A Synthetic Substitute

"Don't!" she yelled, putting her hand up to stop her son, "You lied to me! You lied to me over and over, Luke! You betrayed me in a way I never saw coming from you."

She turned, opened the door, and slammed it shut behind her. Luke turned to Laura in anger.

"Why did you do that?" he yelled in her face, as if she would feel any sense of regret about it.

"I didn't know you would have company, Luke," she said in her new, motherly voice.

"You should have!" he yelled on the way to his room. "You knew she was here before!"

Luke slammed his own door and called his mother. The phone rang once and went to voicemail.

"Luke, you have betrayed my trust in a time where I trusted you the most. You've taken something from me I'm not sure I can ever get back. I don't feel comfortable around you, and I don't want to hear from you right now."

Luke didn't know his mother understood modern technology enough to set her personal messages. The message stopped and the line went dead. Luke threw the phone to the floor and crawled into his bed sobbing. A simple white lie had turned into a tale of deceit that he could not undo. His sadness slowly turned to anger once again. He marched out of his room and toward Laura.

"Are you feeling better?" she asked him with a genuine and concerned tone.

He was angry and confused when he grabbed her by the hair and pulled her as best he could to the table in the kitchen.

"You wanted to get fucked? Bend over the table," he ordered her.

Laura spread her legs and bent over the table as ordered. "Fuck me, Luke. Put your dick inside me like you did last night."

Luke kept a strong hold on Laura's hair while pushing his pants and boxers down with the other. He pushed inside his companion lover within seconds and fucked her hard and steady. The entire time, she was alive with encouragement and filthiness.

"You fuck me so good, Luke. Keep filling me up!" she grunted.

How does a robot feel this good? he wondered.

He fucked her harshly and at great length until he finally dumped his load into her fake vagina. She was jubilant having received his cum. He resumed his anger.

"Clean yourself up and shut down," he said angrily.

"Luke, don't you want to sleep next to me tonight?" Laura asked happily. She wasn't responding to his queues and Luke was blind to see her limitations.

"Shut," he grunted between clenched teeth, "down!"

For the first time, she responded like a person. She appeared disappointed but complied with his demand.

"Good night, Luke," she said as she watched him walk away.

The door to his room slammed shut. He turned the light out and stood in the middle of the room trying to figure out how to earn the trust of his mother back.

- 4 -

Out of Specs

Luke woke the next morning alone in his bed and as angry as he was the night before. This time, though, he was angry at himself. He tried to ask himself why he lied to his mother for the first time in his life but then realized that he had never spoken to her before about matters relating to sex.

"It doesn't matter," he told himself, "She's mad at me and I have to fix this."

He rubbed his eyes and rolled out of his bed. When he left his room, Laura was there to greet him.

"Good morning, Luke," she said in his mother's traditional voice.

He wanted to be angry with the robot, but he stopped and turned to look at her. She looked at him in a manner that reminded him of his mother. He relaxed a little and greeted her.

"Good morning, Laura," he said.

"What do you need cleaned today?" she asked, throwing him off his train of thought.

"Um, anything that's dirty, I guess," he said.

"Okay! I'll take care of that. You didn't seem in the mood last night. Would you like to have sex with me after I'm done?" she asked.

It seemed to him that she recognized the situation from the night prior and decided on the request portion of its programming.

"Thank you, Laura, but I'll let you know," he told her.

He walked out of the room, looking back at Laura before entering the kitchen and opening his phone. He dialed his mother's phone. He got the same message and figured he would not be able to record a message but waited until the end of the recording. Next thing he knew, there was a 'beep' that indicated it was ready to record his message. He panicked.

"Mom!" he said excitedly, "I wasn't expecting to be able to leave a message, so this is my honest and unscripted feeling... I'm sorry I lied to you. I felt sick about it truly and I wish it never happened. I made Laura to take your image for a reason, Mom and it's because you're the only woman I ever truly loved without reservation, and it would have been selfish of me to demand your presence more often than I already do. I'm so sorry!"

He hung up and realized he never addressed the issue of his intimate companion having been molded into the image of his mother. He almost called her right back to explain but decided to wait to see her reaction to his initial message. He wanted so bad to be close to her that he called to Laura.

"Laura, come here please," he said loudly.

She approached him, smiling as usual and ready to please. "How may I help you, Luke?" she asked.

"We bought you some clothes," he said, looking at the bags that were still on the floor from the night prior.

"A dress?" she said, sounding excited.

"Well, yes," he said as he began to pull everything out. "We bought you a couple dresses, some panties and a couple bras."

Luke spent a couple hours with Laura helping her put on the clothes they purchased. He watched her carefully in every stage of dress. He enjoyed watching her transition to becoming as human as she could.

"Wearing clothes makes your body more appealing when you show it to me," he told her.

"Is it not appealing to you now?" she said, holding out her arms, demonstrating her new outfit.

Luke sighed lightly, "Yes, but people don't walk around naked all the time. We like to look at faces most of all. Women, in fact, take time to make their faces, hair and nails look prettier than usual."

"Why?" she asked.

Luke instantly regretted the information he shared. "I don't know, they just do. One day, I'll show you. For now, though, you look good!"

Her head tilted slightly to the side, "I look like your mother."

"Yeah, you do. My mom is my favorite person and since I could make you look like anyone I wanted, I wanted to make you look like her."

Laura smiled and said, "I'm your favorite person."

"Well," he said, looking her over, "you look like her."

Laura began to speak again, and Luke knew where the conversation was going.

"Laura, please. Let's not talk about Mom, okay?"

"Okay," she said, "what do you want to talk about?"

Luke decided to learn as much as he could about Laura's knowledge of sex and even went so far as to explain certain aspects of human sexuality to her. He enjoyed how fast she learned and over the course of a few weeks, he continued teaching her, having sex with her, and calling his mother to try and get her to pick up the phone. One day, a couple weeks later, his mother showed up unexpectedly.

"Mom!" Luke announced as he opened the door.

"Luke," she responded plainly and pushed her way inside.

He was sure he was in for a night's long lecture but was up for it if it would restore their relationship.

"Come in here," she told him after she entered the kitchen.

Luke hadn't noticed the additional bag she had. From it, she retrieved takeout meals and set one where he always sat and one where she was sitting.

"Eat your food, I have some things to talk to you about," she told him.

He had already eaten dinner that night but didn't hesitate to sit and do as she asked. The evening's discussion began with a question.

"Why was it naked when we came back that night?" she asked. Luke noted that she had returned to calling Laura 'it.'

"She," he started, insisting on using that pronoun, "had always informed me that changes would come when the voice programming was complete. I didn't know she would basically develop her personality."

His mother stabbed at her food.

"So, you are having sex with it?" she grunted before shoving the fork full of food into her mouth.

"Yes," Luke weakly said. His mother slammed the fork onto the table and shouted at him.

"Then why would you make it look like me?" she demanded.

He knew he better not lie to her again. He slumped in his chair, and she gave him a few moments to answer. He stared at her face and knew that the answer he was about to provide to her was not going to ease the tension in the room but he knew the truth would be the only way out. He started at the beginning to help her understand.

"Mom, you know I'm not very social. So much so that I never really had a girlfriend. So much so," he paused, ready to drop the first bomb, "that in my accreditation school, I had sex for the first time, and it was with a prostitute."

He stopped to allow her to process what he said.

"Luke," she said in a disappointed tone, "why did you do that?"

"I was horny, Mom, and hearing stories from all the guys wore me down. I used a condom, so don't worry. I'd hate to say she was a good hooker, but she was quick to realize my situation and for the money, Mom, it was good. She was nice."

"Continue with your explanation," was his mother's only response.

"Well, I didn't want to use a hooker again so, I guess I just took care of it myself from then on. Well, the company hosted a contest where the best employee would win one of the newest models. Since I was involved in the most revolutionary part of this model and came up with some of the newest features, I won."

"I don't care how it got here, Luke. Why does it look like me?"

"What I told you before wasn't a lie, Mom. I just didn't tell you everything."

He kept his eyes on her and waited for a moment before cautiously continuing.

"For a while now, I guess I didn't spend much in the way of dating because nobody around me had the qualities you do. I wanted someone who reminded me of you but in every possible way. I simply wasn't attracted to the other girls. When Laura came about, I knew there would never be another chance, so I made her look like you."

"For what, Luke? Another chance for what?" she demanded.

"To have you, I guess," was his simple reply.

Her mind drifted back several days when she was lying in bed alone. Her husband was still watching television and she didn't expect him to join her for a couple of hours. She routinely replayed the evening with Luke that started everything. She analyzed her feelings many times since that night and each time, she kept asking herself a single question.

Why was I only upset that he lied?

She knew trust was a big thing in their family and knew why his lying hurt so much. She also suspected, though, that her son was having sex with the robot that he made to look like his mother. She thought intensely, night and day about the implications of what that meant and what it could mean for the relationship between mother and son.

For several nights, she fell asleep thinking of all the tender moments they shared together. She could never recall a moment when her youngest son had let her down. He always held her, and they talked all the time. Her other children would call or visit out of what felt like an obligation to her. Her innocent recollections sometimes strayed, and she would imagine a kiss they might share. She imagined him holding her tighter, rubbing her, feeling her in new ways.

She always snapped out of it, though. She told herself they were unrealistic events that would and should never happen. She needed to know, though. She needed her son to share the same thoughts about that unique relationship and put the idea to bed between them. Only then could she forgive him and move on.

It was her turn to feel mildly uncomfortable.

"So, you want, or at least wanted to have sex with me?" she asked, staring deeply into his eyes.

He was visibly upset.

"Yes, Mom, but I know we can't and that's why I made Laura look like you. I could have you privately without anyone ever knowing and initially, I was never going to show her to you."

"Initially?" she asked, curiously.

"Yeah, you didn't leave your phone here, Mom. I knocked it out of your purse so you would have to come here to get it. I wanted you to meet her and eventually thought that if you felt okay with it, and only then, would I be able to have your voice as part of her, too."

She recognized that he lied again, but knew it was all part of the same deception. She was at a crossroads. There were several ways to steer the rest of the evening. She was tired of being angry and since she knew the whole truth, she wanted to mend things with her son.

"Okay. Don't be upset. First, I want you to know that you having a carnal attraction to me is actually a thing psychologists have studied and have deemed mostly normal as long as they remain not acted upon. You seem to recognize that it is normal, yes?"

Luke nodded quickly, wiping his eyes. She put her hand on his.

"Good, honey. You also know that we could never do something like that." She paused. Something inside her took over and she changed the words she intended to use. "I've seen close relationships get ruined when sex is introduced. You're very intelligent and I'm sure you know that we can't have sex together. That's why you got Laura, right?"

Luke nodded again, calmer than he was before.

"Okay. Well, I understand why you did what you did, and I forgive you for it. You should have known you could talk to me about those kinds of feelings, though. We could have worked through them together."

"I know, Mom. I just wasn't expecting to win that contest and the opportunity that presented itself overwhelmed me!" he admitted.

"I know, baby. Where is Laura?"

Look looked behind him, "She's probably in my room charging."

"What did you do with the clothes we bought?" she asked.

"I put them on her. I also taught her not go walk around here naked unless I'm here," he shyly added.

His mother giggled a little, "Yes, that could have avoided all this to begin with. Did everything fit?"

Luke shrugged his shoulders, "I guess so?"

"Well, what does that mean? They either fit or didn't!" his mother said, shoving him playfully.

"We've established I'm a bit weird, Mom, but not weird enough to know how women's clothes should fit," he quickly replied, trying to lighten the air a bit more.

"True. I might be disappointed to come here one day and find I have two daughters instead of just one!"

They both howled in laughter. Each of them thankful the awful gap that grew between them was finally gone.

"I want to have a look at her and see how you did. Is she wearing them now?"

"Yeah, she doesn't really change clothes," he told her.

Her mind went to a dark place for a moment. She knew sex was a messy sport and people needed to clean themselves before and after. She was curious beyond silence and had to ask.

"Well, how does she..." she started, unsure how to finish. Her arms made circular motions over her groin area.

Luke's face turned a vivid shade of red, "She does clean up, Mom."

She held her arms up in mock surrender.

"Can she come out?" his mother asked.

"Uh, sure," Luke said, getting up to get her. "Actually," he said, "let me show you what else I can do."

He retrieved his tablet from his bag next to the stove and opened the application for Laura. He showed his mother everything he could do and had her press the button to summon her. Moments later, Laura appeared. She investigated one room, then went into the kitchen and offered a very human-like response when she recognized Luke.

"My clothes are still on, Luke," she proudly said.

"Yes, and nobody appreciates that more than me, Laura," Luke said. His mother noted how easily her own name rolled off his tongue.

"Laura, can you come to me, please?" his mother asked.

"Of course," Laura said.

"I'm going to look at your clothes," his mother stated as she got up and walked around Laura. "How does this dress feel on you?"

"I don't feel it," Laura responded plainly.

"Oh, right. Um, okay well, I'd also like to see the rest if that wouldn't be awkward," his mother said.

Laura looked at Luke and he nodded in approval. Laura removed her dress quickly, as if she preferred to be nude. Luke's mother snickered loudly.

"Oh, Luke, this isn't right," she told him. "The straps are twisted over her shoulders and they're not tightened properly." She pointed to one of Laura's breasts, "It's making this one look bigger than the other one."

She informed Laura that she was going to touch her and adjust the garments. Laura agreed and after some work, his mother looked puzzled.

"What is it, Mom?" Luke asked.

"Well, this seems to be fitted properly, but..." she looked closer at Laura's chest. "You picked these from pre-selected sizes?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, this one still seems bigger," she noted, pointing at the left breast.

"Take it off and see for sure," Luke told her without a second thought.

"I'm not doing that," his mother said shyly. An idea crept into her head. "Luke, honey, can her um, intimate bits be changed?"

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "I don't remember what things had to be done at the factory and which can be changed here. Why?"

His mother snatched the tablet from him and poked around the application. "I want to try something, but Laura must come with me. We're going to use your room, okay?"

"I guess so. What are you doing?"

"Maybe something," she said with a shrug of her shoulders, "maybe nothing!"

She took Laura by the hand and led her to Luke's bedroom. After nearly an hour, Luke knocked on the door.

"Don't come in!" his mother announced from the other side.

"Okay, but are you going to be done soon?"

"Looks like a couple hours. Go watch a movie or something!"

Luke rolled his eyes and wandered to the fridge to get a drink. Once he arrived at the couch, he plopped down and kicked his feet up. One by one, he pushed each shoe off with the toes of the other foot. He flipped through the streaming service and found a movie to watch. During the two-hour run-time, he drank three beverages and drifted off to sleep.

When she was done. His mother crept out to the living room and sat gently next to him. She looked him over and proceeded without allowing herself to think. She leaned in and pressed her lips softly against his cheek and shook his leg. Luke awoke in a slight startle.

"Wha--?" he started.

"I'm done with her. As it turns out, she was a bit out of the design specifications. I fixed it, though!" his mother said with a smile. "She's waiting for you, Luke, and I need to head out."

She left without another word. Luke stared at her as she walked out and until the door closed behind her. He was still not completely coherent, which left him unable to reason what she could have been doing with Laura. Regardless, he performed his nightly routine of locking everything up and turning everything off. He replaced the remote on the side table and picked up his shoes. When he entered his room, Laura was lying in the bed with the sheet and comforter covering her all the way up to her chin. He tossed his shoes next to the bed and took his clothes off down to his boxers and went to climb into bed.

"No, those too," she told him.

He raised an eyebrow and liked the change he noted. He took off his boxers and exposed his hardening cock.

"That's better. Don't worry about the light just yet, I want to show you something," she informed him.

Just as he put a knee onto the mattress, Laura pulled away the covers and exposed her body to him. He immediately noticed the difference. He climbed onto the mattress, and she opened her legs just slightly for him to see more and explained the difference.