Good morning, my little lamb, ready to begin the day?
Aubrey padded down the wooden staircase into the basement, steaming cup of French roast in hand.
When they had moved in, the basement had been someone’s home theater, but it had been significantly remodeled, and roughly tripled in size. The home entertainment system was still there, serving as a den, but the remaining space had been divided up for an armory, Sophie’s data center and project space, a bit of storage, and a home gym.
Aubrey hunkered into her terry cloth robe and shivered. “Brr… it’s freezing down here.”
Ah… Sorry, dear. The contractors have the HVAC system disconnected while they wrap up the last expansion. I keep my server room cool and it’s bleeding over into the other rooms. They’ll be in later today to finish it up.
Aubrey gave an audible grumble. “You and your improvements. Ought to just build a second house at this point. You’ve had something under construction non-stop since we moved in. You’re like my dad and those damned dollhouses he builds. I never played with them, but there he was in my room every weekend, rearranging furniture and building something new for it.”
Sophie gave a small laugh.
I get your point. I’ll see if I can get you some peace and quiet.
As Aubrey made it down the steps, the reinforced door to the armory swung open. After a moment, a lanky woman of Asian descent with a blonde pixie cut stepped out, light slate in hand. Upon seeing the redhead, the other woman broke into a wide smile. “Oh, good morning, Aubrey. I didn’t figure anyone else was up.”
“Morning, Emily,” Aubrey said, pulling the lanky woman into a quick hug, carefully negotiating her coffee cup while doing so. “Our night-owl of a quartermaster up to anything I need to worry about? Not anticipating a land invasion, I hope.”
Emily replied with a grin, “Nah, just updating inventory and moving stuff around. Sophie set us up with some gunsmiths that do above-board conversions. We’ve been getting some of our more serious hardware legalized, so I moved them over here after I put them in Alex’s name. The stuff we use day to day should all pass inspection now, including the more exotic stuff.”
Emily chewed on her lip momentarily as though deciding something. “Hmm… you should know we always keep a few deniable weapons in case we need to leave something behind when we’re out in the field. Give me a heads up if you’re doing any construction down by the dock area. I had Carla sink a bunch of waterproof containers in the bay.”
Aubrey’s eyebrows rose briefly, but then she chuckled. “Yeah, got it. I’ll let you know if we need you to move stuff.”
“Down here for Sophie’s projects?” Emily asked as she committed her notes to her slate.
The short redhead nodded. “Yep, still being her lab monkey and human hands. She’s been having me work on mapping Mesh to make improvements and get ready for the wetware version. Today she apparently has something special cooked up.”
“Gotcha, I’m done for now, so I’ll leave you to it. Oh, a few of us are heading into the city later today. If you are interested, maybe we could grab lunch?” Emily offered.
“Sure thing. Sophie can let Alex know if I don’t catch him first,” Aubrey said in agreement, but wording it to make an unofficial request to the AI who was always listening in.
Emily bid Aubrey goodbye and made her way up the stairs, and the door clicked as the electronic lock engaged. The small light next to the doorknob went from green to red, signaling the room was in use.
Aubrey coughed into her hand. “Making a girl nervous, Sophie.”
I figured you’d want privacy for your fitting. Could you be a dear and stand in the center of the floor, feet apart?
Aubrey only quirked a brow but bid to follow the instructions as the AI spun up two nearby docked aerial drones that were about the size of a soda can.
Uhm, you’ll need to lose the robe as well, love. I’m doing a full 3D mapping of your body. We’ll be working on the immersion suit I told you about. I have it roughed out but need the final measurements. Precision will be important for sensor alignment.
Aubrey blushed but set down her coffee and disrobed. Her naked skin immediately reacted to the cool air, prickling into goose flesh and causing her nipples to harden. Aubrey felt more than a little self-conscious being fully exposed as the drones began aiming their camera systems at her.
Just relax, my love. You’re beautiful, stunning even. I apologize for the drones being so, well, impersonal. I’ll make it up to you later.
Arms at the sides for now, but we’ll change your stance a few times.
Internally she knew that Sophie had seen her nude many times and usually in very intimate settings but almost always through Alex’s eyes. Alex had even let Sophie take over limited control of his body at times while they played. This, however, felt different, almost clinical.
Sophie circled the drones in a slow rotation at shoulder height, hip height, and again just barely off the floor. She then had Aubrey raise her arms straight out and then above her head as she repeated the process. Then began the cycle again, having her adjust her leg poses.
All done, dear. If you give me 15 minutes, I’ll have it ready for you to try on.
Aubrey wrapped herself back into her robe and cuddled under a blanket that had been left on the couch while she waited.
Sophie set to work, first melding the multiple overlays into a consistent wireframe mesh that represented Aubrey’s form. From there, she inserted a skeletal overlay to mark the kinematic joints. Once that was complete, she set about adjusting the placement of sensors and feedback systems in the 3D model.
Once the finished renderings were ready, she put the plan into action with several assembly robot limbs, adjusting fitments and components until the finished product was ready. She was impressed with her work as she held it up to her laser imaging system for inspection.
While this would be a one-off, the process could easily be repeated and mass-produced. Sophie could use their fabrication shops to build rough cuts in various sizes. From there, they could be adjusted to fit various body types with little more than a fitting room in a mall, which was exactly what she and Alex had in mind for Covalent’s go-to-market strategy. They could simply rent time in the 3D scanning booths used for custom-fit designer jeans and have a connected mini-fabricator on hand.
In a moment of inspiration, she repurposed some of the various fabrics she had at her disposal, along with a box that looked roughly the right shape before calling Aubrey over to the fabricator closet.
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As soon as Aubrey opened the door, a yellow and black robotic arm swiveled and whirred, presenting a beautifully wrapped box to the former nurse.
Aubrey gave a gleeful laugh that warmed Sophie's core as Aubrey undid the bows of metallic cobalt fabric perfectly knotted over a flexible silver foil. Aubrey removed the lid of the box and withdrew the set of virtual reality glasses and what appeared to be an alabaster bodysuit.
Aubrey held it up and teased, “You bored with the corset and stockings that Alex likes so much already?”
Not in the least. Especially not when you’re wearing heels. But I think you’ll like this one even more.
Aubrey stripped down and shimmied into the one-piece outfit. She was surprised at how snug it fit. It seemed to be painted on as she pulled it up over her legs, hips, and then pulled the zipper that went diagonally from her left hip up around the right side of her neck. Lastly, she secured the hood up and over her short red hair so that it pulled tight across her forehead. The outfit only left the area from her eyebrows to mouth exposed.
She glanced down to her chest, where she could still see the effect of the chilly air and quickly realized she’d still need to wear clothing over it before going out in public.
“Ok, what’s next?” Aubrey asked.
Just lie down on the couch, then put on the visor.
Following the instructions, Aubrey let out a startled gasp.
She turned her head back and forth as she realized she’d been dropped into a flawless simulation of a lounge chair on a white-sand beach. She could feel the warmth of the sun on her skin, the wooden slats of the chair she was sitting in, and even the fuzzy towel draped over the back.
Like just about everyone that she knew, Aubrey had spent plenty of time in VR, but she’d never experienced anything approaching this. She reached down to the sand, picked up a handful, feeling the gritty crystals in her hand as though she were there. Above her, azure skies extended across the horizon. Aubrey spotted a jet leaving twin contrails as it went.
Aubrey looked down and saw a perfect representation of her body. But instead of the white bodysuit, she was clad in a green bikini with a white cotton sun cover. A server in white and black walked over with a frozen strawberry margarita on a tray and placed it beside her before scurrying off.
Aubrey reached out and felt the cool condensation on the side of the glass. She picked it up and tried to take a sip but couldn’t seem to get straw lined up with her mouth. She could feel it against her lips fine, but somehow it seemed like the straw kept sliding away when she closed her mouth around it.
I’ve not got mouths entirely solved yet. Anywhere the suit is, I can simulate touch or sensation with electrical impulses or pressure. I can push that boundary a bit using mental-only stimulus to other areas, but it has limits unless I push a heavier level of influence on the person’s mind. As is, you can feel it, but it won’t prevent your lips from closing and breaking the illusion in the case of the straw. Still, I’m happy with the results for an alpha test.
“Sophie, this is amazing. How does it work?” Aubrey asked.
It’s a much lighter version of the connection that I set up for Alex and Jamie. Market testing suggested what I created for them fell into the “creepy” territory of mental manipulation. Instead, I use Mesh to make the user suggestible, much like hypnosis, and cooked other ways to create the desired stimulus.
The VR tech is off the shelf, it just displays the visuals. You just believe it more due to the influence, and the mind fills in the rest, even down to the smells. From there, I can send electrical impulses that simulate feeling friction or pressure as well as temperature using the Mesh and suit in tandem. I learned a lot about tying it all together to make Alex’s arm when I gave him sensory feedback.
Aubrey leaned back in her beach chair. She knew it wasn’t real, but she could smell the ocean breeze, and unlike those outside the house, these cerulean waves looked warm and inviting. She stretched back and relaxed in the sun, basking in the rays that settled over her like a favorite blanket. “This so makes helping you worth it.”
Well, you say that…
Clearing her voice, Aubrey’s part-time lover Tina walked into the simulation, hips sliding side to side as she strutted up. The woman was dressed identically to the last time she’d visited Aubrey at the house. Black heels, a short skirt and a tight white top with strategic openings across it pulled across her generous chest and exposed her tattoos. Her short dark hair was spiked forward with an undercut on the sides. Her dark eyes locked onto Aubrey and she sent a smirk Aubrey’s way.
Aubrey sucked in a breath as she realized it was Sophie wearing Tina’s image. Wordlessly, the avatar knelt at the foot of the chair and began caressing Aubrey’s legs. A gasp escaped her lips as Sophie trailed her hands higher and traced her fingertips up the former nurse’s stomach. The feel of her was indistinguishable from the real thing.
“I... uh… wow,” Aubrey stammered.
“Mmmhmm… I distinctly remember you wishing to interact a bit more… directly,” Sophie said with a devious grin. “Is this body acceptable?”
Aubrey’s mouth opened and then closed as she processed that statement. She nodded quickly. “Yes... Or, well…”
Sophie cocked her head to the side as she parsed the signals and then took an educated guess. In a blink, Tina’s form faded away, and in its place, Trish, the Black Flags marksman, popped into existence. Trish’s face wore the same smirk as Tina had as she looked around casually, and then turned her attention back to Aubrey.
Coppery hair spilled over a freckled and lightly tanned face. Where Tina always came off as a bit dark and mysterious, Trish was firmly in the cute girl next door category. She had a toned build that showed off the barest beginnings of definition around her abs and a perky chest that looked great in the black bikini that Sophie had selected. Her soft green eyes locked onto Aubrey with a hungry expression. The skin may have been that of the mercenary, but that look was entirely Sophie.
On an impulse, Aubrey leaned forward and pressed her lips to Sophie’s, hard, her tongue darting forth, as her hand reached behind Sophie’s neck, but after a second, she shook herself and pulled back.
“I…” Aubrey began.
“Aubrey, dear, these things don’t need to be complicated. This is just a simulation for fun. Nothing more than watching a naughty vid together to relieve stress. It doesn’t bother me what skin I wear. I can be anyone you’d like or even craft an avatar to your desires. I’ll feel everything you do this time, but my appearance is purely for your enjoyment.”
Aubrey still looked hesitant.
“If it makes you feel better, my dear,” Sophie ran a hand down her borrowed body, trailing fingers from her chest down to her hips. “Alex still fantasizes about that night you and Trish made out in front of him. I don’t think Trish would much mind either, she’s still aiming to get a retry.”
“So, Alex really won’t mind? Me and you? I mean, I know we’ve talked about it, but…” Aubrey began.
Sophie shook her head, causing her long wavy hair to cascade over her chest and settle into the center of her bikini. “Not in the least. It wouldn’t do to say everything, but we’re easily his most frequent fantasy. It strikes a primal chord in his head. The two women who understand and love him also love one another. We’re his family, and he wants us to be happy. Of course, he still daydreams about adding to that list. He’d tell you that much unbidden. Admittedly, that’s at least partially my guidelines kicking in. You did encourage that, after all.”
Aubrey’s mind drifted to a conversation from months ago. What had felt like late-night philosophical musings over a cappuccino had turned into Sophie making rules for Alex’s mind where it was damaged. She chewed on her lip, debating the full impact of that evening’s conversation.
Aubrey said slowly, “Right…”
She stopped herself before she began objecting. After a few seconds, she accepted that it all seemed to have worked out. Perhaps she’d accidentally made him a bit more compatible with her… quirks, but there really wasn’t any sense in suddenly shaming him or trying to change things. This was easily her longest and least turbulent relationship to date. Their flexible arrangement went a long way in keeping both of them happy. Normal could screw off. This worked for them.
Aubrey thought on that for a moment and galvanized herself for what she actually wanted. “He’s not wrong, that night was totally hot. So, if we’re doing this, let’s really do this. Could you maybe add them? Jennifer and Alex, I mean. Like that night, but more?” Aubrey asked.
Sophie’s eyebrows rose for a second, then she snapped her fingers. A new beach chair sprung into existence, only inches from Aubrey’s. On it, a bikini-clad Jennifer was laid back on the chair while Alex leaned in front of her, wearing only a pair of black swim trunks. Their lips and arms were tangled together in the heat of the moment. They broke away for a second to wink at her, then began peeling each other’s clothes off.
Aubrey quivered as her eyes went wide and her breathing sped up.
Sophie slid a finger down Aubrey’s arm to her bikini and began to slowly untie it. Aubrey’s heart hammered in her chest as the woman wearing Trish’s image leaned down and began to tease kisses down her stomach. Her avatar’s long coppery hair spilled over Aubrey’s body and trailed downward, causing an involuntary shiver.
“We’ve got all morning, my little lamb. Should I continue?” Sophie asked.
“Yes… please…” Aubrey gasped out as she arched her back, feeling Sophie’s mouth find her sensitive flesh. Her fingers threaded into Sophie’s hair, pulling the AI’s head harder into her.