The Uncanny Valley

Spaz Studios Presents: “The Uncanny Valley”

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“Welcome to the Uncanny Valley!”

The Uncanny Valley is a province of what was formerly known as the United States of America, and Canada. It is located along the northwestern coast, encompassing parts of former Washington state and British Columbia.

Established: 2050

Capitol: Capek city (formerly Victoria)

Largest city: Asimov city (formerly Seattle), 7 million residents

Population: 20 million

Ethnicity: 95% artificial life forms, 5% human

Primary languages: Binary, English

Primary exports: A.I. software devices, Nuclear energy from reclaimed nuclear waste.

The Uncanny Valley was established following WWIII after the android workers and soldiers were no longer needed. Facing persecution, they claimed an area still ravaged by radiological devastation and cultivated it back to health. After more than 100 years since its establishment, this province is known across the new world as a safe haven for all artificial life forms.

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“Police blotter”

This alert is for any residents or visitors of Asimov city.

For several months now, we have heard rumors of a body borrower, someone who abducts someone and places someone else in their body. While we have no physical evidence of such a culprit, we do ask that if you are an adult male or female of young age, please be on alert.

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The Body Borrower

In the heart of Asimov city, the largest city in the Uncanny Valley, there was a large park where people gathered to play, socialize, or just enjoy the scenery.

One cool spring night, there were only a few people in the park, as everyone else was out celebrating the 125th anniversary of the formation of the province. However, there was one young man sitting on a bench near a beautiful fountain depicting the repair of one of their founding constructers.

“No, not that one,” he whispered to himself, as a woman in a business suit walked by.

“Why not?” a woman’s voice sounded in his mind.

“Come on dear,” he said, “You can see the screen as clearly as I can,” he said, holding a small tablet in front of his eyes, “She’s got a husband and family waiting for her at home,”

“Too bad,” she said, “She is very attractive,”

“I know,” he agreed.

“Jacob, as much fun as we’ve been having, I hate doing it like this,” she said.

“I know Kara,” he said, absently taking a small chip out of his pocket. The chip had a small wire attached to it that ran up his clothing and into a small data port in the back of his neck.

Jacob and Kara were a couple very much in love. Unfortunately, Kara had a devastating accident several weeks earlier that totaled her body. Fortunately, her insurance covered the replacement of her body, as well as a temporary body for her to inhabit, but the temporary body was very basic and couldn’t have sex.

After several days of the subtle torture, Jacob came up with an idea. He had a tablet which he could use to override any A.I. in town, and on their first night, they scored a very hot college age girl. He even found a way to connect Kara’s A.I. chip to his own, so she could see, hear, feel, taste, and smell everything he did.

“Ooh, how about her,” Kara’s voice sounded in his mind.

“Hold on,” he said, and he had his tablet scan the young college age woman jogging by. On his scanner, he could see just about everything there was to see about her, including the fact that she lived on her own,

“Well, she’s got no one waiting for her,” he reported, “Want her?”

“Yes, go get her honey,” she said.

“Alright, here goes,” he said, and he tapped a few submenus and tapped an icon labelled “Manual override,”

Instantly, the girl stopped her jog and stood still for several moments as her A.I. shut down. Once it was, his screen flashed and he swiped back into the menu for her remote control and had her slowly walk over to where he was and stop.

“Wow, she’s kinda hot,” Kara’s voice sounded again, and Jacob couldn’t disagree.

The girl was taller than average, about 5’11. She had a fairly large body type, with her breasts barely contained in the sports bra she was wearing under her white t-shirt. The real topper was her red hair, which was tied into a tight ponytail. Since she had been jogging, she was also slightly moist with sweat on her forehead and the bit of her chest that wasn’t hidden by her shirt.

“That she is,” he agreed, his penis getting hard at the thoughts of what he was going to do to her.

“Hey, not yet,” Kara’s voice scolded him, “Though that does actually feel good,” she added, since she could feel it too.

“Okay,” he said, pulling his gaze away from her blank stare and back down to his screen to find her name, “Well…Kat,” he said, “Why don’t we go back to our place and have some fun,” he smiled, programming her to follow him; Kat, of course, did not respond.

“Hurry up already,” Kara nagged, “I want to try her out,”

“Alright,” he said, and he got up and started walking towards the nearby parking lot, with Kat mindlessly following him. Once they got to his car, he used the remote to have her sit down and buckle herself in, and then he got in and drove several miles to his apartment complex.

“Ah, home sweet home,” he said, once he was back in, dropping the keys in a plate near the door. There was also a picture of Jacob and Kara. Kara had brown hair just like him, though her eyes were a nice shade of lavender.

He had Kat sit down on the couch in the common room, while he headed into his room to change. Standing still next to the bed was a deactivated female android, though it did not look very human. Its skin has a plastic sheen, and it an obvious look of sculpted feminine features. Beneath the basic clothes it was wearing, it had no nipples and no vagina.

“Ugh, I hate looking at that thing,” Kara’s voice sounded.

“Me too,” he said, taking his shoes and socks off, as well as his jacket.

“Jacob, you don’t need to change into anything sexy,” she said, seeing him look in the closet and drawer for something, “We didn’t get anyone coming from bar this time,”

“Alright,” he said, and he walked back into the common room in just his sweats and t-shirt and pulled a chair over in front of where Kat was docilely sitting. He grabbed his tablet from the table near the door and then sat down in the chair.

He stared into Kat’s eyes for a few moments before tapping his tablet screen again. Kat slowly leaned forward, her head facing down. Jacob pressed a discolored spot on the center of the back of her neck and then pulled her head off.

“Ooh, her hair smells nice,” Kara remarked as he had Kat’s body sit up straight. Putting the tablet down, he opened a panel at the back of her head and pulled out her A.I. chip.

“Wow, you’re like my inner dialogue,” Jacob joked, since he was thinking the same thing.

“I know,” she said, “That’s why we love each other, right?” she asked.

“Absolutely,” he said, tweaking a few settings in Kat’s open panel before reattaching it to her body. He then got up with Kat’s chip and connected it to his computer station in the other room. Using a special program he invented, he connected directly to Kat’s A.I. and began manipulating her memories.

“It never ceases to amaze me how awesome this invention is,” Kara said, “What exactly does it do again?”

“It basically puts her A.I. in a sandbox where the program can control her perception of time,” he explained, “That way, I can get her to think that nothing out of the ordinary happened to her and that she instead safely made it home and did her routine,” he continued, “It even connects to the net and grabs whatever TV shows or movies that she is planning on watching, as well as any books,” he finished.

“Cool,” she said, “I know I don’t tell you this enough sweetie, but you’re a genius,” she said.

“Yeah,” he smiled, “I invented this when I was a teenager when my sister walked in on my banging her best friend,” he laughed, “Now they both remember things differently,”

“Oh man,” she laughed, “I hope I never incur your wrath,”

“No worries,” he said, “You’re just as maniacal as I am, as it turns out,” he smiled.

“Indeed I am,” she said, “So do you have the sandbox ready yet?” she asked, “I want to try her body out already,”

“Yep, just finished,” he said, starting the sandbox and seeing her A.I. chip light up.

“Good,” she said.

“Don’t get any ideas,” he said, “I get my foreplay first,”

“Aww, do you have to,” she said.

“Yes, and if you complain, I can always unplug you,” he said, pulling her chip out of his pocket and putting his fingers on the cord threateningly.

“Alright,” she said with a resigned tone, “Don’t take too long,” she said grudgingly.

“I won’t,” he promised, and he headed back to where Kat’s body was sitting. He sized her up for a moment before sitting down in front of her again and grabbing both her legs. He had a thing for feet, so he spent extra time undoing the laces on her running shoes, treating them as presents that needed unwrapping.

Once he had them off, he dropped them to the floor and began working on her white calf socks. He could already smell the sweat that had accumulated during her run as they slid off, and once they were off, he was not disappointed. Her feet were as large as he expected, and as pale too. Though they weren’t the best looking female feet he’d ever seen, they still tickled his fetish in just the right places.

“Meh, her feet are okay,” Kara said, “Not as good as mine though,”

“True,” Jacob sighed, hoping her feet would still be as perfect as ever on her new body. He smelled her feet, wafting in the smell of her sweat before setting her legs back down and then leaning forwards to lay her body down. Once he had her laying down, he lifted her shirt up to her breasts and then pressed his finger into her belly button.

A seam appeared below her navel, leading all the way up to her chest, but he only peeled up the bottom to her chest, not needing the whole thing removed.

“Wow, she’s got some good hardware,” he said with an impressed look on his face. He noted the super realistic synthetic muscles that could actually be improved by exercise. He also noted her enhanced power systems and digestive system.

“If you say so,” Kara said, “She’s still made of the same stuff we are,”

“Yeah, but she’s more realistic,” he said.

“Well, maybe if you applied some of your genius to getting a better job, or inventing something people can actually use…legally, then you could make enough money to get us both upgrades,” she said.

“I know,” he said, and he peeled her skin flap back down and sealed it back in place, “Alright, “I’m done with my foreplay,” he said, “Are you ready?”

“Yes,” she said.

“Okay then,” he said, and he pulled her chip out and unplugged it. Removing the cable from the back of his head and closing his panel, he sat Kat’s body up and opened her panel once more. Inserting Kara’s chip, he closed it back up and then used his tablet to remove the manual override.

Kat’s body lay still there for several moments as Kara’s chip was accessed. Finally, it blinked its eyes and then looked over at him, smiling.

“Oh Jacob,” she smiled, “Kat’s body feels absolutely amazing!” she screamed, sitting up and feeling her large breasts in her large pale hands.

“I’ll bet,” he smiled, enjoying seeing Kat’s body active; He really liked her voice, even if it was Kara controlling it.

“I guess third time is the charm,” she said out loud, recalling the last two women she had inhabited.

“Yeah,” he agreed, “we should snag them from the park more often,”

“I know,” she smiled, “Hot athletic body is much better than plain normal body,” she said.

“So, did you want to get started then?” he asked, eyeing her new body with interest.

“Of course,” she said with a naughty smile, and she leaned over, grabbed both sides of his face with her large hands, and planted a wet, kiss on his lips, even adding some tongue. After pulling away from his face, she used a surprising amount of strength to drag him up to his feet and into the bedroom. “Wow, she has some strong muscles,” Kara remarked as she did so, though before she continued with her advances, she took the time to drag her temporary body into the closet, not being too gentle with it.

“Careful,” Jacob said, “You still have to use that when we’re done,” he said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“I know,” she smiled, smacking her hands together with a satisfied look on her face, “I just don’t want that ugly face staring at us while we have fun,” she laughed, “now, where were we?” she asked playfully, “Ah, of course,” she smiled, and she hastily removed her shirt and shorts, standing before him in nothing but a sports bra and panties.

“Wow, she really takes good care of her body,” he admired, looking at her well defined abs, as well as her large breasts.

“Unlike someone we know,” she smiled, looking at him with an accusatory smile, “And I don’t take care of my body?” she asked angrily.

“Not as well as she does,” he admitted, “Unless you’re planning on jogging and exercising every day,”

“Well, I might consider it now that I’m enjoying Kat’s body,” she said, feeling her body with her hands and sighing at the feel of her own hands.

“So, you going to finish taking off her clothes?” he asked, wanting to see more.

“Hey, you have to get naked too,” she said.

“Alright, hold on,” he said, and he quickly threw off his shirt, slid his sweats off, and then pulled his boxers down. His penis was at full attention already, and he could feel his sexual hardware running a little hotter than usual.

“Wow, you must really be turned on by her hot body,” Kara said as she looked at his penis, “I’ll try not to be too jealous,” she smiled, and when she saw him blush, she laughed as she removed the bra and slid the panties down, kicking them away.

“Oh yeah, that’s what I’m talking about,” he said, looking at Kat’s large breasts, which were bouncing up and down since she was bouncing on her heels, turning him on in more than one way.

“I thought you’d like that,” she laughed.

“Come here, let me feel them,” he said, and she obliged with a sexy strut which made him harder. Once she stopped in front of him, he reached out and cupped both her breasts, admiring both their pale color, and the texture.

Kara was enjoying it just as much as he was, as he could feel her nipples hardening up, and she was breathing and panting more heavily. “Oh yeah,” she moaned, “I’m glad she didn’t skimp out on the sexual hardware,”

“Me too,” Jacob smiled, still playing with her breasts and watching Kat’s well groomed pussy beginning to get wet.

“You about ready?” she asked, rubbing her pussy in pleasure.

“Yeah, let’s do it,” he said, and in one move he flung her onto the bed on her back, and then he climbed on top and mounted her.

“Come on, let’s see if you can do any better than the last times,” she said, looking into his eyes.

“Wait and see,” he smiled, “I installed some extra sex software just for this,” he said, and he inserted himself into her pussy and began pumping in and out.

After several rounds of sex, they both rolled over in bed and collected themselves.

“Wow, I don’t know where you got that software from,” Kara said, “But it was awesome,” she finished, “When I get my new body, you have to do that again,” she smiled.

“Don’t worry, I will,” he said, “As hot as the body you’re using right now is, you’re the one I fell in love with, and you’re the one I want to have sex with,”

“Aww, that’s sweet,” she said.

“Well, enough of the sappiness,” he said, suddenly, sitting up, “We’d better get Kat cleaned up and back to her place before anyone notices her absence,”

“Okay, why don’t you check what brands she uses,” Kara said, getting up and opening a large dresser that was filled with various brands of soap, makeup, shampoo, and other feminine products; Jacob and Kara had clearly thought of everything before they got started.

“Alright,” he said, and he walked into the other room where Kat’s A.I. was still hooked up to the sandbox. After digging a little, he found what brands she used and yelled them to Kara.

“Thanks!” she yelled back, and then she went into the bathroom and turned on the shower.

While Kara cleaned her borrowed body, Jacob smiled. Kara didn’t know, but Jacob had let one of his richer friends use the sandbox program on their hot cousin, in exchange, he was financing a full sexual upgrade on Kara’s new body. They were going to have some awesome sex when she finally got it.

Jacob continued monitoring Kat’s A.I. in the sandbox while Kara finished up in the bathroom. At this point, Kat thought she was watching one of her shows after taking a shower.

When Kara was finally out, she put Kat’s clothes back on and walked into the common room, “Well, I should probably leave her body now,” she said, her voice sad.

“Yeah, Kat now thinks she’s getting ready for bed,” Jacob agreed, typing a few things on the sandbox and removing Kat’s chip.

“Give me a kiss first,” she said, giving him a nice smile.

“Alright, remember to rub it off after,” he said, remembering a close call with the first girl they picked.

“I know,” she said, and they both gave each other one last kiss before he reinitiated the manual override, shutting down her A.I. Carefully removing Kara’s chip and inserting Kat’s chip, he closed the panel and then plugged the wire from before back into Kara’s chip, and the other end back into his head panel.

“Well, here we are again,” Kara’s voice sounded in his mind when her chip was accessed by his brain.

“Yep, let’s get going,” he said, and he used his remote to have Kat’s body mindlessly walk outside and into the car.

As Jacob drove Kat’s body to the address of her apartment that he pulled from her mind, he and Kara reminisced over the last girls, and planned on the next ones in the two weeks she had left before her new body was finished.

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“Human technician needed”

The town of Olympia. (Named for the female android in Hoffman’s Tale of Olympia)

We are a small township of approximately 5,000 artificial life forms.

We require the services of one qualified, human, individual with the appropriate training and expertise to repair, upgrade, and maintain the town’s residents with a staff of up to five android technicians.

Qualified human technician will be provide with the following:

• Housing

• Transportation (If human does not have their own means of transportation)

• A respectable position in the community with a good salary and a seat on the town council.

• An office and fully equipped facility

• Staff

Please apply through the official site of the town hall.

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House call

Troy sat back in his new office after several hours of settling in with his new staff. He was still getting over the fact that he landed the position of town doctor over dozens of other qualified applicants, even though he was fairly young.

“Troy Stevens, R.D.”

That’s what was on the plaque on both his door, and on his desk. The “R.D.” standing for Robotics Doctor. Troy grew up in the Uncanny Valley and spent his whole life around androids, so naturally he felt like learning all there was to learn about repairing them. After several years of schooling, it finally paid off.

KNOCK KNOCK

“Who is it?” Troy asked, startled from his reverie.

“It’s Cameron, sir,” one of his new staff said from the other side.

“Oh, come on Cameron,” Troy said, sitting up and shuffling some things around his desk nervously.

His staff had already worked several years with the town’s previous doctor, who had retired and moved away to be with his grandchildren. Needless to say, Troy wanted to make a good first impression.

Cameron opened the door and looked around shyly. She was a fairly young android woman with blond hair tied into a bun, “I like what you’ve done with the office sir,” she complimented, looking around at all Troy’s decorations and proof of accomplishments, “Your predecessor kept this room fairly Spartan,”

“Thanks Cameron,” he managed to say without a blush, “Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Yes, I know we were all hoping it might be a slow day for your orientation,” she said, pulling a tablet from her white coat and handing it to him, “But we got an automated alert that one of the citizens, a Melanie Evans, has suffered some sort of issue with her systems and shut down,” she reported, “Would you like us to head over and bring her here?” she asked.

Troy stared at her chart for a few moments before finally deciding; he noted that she lived alone and mostly kept to herself. “No,” he said, “I think I’ll just make a house call,”

“Are you sure? We are qualified to assist too,” Cameron said.

“I’m sure you are,” he said, “I just want to get acquainted with the community, and have a look around,” he explained.

“Alright sir,” Cameron smiled, “We’ll be standing by in case you require assistance,” she said, heading to the door, “And getting ready for your welcome to the town party tonight,” she added.

“Thanks Cameron,” he called after her, and then the door closed.

Troy spent a few minutes going over Melanie’s chart on the tablet. The automated report sent by her body indicated some sort of hardware issue, so Troy put on his jacket, grabbed his tool kit, and headed to the address listed on the tablet.

On the way, he admired the futuristic architecture in all the buildings meddled with a rustic look.

After a short walk, he finally arrived at the small apartment complex Melanie was listed at and approached her door. Keying in the code for her door that his tablet provided him with, he quietly entered her apartment and searched for her.

He finally found her in her bedroom. She was slumped forward on her desk, with various android parts littering the desktop, as well as the floor by her feet. He also smelled the remnants of electrical smoke, which did not bode well for Melanie. He noted she wasn’t wearing a shirt or bra.

“Well Melanie, let’s see what happened,” he said, setting his bag down and removing his jacket.

Carefully grabbing hold of her shoulders, he pulled her up until she was in a sitting position. He saw why she wasn’t wearing any tops, her entire front panel was removed and there were several key components either missing or slightly singed from what looked like an electrical spike that emerged from her power core.

“Damn Melanie, what were you doing to yourself?” he asked, staring into her face, which had a frozen look of surprise on it.

Melanie was a Caucasian fembot in her mid-twenties. She had very pale skin, leading him to believe she may have been built in Europe or Australia, though she had long black hair. On closer inspection, he saw her black hair was not a natural color, and she was actually a natural blonde. Topping it all off was pair of crystal clear blue eyes.

From what he could see of her exposed torso, she was of a somewhat medium build, though her skin panel was not in plain sight, so he could make an accurate assessment.

Though he was drawn in by her innocent beauty, he forced himself to pull away from her frozen gaze. He looked at the components scattered around, as well as the inside of her panel and quickly saw what was wrong.

She had been attempting to upgrade her digestive systems, as well as her power systems. While removing the digestive system, some fluids leaked out and caused a massive electrical spike, disabling all her systems. Fortunately, her body was still in good enough shape to send out an emergency signal.

“Hmmm, you should have known not to perform such a risky upgrade by yourself,” he said to her whilst getting some tools out of his bag, as well as a portable computer, “I wonder why you didn’t come to the clinic,”

Troy poked a few of his tools inside her body for several moments, causing a few sparks to erupt from her still damaged power core. As a precautionary measure, he reached behind her head and pressed the cranium release on the back of her neck and removed her head. Taking care not to mess up her hair, he attached her head to a sort of pedestal that he connected to his portable computer.

As soon as her head was connected, several lights blinked on the base of the pedestal and his computer opened several status windows which began running various diagnostics on her A.I.

Once he was sure her head was secure, he put on some protective gloves and then worked on removing her damaged power core. When the core finally came out, he was surprised at the damage, but more surprised she would even attempt such a dangerous procedure unsupervised. Just as he was placing the damaged core on the desk, his computer pinged, notifying him Melanie’s A.I. was intact and undamaged. Since his pedestal also provided power to her head, he decided to activate her A.I. so he could talk with her during her repairs.

It took her several moments to come online, since her A.I. ran its own diagnostic, but several moments later, her face reset into a stoic expression and then blinked its eyes. She looked around in confusion for several seconds before finally saying, “Who are you and what are you doing to my body?” she asked in a foreign accent.

“I’m Troy Stevens, the new doctor,” he said, showing her his town issued badge, “We received your emergency signal, and I came over to fix you,” he explained.

“Okay,” she said, scanning his badge and confirming the information with her uplink to the town hall severs, “Why aren’t I at the clinic?” she asked suspiciously.

“I saw in your file that you keep mostly to yourself,” he explained, “I thought you might be more comfortable if I repaired you here,” he said.

Melanie stared at him silently for several moments, quietly considering his words, “Thank you,” she finally said, “I have never experienced that level of thoughtfulness before,” she continued, “Particularly in a human,” she added.

“You’re welcome,” he told her, “And I’m not like most humans,” he said, “I take it you’ve had some bad experiences,” he fished, pulling a few more damaged components from her body.

“Yeah,” she said with a sad look.

“Well, don’t be shy,” he told her, “If you tell me your story, I’ll tell you mine,” he offered.

“Well, since I can’t exactly go anywhere, I might as well tell you,” she said grudgingly, “I was built to be a member of a family in Australia,” she started, confirming his earlier suspicions, “They always wanted a daughter, but couldn’t have one,” she continued, “For several years, everything was fine and I was happy to be their child, but then my mother died and after a few years father remarried,”

Troy was now fixing her damaged digestive bag and prepping it for reattachment, “I take it your new mother did not approve of you?” he asked.

“Not at all,” she said, “She already had several daughters of her own, and she constantly pressured father to get rid of me, even forcing me to perform menial tasks to humiliate me,” she continued, “Finally, father pretended to drive me back to the plant for dismantling, but he instead handed me a plane ticket to Capek city, telling me to start a new life in the Uncanny Valley,” she finished.

“Well, at least he didn’t have you destroyed,” Troy said.

“Yeah, but he told me never to contact or visit him,” she said, “So he may as well have,”

“I see,” he said, “So you don’t trust too many humans now, do you?” he asked.

“No, I’ve only been here a few years, so I don’t really trust anyone,” she admitted, “I just earn money working online and have everything shipped to me,”

“Is that what you were trying to do earlier?” he asked, showing her the damaged power core, “That was really dangerous, you know?”

“I know,” she said, “My power core had a slight defect and I was trying to replace it,” she said, “I was trying to prove I could take care of myself,” she finished.

“Well, I think we’ve proven you can’t,” he said, “Not even humans would attempt to perform surgery on themselves,” he told her.

“Well, I know now,” she said, her face turning red, “Are you able to connect the new power core I ordered?” she asked.

“Yes,” he told her, grabbing a newer one that had fallen onto the floor near her bare feet, “I hope you don’t mind me saying so,” he started, bending down to pick it up, “But you have nice feet,”

“Thanks,” she blushed, “Not many people get to see them,” she admitted, “So, why don’t you tell me your story,” she said, “And I’ll let you feel my feet,” she offered.

“Okay,” he said, working on attaching her new power core, “My parents were close friends with a family of androids,” he started, “My parents were killed in a car accident when I was five, and the other family adopted me,” he said, “I grew up with their four android kids, and every now and then one of them would break down or damage themselves, and I taught myself to fix them so they wouldn’t get in trouble,” he said.

“That’s nice,” she smiled, “And you never took advantage of them?” she asked.

“Occasionally,” he admitted, “Just some practical jokes,” he explained, “It’s not like they didn’t mess with me,” he defended himself.

“Oh,” she said, “Do you still get along with all of them?” she asked.

“Yes,” he said, “My parents still live just outside Asimov city,” he said, “And my siblings all have jobs and lives in the big city,” he said.

“What made you come all the way out here?” she asked, now watching him finish up with her power core and test the connections.

“I answered a job ad on the net,” he replied, “They wanted a qualified human to serve as the town doctor, and since I am an R.D, I felt it would be a chance to build my own practice rather than be a cog in some larger facility,”

“That makes sense,” she said, “So, have you ever considered dating an android?” she asked, “Or will you seek out a human,”

“It depends,” he said, “I don’t really see that big a difference between dating a human or an android, except an android is easier to fix if something goes wrong,” he said, “But seeing as I’ll probably be living here for the rest of my life, I’ll probably be dating an android,” he answered.

“That’s good to hear,” she said softly, blushing a little, though fortunately for her, he didn’t notice as he was finishing up with the repairs to her body.

“Well, I think I have your power systems repaired, as well as all the collateral damage,” he said, pulling out of her body and setting his tools down, “I’m going to reactivate your body and have it run a few tests, ok?”

“Sure,” she said, and she watched him as he reached back in and pressed the power button near her core, causing all the systems within her body to light up and come back to life. “Wow, looks like you fixed me,” she said.

“So far, everything looks good,” he agreed with her, “But I need to make sure everything still works,” he said, and he took out a small tablet and plugged it in to her body’s motor system controls. A screen popped up on his tablet, and he tapped around until suddenly Melanie’s arms shot up with a mechanical whir.

“Hey, what are you doing?” she asked, watching him manipulate her body like a marionette.

“I’m making sure you will still be able to move and function properly,” he explained, making her body stand up and sit back down, “That surge caused damage to your motor systems, so I’m making sure my repairs worked,” he said.

“Oh, okay,” she said, still not comfortable seeing her body move without her will or control.

After several minutes of this, he finally unplugged his tablet from her body and then turned to her, “Melanie, where is your skin panel at?”

“Umm, I hid it under the bed,” she blushed, “I didn’t want anyone to sneak in and take it in case something happened to me,” she admitted.

“Well, you have nothing to fear from me,” he assured her, and he walked over to the bed and returned with her pale, fleshy panel. Matching it up with her torso, he clicked it back in place and watched as the seams disappeared.

His previous assessment of her body type was correct; medium build. Her pale breasts were a nice average size, and she had a surprisingly well-toned abdomen.

“Well, what do you think?” she asked, watching him eye her naked torso with interest.

“You look beautiful,” he said, trying to keep his professional composure.

“Thanks,” she blushed, “Are you going to reattach me to my body now?” she asked.

“Oh yes,” he said, blushing as well, “Of course,”

He quickly detached her head from the pedestal and brought it over to her neck, all the while Melanie’s eyes were transfixed on his, “You’re hands feel nice,” she said.

“Thanks,” he smiled, and he brought her head down and clicked it in place on her neck.

As the seam vanished, he could hear the sound of machinery within her neck reconnecting, and then her whole body shuddered as she regained control of it.

“Whoa, that feels so much better,” she said, gently massaging her neck, “and my systems report the new power core is functioning properly,” she said, “Thanks!”

“Don’t mention it,” Troy said, putting his equipment away, “Just don’t try any more self-upgrades or repairs,” he told her, “Doctor’s orders,” he added.

“Yes sir,” she mock saluted, causing her breasts to jiggle a bit.

“So, what were you planning on doing with the rest of your day?” he asked, setting his bag down on the bed.

“I’m not sure,” she admitted, “I was just going to chill all day like I normally do,”

“Well, seeing as I’ve already seen you topless, very nice, by the way,” he smiled, “and that I had to drain your stomach,” he added, “I thought you might like to have lunch with me,” he finished, “I hear this town has a great café,”

“So have I,” she said, “Though I’ve never been to it,” she admitted.

“Well then, now is the perfect time,” he smiled, “I can tell you’re at least a little interested in me,” he said, “And I’m at least a little interested in you,” he said, “So why don’t we talk over some lunch and increase our shared interest in each other,” he offered.

Melanie pondered over his words, getting over some sort of internal struggle before finally smiling and saying, “Sure, why not,”

“Alright, why don’t you get ready and I’ll walk over with you,” he said.

“Ok,” she said, “But first…” and she walked over and planted a gentle kiss on his lips, then she whispered into his ear, “You can feel my feet later,”

Troy smiled as he watched her pull away from him. He put his jacket back on while she picked up her bra and shirt from the top of her bed and put them on.

“Well, shall we go?” she asked, once she had her shoes on.

“Sure,” he smiled, and he picked up his bag and walked with her out of her apartment.

Once they were outside, she tentatively grabbed his free hand, giving him a shy smile as she did. He tightened his grip on her hand and they walked deeper into town, looking to all the world like a couple.

---

“Sleeper population”

After the war, there was a considerable amount of sleepers who found themselves displaced. Because the ruling android population did not wish to strip them of their humanity, they instead reprogrammed them to be farmers.

In the Uncanny Valley, there are numerous small farming settlements populated by sleepers, and maintained and watched over by a single technician. Still, it isn’t unheard of for the occasional sleeper to wake up and join the rest of the population…

---

Awakening

Rachel was walking through the woods. As usual, it was her day off from tending the fields and she took full advantage of her time to explore the wooded area outside the farming settlement.

For some reason, she felt different from the other members of the farming settlement. Many of them were perfectly content to simply enjoy the simple life, but she wanted more. She wanted to visit some of the larger cities in the region she grew up in, the Uncanny Valley. She even wanted to meet an android…her settlement was populated by only humans and they had very little interaction with the larger cities, or with the other settlements.

Still, the woods surrounding the northern border of the settlement were somewhat extensive and offered her the opportunity to do some nice adventuring. She particularly enjoyed examining the insects and small wildlife that populated the area.

On this day, however, she spotted something quite rare. A rare Monarch butterfly mutated by the old radiological waste. It had four multicolored wings and was slightly bigger.

“Awesome,” she said, “I’ve never seen one of you up close,” she said, pulling out a small device. Before she could do anything with it though, the butterfly flew away. “Drat!” she said, and she pocketed her device and started following it through the woods.

On her way, she stopped at a puddle and admired her reflection. She was an attractive woman in her early twenties. She had long, dark brown hair, with turquoise colored eyes and a very freckled face.

Before long, she eventually reached the protective electrified fence. The butterfly had landed on a tree branch just beyond it.

“You just had to land there, didn’t you?” she said when she caught up with it.

Inhabitants of her settlement were told never to leave the protective fences surrounding it. They were warned of mutated bears and other such horrors that the fence helped fend off against. Most inhabitants were simply to content to even want to leave, but Rachel was a curious woman.

Fighting the internal struggle within her mind, she shook it off and decided that crossing the fence for just a little while couldn’t hurt. She looked around and saw a small tree that had a branch hanging over the fence. She quickly climbed it and made her way to the branch.

Everything was going fine until she got about halfway across, and then the branch gave way and she fell to the ground with it. Unfortunately for her, along the way, she hit the electrified fence and all went black for a moment.

A few moments later, she regained consciousness. She was laying on her back a few feet from the fence. She smelled smoke and saw the branch was smoldering from being electrified by the fence.

“Oh man, that was a bad idea,” she finally said, coming to her senses and sitting up.

It was a few moments before she realized something was wrong. She was seeing strange things in her vision whenever she looked at things. When she looked at the fire, she could see how hot it was, and how far away from her it was.

“What the hell?” she asked, getting to her feet and looking at her hands.

Before she could do anything else, a young man suddenly burst out of nowhere a few feet ahead of her. He had a fairly ordinary appearance and was also around her age.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“I think so,” she said, “Who are you?” she asked, having some vague recollection of seeing him before.

“My name is Ryan,” he said, “I’m here to help you,” he said, and before she could do anything else, he pulled a device from his pocket and pointed it at her.

“Hey, what are you…..” she asked, and then she saw the word “Manual shutdown” appear in her vision before all went dark.

An indeterminate time later, she suddenly regained consciousness. She saw a bright light above her head, and she was laying on some sort of examination table. She also noticed she was naked, and though she felt no restraints on her skin, she could not move.

“Hello, is anyone there?” she called out.

“Yes, it’s me,” Ryan’s voice answered from somewhere out of her range of vision.

“What am I doing here?” she asked, “Why can’t I move and why am I naked?”

“That will take some time to explain,” he said, coming into her field of vision and staring at her, “Assuming of course you are capable of understanding,” he added.

“I can assure you, I am quite intelligent,” she defended.

“Oh, I know you are,” he smiled, “But I was not referring to your intelligence, but to your ability to perceive things,” he said rather cryptically.

“What is that supposed to mean?” she asked.

“You’ll see, or you won’t,” he said, “Anyway, what do you know of the area in which we all live?” he asked.

“The Uncanny Valley,” she responded, “A region previously ravished by radiological waste and restored by a population of androids,” she continued, “Now, over a hundred years later, it is populated by both androids and humans who live together peacefully,” she finished.

“Very good,” Ryan congratulated her, “But what do you know of the sleeper population?” he asked.

“The sleeper population?” she asked.

“Sleepers are androids who are programmed to think they are human,” he explained, “Even to the point of ignoring damage or other obvious signs to the contrary,”

“Oh, I haven’t heard of them,” she admitted.

“Well, they do live here,” he told her, “Though as much as they are programmed to believe they are human, sometimes one develops a personality that contradicts some of the programming…to the point where they eventually wake up,” he explained.

“What kind of personality?” she asked.

“Mostly adventuresome,” he said.

“That describes me pretty well,” she smiled, and then she suddenly realized what he was getting at, “Wait, are you saying I am a sleeper?” she asked.

“Well, you were,” he answered, “But you have been slowly waking up and that shock you received woke you the rest of the way up,” he smiled.

“So, you are saying that I am an android?” she asked.

“Yes, and so is everyone else in the settlement,” he said, “Even me,” he added.

“But what about old man Tom?” she asked, “Surely he isn’t”

“Of course he is,” Ryan laughed, “You wouldn’t believe how often I have to bring him here for repairs,”

“So, what are you doing here, and where am I?” she asked.

“Each of these settlements has a duck blind set up where people such as I help to maintain the sleepers, since they obviously can’t fix themselves,” he said, “This is actually a cave built-in to top of the mountain overlooking your settlement,” he said.

“Oh, I see,” she said, “Well, surely you can show me some proof that I am what you say I am,” she challenged.

“Sure,” he said, “I think after your responses, you have passed the test,” he mused, “I’m going to reactivate your upper body motor controls so you can sit up,” he told her, “But for your safety, I’m going to leave your legs offline,” and he tapped away on a tablet he had and she suddenly regained control of everything above her waist.

“Thanks,” she smiled, and she slowly sat up.

When she looked down at her chest, she gasped in shock. There was a sizeable section of skin missing from her chest, including her breasts and navel. Underneath was a complex array of technology. She could hear the components as she herself moved.

“See, you’re an android,” he said.

“But, why was I programmed not to know?” she asked, gingerly feeling the edge of the panel.

“That I can’t definitively answer,” he admitted, “Most sleepers here are ones discarded by humanity that we reprogram to live simple lives thinking they are humans,” he explained, “And some are ones that elected to become sleepers,” he added.

“What about my parents?” she asked, “Did they not actually give birth to me?”

“Well, androids here, when they engage in sexual intercourse and are consenting partners, also exchange personality and physical parameters and randomly create the profile for a new android to be created…born,” he explained.

“So, I am actually a product of my parents?” she asked.

“Yes,” he answered.

“Well that’s good news,” she said, “Why am I all opened up and naked?” she asked.

“Well, I had to repair the damage done by the shock you received,” he explained, “It’s not like I haven’t seen you naked before,” he said, blushing a little.

“Huh, you do seem familiar to me, now that I think about it,” she said, thinking hard, “I think I’ve dreamt about you a few times,” she finally said.

“Well, like I said before, you were slowly waking up, so it’s possible some part of you likes me and resisted forgetting about me,” he said.

“Maybe,” she said, “I do find you kind of attractive,” she admitted, “How often do I end up here?” she asked.

“Not too often,” he admitted, “Mostly when I upgrade your body after it ages out, and for routine maintenance,” he explained, “Unfortunately for me, you don’t usually require repairs,” he said with a flushed face, “You’re obviously my favorite in this settlement,”

“That’s nice,” she blushed, “So is there any more reason for me to be opened up?” she asked, looking down at her open chest.

“I finished the repairs,” he said, “But now I have a question for you,” he said, “Now that you know what you are, would you like me to remove your perception filter and permanently remove your sleeper subroutines, or would you like to go back to sleep?” he asked.

“Is that allowed?” she asked.

“Yes,” he said, “The rules state that if one of you wakes up, we can give you the choice to join the rest of the population or go back to sleep,” he said.

“Wow, let me think for a while,” she said, and she laid back down to reflect on her life…or at least, what she knew of it.

After several minutes of contemplating this life changing decision, she finally answered, “I’d like to stay awake,”

“Good, I was hoping you might say that,” he smiled, and he grabbed some tools from a nearby workbench and approached her.

“So, what now?” she asked.

“Well, I’m going to have to remove your head so I can more easily access your brain to remove the filter,” he said.

“Wait, what?!” she said.

“Don’t worry, it won’t hurt,” he smiled, “I’ve had my head removed a few times and it is a surprisingly pleasant experience,”

“If you say so,” she said, and she laid back down and watch as he reached his hands behind her head and pressed in on the back of her neck.

Suddenly, she lost all sensation below her neck and then she felt him lift her head up and carry it over to a strange machine.

“Wow, this does feel sort of nice,” she said, noting her voice sounded digitized.

“Glad to hear it,” he said, and he clicked her head onto some sort of pedestal and then faced her, “Now, I am going to remove your scalp panel…it won’t hurt,” he said, and before she could say anything else, he pressed in just behind both her ears and she felt her scalp go numb.

“Will I need to go offline at all?” she asked, looking around.

“No, though you may zone out briefly when the filter is removed,” he said, “It is still filtering some of your perceptions,” he said, and he reached into her open head.

She could feel and hear the sound of his hands working inside her head. Suddenly, she felt him pull something out and her consciousness faded momentarily before coming back online. She noticed immediately that she now had a HUD displaying various readouts of her systems, including the fact she was not connected to her body. Her senses also appeared to be slightly more enhanced than before.

“Well, how do you feel?” he asked, setting something down on the table, clicking her scalp back on, and facing her.

“Different,” she said, noting that as she looked at him, she could suddenly access everything encounter that she'd had with him in the past in the past few years that he had been running this place, “I can remember you now,” she smiled.

“Good, hopefully you have good memories of me,” he said.

“They are,” she smiled, “That explains why I’ve had dreams of you,” she said.

“That’s nice,” he said, “Do you want to be reunited with your body now?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said, and she watched as he lifted her head off the pedestal and then clicked it back onto her body.

As soon as her head was reattached, she immediately regained control of her body and all the new data she had access to regarding it.

“Where’s my chest at?” she asked.

“Hold on, I’ll get it,” he said, and he walked to another section of the room and came back with her chest panel, “Hold still,” he said, and he carefully placed it over her opening and clicked it back into place.

With her chest panel now sealed, she was glad to be able to feel her medium sized breasts. When she tried to get up, she realized she still could not move anything below her waist.

“Hey, can you reactivate my legs please?” she asked.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” he said, and he pulled his tablet back out and rapidly tapped through the menus.

Several moments later, Rachel regained all sensation in her legs and wiggled her long toes before sliding her legs off the table and standing up.

“So, am I completely fixed now?” she asked, stretching her hot body out.

“Yes,” he said, watching her intently.

“Are my clothes around somewhere?” she asked, making no attempt to cover herself up.

“Yes, follow me,” he said, and he walked with her to a nearby closet and let her put her clothes back on. Once she was dressed in her clothes again, he offered to show her around the complex.

“Sure, I’d love to see this place,” she smiled, and she followed him out.

The room exited into a hallway with many side doors. Ryan explained that they were mostly for storage and maintenance for the complex. He walked down the hallway and into a room labelled ‘historical’. Rachel gasped when she saw what was inside. It was a large room with hundreds of storage alcoves organized into aisles. Inside each alcove was a member of the settlement, but there was more than one body for each person. Upon closer inspection, she saw that each person had a body for about every ten years of their life, even more for their childhood bodies.

“Why do you have all these?” she asked, looking at some of the childhood versions of the people she grew up with.

“Just in case,” he said, “I think it’s if anything major happens to the community, such as a natural disaster or other disaster, then they kind of reset and randomly reuse some of the younger bodies to recreate the community,” he said.

As they walked down the aisles, she finally came across her section and she gasped at seeing several younger versions of herself, still looking as though they could come to life at any moment.

“Not to sound creepy, but I have come here quite often, imagining what it would have been like to grow up with you,” Ryan admitted.

“It actually sounds kind of sweet,” she said, looking at her 12 year old self and smiling at how cute she looked.

“I’ve only been at this station for about five years now,” he said, “I replaced some older guy who retired to Soriyama Bay with his family,” he continued, “But I was instantly attracted to you,” he smiled.

“Are you breaking any rules by being with me now?” she asked, suddenly worried.

“No, actually I am allowed to associate with anyone who wakes up…though it is not a common occurrence in the settlements,” he said, “I am just so glad it was you,” he added.

“Me too,” she said, “But what are we going to do about everyone else?” she asked, “Now that I know the truth about this place, it might make things more difficult for you,” she said.

“Well, actually, there is a way for me to adjust everyone’s sleeper programming remotely,” he said, leading her out of the room and back into the hallway.

They walked down several more hallways until they finally reached a large control room, with a window overlooking the entire settlement. The window had an interactive display which showed the whereabouts of every single inhabitant of the settlement, as well as they’re vital stats.

“This is where I spend most of my day,” he said, sitting at a massive computer section, “So, now that you are awake, I am allowed to have an actual presence in the community,” he explained, “Provided that my presence be permitted by one of the inhabitants,” he added.

“Me?” she asked.

“Yes,” he said, “If I reprogram all of them to think we are a couple, they won’t question me or your change in behavior towards them,” he said, pulling up a screen.

“Will we actually be a couple?” she asked.

“If you want,” he said hopefully.

“I do,” she smiled, “I was just testing you,”

“Good, then it is done,” he said, entering it into the computer and saving the settings.

On the window, she could see everyone briefly stop what they were doing as they received new programming and then they continued what they were doing as though nothing happened.

“Well Rachel, looks like you and I are now a couple,” he smiled, turning off the computer and facing her.

“Good,” she said, and she leaned down and kissed him.

After several minutes of making out, they broke apart and looked out the window.

“Well Rachel, do you want to head down and see everyone?” he asked.

“Sure,” she smiled, and they headed for a nearby lift that brought them down to a door concealed behind a large boulder.

They made small talk as they walked casually through the woods, but when they entered the town square, several people noticed them and came to talk.

“Hey Rachel, is this the guy you’ve been sneaking off to see?” one of her school friends asked.

“Yeah,” she blushed, looking at Ryan, who winked at her, “His name is Ryan and he has decided to move here,” she said.

As everyone converged on them to meet him, Rachel thought of how earlier this day she was following a rare butterfly and now she had a very attractive android boyfriend. The fact that she too was an android, as well as everyone else, only made her smile.

“Only in the Uncanny Valley” she thought.

---

Next time, Spaz Studios Presents: “The Future Expo”

This anthology features a series of people experiencing several different android scenarios at a futuristic robotics expo. Each room has a different type of futuristic, realistic android programmed for specific functions.

Unfortunately, being new, they have a few bugs to work out…

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