Paradigm City - Fan Fiction

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Belonging

Part 6

Lisa listened quietly, her fingers curled around the warmth of the full teacup. They were alone in the kitchen--Felix had left on an errand so that Dorothy could speak to her privately. "I think you should tell someone at home," she said when Dorothy had finished. "If you were human, he could be arrested for attempted rape."

"It isn't like that," Dorothy tried to explain. "He wasn't trying to hurt me."

"If you told him to stop and he wouldn't, that is, by definition, rape," Lisa shook her head. "It doesn't matter how it felt."

"It wasn't his fault," Dorothy insisted.

"How can you say that?" Lisa was becoming frustrated. "He chose to do what he did, you didn't make him do it."

"My responses encouraged him," she answered. "It made him think that it was all right for him to keep going."

"But...if your body works anything like a human body, it can react independently of your wishes," the older woman said.

"It does, but it doesn't," Dorothy said. "I have...I had... safeguards, I guess you'd call them." She searched for words for a moment, then went on, "The earliest pleasure-bots didn't discriminate, and they were all female--they didn't start making males for almost ten years. Anyone could command them and they would obey, which caused a lot of problems. Their owners had to keep them under lock and key or risk having them disappear."

"And no doubt, they were expensive," Lisa nodded. "Go on."

Dorothy took a sip of her own tea. "What the designers didn't anticipate was that the average man would see a pleasure-bot as fair game. Knowing that she was owned by someone else made no difference--the fact that she would go along with whatever he wished was all the encouragement he needed." She set the cup down. "Sales started to go down as word got out. Nobody wanted an android that would aid in its own theft."

"That makes sense," Lisa said. "Obviously, the problem was solved, because androids are still being built."

"Yes," Dorothy said. "There were two things that were part of the solution. The first was that manufacturing, design, and materials improved to the point that the androids were indistinguishable from humans, at least at first glance. This drastically reduced thefts of opportunity because there was nothing to indicate the bot's nature to a casual observer."

"Weren't there also a couple of cases where a pretty human girl was mistaken for an android and kidnapped?" Lisa asked.

"There were," Dorothy answered. "The trials were widely publicized, and some of the laws that applied were clarified and strengthened, which had a strong deterrent effect. Most didn't want to take a chance on being mistaken."

Lisa poured herself another cup of tea and added milk. "You said there were two things."

"The second part of it was an improvement in the programming," Dorothy passed her the sugar bowl. "They made the pleasure-bot's physical responses dependent on ownership. At first, it was very crude--it needed to be activated by a password. A password could be stolen, of course, but it was better than nothing. As the software became more sophisticated, though, automatic recognition became widely available."

"So what you are saying is that a pleasure-bot won't work without an owner?" Lisa pressed the teabag against the spoon and then set it on the saucer.

"Exactly. If anyone other than the owner tries to command it, it simply doesn't respond." Dorothy said. "The sensors shut down and it is incapable of reacting."

"Sounds like it would take all the fun out of it," Lisa mused.

"It's as though it were one of those passive dolls that you can get just about anywhere. For most, it's not worth the effort." Dorothy said. "Of course, it's a bit of a sport for some men to test a woman they've identified as an android to see if the programming holds, but everyone looks the other way as long as it doesn't go too far."

"So what happened was that you physically responded to Alex instead of having the reactions shut down... I see," Lisa said. "To his mind, it was permission."

"If Roger were to file a complaint, it would be dismissed," Dorothy said. "It would be presumed to be due to his negligence in seeing to my maintenance. That I told Alex to stop wouldn't even be a consideration--we aren't known to have opinions about what our owner wants us to do. Alex could even make the argument that the protests were originally part of my programming because he found it...stimulating, and I have no way to prove otherwise."

"I don't follow," Lisa looked confused. "If a car is stolen, the thief is still prosecuted for theft, even if the car's owner left the doors unlocked and the keys in the ignition."

"Androids--especially pleasure-bots--don't have the same status as a car," Dorothy explained. "Legally, we're considered "an attractive nuisance."

"Like a swimming pool," understanding lit the other woman's face. "The burden is on the owner to take reasonable precautions in light of normal behavior."

"And normal behavior towards pleasure-bots includes trying to have sex with them," Dorothy sighed. "Under ordinary circumstances, I could stopped him right away. Legally, my owner has a right to add defenses provided they don't cause serious harm when activated."

"But you couldn't defend yourself because part of you still recognizes Alex as your owner," Lisa said.

"Not just Alex," Dorothy said. "It's vague enough that I'm worried that I'd be vulnerable in the same way to others who resembled him closely, whether in looks or personality."

"Oh, dear," the other woman's brow furrowed. "That is a problem. I'm not sure there's anything I can do to help, although I'm glad you trusted me enough to tell me about it. Did you have something in mind?"

"I do," Dorothy said. "Human females are weak compared to males, and they don't have built-in safeguards either. Males, especially the young ones, can be quite aggressive. How do women protect themselves?"

"There's a lot of different things we do..." Lisa's voice trailed off as she considered it. "I'd never really thought about it before, but... hmmm...." Dorothy waited patiently as the woman gathered her thoughts. "I think our primary defense is avoidance," she said finally. "We learn to recognize situations that could put us in danger and take appropriate precautions. You were fine until Alex actually... put his hands on you, right?" At Dorothy's nod, she continued, "In that case, I would try to avoid any situations where he could do that--if he was coming close enough to touch you, for instance, you could move out of his reach."

"I don't know how successful that would be with Alex--he's pretty persistent and would probably try to corner me--but it would definitely help with others," Dorothy said. "There's no chance of conflict being triggered if they can't touch me."

"What about Roger giving you a direct command?" Lisa asked. "That would strengthen the part that didn't want anything to do with Alex."

"It might work, but... that would mean I would have to tell Roger what happened," Dorothy said. "I was thinking the same thing--ownership can be transferred verbally like Alex did originally, but it also can be done item by item using an override program. But... Roger would want to know why I was asking him to do it, and I really don't want to tell him unless there isn't any other choice. It would hurt him terribly, and he probably wouldn't sit still long enough for me to explain like I did with you. I don't want Roger and Alex to fight, it upsets everyone!"

"I understand," Lisa said. "Still, keep it in the back of your mind in case all else fails. If Roger happens to catch Alex...doing something to you, there won't be any need to hide it. I know you're worried about how he'll react if you tell him about it, but really, Dorothy, this isn't the kind of thing you should try to keep a secret."

"I'll think about it," Dorothy said. "Thank you, Lisa. I feel a lot better now."

"It's really no different than if you were a human girl," Lisa said. "The biggest problem is that unlike a human girl, you don't have a mother to teach you what to do the way my mother did for me and I did for my daughters. I'm sure that I can help you with at least some of it, though..."

When Felix returned, the two women were still deep in conversation. Lisa had come up with a number of ideas that Dorothy felt would be very useful. Felix hung up his coat, then, smiling, went over to Lisa and put his arms around her, dropping a light kiss on her cheek. Lisa face reddened, but she looked happy.

"Oh!" Dorothy didn't need to see any more to understand what Felix was telling her.

"Thank you," he said simply. "We... we wanted you to know." He picked up the teapot from the table. "Are you ready for another?" he asked, slipping smoothly back into his caretaking duties.

"Please," Lisa said, glancing at the wall clock. "Dorothy, I know you can't stay much longer, but I want to talk again--I'm sure I'll think of other things that will help once I have a little more time."

"I'd like that," she said. "I'm so glad I could talk to you about it."

"I am too," Lisa said. "Don't worry, dear. After a while, sizing up a situation will become second nature to you and it won't be any trouble at all. Human women have been doing it successfully for millennia."

"I'm sure you're right," Dorothy put on her coat and picked up her purse. "Maybe we can talk next week." As if on cue, they heard a horn beeping from the street below. "I'll see you soon!" She hugged them both and left, looking much more cheerful than she had when she arrived.

"What was that all about?" Felix asked. "The way she was acting when she asked to speak to you, I thought it was something dreadful."

"It was dreadful enough," Lisa said, "I think we've found a way around it, though. I'll tell you all about it a little later, I just need some time to absorb all this." She smiled at Felix. "So, what's on the agenda for tonight?"

"Well... you're supposed to put weight on the foot for at least fifteen minutes today," he said. "So, I was thinking... after you have eaten the well-balanced, nutritious..." his hand shot out to catch the teabag that Lisa playfully lobbed in his direction and he continued without missing a beat, "... and delicious dinner I am planning to make for you, it would be fun to try a waltz."

***

Dorothy sighed happily, feeling more secure than she had in weeks. She was lying sprawled on top of Roger, her ear against his chest so she could listen to his heartbeat, and he was gently rubbing her back. "You haven't done this for a long time," he observed, sounding sleepy and content.

"I missed you," she said, running her fingers through his hair and leaning forward to lightly brush her lips over his. She kept the contact brief and immediately put her head back down; she knew if she pushed him too hard, he would make her leave.

"None of that kissy stuff," he growled, but he was smiling at her.

"Roger..." she asked hesitantly, "do you think that an android being with a human is wrong?" Of all the things that Alex had said, this had bothered her the most. She had been wanting to ask Roger about it for weeks, but the time had never seemed to be right.

"It's funny you should ask," he said. "I've been thinking about that a lot."

She was relieved that he understood it had been an honest question. "And what do you think?"

"I don't think in most cases it is," he said. "That day I spoke to Ellen, the reason I was so angry at first was because I thought that you had put the idea into Felix's head. When Dad reminded me that no one had said anything at all to you about trading software, I realized that even if you had offered the program to Felix and then coaxed him to take it, it would have been because you honestly thought it would be something that would make him happy."

"It was all his idea," she said. "When we went to get him the dancing software, he asked me if I would give him the other programs too. He said he didn't know if they would be any help but that it wouldn't do any harm for him to have them. I said that I would, but I made him take it from the disks instead of directly from me."

"That was the right way to do it," Roger gave her a quick squeeze. "They cover just about everything you might need, don't they?"

"Yes, they do," she said. "The main disk activates the sensory capabilities, then there's one for each gender to activate the necessary physical capacities, there's one on human sexual anatomy, two for the means and methods, one on fetishes and alternative practices, one that covers ethics... I said he had take all of it because he had to fully understand everything before he tried to use it . It's a lot more complicated than some of the other things we've traded."

"It sure is," Roger agreed. "The other thing that persuaded me was Grandfather."

"Did you talk to him?" Dorothy asked.

"Not exactly..." Roger chuckled. "Before I tell you this, I need you to promise me that you won't say anything about it to anyone other than me unless they bring it up to you first."

"A secret?" she asked, delighted by the idea.

"I suppose it is in a way," he answered. "Although it's one of the least secret secrets I've ever kept in my life."

"I promise," she said solemnly. "I won't speak of it to any people other than you unless they bring it up to me first."

"All right," Roger said. "Grandfather and Mrs. Tanner have been together since I was nine or ten years old."

"Really?" she was completely astonished. "I had no idea!"

"You need to snoop around a little bit more," he teased. "If you keep your eyes open, I'm sure you'll see them sneaking kisses and holding hands when they think no one is watching."

"I don't understand..." a thought suddenly struck her. "Both of them are single, so why do they even need to keep it a secret?"

"Because Louise doesn't want to discover she has an army of brand-new best friends," Roger said. "When she first came to work here, her siblings decided that she should try to land herself a rich husband and then she could share the wealth. They thought she should pursue Gordon since she was only a year older than him, and they were pretty intrusive about it. They were so obnoxious, in fact, that even though it was obvious to everyone after a while that she and Norman had fallen head over heels with each other, she would actually leave the room or make him go if he came in and there wasn't someone else there to act as a chaperone. She said she didn't want to give her family even the least bit of possible ammunition." He chuckled. "He got her to come around after a while. He's still working on getting her to marry him, though. Maybe in another five or ten years."

"It's nice to think that they have each other," she said, snuggling closer to distract herself from a growing sad, uneasy feeling. "But how did that persuade you?"

"I thought about how Grandfather would react if I presumed to tell him how to handle his relationship with Louise," Roger told her. "The other thing I thought about was what it might be like if he didn't have her and suddenly found himself almost completely helpless and unable to do the things he loved to do. I can only imagine how frustrated and depressed he would be. I discovered that I felt exactly the same way Jack did--if he decided to take up with a pretty young nurse because she made him smile, I wouldn't give it a second thought. I'd figure that he was a grown man, and with so much having been taken away from him, anything that gave him something back and made him happy was his business. When I asked myself why I should see it any differently for Felix and Lisa, I realized that I had let Ellen half-persuade me before I had checked the facts."

"Roger..." All at once the source of the feeling was clear. Since the incident with Alex, she had lost the unshakeable sense of belonging to Roger that was the bedrock on which she had built her sense of self. She was... yes, she was jealous. Not because she begrudged Norman and Mrs. Tanner their happiness, or because she wanted to take Felix away from Lisa, but because they had the one thing that she wanted more than anything else in the world--they knew they belonged to the person who mattered to them.

"What is it, Dorothy? You're getting all tense." He began to rub her shoulders again, trying to coax her to relax.

"What's wrong with me?" she asked, blinking rapidly to keep the tears from spilling over.

"What do you mean?" he frowned. "I don't think there's anything wrong with you."

"There must be," she insisted. "I've been awake longer than Felix."

"That's true," he said, "but what does that have to do with anything?"

"Why else would you think that Felix is capable of deciding who he wants to love but I'm not?" The tears were now coming much too fast to simply be blinked away.

"That isn't the reason," he reassured. "You're in a slightly different situa--"

"Roger... I want...I... I need..." She looked into his eyes.

He met her gaze squarely but said nothing. She lightly touched her lips to his the same way she had before. Once...twice...three times...she began to lean down for the fourth time and he shivered and rolled to his side, gently tipping her on to the mattress. "That's enough, Dorothy."

Even though he didn't know anything about it, she was suddenly furious with him for leaving her vulnerable to Alex. She belonged to him and he wasn't upholding his part of the bargain. "You don't want me to be happy," she said sulkily.

"That isn't true. I want you to wait long enough to be sure of yourself. That will make you happy in the long run because you'll know you made the right choice," his tone was a lot less calm than his words.

"I know what I want, I'm not confused," she insisted.

"I don't want to argue about it," he said. "I'm sure it's very frustrating, and I'm sorry for that."

"That isn't any help, Roger," she said.

"I know," he said.

"If you know, why are you wasting your time saying it, then?" she snapped.

"Because telling you to stop acting like a spoiled little girl would be an equal waste of time," Roger had a temper of his own, even if he did have a longer fuse.

"If you really loved me the way you say you do..." she began.

"You can stop right there," his eyes were like ice. He got up and pulled her to her feet, taking her arm and firmly marching her towards the door. "I know that this hard on you, Dorothy. I will do anything reasonable that's within my power to make it a little easier on you, but I will not be manipulated. I have no idea where you learned how to do it, but the sooner you forget it, the better. Do you understand?"

She felt a brief sense of compulsion, but her fury made it easy to disregard. "No," she said flatly, pulling her arm away and opening the door. "I don't understand and you can't make me." She slammed it behind her and headed towards her own rooms.

She was so angry that she didn't see Alex standing there until she ran right into him.

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