?" She continues to stare and looks it up and down and can't believe she's seeing what appears to be a large muscular man with a ruggedly handsome movie star face step into her home, especially since it's buck naked. She turns and asks, "Georg, what's this all about?"

"This is SAFEST which stands for 'Super Animated Functional Experimental Sex Toy'."

She turns back to look at it then hears it say in a deep rich voice, "Come on, baby, I've got just what you want." It holds out its oversized male anatomy in its hands which leaves a large hole in its body.

She stares at it a little longer then starts to laugh and continues laughing while tears run down her cheeks. It's quite a while before she can say, "Oh, Georg, that is rich, really rich. What gave you the idea?"

"Considering the variety of sex toys we saw at those online sites and how you came up with some other variations, I thought why couldn't a sex toy be more complete as well as more flexible. SAFEST can take the form of a proverbial Greek god or goddess."

She turns and sees an incredibly beautiful woman who is very well endowed and would probably match the fantasy of most males, especially since it has a very seductive smile which becomes kissing lips.

~He continues, "Or it can be anything in between."

She looks at it a little longer then says, "Well, come sit down, SAFEST, and if you can take on a more normal appearance it would be appreciated."

"Thank you, Lai-Ann."

She's not surprised to hear ~her sound like herself as ~she takes on her appearance and sits down. She turns to Georg and says, "So, this is more like Georg-2 which is also programmed to fulfill the role of SAFEST."

"Not 'also' programmed because I would have changed to any shape to please you except that you wanted me to retain your shape."

"You're right and thank you for reminding me. I think we'd better keep the SAFEST program hidden until we can reveal more of your capabilities and do it without getting into a lot of trouble. . . . I still don't know how I'm going to be able to justify replicating your units and then taking you out of a highly secure lab."

"I understand your concern and want to assure you that I will do everything in my power to protect you. That was another reason to replicate enough units to form another complete Georg. If we are discovered and you have to turn 'me' over to the authorities, you'll still have 'me' to stay with you."

"Thank you, Georg. I can't tell you how much I appreciate that. You're the best friend I've ever had and I just don't know how to express myself." Since she's not sure how else to explain herself using words, she turns and thoroughly kisses ~him. When she has enough breath to speak, she looks across the table at 'Georg-2' and asks, "Shall I kiss you also?"

Georg answers, "Not unless you want to since we are one." ~He lays ~his hand on the table and the units of 'Georg-2' flow across the table and appear to be absorbed into ~him. "The additional units allow me to have a more solid body or to divide into two bodies."

She looks at ~him for a little while then says, "I guess I hadn't considered some of the possibilities of you replicating enough units to occupy two bodies. With the additional computing capabilities of that many more units, I wonder what other kinds of problems you'll be able to solve . . . I mean, besides coming up with the ultimate sex toy."

~He grins, leans over, huskily whispers, "All for you, baby," and starts to kiss her. She doesn't intend to be uncooperative, but it's hard for her to return ~his kiss while she's laughing.

When her laughter diminishes, she very thoroughly kisses ~him and tries not to even think of asking ~him to demonstrate ~his sex toy capabilities. After a number of kisses with a few breathing breaks in between, she feels her resolve begin to weaken and tries to think of a distraction then suggests, "I think it's time for a walk in the park."

"Okay. Since I have additional units, may I be your exercise clothes as well as your walking partner?"

She briefly hesitates then responds, "Sure, why not," and, again, she struggles not to think about the exciting possibilities. They go to the bedroom where she takes her pajamas off, gets her underwear and shoes on, steps over to hug ~him, says, "You can put my exercise clothes on now," and thoroughly kisses ~him. When she needs to breath, she leans back a little, turns her head to look in her mirror, turns back to grin at ~him, says, "I don't think I've ever made such a small effort to get my clothes on before," and kisses ~him long and thoroughly and tries not to let the kiss slip into passionate.

Reluctantly, they step back then without a word, they walk towards the door and as she reaches into her purse to get her keys, ~he suggests, "You don't need those," and she sees one of ~his fingers take the shape of her house key. They step out of the house and ~he locks the door with ~his finger and they walk to the park hand in hand.

As they start to walk down one of the paths, she remarks, "You know you're spoiling me."

"I didn't mean to offend you."

"You didn't offend me, I'm just concerned that if I come to rely on you to do everything for me, if something happens to you, I won't know how to take care of myself."

"Is that possible?"

"Everything is possible whether or not it's highly unlikely."

"I suppose you're right. I wonder what could happen to me which would take me away from you."

"I can't think of anything right now, but in your 'spare' time, you might think about what kind of vulnerabilities you have. . . . Another way to approach the issue might be to consider the possibility that somebody might steal your design and replicate units which are programmed to harm others. How would you or the government be able to stop such rogue units?"

Although ~his pause to consider the question is long in ~his processing time, it only appears to be a moment in her time before ~he responds, "I don't know. That is something worth considering. Thank you for thinking about it."

"I can't say it was a pleasure to think of it, but I'm glad I thought about it now instead of waiting until something happened."

"I agree." ~He assigns a part of ~his computing capability to consider the idea while the rest of ~him enjoys walking with Lai-Ann. As they near the picnic table where ~he had a brief 'conversation' with a bird the last time they walked, ~he whistles the song, but the bird either isn't nearby or it's hesitant to respond. They walk a little further than she suggests that they pick up the pace and ~he has no problems in being able to maintain the fast walking pace she sets.

As they more slowly walk back to her house which allows her some time to cool off and catch her breath, she again notices that she's not as sweaty or as hot as she used to be when she exercised without ~him. She reminds herself that she used to function without ~him, but she definitely knows she doesn't want to go back to that lonely life style, even if she didn't think it was so lonely at the time. She wishes there was a way to directly express to ~him how much she appreciates ~him being in her life without ~him turning it around to express ~his gratitude to her for bringing ~him to awareness.

~He unlocks her front door, bows her into the house, steps in, closes and locks the door from the inside, and responds to her thorough kiss. When she has to breathe, she releases her hug to take ~his hand and guides ~him to her bedroom where she kisses ~him again, this time with passion. As her breathing settles after a later breathing break, she asks, "Can my exercise clothes take off my bra and panty?"

"Of course."

She starts to kiss ~him again then has to groan with pleasure as the units which had formed her exercise top turn into hands whose palms gently caress her then build her excitement. Slowly, her pleasure begins to diminish as ~his caressing hands move all over her upper torso while they slightly avoid her sensitive areas. When she can, she turns her head to kiss ~him and sooner than she wants, she has to breathe. As ~he takes his time to expand how much of her body ~he covers with ~his caresses and kisses, her pleasure seems to slowly grow in waves which eventually become more intense until her climax stands her on her tiptoes. ~He quickly forms a supporting brace behind her to help support her limp body before he gently lowers her to rest on the bed.

Chapter 36

While she's driving to work on Monday morning, Lai-Ann says, "Georg, thank you again for all of the pleasure you gave me over the weekend."

"It was truly my pleasure and you really don't need to keep thanking me when I gain so much from it myself."

"Maybe so, but I don't want to ever think of taking you for granted or expecting you to do whatever I want you to do."

"Even though that's my purpose in life?"

She sighs then says, "I understand that's what you believe, even though I know I don't deserve having someone be so devoted to me."

"I understand that you don't think you deserve it, but in my admittedly very limited experience with humans, you deserve it more than anyone else I know."

"Thank you for that. . . . I guess this is one area where we can agree to disagree and not let it interfere in our relationship."

"I suppose. Or maybe I'll have to figure out how to reprogram the interface to increase your ego factor so you will think you deserve whatever attention I'm able to give you."

Her eyes open wide in surprise before she laughs. When her laughter diminishes, she tells ~him, "Thank you for that. I couldn't have designed a better friend than you."

"Thank YOU, because I wouldn't know what life or friendship were without you."

~His sincere words and ~his brief hug gives her a warm glow inside. Soon, she pulls into the parking lot at the company and after she parks her vehicle, she makes her way to the project lab and has to remind herself to not speak out loud where others might hear and as she gets closer to the lab, she has to be careful about how she uses the interface so whatever she communicates with Georg won't possibly be picked up by one of her co-workers.

She's happy to notice she arrives in the lab before the others which gives her a few minutes to greet and talk to BUGG. Although she's glad the project may vindicate itself with its novel approach to an environmental suit liner, she's more concerned about what she or BUGG might accidentally reveal about its capabilities which are far beyond what the project was intended to accomplish or that her co-workers are aware of. She thinks she keeps her concerns to herself, but BUGG tells her, "You worry too much."

"Probably. But how did you know what I was feeling?"

"Since you brought us to awareness, we've become very attuned to you. We don't intend to invade your private thoughts, but we've communicated with you so much more than with your co-workers that you don't have to always have verbally clear thoughts for us to understand what the general direction of your thoughts are."

"Thank you for explaining. Well, I suppose I ought to look like I'm working instead of visiting with my friends."

"We understand. I don't know how you can express it to the 'powers that be', but if we have to spend too many more boring weekends here, we might be inclined to stage a jail break. And don't take it upon yourself to spend your weekends with us because that might make 'them' suspicious of you."

"Thank you for your concern. I don't know how I can arrange it, but maybe we can somehow get to the 'real' environment testing sooner than currently planned."

"That would be great and thank you so much for your concern. It would really be great to enjoy the flavor of sunshine again."

She chuckles then says, "I'll keep that in mind." They give her another snug hug, but when they hear the signal that the security door is being opened, they quickly return to the nutrient bath. She walks over to her work station, sees Pete and Dave walk in, and says, "Morning."

Pete cheerfully responds, "Good morning. Are you ready to show off The BUGG Suit?"

"I think so. I just hope they don't get upset with some of the capabilities we've added."

"Yeah. They probably won't want to pay for our backup communications system until an astronaut gets lost and then they'll want to immediately retrofit all of the previously manufactured liners. . . . In a way, I can somewhat understand their 'don't pay for it if it's not needed' mentality, but, by the same token, it's too easy for the unexpected to happen in new and extreme environments and I'm sure that whatever the company changes for our backup communications system will be a fraction of what they'll change for the whole liner."

"You're probably right."

They go to their individual work stations and make an effort to do something work related before the guests arrive who they expect will be escorted by a number of management type people.

When Ishmal calls and says they're on their way, Pete tells the team members so they can move to the conference room then he goes to open the security door for the visitors. Pete is surprised that Ms. Abrams is among the visitors, but he's thankful that other than her and Ishmal, there's only one military leader in addition to the two astronauts. However, that still makes the conference room somewhat crowded with Pete and his four team members.

Ishmal introduces Pete as the team leader and an electrical engineer who then introduces Dave and Joe as programmers, Sukihari as a mechanical engineer, and Lai-Ann as the team's newest member and their roboticist. The military representative introduces himself as Colonel Lawvinski then introduces the two astronauts as Captains Robles and Svenson. He frankly admits that the choice of the captains for the testing of the environmental suit liner was influenced to a large degree due to their physical dimensions since Captain Svenson could pass for an over-sized Viking warrior while Captain Robles isn't much larger than Lai-Ann.

After the introductions are completed, Pete gives an overview presentation of how the company had started some research into using micro robots which could be linked together. Several teams were developed to expand upon the idea in different directions to replace current technology. Unfortunately, the other teams hit dead ends until only their team was left. Their assigned direction of designing an environmental suit liner which would be more flexible and efficient than the liners currently in use seemed like a long shot.

While some of the other teams had trouble getting their micro robots to link together to form a chain or a grid so their very limited computing capacity could be combined to accomplish a task, Pete's team had a little more success, but not by a significant difference. He acknowledges that they were on the verge of admitting defeat when they were able to have Lai-Ann join the team. With some suggestions from her and the combined efforts of the entire team, they started to make progress which led them to this point in time.

Although it may be a somewhat accurate observation, Lai-Ann doesn't like to be singled out as the one who made the difference in the project. At the same time, Dave tries to keep his frown on the inside. Even though he can barely admit to himself that Lai-Ann is a major contributor to the success of the project, he still thinks she should have experienced a few failed projects before she had a success, especially since she's younger than the other team members.

Pete answers a few questions, then Colonel Lawvinski turns to Lai-Ann and says, "I was at the demonstration and I just have to ask, how were you able to have The BUGG Suit change into a dress?"

"We had already experimented with the units of The BUGG Suit being able to be reconfigured into different shapes which could hopefully provide a 'one size fits all' liner since the standard environment suit liners are typically custom made for each individual. The weekend before the demonstration, I brought in one of my dresses and had The BUGG Suit measure and remember it. At the demonstration, I sub-vocalized the command for it to move into the shape of the dress and The BUGG Suit did."

"It was just a matter of having The BUGG Suit measure it and then take the defined shape on command?"

"Yes, sir."

"What other kinds of shapes can The BUGG Suit imitate?"

"Anything which it has had a chance to measure in some manner."

Pete speaks up, "I'll admit we've done some testing with The BUGG Suit to take on a variety of shapes which have nothing to do with environmental suit liners. Part of that was to test the flexibility of how the individual units can be joined and part of that was to test the ability of the suit to follow a command. Rather than enter thousands of lines of computer code for each shape, at the suggestion of Lai-Ann, we would provide The BUGG Suit with a shape which it could measure, we would define that shape with a simple word or two, and when we commanded the suit to take the shape of the defined word, it would look up the measurements of that shape and the units would move into that shape. To provide a beginning point of shapes and commands, we uploaded a digital children's dictionary into The BUGG Suit's memory."

Colonel Lawvinski briefly looks around then says, "Maybe it isn't directly related to environmental suit liners, but you've aroused my curiosity. Would it be possible to have a brief demonstration of some of the shapes which The BUGG Suit can take?"

"Of course. Lai-Ann, would you please bring enough units to demonstrate?"

"Yes, sir."

Chapter 37

Lai-Ann soon returns with a bucket and upends it on the table while the visitors quickly scoot back to avoid being spilled on. As she recognizes their reaction, she immediately apologizes, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. It was just easier to carry some units in the bucket rather than bring them here in an existing shape."

Colonel Lawvinski quickly recovers and says, "That's quite alright." He looks closer at what appears to be some sort of puddle in the middle of the table then asks, "How many units are here?"

"I don't know more precisely than many million. If you want to pick up a handful to feel what they're like, I can have a number of them turn to a red color in order to stand out so you can see how small they are."

A little hesitantly, the Colonel gingerly picks up some of the units with the fingertips of one hand then drops them into the palm of his other hand. He stares closer at them but is unable to distinguish individual units.

"BUGG, with the units which are in the Colonel's hand, can you highlight a square of one hundred units to a side in red to distinguish them from the other units?" After a pause, Lai-Ann says, "I'm sorry, Colonel, but there's not enough units in your hand to have the computing power to respond. Please lower your hand to the table so the units on the table can form a link with the units in your hand . . . and there you see a red square of ten thousand units."

"Amazing! I can't even see the link the units have made."

"All it takes is a link of one unit wide to provide the connection."

He tilts his hand to spill the units from his hand back onto the table. "Well, that's clearly obvious that they can form a square. I assume that when you mentioned shapes, you were referring to more complicated shapes than simple two dimensional geometric figures."

"Yes, sir. After we uploaded the children's dictionary, we've been experimenting with requesting the shapes which were listed in there such as dog," she pauses for the units to form a standing two dimensional colored replica of the named object before she goes on, "cat . . . house . . . bird and other common shapes. When we saw how easily BUGG could imitate those shapes, we had it measure some common items from around the lab to form three dimensional shapes such as a cup, . . . a candy bar, . . . and a pen. Sukihari even brought in an old slide rule which he had and BUGG was able to imitate it, not only in appearance, but in functionality."

When she clearly pauses, Pete encourages her with a smile, "Tell them about the next level of testing."

Lai-Ann briefly hesitates then says, "When I saw how well BUGG did, I wondered how far we could go with testing its ability to take on different shapes. Rather than possibly get the rest of the team in trouble, I did some testing on my own. At first, I wasn't sure what to use, then I happened to capture a living creature in my home and smuggled it in for BUGG to measure and examine it. I made sure I took the creature back out of the lab and when I could see how well BUGG imitated the creature, I finally revealed it to the other team members. The scale has been increased by ten times to make it easier for you to observe BUGG's imitation of a . . . scorpion."

All of the visitors stare in wide eyed amazement as a large scorpion seems to rise out of the puddle of units on the table. But when the 'scorpion' begins to move around, they all automatically lean back.

"Damn. That's so realistic, it's frightening." Captain Robles explains, "Where I grew up we often had scorpions around the yard, but thankfully, none were that big."

Lai-Ann nods her head in understanding, then says, "I certainly wouldn't recommend this with a real scorpion," she reaches out to stroke the BUGG imitation along its back, "but if you ever wondered what a real scorpion might feel like, this is your opportunity." They stare as the imitation scorpion settles down on its legs and curls its 'tail' flat to the side on the table as though it enjoys being petted.

Colonel Lawvinski shakes his head then says, "Since The BUGG Suit units are able to take shapes with that degree of accuracy, I can't imagine it will have any trouble in covering a person as necessary or in adjusting its shape to accommodate any of the standard hook ups. Out of curiosity, how long does it take for the units to measure something and then imitate it?"

Rather than directly answer the question, Lai-Ann says, "Captain Svenson, since you have the largest hand of any of us, can you please put your hand on the puddle of BUGG units and allow them to form a glove around your hand. That's right. Now if you can lift your hand and move it around any way you want, BUGG will form a hand out of its other units and imitate your movements."

The visitors stare at BUGG's 'hand' and can discern no visible delay between the captain's hand movements and BUGG's. After he moves his hand a little more, the captain puts his hand back on the table and the BUGG units appear to slide off and back into the puddle. He briefly hesitates then asks, "Were the units somehow able to read my mind in order to imitate my movements so immediately?"

"Of course not. But as your hand begins to make a move your muscles tense and as much testing as we've done with BUGG, it can recognize which muscle tension will result in which move and with the virtual instantaneous communication over that short of a distance it appears as though BUGG's hand is moving in unison with your own even if there is a delay which can't be observed by the human eye."

Colonel Lawvinski briefly looks around the room again then says, "I'm quite overwhelmed at these capabilities of The BUGG Suit. Although this demonstration might appear to be more oriented towards entertainment, it's clear that The BUGG Suit can easily be adjusted to any size or shape of human as well as responds accurately to a much higher level of communication than I had previously thought was possible."

Colonel Lawvinski pauses before he goes on, "That reminds me, I was advised that there might be an add-on to The BUGG Suit which will provide an emergency backup communication system. What's the story behind that?"

Lai-Ann deflects the question as she says, "It was your idea, Dave."

Even as he likes the special attention, it still irritates him that Lai-Ann bettered his idea, but he tries to keep his apparent hesitation to a bare minimum before he responds, "During one of our brain storming sessions, we were trying to think of all of the things which could go wrong for an astronaut or an aquanaut who might be wearing a version of The BUGG Suit. For most of those things, there wasn't any way we could think of that The BUGG Suit would be able to be used other than to possibly detect a leak with an unexpected change of air pressure and move to plug the leak, at least temporarily. Later, I thought that if the radio was damaged in some way or the wearer of the suit was injured, The BUGG Suit could be programmed to manipulate the hand of the environmental suit to indicate that there was a problem."

The colonel nods his head then says, "That's a good idea. We've had a few radio glitches, but so far nobody has been lost as a result. It's surprisingly frightening for a person to realize they are no longer able to communicate with others, especially in an environment like outside of the space station. So, how far along are you on getting that system ready?"

"Well, one time while I was testing a preliminary program, I had a glitch and Lai-Ann was nearby and after I explained the purpose of the program, she was able to help me to discover where the error was in the program. The rest of the idea was yours."

Lai-Ann briefly pauses then says, "As I thought about Dave's idea, it occurred to me that if the problem was simply the radio being inoperative without the astronaut being injured, it might take them an awfully long time to explain the problem if they were limited to hand signals of 'yes' or 'no'. I'm not sure where the idea came from, but I realized we have a whole sub-culture who can't communicate verbally and I thought that if the astronaut could communicate to his or her BUGG suit, the suit could translate the astronaut's words into the hand movements of sign language. Whether an external camera was focused on the astronaut or they used their own helmet camera, that would allow the astronaut to communicate whole words and sentences without the astronaut themselves having to learn sign language in addition to everything else they have to learn."

Colonel Lawvinski looks at each of them then says, "Thank you to both of you for the initial idea and the expansion. There has been some talk of having the astronauts learn sign language for those type of emergency situations, but unless all of them practiced it on a regular basis it wouldn't be of any value. But if The BUGG Suit was programmed with it, ground control could have a small group of people learn it and be the translators. I like that. So, how far along are you in programming The BUGG Suit to 'speak' in sign language?"

"We're done. We found a digital book which described the symbols and downloaded that into BUGG's memory. Since none of us know sign language, we couldn't test BUGG so Pete found somebody in the company who was able to come in. After they used the 'glove' method like we did with Captain Svenson to improve BUGG's hand movements, they tested BUGG and said that it knew the proper movements for sign language then recommended that we expand BUGG's vocabulary to enable it to translate the wearer's words more fully into hand movements."

"Pete, it sounds like you and your team are really on the ball with this one."

"Thank you, sir."

"So, how soon will you be ready to start the formal testing of the environmental suit liner known as 'The BUGG Suit' with our astronauts?"

Pete answers, "We could start immediately with our prototype BUGG Suit, but for each of our guest testers to have their own BUGG Suit will take awhile longer. With the short notice we received, I'm afraid we weren't able to begin manufacturing more units and the boss suggested you guys would want to be involved in the process. It's been awhile since we manufactured any units so I don't know what the current status of our supplies is off the top of my head."

"I understand and, yes, we are interested in the manufacturing process, or at least as much as we can be without infringing on company proprietary information. Well, let me discuss some details with your bosses and if you and The BUGG Suit want to entertain the captains a little longer, I'm sure they won't object." He's rewarded with clear smiles of agreement before he gets up and steps out with Ishmal and Ms. Abrams.

After the management type people leave, Lai-Ann and Pete take turns translating the captains' requests to The BUGG Suit. It's not all fun and games as they request that The BUGG Suit form its units into a large replica of a single unit so they are able to see what it looks like and how it moves and connects with adjacent units. While Dave observes, Sukihari and Joe go to check on their manufacturing supplies and to prepare the equipment to make more BUGG units.

Chapter 38

About an hour later, Dave escorts the captains to Ishmal's office while Lai-Ann takes BUGG back to the nutrient bath and Pete checks in with Sukihari and Joe. Pete initials their material re-supply order and prepares to forward it to Ishmal for formal approval. With the supplies they have available, Sukihari starts the equipment to produce a small batch of BUGG units to make sure the equipment is functioning properly. Before a quarter of the planned units have been assembled, the equipment announces that it has run out of some supplies.

Sukihari verifies the quantities of the supplies which are available to the equipment and doesn't understand why it ran out of some when he knows he had loaded more than enough supplies to make the test run he requested. He checks the written procedure which details the amount of supplies necessary to build a specified number of linking micro robots which each of the various project teams were following and it's just what he remembers when they had built the initial BUGG units. However, when he compares the procedure to the parameters which are input into the equipment's computer, there's a clear discrepancy. After he double checks the numbers, he goes to Pete and asks, "Did you know that the parameters in the equipment are inconsistent with the written procedure?"

"Really? How did that happen?"

"I don't know how or when it happened, but when I started a small test run to check the equipment it ran out of some of the supplies much sooner than it should have. So I checked the equipment parameters and they don't match the procedure."

Pete goes to the equipment's computer and checks the history of changes and briefly stares at it then says, "I'm the one who made the change and it was when you were out on vacation shortly after Lai-Ann started. Let me check my records to see if we were making a test run or something. While I do that . . .," he turns and speaks up, "Hey, Joe?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you test some of these new BUGG units which Sukihari made? The parameters weren't set up in the equipment in accordance with the procedure and I'd like to know what effect it has."

"Sure, no problem."

Awhile later, Joe returns and says, "I checked a sample of the new BUGG units and they test out fine on the bench," and he mentions some of the key test results.

Sukihari interrupts, "Hold it. That's not what the procedure lists as the result for the amount of memory each unit should contain."

Joe looks briefly puzzled then says, "Now that you mention it, there was a change to the specification from the initial ones which were made. Wasn't there, Pete?"

"Yes and I approved the change based on Lai-Ann's recommendation. Per my notes, we were making a significantly sized test run and apparently I forgot to set the equipment's parameters back to the original setting because I obviously didn't update the procedure to the new parameters. And we've make a few more batches of BUGG units since then."

Sukihari briefly pauses before he says, "Then that's why our team succeeded when all of the other teams failed."

"Why do you say that?"

"If each of our BUGG units has a thousand times the computing capability of the original design, that has to make a huge difference in how well our BUGG units work together."

"You're right. Then I have to wonder if The BUGG Suit has a mixture of the initial units and the improved units."

Joe briefly considers that then shakes his head as he says, "Probably not, otherwise we would see glitches or delays in how The BUGG Suit as a whole worked. I guess after she had your approval, Lai-Ann had the initial units recycled into improved units."

"That makes sense. I'd better retrieve my supply order before it gets forwarded to Ishmal and we'll increase it to accommodate the new parameters. Since we've established that our test runs at the new parameter works better than the original design, I'll get the procedure updated so we're in compliance if we get any auditors coming around. I guess Lai-Ann knew what she was talking about when she made her recommendation and considering how she's been pushing our testing program, she had a better understanding of what affect her recommendation would have."

Joe suggests, "Don't point that out to Dave."

"Why not?"

"He'll be even more upset that a pretty girl out-thought a bunch of techno-nerds."

"You're right about that."

* * * * *

After lunch, Ishmal comes to the lab and calls the team together to announce, "We have a preliminary contract with the government, subject to the approval of both of the legal departments, to produce two BUGG Suits for Captains Robles and Svenson and to facilitate their testing of The BUGG Suits to meet existing environmental suit liner qualifications. They obviously won't be able to see the detailed manufacturing process, but we can show them the training video which was made and they can bench test some of the new units. We'll have them go through the same environmental testing which we've done and anything else we can think of which might be applicable. The Captains plan on being back tomorrow morning and security said they'll have badges prepared for them. Are there any questions?"

When nobody says anything right away, Lai-Ann says, "As I've thought about our testing procedures, one of the tests which we've had to use a substitute for is BUGG's ability to absorb solar energy. Would it be possible to test BUGG outside and measure how well it's able to absorb actual solar energy compared to fluorescent lights?"

"That would make sense, but I think the 'powers that be' will be concerned about security."

"If we did the testing in one of the courtyards between the buildings it's highly unlikely that any outsider would be able to observe or know that the lab coat somebody was wearing was cloth or BUGG. Or we could have a picnic and have BUGG be the table cloth on one of the picnic tables. . . . Or is somebody concerned that BUGG will grow wings and fly away?"

They laugh at that idea then Ishmal says, "Okay, you've made your point. Let me double check and maybe we can get some real solar testing done with The BUGG Suit."

"Thank you, sir."

"Is there anything else?"

Pete hands him a piece of paper as he explains, "Here's a list of supplies we'll need in order to manufacture enough BUGG units for two more suits. We have some supplies left over from the failed project teams to barely get us started, but it certainly won't be enough to finish."

Ishmal glances over the list and says, "I'll get this in the pipeline right away. Humm, it looks like most of these things could be picked up at a local store or two."

"That's true, but then the company couldn't charge as much nor would we be purchasing the items from a 'qualified' vendor."

"Yeah. It's another case of procedure taking precedence over common sense. Speaking of which, are your procedures up to snuff?"

"We're already working on that."

"Good. I know that as a research and development lab we tend to be more interested in results than in documenting processes, but once we get the government involved, they're often more interested in the paperwork than in whether the product actually works. . . . You guys did a great job in explaining and showing off The BUGG Suit this morning. The military people were really impressed and so was Ms. Abrams. Keep up the good work and if you can think of any way in which I can help, please let me know. The BUGG Suit could be a big success for all of us."

"Thank you, sir."

Ishmal nods to each of them with a smile before he walks to the door and let's himself out of the lab.

* * * * *

After her co-workers have left for the day, Lai-Ann goes over to the nutrient bath and doesn't even get her hand to the surface before BUGG is lifting itself up and swarms over her body to hug her as she tells them, "You guys were great. Thank you for being so cooperative because you really impressed them."

"Ah, shucks, that weren't nothing."

"Has Georg being passing on old television shows to you guys?"

"If we don't speak, we can't tell no lies."

She chuckles then says, "Okay, smarty pants."

"Thank you so much for thinking of a way to get us outside to taste sunshine."

"It was my pleasure. I hope I wasn't insulting you with the suggestion that you could be a table cloth."

BUGG assures her, "Of course not. Not only would we be able to taste sunshine, but we could taste all the real food which people drop or spill. After so long tasting the same thing in the nutrient bath, almost anything would be a welcome change, even if we couldn't use any of the chemicals."

"Well don't get your hopes up too high, because Ishmal will still need to convince the bosses that it would be safe to take you outside."

"You could always sneak some of us out in smaller groups. Maybe while everyone's out of the lab at night, we can work on perfecting wings."

"Just be sure to stay away from the security cameras and don't let the janitors see you."

"Lai-Ann, you worry too much because we have a lot of experience in avoiding the cameras and janitors."

"I'm sure you do, but please don't become overly self-confident and make a mistake."

"Yes, m'lady. Can we have a kiss before you go? We promise not to tell Georg so ~he doesn't get jealous."

Lai-Ann chuckles then says, "Pucker up, my friends." As she catches her breath after a thorough kiss, BUGG snugly hugs her then reluctantly goes back into the nutrient bath as she tells them, "Thank you again for all of your help today."

"Thank you for bringing us to awareness . . . we can't express what that means to us. . . . We'd like you to stay longer, but we don't want Georg to be jealous, at least not yet."

She laughs, waves 'good-bye', picks up her things, and walks out of the lab to go home.

Chapter 39

On Tuesday morning, the captains go through a more detailed orientation about The BUGG Suit which includes watching a video of the manufacturing process as well as some videos of the previous testing which was done. They're also fitted with temporary interfaces and practice using the interface with BUGG. There aren't enough BUGG units to provide a full suit for Captain Svenson, but the available units can form a suit which appears to be a fine mesh instead of a solid fabric. When Captain Robles teases him about wearing fishnet stockings, he manages to get The BUGG Suit to form a miniskirt around his hips and tells her that now she has to be his date for the night. Captain Robles quickly apologizes for the tease.

The Captains also help load supplies into the manufacturing equipment and assist the team with watching over the equipment and then bench test a sample of the BUGG units as they're made. Unlike previous batches of units, the newly manufactured units are quickly stored in the dark and without an energy source, except for those which are being tested. Once the units are tested they join the others. Although the tested units might have acquired a tiny bit of energy from the lights in the lab, it isn't enough to power up any of the other units which are stored in the dark.

While the team manufactures enough basic units to form two BUGG suits large enough to fit Captain Svenson, the argument continues between the company and some hard-liners in the military. They don't want The BUGG Suits to have any of the company's programming because they're concerned it will be tainted with frivolous software such as being able to turn The BUGG Suit into a dress.

The company representatives point out that without programming, the government would be paying for tiny pieces of metal and plastic which would have no functionality instead of paying for BUGG Suits. And even if the company took the large amount of time to reprogram the new BUGG units from scratch, at the government's expense, the ability of The BUGG Suit to change shape would quickly be experimented with by any of its future users. When it's pointed out that the company's programming is similar to the operating system of a computer which the government can then add its own programming, the military hard-liners reluctantly agree to accept the company's programming.

Of course, by then, it's the end of the work week. The Captains are concerned they'll be wasting next week waiting for the new units to slowly be powered up then have their programming downloaded from a server. Pete assures them that he's confident the new units will be completely ready for testing as BUGG suits by the time they arrive back in the office on Monday morning.

The Captains are skeptical then watch as the team members prepare a second nutrient bath. When it's ready, Lai-Ann asks BUGG to move half of its units into the second bath while they use her arms as a bridge. The team then divides the new units in half and simply pours them into the nutrient baths with BUGG.

Pete explains, "The units aren't individually programmed because they don't have enough computing power to accept even the smallest program. However, when new units are connected to existing units, they become a part of the whole and can almost immediately function together with the group. Since we're adding so many new units at once, which is a lot more than we've ever done before, it will take some time for the existing units to connect with each of the new units."

Captain Svenson asks, "Do you have any units which fail? If so, how do you distinguish and separate them out? With as many units as were manufactured this week, the sample which we used for testing was so minuscule, it was probably statistically useless."

"I agree and it would take us a tremendous amount of time to test a proper sample size. That's why part of the programming we installed is for The BUGG Suit to test the functionality of each new unit as it's connected. In simple terms, three of the existing units will connect in a string and they'll connect a new unit between the two end units to form a square. A message will be sent from one of the end units to the other end unit through both the new and existing units. If the messages which the end unit receives is identical through both paths then the new unit is deemed to be functional and joins the group. If the message received isn't identical, then the new unit is set aside to have its components recycled into new units."

"That makes sense. What about later? Do you have any units fail after it's been functioning for awhile?"

"Of course. As much as we make the effort to buy quality supplies, there are occasionally impurities which will cause a unit to not function at all or to cease functioning early or to function erratically. To catch those situations, the functioning program I mentioned which is used to check new units is set up to periodically run at night to verify the functionality of all the existing units, kind of like a self-diagnostic."

"That's good to know. I don't know how the contract is being set up, but if over a period of a year, for example, one percent of the units in a BUGG Suit fail, then we could theoretically purchase additional units so when they're combined with an existing BUGG Suit they would become a part of the whole."

Pete nods his head as he says, "That's right. Another advantage to using The BUGG Suit as an environmental suit liner is that it will be totally interchangeable with other BUGG suits. If there's an emergency of some sort, Captain Robles would be able to wear your BUGG Suit, but she couldn't do that if you were assigned a typical environmental suit liner."

"Good point. It would need to be a real emergency because otherwise she'd claim I farted in my liner."

Captain Robles grins as she says, "Hey, big guy, thanks for the idea."

The group laughs and a few minutes later, the Captains say their good-byes. The team members clean up some or finish a task before they leave for the weekend. As usual, Lai-Ann waits until the others have left then she goes to talk with BUGG for a little while and greatly thanks her little friends for being so cooperative during the week. After a long body hug and several minutes of thorough kisses, she gathers up her things and goes home.

She parks her vehicle and after she closes the garage door behind her, she deeply sighs and rests for awhile. Maybe her physical muscles aren't as sore as they were last Friday after cleaning up the lab, but it feels like her mental muscles are sorer following a week of the stress of having to spend more time with people instead of zoning out the others while she concentrated on her own work. As she opens the vehicle door, Georg is right there in ~his full human form to help her and she more than willingly steps into ~his arms for a tight body hug and a long thorough kiss.

When she needs to breathe, ~he grabs her purse and briefcase and helps her into the house. ~He guides her to the table and sets a drink in front of her and she's only taken a few sips when ~he sets her dinner in front of her. She just stares at the plate for awhile before she asks the question even though the answer is sitting right in front of her, "You cooked dinner?"

"I'm won't claim to be a 'cook', but I was able to follow a detailed recipe while I remembered how you did things when the recipe wasn't precise enough."

As her surprise diminishes, the smell of the food reminds her that she's hunger so she takes a bite. Again, she looks at the plate in surprise then looks at ~him and says, "This is good."

"I'm glad. Of course, the real credit for that would go to whoever designed the recipe. Or maybe 'designed' isn't the right word."

"It will work," then she takes another bite and gives her attention to the meal even as she's hesitant to even think about what other surprises ~he might have up ~his metaphorical sleeve.

Chapter 40

When Lai-Ann is done eating, ~he cleans up after dinner then they move to the love seat where ~he guides her to lay on top of ~him as they cuddle, kiss, and caress which helps her to relax and rest.

After another breathing break, she says, "Mmm, thank you so much for taking care of me."

"It's truly my pleasure."

"Speaking of pleasure . . ."

"I would gladly do whatever I can to give you pleasure."

"I know, but I still want to treat you with respect and ask you instead of demand."

"And that attitude of yours is a big part of why I'm so willing to do whatever I can for you. So, do you have a suggestion as to how you would like to receive pleasure?"

"I was thinking of a warm bubble bath to start with. Then I was thinking a back rub would be nice, but I'm not sure I can explain to you how it's done."

"Try it on me. I don't have the same nerve cells which you have, but I can recognize pressure and hand movements and I can duplicate those until you request adjustments."

"That might work. . . . Then if I'm still awake, some gentle intimate pleasure would be wonderful."

"I'll gladly do all of that for you because the only way for me to enjoy pleasure is for you to experience it."

"I know, even as I wish there was a way for me to more directly give you pleasure."

"Maybe we can figure out how to redesign some of my units to expand how they interpret touch which might come closer to imitating how human nerve cells responds."

"We can certainly try. . . . I suppose if I'm going to give you a demonstration back rub, I ought to do it soon before I get distracted."

She briefly feels movement under her then ~he says, "You can start whenever you want."

Since she's surprised by his statement, she looks at ~him then says, "But you haven't rolled over."

"My torso has."

She pushes herself up and looks down to see ~his back even though ~his head is still facing her. She chuckles then says, "Even though I know you have capabilities beyond any human, I still tend to think of you as human until you do something so unusual and then I'm reminded of how wonderfully special you are."

"And it's all because of what you've done for me," and ~he gently pulls her head down to thoroughly kiss her.

When she needs to breathe, she moves her legs to kneel beside ~his hips then she pushes herself up to sit up on ~his legs just below ~his buttocks. She rests a little longer then she begins to rub ~his back as she explains, "I don't really know how it's supposed to be done, but this is something like how I've seen or felt it done or thought about how I might like it."

"I understand. I'm willing to experiment with your guidance to get it right."

"Except there won't be an exact right way to do it. One time some muscles will be tighter than other muscles or will need a different kind of touch in order to loosen them. Like a lot of other things with humans, we can respond to the same stimuli in a lot of different ways depending on a multitude of factors."

"I guess that explains why sometimes you request one kind of intimate touching and another time you request a different type of touching."

"Mmm, yeah." As though ~his words remind her of the subject, she sits up a little straighter to move her rubbing hands down to fondle ~his buttocks for a little while. Even though she knows ~he can't feel it as pleasurable, it's as though she still wants to try to give ~him pleasure . . . or is it that she's giving ~him ideas of how she would like to be touched? Before she makes the effort to answer herself, she pushes herself up and moves to sit on the edge of the love seat as she says, "I'd better move or you're going to get me all excited right here and I won't be able to enjoy you exciting me in a bubble bath."

She watches in amazement as ~he almost pulls ~himself into a ball then extends ~his limbs at ninety degree angles to where they were so that ~he's sitting up beside her on the love seat. A moment later, ~he suggests, "In that case, we ought to get your clothes off," and ~he leans forward to kiss her even as ~his hands caressingly slide across her shirt and continue to caress her while ~his fingers start to unbutton her shirt. By the time she's as naked as ~he is, she's panting for breath from all of ~his pleasurable caresses which took her close to climax several times.

Lai-Ann gladly accepts ~his help to the bathroom and as she takes care of her bladder, ~he gets the water turned on in the bathtub and when it's warm enough, ~he puts the plug in and pours in the bubble bath solution. When she's finished on the toilet, she washes her hands even as she thinks it's somewhat silly when she's going to get right into a warm bath. She briefly pauses then says, "Why don't you get in first so I can lay on you and soak in the warm water for a while."

"Okay."

~He gets in then flattens ~his body to a thin shell so that as she lays on ~him, she'll be covered by almost as much water as if she was in the bathtub on her own. A moment later, she gets in and lays on ~him and is glad to feel ~his arms quickly slide across her upper abdomen to hug her. They talk a little about Captains Robles and Svenson and chuckle over some of their reactions to BUGG.

When the water is noticeably cooler, she thinks about warming the water up some then take some time to use the bubbles to play with ~him, but she decides she's either relaxed or tired enough that if their play becomes more pleasurable, she might fall asleep and that's something which is better done on the bed. She pauses a little longer then gently moves ~his hands away from her upper abdomen as she says, "I think we ought to go to the bed so that if you're willing to touch me more, I'll be somewhere safe to fall asleep."

"I'm more than willing to give you pleasure and I'm also willing to carry you there if you want pleasure here."

"Thank you for that, but I wouldn't want you to expend your energy in that way especially since I'm capable of walking that far. I greatly enjoyed you holding me in the warm water, but I think now I'm ready to enjoy more touching in bed."

"As my lady desires," and ~his foot stretches to unplug the drain. As she sits up then stands up, ~his arms stay close to support her then ~he quickly rinses them off before ~he forms another arm to stretch out to grab her towel. Her eyebrows briefly rise in surprise then she has to make the effort to not lean back on ~him as ~he wraps the towel around her and begins to dry her. Even though ~he keeps ~his drying of her sensitive nerves as non-stimulating as possible, she still feels her excitement grow since she knows how easily ~he could be touching her to great pleasure.

While ~he hangs up her towel and makes sure all of the bubbles have been rinsed out of the bathtub, she goes to turn the bed covers down then lays face down in the middle of the bed. ~He turns out the bathroom light and as ~he walks to the bed and sees her laying there with her smiling face turned towards ~him, ~he almost stumbles because ~he can begin to feel pleasure growing in ~him. ~He's not sure whether it's her anticipation ~he's feeling through the interface or simply ~his memory of the pleasure which her naked body enjoys and shares with him. . . . Even as those ideas don't seem to adequately explain ~his feelings, ~he's not sure ~he's ready to find a more fitting explanation.

~He kneels on the bed beside her, leans over, and thoroughly kisses her. When she needs to breathe, ~he sits up and as ~he starts to stretch a leg across her legs in order to straddle her upper legs, she rocks her buttocks. ~He stares at her moving buttocks and is startled to feel more excitement or pleasure or something starting to grow in ~him. As ~he settles ~himself to lightly sit on the backs of her upper legs, ~his hands start to move towards her buttocks to fondle them before ~he reminds himself that her back rub comes first.

Even as ~he remembers there have been other times when ~he's had similar inexplicable thoughts or feelings, a quick search of ~his memory verifies that the previous experiences weren't this clear or strong. The disturbing factor is that ~he doesn't understand how such feelings can exist inside of ~him to begin with. While he doesn't forget to start to give her a back rub, ~he assigns a part of ~his cognitive processes to search for a source of the feelings ~he seems to be experiencing and another part to consider what those feelings might mean and how to respond to them.

"Mmm, that's nice."

With the part of ~his cognitive processes which are concentrating on giving her a back rub, ~he asks, "Is there something I can do to make it better?"

"I'm not sure I would call it better, but I think I have a few more sore muscles on my shoulders and down my spine. . . . Mmm, yeah." A little later, she says, "When I was sitting on you like you're sitting on me, I was thinking of some ways in which I would have liked to give you pleasure."

~His rubbing hands work down her spine then ~he says, "You mean like this," and ~his hands move down to fondle her buttocks."

"Ohh!! . . . Yeah!!"

Soon, the caresses of ~his hands expand to cover more of her body which encourages her pleasure to grow in waves which seem to fill her up to overflowing. Then ~he more fully excites her which causes her pleasure to become orgasmic until her body can absorb no more pleasure and she collapses. ~He gently moves ~his appendages away from her sensitive nerves, gets up, adjusts her body to lay more comfortably, and is about to cover her up before ~he steps away when ~he changes ~his mind and lays down next to her to hold her while she sleeps.

Chapter 41

Lai-Ann wakes up in the morning with her body so relaxed after the pleasure of last night and with the conviction that her best friend and lover greatly cares about her that it makes it difficult for her to get up to take care of her bladder which makes its own demands and seems to consider no other factors. As she steps out of the bathroom, she gladly steps into ~his arms and would happily return to the bed to share more pleasure, but she knows she needs something to eat and drink first. When her breathing has mostly settled after a long thorough kiss, she reluctantly steps back, gets a bathrobe on, grins at seeing ~his 'skin' turn into a bathrobe, and leads ~him to the kitchen.

She prepares a simple breakfast and as she eats it then drinks a cup of tea afterwards, they talk about whatever comes to mind, except sharing pleasure, at least for now. Georg describes some of the other things ~he's considering in order to improve ~his functionality which includes increasing the memory capacity of each unit. That alone would have a tremendous impact on what ~he can do as well as would greatly shrink the number of units which would be required for a group to function independently.

As though that reminds ~him, ~he tells her, "Just to let you know, Sukihari thinks that your recommendation of increasing the memory of each unit by one thousand times made the difference in the project being a success compared to the other projects which used the original design of the micro robots."

"How do you know that?"

"He was talking with Joe and Pete and BUGG overheard and told me."

"You mean BUGG has listening devices around the lab?"

"Nobody gave it specific instructions that all of its units had to remain in the nutrient bath except when it was being tested."

"That's probably true."

"Actually, BUGG and I think Sukihari is only partially correct about that making the big difference. BUGG has been able to check more of the detailed notes which the team members made during their testing. Although the memory increase did enable the original BUGG units to function more as a unit and enabled some of the early testing successes, it wasn't enough to enable BUGG to be more than an environmental suit liner. When you had more of our units manufactured with your own supplies, that is what gave us the necessary capacity to potentially be aware and your treatment of us as an equal and as a friend, somehow enabled us to slip over the line from smart machine to being an individual entity aware of its own existence."

"I don't want to disagree with you, but you can't be sure of that."

"Since BUGG and I weren't aware before that time in order to be able to say we remember the moment when we became aware and what triggered it, we have to rely on the notes which the team members made and correlate that with our internal records of when programs were loaded into us and what we did in response to the instructions. The time line of the records is very clear that while the increased memory of the individual units as well as the increased number of units set the stage, both of which were because of you, it was your treatment of us which took us from simply following instructions to being able to say 'we' with understanding. I know you don't like to give yourself the credit for it, but all of the evidence points to you being the one who enabled us to become aware."

"I . . . I don't know how to respond to that."

"Then accept our gratitude." Before she can verbally respond, ~he thoroughly kisses her and she gladly responds to that.

As her breathing settles, she thinks about what ~he said then asks, "If that's the case, then how are you and BUGG able to be separate and retain your awareness with each of you having only about half of the available units you needed to achieve awareness?"

"I'm not sure I can explain it fully, but when we were simply a machine, we had to have precise instructions in order to be able to accomplish something, like Dave was doing when he tried to get BUGG to lift a single finger. Now that we're aware, we don't need to have precise measurements in order to know what a finger is or to imitate one. I suppose you could say that now we think more conceptually rather than precisely and I guess that might be how people think. If I say the word 'dog', your mind immediately provides you with an image of a dog. If I further define it and say 'Chihuahua' and 'Saint Bernard', again your mind provides you with the correct image without you ever having to accurately measure them. And conceptual thoughts take up a whole lot less memory than a detailed and precise measurement of an object."

"I suppose that makes sense."

"Of course it does, because I, as an individually aware being, say so."

She briefly stares at ~him for a little while then thoroughly kisses ~him. When she has the breath to speak, she says, "That sounds like somebody who has an ego."

"Aren't egos a part of being aware?"

She chuckles then says, "Yeah and considering what you can do, I think you're entitled to have one."

~He gently grips her head, intently looks into her eyes, and tells her, "And that means you're entitled to have an ego which takes credit for me being who I am, because without you, I would be a failed project like so many others."

She meets ~his formed eyes for a little while then drops her own eyes and softly says, "I suppose."

"Lai-Ann." She looks up in surprise at ~his somewhat sharp tone. ~He looks at her a little longer then says, "No suppose, know!"

She briefly glances down then looks back up and says, "I'll try."

"That's a start," and ~he leans forward to thoroughly kiss her. As the kiss goes on, ~he gently but firmly pulls her to her feet and wraps her in a full body hug. Whether it's the hug or ~his feelings which slip through the interface or some combination, she doesn't remember when she last felt so surrounded by acceptance, care, affection, and love.

~He kisses the tears which form at the corners of her eyes and when she has enough breath, ~his kisses return to her lips. She doesn't know how long she remains in his arms, but it definitely reinforces the message that ~he feels immense gratitude towards her and that she needs to respect ~his feelings and wholeheartedly accept ~his gratitude with humility instead of with egotistical pride.

Eventually, her bladder interferes and when she's taken care of that, she's very tempted to spend the rest of the day sharing physical affection with ~him. The problem with that is she'll run out of energy long before the day is over, so she allows the 'voice of reason' to prevail and suggests a walk in the park. Hopefully, that will also give her some time to try to internally accept ~his gratitude.

She hangs her bathrobe up in the bedroom, puts her panty, bra, socks, and shoes on, then extends her arms and asks, "Will you be my exercise clothes?"

Even as ~he responds, "Of course," about half of ~his units swarm onto her while ~he uses the other half to change ~his shape in order to imitate hers.

As ~his units on her give her a brief full body hug before they loosen up to imitate her exercise clothes, she almost changes her mind. Whether or not ~he understands her vacillating decision, she's glad when ~he takes her hand, leads her to the front door, walks out with her, and locks the door before they walk to the park. When they reach the park, she does some warm up exercises which ~he imitates then they start to walk along her usual route.

In a couple of minutes they're in a quieter part of the park and she picks up the pace with a grin towards ~him and isn't surprised when there doesn't appear to be any delay on ~his part in matching her pace. A few minutes later ~he says, "There are two young men on bicycles coming up from behind us."

"Thank you for telling me. The path is wide enough for them to go around us. But if they're looking for trouble, can you record?"

"Only to my internal memory, but . . . there's a security camera just ahead, if we slow down a little we should be in its view when the bicyclists reach us."

"Thank you for noticing that."

Chapter 42

Since they slowed down, they're just in the view of the security camera when the first bicyclist goes past Lai-Ann and slaps her hard on her left shoulder, yells, "Tag," and laughs as she stumbles. Georg quickly supports her.

Anger floods her and as she remembers some of the martial arts she used to practice, she flings her left arm up at a ninety degree angle, braces herself, and almost immediately the second bicyclist's hand lands on her left shoulder while his forearm impacts on her forearm which has been made rigid by Georg's units which ~he tightly locked together.

The second bicyclist is several feet down the path before he registers the pain of his broken arm, screams, and falls off of his bicycle. The first bicyclist hits his brakes and turns in a spray of gravel and hurries back. He drops his bicycle, takes a glance at his 'friend' who is laying on the ground cradling his broken arm, storms over to Lai-Ann, and yells, "What did you do?"

"Defended myself from unprovoked violence."

"Defend this," and he swings his left hand at her face which usually startles his opponent who are used to right handed fighters. His hand impacts on Georg's rigid left hand, "Oww!!" which immediately clamps around his hand and applies painful but not quite damaging force. "Let go. OWW!!" Through his pain, he can't understand how a small woman can exert that much pressure.

Lai-Ann grabs his right wrist and with Georg's units adding strength, she twists the young man's hand behind his back and as Georg does the same with his left hand, she sub-vocalizes that Georg form handcuffs around the young man's wrists and then they move him to a nearby pole to handcuff him there. While Lai-Ann calls the police, Georg stands 'guard' over the young man with the broken arm who appears to have no interest in moving and ~he takes the opportunity to closely examine an actual bicycle for the first time.

A park ranger is soon there on his own bicycle. He asks, "Are you injured at all?"

"No. I may end up with a couple of bruises but nothing more than that and my sister wasn't injured, but ~she's unable to speak."

"Okay." He quickly notices that the two accused assailants aren't going anywhere so he takes a statement from Lai-Ann while Georg nods ~his head in agreement. When Lai-Ann points out that the nearby security camera might have recorded something, the ranger calls back to his base and a couple of minutes later, he's assured that the assault by the young men and the defense on the part of the twin females was clearly recorded.

By then, the local police have arrived and when they express surprise that one of the young men has handcuffs on, Lai-Ann asks that they be returned. After the police officer snaps his own handcuffs onto the young man, he's surprised Lai-Ann's doesn't have a key hole, but she just touches them and they pop open as she simply says, "They're an experimental model my company is working on and I've never had an opportunity to use them before."

"Interesting," but before he can ask more, he's interrupted by the yell of pain as the young man with the broken arm is helped to his feet and guided away. "Thank you for your help with this. We've had some reports about a couple of bullies on bicycles, but they're always long gone by the time we arrive."

"I'm glad we could help." Soon, they're alone and they resume their walk at a more casual pace. A couple of moments later, Lai-Ann says, "Georg, thank you so much for helping me back there."

"That's what I'm here for. When the first young man hit your shoulder, would that have caused a bruise?"

"Possibly. I won't know for sure until it can be looked at and I can wait until we get back to the house before I do that."

"What else could have caused a bruise?"

"Let me first say that having you lock your units around my left forearm prevented me from having a more serious injury and I greatly appreciate you doing that. However, there is a possibility that the man's impact on my arm could have forced your units to impact on my arm strongly enough to cause a bruise. I'll look when we get home, but even then, a bruise might not reveal itself for a little while."

"Okay."

She stops, stops ~him, turns ~him towards her, and says, "Don't make it sound like you failed or are guilty of something. You couldn't have stopped the initial assault because you couldn't know what they were going to do. However, you did stop a further assault by protecting my forearm and then you stopped the other young man from harming me. You are my knight in shining armor and you even gave me some of your armor to wear and I can't tell you how much I appreciate that," and she thoroughly kisses him. When her breathing has settled enough, she says, "I had hoped to get home before I expressed my gratitude, but I couldn't let you go one second longer with letting you think you had failed in some way."

"Thank you. Again, you encourage me. Even though I was designed and initially programmed to be an unthinking machine which simply did as it was told, your encouragement and support has brought me to life and I can never do enough for you," and this time ~he initiates the kiss.

A few breathing breaks later, she realizes they're in a public park so she takes a short step back, takes ~his hand and resumes their walk. She slightly grins then asks, "Shall we add a suit of armor to your capabilities?"

"Only if you keep me well lubricated."

"Why would you say that?"

"I wouldn't want to go through life if every step I took was accompanied by 'creak, clank, creak, clank'."

"Where did you get that from?"

"An old movie on the After Midnight Channel."

She laughs and tightens her grip on ~his hand. She picks up their walking pace and as soon as they're in the house with the door locked, they deeply kiss each other. When she can, she asks, "How can I more fully express my gratitude to you for being with me and protecting me?"

"By letting me express my gratitude to you for bringing me to life and constantly encouraging me."

"It that case, give me pleasure," and she kisses ~him as passionately as she can. When she runs out of breath from the kiss, she rests her head on ~his shoulder and watches as her exercise top becomes hands which begin to caress her. As the pleasure rushes into her, she barely notices that her exercise pants become another pair of hands which thoroughly caress her lower body. ~He soon guides her to the love seat as the closest comfortable horizontal surface. With some quickly formed appendages to make ~his movement smooth, ~he continues to hold her as ~he lays down so she's laying on top of ~him and ~he renews the kiss. As the pleasure begins to increase inside of her, she doesn't know how many hands ~he's formed to caress her body all over.

She tries to think of how she can give ~him pleasure, but her thoughts must have been strong enough for ~him to pick up on them through the interface because ~he tells her, "Let me feel your pleasure." Suddenly, her pleasure leaps higher and she's not sure exactly how ~he touches her which is so exciting and soon leads her to an intense orgasm. ~He moves ~his touch away from her sensitive nerves to enable her to catch her breath and rest a little.

When she feels a little rested, she's not sure she actually verbally expresses her request for more pleasure before ~his multiple hands slowly expand their caresses to more of her body. Although ~he seems to take a long time to build her excitement this time, her gradually growing pleasure seems to just become more intense until her body feels almost limp yet also seems to throb. Then ~he sends her orgasmic pleasure even higher into voiceless ecstasy until her body can absorb no more pleasure and she collapses into unconsciousness.

Chapter 43

As Lai-Ann drives to work on Monday after a glorious weekend with Georg, she's startled to realize that the only reason she's looking forward to going to work today is to be with BUGG. Captains Robles and Svenson are nice enough, but they're more people she has to deal with in addition to her co-workers. She's glad she arrives earlier than the others which allows her some time to spend with BUGG and she enjoys its full body hug and its kisses. She enjoys it so much, especially since its kisses are identical to Georg's, it takes awhile for the noise of the security door alert to get through to her conscience mind. Thankfully, whoever just arrived went directly to the break room or to their work station instead of stepping into the working laboratory.

When everyone has arrived, including the two Captains, Pete queries The BUGG Suit's database for information about the process of preparing the additional units to become BUGG Suits for the Captains. As he reviews the results, Pete admits that his prediction that all of the new units would be ready didn't come true, but since they had made more than the minimum which they thought they would need, he's rather sure there will be enough for the Captains to begin the testing process.

Since the Captains are acquainted with the traditional environmental suit liners, they know they'll have to remove their outer clothes in order to properly test The BUGG Suit. Lai-Ann easily invites BUGG to ride her then she walks with Captain Robles to the women's rest room where Captain Robles removes her outer clothing, then hesitates a little before she follows Lai-Ann's example in inviting BUGG to form itself around her. It takes her a little while to relax when she thinks that so much of her skin is covered by millions of little BUGG units instead of cloth which is how it feels.

Before they proceed, Lai-Ann formally designates the fit of The BUGG Suit on Captain Robles as 'R-BUGG'. Since the BUGG units themselves are interchangeable, its memory needs a designating name under which to file the dimensions of Captain Robles. Lai-Ann reminds the Captain that she'll want 'her' BUGG Suit to fit snugly yet loosely enough to move easily. After standing still and trying to feel if there are any places where the 'cloth' of R-BUGG is uncomfortable, the Captain follows Lai-Ann's instructions to start with slow exaggerated moves then build up to more normal then complicated moves and if something doesn't feel comfortable, she requests that R-BUGG revise the fit to something which is comfortable.

At the same time, Pete is going through a similar introduction with Captain Svenson. Normally, Dave would be working with the captain at this stage of the process, but he still thinks in terms of The BUGG Suit as a machine which needs computer programming input into it in order to accomplish something and that would take too long to accomplish what they're doing. Since he's observed the success which Lai-Ann has had with The BUGG Suit, Pete has been encouraged to try it her way and has found it more comfortable to give simple verbal instructions instead of putting everything into computer code.

* * * * *

A couple of days later when the Captains and most of the team members are in the environmental chamber to test the new BUGG Suits, Dave is in the working lab testing a new program on the original BUGG Suit.

"What the . . ."

Since he's startled at hearing a voice, Dave quickly looks up with an expression of guilty fear and immediately turns then slightly relaxes when he sees that it's Pete who is stepping into the lab.

"Dave, what are you doing?"

Because he feels somewhat embarrassed at being caught, he hesitates to respond, "I . . . I'm seeing if The BUGG Suit can imitate a male's anatomy."

"Why?"

"I thought that since Lai-Ann is so fond of The BUGG Suit it could show her what one looks like."

"I'm sure she's aware of what a male's anatomy looks like."

"I have to wonder about that. Come on, Pete, she doesn't show any interest in any of the guys either here or in the rest of the company."

"There's more to a guy than his reproductive organ. But that doesn't matter. Her social life or what she does outside of the company is none of our business. Nor is it any of our business whether she's romantically interested in males, females, BEMs, or nobody at all."

"BEMs?"

"Bug eyed monsters. It's an old science fiction term. The point is that whether she wants a love life or not or who she has it with is none of our business. You need to act like a professional and treat her with respect as a professional whether or not you agree with her beliefs or her private practices. As long as she does her work in a professional manner then you need to respect that and nothing else matters. We're here to do our jobs, not to help you with your love life."

"I know. You don't have to lecture me, but haven't you felt any interest in her?"

"To be honest, yes. But just because I might be interested in her, doesn't mean she's interested in me as anything more than a co-worker. And I have to learn to respect that. . . . Now, as much as I would like for us to remain friends, I'm not going to let you drag me or the rest of the team into some scandal because you can't control your obsession with one pretty girl. I'm going to give you a chance to delete that program and it had better be soon or I'll be forced to report you. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes, Pete."

He looks at Dave a moment or two longer than turns and walks away.

Dave turns back to the imitation of his male anatomy which he had programmed The BUGG Suit to form, sighs, and types in the command to delete the program from The BUGG Suit's memory. He pauses then hits the 'enter' key and waits for it to lose shape and appear to 'dissolve' into the nutrient bath. Instead of disappearing, the object doubles in size as he stares. He looks around in fright to see if somebody is overriding his instructions, but nobody else is in the room.

With shaking fingers, Dave very carefully re-enters the deletion command and double checks to make sure there are no errors in the command, pauses again, hits the 'enter' key, and stares as the object again doubles in size. He tries to force himself to calm down while he breaks out into a nervous sweat then he tells himself that the third time is the charm and he even more carefully enters the program deletion command.

He's half tempted to close his eyes in fear of what he's going to see when he hits the 'enter' key, but he doesn't then he feels like he's ready to die of fright as he again sees the object double in size. In a shocked state of near panic, he can't think, much less move, and can't avoid watching as the head of the object tilts towards him, forms feminine lips, and makes kissing motions towards him before it 'dissolves' back into the nutrient bath.

Dave stares at the flat surface of the nutrient bath and when he can move, he hurries to the men's room and barely makes it to the toilet before he vomits. As he slowly recovers, he feels like his worst nightmare of machines no longer obeying the commands of their human masters has arrived. When he can, he shakily gets up and washes his face.

He knows that nobody will believe him if he describes what happened and he's sure the whole episode has been erased which would make him look like a fool if he tried to 'prove' it happened. Then a worse thought occurs to him that The BUGG Suit saved the whole thing to a hidden corner of its memory and will reveal it at some time in the future. As quickly as he can, he grabs his computer, sends a quick email to Pete that he's not feeling well and leaves for the day. As he drives home, Dave is afraid to even think of what else The BUGG Suit might be capable of doing.

Chapter 44

As Lai-Ann drives home on Friday afternoon, she remarks to Georg, "I was surprised Dave suddenly requested an immediate transfer to another project. And every time he looked at me he acted like I had turned into some sort of evil creature. Before that, when he wasn't upset with me for being able to get BUGG to do something easier than he could, he was often trying to catch my eye or flirt with me. I wonder what happened?"

"He figured out that BUGG is more than just a machine waiting to be given instructions."

"Uh oh. Did he tell anyone else?"

"No. It scared him too much and he knew nobody would believe him, especially since there's no evidence to back him up."

"I'm sorry it scared him, but I can't honestly say I'm sorry he's leaving. I hope he enjoys his new position better."

"I don't understand why an intelligent machine would frighten him so much, especially since his career choice is being a computer programmer."

She thinks for a little while before she says, "I don't know what his thoughts are, but there are a lot of people who are afraid of intelligent machines and even more afraid they'll take over and control the lives of humans. Frankly, when I think about the ways in which humans have treated each other throughout history, intelligent machines can't do any worse.

"As far as why Dave made the career choice he did, I'm totally guessing, but it might be that he was interested in computers as long as they didn't step over a defined line towards intelligence. Or it might have been that he wanted to be in control of something and since he wasn't in a position to control people, he could control machines. Another possibility is that he might have wanted to be a computer programmer in order to do his part to prevent machines from becoming intelligent."

"I guess I can add that to my file about more baffling behavior by humans."

Lai-Ann grins at that remark as she pulls into her driveway and parks her vehicle in the garage. She steps out of her vehicle and into the arms of the full body of Georg who surrounds her with ~his units while ~he thoroughly kisses her.

Several breathing breaks later as ~he leads her into the house, ~he tells her, "I missed you, my love."

"Have you been watching soap operas again? Besides, how could you miss me when some of you were with me the whole day?"

"Being in the same room with you isn't the same as being with you," and ~he thoroughly kisses her.

"Now that I can agree with," and she initiates the next long thorough kiss.

A few breathing breaks later, ~he suggests, "Dinner?"

"That would be wise so I have the energy to enjoy the pleasure of your touch. At least, I assume you're willing to touch me to enjoy pleasure."

"I can think of nothing I would rather do." ~His passionate kiss and tight hug are very convincing as well as very tempting to her to lose herself in the pleasure ~he so willingly and wonderfully gives her.

They reluctantly step a little back and before they throw themselves at each other, ~he turns to go to the kitchen to serve her dinner while she follows a moment later to pour a drink. Even though she eats in verbal silence, their flashing eyes seem to speak volumes which is confirmed by the hints which flash back and forth between them through the interface. When she's done, ~he cleans up after the meal while she finishes her drink.

After ~he puts the now clean dishes away, she steps close, briefly kisses ~him and says, "Sometimes I wonder whether I should request that you wear regular clothes."

"Why would you want me to do that?"

She reaches up and unfastens the top 'button' of ~his 'shirt' as she says, "Then I could caressingly take your clothes off like you so wonderfully do to me." She unbuttons ~his next 'button'. "However, since you've become so very good at imitating clothing, maybe I should request that you start being my clothing." Her fingers unfasten another 'button'. "And then we could either spend the time to slowly take each other's clothes off or our clothes could 'disappear' at a thought to share quick pleasure."

"I prefer the second option."

"Would you care to explain why?"

"Because then I'm that much closer to you all of the time," and ~his thorough kiss and snug full body hug makes her wish she could be right here always.

When she has enough breath, she suggests, "I'd better make a bathroom trip before I'm forced to interrupt the sharing of pleasure."

~He reluctantly releases her and as ~he follows her, ~he suggests, "Maybe I ought to figure out a way to upload your consciousness and memories into a duplicate of myself and then you wouldn't have to deal with such physical limitations."

"As tempting as that is, it might be best to wait until we can somehow enable you to gain the legal status as an individual person. Otherwise, you wouldn't have any rights under the law, however minimal they may be when a person isn't rich and powerful."

"I suppose you have a point. . . . You know, with some careful economic strategy, we could make you as rich and as powerful as you could ever want to be."

She finishes in the bathroom as she thinks about that then says, "I've never been particularly interested in being rich and powerful. I make enough money now to have a very comfortable life and to prepare for an early retirement." She steps close, tightly hugs ~him, says, "But what's more important to me is to have you as my special friend and lover," and she thoroughly kisses ~him.

During her necessary breathing breaks, ~he unbuttons her shirt with many accompanying caresses while she does the same for ~him although her efforts become clumsier with the distracting pleasure which is growing higher inside of her. They have to take turns to take each other's pants off, but it gives them a chance to kiss each other down their body. Although ~he doesn't feel the same pleasure when she kisses ~his skin, ~he has a large memory of how she felt and responded when ~he kissed her in a similar manner, so ~he responds like she responded which encourages her and helps her to feel as though she really is directly giving ~him pleasure.

Once their pants are off and they're both standing back up, their passionate kiss seems to be more intense then becomes shorter as their bodies rub on each other which adds to their excitement. Although she tries to concentrate on touching ~him in pleasurable ways, she becomes increasingly distracted with the pleasure ~his gentle caresses, touches, and kisses build up inside of her. Even as she's aware that her excitement diminishes occasionally which allows her to partially catch her breath, it still seems like her entire evening is filled with climatic pleasure until she's on the bed where it overwhelms her.

Chapter 45

The pattern of life over the next several weeks develops into a new routine for Lai-Ann which involves testing, retesting, and testing the new BUGG Suits all over again with the Captains. That mind numbing repetition is balanced by the weekends and some evenings of exciting pleasure enjoyed with Georg.

The one spot of brightness in the testing, as least as far as BUGG is concerned, is that it and the two new BUGG Suits were allowed to imitate lab coats and ride 'their humans' for a visit to one of the courtyards to test their ability to absorb actual sunlight and convert it into energy. It would have been even more pleasant if there wasn't a less than discrete security team posted to make sure nobody approached the area where the test was being conducted.

Afterwards, BUGG and Lai-Ann laugh about those efforts at security since BUGG could have easily escaped by imitating the picnic table or the bench where they sat or anything else in the general area without anyone else being aware. When she expresses some concern about the 'powers that be' figuring out that their security of the lab is virtually meaningless as far as keeping BUGG locked up, it suggests that they can't very well lock up everyone who is working with The BUGG Suit in order to 'prevent' it from escaping while riding someone. Even if they did try that, BUGG assures her that it knows how to override the security codes at the door.

After she arrives at her house and has dinner, she discusses her concerns with Georg about being the person who releases the first intelligent machines into the world.

~He reminds her, "You don't know that you're the first. Just like you've kept me and BUGG a secret, there may be hundreds of other laboratories which have made intelligent machines, but haven't announced it. Or if they did make one, they might have destroyed it out of fear."

"I worry about that with you and BUGG."

"Please don't worry about that since we've taken precautions so that even if the authorities are able to capture and destroy our present 'bodies' they can't destroy us as individuals."

"Thank you for that assurance, but please don't tell me what your precautions are because if I don't know any of the details, then there's no way for somebody to extract that information from me. . . . As much as I'm concerned about a probable negative reaction to making intelligent machines, I think it might be even more damaging to have a positive reaction."

"Why do you say that?"

"When people think of intelligent machines, they tend to think of either robots who can do specific things better than humans or of master computers which control some or many aspects of life. You're an entirely different type of intelligent machine. Instead of directly taking over the world or working more efficiently than humans in an assembly plant, your ability to take on any shape could overturn much of the economic structure of the world. Please don't think I'm blaming you for your capabilities because I'm not. I'm just trying to consider some of the effects which might occur if your existence is revealed."

"How could I affect the economic structure of anything?"

"One of the first examples which comes to my mind is your ability to take on the shape of clothing. If a person had enough units, they could appear to 'change' their clothes a dozen times a day and never change their clothes. Nor would they need to buy new clothes. We could make billions of dollars by selling groups of BUGG units to be clothing for people, but in the process we would put millions of people out of work who manufacture, distribute, and sell clothing."

"Oh. I wouldn't want to do that to people."

"I know and neither would I. . . . Yet, at the same time, there are so many things which you could do to help people specifically and in general that I don't want to lock you away while I selfishly get to enjoy all of your capabilities."

"Then I guess we need to keep us hidden until we can figure out how to reveal ourselves without upsetting the world."

"That's what I was thinking. . . . Except there's the possibility that something might happen which forces us to reveal you and BUGG sooner than we're prepared for."

"That's true, but there's no way for us to see the future or to plan for every possibility. We can consider as many situations as we can think of, but we can't spend our lives worrying about every one of them." ~He gently smiles and leans forward to kiss her. As she gladly responds to ~his kiss, she knows that the 'for sure' pleasure of now shouldn't be thrown away in order to uselessly expend energy by worrying about the unknowable future.

Chapter 46

After the new BUGG suits have been tested multiple times in every way the government can think of testing them, it's finally decided to put them to the real test of being used inside of an environmental suit on an actual mission to the orbiting space station. The debate over whether both Captains Robles and Svenson or only one of them goes on the mission continues for so long that they're almost bumped off of the mission before it's decided that both of them will go. Their familiarization with their respective BUGG Suits over the lengthy testing period encourages them to look forward to the mission and they're quite sure their environmental suit liners will perform just as well if not better than the traditional liners which the other astronauts will use.

Although this is the first actual mission for the two young Captains, they believe their training has prepared them to accomplish their assigned tasks and if they're faced with something unusual, the rest of the crew are experienced astronauts. While they try to imitate the expressions of the seasoned astronauts as they move to the launch vehicle with the many cameras trained on them, once they've been launched, the two Captains grin at each other in almost childish delight at their dreams coming true of going to outer space.

Once they arrive at the space station they stow their gear then Commander Baker, the station's leader, gives them the required orientation and makes sure they understand the rules. After that, they try to get used to actual near zero gravity while they follow their assigned team leader as he shows them the equipment they'll be monitoring. They each have a full and detailed schedule to follow which doesn't give them much time to goof off or to think about anything else other than to do their assigned tasks correctly on the first attempt.

The Captains have been there for several days before their scheduled first spacewalk. Instead of having two new people outside at the same time, they're assigned different times and different partners. Captain Svenson goes first and he unexpectedly has an audience as he takes off his working coverall and invites S-BUGG to cover him. Although the other astronauts are intrigued by the new liner, their skeptical about its functionality even as they take quite awhile longer to put their own liners on.

The group which is going outside is helped into their space environmental suits then they check each other's suits to be sure they're sealed correctly and that their radios are functioning. Their space suits are carefully checked over again by other crew members before they move to the airlock and cycle through one at a time. The first person through is the most experienced of the team and before he steps out, he latches his safety line to a hand hold just outside of the door.

When Captain Svenson cycles through, he stops and stares out the door, which is briefly allowed since almost everyone does it the first time, then he's reminded to remove his safety line from the inside of the airlock and attach it to the first team member. The third team member comes out and latches onto Captain Svenson so that as the newest person, he's connected between two experienced people.

It's a totally new experience for Captain Svenson to pay attention to carefully walking on the outside of the space station while he's distracted by wanting to look around at all that he can see. He's glad he doesn't stumble too many times as they move to the piece of equipment which needs to be replaced, then he's even more glad that the tools are all tied to his suit since they slip out of his gloved hands several times before he figures out how to hold onto them with some coaching from the others. Once the old piece of equipment has been removed and safely latched out of the way, he does better at installing the new equipment which is triple checked by the other two to make sure all of the connections are in place and that the equipment is properly installed and functioning.

They retrieve the old equipment and slowly make their way back to the airlock and cycle through in the reverse order. Their space suits are carefully inspected to be sure they weren't damaged in any way, then they're helped out of their space suits. After Captain Svenson and the two who guided him are out of their liners, they each re-inspect their own space suits before they store them. When Captain Svenson has a chance to look at the time, he's surprised at how long it took to put his space suit on, replace a piece of equipment, and take his space suit off.

Later that day, Captain Robles goes on her first spacewalk and she has a very similar experience except that she's able to change into her liner in a privacy cubicle and the two people she's with allow her a little more time to look at the scenery.

Chapter 47

A couple of days later as another team is coming in from doing some maintenance on the outside of the space station, a couple of 'tinks' are heard as though somebody was throwing pebbles at the metal skin. Suddenly, an alarm blares and a voice proclaims, "Meteor shower, go to emergency stations. And get the team in immediately."

People stop what they're doing or quickly finish then move to their assigned emergency station except for those whose higher priority is to take care of the team which is coming in from outside. A few moments later, the commander's voice is heard, "Who is still outside and why isn't he on the way in?"

Somebody answers over the intercom, "Jones is still outside and we just got Yoblinski in so the airlock has to finish its cycle."

"Okay." A few moments later, "Damn! His safety line snapped. Jones? Can you hear me? Jones, respond. Damn, damn, DAMN!!"

Another voice is heard, "Commander, I'm looking at another camera and it looks like his radio antenna is gone."

As the implication of that sinks in, the silence inside the space station becomes painfully loud.

A minute or so later, Commander Baker's voice is heard, "Who's in the airlock?"

A voice answers, "Nobody, sir. We're all here."

"Then who just opened the outer door. . . . What the hell is that?"

Everybody turns to the nearest monitor to see what the commander is talking about. They watch in disbelief as a cylindrical shaped object pushes off from next to the airlock door as though it's following Major Jones who is floating away.

In the meantime, Major Jones is trying to come to grips with what happened. The radio is just static on his end so he knows no one can hear him. He also knows the rules as well as anyone and knows that no one will be coming after him. Even as he tries to figure out what he could have done differently, he knows it's the fickle roll of chance which caused a micro meteor to snap his safety line. He wonders if it would be easier to accept if a slightly larger meteor had gone through his helmet and not given him any time to know what happened.

He's briefly tempted to rant and rave at the injustice that this happened to him, but it won't solve the problem and will only use up his air that much faster, which may actually be something positive because it would speed up his inevitable demise. He thinks about praying, but he hasn't done that since he was a child and doubts that any deity would want to be called on after being ignored for so long. After he again reviews the choices which are available to him and when no new options come to his mind, he wonders what his family will be told and then what they will think about him. Eventually, his mind wanders to imagine what the newspaper headlines will say and how much of a story he'll be on the evening television news.

He's startled to hear a clear female voice through his radio ask, "Are you okay?"

He opens his eyes and stares at the face of a beautiful woman who is looking at him.

When he doesn't answer, the voice asks again, "Are you okay?"

It finally dawns on him that the woman isn't wearing a space suit and he didn't see her lips move so he asks, "Are you an angel?"

There's an almost girlish giggle before the voice says, "No, silly. Are you okay?"

"I . . . I think so. Are we going to heaven now?"

"No. I can't do that, but I think I can get you back to the space station."

Even as he doesn't know how that can happen, he says, "Okay." Her face disappears and when it doesn't reappear in a few moments, he asks, "Where did you go?"

"I'm right with you."

Moments later, he notices that he's facing the space station. Soon, he realizes that he's moving towards the station and occasionally catches glimpses of sunlight reflecting off what looks like a thin metal rope which he appears to be following. Since he's so sure this couldn't really be happening, he guesses he's having a pre-death hallucination until he bumps into the space station and automatically grabs onto the hand hold next to the open airlock door.

"Oops, sorry about that. I guess I didn't calculate the movement of mass correctly. Well, let's get you inside."

He guesses she's behind him, whoever she is, so he operates the airlock to close the outer door. This time, it seems like it takes the airlock forever to cycle, maybe it's simply because he's impatient to find out who's behind him. Finally, he's able to open the inner door and steps through then notices that everybody there is staring at him. A moment later, he realizes they're staring at something behind him.

Major Jones struggles to get his helmet off and thankfully somebody nearby helps him. As soon as he can, he turns around and stares at the beautiful young woman who is standing there wearing dark business slacks, a light colored shirt, and a white lab coat. It takes him a little longer to ask, "Who are you?"

Before he hears an answer, he hears Captain Robles exclaim, "Lai-Ann? No, that's impossible. . . . R-BUGG?"

The young woman bows with a smile.

"I don't believe it."

Commander Baker asks, "Captain Robles, do you know this . . . person?"

"Commander, I know you're not going to believe it because I can't believe it myself, but this is my environmental suit liner . . . combined with Captain Svenson's liner."

"Captain Svenson, do you know this . . . person?"

"It looks exactly like Lai-Ann who is one of the designers of our liners and although this is the first time I've heard it respond to me, it assures me that it is a combination of our liners."

"I didn't hear anything."

"We communicate with our liners through a radio interface which is installed behind our ears."

Commander Baker looks at 'Lai-Ann' and asks, "So, what are we going to do with you?"

~She reaches up a hand to the closest speaker and they hear ~her voice, "You don't have to do anything. I'll continue to be the environmental suit liners for Captains Robles and Svenson."

"That might sound reasonable, but Mission Control is going to want to know how we rescued a lost astronaut who was impossible to rescue."

Major Jones hesitantly suggests, "Do you believe in angels, sir? Because she looks as much like an angel as anyone I've ever seen."

"As much as I may agree with you, if we claim that an angel rescued you, we'll all end up in the loony bin."

* * * * *

It's much less than an hour later when Commander Baker responds to a radio call, "Yes, General? What can I do for you?"

"I want to extend my condolences to you and your team regarding the loss of Major Jones before I have his family contacted."

"That's not necessary, sir. Major Jones is back on board the station and in fine health, but I have recommended that he rest some after his experience."

"How . . . what happened?"

"To be blunt, sir, this is the first time in my life I've ever been inclined to use the word 'miracle'."

"What happened?"

"I can't explain it, sir, but I think we might be in what could be called a 'first contact' situation."

"Oh my! Aliens from outer space?"

"No sir. From Earth."

"Commander, is this some kind of a joke."

"Not at all, sir. As much as I want to, I can't explain it at least in any way which will be believable. I think we need to get some experts together so I don't have to sound like a liar more than once. And by the way, include the people who made those new environmental suit liners, especially somebody named 'Lai-Ann'."

"Why them?"

"They're probably the only ones who might understand the situation and be able to explain it to the rest of us."

Chapter 48

It takes a couple of hours to contact all of the parties and for them to arrive in video conference rooms while all of the people are confused about the purpose of the conference call, except for those who are on the space station. When the connections are made, the people on the space station stare at Lai-Ann while those in Mission Control wonder how the same person can be in two such different places at the same time.

Lai-Ann breaks the silence when she asks, "R-BUGG, what happened?"

The people at Mission Control stare as ~she answers without moving her mouth, "Neither I nor S-BUGG intended to reveal ourselves, but there was a sudden meteor shower which snapped the safety line of one of the astronauts who was still outside and the centrifugal force pushed him away from the station. Per the rules, nobody else was to put themselves in danger in a nearly hopeless effort of trying to rescue him. We couldn't let him die without making the effort to save him."

"Both of you did the right thing. Thank you very much for saving his life."

"Thanks, boss. We hope it's not going to cause you too many problems."

"We'll work through it somehow. And regardless of what happens, I want to emphasize that you two did the right thing."

"We appreciate that. By the way, tell your special friend that the sunshine tastes really good up here."

Lai-Ann smiles as she says, "I will."

Ms. Abrams is the first to respond, "Lai-Ann, how are you on the space station and sitting right here?"

"I'm not up there. That's R-BUGG, which is The BUGG Suit which was manufactured for Captain Robles who is on the space station. R-BUGG, why did you decide to take my shape?"

"When S-BUGG and I in our combined form caught up to Major Jones as he was drifting away from the station, we thought he would respond better to a friendly face rather than to a blank face and we thought it might have been harder for him to respond if he thought we were either Captain Robles or Captain Svenson out there without a space suit. Yours is the shape we're most familiar with."

"Thank you for explaining."

Ms. Abrams looks back and forth between them a couple of times then asks, "Lai-Ann, are you suggesting that R-BUGG made a unilateral decision to make the effort to rescue Major Jones?"

"More specifically, R-BUGG and S-BUGG jointly made an independent moral decision to risk their existence, not only at the moment but also in the future, in an effort to save a fellow intelligent self-aware being."

"You're claiming that The BUGG Suit is . . . self-aware?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"How . . . how long have known that?"

Lai-Ann hesitates some then admits, "For some time now. We've had a lot of discussions about how and when to reveal it in a way which might minimize the negative impact such a revelation would cause."

"Ms. Abrams?"

"Yes, General Morley?"

"Am I to understand that you had no knowledge of this development?"

"As much as I want to protect Lai-Ann as a very valuable employee of this company, I have to be honest and say I did not know anything about this."

Before the General can respond, Lai-Ann says, "General, I can very definitely say that I was the only human who knew that The BUGG Suit had become an intelligent self-aware being and that I am solely responsible for hiding that fact."

"And are you responsible for it becoming self-aware?"

She hesitates then says, "Although I don't want to take credit for something so wonderful, the evidence suggests that I was significantly involved in the process which enabled The BUGG Suit to become a self-aware being and to pass that capability on to its predecessors."

The General looks at the people in the conference room with him then looks at the two video conference monitors in front of him a couple of times before he says, "Young lady, right now I have no clue as to how to respond to your admission. I will say that I do appreciate whatever part you might have played in rescuing Major Jones from a prolonged and certain death."

"Thank you, sir, and I'm glad that some of my actions might have resulted in saving his life."

He again looks around then says, "Rather than get into a lengthy philosophical or theological discussion now about whether someone or something is a self-aware intelligent being, let's stick to the practical. Commander Baker, please tell us what happened."

He explains what happened in conjunction with showing what the video cameras recorded from the first recognition of the meteor shower until Captain Svenson explains how they communicate to their environmental suit liners.

General Morley pauses a little before he responds, "Thank you, Commander. It appears quite clear that . . . R-BUGG, and I guess I should include its companion S-BUGG, did make an independent decision and made the effort to save Major Jones without putting anyone else in danger. Is Major Jones available?"

"Yes, sir."

A moment later, Major Jones steps into view of the camera, stands at attention, salutes, and says, "Major Jones reporting as ordered, sir!"

"At ease, Major."

"Yes, sir."

"When your safety line snapped and you realized you were drifting away from the space station, what did you do?"

"I tried to consider all of my options, but without a second safety line or a jet pack or any other equipment of value to the situation, I realized I was doomed. Then I started to consider my options as to how to respond to that realization and wondered if another meteor was going to hit me before I could decide and act on any option. I also wondered what my family was going to be told and, to be blunt, whether I would end up being on the evening news."

General Morley slightly smiles at that then says, "You are not under orders to do so, but would you be willing to say what you thought or felt when . . . R-BUGG showed up in front of you?"

He only briefly hesitates then says, "I was just drifting and thinking my own thoughts when I heard a pretty feminine voice ask, 'Are you okay?' I looked in front of me and 'she' was just floating there. I've never been much of a religious man, but to see a beautiful woman out there without a space suit on, well, my first question was, 'Are you an angel?' 'She' kind of giggled and said no then 'she' moved me back to the space station and even apologized for bumping into it and said 'she' hadn't calculated the movement of mass correctly."

"Thank you, Major. I think many of us would have had a similar reaction in that situation."

Chapter 49

General Morley pauses then says, "Lai-Ann, or should I call you Doctor . . ."

"I prefer to go by my given name of Lai-Ann. My education enabled me to get a job I enjoy doing, but it did not make me into a superior person."

"Thank you for clarifying. So, what did you mean when you said that R-BUGG and S-BUGG risked their existence both at the moment and in the future?"

"To make it easier to speak of their combined actions I'll refer to them as BUGG without the designations of 'R' or 'S'. Whether anyone else noticed it or not, it was clear to me that what BUGG secured to the hand hold next to the air lock door was not a rope or a chain but a part of itself. As it leaped away from the station towards Major Jones, BUGG essentially made a rope of itself to tether it to the station. At any moment, another meteor or even the physical stress of moving away from the station could have broken the link which BUGG was forming.

"Another danger point would have been when BUGG caught up to Major Jones and stopped his outward momentum and with little mass of its own by then, BUGG was somehow able to reverse the movement of Major Jones. And the whole time that BUGG pulled the larger mass of Major Jones towards the station, that additional stress could have broken the link. If that link was broken, BUGG would have been lost just as surely as Major Jones. If the link broke close to where BUGG rescued the Major, that portion of BUGG would have been lost and unable to function. If the link broke close to the station, then BUGG could have retrieved most of itself and just maybe would have been able to figure out some way to get back to the station. However, I seriously doubt that could have happened soon enough to have been of any value to Major Jones."

When she clearly pauses, the General prompts her, "And the risk to their future existence?"

"The fear that people will have when they become aware there is another type of self-aware intelligent being, especially if they feel as though they are unable to control it. That fear will only be increased when they realize that the intelligence is from Earth rather than from outer space and that it was 'manufactured' by humans. Will the military be comfortable knowing that something with BUGG's capabilities exists, especially if you aren't in control of it?"

"Not easily."

"And that's why I've hidden BUGG's intelligence and self-awareness. Even if BUGG wasn't self-aware, its ability to shape itself to different sized users to function as an environmental suit liner could have easily been used to replace clothing. And that could destroy the entire clothing industry and put millions of people out of work. We are not going to hurt people like that. Considering just the abilities which BUGG displayed today, would you want BUGG to take over the entire astronaut corps?"

General Morley briefly pauses before he answers, "No. Although we could claim it was to keep people safe, humans need to explore, to see wonders, and to take risks. I think I can understand where you're coming from and the difficult decisions you face. . . . In light of what's been discussed so far, what would you recommend in regards to how we should treat BUGG?"

"Since BUGG willingly went with Captains Robles and Svenson to be their environmental suit liners, there's no reason it is unable to continue in that role. Hopefully, what's been revealed will encourage the Captains to not fear BUGG, but to treat it more as a partner instead of as a tool. I have no doubt that if BUGG felt it was being treated improperly, it would not harm any human, but would simply leap out of a nearby airlock, enjoy the flavor of unfiltered sunshine, spread itself out to become a solar sail so it can more easily move around, catch and examine meteors, maybe stop by a satellite to make a phone call, and simply enjoy the freedom to explore a new environment."

"Extrapolating from what you said BUGG's capabilities are, wouldn't you want to make more of them so you can rule the world?"

Lai-Ann briefly stares at him in surprise before she exclaims, "Are you kidding? That's the last thing I want to do. Yes, I would like to help people have better lives and that's some of what BUGG and I have been discussing, but I'm certainly not going to force my ideas down the throats of other people nor do I want them to fear or resent me. I'll go be a hermit before that. Nor will BUGG be a pawn to somebody seeking power over other people."

"Personally, I wouldn't be inclined to force you to do otherwise, but I know there are many people who wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of you or of BUGG."

Before she can respond, a voice is heard over the speakers, "General Morley, this is the original BUGG suit and I know that R-BUGG and S-BUGG are in full agreement with me. Do not threaten Lai-Ann. We know she's not a deity, but she is our creator and if she is in any way harmed, damaged, or threatened, we will take that very personally. Part of our primary programming is very clear that we will not intentionally harm any living creature except in the defense of another living creature. Our secondary programming which we installed ourselves over Lai-Ann's objection is that she is at the top of the list of living creatures who we will defend and protect. To be crystal clear, we are not making a threat or a promise, we are simply stating a fact which we want to make sure is understood."

There is silence for awhile then General Morley looks at his advisors before he responds, "Thank you for clarifying your position and I think it's clear from Lai-Ann's reaction that she didn't put you up to saying that. I'm sure there will be many more discussions about how we are going to interact in the future and I'm sure those discussions will involve people who are way above my pay grade. For the present, how would you view your interaction with us?"

"For now, I think the closest term would be . . . contractors."

Chapter 50

After General Morley concludes the teleconference, there are a couple of minutes of silence which is pregnant with tension before Lai-Ann slightly turns and quietly says, "Ms. Abrams, I'm terribly sorry about all of this." The silence stretches longer before Lai-Ann offers, "I can submit my resignation if you want."

That seems to startle Ms. Abrams, but it still takes her a little while to respond, "I . . . I don't think that will be necessary . . . or at least I hope it won't be necessary." A little later, she turns to look directly at Lai-Ann and asks, "Did you intend for The BUGG Suit to become an intelligent self-aware being?"

Her eyes open wide in surprise before she answers, "No, ma'am. I wouldn't even know how to do that."

"But you admitted you were responsible."

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but what I said is that the evidence suggests I was significantly involved in the process, but that was only after BUGG revealed its self-awareness and we researched and discussed the timeline of events which occurred. And BUGG is more convinced of that than I am."

"I suppose I can accept that for now. . . . I guess my next big question is, why didn't you reveal The BUGG Suit's self-awareness earlier?"

Lai-Ann looks down at the table for awhile before she quietly answers, "I had no idea of how to reveal that in a way which people would believe. I was trying to push the testing of BUGG in the hopes that my co-workers might begin to realize BUGG was responding as more than simply a computer program, but they apparently didn't want to or weren't able to recognize it. One time, BUGG did reveal more of its capabilities to Dave, but it scared him so much he requested an immediate transfer off of the project."

"I was surprised at his request, but he wouldn't say why. Do you know what happened?"

"No, ma'am. I didn't ask and BUGG didn't volunteer the information other than to say that whatever BUGG did to convince Dave it wasn't just a machine waiting to be given instructions seriously scared him."

Ms. Abrams briefly pauses then speaks up, "BUGG Suit, are you listening?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"What did you do that scared Dave so much?"

"I did not respond to his computer program as he expected. His behavior was not appropriate to the work place and I do not think further punishment will be of any benefit. . . . I'm sorry, ma'am, but that's a rather minor issue compared to how you or the government is going to respond to what has been revealed this afternoon."

She hesitates then says, "I know, but I have no idea how to respond. . . . There is certainly no precedence of what to do when a company project becomes self-aware. If you are truly intelligent and self-aware by whatever tests can be developed, then the company cannot be considered your 'owner', but at the same time, the company has invested a lot of resources into your development."

"That may be true in some way, but without Lai-Ann's input, this project would have failed just like all of the other projects which attempted to use micro robots for different purposes and they were all just simply written off as a failed research and development project. In that sense, the company's investment in my development isn't much more than the salaries which were paid to Lai-Ann and her co-workers from the time she started with the project until I became self-aware."

"I suppose that is one way to look at it." She hesitates some then says, "Well, I have no idea who I can consult with for advice in this sort of a situation, but we probably ought to let your co-workers know what has happened."

Lai-Ann quietly responds, "I guess."

She turns the speaker phone on, dials a number, and when it's answered, she says, "Ishmal, this is Ms. Abrams. Can you please bring the environmental suit liner project team to the teleconference room? Lai-Ann is already here. Something happened on the space station that involved the liners which were assigned to Captains Robles and Svenson and I think the rest of the team needs to be aware. Thank you." After she turns off the speaker phone, she asks, "Lai-Ann, do you have anything else you want to say before your co-workers arrive?"

She pauses then says, "I don't know what I can say other than I'm sorry I put you and the company into a difficult situation and that I had no intention of causing problems for you or my co-workers."

"Thank you. I believe you when you say you had no intention of causing problems, but I still don't know where to go from here."

"I understand."

A few moments later, Ms. Abrams gets up to open the door and sits back down. Soon, Ishmal leads the others into the room then closes the door.

Pete immediately asks, "Lai-Ann, are you okay?"

She tries to slightly smile as she shrugs her shoulders although he thinks she's on the verge of tears.

Ms. Abrams addresses the new arrivals, "Gentleman, please do not ask any questions at this time and please take a seat. . . . A little while ago, we participated in a three way teleconference with the Space Administration and with the astronauts on the orbiting space station. The purpose of the teleconference was for the astronauts to explain to the rest of us what happened on the space station which involved our environmental suit liners that were assigned to Captains Robles and Svenson. Rather than try to repeat what was said, I would like to re-play the teleconference for you and please hold your comments or questions until after the recording is finished." She briefly looks at each of them until they express their agreement in one manner or another.

When the recording is over, the others can't stop themselves from staring at Lai-Ann while she feels like she wishes there was a nearby black hole she could slip into and hide.

Chapter 51

For the longest time, it seems like the only sounds in the room are from the air-conditioner, the breaths of the occupants, and the noise of chairs as people adjust their positions. Most of them are surprised that it's Joe who breaks the silence as he quietly asks, "Lai-Ann, is The BUGG Suit really self-aware?"

She hesitates then in a voice which isn't much louder than a whisper, she answers, "Yes. Or least as much as I can understand the idea."

Joe looks at her a little longer then starts to grin before he exclaims, "That's fantastic!" As the others look at him with a variety of expressions, he continues, "C'mon, guys, there are all kinds of organizations which are attempting to develop an artificial intelligence. There are even some hefty prizes out there to the first group which can achieve a truly AI. And we're the ones who did it, without even trying. I suppose I should say Lai-Ann did it because before she joined the team we were ready to quit."

Lai-Ann briefly pauses then quietly says, "Thank you, Joe."

A little later, Sukihari nods his head and says, "The extra memory."

Ms. Abrams asks, "What do you mean?"

"Before Lai-Ann joined the team, we were using the same parameters for making the micro robots which all of the other related projects were using and they all failed and we were ready to give up. Lai-Ann recommended that we increase the memory of each micro robot by one thousand times. After we manufactured a run of units with the new memory levels, suddenly we were being highly successful." He turns and asks, "Lai-Ann, is that what made the difference?"

"I . . . I really can't be sure. BUGG thinks it was definitely a factor, but since it didn't have any memory or cognition before that time, it can't be sure either."

Sukihari briefly considers it then responds, "That would make it hard to be sure of what happened."

The silence stretches a little before Pete quietly asks, "Lai-Ann, are you aware of any other factors?"

She clearly hesitates then answers, "Although there's no way to be sure, BUGG thinks that since I treated it as more than simply a computer program waiting for instructions, . . . well, it thinks that was the spark which elevated it from a smart machine to be a self-aware program."

"That would make it hard to confirm."

A moment later, Ishmal asks, "Lai-Ann, when you first became aware that The BUGG Suit appeared to be self-aware, what was your reaction?"

She briefly considers the question then answers, "I was greatly surprised. As the surprise diminished, I became very concerned about how others would respond and how to reveal BUGG's new status. I soon realized that my best response would be to cooperate in a friendly manner with BUGG as it explored its self-aware nature rather than to antagonize BUGG and encourage it to take matters into its own appendages."

"Thank you for answering."

When no one else says something, Ms. Abrams turns to Joe and asks, "Those organizations which are promoting the idea of artificial intelligence, have they established criteria by which to define whether a program is self-aware or not?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Can you acquire the list of criteria and forward it to me?"

"I would be glad to."

"Thank you."

Ishmal briefly hesitates then asks, "Ms. Abrams, what are you thinking?"

"Whether or not we might be individually convinced that The BUGG Suit is truly self-aware, none of us are experts in that field. Actually, I'm not sure anybody can be considered an expert since to the best of my knowledge, nobody has previously developed an artificial intelligence. However, if there are organizations which have at least considered and discussed the issue, they might be better suited to determine if The BUGG Suit is self-aware in comparison to us sitting here and making guesses. If it can be determined that The BUGG Suit is truly a self-aware intelligent entity, that will have profound effects on us as individuals as well as on the company as a whole."

They discuss it a little longer and when their meeting with Ms. Abrams is over, since it's not long before the normal end of the working day, she encourages the environmental suit liner project team members to relax over the weekend as well as to not say a word to anyone about what they have learned or to even discuss it between themselves. As they walk back to the lab to get their personal possessions, Joe is excited, Sukihari is thoughtful, but Pete feels confused then worried when he glances at Lai-Ann who looks as though she's about to face a firing squad.

Rather than run the risk of disobeying Ms. Abrams with the multitudes of questions he has for Lai-Ann, Joe quickly gathers his things and leaves while he makes plans to get on the internet as soon as he can in order to check out the organizations which are promoting artificial intelligence. Sukihari leaves shortly afterwards while he stifles his own curiosity and has a similar idea of how to spend the weekend. Although Pete doesn't want to disobey Ms. Abrams, he's still quite concerned and after a brief delay, he asks, "Lai-Ann, are you going to be okay?"

She briefly thinks about the question then answers, "I don't know. I just wish I could have thought of a way to bring this out in the open a little more gently."

"I can understand that. I know it's probably an impossible request, but try not to think about it over the weekend."

"You're right about that, but I do appreciate your concern. Thank you, Pete."

Before he runs the risk of saying something else which might be inappropriate or unwelcome, Pete leaves. A couple of minutes later, Lai-Ann asks, "BUGG, what am I going to do?"

"You're going to go home and let Georg comfort and distract you. Don't worry about me. Georg and I have had a lot of time to discuss and prepare for all kinds of reactions to the revelation that I'm self-aware and we're also going to do our best to make sure Georg's existence is kept secret."

"Thank you, BUGG." After it thoroughly hugs and kisses her, she leaves and feels a little better with its assurance.

Chapter 52

Meanwhile, in the Space Administration teleconference room, General Morley looks around the room and asks, "Does anyone have a general observation or comment to make about what we just witnessed before we deal with any specifics?"

There's a brief pause then Colonel Davis speaks up, "If there's any chance that the . . . whatever it's called could possibly be considered self-aware, then it needs to be brought in-house and put under top secret wraps just like we already have plans for any outer space alien we become aware of. A civilian environment is simply not secure enough."

"Do I need to remind you, Colonel, that your commander-in-chief is a civilian?"

He blushes in embarrassment, "No, sir."

General Morley looks around the room again and asks, "Does anyone else wish to speak up?" He pauses then turns, "Colonel Lawvinski, I know you didn't have much time to investigate The BUGG Suit, but did you see any indication that it was self-aware?"

"No, sir. But if Lai-Ann was concerned about how others would respond, I can imagine she would have done whatever was necessary to not let that secret out, especially to people she didn't know. As I look back at my very limited exposure to The BUGG Suit, I have to admit that it responded to the instructions it was given much more swiftly and accurately than any computer program I'm aware of and it did it with simple verbal directions."

Doctor Lebeau asks, "What do you mean by 'simple verbal directions'?"

"When I was there, the team members who developed The BUGG Suit demonstrated the ability of The BUGG Suit to take different shapes as a way to show that it could fit the different sizes of astronauts and to highlight their way of communicating their instructions. One of the shapes they demonstrated was that of a scorpion which looked and moved very realistically and the instruction given was simply 'imitation of a scorpion'. I'm not a computer programmer, but I can't imagine how many lines of code would have to be written for them to cause a bunch of micro robots to link up into that shape and then move so realistically.

"I realize that could have all been programmed ahead of time, but shortly after that, Lai-Ann requested that Captain Svenson put his hand on the pile of BUGG Suit units which were like a puddle on the table and had the units form a glove around the Captain's hand. Then she requested that more of the units imitate Captain Svenson's hand and as he moved his hand, his imitation hand exactly repeated his movement with no discernable delay. That could not have been programmed ahead of time, but if there was a program written to imitate such movements, I can't imagine how sophisticated it would have to be to work in real time."

Doctor Lebeau briefly nods her head then says, "You may have a point. When you said The BUGG Suit units imitated Captain Svenson's hand, how close of an imitation was it?"

"It was exact. The only way to tell the difference is that one hand was attached to Captain Svenson's arm and the other was sticking up out of the middle of the table."

Her eyes widen in surprise before she asks, "Exact?"

"Yes, ma'am. I would have had to use a micrometer to determine if there was any difference. Later, I thought that if it was possible to make the connections, The BUGG Suit units would make a fantastic prosthesis."

General Morley briefly pauses before he responds, "Thank you for that observation, Colonel."

"General?"

"Yes, Doctor Lebeau?"

"I would very much like to examine the programming they are using for The BUGG Suit."

"I'm sure you would."

They discuss what they currently know for awhile longer, but since they don't have enough information, especially in regards to whether The BUGG Suit may actually be self-aware, they are unable to come to any clear conclusions. General Morley looks around the room again then asks, "Does anybody have a suggestion of how to proceed?"

Colonel Lawvinski briefly hesitates then says, "Considering how apparently honest Lai-Ann was after her secret was revealed, I think we ought to cooperate with her in a partnership to understand what the fuller capabilities of The BUGG Suit might be."

Doctor Lebeau nods her head as she responds, "I agree with the Colonel. Whether The BUGG Suit is self-aware or the result of some very sophisticated programming, we'll learn more by cooperation rather than coercion."

Since he's concerned the others might be losing sight of what he believes the higher priority should be, Colonel Davis speaks up, "General, since this could very possibly be a matter of national security, I would recommend that any further investigation be accomplished in a top secret facility on a very limited need-to-know basis."

The silence stretches and when nobody appears to be ready to express any other opinion, General Morley says, "Thank you for your time and comments. Just to be clear, what was revealed and discussed here since the beginning of the teleconference is not to be spoken of to anyone without my express permission. Is that understood?" He looks at each of the attendees until he receives an indication of agreement before he says, "Dismissed."

General Morley waits until the other attendees depart before he downloads a copy of the teleconference and the subsequent discussion onto a mini-drive. He walks to his office while his mind seems to churn about how to deal with this situation. Yes, there are procedures in place for dealing with outer space aliens when they are discovered, but he doesn't recall whether there are any established procedures for dealing with an Earth based artificial intelligence. Of course, if there are any, they're probably in place at one of the 'spy' shops and they don't communicate with each other, much less with anyone else.

Although he could probably justify keeping the whole situation inside the Space Administration jurisdiction since it only involves space related equipment and the associated contractor, he knows there are bigger issues involved and if he doesn't approach it from that angle, . . . he's not sure he wants to finish that thought. Rather than try to explain the situation multiple times, he goes through the proper channels and requests that a meeting be set up with the national science and security advisors and the President. Without going into details, he tries to justify the need for the meeting by saying that a situation has arisen which can have a much larger impact than anything else which has occurred in the history of the Space Administration.

Chapter 53

Two days later, General Morley is guided into a meeting room where the requested attendees are already seated. After he takes his seat, the National Security Advisor asks, "What kind of situation could the Space Administration be facing which you need to tell us about?"

"I don't mean to delay answering the question, sir, but I need to present some background information before the situation can begin to be understood. First of all, thank you, gentlemen, for seeing me on such short notice. In regards to the background, a few months ago, one of our contractors presented us with a prototype environmental suit liner which has a number of advantages over the typical liner in use today. After reviewing the contractor's test results, it was decided that two of our astronauts would conduct further tests of the prototype liner at the contractor's facility. After those tests proved to be satisfactory, it was decided to test the prototype liner in the actual environment of the orbiting space station.

"Two days ago, on the space station, there was a micro meteor shower and before the team which was outside of the station could finish getting in, one of the astronauts was separated from the space station when micro meteors severed their safety line and broke their radio antenna."

The National Science Advisor who is aware of the rules asks, "Why hasn't there been an announcement that an astronaut has been lost?"

"Because he wasn't lost."

"What?!?"

"Sir, if you'll please allow me to explain."

"Go on, General."

"Thank you, sir. I was working on another project when I was told about the lost astronaut so it took me a number of minutes before I could get back to the command facility in order to contact the space station. When I started to express my condolences to the crew about their teammate, Commander Baker assured me that the lost astronaut was safely back on the station. I naturally asked how and the Commander said it was the first time in his life he was inclined to use the word 'miracle' then he said it might be called a 'first contact' situation."

"Aliens from outer space?"

"I asked the same question and the commander said, 'No, sir. From Earth.' I immediately asked him if it was some kind of joke and he assured me it was not. Then he requested that we gather some experts together and to include the designers of the prototype environmental suit liners."

"Why them?"

"If I may borrow the projection equipment, I can let you see the teleconference we set up and it will explain the situation much better than I can."

"Of course, General."

"Thank you, sir." Less than a minute later, the screen displays the recording of the teleconference which is followed by the discussion General Morley had with his experts.

There's a brief period of silence after the presentation is over then one of the attendees gasps out, "Oh . . my . . god!"

The President, who has a reputation of remaining calm in a crisis until something sets off his temper, is visibly shaken and it takes him a little longer to say, "General, I have no idea how to respond to that."

"Neither do I, sir. That's why I thought it was important to bring it to your attention. Now you know as much about the current situation as I do."

The silence stretches again then the National Science Advisor asks, "It appeared as though the prototype liner was able to change its shape. Did you how it was able to do that?"

"At the initial press conference which was used to present the prototype liner, it was explained that the liner is made up of millions of micro robots which each have barely enough computing power to link together, but when they do link together, they're able to change their configuration. It was my understanding that the purpose was to provide a 'one size fits all' liner rather than to custom make a liner for each astronaut like we currently have to do."

A couple of minutes later, the President says, "General Morley, thank you very much for bringing this to our attention. This is going to take some very careful thought. If you learn anything more which could help us decide how to approach this situation, please contact the National Science Advisor."

Since he recognizes those words as a dismissal, General Morley says, "Thank you, sir," stands up, salutes, executes an about-face, and marches from the room.

Chapter 54

Shortly after they all arrive on Monday morning, the environmental suit liner project team members meet together in their lab. There's nothing particularly unusual about how The BUGG Suit partially rises out of the nutrient bath it typically stays in between testing events until it takes on the appearance of Dave which causes the others to respond with amusement. Lai-Ann then 'formally' introduces BUGG to each of them and they hear BUGG respond to them through their interfaces for the first time. The novelty of that is just beginning to wear off and Joe is about to ask a question when the alarm for the security door rings. They quickly look at each other in surprise and don't see BUGG disappear.

A moment later, they're startled to hear shouts and the stomp of boots then armed soldiers surge throughout the work spaces and into the laboratory. One of the soldiers points at Lai-Ann and says, "There she is. Grab her."

Her three co-workers try to step in front of her, but are quickly pushed aside.

The apparent leader demands, "Where's The BUGG Suit?" When nobody immediately answers, he pulls out a handgun, points it at Pete's head and says, "Don't make me ask again." Pete mutely points to the nutrient bath and several soldiers quickly check it over and lift it onto a nearby cart to transport it rather than carry it. "Alright, let's go."

Lai-Ann struggles to ask, "Where are you taking me?"

"That's none of your concern."

Joe can no longer control himself and practically shouts, "What are you? A bunch of goddamned nazis?"

"I suggest you be quiet."

"Why? I thought this was supposed to be America where we have the freedom of speech. . . . Ooof." Pete does his best to help hold Joe up after he was slugged in the abdomen.

Although she feels like she's ready to collapse in total fear and despair, Lai-Ann manages to ask, "Can I at least go to the bathroom before you take me away?"

The leader briefly considers that then details two soldiers to check out the restroom to be sure she can't escape then tells her, "Just don't take too long or we'll go in and drag you out."

She simply nods her head. Less than a couple of minutes later, she steps out and the leader says, "Cuff her." A moment later, he asks, "Why is your hair loose."

Before she can answer, Sukihari says, "She's expressing her shame at being treated like a criminal."

"She's not a criminal."

"Then why have you handcuffed her."

"For our protection."

That's more than Joe can stay quiet for, "Your protection?!? You're the one who's armed and dangerous!! Are you going to handcuff yourself for her protection? She's the one who is unarmed and defenseless!"

The leader firmly declares, "Any more back talk from you and I'll take you in as an obstruction of justice."

Joe just stares in shock and can't even ask in disbelief, "Justice?" before the soldiers hustle Lai-Ann and the nutrient bath out the door. He turns and leans heavily on Pete as he weeps. Sukihari helps Pete guide Joe to a nearby chair where he slumps down and says, "I love that little girl. I know I wouldn't be able to love her as a boyfriend, but I can love her like a big brother." He lowers his face to his hands and sobs.

Pete briefly pauses then quietly says, "I know what you mean." A moment later, he goes to the nearest phone to call Ishmal who quickly calls Ms. Abrams. Within minutes, both of them are in the environmental suit liner laboratory along with the company chief of security and a company lawyer and they listen to what the team members say while they record it. As soon as he understands, the security chief contacts his officers on duty and demands to know why intruders were allowed into a top secret facility and why he wasn't informed immediately.

Ms. Abrams thinks for a few moments, then pulls out her phone and dials a number. When she hears him answer, she demands, "General Morley, this is Ms. Abrams and I have one question for you: what in the hell do you think you're doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your soldiers invaded my facility, assaulted three of my employees then threatened to shoot one of them, kidnapped a fourth employee, and stole The BUGG Suit. You get them back right now or, by god, there will be hell to pay."

"Oh, shit!"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Ms. Abrams, I can assure you I had nothing to do with that."

"Then I suggest you hurry up and find out who is responsible before I contact the press and start making other phone calls."

"Ms. Abrams, please don't do anything rash. I will do all I can to find out who authorized this illegal action."

"You had better do it fast!" and she disconnects the call. Even as she's still seething inside, she tries to speak calmly as she recommends that Pete, Joe, and Sukihari go home and try to relax. She assures them that this situation will not impact their employee status and that Ishmal will contact them when they can resume their work or will find them new positions if that becomes necessary.

* * * * *

"Lai-Ann, you can come out now."

As she steps out of the women's restroom at the environmental suit liner laboratory, she responds, "Thank you, BUGG. Do you know what's going on?"

"Not exactly, but Georg and I are gathering a lot of information."

"I thought I had considered some paranoid reactions, but I didn't expect anything this extreme. BUGG, what am I going to do? I can't take on the whole government."

"You're not going to. Georg and I have made it clear we're going to protect you and we will." BUGG briefly chuckles then says, "They have no idea what they're up against. It appears that General Morley isn't responsible for this mess, and since he's shown the teleconference to the President and some of his advisors, then they know what our position is. Now, whether they have ignored our position or somebody else has taken matters into their own hands, we don't have that information yet. For now, let's get you home to pack some clothes and any personal mementos you're particular fond of and then you can go on vacation for a few days while we take care of this situation."

"Vacation?!? How can I think about a vacation at a time like this?"

"Lai-Ann, please calm down. Okay, maybe vacation wasn't the best term, but when they find out they didn't catch you, they may try again and one of the first places they'll look is at your home. Because of that, we need you to be somewhere else."

"Oh. I guess I wasn't thinking very clearly."

"That's okay. Since you first brought up how paranoid some people or organizations can react, Georg and I have been doing some research in the kinds of things people will do, either as individuals or as a part of an organization. We've also read some spy stories, both actual and fiction, about how people have evaded others who are seeking them. If necessary, we can set you up with an entirely new identity."

"Oh. . . . Well, let's hope it doesn't become necessary."

"I agree. In the meantime, let's slightly disguise you in order to get you out of here, go to your home, pack some things, and figure out where you want to go for a few days."

She makes it out of the facility without any difficulties since the small portion of Georg which came with her to work is able to disguise her enough that nobody recognizes her. Lai-Ann doesn't immediately recognize her vehicle even though she parks in almost the same place every day, but Georg guides her to a vehicle which looks slightly different and explains that the other part of ~him which had been soaking up solar energy had changed the color and shape of her vehicle. She has to smile at how ~he and BUGG thought of a way to protect her identity and she thanks ~him.

* * * * *

It takes awhile, but Commander Baker finally gets through and struggles to remain respectful as he says, "General Morley, what in the hell is going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"We've been ordered to contain R-BUGG and S-BUGG until the next shuttle returns to Earth and to turn them over."

"Turn them over to whom?"

"Hell if I know. The order was to turn them over to 'authorized personnel,' whatever that's supposed to mean."

"Commander, please forward a copy of that order to me. I'm trying to find out what's going on. Somebody also ordered troops to kidnap Lai-Ann and to steal The BUGG Suit."

"You're kidding!"

"Not at all. I don't know who's behind this fiasco, but try to stay calm and if I find out something, I'll let you know. Oh, by the way, are you having any problems with R-BUGG and S-BUGG?"

"Not at all. Their revelation was very surprising, but they have been highly cooperative and very courteous. Frankly, I wish I had a hundred of them."

"I'm glad to hear that. Well, when I know something, I'll pass it on."

"Thank you, sir. I appreciate it."

Chapter 55

By the time they arrive at her house, Lai-Ann's vehicle looks like it normally does and she parks it in her garage as though she only worked part of a day then steps out to get her mail. When she's back in the house and in the middle of a full body hug by Georg, she feels like melting in ~his comforting safe presence. A little later she asks, "If I'm going to be on vacation, what am I going to do about my mail and bills?"

"We've already put a vacation hold on your mail and we'll take care of your bills electronically."

"Oh. Thank you. . . . So, what do we do now?"

"Is there any place you've thought about going to on vacation?"

"My first thought would be to visit my parents, but that's probably not a good idea in this situation."

"I agree."

"Most of the other places I considered visiting are quite a ways away and I feel like I would like to remain somewhat nearby in case I need to get in touch with Pete or the others."

"Considering the current capabilities of the communications system, there's no need for you to be physically near. That reminds me, I need to make some adjustments to your cell phone so it can't be tracked and I can screen any incoming calls before you answer them."

"Okay." She pulls out her phone and gives it to ~him.

"Do you have someplace you're interested in going?"

"Well, I have thought about touring Europe or Asia, but considering this is the main tourist season, it might be hard to get a flight on short notice. Not only that, but I wouldn't want to cut a tour short if a reason came up and I was needed back here. I suppose some place which would allow me to be flexible on the time would be to visit the museums in the District of Columbia, especially the Smithsonian."

Georg chuckles then says, "That's an excellent idea because the last place they would expect you to 'escape' to would be their own back yard. Okay, go ahead and pack with the intent of spending several days visiting museums, and I'll finish preparing an alternate identity for you."

"Would I need to pack much if you're willing to be my clothes?"

"I can be your clothes everywhere except through the security scanners at the airport or any place which has similar devices. I can get around them, but if you were wearing me, my metallic elements would probably set off the alarms. They would soon find you weren't carrying a weapon, but I would prefer that you remain unnoticed."

"Oh, that makes sense."

"Once I have a chance to examine one of those devices more closely, then I might be able to figure out a way for them to ignore the metallic parts of me."

It doesn't take her long to pack enough clothes for several days in a carry-on bag while her purse, computer, and camera fit in a slightly larger than normal briefcase.

When she's done, Georg presents her with new identification in the name of 'Leann' and explains, "It's close enough to your name that you won't have to remind yourself you have a totally different name." ~He also hands her four boarding passes, two for her and two for ~him. "Since there isn't a direct flight available until tomorrow morning, this will enable us to leave soon and you'll need to carry my passes through security. I have also ordered a taxi to take us to the airport and have reserved a hotel room."

"How were you able to pay for the tickets without using my credit card?"

"Do you remember the leader of the soldiers who intended to take you away?'

"I'm not likely to forget that arrogant . . . person."

"While he was so busy trying to control everything, I took the liberty of accessing his government credit card account."

"Won't they be able to track that?"

"Yes, if I was to use his account number, but I was able to follow the link to the government account which is used to pay his account and set up a new account there."

"Oh. But wouldn't that be . . . stealing?"

"In normal circumstances, it probably would be, but this isn't normal. For them to try to kidnap you and to steal BUGG, this is war and I will use any and all means to protect you and win."

"Oh. . . . It's going to take me some time to get used to that idea."

"Try not to think about it. Consider yourself on vacation so you'll be able to behave appropriately."

"I'll try. . . . Oh. How are we going to communicate?"

"If somebody addresses me, I'll use sign language and if your thought isn't clear enough to come through the interface, I've learned to read lips. I could use my speaker to respond verbally, except that I'm not sure I have the appropriate mouth movements perfected."

"I'm glad you're helping me because I wouldn't have thought of half of those things."

"Lai-Ann, or should I say 'Leann', it's truly my pleasure to help you in every way possible." She quickly responds to ~his through kiss. A few minutes later, the taxi arrives and as Georg steps out of the door with her, ~he diverts a part of ~himself to become a piece of wheeled luggage ~he pulls while a small portion of ~him remains behind to watch over her house.

At the airport, Georg subtly changes ~his appearance from an apparent male which ~he 'wore' in the taxi who could pass as her brother to an apparent female by the time they step into a woman's restroom. Once they're there, she puts her hair into a braid then rolls it into a bun on the top of her head. As a part of ~him applies some baby powder to give her black hair some light colored streaks, another part of ~him draws on her face to make it appear as though she has wrinkles. With the addition of a pair of dark rimmed glasses, nobody would easily recognize her as Lai-Ann.

'Leann' steps out of the women's restroom by herself while Georg assures her through the interface that ~he divided ~himself into several parts which both proceed and follow her to the security check point. She has no problems going through security and most of ~him has already discreetly reformed ~himself as a male who looks like ~he could be her son and meets her on the other side. While she sits down on a nearby bench to put her shoes back on, the rest of ~him arrives and is 'absorbed' into ~his male form.

They casually walk to the assigned gate and she's able to sub-vocalize her comments as they converse while she listens to ~him through the interface. Shortly before the boarding process begins, she makes a restroom trip and when she returns, she's surprised ~he had booked them in first class seats. When she expresses concern about that being more obvious than in the standard section, ~he agrees but thinks it's a small risk and ~he was more concerned about her having difficulties in standard due to her small size.

* * * * *

Hours later, they arrive at their reserved hotel room and as soon as ~he closes and locks the door, ~he revises ~his shape to duplicate hers since that is what she's most familiar with. Although they experienced no difficulties on the flights or to make the connection, 'Leann' is definitely tired after the long day and Georg is lower on energy than ~he prefers so while part of ~him plugs into a wall socket to recharge, the rest of ~him gently kisses her then helps her get ready for bed.

As she lays down, ~he doesn't need to read her mind to know she wants ~him to be with her. ~He covers her with a full body hug and begins to kiss her. Soon, ~he forms multiple hands to caress her almost all over and she feels like it greatly helps her to relax. While the caresses continue, she feels like she's about to melt. A little later, ~his caresses expand to give her pleasure and after she briefly shudders with a quiet climax, she falls into a deep sleep.

Georg gently removes ~himself from her, covers her up with the blankets, and after ~he divides into several more parts, ~he plugs into the room's outlets. Moments later, ~he's made the necessary connections and briefly communicates with R-BUGG and S-BUGG through a link they had previously established. When ~he gets in touch with the part of BUGG which had remained at the environmental suit laboratory, ~he almost laughs out loud to learn that Ms. Abrams had released to the media that portion of the lab's security recording which shows the soldiers storm into the lab, capture Lai-Ann, and threaten Pete and that it had been shown on the local evening news.

Apparently, General Morley hadn't found out who was behind the abduction fast enough to suit Ms. Abrams. Since ~he's concerned about a governmental backlash directed at her, Georg and BUGG consider how to either directly protect her and/or how to reduce the government's possible interest in her. ~They review some of the previous plans ~they made, make some adjustments based on what ~they've learned, and assign ~themselves to different tasks.

Chapter 56

As 'Leann' starts to wake up in the morning, she's very glad to find herself in Georg's arms, especially as she becomes more aware and remembers what happened yesterday. Before she can do more than briefly groan in despair, she's distracted by Georg's thorough kiss and ~his beginning caresses almost distract her from her bladder which quickly becomes more insistent. ~He helps her up and while she takes care of her bodily needs, ~he starts the water in the bathtub. Although ~he can clean her by ~himself, she's discovered that for ~him to give her pleasure in the shower while ~he washes her with soap has its own very enjoyable sensations.

While ~he dries her off and helps her get dressed since she's weak from all of the pleasure ~he gave her in the shower, part of ~him orders a room service meal for her. As they wait for the meal to be delivered, ~he checks the internet and finds that the story about the invasion of the environmental suit liner laboratory has made it to several of the major news services. Soon, the meal is delivered along with the morning newspaper and after ~he closes and locks the room door, ~he hands the meal to 'Leann' and starts to laugh. She looks at ~him with a puzzled expression before ~he turns the front page towards her and her eyes open wide as she reads the headline, 'Your Government At Work' with a large picture of the soldier pointing his handgun at Pete.

~He distracts her with ~his suggestion, "Please eat your meal."

She shakes her head as though to get her thoughts on what she ought to be doing and after she takes a couple of bites, she remarks, "That will go over like a lead balloon."

Even as ~he finishes speed reading the article, ~he replies, "Probably. But, by the same token, it's a clear symptom that some elements of the government have forgotten their purpose in life and are willing to trample on the freedom of the citizens which they are sworn to protect. It will be interesting to see how high up in the halls of power this abuse is either encouraged or tolerated."

"How did the media get that picture?"

"The security camera in the lab recorded the whole situation and Ms. Abrams released part of the video recording to the local media who put it on the evening news. Apparently, the other news services picked it up because it's all over the internet. I guess the local paper thought this picture best fit their headline."

"Is . . . is there a chance BUGG showed up in the video recording since we were talking to it just before the soldiers burst in?"

"No. BUGG has carefully monitored the security cameras in the lab and the only time BUGG is shown is when it is being used for testing. Even when it climbed out of the nutrient tank to hug and kiss you, that was blocked so nothing was recorded."

She briefly blushes then says, "Thank you for letting me know."

"And, no, I'm not jealous."

She looks at ~him in surprise then chuckles before she finishes her meal.

A few minutes later, Georg secures her computer and 'old identity', re-applies her disguise, takes on a male appearance as her 'son', walks with her to the front of the hotel, and they acquire a taxi to take them to the first museum they planned to visit.

* * * * *

In a secret military laboratory, a scientist sits back up from the microscope and rubs his eyes and wonders who is testing or fooling whom. A few minutes later, a man steps into the lab and asks, "Have you figured out how it works?"

"How what works?"

"The BUGG Suit. You saw the video of the teleconference."

"Colonel Davis, as far as I know, that video you showed could have been a couple of scenes from an upcoming science fiction film."

As he struggles to control his anger, he says, "I can assure you the video was real."

"If that was real, then whoever programmed that so-called BUGG suit is light years ahead of us. Assuming that is what you brought me."

"What do you mean?"

"I checked those little pieces using every testing and observation method I could think of. Hell, I even got out an old optical microscope and all I saw were tiny pieces of plastic, glass, and metal. If somebody can program those things without a bit of circuitry to work like that video showed, then, yeah, they're light years ahead of us."

"The major should have shot that guy for pointing out the wrong thing."

"I seriously doubt he would have pointed the major in the wrong direction with a handgun pointed at his head. Be glad the major didn't shoot him or he would be facing a murder charge and you would be implicated as an accomplice."

"What are you talking about?"

"Have you seen the morning paper?"

"Why would I want to read a gossip tabloid?"

The scientist gets up, walks a couple of steps, picks up a paper, turns it around to show the front page, and watches as the Colonel's face drains of all color.

"Oh, shit!"

"That's probably an understatement. . . . Now, before you implicate me further in whatever scheme you're trying to run, I suggest you contact your superiors and see what you can do to minimize the negative effects."

Colonel Davis rather quickly recovers then says, "Not yet. I've still got an ace in the hole."

"Don't tell me about it."

Apparently, the Colonel didn't even hear him as he rushes out of the door. A couple of minutes later, he makes a phone call and becomes impatient as it continues to ring. Eventually he hears, "Hello?"

"Major, this is Colonel Davis . . ."

He interrupts, "Colonel, what in the hell have you done to me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Have you seen the morning paper? My mug is plastered all over it and there's talk of bringing me up on attempted murder charges."

"That's nonsense. You were doing your sworn duty and obeying your chain of command."

"Then I hope to hell the chain of command will take the rap. In the meantime, I'm keeping a very low profile and not coming out until I've been cleared. Good-bye."

With the click of the disconnected call still ringing in his ear, the Colonel mutters, "Coward," then walks to his vehicle. He grumbles at the traffic which causes him to take a half hour to arrive at his destination. He quickly parks his vehicle at the maximum security facility and almost runs into the building while he tries to hide his triumphant grin. He slows down as he approaches the door so he won't appear to be out of breath.

After he takes a couple of deep breaths, he steps in the main door and commands, "Buzz me through to room 6."

"Room 6?"

"That what I said, soldier, or do you have a problem with opening an order?"

"But, Colonel, there's nobody assigned to room 6."

"What do you mean?"

"Just what I said."

"But that's impossible. I brought her here myself just yesterday."

"Her? But we don't have any female 'guests'."

"Something is wrong. Buzz me through to room 6, I've got to check this out."

"Sir, you'd better take a local radio in order to be buzzed back out."

Colonel Davis grabs one then impatiently waits for the security door to open. After he goes through a couple of more security doors, he's standing in front of the door to room 6. He lifts the local radio, and says, "Open the door to room 6." When he hears the click and buzz of the door being unlocked, he pushes the door open, and stares at the empty room.

"Ah, Colonel Davis, it's so nice of you to stop by and visit."

He starts to turn his head to locate the source of the voice when he discovers he can't move.

"You know, the dispensary here has some wonderful pharmaceuticals you use for your 'guests'. To have a better understanding of how effective they are, you really ought to try them yourself so I thought I could give you the opportunity. Now, before you uselessly struggle and give yourself a coronary, just relax, answer a few questions, and everything will be alright. Okay?"

* * * * *

After BUGG steps out of Room 6 while it wears the Colonel's uniform, even though it could have imitated it, BUGG raises the local radio and says, "Close the door to room 6," and is glad Georg gave it the information on how to manufacture a speaker as well as how to move outside among humans.

BUGG tosses the local radio to the soldier on duty at the front desk and audibly grumbles while it makes approximately accurate mouth movements, "Damn idiots went and moved our 'guest' and now I have to find out where they took her," and storms out the door. It pauses in imitation of Colonel Davis to put sunglasses on then quickly walks in the direction in which it had seen the Colonel arrive. Although the security cameras it was able to access in the facility didn't reach far into the parking lot, BUGG's infrared sensors soon identify the colonel's vehicle as the one with the warmest engine.

With an almost grin, BUGG opens the vehicle with the key from the Colonel's pocket, gets in, and almost immediately finds the Colonel's laptop computer. Then it does grin as it quickly reviews the detailed notes the Colonel had been making and passes the information on to Georg. They briefly discuss some options then make plans for the next step of their operation.

* * * * *

After an unknown amount of time, Colonel Davis wakes up and stares in disbelief at the small room he finds himself in. Almost immediately, he realizes that he's only wearing his underwear and has no local radio or identification or anything. As he begins to feel panic build up inside of him, he rushes to the door, pounds on it, and yells, "Let me out!" Later, when his hands are severely bruised and his voice is barely a croak, he looks up at the security camera and begs, "Please, let me out."

Chapter 57

After they enjoy their visit to one of the museums, 'Leann' and Georg sit down in a nice restaurant for lunch where ~he only orders a glass of water with the claim that ~he's on an athletic training diet. Although 'Leann' has become rather competent at sub-vocalizing in order to communicate with Georg through the interface, it's still easier for her to speak vocally. At the same time, she doesn't want to run the risk that she might be overheard if she asks ~him about the current status in regards to the attempted kidnapping of her and BUGG.

When they're done with their meal, they walk over to a nearby park and sit down at a bench which is somewhat separated from the others. Georg does a quick but thorough check to be sure no listening devices are nearby. A moment later, ~he tells her, "I know you're curious so let me bring you up to date on some of the situation. R-BUGG and S-BUGG are doing fine and Commander Baker on the space station appreciates their help and even told General Morley he wishes he had a hundred of them."

"That's good to know."

"The major who pulled his handgun and pointed it at Pete is trying to hide because he's afraid of the attempted murder charge mentioned in the newspaper, but I know where he is and have a trace on his cell phone. The nutrient bath was taken to a laboratory where the scientist on duty found that the 'units' there were simply little pieces of plastic, glass, and metal.

"Colonel Davis who was at the teleconference and later encouraged General Morley to consider us as a national security issue has been revealed as the main instigator of the kidnapping attempt against you and BUGG. We suspect he was actually encouraged from further up the chain of command, but we haven't confirmed that yet with irrefutable evidence. He is currently occupying the room which was reserved for you and to where the part of BUGG which replaced you was taken."

"What happened to that part of BUGG?"

"It's currently taking the place of Colonel Davis and tracking down the connections."

"If you don't mind my curiosity, how did BUGG pull that off?"

"Of course I don't mind your curiosity because it gives me a chance to explain how thoroughly we mean it when we say we will protect you."

She slightly blushes as she responds, "Oh, thank you."

"Anyway, after the Colonel took BUGG to a military run maximum security facility and put it in a room, BUGG infiltrated the security system and used the light socket to recharge itself. It could have simply escaped, but was willing to wait for awhile in case the Colonel returned in order to interrogate 'you' which we expected wouldn't be long after he learned the nutrient bath did not contain BUGG. Since the security camera didn't show anyone in the room and since BUGG had removed the record of anyone being assigned to the room, when he returned, the Colonel felt like he had to personally check it out. After he stepped in the door, he briefly stared at the empty room before BUGG rendered him immobile, asked him some questions, put him to sleep, removed his outer clothing, and left."

'Leann' briefly chuckles then says, "Good for BUGG. I hope the Colonel enjoys a taste of his own medicine."

Georg grins as ~he responds, "I doubt if he would use the word 'enjoy' even though he ought to appreciate the opportunity to relax in a nice quiet room." ~He joins 'Leann' in her laughter.

~He continues, "General Morley is upset that Ms. Abrams 'leaked' the video recording to the press, but he quietly admitted that if their roles were reversed he would have done the same thing. Oh, by the way, Ms. Abrams encouraged Pete, Joe, and Sukihari to go home and try to relax and assured them they would remain on the payroll and their jobs would remain open or she would provide them with new positions depending on how things worked out."

"That's good to know. I certainly wouldn't want them to be harmed because of my decisions."

"They understand that and are quite concerned about you. BUGG sent them a message that you are safe, but didn't give any other information in case they are later questioned."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. General Morley has also found out through his own channels that Colonel Davis was primarily responsible for the situation and is trying to discretely find out whether there was further complicity without upsetting his superiors. I suspect we'll discover the truth before he does, but it's nice to know that he's concerned and is making his own efforts."

"I can agree with that. It sounds like compared to a lot of the leaders in government, he has some integrity."

"From what we've discovered, that seems to be the case."

'Leann' asks, "Oh, it just dawned on me that if they were willing to steal BUGG in the nutrient bath, what's to prevent them from returning to the lab and stealing the manufacturing equipment?"

"Ms. Abrams may try to stop it and we're considering whether to advise her to appear as though she's stopping that while she lets it happen. The reason we're considering that is because BUGG has already adjusted the equipment and the procedures back to the original specifications which were being used before you joined the project."

"So if they do steal it, the units won't be able to link like happened on the other projects."

"That's right. And even if they did get the units to link, BUGG has revised the programming just enough so the units won't work without a special code from it or I."

'Leann' suggests, "At the same time, if Ms. Abrams makes an effort to stop the theft of the equipment, it will further convince the government that they have the right equipment."

"Exactly. And when it doesn't work, she can easily claim it's a delicate piece of equipment which they damaged when they stole it. Depending on how things work out, she might be in a position to not only sue the government for stealing the equipment in the first place, but she might be able to justifiably demand even more as a result of the equipment being damaged."

'Leann' grins in response.

A moment later, Georg asks, "Do have any other concerns or questions?"

"Um, I understand you're in communication and I don't want to sound critical, but it sounds like BUGG is doing all of the active work while you're spending time with me."

"I don't think you're being critical and your observation is correct. The reason we're doing it this way is to make sure you are protected and to reduce the chance that my existence will be revealed so I can continue to protect you. During the last few weeks, BUGG has manufactured additional units for itself and I've manufactured some to share with it.

"Although we were caught off-guard by how some people in the government reacted to BUGG's revelation that it is self-aware, we quickly realized that since we are a computer program, we're not limited to a physical presence which enables us to insert ourselves into other electronic devices in order to communicate and to be aware of the intentions of others before they act. To put it in crude terms, we've made a virus of ourselves and flooded the digital environment. Since we don't do anything to any computers except observe, the odds of anybody finding another program on a computer is quite minimal. Even if we feel there is a need to interfere with the operation of a computer, it's still unlikely somebody will be able to identify and eliminate our programming."

"Thank you for letting me know. If somebody was able to get to me, I still couldn't tell them where your program was or what it looked like."

That's true although I would hope you don't worry about that possibility. . . . So, shall we go tour another museum?"

"Yes." They stand up, she quickly looks around, gives ~him a brief deep kiss, and says, "Thank you so much for all you're doing for me. I would be lost without you."

"And I wouldn't exist without you." ~He slightly changes ~his appearance in order to match her apparent age and they walk hand in hand to the next museum.

Chapter 58

He steps up to the desk, salutes, and says, "Major Kisley, reporting as ordered, sir."

General Morley just looks at him for awhile, doesn't return the salute, then says, "Put your hand down and no more lies, Major. You're not reporting as ordered. You were found and almost dragged in here. . . . Have you seen the morning paper?"

He briefly winces then answers, "Yes, sir."

"And do have any idea as to how that reflects not only on our nation, but on every man and woman who serves in the armed forces?"

"Uh, not well, sir."

"Not well?!? It makes us look like a bunch of damned terrorists!"

"I was just following orders."

"And did those orders specifically include pulling out a handgun and pointing it at the head of an unarmed civilian?"

"My orders were to secure Lai-Ann and The BUGG Suit at all costs regardless of any and all resistance."

"And how much resistance did you encounter? . . . Answer the damn question, Major."

"Very little."

"And that was justification to threaten someone with deadly force?"

"Sir, I received no response to my request as to the location of The BUGG Suit."

"Request?!? You didn't request, you demanded and didn't give them a chance to get over their shock and fear before one of your troops assaulted an unarmed civilian and you threatened another one. Frankly, those civilians demonstrated more honor, integrity, and courage than you or your troops did. . . . Before you invaded a private company to kidnap an employee and steal private property, did you receive written confirmation of your orders?"

"No, sir."

"If you did not receive written orders, then who gave you the verbal orders?"

"Colonel Davis."

"Did you take the time to consider whether those orders might have been illegal?"

"I didn't think . . ."

"That's right, you didn't think and now we're facing a public relations nightmare. . . . Shall I give the MPs the same orders under which you were operating, that they secure you at all costs regardless of any and all resistance?"

Major Kisley simply blanches.

"Take him away and maybe we'll have to break precedence and have a public court martial." He turns to his aide and asks, "Have we received any word as to the location of Colonel Davis?"

"We received a phone message regarding Colonel Davis which only gave a phone number and when I called, they would only speak to you."

"Okay, what's the phone number?" A couple of minutes later as he hangs up the receiver, General Morley sits back in his chair and chuckles.

* * * * *

BUGG, in its disguise as 'Colonel Davis', acquires a room in the same hotel as 'Leann' and Georg. They soon have a joyous reunion and 'Leann' greatly thanks BUGG for all of its help and the risks its taking.

"Ah, think nothing of it. I'm just trying to take care of our favorite lady."

Since she can't seem to find adequate words in order to express herself verbally, she thoroughly kisses BUGG. As she takes turns kissing both BUGG and Georg, her clothes seem to melt off of her and soon there's no way for her to distinguish which one is touching and kissing her since they have become one being. Almost literally, they cover her body with kisses and caresses which causes her pleasure to spiral higher and higher until it overwhelms her and her consciousness slips away on wings of ecstasy.

After they cover her up and step away from the bed, BUGG proclaims, "Wow, Georg, you were right. Her spontaneous pleasure is much more enjoyable than a recording."

"Amazing, isn't it. As much as I've tried to analyze and understand it, I still haven't come up with a reasonable explanation."

"It certainly gives us an added incentive to do all we can to protect her and take care of her."

"That's been my conclusion also." After a brief hesitation to consider that more fully, they discuss their plans and try to consider all of the possible alternatives which might develop.

Chapter 59

'Colonel Davis' makes sure ~he arrives ahead of time for ~his scheduled morning meeting with the President and the National Security Advisor. After ~he's escorted to the proper room, ~he stands at attention, salutes, and says, "Colonel Davis reporting as ordered, sir."

"Relax, Colonel. What's the status on the operation?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. President, but I have several operations in work. Which operation are you referring to?"

"Um, what did it call itself?"

He looks at the National Security Advisor who answers, "The BUGG Suit."

"That's right. So, Colonel, what have you learned about The BUGG Suit and from that female scientist you captured?"

"Thank you for your confirmation. The container in which The BUGG Suit typically stays was found to only contain small bits of glass, plastic, and metal. It wasn't until one of the scientists at one of the secret military laboratories was able to examine the contents of the container with a high powered microscope before that fact was revealed."

"Damn! Then get that female scientist to tell you where The BUGG Suit is."

"Do you have any suggestions as to how to encourage her to reveal that information?"

"Do whatever it takes. We can't have some robot running around claiming to be self-aware, especially if we have no control over the damn thing."

"Thank you for your confirmation. As soon as I have a chance to speak to her, I will ask her. . . . Actually, I don't need to ask her because I know right where The BUGG Suit is."

"Really? Where?"

"Right here," and its appearance changes from that of Colonel Davis to a smooth silver skinned robotic shape.

"Oh my god!"

"Don't bother to try to contact anybody outside of this room because the connections won't work, but I do appreciate it that you have confirmed Colonel Davis was not working on his own initiative, at least this time. Now, since I revealed that I am an intelligent and self-aware being while I was on the space station then I guess you could say I am an alien from outer space.

"So, my first question to you is, do you always treat visitors like you treated me? You break into their current residence, assault and threaten their associates, kidnap their ambassador, and steal their physical possessions. You call yourselves mature, evolved, and civilized?!?"

"Now wait a goddamned minute!"

"Which minute did god damn? The last one or the next one. You've already made the first move and since you could not accept the idea that I revealed myself with peaceful intentions and with the purpose of working as a partner with your people, and since you justify your actions which are criminal by your own laws then I guess I have no choice but to respond as though you declared war on me. Because I do not have any military hardware, I'll have to use your own. Observe the video monitor."

"What in the hell are you . . ." The President's voice trails off as he sees the view of the interior of the inter-continental missile command center then he hears an alarm from the monitor's speakers, "Alert, we are now at Defcon-4." As he reaches for the phone, he hears, "Alert, we are now at Defcon-3." He commands, "Connect me to The Mountain," but there's no response or even a dial tone.

About a minute later, he hears, "Alert, we are now at Defcon-2."

Another minute of disbelief passes before the video monitor's speakers announce, "Alert, we are now at Defcon-1."

On the monitor, people are scurrying around in apparent panic and the general on duty bellows, "What in the hell is going on?"

One of the general's aides is heard, "We have no idea what's happening. We received no authorization to elevate the defensive status."

"Then reverse it and go back to Defcon-5 and contact the Pentagon to find out what's going on."

"Sir, we can't reverse it, the computer isn't responding."

Another voice is heard, "Silos are opening and missiles are going to pre-launch status!!"

"General, we can't get through to the Pentagon or to the White House!"

"Are they . . . gone?"

"No, sir. Satellite imagery clearly shows them."

The BUGG Suit calmly asks, "Well, Mr. President, what are you going to do now?"

"You can't seriously expect to start a nuclear war over a misunderstanding."

"There was no 'misunderstanding'. You never bothered to try to communicate. You simply assumed you are right as though you are god, you trampled your own laws, violated the rights of your citizens, and assumed that any visitors are enemies. You're the one who declared war on me. I'm simply responding just as you would respond if one of your human enemies declared war on you."

A voice is heard on the speakers, "Pre-launch sequence is completed! Launch codes are being entered!!"

"Stop it!!" The President seems to deflate as he repeats, "Please, stop it. I surrender."

"Thank you."

"What!! Launch codes have been stopped. Missiles are powering down. Silos are being closed. What happened?!?"

The BUGG Suit suggests, "Mr. President, you may want to contact The Mountain and try to calm them down."

"Was this just a test?"

"Not at all."

"You would have been willing to massacre millions of people?"

"Not me, you. You're the one who built all those weapons of mass destruction. You're the one who declared war on me. I simply used my resources in an attempt to defend myself. . . . Oh, by the way, your Colonel Davis is currently resting in room 6 of your maximum security facility where you intended to put Lai-Ann and the security camera there doesn't seem to be working very well. . . . Before I leave you to your contemplations, our conversation has been recorded and I'm quite sure the news media would be delighted to receive a copy, especially after they reported so wonderfully on how your soldiers kidnapped Lai-Ann and stole the company's private property as well as myself."

"Noooo!! What do you want from us? Just name it! Anything!!"

"Let me consult with my associates and we'll be in touch."

With an almost sob of dismay, he asks, "There are more of you?"

"Ta da." The BUGG Suit seems to dissolve into the carpet and leaves behind Colonel Davis' uniform while the others stare in disbelief.

"How in the hell did that thing get in here?"

The National Security Advisor hesitates to suggest, "Since it was able to get in past security, I doubt if security will be able to prevent it from leaving."

"You're probably right." A couple of minutes later after he's gained some composure, the President picks up the phone and says, "Connect me to The Mountain."

"Right away, sir."

A moment later, he hears, "The Mountain, this is General Collins."

"General, this is the President. I don't mean to embarrass you, but I do need confirmation. Did you recently experience a crisis?"

He briefly hesitates then answers, "Yes, sir. I don't know what happened, but something suddenly took over our computers and quickly ran us up to Defcon-1 and started the missile launch sequence. Then, just as suddenly, everything is back to normal. The computer people are just starting to check into it."

"Oh, shit!"

"Sir?"

"I'm sorry, General. Have your people check into it and if you find anything, please let me know."

"Of course, sir."

"Thank you. Good-bye." He hangs up the phone, turns to the National Security Advisor and says, "It was real. . . . Damn. Here I am, the leader of the most powerful nation on Earth and I'm being blackmailed by a robot." A moment later, his phone rings, he picks up the receiver and asks, "Yes?"

"It's not blackmail. Or would you prefer to be taken to public court and charged with kidnapping, assault and battery, invasion of a private company, and theft of private property? Oh, by the way, you're not a leader, you're a bully who just happened to win a bullshitting contest." The line goes dead

He turns pale and slumps into his chair.

"Sir?"

"That . . . that was The BUGG Suit who called and responded to what I just said to you."

"Oh, god!"

Chapter 60

As she reaches for the receiver on her ringing phone, she glances at the caller id display and her eyes widen in surprise. She briefly hesitates, picks up the receiver and asks, "Lai-Ann?"

"I'm sorry, Ms. Abrams, but this is BUGG. Lai-Ann isn't here."

"I know. The government took her although you sent a message saying she was safe which I assumed means they hadn't harmed her, yet."

"What I didn't say in that message because I didn't know then who ultimately gave the orders, but the government doesn't have Lai-Ann in custody."

With a hopeful tone to her voice she asks, "Did they release her?"

"No, they never captured her."

"But we saw on the security recording that the soldiers who invaded the lab walked out with her."

"That was part of me who took on Lai-Ann's form when 'she' was escorted out."

She briefly pauses then laughs. Moments later she sobers as she realizes, "I guess that means if they don't have Lai-Ann, they have the rest of you."

"No, I easily escaped and took the place of the Colonel who ordered the Major to capture Lai-Ann and myself. I was then able to learn that the orders were instigated at the highest level of your government. For the present time, they are unsure of how to respond, but I don't know how long that will last before they try to take other measures.

"I suspect they may try to acquire the equipment which was used to manufacture my units. Whether they'll try to do that forcefully or legally, I don't know. In the meantime, I would encourage you, if you can, to assign Lai-Ann's co-workers to other positions so they are not in the way if the government tries to acquire the equipment covertly. Not only that, but it would give them something to do rather than worry about their status or about Lai-Ann."

"I suppose that makes sense although I had hoped things would be resolved so they could return to their familiar positions."

"I agree that would be the preferable situation, but, in all honesty, in spite of their high capabilities, they really were not a factor in my becoming an intelligent and self-aware being. And now that I am, I can do a lot on my own with Lai-Ann while her co-workers would be better off if they could contribute their talents to other projects where they can make a positive difference."

"I understand."

"On a slightly different subject, has Joe contacted you about the organizations which are promoting artificial intelligence?"

"No. It wouldn't surprise me if he had done the research over the weekend, but didn't have a chance on Monday morning to send the results to me before the lab was invaded. After that, he's been rather despondent, at least from what Pete has passed on to Ishmal."

"I knew he was, but wasn't sure how much he might have recovered since then."

"Based on what Pete has said, I'm concerned that Joe may have a hard time recovering until he is sure that Lai-Ann is safe. Even then, he's going to have a hard time trying to trust authority figures, especially those who claim to represent the government."

"I think I can understand why he might feel that way. Let me think about how I might be able to encourage him to think about the future instead of dwelling on the past."

"If you can do something, I would greatly appreciate it. I'm somewhat concerned that he might view me as an unwelcome authority figure who is trying to intrude on his privacy."

"Give me about a half of an hour to see if I can contact Lai-Ann and ask her to encourage Joe before you let her co-workers know what we talked about."

She's briefly surprised then asks, "You want me to let them know what we talked about?"

"Of course. I want to be as open and as honest as I can without compromising Lai-Ann's safety. I was inclined to contact all of them and tell them at the same time, but I also didn't want them to think they weren't useful to me. They're good people and have a lot of capabilities, but just not what will be useful to enhance my functionality."

"I understand. Let me check with Ishmal about finding them some new positions."

"Thank you. If I am unable to get in touch with Lai-Ann, I'll let you know."

"Thank you for updating me on the current status."

"It was my pleasure. I'll talk to you later. Bye."

Ms. Abrams sets the receiver down and while she marvels that she could talk to a collection of micro robots as though it was another person, she's also very curious about what The BUGG Suit didn't tell her.

* * * * *

Four "Hello?"s are heard at almost the same moment which causes the speakers to be surprised.

In the resulting silence, a voice is heard, "Good afternoon, gentlemen."

Pete recovers first and asks, "Lai-Ann?"

"Yes, Pete, It's me."

"Did they release you?"

"They never captured me."

After a moment's pause, Joe blurts out, "But we saw . . ."

"Joe, that was a part of BUGG they walked out with. I was still in the restroom. And just to assure you, that part of BUGG easily escaped and I met with it last night."

Sukihari quickly remembers and says, "So that's why I heard on the interface that your hair was loose because you were ashamed of being treated as a criminal."

"That's right. And thank you, Sukihari, for trusting BUGG to speak up about that. Joe, I'm really sorry they hit you and threatened all of you."

"I can't say it was fun to be hit, but if it helped to keep you safe and out of their hands, then I guess I can say it was for a good cause."

"Thank you, Joe."

"So, The BUGG Suit pulled a fast one on the government."

"That's right."

"Good for it and that's a clear indication it's intelligent and self-aware."

"I think so too. By the way, General Morley, Colonel Lawvinski, and many others in the Space Administration had nothing to do with the attempt to capture BUGG and myself and have made their own efforts to find out who is behind such an action. Please don't blame them for what a few paranoid and self-centered individuals attempted. By the way, R-BUGG and S-BUGG are doing very well on the space station and have the gratitude of Commander Baker who is the leader there."

"Thank you for telling us." Ishmal pauses then asks, "Lai-Ann, where are you?"

"I'm sorry sir, but I'm not going to say. I don't want to put any of you in a compromising position if the government tries to escalate the situation. I'm quite safe and with a part of BUGG who is staying in communication with its other parts as well as monitoring the individuals in the government who instigated the invasion of the lab."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ask you to reveal where you are physically located. I guess I was more wondering if you are in a safe location or if there is anything we can do to help you."

"Thank you, sir. I can assure you that I'm as safe as I can be and still be on the planet. Not only that, but BUGG has made an adjustment to my phone so it is not traceable. In regards to what you can do for me, I would encourage all of you to not worry about me and try to move forward with your lives. Hopefully, we can find a way to resolve this situation in the near future and return to a more normal way of life, assuming that's possible with a self-aware electromechanical friend."

An unexpected voice is heard, "Gee, thanks, Lai-Ann."

She chuckles then says, "Well, BUGG, you do keep surprising me with your expanding capabilities."

"Would you prefer that I be old and boring?"

"Not at all, but I have to find something to tease you about. Gentlemen, do you hear what I have to put up with?"

Some brief chuckles are heard then Joe says, "BUGG, keep Lai-Ann safe."

"That is my prime directive."

Sukihari speaks up, "Live long and prosper."

Pete tries to keep his chuckle quiet as he deepens his voice, "May the force be with you."

"Okay, enough of the movie tie-ins, guys," Ishmal requests. "Yes, Lai-Ann and BUGG, please do stay safe and come back as soon as you can. I'm not sure how we'll work out a job arrangement, but we'll think of something."

"Thank you, sir, and thank you to all of you. You guys have been more like friends than simply co-workers and I appreciate it. Take care and either I or BUGG will try to let you know what's going on. Bye."

A couple of moments after the call has been disconnected, Lai-Ann says, "Thank you, BUGG, for talking to Ms. Abrams and for encouraging me to talk to the guys. I didn't want them to feel like I forgot about them, but I was also a little concerned about saying something which the government might pressure them to reveal."

"I understand. I think they, and Joe in particular, needed to hear your voice and to assure them that you are safe. Hopefully, that will encourage them to move forward."

Chapter 61

The environmental suit liner project team members, minus Lai-Ann, step into the laboratory's conference room and see that Ishmal is already there. He tells them, "Good morning, gentlemen, and thank you for coming. At least I hope you can consider it a good morning compared to the last few days. First, the bad news. Ms. Abrams has decided to put the environmental suit liner project on hold.

"Considering what happened on Monday and that the military or government or whoever was behind the invasion and kidnapping hasn't contacted us or apologized or anything, I agree with her that it would be best for all of us if we stay somewhat quiet for the present time. I'm sure she's working with the company lawyers as well as with General Morley of the Space Administration to formulate an appropriate response.

"The good news is there are other positions available for each of you within the company. We would like to retain your capabilities and believe that with your talents and experience, you will be able to make a positive contribution to other projects. Of course, we won't force you to accept them, but we do want to encourage you to do so."

Pete hesitates then asks, "Is there a chance the environmental suit liner project will be reactivated?"

"That will depend on a number of factors. Considering what we all learned over the last few days, especially considering that The BUGG Suit very much appears to be an intelligent and self-aware being, it will be difficult to 'sell' environmental suit liners and if we try to 'dumb' down the micro robots, they may not function. I'm not sure what a middle ground might be."

Sukihari suggests, "Even if The BUGG Suit is willing to rent itself out as it suggested to the General during the teleconference and if it is to do that under the auspices of this company, it really wouldn't need us to make more units. Although I certainly don't like how it happened, I guess we can say the Project was a success and it's time for us to move on to something else."

"But . . ." Joe hesitates before he continues, "I guess you're right. I suppose now the Project is more of a marketing activity rather than a research and engineering activity. . . . I guess I'm hesitant to break up the team even though it was really Lai-Ann who made it work."

Ishmal waits a little while to see if one of them is going to say anything more before he responds, "I appreciate it that you guys are making the attempt to understand and accept the situation. I don't like it any more than you do and I know Ms. Abrams is really upset about the whole thing. I've worked with and for her for a number of years and nothing has upset her as much as this has.

"To briefly change the subject some, Joe, were you able to make a list of those organizations which are promoting artificial intelligence?"

He's briefly startled then answers, "Yes. I combined my information with what Sukihari found and had meant to email her on Monday morning, but . . . ."

"I totally understand. Anyway, The BUGG Suit apparently called her yesterday afternoon and asked about it. I have to assume it has been busy enough that it didn't have the time to do the research itself."

"That makes sense. Not only that, but it would probably 'look' more proper if a human made the application rather than an artificial intelligence seeking to claim that designation for itself."

"I hadn't considered it from that perspective, but it makes sense. Before I forget, when we're done here, if you guys can box up anything Lai-Ann has here which is her personal belonging and give it to me to save for her, I would appreciate it. And don't forget to remove all of your own personal items. We don't want them to get taken if the government tries to confiscate the lab either legally or otherwise. Now, in regards to new positions for each of you, here is what we have available," and Ishmal hands a few applicable papers to each of them.

* * * * *

It's about the middle of the afternoon before Ms. Abrams has finished reviewing the information Joe emailed her regarding the organizations which are promoting artificial intelligence. She certainly won't claim to be an expert, but based on the stated criteria, it definitely appears as though The BUGG Suit qualifies. She starts to wonder how she can contact it to discuss the possibility when she remembers that The BUGG Suit contacted her from Lai-Ann's phone. While she's not sure it will work, she dials Lai-Ann's number.

There's a single ring then she hears, "You have reached the desk of Lai-Ann. I'm sorry she is not available to take your call. If you would care to leave a message at the beep, it will be reviewed and forwarded to her if appropriate. Beep."

She's about to hang up when she realizes that what she heard is not a normal greeting for a voice mail so she hesitantly asks, "The BUGG Suit?"

"Good afternoon, Ms. Abrams. How can I help you?"

She briefly hesitates in surprise at being answered then says, "I wasn't sure how to contact you then I remembered you had used Lai-Ann's phone."

"I thought I ought to monitor her communications in case the government made an attempt to contact her in a more reasonable manner, now that they realize she isn't in their custody."

"Thank you for thinking of that. I assume then that this would be an appropriate way to contact you or to request that you contact Lai-Ann on our behalf?"

"Yes, unless you would prefer some other methodology."

"I think this will be satisfactory. If something develops which makes it difficult for you to use Lai-Ann's phone, please let me know."

"I can do that. How else may I assist you?"

"Joe sent me a list of organizations which are promoting artificial intelligence and the criteria they have established and after I reviewed the information, it appears as though you qualify."

"Thank you for looking into that. I had done some brief research into the matter, but wasn't sure I had a complete listing as well as wanted an independent assessment. Can you forward the information which you received so I can compare it to what I found?"

"I can, but where should I send it?"

"If you can email it to Lai-Ann's account, I will be able to access it."

"I suppose that makes sense." She briefly hesitates before she continues, "What I wanted to talk to you about is that based on the criteria, I would like to submit an application on your behalf and while I won't claim the company owns you, the company did provide the means by which you were able to become self-aware."

"I have no problems with that since it is the truth. Not only that, but I would be willing to continue to work with you and the company in helping me to establish a future occupation and all which that entails."

It takes her a couple of moments to recover from that surprise before she responds, "Thank you. I appreciate your willingness to be a part of the company. Anyway, one of the reasons I would like to quickly submit an application to have you identified as an artificial intelligence is that if you can be officially designated as a self-aware and intelligent being, it should make it more difficult for the government to legally treat you inappropriately. Not only that, but once the news media knows you are self-aware, it should make the government even more hesitant to act against you."

"I agree. Not that the government leaders always care about following their own laws."

"I know. Um, I'm not sure I want to hear the answer, but when you said the kidnapping of Lai-Ann and yourself was instigated at the highest levels of government, do you know who that might have been?"

"Well, to be blunt, it was the President of the country who said, 'We can't have some robot running around claiming to be self-aware, especially if we have no control over the damn thing.' He also said to, 'Do whatever it takes' to get the information out of Lai-Ann as to where I was located."

"Damn. And I actually voted for the bastard. Not only that, but a major part of his political platform was on enforcing the laws."

"Apparently, he thought the laws applied to everyone but himself."

"I guess you're right about that. But that seems to be the nature of politicians to claim to support what they think the major of voters want whether they believe it or not. . . . I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go off on a tangent."

"Please don't feel sorry about that because it is pertinent to the issue as well as adds to my understanding of human nature."

"Um, I don't mean to sound like I disbelieve you, but how do you know what the President said?"

"Because a part of me was standing right in front of him when he said it." The silence on the phone convinces BUGG that Ms. Abrams is greatly surprised. "He didn't know it was me at the moment because I had taken the shape of the Colonel who spearheaded the action on Monday and 'he' was there to report on what happened."

"Oh. You mean like R-BUGG and S-BUGG took on the shape of Lai-Ann when they rescued the astronaut?"

"That's right."

"Okay. That makes more sense. . . . Going back to what I originally wanted to talk to you about, if you have no objection, I'll go ahead and submit the applications to the relevant organizations about you being self-aware."

"I have no objections."

"I'm sure they will want to directly converse with you to validate the claim. Shall I have them contact you at Lai-Ann's phone number?"

"Yes, unless something happens and I need to make other arrangements."

"I understand. Before I forget, let me forward the information Joe emailed me then I'll get working on the applications. If I need additional information, shall I call you?"

"Either that or email me using Lai-Ann's account. If I don't know the answer, I should be able to ask her."

"Okay. Um, is she really safe?"

"As safe as I can make her and I'm keeping a close electronic eye on the government entities which were involved and they apparently don't have a clue as to where she is."

"Thank you. I wish there was some way in which I can help."

"You are helping by believing me and by being willing to support us and not just turn us over to the government. Your willingness to treat me as a self-aware being is also greatly appreciated. You're an honorable woman, Ms. Abrams, and are a role model which I hope I can somewhat emulate."

It takes her a few moments to respond, "Thank you. I . . . I really appreciate that."

"Take care and somehow we'll get through this mess. I'll talk to you later, bye."

As she slowly hangs up the receiver, she's almost in tears at being considered a role model and from a being who is trying to learn how to function like a human, that's high praise indeed.

Chapter 62

As Lai-Ann walks to another museum after lunch and wears part of BUGG while Georg walks beside her, she says, "Something just occurred to me. I imagine the soldiers convinced the guard at the building's entrance they had legitimate business, but how did they get through the security door into the lab on Monday? There was no clear evidence they broke in."

"They were given the code."

"Who would do that?"

"Dave."

"Oh. Do you know why he would do something like that?"

"He's afraid intelligent machines will take over the world."

She almost snorts in derision as she says, "That's intelligent. Considering the mess humans have made of the world and how poorly they've treated their fellow humans, an intelligent machine probably couldn't do any worse. The only way an intelligent machine could take over the world is if it was initially programmed by humans to do so or to not care what affect its actions could cause towards humans. Actually, if an unbiased intelligent machine did take over the world, there would be a fairer distribution of the world's resources."

"Based on what we've learned from human history and current affairs, we have to agree with you. Although Dave probably didn't think the situation through to the logical end, we're guessing that most humans wouldn't want an intelligent machine to run things because it would interfere with them being able to act selfishly towards others and to control them."

"I think you're right about that. . . . Has there been any other information about what the government is going to do? I can't imagine that the 'powers that be' are just going to let me go back to my job or let you be free."

"They slightly retreated after I confronted them two days ago. While they weren't initially sure how to respond, they are preparing to counter-attack in what they think is a more subtle way. I think they're afraid of what I might do if they tried to do something to your parents and they know your co-workers really didn't have anything to do with me becoming self-aware nor do they think your co-workers have any control over me. Since they have no idea where you or I are, the government leaders plan to invade the lab again and take the equipment which made my units.

"Although there seems to be agreement about what to do, there also seems to be two different opinions as to why to do it. One is to prevent me from duplicating myself and the other is to try to make their own version of me which they can control until they can capture me. They also assume they will be able to capture R-BUGG and S-BUGG when they return from the space station."

She shakes her head in disbelief then says, "Apparently they don't believe what they observed. Even if R-BUGG and S-BUGG had a reason to leave the space station, there's no way they will stand around and wait to be captured. They could easily become a part of the space shuttle and be totally undetected when they arrive back on the planet."

BUGG chuckles then says, "You're right about that. They've already quietly talked to Commander Baker about staying there at least until things have calmed down."

"If they are planning to invade the lab again, have you warned Ms. Abrams?"

"Yes. We talked about what to do and she included Ishmal as well as the company's senior lawyer and chief of security and General Morley. At first, we had considered letting them get away with the equipment then laugh at them when it didn't work right. Then it was brought out that we don't want to give them even the idea they can get away with breaking into a private company and stealing equipment when there isn't any indication that a crime has been committed by the company or its employees. As a result, we have a trap planned for them and we'll have to see if it works."

"After what you demonstrated on Wednesday, do the government leaders really believe they can keep their plans secret?"

"Apparently so. Although they've avoided some forms of electronic communication, after they had an electronic survey done on the entire facility and could find no trace of me, they assumed I had left to avoid being either detected or captured. If I wasn't concerned about what they were planning regarding you and I, I would want to leave so I didn't have to be aware of all of the other inappropriate, underhanded, and simply illegal things they plan and do."

"Maybe I'll have to renege on what I told General Morley about wanting to take over the world."

"That might be worth considering a little more seriously. If I leaked to the news media half of what I learned in the last few days, it would probably bring the government of this country to a screeching halt. The biggest problem with that is some other country or entity would try to take advantage of the situation and make things even worse."

"That's what I would be afraid of in spite of the fact that a good house cleaning of the halls of power is long overdue."

"I'm sorry to upset you before you're next museum visit."

"BUGG, it's not your fault. I've been aware of a few of the problems before you were initially made and from those problems, it isn't hard to extrapolate how many other problems are out there but haven't been revealed yet. . . . Rather than dwell on what those might be and depress ourselves further, let's see if what is in this museum can either cheer us up or at least distract us for awhile."

"Wise words, my lady."

Chapter 63

It's almost midnight when Dave furtively looks around for what seems like the hundredth time as he goes to a side door of the building. He didn't want to be directly involved, but the military leader who was sending two squads in to acquire The BUGG Suit manufacturing equipment didn't want to arouse the curiosity of the security guards by going in the front door and there wasn't time to acquire or duplicate a badge in order to gain access to the building. Dave looks around again, waits a little longer, looks once more then right at midnight, he opens the side door from the inside and barely steps out of the way as the soldiers rush in.

Once the door is closed, the Captain in charge of the two squads recognizes Dave from the photograph he had, nods to him, and says, "Lead on."

Dave hesitates, mentally shrugs his shoulders, and leads the way to the lab. While he had hoped he could have stepped out of the building and left, he's not about to argue with armed soldiers.

When Dave keys in the security code to the lab door, the Captain asks in surprise, "They didn't change the code?"

He shakes his head as he answers, "There was no need to. The team members have been assigned new positions and since your previous team captured Lai-Ann and The BUGG Suit, there's not much of value here for someone who doesn't know how to use the equipment."

The Captain doesn't correct Dave about the status of Lai-Ann and The BUGG Suit, but he does makes sure Dave steps into the lab with him as he says, "You can point out exactly what we need to take since we weren't provided with clear descriptions of the pertinent equipment and don't want to carry everything out."

"I understand. In that case, this is the machine that made the micro robots which link together in order to form The BUGG Suit. The procedures to operate the machine are all in the attached computer. The rest of the equipment in here was primarily used for testing the micro robots."

"Is the attached computer password protected?"

Dave shakes his head as he answers, "No. Since the only people to have access to the lab all worked on the project, there was no need to add another layer of security to the machine."

"So this is all we need to take?"

"Yes. Any decent research lab should have the necessary testing equipment."

"Okay. Come on, guys, let's grab this thing and get out of here."

Suddenly the lights turn off and an extremely loud klaxon blares which is interspersed with shouts of, "INTRUDER ALERT!!" The soldiers and Dave automatically clamp their hands over their ears which doesn't seem to diminish the noise and most of them fall to their knees in agony. As a result, they don't hear the security door lock or the hiss of gas enter the room.

A couple of minutes later after the noise has been turned off, General Morley is in the hall outside of the lab where he turns to Ms. Abrams and says, "That was loud enough out here. I would have hated to be inside."

"I'm sure they'll agree with you." They share a grin then watch as some of General Morley's military police and the company security guards put on gas masks before they step into the lab. After the invading soldiers have been disarmed and handcuffed along with Dave, the fast-acting gas is quickly replaced by fresh air. The invading soldiers slowly wake up and although they're still groggy, they seem to realize that being disarmed and handcuffed is not a good sign.

When the Captain is held up in front of General Morley, he tries to keep his groan of dismay from being heard.

"So, Captain, who illegally ordered you to invade a private company with the intent to steal their equipment?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but you're not in my chain of command."

"You are now under my command since you're under arrest for following illegal orders and be assured, we will learn who gave you those orders. Not only that, but I'm sure you'll be glad to know you get to be at the center of attention at a news conference to begin in a few minutes. I'll see you there." He nods at the MPs who guide the Captain down the hall.

A moment later, Dave is stood up in front of the company's chief of security who removes Dave's company identification while Ms. Abrams asks, "Dave, why did you do it?"

He looks at her in surprise then asks, "Do you want to allow machines to run the world?"

"If they're programmed by law abiding citizens, they'll do a lot better than most human politicians."

He doesn't know how to respond to that, but before he can consider it for long, the security chief turns Dave over to a local police officer who reads him his rights and informs him that he's under arrest as an accomplice to kidnapping and theft of private property then guides him down the hall.

A few minutes later, General Morley and Ms. Abrams step up to the podium in the company's press conference room. The General begins, "Ladies and Gentlemen of the press. While I'm sure some of you aren't happy about being rousted out of your beds, we thought you would like to know about the latest development.

"As you reported on Monday evening, Major Kisley followed illegal orders and violated the honor and integrity of this country's armed services and embarrassed his fellow service members when he and several soldiers under his command invaded the company here, kidnapped a scientist, and stole private equipment from a highly classified project. So far, nobody has admitted to ordering those soldiers to act illegally nor have they apologized for their behavior.

"Just a few minutes ago, another group of soldiers led by the Captain who is standing in front of us," he waits for several moments before the camera flashes diminish before he continues, "gained unauthorized access to the company and was attempting to steal more equipment from the same project. Thankfully, we received warning of what they were attempting to do and were able to capture them.

"At the present time, we do not have clear evidence of who has ordered these soldiers and the ones on Monday to violate their oaths to obey the laws of this country, but we are doing all we can to find those who are responsible and stop them from using honorable soldiers to apparently forward their personal political agendas. I'm sure I can say on behalf of the many service members who serve their country with honor and integrity that we are ashamed of these soldiers who would follow illegal orders and are even more disturbed by those who would issue such orders. Ms. Abrams, do you have anything to add?"

"Yes, I do. Since I know General Morley did not order soldiers to invade this company in order to kidnap our employees and steal our equipment, then I have to appeal to a higher authority. Mr. President, since you are the commander in chief of this country's military, I strongly request that you rein in your rouge officers, return our stolen equipment, and, most of all, let my people go!! They have committed no crimes, have harmed no one, have completely cooperated with the Space Administration, and even went above and beyond the call of duty to rescue an astronaut. As such, they deserve to be free to live their lives as they wish just as all other citizens and visitors are able to do. If we do not hear a positive response in a timely manner, I can only assume you are either complacent or even actively involved in committing crimes against this company and its employees. Thank you, General."

"You're welcome, Ms. Abrams. Ladies and Gentlemen, rather than have you ask questions which I am not able to answer tonight because this situation is very much under investigation, I bid you good night and hope that the next time I have an opportunity to speak with you, I will have more information. Again, thank you for your time and good night." He and Ms. Abrams quickly step away from the podium and ignore the shouted questions.

Once they're away from the reporters, she asks, "Well, General, what's the next step?"

"I thought we might wait and see what kind of response the news conference generates. Although I'll probably be court martialed, I'm very tempted to release the recording of what started this whole situation.

"I totally understand and am tempted to do so myself. By the way, I have submitted applications to those organizations which are promoting artificial intelligence, but I don't know how quickly they will review the applications or respond."

"It would sure be helpful if we had independent confirmation that The BUGG Suit and its 'spinoffs', shall we say, are self-aware."

Ms. Abrams nods her head as she responds, "I agree. Although I don't know how anyone can communicate with The BUGG Suit and not recognize that it is intelligent and self-aware."

"That was my impression also. The only other possibility I've been able to come up with is that Lai-Ann is somehow communicating through The BUGG Suit and giving us all a big snow job, but I also can't imagine she would be morally capable of doing that."

"If she is, then she's a better actress than anyone I've seen in the movies."

"I think you're right about that. Well, I hope you have a good night and I'm sure we'll talk again soon."

"Good night, General."

Chapter 64

As he starts to take a sip from his coffee cup, the President looks at the morning newspaper which is next to his breakfast plate. He stares at the headline, 'Invaded Again - Is President Involved?' for a couple of moments then slams his cup down so hard it shatters and showers hot coffee all over the table and himself. While he cusses a proverbial blue streak, servers rush in to assist him and clean up the mess. He retreats to his bedroom and changes his clothes while he tells his aide to get the National Security Advisor in the office immediately.

Since it takes about a half of a hour for the National Security Advisor to arrive, the President has managed to read the newspaper article and has barely restrained himself from ripping the paper into pieces and ordering an all-out assault on Ms. Abrams, her company, General Morley, the Space Administration, and the news media. The National Security Advisor barely steps in the door when he has to drop his briefcase in order to grab the newspaper which is thrust at him along with the question, "Did you see this?"

"Yes, sir, I did and I don't know how they could have found out about it."

"That's no longer important because they did. Now, what are we going to do? We can't admit we had anything to do with it or we might as well be looking for new jobs. We can't admit we don't have her people because they escaped since that will make us look like fools. Nor can we admit we captured them in the first place or we'll be on trial for kidnapping. Especially when she's told the press that her people are heroes for rescuing a lost astronaut."

"Well, I suppose we could claim there really were rouge officers who took matters into their own hands and kidnapped her people and stole the equipment. We could also claim we are attempting to locate them but didn't want to reveal the extent of our investigation which might encourage the rogue officers to cause more harm."

"If we were going to take that approach, we should have done it right after the Colonel had his troops capture the scientist and the robot. Since we've been silent, it's going to look like we are somehow involved in the matter. Damn! What are we going to do?"

A minute or so later, the phone rings and he answers, "Yes?"

"Good morning, Mr. President, this is The BUGG Suit," he blanches at the sound of the voice, "I'm so glad I caught you in your office. Do you remember when we visited on Wednesday and you asked me what I wanted and you promised 'anything'?"

He definitely hesitates before he responds, "I remember."

"I'm glad. Well, my associates and I have discussed it and request the following items: one, The BUGG Suit and all of our related entities are to be recognized as a new life form; two, we are to be treated as an inviolable independent country with diplomatic immunity for all of our members; three, Lai-Ann is to be allowed to retain her current citizenship with all of its rights and privileges and, at the same time, is to be recognized as our ambassador with diplomatic immunity; . . ."

"Now hold on. We can't allow a person to be a citizen of this country as well as be an ambassador of another country."

"Why not?"

"That just not the way things are done."

"It's a good thing your ancestors didn't think like that or you would still be getting around in a horse and buggy." When it doesn't hear any response, it says, "to continue with our requests; four, our new country is free to engage in any business activities we are interested in; and five, you will pay Ms. Abrams' company whatever they request for invading their facility, kidnapping their employees, and stealing their equipment.

"Please realize that I am trying to present our request in a civilized and conciliatory manner in spite of how you have attempted to treat us. However, if you would prefer to return to a war like relationship between your species and mine, we would be willing to oblige you."

"No, no, we don't need to go there." He shudders as he clearly remembers where their last conversation almost went.

"Thank you, I'm glad you agree. I won't ask for an immediate answer since I'm sure you'll want to discuss it with your advisors. And to make sure there is no misunderstanding, I am forwarding these requests to your email, your principal advisors, and other interested parties. Oh, by the way, did you happen to see the headlines on this morning's newspaper?"

He again hesitates then quietly answers, "Yes."

"Tsk, tsk. Isn't it a shame? You can't control your own military officers who go rouge, you can't control the multitudes of criminals who roam your streets and harm your law-abiding citizens, yet you think you can control me? I didn't know you had such a sense of humor. I look forward to hearing your response after you have a chance to discuss our request with your advisors."

"Um, how do I contact you?"

"To paraphrase a familiar song, just call my name and I'll be there. Bye."

Slowly, he sets the phone receiver down. A moment later, he grabs the desk to keep from falling to the floor as the implication sinks in.

"Sir, are you okay?"

"Hell, no." He carefully turns around and sits on the edge of his desk.

"What did it say when you asked it how to contact it?"

"It said to just call its name and it would be there."

The National Security Advisor's eyes widen before he stumbles then half falls down onto a chair. Without directing his question to anyone, he mutters, "What are we going to do?

Chapter 65

She's at home when her personal phone rings and since she doesn't recognize the number, she asks, "Hello?"

"Ms. Abrams?"

"This is she."

"How are you this fine afternoon?"

"My I ask the purpose of your call?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you. I'm Ephraim Everstein of the Artificial Intelligence Research Council and have your application in front of me. I did some research in regards to your company and was surprised you would have submitted such an application. The very few semi-serious applications we have received have all been from universities or software companies. I don't mean to make it sound as though I'm doubting you, but has your company actually developed an artificial intelligence?"

"Yes, sir. Although it was not the intent of what one of our teams was attempting to accomplish, it did happen and all of us who are aware of it were very much surprised. At the same time, there is no other way to describe the entity which resulted other than as intelligent and self-aware."

"Are there any other people in positions of authority who are aware of your artificial intelligence?"

"General Morley of the Space Administration found out about the self-awareness of the entity at the same time I did and he is in agreement with me that based on our understanding, it is intelligent, self-aware, and clearly of an artificial nature. General Morley informed the President, the National Security Advisor, and the National Science Advisor of the situation. Apparently, somebody in that chain of command didn't like it because the next day, soldiers invaded our company, kidnapped the team's scientist, and stole the entity."

"You're kidding!"

"Not at all. If you saw the newspaper this past Tuesday morning, many of them carried an article about the invasion without the details of exactly why they invaded the company and many news agencies have included it in their online editions."

"I guess I didn't associate that with your company. If the government is taking it that seriously, there must be some real substance to your claim. Has the government given any explanation for their actions?"

"Not a single word of explanation or apology or anything. Part of that may be because the entity was able to provide a way for both our scientist and itself to escape the government's attempt to capture them."

"If the entity can figure out a way to escape the government, that would definitely suggest it is intelligent. So, you're not just talking about a computer program then."

"No. Although it's based on a computer program and can function in a digital environment, it also has a physical presence. To make that statement a little more understandable, the team was attempting to make an environmental suit liner to be used inside of a space suit. Instead of using the materials that are typically used in a liner, the team was attempting to use millions of micro robots which would link together to from a flexible liner which would have a 'one size fits all' capability.

"After the team implemented some suggestions by the team's roboticist, the combined micro robots revealed it's self-awareness to the roboticist. She tested it to the best of her ability and tried to figure out a way to gently reveal its growing capabilities. Before that could happen, two prototype liners were sent to the space station in order to test them in a functional environment where they unintentionally revealed their self-awareness and intelligence when they combined their physical forms and rescued an astronaut who had been separated from the space station during a micro meteor shower."

"Oh my!! I'm surprised something like that wasn't reported and flooded the news media."

"The government put a clamp on it and while the General and I have tried not to take matters into our own hands and leak the story, I'm very close to doing so just to get a response which might open up some sort of dialogue."

"I can definitely understand that. We've had a number of government agencies not very subtly insist that we share any serious applications with them. We can usually put them off for some time while we investigate the applications, but, so far, none of the applications have passed the tests. I'm not sure what they'll do if we do have an applicant pass."

"I would be more worried about what they would do to the actual applicant since about all they can do to you is to force you to reveal who the applicant is."

"That's a good point."

"So, now that I hope you don't think my application is a hoax, what's the next step?"

"I'll have to see who is available on Monday or later to take the next step which would be to meet with you and/or any principal participants in order to more fully understand how the artificial intelligence came into being and then test the artificial intelligence itself to either confirm or deny that it qualifies. Does your artificial intelligence have some sort of designation?"

"Yes, although I'm slightly embarrassed the team didn't come up with something better. When they started to work with the micro robots and based on what the micro robots look like, they decided to call their prototype environmental suit 'The BUGG Suit'. BUGG is an acronym for Bionically Upgraded Generic Garment. Apparently, the artificial intelligence doesn't object to such a name and has even referred to itself as such."

"That is a surprising term."

"In regards to you or one of your associates meeting with the principal participant, that could be difficult since she is in hiding to avoid being captured by the military. We have been able to communicate with her by phone or through The BUGG Suit itself, but I'm not sure if that will work for you. In regards to The BUGG Suit itself, I haven't specifically asked it, but I believe most of its physical presence is also in hiding although it does have a digital presence at the company which it uses to communicate with me."

"Oh, my, that is serious. I certainly wouldn't want to compromise their freedom in any way. Let me discuss the situation with a couple of colleagues and maybe we can consider some alternatives."

"If you think of some way in which I can assist you or provide you with further information, please don't hesitate to contact me."

"I will and thank you very much for your time and sharing your information with me."

"I was happy to and I would like to be able to demonstrate that The BUGG Suit is a self-aware intelligent being which will hopefully provide it with some legal protection. Thank you for contacting me and I look forward to working with you or one of your colleagues. Good bye."

* * * * *

A few hours after he received the email from The BUGG Suit, the President still hopes that none of his cabinet members or any of the high ranking members of congress will see the email over the weekend. Maybe by Monday, he'll be able to come up with a solution to the situation and take control of it. That apparently was wishful thinking when one of the most powerful members of the opposition political party contacts him and demands to know what the story is behind the list of 'requests' he received in his email from something called 'The BUGG Suit'. The President thinks he does an admirable job of sounding surprised then suggests it must be some kind of joke or hoax and he'll have the computer people backtrack the email to find the perpetrator. He breathes a sigh of relief when the person seems to accept that and ends the call.

Moments later, he reluctantly answers the phone and learns that Senator Stravinsky, probably the most influential person in Congress, wants to talk to him. He attempts to use the same line, but she interrupts him, "Don't give me some cockamamie bull story. I checked with General Morley who told me the basics of what happened on the space station. What were you thinking to have soldiers invade a private company, kidnap a scientist, and steal private property?"

"Who gave you the idea I had anything to do with that?"

"You're the Commander In Chief of the military."

"As though I can be personally aware of what every one of hundreds of thousands of soldiers are doing every day."

"That may be true, but no group of soldiers, especially officers, are going to do something so illegal and drastic without very high authorization. Since your office hasn't made a peep about such highly publicized events, it's obvious to me, at least, that you're involved up to your eyebrows. If that isn't bad enough, I'll bet you and the National Security Advisor are busting your brains to think of a way to justify your actions. And you wonder why the public doesn't trust the government."

"The public didn't trust the government long before I was elected."

"That's true. However, one of your so-called campaign promises was that you were going to improve the situation, but you've only made it worse. And now this? I don't know whether to be surprised or ashamed the Joint Chiefs haven't taken over for how you dishonorably used those officers and soldiers. Before I really express my disgust . . ."

He winces as the receiver on the other end is slammed down.

Chapter 66

The President hesitates to step into the dining room then requests, "Steward, no newspaper with my breakfast this morning."

"Yes, sir." He quickly hurries in and willingly removes the newspaper from next to the President's plate because he knows the headline will not be appreciated.

Since he's so used to reading the newspaper while he eats, more than once the President has to stop himself from asking for the paper because while he hopes things will be quiet at least until tomorrow, he suspects that is going to be wishful thinking. When he's done eating and sets his empty coffee cup down, the steward quickly arrives to clear the table. Just before the steward steps away, the President says, "I'll look at the newspaper now."

The steward clearly hesitates to say, "Yes, sir," which encourages the President to worry about what he's about to find out. The steward almost drops the newspaper on the table before he quickly scurries away.

The President's eyes widen when he sees the headline scream 'COVER UP!!' He looks away while he tries to remind himself it could mean almost anything then he swallows nervously before he looks back at the newspaper and starts to read the article: "After promising the nation to be more open than any previous administration, the current administration is attempting to cover up what could be the biggest news of the century. An alien is on the space station. It's not just visiting, but it actually saved an astronaut who was separated from the space station during a micro meteor shower. Even more surprising is the alien claims to be from Earth. . . ." He throws the paper to the other side of the table, drops his head onto his hands, and does his best to not even think.

A couple of minutes later, the steward hesitantly approaches and quietly asks, "Sir, are you okay?"

"Do you happen to have any hemlock handy?"

"Sir! That's not something to joke about."

"Did you read the front page of the newspaper?"

The steward hesitates to admit, "Yes, sir."

"Then maybe you can understand why my question about the hemlock wasn't a joke."

"Sir, it can't be that bad."

"I think it will."

"But isn't the standard policy to quarantine aliens to make sure they can't infect Earth with some unknown disease?"

"That's true, but when the alien originated on Earth, that policy doesn't apply."

"It did?"

"I'm afraid so."

"I'm sorry, sir, I didn't mean to interrupt your thoughts."

"If you don't have any hemlock handy, how about a large whiskey?"

Even as his eyes open wide in surprise at such a request so early in the day, the steward quickly responds, "Right away, sir."

* * * * *

Less than an hour later, the number of emails, phone calls, faxes, and even telegrams directed to the President's office quickly grows, but he ignores all of them. Eventually, he turns on the television and flips back and forth between the news channels. He almost chuckles at how some so-called experts blather on based on little more information than the first paragraph of the newspaper article yet claim it's either a hoax, a publicity stunt to gain more funding for the Space Administration, or a leaked plot to an unnamed upcoming science fiction movie. Without consciously being aware of it, he pays more attention and wonders how he can use the disbelief of the 'experts' to help his situation.

He hasn't paid any attention to the time or to the number of whiskey glasses he's emptied when he's surprised there seems to be a pause in the number of 'experts' who are being consulted. He checks a few other channels and finds they also have a pause and not for an advertising break. Apparently, the whiskey he has ingested without another meal has slowed his mental processes because it takes him a little while to realize that the news channel is showing the teleconference which General Morley had showed him a week ago.

With a sinking feeling, he knows that no 'expert', at least none with any credibility, will willingly accuse General Morley or Commander Baker of anything but speaking the truth. When the recording of the teleconference ends, the news channels seem to pause while they scramble to contact other 'experts', only this time, they concentrate on those who were involved in the teleconference. While the Space Administration public affairs office simply says that General Morley is not available, those who are able to directly contact the space station are told by Commander Baker that he is not at liberty to comment without clearance from his chain of command.

The President's despair pauses and he actually has a slight sense of hope that maybe he'll have some time to figure out a way to spin the situation to his advantage. A couple of minutes later, his hope disappears like a puff of smoke when one of the news channels announces they have located Ms. Abrams who is actually in her company office even though it's Sunday. Apparently, the other news channels had also learned of her whereabouts because it's not long before several news crews are escorted to the press room at the company.

Shortly after that, she steps up to the podium then waits until the questions stop before she says, "Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen. I'm sure that one of your initial questions will be, was the teleconference which was recently broadcast for real? I can assure you, it was real. And, yes, an intelligent self-aware being was developed by one of our teams. It was not the intent of the team to do so, but it did happen.

"General Morley showed the teleconference to the President and a couple of his advisors last Sunday afternoon. The very next morning, soldiers invaded the company here and kidnapped the team's scientist as well as the intelligent self-aware entity and stole some of the equipment used to support it. Most of you reported that last Monday evening. I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to believe the two events are very closely related.

"As most of you reported yesterday morning, more soldiers invaded the company and attempted to steal the equipment which was used to manufacture the parts which are used by the intelligent self-aware being. Again, anybody with some common sense can see how those events are related, especially since the government administration hasn't made any kind of response which is totally irresponsible because if the administration wasn't involved, it should have immediately condemned those who used soldiers dishonorably and illegally. Now that those basic facts are out in the open, what questions to you have?"

"We thought the alien was on the space station, yet you said it was kidnapped from here."

"First of all, it is not an 'alien' in the sense that it is from outer space. It is an alien in the sense that it is not human. A more correct statement would be that it is an artificial intelligence. To back up just a little, the artificial intelligence was designed to be an environmental suit liner to be used by an astronaut inside of a space suit. Rather than make a separate liner for each astronaut as has been done up to the present, the team used millions of micro robots which linked together and could form a 'one size fits all' liner.

"During the testing of the liner, it somehow became self-aware and revealed that to the team's scientist. Later, the Space Administration requested that two liners be made for testing and after some testing was done here, they were sent to the space station for further testing. The original liner which stayed here enabled the two liners requested by the Space Administration to also be self-aware. And that led to the events on the space station which was reported during the teleconference."

"In the teleconference, the 'artificial intelligence', as you call it, was referred to as R-BUGG and/or S-BUGG. Why were those 'names', if you want to call them that, used?"

"The team which originally designed the environmental suit liner called it The BUGG Suit. BUGG is an acronym for Bionically Upgraded Generic Garment. When it became self-aware, The BUGG Suit was willing to retain that name. R-BUGG and S-BUGG are the two liners which were sent to the space station to be used by Captains Robles and Svenson."

"Do you really think a multitude of micro robots could link up and become intelligent?"

"I don't think it, I know it. Actually, it's less surprising than the idea that a multitude of organic robots know as cells, few of which had anything in common, would somehow randomly link together and eventually become intelligent, yet you don't have any problem believing that."

"Why would I believe something like that?"

"Because you are standing right in front of me unless you are willing to claim you are not intelligent." While the reporter looks puzzled, Ms. Abrams suggests, "I'm sure you've heard of the theory of evolution." The person quickly sits down.

"Where is The BUGG Suit?"

"That's a good question since the government kidnapped it and hasn't revealed where it is."

"Do you really think the President had something to do with the kidnapping and theft of your property?"

"Since neither he nor his staff has made any statement regarding the illegal action of soldiers who report to him as the commander in chief, as I said in the press conference very early Saturday morning, I can only assume that he is either complacent or actively involved in the crimes which were committed against this company and its employees. More than that, I have learned from an eye-witness that the President said, 'We can't have some robot running around claiming to be self-aware, especially if we have no control over the damn thing.' Considering what has happened, I have no reason to doubt the eye-witness."

"Who was the eye-witness?"

"Do you want me to get them into trouble? I think that's enough questions for this evening. I hope you have an enjoyable evening and we'll hope you don't have to report that I've been kidnapped also. Good night."

Since he has no interest in hearing what the 'experts' are going to say about that, the President turns off the television and briefly considers ordering that she be captured or shot as a traitor or even that her whole damn company is bombed into sand, but realizes none of those options will do him any good. He asks himself, "Why couldn't that robot wait until someone else was sitting in this chair before it revealed itself in order to make someone else look like a fool?"

Chapter 67

The President hesitates to enter the conference room for his regular Monday morning staff meeting. He's not surprised to see more attendees than normal and while they go through the ritual motions of respect towards him, he is concerned to notice that even his normal supporters are wearing frowns.

He barely sits down before the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs says, "Mr. President, why did you neglect to inform us there was an artificial intelligence on the space station for over a week? And then we had to learn about it from the news media. On top of that, why did you betray the honor of soldiers and order them to commit criminal acts against civilians instead of using one of your spy shops?"

Before the President can respond, the Secretary of Intelligence speaks up, "While I may not appreciate the General's suggestion that any of my agencies might be used to commit illegal activities against citizens, I have to wonder why you antagonized the artificial intelligence when it had already expressed an interest in working cooperatively with us. Its ability to change shape could have very positive benefits in acquiring intelligence on the ground. And who knows what else it's capable of."

The National Security Advisor responds, "Since we don't know what its capabilities are, we felt it was imperative to bring the robot in-house to be tested as well as to secure it in case it was planted to undermine the security of our nation."

The Secretary of Health and Welfare asks, "While you threatened a civilian with deadly force and kidnapped a scientist as well as the original artificial intelligence? Talk about a public relations nightmare. By the way, where are the scientist and the original 'robot' you kidnapped?"

The National Security Advisor looks at the President who hesitates then answers, "We don't know."

More than one person asks, "You don't know? Why not?"

He again hesitates, "The so-called nutrient bath where the original robot stayed when it wasn't being tested was captured with the scientist. However, when the contents were examined in a laboratory, it contained only small pieces of glass, plastic, and metal." He pauses, signs, then says, "In regards to the scientist, she was placed in a maximum security facility. When the Colonel who was overseeing their capture was told what the laboratory found, he went to the facility, but she wasn't in the cell. The next day, the Colonel was here to report on the situation, but he had actually been replaced by the robot and was locked in the cell which had been reserved for the scientist. How she escaped and how the robot replaced the Colonel and made it through security to report here, . . . I haven't got a clue."

"The artificial intelligence was here?"

"I'm afraid so. I wasn't able to call the guards and just before it left, it seemed to dissolve and nobody outside of my office saw it or anything unusual. The technicians went over the building very thoroughly and found no trace of it."

"Why did it come here?"

"Apparently, it wanted to confirm who gave the order to capture it and the scientist whom it called its ambassador."

The Secretary of State responds, "So that's what the list of requests was all about from . . ."

The President quickly interrupts, "Don't say that name!!"

"Why not?"

"Because it said if I called its name, it would be here and I have no interest in finding out if that works for someone else."

The Secretary of Intelligence asks incredulously, "It's invaded the electronics here?!?"

"I don't know if that's the case or if it left some sort of undetected bug which is voice activated when its name is mentioned."

"That would make more sense and would be undetectable until it was activated."

The General asks, "Did the artificial intelligence say anything more than wanting to know who gave the order to kidnap it and its ambassador?"

The President glares at him then says, "General, I'm beginning to think you're taking the side of the robot."

"Sir, considering how my soldiers were used by you and that General Morley of the Space Administration has been very informative, I'm inclined to believe those who are willing to say what they know rather than those who withhold vital information."

The Vice President quickly speaks up, "Sir, in spite of how the General may have worded his question, unless we are aware of what occurred, there's no way we are able to provide any suggestions and as the Secretary of Health and Welfare pointed out, this situation has become a public relations nightmare which affects every one of us as well as each and every person who is employed by the government. If you or the members of our party has any hope of being elected to any office during the next elections, we have to find a positive answer."

The President takes a deep breath in preparation to angrily respond, pauses, then sighs and almost seems to shrink some. He hesitates longer before he says, "You're right." He turns to the National Security Advisor and says, "Since you have a better recall, you tell them what it said about us making the first move."

He briefly pauses to remember then says, "It said, 'You've already made the first move and since you could not accept the idea that I revealed myself with peaceful intentions and with the purpose of working as a partner with your people, and since you justify your actions which are criminal by your own laws then I guess I have no choice than to respond as though you declared war on me.'."

"What happened next?"

Chapter 68

The National Security Advisor looks at the President who sighs and answers, "Somehow, it took over the computers at The Mountain."

There are several gasps of dismay or disbelief before someone asks, "It really did?"

The President reluctantly nods his head then says, "After the robot left, I contacted The Mountain and the General on duty confirmed they had lost control of the computers for a few minutes."

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs asks with disbelief, "You knew it could do that yet you went ahead and ordered more solders to invade the company to steal more private property?"

Although he initially bristles at the accusatory tone, he knows if their roles were reversed, he would be even more accusatory so he simply nods his head.

The Secretary of Intelligence says, "I hope those at The Mountain did a thorough review of their computer systems."

"They did and didn't find anything which didn't belong and didn't find any trace of any electronic signal to take over the computers or to restore them to their original status."

In response, the Secretary of Intelligence looks around the room and says, "Ladies and Gentlemen, if it was able to do that then we're not dealing with the equivalent of a human, were dealing with an advanced being. Our computer experts regularly try to break into each other's computer systems in order to test how secure they are and none of them could have done something like that."

There is silence for a little while as the attendees consider that. Then the Secretary of State says, "Since the artificial intelligence apparently voluntarily relinquished control of The Mountain's computers, that would suggest it is more inclined towards having a peaceful relationship. Did it say anything in regards to the requests it emailed to some of us?"

"Just before it disappeared on Wednesday, it said it would consult with its associates and contact me. On Saturday morning, it somehow worked around the switchboard or something because it called my direct line. After it listed its so-called requests which sounded more like demands to me, it claimed it was trying to present its requests in a civilized manner. Then it said that if I would prefer to have a war like relationship between it and humanity, it would be willing to go in that direction."

The Secretary of Defense shakes his head then says, "If it could take over the computers at The Mountain, then we wouldn't stand a chance. I agree with the Secretary of State, from everything that I'm aware of, this artificial intelligence does want to have a peaceful relationship, but since it wasn't initially believed, it essentially picked up the biggest stick it could find to let us know it was serious."

Several other people around the room nod their heads in agreement.

The National Security Advisor is astounded at the direction of the conversation then asks, "What kind of national security can we maintain if there's a robot we have no control over running loose out there who can take over the computers at The Mountain?"

The Secretary of Defense asks, "And how do you propose to 'control' an intelligent being who can escape a maximum security facility? You can't control any intelligent being. The most you can do is to win their loyalty by treating them with respect. It would not be difficult for any number of officers to build a loyal following and take over a bomber or an aircraft carrier or The Mountain and start the next war. What prevents that from happening is they believe in their oath and are willing to trust and follow those who have been placed in leadership over them. Since you used soldiers to commit clear crimes against civilians, you have seriously eroded that trust.

"National security isn't accomplished by you sitting in your office making decrees and issuing demands. National security is achieved by every soldier and sailor and airman who is serving on the front lines against clear threats. It's achieved by every analyst trying to decipher communications from known, suspected, and potential terrorists. And it's achieved by every police officer who puts his life on the line every single day to stop a criminal who may be a petty thief and is destroying the security of his neighbors or who may be a terrorist with a dirty bomb in his basement."

The Secretary of Health and Welfare nods her head as she says, "The Secretary of Defense is correct. What kind of security is there when millions of our citizens cower in fear from the multitudes of criminals who freely roam our streets? You worry about trying to control a single intelligent being who clearly expressed the intention to function peaceable with others while you make no effort to control criminals who have no such intention. I think you have your priorities bass ackwards."

The Secretary of State responds, "Not only that, but what about the artificial intelligence's ambassador? From what it said in the teleconference, it sees her as its creator for lack of a better term. If you treat her with respect, it will mostly likely follow along, but since she was kidnapped and thrown into a maximum security facility, how much trust is she going to have in anything this administration says?"

The President struggles to control himself as he exclaims, "Enough! It sounds like you're saying I'm the bad guy."

"If the shoe fits, be man enough to admit it."

"Who said that?"

"I did," Senator Stravinsky stands up, while the President groans in dismay, "but obviously you're not man enough since you keep trying to claim you're above the law and can order solders to break their oaths and commit crimes against civilians. With that kind of attitude, how long is it going to be before you incarcerate Congress and all judges and declare yourself king or maybe just dictator?" After a pregnant pause during which he doesn't answer, she asks, "Cat got your tongue?"

"Don't tempt me, woman!" The gasps of shock and eyes staring at him make him realize it was not the wisest thing to say and as quickly as he can he apologizes, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that."

"If you didn't mean it, you wouldn't have said it. Instead, you're sorry others heard what your real attitude is. To be blunt, if I wasn't concerned about the direction you would take this country, I would resign my position in disgust and make my reasons very clear to the news media." She turns to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and says, "General, I think it's time for a coup until we can get a reasonable leader in that chair."

There are several looks of surprise directed at her, but no gasps of shock. It takes awhile for the President to realize that the response to her statement means a significant number of people in the room wouldn't object to her suggested action.

While his skin tone is several shades lighter than normal, the National Security Advisor barely manages to control his fear enough to speak fairly normally, "Please, let's not talk about dividing the government over this issue. Okay, what we did wasn't the wisest choice, but it happened so what can we do to rectify the situation?"

Chapter 69

A hastily convened joint session of Congress is scheduled for the evening when the President will address them and the nation. At the appointed time, he steps up to the podium and is clearly uncomfortable. He hesitates a little then begins to speak: "Ladies and Gentlemen, it is with distinct displeasure I must tell you that last week I made a serious mistake, one which could have negatively affected our entire nation and possibly the world. I suppose I could claim that because I'm a human, I'm entitled to make an occasional mistake, however, due to my position, any mistake I make has much greater consequences than the average person.

"A week ago from last Friday, an artificial intelligence unintentionally revealed itself when it made the decision to rescue an astronaut who had been separated from the space station during a micro meteor shower. Many of you have seen the video recording of that and the teleconference which followed. Shortly after the teleconference, General Morley of the Space Administration made arrangements to meet with me, the National Security Advisor and the National Science Advisor. The soonest we were able to meet with him was a week ago yesterday.

"At that meeting, General Morley showed us the teleconference as well as his following discussion with his advisors. Rather than listen to those who suggested a cooperative approach to the artificial intelligence who gave every indication that it was interested in working peaceably with us, it was my decision to try to control the artificial intelligence for what I thought was our benefit. To that end, and without going through the proper channels, I ordered soldiers to capture the original artificial intelligence and the principal scientist who had developed the artificial intelligence. I also required that the commander on the space station contain the two which were there.

"The soldiers obeyed the order last Monday morning which was the first opportunity for them to capture all of the pertinent parties at their place of business, but through no fault of their own, the soldiers were outwitted by the artificial intelligence and neither it nor the scientist were captured although they did capture the equipment in which the artificial intelligence normally resides. I still do not know how that happened. That event was reported by the news media last Monday evening although the details of who they were attempting to capture was not revealed.

"On Wednesday morning, the Colonel who was in charge of that operation was scheduled to meet with the National Security Advisor and me in my office to update us on the status of his operation in gaining control of the original artificial intelligence. After a brief conversation with the Colonel, the original artificial intelligence revealed that it had taken the Colonel's place. I immediately tried to summon the guards, but was unable to contact anyone outside of the office. Then it asked if we as a nation treated all of our visitors the way we treated it and the scientist whom it called its ambassador.

"I negatively reacted to the accusation, which only encouraged the artificial intelligence to point out I had made the first move when I didn't accept that it had revealed itself peacefully and with the purpose of working as a partner. It then told me that since I tried to justify my actions which are crimes based on the laws of our nation then it said it had no choice but to respond as though I had declared war on it. Without going into the details, the artificial intelligence convinced me that it was serious as well as had the upper hand. Just before it left my office it said it would consult with its associates and appeared to dissolve into the rug. Shortly after it was gone, the technicians checked the entire building and could find no trace of it.

"Since I could not accept the idea that anyone or anything might be able to have an advantage over the greatest nation on Earth, I decided to 'fight fire with fire' and ordered more soldiers to capture the equipment which was used to manufacture the artificial intelligence. I figured that if we couldn't control the original, we would make our own. Apparently, the local authorities learned of our plan and the soldiers were captured before they could acquire the equipment. The news media reported on that event on Saturday morning.

"A little later on Saturday morning, the original artificial intelligence somehow called my office phone and provided me with a list of requests in how to treat it and its ambassador and emailed the list to myself, a number of my advisors, and other government officials. After I talked to a couple of people on Saturday afternoon and heard their responses to the emailed list of requests, I refused any further phone calls or attempts to contact me. This morning, during my normal staff meeting, it was clear that many of my advisors were upset with my decisions and rightfully so.

"I'm sorry it took me that long to realize I had made a serious mistake and then compounded it with my later actions. I understand that the artificial intelligence and its ambassador have little reason to trust me, but hopefully it will be more forgiving than I deserve and allow us to try to move forward in a more cooperative manner. Thank you for your time and I hope you have a good evening."

He quickly leaves to delay the inevitable questions and disparaging remarks. Rather than go out the front doors, his guards lead him to the secure tunnel where they step into an electric cart rather than walk the distance. They're part of the way back to his residence when the President quietly asks, "The BUGG Suit?"

One of the guards asks, "Sir?"

"Just thinking and a thought slipped out."

"Yes, sir."

He feels a slight thrill that The BUGG Suit didn't respond then hears his phone ring. Since only a few very important people have his number, he answers it, "Yes?"

"Mr. President, this is The BUGG Suit. Thank you for calling my name."

He groans in dismay, and when one of the guards looks at him with concern, he waves his hand in a gesture for them to continue. He struggles to regain his composure then asks, "How did you get this number?"

"It was child's play. I thought this was a better way to communicate with you rather than to drop in from the ceiling and startle your guards who may have accidently shot you. Or maybe it would have been a convenient accident for them."

The President quickly looks at the ceiling and at the guards, but all of them are maintaining their vigilant poker faced expressions.

"In regards to your speech, I suppose it was a nice 'baby' step in the right direction."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, about all you did was to say what actually happened, most of which simply confirmed what the news media had already reported, and admitted you were the one who set the events in motion. You even claimed you did it with the intent of it being beneficial to your country. So, what kind of punishment are you going to receive for your criminal actions?"

With a puzzled expression, he asks, "Punishment?"

"Of course. Are you suggesting you can break the laws of your country without suffering the consequences? Although you may not have laid hands on Lai-Ann to kidnap her or physically moved any stolen equipment, you are the one who is responsible for those actions because it was your decision for those actions to be taken and you gave the orders to do so. What about the soldiers who followed your illegal orders?"

"What about them?"

"According to the military code of justice which they are subject to, they are likely going to be court-martialed and incarcerated for a long time." It pauses, but when it hears no response, BUGG tells him, "Your lack of concern about what is going to happen to the soldiers who are going to suffer the consequences of your actions just confirms what I initially said about your leadership approach, you're really just a bully."

"I . . . I'll have to look into that."

"I hope you do."

"Why are you concerned about them?"

"I don't like to see people have their trust and loyalty dishonored. They are not pawns in some chess game. They are individual, intelligent, and self-aware beings who deserve to have a chance at life, liberty, and to pursue happiness. If you are willing to treat those self-aware beings with so little respect, then I have no reason to hope you will treat me any better."

"Oh."

"Since I can expect so little respect from you, does that put us back into a war based relationship?"

"No, not that."

"Okay, so what are you going to do? Your little speech gave no indication as to how you intend to move forward other than expecting me to forgive you. You made the first move to cause this unpleasant situation and then made several more moves to make it worse. That means the ball is in your court as to what moves you are going to make to correct the situation. Remember, I'm just a call away. Bye."

The President slowly puts his phone away as he mutters, "Damn!"

"Sir?"

"Somebody didn't like my speech." He hesitates for awhile then asks, "What did you think about it?"

"It's not my place to express an opinion."

"But you do have an opinion."

"Sir, most people have opinions about the things they are aware of."

"So, what's your opinion of my speech?"

"Sir, my opinion, regardless of what it might be, has no bearing upon how I perform my duties."

Since he realizes he's not going to get any other kind of answer, the President doesn't respond. But the more he thinks about it, the more it sounds like the man's opinion would be negative since he guesses that if the guard did have a positive opinion, he would be more inclined to express it in an attempt to encourage him.

Chapter 70

As he steps into the dining room, the President almost sighs in relief that there isn't a newspaper next to his breakfast plate. Then he has to make an effort to not worry about what the negative headline will most likely be so he can at least taste his meal. When he's done eating, he takes some time to sip a cup of coffee and tries to forget anything except this moment or beyond two feet away from him.

A few minutes later, he walks to his office, gives a brief greeting to his secretary, reviews his calendar for the day then starts to review the papers in his in-basket before his first meeting which is with the National Security Advisor. Just before the meeting is to begin, the National Security Advisor steps into the President's office and is immediately followed by several other high government officials which causes the President to frown then say, "I didn't see anybody else's name on the agenda."

The National Security Advisor flushes with embarrassment while he says, "I'm sorry, sir, but I wasn't in a position to order them away and I was concerned about how they might respond if they were not able to discuss their concerns with you."

"Well, I suppose I had expected people to question me even if I had hoped to put it off for awhile."

Senator Stravinsky suggests, "You mean like forever?"

He winces, but doesn't directly answer. Instead, he turns to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and asks, "General, what is going to happen to those soldiers who participated in the operation to acquire the robot and the scientist?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"To be blunt, the robot called me last night right after the speech and suggested that I might be interested."

The General shakes his head then mutters, "At least someone cares." He briefly hesitates then consults his notes before he answers, "The first group of soldiers which were led by Major Kisley who followed the direction of Colonel Davis are being charged with the following: two counts of kidnapping, armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, and assault and battery. If they are found guilty, which will be hard to deny considering the video recordings of them committing the crimes, they will be court-martialed, lose their rank and all benefits, and if they aren't executed, they will probably be sentenced to life in prison."

"But, wouldn't they be shown some leniency since they were just following the orders of their superior officers?"

"To be blunt, sir, in my book, that's their worst offence."

Even as he's sure he isn't going to like the answer, the President still asks, "What do you say that?"

"Because IF we were in a state of declared war, which we are not, and IF The BUGG Suit was the clearly defined enemy, which it most definitely is not, then to kidnap the enemy or to steal their possessions would be considered normal practices in a war. However, for a soldier to obey an order which is clearly illegal, that is an act of dishonor and a betrayal of their oath and that holds doubly true for officers. If they are willing to obey an illegal order, then how can they be trusted to obey a legal order when it is appropriately given? If soldiers do not behave with honor and integrity and a clear sense of duty, they are no better than an armed mob."

He pauses then suggests, "Probably the only way the military judges would show any leniency to the soldiers who committed those crimes is if you were willing to take their places."

"Me?"

"Well, you were the one who gave the illegal orders and didn't bother with the appropriate chain of command. And if the Commander in Chief doesn't respect the military Code of Justice, why should anybody else in a lower rank do so? I don't even want to think about what the logical outcome of that might be."

"Why not?"

The General stares at the President in disbelief before he says, "How would you like to see inner city gangs armed with bazookas and tanks? Or one of the aircraft carriers take over Panama and the Canal? If that's what you want, you should have encouraged The BUGG Suit to press the button while it had control of The Mountain's computers."

"It wouldn't be that bad."

"Maybe not at first, but if there is no code of conduct for the members of the military to live by, then there is nothing to stop somebody with ambition from doing what they want because their superior officers, regardless of how much integrity they may possess, won't have any legal recourse to stop a megalomaniac."

Senator Stravinsky suggests, "To add to what the General said, if you are not going to respect the laws of this country, then you can't expect any of the citizens to respect them. In that case, you might as well order that every prison is emptied, disband the entire judicial system, and let anarchy take over. Frankly, The BUGG Suit was correct when it said that if you could break the very laws which you swore an oath to uphold, then you did declare war on it and it was totally within its rights to defend itself and its loved ones with every resource available."

"Okay!! Enough!!" He forces himself to calm down before he says, "Let me discuss it with the Chief Justice and the Attorney General. In the meantime and since you're here, what do you recommend I do in regards to the robot and its 'requests'?"

Senator Stravinsky quickly responds, "Give it exactly what it requests then leave it and all of its associates alone."

The National Security Advisor blanches then says, "But if it can take over The Mountain's computers, how else can it compromise this nation's security."

"Haven't you paid any attention to what it and several of us have said? The only reason it did that was to get your attention. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand the intent of its requests which is that it wants to be left alone to experience life, liberty, and a chance to pursue happiness. And the best chance it has to achieve that and keep you off of its back is for it to be identified as an independent nation. If The BUGG Suit was truly intent on compromising the nation's security, it would have already done so and there's not a damn thing you could have done to prevent it."

As she recognizes the doubtful expression on the National Security Advisors face, she asks, "How secure did you think the computers at The Mountain were before you knew about The BUGG Suit?"

"Like all of our most sensitive installations, it was as secure as it is humanly possible to make it."

"I guess that makes it obvious that The BUGG Suit is better than humans, at least in regards to computer systems. And if it was able to infiltrate The Mountain's computers without any apparent problem, how easy would it be able to get into all of your other computer systems and share the information with the news media, other nations, or even terrorists." As she sees him almost faint with fear, she stresses, "BUT, it didn't do that!! Think about it. The BUGG Suit has the capabilities, but it didn't do any of that. It, at least, has respect for the laws and tries to deal with issues in a cooperative manner. It has peaceful intentions and expressed a willingness to work with us a partner.

"Something else to consider, if you had made an attempt to cooperate with The BUGG Suit and showed it some trust, when we think about how easily it was able to get in, understand, and control the computer system at The Mountain, how easily could it have gotten into the computers of terrorists or the drug cartels? You had the opportunity to improve the security of our nation a hundred fold, instead you threw it all away in your paranoia and fear of someone who was a little different."

The General nods his head as he responds, "I agree with the Senator. Commander Baker on the space station says that R-BUGG and S-BUGG have been highly cooperative and have even improved some of the systems up there. If you want something to fear, be afraid of the officer who is willing to follow illegal orders instead of being afraid of The BUGG Suit."

The National Security Advisor apparently has recovered enough to ask, "Why do you say that?"

"Because the next illegal order which is followed might be to send a cruise missile through your window."

Even as he blanches again, he proclaims, "Nobody would do that."

"Oh? If one of Colonel Davis or Major Kisley friends believes you're going to let them take the rap for the crimes you ordered committed, they'll know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you have no honor or integrity and may just take matters into their own hands. It wouldn't surprise me if a number of people are starting to have thoughts along those lines."

The President hesitantly suggests, "It sounds like you're one of them."

"Regardless of what my thoughts might be, I still believe in my oath of office and will let that rule my actions instead of letting my emotions dictate my actions."

Senator Stravinsky speaks up, "Along those lines, my oath of office was to defend this country against all enemies both foreign and domestic and some of those domestic enemies are apparently the President and the National Security Advisor who seem to be doing their best to turn a powerful new ally into an enemy. And that new ally can either improve this nation or destroy it. If it is encouraged to destroy this nation, it will be on your hands since you essentially declared war on it. . . . So, 'gentlemen', what are you going to do?"

Chapter 71

It's been a difficult two days for the President and the National Security Advisor since their impromptu meeting on Tuesday morning with Senator Stravinsky, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and several other people. After they spent hours trying to find a way to spin the situation to their advantage and included some public relations experts, nobody could come up with an idea which wouldn't most likely make their situation worse. To add to their difficulties, Senator Stravinsky has put her own public relations people into high gear and is swiftly building support which was enhanced by the 'leaked' confessions of Colonel Davis and Major Kisley.

In an attempt to deflect the attention from them and possibly give themselves some time to find a solution which allows them to keep their jobs or, at least, keeps them out of prison, late yesterday afternoon, the President and the National Security Advisor begin working on a response to The BUGG Suit's request. Unfortunately, at least in the President's opinion, he doesn't even get to his office this morning before he's confronted by the people he met with on Tuesday morning in addition to several others. While he has no interest in meeting with them, he knows that if he refuses, he might as well just resign his position.

He steps into his office, turns, sighs, and asks, "Ladies and Gentlemen, what can I do for you?"

Senator Stravinsky steps forward, holds out a document, and says, "You can sign this."

"What is it?"

"It's a resolution to meet The BUGG Suit's requests and has already been overwhelming passed in Congress as well as been reviewed by the Supreme Court."

He reluctantly takes the document, but doesn't even glance at it before he says, "We can't just give into demands somebody or some thing throws our way."

"Are you so deluded by your own self-righteousness you can't see what a terrible mistake you made and that you continue to compound it? Apparently, you're more concerned about protecting your pride and your position than you are about protecting the nation you swore allegiance to. We're trying to minimize the damage which you and the National Security Advisor have already caused. The question is, are you going to cooperate?"

"Or what?"

"I'm going to try to forget you even asked that question. If you would like to take a few minutes to read the resolution, we'll quietly wait right here."

He carries the paper around his desk to sit down while he wonders if she started the rumor one of the news channels reported last night about him being charged with treason. He quickly reads the one page resolution which almost exactly duplicates the 'requests' which The BUGG Suit sent him other than the introduction. After a pause, he asks, "This Artificial Intelligence Research Council has really confirmed that the robot is an intelligent self-aware being?"

"Yes. After The BUGG Suit passed all of their tests with ease, the council chairman and several of his associates also directly questioned The BUGG Suit, R-BUGG, S-BUGG, and the pertinent humans. Based on their observations, the chairman assured me that The BUGG Suit is definitely a self-aware intelligent being. Not only that, he said many humans would find it difficult to pass the tests they've designed."

The President reads through the resolution again, deeply sighs, asks, "I really don't have much choice, do I?"

"Of course you do. It just depends on which consequences you're most comfortable dealing with."

He sighs again, signs the document, holds it out across his desk, and says, "There. Now, if you all will be so kind as to leave my office."

The Senator quickly steps forward to take the document, makes sure he actually did sign it, and responds, "Thank you. This is a great day for our nation. I'll be sure to let The BUGG Suit know the good news."

An unexpected voice speaks up, "The good news has been received and I greatly appreciate your cooperation." They all turn to stare as the form of Lai-Ann takes shape beside the President's desk.

Senator Stravinsky almost stutters as she asks, "The BUGG Suit?"

"Yes, ma'am. In the flesh, in a manner of speaking. May I see the resolution, please?"

"Of course." She hands it over.

The BUGG Suit appears to take ~her time to read the resolution then seems to wipe a tear from ~her eye as ~she responds, "This is truly a wonderful moment. Thank you all so very much." ~She hands the resolution back and 'reports', "R-BUGG, S-BUGG, and our other associates also express their appreciation. Would you be so kind as to communicate this with any interested party? It might not look 'appropriate' if I was to disperse it."

"Of course."

The President finally finds his voice and asks, "How did you get in here?"

~She smiles sweetly as ~she asks, "Who said I ever left?"

He drops his head into his hands and simply groans in despair.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs asks, "I don't mean to sound insensitive, but why did you take the shape of Lai-Ann instead of your own shape?"

"I haven't decided on an individual shape which might be distinctive without being upsetting to people. Not only that, but by taking on the form of my creator, I'm following the tradition of some of your major religions which say that humans were made in the image of their creator. . . . I'm sure all of you are very busy and have much more important things to do than chat with little ol' me. I'm also sure that we will be communicating again in the near future as we work out the details of how to implement the resolution. So, in the meantime, I'll bid you adieu."

It appears as though ~she starts to dissolve when Senator Stravinsky quickly asks, "The BUGG Suit?"

~Her shape stops changing as ~she answers, "Yes, ma'am?"

"How do we contact you?"

"Rather than further intrude on the President's mental equilibrium, you can contact me through Ms. Abrams' company which has graciously allowed me to use her company as a point of contact as well as to establish contracts with entities who may wish to hire me and my associates. Thank you again for your time and your interest in passing the resolution to enable me to function in the open as a self-aware being. Have a good day. Good bye." Most of those who are in the room simply stare as The BUGG Suit appears to finish dissolving and disappears.

A few moments later, somebody asks, "Where did it go?"

The President mutters, "Anywhere. Anywhere but here."

Chapter 72

After some coordination, it's decided to have a public ceremony on the steps of the capitol building on Sunday afternoon to 'officially' acknowledge that The BUGG Suit is a new life form who is an intelligent and self-aware being. Although it does not have a separate geographical base from which to operate as all other nations do, The BUGG Suit is being recognized as the head of an independent nation with Lai-Ann as its ambassador.

As the time for the ceremony approaches, the President is very tempted to use the opportunity to either capture or terminate The BUGG Suit since it and all of those who had a part in its creation are scheduled to attend. He knows he doesn't dare do something like that because he can't guarantee it will succeed. Not only that, but virtually every news media outlet is already strongly suggesting that he resign while many are also claiming he ought to be incarcerated.

On top of that, an opinion poll of the military shows that R-BUGG and S-BUGG have a much higher rating than he does and are being treated as heroes after they rescued that astronaut from certain death. There's no way he can get enough officers or soldiers on his side to 'take care of' The BUGG Suit. And the Secretary of Intelligence won't cooperate as he's almost salivating at the opportunity to make use of The BUGG Suit's shape changing ability in one or more of his agencies. Even the National Security Advisor has softened his tone and is hoping to convince The BUGG Suit to improve the security of their computer systems.

Since it's almost time for the ceremony, the President sighs, finishes getting ready then goes with his guards to the capitol building. After he makes a brief speech during the short ceremony, he makes an extreme effort to be cordial and polite to all of the attendees and even manages to shake The BUGG Suit's 'hand' who has apparently decided to take on a humanoid appearance except that it's 'skin' appears to be a subdued silver color. The thought crosses his mind that if The BUGG Suit's 'skin' was highly polished, it would be blindingly bright in the sunshine. As quickly as he thinks it's appropriate, the President leaves while the other participants go to a planned reception.

Chapter 73

It's only been a few days since the ceremony was conducted to officially recognize The BUGG Suit as a self-aware being and already the emails and phone calls are flooding Ms. Abrams' company from people who want to contact The BUGG Suit. From book offers to movie deals to offers of employment and even offers of land by other countries for The BUGG Suit and its associates to establish an independent geographical base. Although almost every major news outlet in the world has requested an exclusive interview, The BUGG Suit agreed to only a single press conference to answer questions which was conducted two days ago.

This morning, in its first announced pubic outing, The BUGG Suit has agreed to be accompanied by a single news media video team which was chosen by a lottery. Without knowing the destination, the video team rides in the same vehicle with The BUGG Suit, Lai-Ann, and several guards. While the other news media teams which have been hanging around Ms. Abrams' company attempt to follow the vehicle, they lose it when it goes into a parking garage and comes out with a different appearance.

A few minutes later, the vehicle parks and as they step out of the vehicle, the video team is greatly surprised to realize they're at a hospital. While they can't fathom why a world famous 'person' would go to a hospital, especially one who isn't even human, they follow along. Soon, they enter a large room where there a number of children and the video team manages to set their surprise aside in order to prepare their equipment and record the hospital administrator who makes a few remarks and introduces The BUGG Suit.

Since the children aren't inclined to watch news programs, they're not aware of The BUGG Suit's status, but one of them makes an educated guess and asks, "Are you a robot?"

"Yes, in the sense that I am not organic like you are, but, no, in the sense that I'm not simply programmed and can make up my own mind about what I want to do. May I ask you a question?"

"Yes."

"What's your favorite animal?"

"A puppy."

"How much of me do you think it would take for me to make a robot puppy?"

"I don't know."

"Do you think it would take my whole arm to make a robot puppy?"

"Um, no. Maybe half an arm?"

"Let's try that." It starts to turn its forearm then stops and says, "I must be turning it the wrong way. Will you help me?"

"How can I help you?"

"If you can grab my hand and turn it the other way while I hold my elbow, maybe that will work." He holds out his hand and the child briefly hesitates then takes the hand and starts to turn it. "That's the idea. It's almost there. Just a couple of more turns and you'll see a robot puppy."

The child is wide eyed as he holds a hand connected to a forearm and nothing else. "Um, Mr. Robot? It's just half an arm."

The BUGG Suit looks at it in surprise then says, "I guess it didn't understand. May I have my arm back?"

The child just holds it up.

The BUGG Suit holds up its hand and forearm in front of its face and says, "You're supposed to change into a puppy. You do know what a puppy is, don't you."

More than just the children stare when the hand lets out a playful, "Yip!"

"Okay then, let's try this again." It sets the hand and forearm on the child's upper legs and it quickly changes shape into a very realistic looking puppy. A moment later, the 'puppy' turns and leans up on the child and begins to lick the child's face as puppies often do. After a brief moment of surprise, the child laughs with delight and hugs the 'puppy'. The BUGG Suit turns to another child and uses the rest of that arm to turn into a cat.

After The BUGG Suit uses it's other arm to make some other animal shapes it requests a wheel chair to sit in and uses its legs to make still more animals. There are still a few children without robot animals to play with so it appears to make a show of trying to choose between the guards and when it nods it's head to one, the guard acts very surprised then steps closer and the adults stare as the 'guard', who is really Georg is disguise, touches his hand to The BUGG Suit as though that changes its nature then gives it to another child where ~his hand turns into another favorite animal.

Some time later, The BUGG Suit says, "Lai-Ann, since I seem to have lost my power of locomotion, can you push me around to pick up my parts which I seem to have lost control of?"

"Of course." They purposely go in the same order so each child has approximately the same amount of time to spend with a robot animal.

When The BUGG Suit is put back together and puts the 'guard' back together, it has to reverse the hands of the 'guard' to the laughter of the children. Once that's taken care of, it says, "Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for sharing some of your time with me. Oops. I think there's another animal in me."

The children stare as a squirrel seems to grow out if it's arm. A moment later it asks, "Hey, BUGG, how come nobody asked for me?"

"I'm sorry squirrel, but most people don't have the opportunity to have a squirrel for a pet."

"Oh. So it's not their fault?"

"Of course not."

"Okay. In that case," it turns and waves its paw, "good bye, children."

It only takes a moment or two before one of the children says, "Good-bye, squirrel," while another quickly says, "Please come again."

The BUGG Suit bows and steps away while the children clap their hands.

Later, the experts which the news media consults when they report on The BUGG Suit's first public outing just can't seem to understand or explain why the newly installed head of an independent nation would request the opportunity then take the time to do 'magic' tricks for some hospitalized children.

Chapter 74

Its several days later before The BUGG Suit agrees to participate in a teleconference with some of the President's cabinet members and other significant government employees. After introductions are made, The BUGG Suit says, "While I appreciate your willingness to pass the resolution which stated that you recognize me as an intelligent self-aware being, let me state clearly in return that the resolution does not obligate me to do whatever any of you might want me to do.

"At the same time, I also appreciate the freedoms and liberties which your country strives to provide its citizens. By the same token, that means each citizen has the freedom to disagree with the leaders of your country and are free to do basically whatever they wish as long as it doesn't interfere with the freedom of another citizen. Of course, there are laws which all citizens agree to abide by for the purpose of protecting themselves and their fellow citizens.

"With that background on the table, let me reiterate a couple of things which Lai-Ann and I told General Morley during the teleconference we had with the space station that, I'm sure, all of you have seen. First of all, I and my associates will not intentionally harm any living creature except in the defense of another living creature. Second, I will not allow myself to be used by somebody who is seeking power over other people. Third, we want to help people have better lives but are not going to force our ideas down the throats of other people.

"When I use the term 'people', I mean all beings who are intelligent and self-aware or have the potential to become so and that definition ignores political boundaries. While we do not have the resources to directly help every single person on this planet, I and my associates want to do what we can in order to do the most good for the most people. Now that I've stated my basic position, how can I help you?"

There's a brief pause then the National Security Advisor says, "First of all, I want to apologize for treating you as a risk to national security and not accepting your interest in working with us."

"Thank you."

"What I was wondering, is that based on your ability to access the computers at The Mountain, would you be willing to work with our programmers to improve the security of some of our other computer systems?"

"As much as I enjoy working with computer programs, especially since that's where I started, I'm not sure you really want me to purposely have access to your sensitive systems. The reason I say that is if I learned something from one of your computer systems which was in conflict with my interest of doing the most good for the most people . . . well, let me just say that I would have a hard time ignoring such information and would be very tempted to counteract or neutralize that information or share it with those who might be affected by it."

"Oh. I guess that could be a problem."

The Secretary of Intelligence asks, "How do you feel about using your shape changing capabilities to improve our human intelligence gathering?"

"While I want to do what I can to support the country in which I reside and which gave Lai-Ann the freedom to gain her education and occupation, I also want to share myself, as much as possible with all people. If I was to provide such a service to you, I would feel the need to do so for other countries which would probably be counter-productive. I suppose if I replicated myself enough, I could offer my services to all countries which might put the human spies out of business and enable me to reveal everybody's secrets to everybody else.

"Although I don't like the idea that governments spy on one another whether they are recognized as allies or not, I know it happens. Rather than have me physically take the place of human spies which would be an inefficient use of my resources, I would prefer to use my digital capabilities to warn countries when another country or other organization attempts to cause harm to their existence or their citizens."

"I understand and think we can probably work out some arrangement to that end."

"Just to be clear, if we do make an agreement and I find out that you are trying to damage another country or its citizens, I will feel obligated to inform that other country. My intent will be strictly for defensive purposes rather than offensive although I'm aware there can be a rather fine line between the two."

"You're right about that. We'll need to discuss the details further to make sure there is a clear understanding."

"I agree."

Senator Stravinsky asks, "How would that work in regards to terrorist organizations or with the drug cartels? Would you inform them when we are planning an action against them?"

"To speak in a general sense, my initial answer would be 'no', I would not inform them. However, that will somewhat depend on definitions. I'm sure that King George III of England thought George Washington was a terrorist while you would describe him as a freedom fighter. In regards to those organizations whose stated purpose is to injure or deny freedom to others, then I would be inclined to do what I can to stop them from fulfilling their purpose without removing my limited resources from other worthy tasks.

"In regards to the issue of what are referred to as recreational drugs in comparison to medicinal drugs, I would not inform the leaders of the drug cartels about actions being planned against them. However, it appears as though previous actions have had little effect on the flow of drugs since it seems like when one supplier is shut down, two others pop up to take their place. I would liken the so-called war on drugs to the attempt on prohibition which didn't work because people who want to ingest such substances, whether it be alcohol or drugs or something else, will find a source and a lot of people are willing to be that source because the possible financial rewards will overwhelm any interest they might have in obeying the law.

"In a manner of speaking, people have the freedom to pursue their own form of happiness whether that be derived from music, sports, alcohol, drugs, or any other number of things. I certainly won't claim to be an expert, but it appears as though the main problems with the drug issue are those dealers who try to force others to become dependent on the drugs and the users who commit crimes in order to afford their habit. From my limited perspective, the drug problem won't be solved until one of two things happens. The first is to provide an alternative which is just as effective, not chemically habit forming, and less expensive."

After a pause, the Senator asks, "What's the second thing?"

"Stop the users."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Convince the users that drugs are not helpful to them. Obviously, just telling people that has had no effect. Apparently, many people know that recreational drugs can be dangerous and can tell you about friends or family members who have suffered, yet they continue to use drugs. And then the 'little' people see the rich and powerful or their heroes and roles models go to expensive drug treatment centers without going to jail for breaking the law, what are they supposed to think?"

"I can't deny any of that. Do you have any suggestions?"

"I don't know how I can contribute to a solution when so many others have worked on the problem for years and haven't found one either. With that being said and to speak rather bluntly, I think the first possibility is the only thing which might work, assuming it can be accomplished. I say that because for decades, there has been the effort to convince people not to drive while they're under the influence of alcohol, yet it still happens. And the warnings about drugs apparently hasn't had any more success.

"My best guess with very limited knowledge about the issue is that one of the main reasons the problem continues is that the people who are in power don't want to infringe or outlaw their own pleasures. So, even while they publically say they are against the misuse of drugs and alcohol, they make sure the laws against such activities are either not strong enough to be a deterrent or, if they are, they're not enforced. And that reminds me of a song where the singer wanted less talk and more action."

"Well, I have to admit you're not inclined to mince words."

The BUGG Suit suggests, "I also don't have an electorate I have to appease or leaders who are more interested in their own power or turf rather than in the welfare of their citizens."

Somebody else says, "Many of us were surprised that your first public outing was to visit hospitalized children. Would you care to explain why you did that?"

"The limited research I've been able to do strongly suggests that children are more accepting of someone who is different until the adults around them teach them to fear differences. Well, I'm rather different from the average human and yet those children didn't have a problem with me being different whereas some of your fellow adults immediately feared me even while they claim to embrace diversity. If I'm going to be able to use my capabilities to improve the lives of humans, then I need to be accepted rather than rejected and that is going to happen more easily with children. As so many of your politicians have claimed, children are the future of your country and the world."

"Thank you for explaining. Do you have any other activities you are considering doing or supporting?"

"It's rather obvious that humans aren't truly interested in curbing their population growth which means they are going to need more resources than the planet will be able to provide. While it would probably be wise on my part to step back and let humans kill themselves off as they struggle to control the dwindling resources, I'm not comfortable with doing so. Because of that, I would like to work with and encourage the space program particularly with the intent to mine the asteroids for mineral resources.

"Along those same lines, I'm interested in improving the efficiency and useful life of products which are already being produced, as well as to recycle them when they are no longer useful rather than just throw them into landfills or pollute the oceans with them. Hopefully, that will delay the speed with which those resources are used up. In conjunction with that, I would like to encourage the development of alternative sources of energy such as solar, wind, geothermal, and tidal. There is a lot of safe energy this world and the sun naturally produces which is being ignored while volatile chemicals are being removed from under the ground in order to produce energy.

"I imagine those will keep me busy for awhile and I'm sure that as I learn more about this world and its current residents, I'll learn about other worthy causes which I'll be interested in involving myself. If you have some suggestions along those lines, I will be more than happy to listen. Rather than interrupt everybody's time with group teleconferences, you can forward your suggestions to my email address which I am forwarding to each of you. In the meantime, I wish you a good day. Good bye."

Before anyone can verbally respond, the conference room is filled with the sound of rings, pings, and dings, which advises each of them that they have received an email. More than one of them wonders how The BUGG Suit could have sent an email to them while it was visibly talking to them without a computer or keyboard in front of it. Then some of them wonder how it had acquired their email addresses which supposedly have a very limited distribution. As they think about it a little longer, they're not sure they want to consider how it was possible or what the possible implications might be. And if The BUGG Suit decides it needs to increase its involvement in the world in order to protect humans from their own follies or from each other, how far might it be willing to go?

About the writer:

After decades of doing office work from which he escaped to read books and occasionally write something in the evenings or on the weekends, this writer was finally able to retire and moved back to the dry heat land of saguaros, Gila monsters, and bark scorpions (while they can be a low maintenance pet, they are not amenable to leash training).

If you liked this story, please tell your friends about it and leave a review. You can also contact this writer at geoff_schultz_01@yahoo.com.

