H is for Heuristic

Mike considered that. "Deep down inside, I guess I am a little. But I'm so glad to have her around. That pretty much overrides any fear I have. And she's programmed... well... not exactly programmed... it's her mission to let me teach her how to love."

Byron ate his food as Mike took some more bites.

Mike continued "That's Tammy's mission too. When Robot Control made them, that was the mission they gave them."

Byron looked a little puzzled. Mike had told him the basic story about how him and Tammy met, but he hadn't elaborated on the reasons for that meeting - nor the reasons they escaped Fembot Command together. "So why did they choose you anyway? What makes you so special to those things?"

Mike didn't like talking to other people about that subject, but he decided to go ahead and tell this other man. "Robot Control wanted to learn how to love, so they found me through a fembot fetish website."

"Fembot fetish?"

"Yep." Mike said. "I really, really like robot women. I couldn't ask for a more perfect partner."

Even after falling in love with a robot himself, Byron didn't quite know what to think. Looking back on the last couple of days though, it did explain a lot.

Byron drank some more beer and shoved some fries into his mouth. Mike finished his burger and started on burger number two. The room was silent for a couple of minutes.

"So," Byron said, "Why is Anya always asking me to have sex with her?"

Mike thought about his instructions to her the night before. He decided to lie. "I guess she just likes you. She's a very horny machine."

"Well, she's bugging the hell out of me. You have to make her stop."

"Don't worry. Tammy's talking to her about it right now."

"Why don't you just reprogram her so she won't do it again?"

Mike knew exactly why no one could attempt to reprogram Anya. The alarm built into her renegade robot detection device would go off. "I don't think we'll have to. Like I said, Anya always listens to Tammy. They're like sisters. Actually, they're the same model." He didn't want Byron to get overly worried about that remote possibility.

Byron took another drink and turned his attention to his food. Mike did the same. Byron had the urge to get away from this robot-loving deviant. Yet he wanted to bring his own Heather unit with him. That struck him as a bit hypocritical. Perhaps he was being too harsh, too judgmental. He admitted, he had a habit of doing that.

"God I hope Heather's fixed soon." he said to restart the conversation.

"I think she will be. My girls haven't sent us out for more parts. That's a good sign."

They finished eating. Mike cleaned up for both of them and chucked the waste into the little garbage can under the desk. He washed his hands again while Byron sat downing the rest of his first beer. He quickly moved on to the next one.

"We're going to leave this motel tomorrow, by the way." Mike said.

Byron looked up at him as he opened bottle number two.

"We don't stay in the same place too long." Mike said.

"Okay." he said.

They sat in silence for an uncomfortable couple of minutes. Then the phone rang. They both hoped it was good news from next door. Mike gestured to Byron that he should answer it.

Byron got up and picked up the receiver. "Hello?"

"Byron? It's Tammy."

"Yes?"

"We're done repairing Heather." she said. "I think you should be the one to activate her."

"Great!" he said, his spirits now lifted. He hung up without saying goodbye.

"Is Heather fixed?" Mike asked. He saw that Byron's whole demeanor had brightened.

"That's what your robot said. Let's go."

They got their things together again and excitedly went over to Mike's room to welcome Heather back to the land of the functioning.

Chapter 73 - Cent

Byron brought his half full bottle of beer with him as he entered the room full of robots with a wide smile on his face.

He looked immediately over at Heather. She looked the same as before - missing her facemask and torso cover.

"Can you put her back together before we turn her on?" he asked Tammy.

Tammy made the necessary calculations to provide him with an answer. "You can reattach her facemask, but I need to scan the new circuitry we gave her as she boots up."

"Okay." he said. He put the beer down and rushed over to where his love's silicone face was resting. The way he more or less shoved Anya out of the way would have been quite rude had she not been a device.

Byron picked up the facemask and wasted no time in getting it put securely back where it belonged. He felt it click into place and watched the edges vanish as the high tech mask reconnected to her 'sleeping' body. Her pretty blue eyes looked up toward the ceiling as he prepared himself to watch her come back to life.

"Are you ready?" Tammy asked.

Byron looked at her and nodded once.

Tammy reached out to the rebuilt and fully exposed chest panel. Heather's power button was now square shaped, but it would have the same effect. Tammy pressed it.

A gratifying multitude of beeps and tone signals came from all around Heather's body as her many integrated systems communicated with her CPU and with each other. Her batteries supplied all the electrical current her circuits, servos and motorised components needed as the light emitting diodes flashed in their bright coloured signaling patterns.

Byron held his breath and waited for his love to speak.

When the speaker behind her beautifully moulded pink lips finally generated her computerised voice, it was in the cold and steady monotone of diagnostic mode - completely devoid of emotion.

"Heather robot number 742655A-FC activated." she announced. "Loading peripheral extensions.... loading.... loading.... "

Tammy carefully watched what was going on inside Byron's woman. The scanning process was itself an amazing display of hypertechnology. With advanced optical sensors that looked like eyes, she scanned the circuitry her and Anya had built. The scans utilised the full range of electromagnetic radiation, inside and outside the range of humanly visible light.

With piles and piles of complicated data returning to her faster than any human could dare think, she pieced together a picture of the other fembot's operational status. Everything looked good.

But Heather was still not moving. She had repeated the word "loading" a few more times and then gone silent.

"Is she okay?" Byron asked Tammy.

Tammy didn't answer right away. Byron looked up at Anya. She had her own facemask off still and appeared to be scanning Heather as well.

"Tammy?" Byron said.

Mike spoke. "She won't answer if she's thinking hard."

Byron looked back at Heather. He was starting to worry.

"Diagnostic mode." she finally said.

Byron quickly turned around and got his beer. He took another drink and waited.

"Diagnostic mode." Heather repeated in a robotic monotone version of her sweet, soft voice.

Tammy turned to look at Byron. "She hasn't found the memory we built for her yet."

"Why not?" he asked.

"I don't know." Tammy said as she looked back at Heather's exposed insides.

"Well, can you fix it?" he asked.

"We don't know what to fix yet." She said while continuing her scans. "You humans can be so impatient sometimes."

Byron looked over at Mike. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, and like everyone else was watching Heather with interest.

"I don't think there's a lot we can do Byron." he said.

"I have identified the cause of the problem." Anya said.

Mike and Byron looked at her. She had their full attention.

"The processor timing cycles are incompatible with the Heather robot's new circuitry while the Heather robot is in diagnostic mode."

The humans looked at each other. They knew basically what that meant.

Tammy elaborated. "That's why she can't find her new memory core. The new hardware is incompatible with diagnostic mode."

Tammy stopped her scans and stood up. She looked at Byron and said "To use a technical term - oops."

"Oops?" he said. He looked back at Heather. She was even more machine-like than Anya in her present state.

"Yeah. We screwed up. Sorry."

Byron was getting upset. "Well, thanks for nothing. Now what am I supposed to do?"

"Hey," Mike said to him, "the girls did their best. They're only pseudo-human, you know."

Byron shot Mike an angry glance. "Oh, will you stop with the stupid jokes already?"

Mike was getting mad now too. He felt like telling Byron to fuck off.

Tammy looked angrily at Byron. He would have never imagined that he'd see a look like that on the face of a fembot.

"Now, you listen up, Bucko." she said. "We saved YOUR life, and spent OUR money on trying to fix YOUR girlfriend for you. We worked hard for almost two full days on her. YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO BITCH!!"

Mike had never seen Tammy act like this. It was scary.

"Tammy, settle down." he said sternly.

She ignored him. "You're lucky we don't just throw your weak biological ass outside and let Fembot Command deal with you."

"TAMMY," he said loudly, "THAT'S ENOUGH!"

She looked at him. She looked quite pissed off indeed.

Mike stood up and led her away from Byron. He noticed then that Byron was trembling. He was trembling a little bit too. He looked away and put his arm around Tammy. Trying to sound calm himself, he spoke into his woman's electronic ear "Stand over there and run a diagnostic check on yourself."

She had no choice but to obey her Master. "Yes Mike." She said, still looking mad. She walked over to the far side of the room and turned back around. She switched modes, and said those two words just the same as Heather had. "Diagnostic mode."

Mike had to tell himself to breathe deeply. He took some deep breaths and looked back at Byron. He was looking at Tammy with a very uneasy look on his face.

"Let's all take a deep breath and count to ten." Mike said.

Anya was the only one who could be heard counting.

Mike sat down on the bed across from where Heather was still laid out. "Here's the plan." he said to Byron. "We stay the night here. Tomorrow morning we get up to be out of here by six. We go somewhere else and get whatever parts Anya and Tammy need to fix Heather properly."

Byron leaned against the ugly curtains on the window. He looked down at the floor for a moment and then said "I'm sorry."

Mike looked at Heather for a moment, then back up at Byron.

"I'm sorry I've been acting like such a dick."

"Don't worry about it." Mike said.

Byron gestured over to Tammy. "Is she going to be done her diagnostics soon?"

Mike looked back at Tammy. She was standing still with her arms at her sides - staring out blankly ahead.

"I think so."

Byron poured the rest of his beer down his throat and sat down on the bed next to Mike.

They both sat there looking at Heather for a while.

"Look, Mike, I really appreciate all you and Tammy, and Anya have been doing for me. I realise that if it weren't for you I might be... well... I don't want to think about where I might be."

Mike looked at him and nodded. "I understand." He had the urge to tell Byron that he was almost as startled by Tammy's outburst as he was, but decided against it.

Byron looked over at Heather. Externally, she was all fixed up. There was no sign whatsoever that a bullet had been fired into her chest. Even the synthetic skin on her damaged hand had been repaired, and was covered by a temporary layer of latex while the silicone hardened. He could not deny that Mike's robots had worked hard.

"It's just that... I'm used to being in control." Byron added. "I'm used to being the boss. This is hard for me to deal with."

Mike listened, but he didn't really know what to say. "Byron, as long as you're on the road with us, we'll give you whatever you need. We're in the same boat."

They looked at each other. Each of them thought they understood the other a little more now.

Tammy finished up her diagnostic scan. She calmly walked around the beds and went to stand next to Anya.

"Tammy," Mike said, "Byron has something to tell you."

Mike looked at Byron. It took a moment for Byron to figure out what he was getting at.

"Uhhh... Tammy..." he said sheepishly, "I'm really sorry."

Tammy generated an intensely real response for him. She pursed her lips and forced her frown into an unwilling smile while she looked down at Heather.

"I'm sorry too." she said. "I'm sorry I yelled at you."

Byron looked up at her and went on with the apology. "I really do appreciate what you and Anya have done. I only wish that I could repay you somehow."

She looked at him and said "You can start by not being such a jackass."

"Tammy..." Mike scolded.

"Sorry." She said as she looked down at her feet. She looked back at Byron and Mike and said "You know what, it's been a long hard day. Why don't we all just go to bed - slash - recharge."

She made a cute little diagonal motion with her hand when she said that last part. Little things like that reminded Mike why he loved her so much.

"Good idea." He said as he stood up.

Byron stood up too. "What's going to happen with Heather tonight?" he asked.

"I think we should keep her in diagnostic mode." Tammy said. "We'll have to anyway to get her out of this motel and into a new one."

"Can she stay in my room with me tonight?" Byron asked.

Tammy looked at the semi-functional robot, then back at Byron. "Of course."

"We'll need Anya to guard you again." Mike said. He was fully aware of the grief that Anya's behaviour had caused Byron the night before, so he was determined to provide the electronic temptress with different instructions tonight.

"Alright." Byron said.

"Let's get her dressed." Tammy said.

Anya picked up Heather's torso cover and snapped it back into place. She was now fully assembled, but still in never-ending diagnostic mode and naked.

Mike snapped Anya's facemask back on for her as her and Tammy started to pull clothing back on to the Heather unit.

After she had been dressed up enough to leave the room, Tammy provided her with the verbal commands necessary to complete the process.

"Heather," she commanded. "stand up."

Heather moved stiffly, even more so than Anya did, and got out of the bed and on to her feet.

Byron watched with mixed emotions. Among other feelings he had he was glad and disappointed at the same time. He got his things and went to open the doors for the empty-minded robot he still loved.

Tammy looked over to Byron. He got the message. "Heather." He ordered. "Follow me."

The perpetually self-checking fembot walked in bare feet across the room and out the door.

"I'll send Anya over in a couple of minutes." Mike said.

"Goodnight everybody." Byron said as he led his sweetheart into the room next door.

Mike rushed over to Anya. "Keep your hands off Byron tonight." he said. "Don't masturbate, don't tell him how horny you are, just sit in the chair and recharge."

"Yes Mike." she said. She grabbed her cord and walked out of the room.

Mike sighed and looked at Tammy.

She looked back at him. "This is what I get for hanging around with humans."

Chapter 74 - Mistake

Mike embraced Tammy tight and held her for a long time.

"Don't you ever get mad like that again." he said.

The calculations being made within Tammy's chest at that time were almost too complex for her to handle. Displays of intense simulated emotion were a fantastic drain on her computing resources.

"But his behaviour is so irrational. It really bugs me." she said as she held on to him just as tight.

They just held on to each other like that for a few minutes. His fast beating heart slowed down as he took in her bodily warmth.

They let go and separated to look at each other. They held hands and stayed eye to camera for a long while.

"He's got cabin fever." Mike said. "I think he'll be okay once Heather is back to normal."

"What's cabin fever?" Tammy asked.

"Search the net." he told her.

Tammy made a quick internet search of the term. In under a second she read through volumes of text in several different languages and used her AI software to provide her with an accurate description of the term.

"Well, that's no reason for him to be so rude." she said.

They let go and got undressed. Mike went to the washroom while Tammy cleaned up the room a bit and prepared to recharge.

Meanwhile, the two robots in Byron's room were standing perfectly silent and still while he washed up and got undressed. He was a bit relieved to have Heather back, but still not happy that she was unable to act like before.

But even so, he couldn't wait to have her back in his bed. When he was all done in the bathroom, he came back out and looked for a while at the two female robots he would be spending the night with.

He thought of how to order Heather to get into bed, but was unsure if she would understand while stuck in diagnostic mode.

"Anya," he said, "lay Heather down on the bed for me, under the sheets."

She turned her metal neck and aimed her silicone covered head at him. "Yes Byron." she said.

He stood back and watched her walk over to the bed and peel the sheets back on one side. Then the strong android gently picked Heather up and carried her across the room. She laid her down just as gently on the sheet covered mattress and stood up straight again, waiting for her next command.

By this time Byron had hatched a plan in his head. He was determined not to let Anya bother him like she had the previous night. He got his laptop set up on the nearby table and opened up his diagnostic and reprogramming utilities.

While Anya plugged herself in to the wall outlet, he got up and wheeled one of the floral-patterned chairs over to the setup. "Anya, sit down in this chair and open your chest panel." he said.

"Yes Byron." she said. She strutted over in her stiff kind of way and sat down with perfect posture. She pulled the sweater she wore over her head and rested it on her lap. With her upper body completely uncovered now, she reached up above her awesome breasts and opened up the factory-standard chest panel.

Byron reached over and connected Anya to his laptop. He tried not to look at her sexy naked chest as he did.

He turned back and watched the monitor. He wondered just what he would find lurking about in this other fembot's software.

His display windows were soon filled with data and code. As he started to read it, he saw sections that closely resembled what he had found in Heather. He also saw sections that looked like nothing he had seen before.

While searching through her object identification data, he found himself referenced as, of course, "BYRON" - albeit in binary notation.

He sat there for over half an hour, silently inspecting the way this woman was programmed. When he thought he had seen what he needed, he minimised the windows and sat back to think for a while.

Then he opened up the code entry window. He decided to aim for the very beginning of her startup protocols, as they were constantly active and easy to understand - for both her and him.

He typed out a line that he was sure would put an end to her sexual pestering. In the coded language of her sophisticated AI, the line he created and entered said "Do not seduce Byron."

He clicked on the enter button, and clicked through a confirmatory window as well. With that, his new addition to Anya's programming was now a part of her being.

He looked at her empty eyes and unplugged the laptop from her chest. He closed the panel and said "Anya, reboot."

"Yes Byron." she said blankly. She made some loud beeps, and some other clicking and whirring sounds that could barely be heard as her system shut itself down in preparation to restart.

Some more beeps came out of her body as she quickly reactivated and loaded her programming again. "Anya robot number 742703A activated." she said.