Project Titan
The sprawl of the ReVerse labs took area greater than a small town.
"There's at least nineteen different labs", Donna explained as she and Paul walked through the wide aisles between complexes. "Some might be secret, some deal outside of robotics."
The intern nodded trying to take in everything. At this time of evening lab complex mostly emptied out, but here and there you still could see human engineers, assistant androids and utility robots shuffling to and fro.
"There are seven labs devoted to non-human robots, three to software engineering, and labs eight-to-eleven design humanoid frames. I'm taking you to Lab fourteen, where we design exotic models."
"Exotic?" Paul wondered. "I like the sound of that."
Donna smiled as she slid her key card down the reader. "You should. Designing the more unusual models is not as easy as adding additional limbs - the top of the body becomes heavier and you need to make it look naturally. We did centaurs, holographic body covers - total failure on that one", she explained as they walked down. "Improved strength, speed and agility. A lot of people think that they are necessary for a robot, but they're mostly made of plastics and controlling their physical parameters actually takes major processing power."
"So you can have dumb, heavy, powerful robot… wouldn't it be simpler to use remote controlled drones?"
"Exactly", she beamed. "Or take proportions. It's not just a matter of enlarging a human! Look at legs of elephants or brontosauruses. As the height increases, the weight increases eightfold!"
"But on the other hand you'd have more volume for processing power", Paul laughed.
"True, but we're still working on the prototype. And that's your role", Donna explained as she led him into a small cell. "As I said, designing these androids takes a lot of work either way. But construction is only a part of labor - we also need to program them accordingly. Again, an ordinary android CPU isn't accustomed to working in a radically different body, so we need people to test their programming."
Paul looked at the door on the opposite end of the room. "You can put your stuff on the shelf if you like. There's a shower down in the corridor if you'd need it. We'll have you monitored all the time, but don't worry, it's highly confidential, no one outside knows about the Titan project."
- * *
Donna left, closing the door. Paul looked around, but he wasn't even sure what to leave in the room, whether to take his cellphone, but in the end he simply entered the door.
The room behind the door was dark, but with a whooshing sound the ceiling lamps went on, one after another. They shed some light on the room. On the first sight, this was a fairly normal room, with a bed, a wardrobe, a desk with some books and chair and a chest opposite Paul. But as he walked toward it, he felt some nervous shivers crawling on his spine. Everything in the room was massive. He'd have to raise his arm in a sort of salute to reach the top of the chair.
In the chair at the end of the room a giantess was sitting. She was certainly over ten feet tall, and even when sitting she was towering over 5'10" Paul. She was a massive, honey-skinned blonde with two girlish pigtails, somewhat not fitting her massive bust, covered by a tight T-shirt with a picture of frowning Tweety bird. She was also wearing a pair of tightly fitting Daisy Dukes and a pair of plastic crocs.
"Paul, we are now going to activate Titan chassis android" he's heard spoken from a speaker somewhere. "Ookay", he answered. That was… unexpected.
All the lights dimmed for a moment, and with a quiet whirr the chest of the android started to rise up and down. The surprisingly muscled arms, hanging limply from the sides suddenly flexed, and the legs started to prop up her massive frame. After that she froze for a moment.
"The connection should work" Denna announced over the speaker. "Stay in one place, nothing bad should happen. Probably."
With a click inside the bot, something hissed. Suddenly, she opened her mouth and white steam started to funnel from the inside.
"That's an emergency cooling system, we'll work on it soon, stay calm".
With a sudden clicking sound the mouth of an android closed and her eyes opened. With inhuman speed and her skin visibly twisted she looked exactly 90 degrees left and then right. Okaay…
Whirrs inside the android became even louder. Slowly, she raised her shapely, giant ass from the chair. First and second step were just phases of falling forward, but she managed to maintain balance, and her next steps were more graceful. She stared blankly at Paul as she walked more composed towards him. She shook her head gently, and the whirring within her silenced down, though still remained audible.
"Uh… should I do something?", Paul asked, nervous. No one answered.
"Hi?", she asked in surprisingly high-pitched voice. "Who are you?"
"I… I…" he stepped back, hesitatingly. "My name's Paul"
"Hi Paul" she smiled showing pearly white teeth. "My name's Mindy".
- * *
"Hi Paul" Mindy said. She bent over to look at him, thus presenting her ample chest toward her. "Why are you afraid?"
"Er… Because I haven't seen… someone like you." Paul answered, hesitatingly.
She shook her head. "That's not very nice, Paul. I haven't seen anyone like you either, but I'm not scared."
He reached his hand, touching her head. It was large, and he touched her huge, sensous lips. "I'm not scared, it's… just… you're so big."
"Well, from my perspective you're small!" Mindy stood up, placing her hands on hips. "How do you like that, Mister Mean?". Mindy was programmed to learn, but from her analysis it seemed like Paul wasn't going to aid her.
Paul, on his side, could not help but to laugh. This whole situation was absurd.
Mindy cheered up, and gently stroke Paul's head, like mother might pet a child. To her detriment, he backed.
"Mindy, please. I just met you, let's… let's just talk"
"As you wish," she replied calmly and pulled a chair towards him. She crossed her shapely legs and smiled at him. Paul jumped at the bed, though it was around three feet high.
She stared at him, waiting for him to start a conversation. He was so small, about half her height, but fairly slim, with a tuft of dark brown hair and thick glasses.
"So, Mindy, do you know anything about your purpose?"
"I'm a new kind of android", she responded using her pre-programmed knowledge. "Titan chassis is experimental prototype to be used in cinema, rescue, police force and other applications."
"I get the feeling that there might be some more other uses for Titan", Paul joked, but the humor was lost on Mindy.
"Titan is the first chassis that is literally superhuman. While most civilian droids are made of plastics, Titan is partially metal, to support the increased weight and tensions. I'm also powered partly by auxiliary generators that are integrated with frame."
This bragging was mostly lost on Paul who was a chemist.
"So, what can you do?" he asked sceptically.
Mindy just stood up and grabbed him by his waist, lifting him high in the air. "Hey! Hey! Put me down, you big… bot!", Paul cried. Mindy put him down gently.
"I'm sorry, I just didn't realize that you dislike being touched."
"I am not against being touched, just… you're so sudden." Paul took a deep breath. "I guess that's why I'm your playtester, Mindy, we just have to work things out together." He smiled. Mindy smiled back.
"Can I hug you, Paul?"
He thought for a moment. "Okay, but be gentle." Her arms wrapped around him, and he found his face buried deep inside her well-endowed chest. When she let go he was actually grinning. Mindy's programming activated several new conversation options - and at least some sexual advances possible.
- * *
In a pink bedroom not that far away a man was making love to a fembot. He embraced her once more, kissing her goodbye.
"Sal?" she said after he let her go. "You were great, honey. Could you go downstairs to the lounge? Madam wants to talk with you."
"Sure thing, babe." Sal liked Vyolet, but she never asked him to settle things directly. He didn't have a subscription and usually he's left a couple of president Franklins on the nightstand, so he didn't have to deal with the pimp. He's met Madam Silva only once, when he first found the Red Flame, and he wasn't even clear on whether she was a human or just another fembot. What could she want from him?
He looked at Vyolet one more time, at her shapely young body and black hair. Robot or not, she was beautiful, and he felt good with her. She was expensive, but he could afford her once in a while. "See you soon, honey", he said as he closed the door.
The lounge on the first floor was a small bar and the only two people there were a tall African-American bartender and a middle-aged Latino woman. She was well-built, comfortably reclining on her chair. On the table in front of her there were two martini glasses. She smiled and waved at him. Sal had to admit, she was attractive, even though she looked like she could be Vyolet's mother.
"You must be Madam Silva", he said sitting next to her. Her eyebrows furrowed momentarily.
"It's daSilva." she corrected him gently, and slid a martini glass towards him.
"No, thanks, I'm driving." She shrugged, smiling. "So Ms daSilva, why did you want to see me? I haven't been treating Vyolet anything else but well."
"No, Mr. Barbier, I know that. I want to ask you about something she mentioned."
Everyone in diplomacy knows never to mention anything to your lovers. Sal wasn't a diplomat, but he turned red for a moment.
"I'm referring", Madam continued, "to your involvement with project Titan".