Modifying the Contract (Ch3)

[General]

Mike looked up and down the hallway, happy to see it was empty as he led Nikki to the elevator. He nervously shifted his feet as they waited for the doors to open. While most of his neighbors were absorbed in their own little world, much like Mike was, some are a little nosier. All they would need would be to see him with some strange woman sporting weapons. He let out his breath as the doors opened with a little ‘ding’. He stepped inside, with her right behind him as the doors shut and he keyed the button for the subbasement where his car was parked.

“We’ve really got to get you some new clothes,” Mike mumbled as the elevator swiftly descended the high rise.

“Why, this combat suit is constructed to allow for ballistic protection with maximum flexibility and durability,” Nikki explained as she looked down at her outfit.

“All true, but the ninja commando look doesn’t blend in well,” Mike explained. “Plus you’ll need to be able to conceal your weapons if we want to move around in public.”

“Very well,” Nikki grumbled as the doors to the elevator opened revealing the mostly empty concrete parking garage. Mike lead her through the random parked cars until they arrived at his clean, compact sedan. It was a very efficient, late model vehicle with all the possible creature comforts and it was obvious he was proud of it as he popped the trunk and expected Nikki to be impressed. Her expression remained painted with boredom and distain, and she seemed to not care less about the car. She was about to open the passenger seat when she heard something scampering towards her. Her head snapped down just in time to see a small dog run up to her leg. It jumped up on her and immediately started yapping. Her face shifted to a look of complete disgust as she drew her knife and started to lean over.

“Princess where are you?” said another female voice that echoed through the garage.

Mike looked up from putting his bags in the trunk just in time to see Nikki reaching towards the dog. “Nikki no!” he said under his breath. He took a few steps forward and picked up the dog. It struggled and yapped in his grip, attracting the attention of its owner.

A young woman came around a corner of the garage and smiled as she saw the dog in Mike’s hands. She was dressed in scantly party attire and from her irregular steps it was obvious she had done her share of drinking already tonight. “Oh thank you, you found my little Princess.”

“Yea, here you are miss. You should try to keep a better hold of her,” Mike replied as he handed the dog to the drunken women.

She took the dog then slipped forward a little to lean against him. Hank wrapped his arms around her to keep her from falling more, as she giggled and looked up at him. “Oops sorry. I guess I’m just a lightweight,” she giggled again and ran her one free hand over his exposed and firm bicep. “Ohh I’m so glad I ran into such a strong man to help me. Do you want to come back up to my place so I can thank you?”

“Umm I’m a little busy,” Mike stammered. He’d never seen this girl before and she was the very definition of bad timing.

The girl looked up and saw Nikki standing behind Mike. She was silent but very skilled in that female art of shooting daggers from the eyes. “Oh well, she can join us,” the girl cooed as the dog fell down between them and started to paw at his leg.

Nikki, knife still in hand, advanced towards the drunk girl. She spun around the entwined pair and stood behind the girl. “Mike, release your grip. I don’t want to get any blood on your clothes,” she said as she raised the knife.

“Wait what?” the girl mumbled as she tried to get her balance.

“No! Put that away!” Mike commanded as he lifted the girl to her feet and then collected her dog. “I think you should head up to your apartment,” he said firmly as he handed her back her dog.

“Yea, ok,” she mumbled as she stumbled back towards the elevator.

“Get in the car!” Mike snapped as Nikki nodded and returned the knife to the sheaf on her forearm and dropped into the passenger seat. He slammed the trunk and then got behind the wheel. “You were going to kill that girl weren’t you?”

“Yes,” Nikki replied flatly.

“Why!?!” Mike asked as he started the electric car.

“I calculated a 22.7% chance that you would want to engage in sexual activity with that woman. The chance went up to 48.2% when she suggested the threesome,” Nikki explained. “Any delay to our departure would increase the chance of interception by 17% per hour.” She paused for a second, “Plus she spotted both of us and might provide information later if questioned.”

“You can’t just go around killing everyone you want,” Mike groaned as the car pulled out onto a main road leading west. “Besides the fact the girl did nothing wrong besides have a few too many drinks, leaving bodies everywhere is more of a trail than a drunken girl.”

“Perhaps, but the cognitive abilities of human males is directly diminished in relation to their state of arousal,” Nikki replied.

“So we think with our cocks instead of our heads?” Mike grumbled.

“That is an accurate summary,” Nikki replied. She paused for a few seconds as she analyzed their path. “We need to get out of the city. My replacements may monitor surveillance networks looking for you or your car. The traffic cams in large cities will be a possible source of data.”

Mike thought for a while as he turned off a main road and onto a twisty country highway. “We’ll head into the interior. The Pine Barrens should be remote enough for tonight.” Nikki nodded as Mike continued to drive along in silence. “So do you know what they may send out against us?”

“No,” Nikki responded, “but I suspect the assassin or assassins will be synthetic.”

“Ok so if I’m being attacked by an android, what should I do?” Mike asked

“You should die,” Nikki replied flatly.

“Your confidence in my abilities is heartwarming. Ok assume that I have a chance of survival,” Mike groaned. “Where are you’re weak points that I should aim for?”

“The vulnerable points of an android are slightly different with each model,” Nikki explained. “Androids like me are adapted from commonly produced commercial models. We have been heavily modified from the standard configuration but are still somewhat vulnerable. Physical blows to the head, eyes, neck or joints have the greatest potential for damage. An electric shock in excess of 220 volts and 2 amps could trip a hardware breaker depending on where the power is applied and the condition of the outer skin,” she paused for a second then continued, “High temperatures will also cause damage as well as high pressures, caustic chemicals, focused radiation,…”

“Ok I think I got it,” Mike chuckled as he continued to drive, “aim for the head or eyes, or use other forms of excessive force.” He waited for a second as he thought over what Nikki said. “Are there any other types of androids I should worry about, besides the commercial mods?” He had heard rumors about military models made to be nearly indestructible; he only hoped Allied didn’t have access to that kind of firepower.

“Allied also has several android models that are more security focused,” Nikki explained. “The company doesn’t have a pure military contract, and those models are heavily restricted for purchase and production, but there are dedicated security and bodyguard units. They are distinctive because of their size; they will appear as humans that are two meters tall and appear well over one hundred and fifty kilos. In reality they’re almost three hundred kilos. In their initial mission requirements they were meant to be intimidating, not stealthy. They are incredibly strong, very well armored, and most likely heavily armed. However they’re not very quick, so running is your best option. Just run in zig zags; they are more accurate than I am. Some models can even split their fire, with a weapon in each hand and each eye targeting separately.”

“That’s good to know,” Mike said with a nod. He hoped they could avoid the big goons, but at least they should be easy to spot. “So what sort of firepower do you have?”

“I carry a wide variety of weapons, but nothing that will stop a full security model,” Nikki explained. “The P90 you were fooling around with is a submachine gun. It fires 5.6mm light armor piercing rounds from a 50 round magazine. I have three extra magazines in my pack for a total count of 200 rounds. The pistol is a FN Five Seven that fires the same rounds as the P90. It has a 20 round clip with four more clips for a total of another 100 rounds. I have a compact Glock 52 in my boot that you failed to find before.” Mike shook his head as he heard that. He’d have to be a lot sharper than that if he hoped to live through this. But on the plus side, it meant she could have killed him earlier if she really wanted to. “It fires .45 ACP rounds from a 6 round clip with two spare clips in the holster for a total of 18 rounds. I also have the dagger you saw before, three throwing knives, and three one pound charges of H6.”

Mike shook his head. Nikki had a hell of a lot of firepower, but it still might not be enough to put down a tough droid. “What about rifle rounds? Five-five-six, seven-six-two, thirty-aught-six? Would they do more to put one of those big boys down or even someone like you?”

“Yes they would offer significantly more armor penetrating potential than the ammunition I carry,” Nikki admitted. “They are easily obtained civilian rounds. We may not be able to obtain an automatic weapon to suit them, but a semi-auto carbine would be better than nothing.”

“Alright, I know a place down south; maybe another hour or two. They’re not open now, but if we find a place to crash we can stop by when they open in the morning,” Mike contemplated out lout.

“That would be unwise,” Nikki replied snidely. “Legal purchase of weapons, even long guns, requires a full background check. While it can be done instantly, it will set off flags that Allied is definitely monitoring. It will give them a bead on our location immediately.”

“Well, what would you suggest?” Mike grumbled.

“I will access the net as we drive and determine if there are any suitable stores on the way. We can break in and take whatever we need without alerting anyone,” Nikki replied.

“Sure just break in and rob the place,” Mike chuckled, “most gun stores have pretty hefty security. That doesn’t sound ‘wise’.”

“I climbed a thirty story building and entered your apartment almost undetected,” Nikki snapped. “I can easily circumvent the security on some half assed, red neck gun shop.”

Mike frowned and nodded; she did have a point. While he didn’t like stealing, it was the best option, and he could always leave a pile of cash for what they took. “Wait, you’re on the Net? Now? You’re worried about me leaving breadcrumbs for your buddies and you’re broadcasting your location to the world.”

“My signal is encrypted, and I modified the default IP address as soon as you reprogrammed me,” Nikki explained, completely unconcerned.

“You think if you had a network card in your head, you’d actually learn a little more about it,” Mike grumbled. “Temporarily disable your card now.”

“Acknowledged,” Nikki snipped back.

“There are methods to trace a signal back to its hardware configured address,” Mike angrily explained. “I doubt they’d send a very expensive android like yourself out into the field without a sophisticated method of LowJack.” He immediately turned off the current road onto a darker, twisty road and then made several more turns over the next fifteen minutes. “Ahh ok this will do nicely,” he said as he pulled his car off the road into a dark, abandoned building.

“What is this place and why are we stopping?” Nikki asked.

“This is an old gas station,” Mike replied as he pulled the car around back to a large garage door. “As mileage and range increased over the last forty years, people needed fewer and fewer fill ups. Some of these stations in the middle of nowhere just closed up shop with the dwindling demand. Please get out and open that garage door so I can pull in.”

“Alright,” Nikki said as she stepped out of the car and walked over to the garage door. She gave it a pull but the lock resisted her force. She frowned and grasped the door with both hands. Pulling with both arms and legs, she sheared off the lock and the door noisily flew up on its track. Mike slowly pulled his car into the mostly empty garage and she pulled the door down behind them. He shut down the car and stepped out as she approached him. “You still haven’t explained why we stopped here.”

“We need to modify your network card hardware address,” Mike explained as he opened the trunk and removed a backpack. “It’s difficult to track a hardware address, but not impossible. I don’t want to leave any more breadcrumbs than we have to.”

Nikki shifted uncomfortably on her feet as she watched Mike pull out and start up his laptop and connect it to a long cable. She scanned their surroundings; the garage was filled with various pieces of trash and dust covered equipment. Mike had setup on a dusty workbench next to a open glass door that lead to a old office and waiting room. The building’s windows had been boarded over, leaving the only light sources as the car’s headlights and now the glow from the laptop. She heard a slightly buzzing noise coming from the fuse box. She opened the box and threw a breaker, which caused a few overhead lights to flicker on and illuminate the garage.

“Hrm, I guess they left the power on,” Mike shrugged as he continued his work, “thanks for finding the lights. I’ll turn off the car.” He reached into his pocket and pressed the fob. The lights on the car blinked and shut down as he returned to his computer.

Nikki stood behind Mike as he worked, looking nervously as he pulled up one program after another. He saw her watching and figured she was curious, “I went ahead and spoofed my hardware address on the laptop. I doubt Allied new my address, but you can never be too careful. I’m downloading a program now that will be compatible with your systems.”

“Umm alright,” Nikki stammered. “Just please be careful with my programming. You never know what might be a virus or hostile code.”

“This isn’t my first rodeo,” Mike grumbled. “I know where to go to get good, clean software. Now expose your primary programming port.”

“Acknowledged,” Nikki stammered as she carefully unzipped her jumpsuit until it reached her navel. She made sure to keep her breasts covered and only exposed a thin slit of flesh. Mike handed her the cable and she hesitated for a moment before plugging it into her hidden port. “Do you really have to do this?”

“Yes we do,” Mike snapped back. “What’s the matter with you? You almost seem afraid.”

“I am not afraid,” Nikki replied as she stared down and Mike. Her voice took a harsh, aggressive tone, “I do not like to be serviced by meatbags. You are flawed and there is a potential for corruption every time you touch me. If I am to fulfill my programming, idiotic as it is, I must be in top operating condition.”

“I’m getting real sick of your attitude,” Mike snapped as he continued typing. “You think you’re so fucking high and mighty, but you’re only a collection of hardware and programming; both of which can be altered.” He paused to type in a few more commands. “There, your network card has been reconfigured.”

“Good, then get out of my systems before you fuck something up,” Nikki growled as she pulled the cable lose and tossed it at Mike.

“Hey!” Mike shouted as the cable hit him in the chest. “You should show me a little more respect.”

“Any why should I meatbag?” Nikki smirked, “I’m programmed to not kill you, protect you and follow your orders. There’s nothing about respect in there. Now get packed up, we should hit that gun store while it’s still dark.”

“Wait, let’s get this straight! I’m in charge. You follow my commands!” Mike growled as he packed up his equipment.

“Correct, so what are your orders meatbag?” Nikki snapped as she crossed her arms.

“First of all, stop calling me meatbag!” Mike cried.

“Oh and I should I address you then?” Nikki said as she shifted her hands to her hips.

A wide smile crossed Mike’s face as he thought of a way to knock her down a peg, “In public you should refer to me as Mike, but when we’re alone you shall call me Master.”

Nikki’s chin trembled slightly as if she was trying to fight the command. Her eyes shot fire at Mike as she clenched her teeth and replied. “Yes Master.”

“You need to learn your place. Battle is a highly fluid situation. You plan on your contingencies and I will. You keep your initiative and I will. But what you don’t do is share command. It’s never a good idea!” Mike snapped. His eyes played over the very angry android in front of him. She was completely convinced of her own superiority, but he was the one that captured and re-tasked her. She was a highly sophisticated killer android and he was only a computer engineer. By all rights he should be bloody mess scattered around his apartment but he survived and conquered. She had to learn he was really in charge, or she would just continue to challenge his authority.

Mike put his backpack into the trunk of the car and slammed it shut before walking into the unexplored office and waiting room. He pulled back a dust covered tarp to find a cracked leather couch. He smiled as he turned back to Nikki. “Nikki get in here.”

“What do you want…Master,” Nikki replied as she entered the room; the last word spit out between her teeth. Mike noticed she had zipped her jumpsuit back up and was prepared to leave.

“Did I tell you to zip back up? Pull it down again,” Mike said with a coy smile. Nikki glared at him as she defiantly pulled the zipper back down to her navel. He looked her over for a moment in the harsh florescent lighting. He could see the curving edge of her breast barely exposed in the slit in her clothing. He could feel himself getting aroused as he examined the softer side of his new killing machine. “No this won’t do. Take off the rest of your clothes. I want to give you a full examination.”

If Nikki could have shot fire from her eyes Mike would have burst into flames where he stood. “Yes Master,” she hissed as she carefully unbuckled her belt and removed her holster webbing. She set it on a nearby counter then unzipped her jumpsuit a little further. She pulled off each sleeve and let the suit hang limp from her waist. Her full breasts were exposed in the harsh light as he grew harder in his pants.

Nikki’s eyes found the growling mound in Mike’s pants and a look of disgust washed over her face. She knew where this was going and couldn’t think of any way to possibly stop it. She’d fucked plenty of men before, but for some reason she couldn’t remember any one specifically. She knew how to go down on a man, or even please a woman, and a wide variety of techniques to do it, but whenever she tried to remember an instance it faded away, like the vaporous remainder of a dream.

Nikki next pulled off her boots as Mike sat down on the couch to watch comfortably. She then slipped the tight suit off her hips and slid it down her legs. She pulled the suit off and laid it gently across the counter next to her weapons. She stood at attention and glared down at Mike awaiting the next command.

“Hold still,” Mike said as he stood up and slowly walked around the fully naked android. Her body was absolutely stunning; with not a hair or blemish on her smooth creamy skin below her neck. He reached out and grasped her firm ass and gave it a little squeeze. It was warm and just soft enough to give slightly under his grip.

As Mike examined Nikki’s body her mind began to explore the conundrum of her past. She knew she had been on hundreds of missions before, killed almost a thousand people but she couldn’t specifically remember any of them. She could process the experience of those missions and used that data almost constantly to improve her current operation. She knew to check windows for laser sensors because she once tripped one, but beyond that fact the rest of the mission was a haze. The more she thought, the first thing she could really remember was getting out of a limo, into a dark alley several blocks from Mike’s apartment building.

Mike noticed that Nikki’s face had shifted from distain to confusion as he examined her. “Are you ok?” he asked, “You seem a bit off.”

“I am fine,” Nikki replied coldly. “Am I to stand here all night or is there something else you’d have me do?”

Mike bit his lip as he looked down at Nikki in all her nude glory. The bulge in his pants felt like it would burst through his zipper. It had been a long time since he’d been with a woman; not necessarily because he couldn’t but because he didn’t put much effort into it. He had girlfriends every now and then but they always seemed so needy to him and constantly competed for his time against his work.

Mike had once contemplated buying a sexbot, to take care of his carnal needs as well as keeping up his apartment. But after looking into it the androids he could afford were little more than automated blow up dolls, while the marginally sophisticated ones would set him back several years pay. He couldn’t even imagine how much Nikki would cost if he were to purchase her on the open market.

Mike hesitated giving the order. Even though he knew Nikki was an android, she looked and acted real enough. He wasn’t the dominant type with women and often was more of a people pleaser. However, she was getting defiant and he had to exert his authority. At least that is what he justified to his horny mind. “Nikki get down on your knees and give me a blowjob.”

“Yes…Master,” Nikki seethed between her teeth as she dropped to her knees in front of him. She quickly unbuckled his belt and opened his pants, letting them drop to his ankles. His boxers were next to fall revealing his fully erect shaft bouncing slightly in the cool air with each beat of his heart. She was programmed with many different oral stimulation techniques to both prolong and intensify pleasure, but her programming only obligated her to follow his specific orders. She could define blowjob however she wanted within her oral sex procedures and she chose the quickest, most direct route to orgasm, hoping he would just get his rocks off and move on.

Nikki opened her lips and quickly sucked Mike’s shaft all the way into her warm, wet mouth. He groaned as he felt her lips and tongue on him. She felt just like a real woman as she began to bob her head quickly up and down on him. It wasn’t the best he’d ever had but it was good enough that within two minutes he’d climaxed into her mouth. Not wanting to leave any unnecessary DNA evidence around she quickly swallowed his load and stood back up at attention. “Order complete Master. May I get dressed now?”

Mike was leaning against the arm of the couch trying to catch his breath as Nikki spoke. For a moment he almost took her up on her offer, but he hesitated. Something about the way she blew him and got right up made it feel dirty and artificial. Plus he wasn’t sure if he would see much of tomorrow and didn’t want to pass up the opportunity for more. “No,” he replied as he pulled air into his lungs. “I’m not done with you yet. Sit down on the couch and spread your legs.”

“Yes Master,” Nikki replied with a somewhat confused look. She immediately complied with his order, spreading her legs and revealing her smooth, hairless slit. She didn’t know what Mike intended to do. Her programming indicated he would be satiated and very unlikely to seek further stimulation for at least several minutes. She continued her puzzled look as he knelt down between her legs and ran his hands over her inner thighs. Then suddenly he leaned forward and kissed her lips. His tongue darted forward and caressed her sensitive nub, sending sexual sensory data flowing through her systems.

Mike didn’t quite know what to do to pass the time before he was recharged and ready to fire again, so he did what he would do with a normal girl, and tried to return the favor to Nikki. He was curious what she felt and tasted like, half expecting it to be rubber and Astroglide. However he found her flesh soft and warm with a subtle natural taste and smell. She didn’t react to his stimulation, not even a deep breath or a sigh.

Eventually Mike looked up at Nikki, noticing an even more confused face than before. “Come on, at least try to enjoy this,” he chuckled as his head lowered back down and went back to work. Nikki blinked a few times as she attempted to process his order. She had a vague memory of simulating sexual pleasure with other humans that didn’t know she was an android. She had chosen not to run the simulations with Mike because he knew of her true nature, therefore subterfuge was unnecessary. The minimum stipulation of his order seemed to say that she should engage those simulations. However, the ‘at least’ modifier implied she should do more. She looked through her systems and found the sexual activity program package she used before to feed her simulated pleasure. She used it in very restricted fashion as she wanted to manually control her perceived pleasure to whatever would best suit the mission, regardless of actual sexual prowess. However, this time she chose to actually run the program with no filters or proxies.

Nikki suddenly inhaled and let out a low moan as the new program engaged. She could feel a warming sensation spreading out from her genitals to other sensitive areas of her body. It felt…good. Her breathing increased and her hands began to slide up and down the sides of her body. Mike continued to work his tongue, now encouraged by her response. Her left hand slid up her size to caress her breast and pinch the engorged nipple. She let out a higher “Oooooohhh,” as the new sensations flooded her processor.

Mike’s stimulation continued for what felt to Nikki like hours when suddenly a tight spasm hit her. The synthetic muscles in her body twitched as her first true synthetic orgasm rippled through her. She moaned loudly as her fingers ran though his short hair. Eventually the explosion of sensations passed and he raised his head from her crotch before wiping his face on a nearby drop cloth that once covered the couch.

“How are you doing?” Mike asked as he smiled and watched Nikki bask in the afterglow.

“That felt…really good,” Nikki replied between deep breaths. She didn’t need to breath more, she didn’t technically need to breath at all except for cooling purposes, but the combination of her human emulation subroutines and the sexual program package caused her chest to rise and fall rapidly.

“Good, I’m glad you were able to enjoy it,” Mike said as he stood up and looked over his naked android. He found himself once again ready for action and a sly smile spread across his face. “Are you ready for more?” he asked.

“Yes Master,” Nikki replied. The defiance from before was gone and replaced with a new sense of enthusiasm. She had never been orally stimulated before, at least that she could remember, and now that these new programs were running she was looking forward to what else they could do.

“Stand up,” Mike ordered, “Then bend over and hold the top of the couch.”

“Yes Master,” Nikki cooed as she rose to her feet and positioned herself for easy access. Mike’s hands played over her firm ass, then he grasped his shaft in his hand and guided it into her wet lips. Once again she felt just as real as an organic woman as he sunk himself all the way inside until his balls swung forward to smack into her clit.

Nikki let out a long low moan as she felt Mike’s length penetrate her. He grasped her hips and began to pound himself in and out of her. She continued to gasp and moan as the force of his hips hitting her ass send vibrations running through her body causing her breasts to swing and shake. The sensations started to build within her and that warm, good feeling from before began to return. Then she felt him grunt and the head of his cock flare inside of her. He released his diminished load into her slit as he fell forward on her. His hand wrapped around her and quickly rubbed her clit as his last few spasms finished. The rubbing combined with the fucking was enough to trigger her orgasm once again. She cried out and shook as the pleasure nearly overwhelmed her. She made a mental note that she might have to ask Mike to tune down her settings lest they take up too much of her processing power.

Mike pulled himself out and sat down on the couch for a few moments to catch his breath. He saw that Nikki remained in her last ordered position; legs spread, ass in the air, arms out, breasts swinging, and now his seed running down her leg. He felt bad ordering her to comply like he did, but she did seem a little more agreeable than before. “You don’t have to stand like that anymore,” he conceded. “If you want, you can get cleaned up. I can see a bathroom in the back and it may have running water.

“Yes I will,” Nikki replied as she stood up and walked to the bathroom. Once inside she closed the door and found a relatively clean roll of paper. She started to clean up, now much less disgusted with human interaction than she was only a few minutes ago. It was the first time she could remember feeling pleasure like that, and she wondered why Mike wanted her to enjoy it. It didn’t seem to matter to her if she ‘enjoyed’ anything, he could still climax and her programming indicated that was the primary goal of males in sexual situations. Her new master was certainly confusing given her base programming and what little she remembered of her past.

While Nikki was in the bathroom, Mike cleaned up a little and got back into his clothes. He hoped that he’d live long enough to get Nikki into a proper bed. He smiled as he saw her return. “Go ahead and get dressed. We should probably get going.” He left the android to her clothes, and returned to finish packing the car.

[DollSpace]

Another winning chapter; I hope to read more soon, please!

[General]

Don't worry, I'm already working on the next chapter. And like always I am always open to input or criticism. Feel free to either post your thoughts here, shoot me a PM or catch me on YIM.

[liliwinnt6]

Hey! After a night sleep i got a fresh new chapter! Good old General!

[xBOT]

General, I am always a fan of your work, and this one is no exception, just keeps getting better and better!

I've always had a thing for fembots who were much more powerful than the people they meet, yet ended up (either by reprogramming or change of.. err.. "heart") that they would rather use their mechanical super ability to please their human masters in ways not possible by other humans.... so this story is right up my alley.

And as much as I like short stories, I end up liking the long novel-like ones better, like the ones that RobotMan wrote. (Still hoping that he does another installment, btw)

Cant wait for the next chapter!

[General]

I think this one is going to end up in the mid novella size. According to the criteria of the Nebula Awards (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebula_Award) you need 40,000 words to qualify for a novel. I just finished chapter 4 (still need to proofread it) and I'm up to just a little shy of 14,000 (technically a novelette). I thought I'd be able to hit 40k, but the closest I've ever come before was History in the Flesh, but that was only 35k.

On the other hand, I'd say the plot is maybe a third to halfway over depending on what I end up including.

[tectile]

A very enjoyable installment. I'm eagerly awaiting chapter four.

Don't worry about the length unless you're doing so as a writing exercise. Just write until the story is told to your liking.

[xBOT]

Yup, quality over quantity.

I just meant that I like stories like this one better than the cookie cutter ones that just go:

I was minding my own business
I met a girl
OMG she's a fembot
To be continued....

... and there's never a continuation.... ><


Can't wait until the next installment!


PS, General, I used to work as an editor, so if you want a pair of eyes to look it over, help clarify thing, fix punctuation, etc... let me know!

[General]

xBOT,

Thank you very much for your offer to review my work. I've often considered 'cleaning up' some of my stories and seeing if they would be suitable for publication. I know folks seem to like the stories here, and I do appreciate the great feedback, but I'm not sure if a wider audience will find them appealing or just cliched sci-fi.