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From: "DB_Story" <DB_Story@att.net>
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Subject: {ASSM} (Revised) <*> Barbara's Journey {DB_Story} (M/Fembot, rom, cons, mast, ScFi, asfr)
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Date: Sat,  8 May 2004 17:10:06 -0400
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BARBARA'S JOURNEY

By DB  ( DB_Story@att.net / http://home.att.net/files/Authors/db_story/www/ )
Copyright(C) 2003-2004 by DB. ASSM/ASFR (M/Fembot, rom, cons,
mast, ScFi, asfr)

(This story contains Constitutionally protected material intended
for adults over 18 years of age in the United States of America,
and whatever passes for adult status in other countries.  If you
are under legal age, acting under legal age, not allowed to view
such material in your area, or easily offended, please do not
continue.  This is not for you.

(The only rights granted are to view this story.  You are not
allowed to reproduce, post, or otherwise redistribute this story
without permission, except for non-profit Usenet archiving sites.

(To purchase for publication, place on your web-site devoted to
this style of fiction, or for permission to link to my posted
material, please contact me first at the above email.)

- - -

Author's Note: This story is part of my emerging cosmology about
the evolution of robots into our near future society and the
myriad ways we will learn to interact with our creations.  Read
it now, and be prepared.  For more, visit my web-site at the
above address.

A special thanks to Gorgo and Rocket Ralph for their excellent
and much appreciated proofreading.  All remaining mistakes are
mine.

- - -

Barbara pushed the taco meat around in the pan to keep it from
drying.  She extrapolated, based on past information, that there
would be enough business over the next few minutes to use all of
it.  This little grass taco shack, standing on the edge of the
beach in Mexico, was popular enough with the college kids that
very little went to waste.  This was good, since waste hurt
profits and that would violate one of her primary commands:
"You're here to make a profit for me."

Like any properly functioning fembot, Barbara always followed her
commands.

Except there hadn't been any commands lately.

Barbara's current circumstances were that of a custom 'bot in an
"out-of-water" situation.  She started her life as Carlos' bitch.
 Later Pepe had picked her up for little more than a song.  He'd
done some questionable favors for Carlos in the past.  When
Carlos eventually kicked her out, Pepe caught her before she
bounced.

She'd started out as a special order 'bot, designed and built as
a high-level companion for a rich, Mexican businessman, meaning
Carlos.  As such, she didn't fit the usual fembot mold.  She
stood a strong five feet eight and a half inches in her bare
feet, with a sexy, yet mature, figure that contrasted with the
exaggerated skinny look now in vogue for most 'bots.  It put her
much more at home here in the south.

Her Anglo face, with its high cheekbones, made her a trophy wife,
while her tanned brown pseudo-skin was as brown as any local. 
Sun-bleached russet hair cascaded halfway down her back.  But the
thing that always caught your attention first were her striking
clear green eyes.

Her most unusual feature however was her apparent age -
thirty-four years old.  Most owners want their fembots in the
range of eighteen to twenty-five years, regardless of their own
age.  The niche for a 'bot like Barbara is a narrow one indeed. 
In an age of ageless 'bots, Barbara would come across to many as
old.

Barbara didn't think about her niche, or much else, for a long
time.  Like most pricey custom 'bots, she came the best hardware
and additional software pre-loaded, for the man who would
appreciate this extra value for his money. And her life was well
laid out for her.  Barbara was the hostess of the big hacienda
blanco overlooking the bay.  She greeted guests, acted as a
secretary for her husband when he worked from home, arranged the
banquets and parties as he directed, and provided sexual services
to him and any associates he so designated.  Mexican households
are run by the women, as directed by their men.

As her owner, Carlos gave Barbara direct commands on every aspect
of her expected behavior, as was his right.  And he was not shy
about using the Command button on her remote to enforce his will.
 That suited Barbara just fine.  Although she was only dimly
aware of the concept of personal satisfaction, what satisfaction
she did get didn't come from Carlos's virtually nonexistent
praise for her hard work.  Barbara's satisfaction came from her
internal confirmation each time she completed a commanded task.
Like all properly constructed and programmed fembots, Barbara
existed to fulfill her function of being a fembot.  For her, that
was enough.

Barbara started out with a closet full of fine clothes for her to
wear, and a big house to live in.  Though those things hardly
mattered to her, all of them were hers for the first few years of
her life.

Then, as men often do - especially with toys they own outright -
she fell out of favor with her owner.  It wasn't anything she had
done.  She performed her functions as faithfully as ever.  Carlos
just got tired of her.  She had not been his first 'bot, and she
would not be the last. Suddenly she had only minimal duties to
perform as Carlos practically quit speaking to her.  Soon she was
sharing the hacienda with a younger appearing, blue-eyed blonde
fembot named Traci, who started capturing most of Carlos'
attention.

This soon brought a dissatisfaction to Barbara that she could not
remedy. Not that she was jealous of Traci; nothing like that was
ever part of a 'bot's makeup.  Instead, Carlos had given her a
lot of commands in the past that were still part of her, but now
she was unable to carry most of them out.

It never occurred to Carlos that he should cancel any commands he
no longer expected Barbara to perform.  After all, she was just a
piece of machinery whose purpose was to do what she was told to
do, and leave him alone otherwise.

Carlos could have turned her off at the push of a button, and she
would remain ready for his next use without all the dead time
in-between.  But he never considered such an option.  It was not
like she had feelings, or anything.

Barbara's existence became one of waiting to be useful, and
constantly being told to stay out of the way otherwise.  Her mind
tried to figure out new methods of performing her functions for
her owner, but that remained a problem beyond her ability.  She
was yesterday's news as far as everyone was concerned and
something would eventually be done with her.

- - -

A lot of things changed for her the day Pepe relieved Carlos of
an obsolete (from Carlos's view) 'bot.

Barbara no longer had the hacienda blanco on the hill to call
home.  Instead she now lived in a plywood shack near to the
concrete restroom blocks, a short walk from the taco stand.  Her
home was lit with a single electric bulb, wired to an illegal
electrical tap.  Instead of a closet of expensive gowns, Barbara
now wore a frayed bikini top, whose narrow triangles came nowhere
near confining her large soft bust, a ragged pair of the shortest
possible jeans cutoffs, and an old pair of thatch sandals to
protect her feet from unnecessary wear and tear.

None of this bothered Barbara.  As a 'bot she was immune from the
insecurities a human would feel from such a deep social fall. 
She washed her hair in the cold water in the restroom block each
morning.  Then using a comb - one of her few remaining personal
possessions - she made sure her appearance was as perfect as
possible.  She washed her body there in the shower provided for
the beach visitors each night after the crowds left.

That she had this shack to herself at all was unusual;
unnecessary, some would say.  She could have stayed at the taco
stand just as well.  Pepe had given it to her since some other
girl in his employ had left and it was vacant.  It was more
likely that he wanted her to keep an eye on it for him at night,
than he was actually concerned about her welfare.  Either way, it
wasn't much.  A bed, chair, basin, mirror, and light.  Barbara
did her best to keep it up well, treating it the same as any home
that was her responsibility.  Her meager possessions were kept in
a hidey-hole in the floor under a board.  She understood the
concept of protecting property entrusted to her.  Her problem
soon became that Pepe isn't a very good 'bot owner.

"You're here to make a profit for me," he told her.  That was an
ambiguous command that could be viewed in an infinite number of
ways.

"Take care of my money," was clearer.

Then he followed up with, "Watch out for my interests," which was
again unclear.

Pepe seemed to have some undefined ownership of a number of small
businesses along the beach that catered to the touristias coming
down to escape behavioral restrictions north of the border.

Because the girl who'd lived in the shack had also run the taco
stand, Pepe needed someone to fill in there as well.  When he
found out Barbara didn't know how to cook under these conditions,
despite her extensive software library otherwise, he brought in a
large, round Mexican woman who worked in one of his cantinas to
teach her.  The woman looked Barbara over once, huffed, and
showed her the basics.  Fortunately Barbara proved a quick study,
since the woman seemed to want to get out of there as soon as
possible, and as such was disinclined to repeat anything for her.
 That woman soon left without ever having any single personal
word of praise for Barbara.

After that, Barbara ran the taco stand.  Pepe came by to collect
his money, and to introduce the man who delivered the food and
other supplies.  After that, she was left alone.

- - -

It sounded simple enough, but Barbara's mind remained a morass of
conflicting commands from her time with Carlos, followed by
Pepe's lack of direction.  This job, which barely taxed her
abilities, and the long nights alone, did nothing to help those
conflicts resolve themselves.  A 'bot's commands don't fade away
with time.  They are only retired when they are satisfied, or
countermanded.

Barbara found some escape in optimizing the operation of the taco
stand. She determined that variations in the food quality and
preparation resulted in variations in customer response.  Since
it wasn't prohibited, she decided to log the results and improve
the operation of the taco stand.  This could come under the
command of looking out for Pepe's interests.

Working on this problem gave her the first independent stirrings
of satisfaction that she could recall.  Over time she improved
things such that her stand gained the reputation as the best on
the beach.  The money she made steadily increased, and Pepe
sometimes gave her a small gift of one sort or another when he
collected his take.  Those became Barbara's sole possessions.

Pepe's health was never the best.  He had a cough that never went
entirely away.  Barbara worked to give him her best service
possible, but if he noticed he never said so directly, except one
time when he came by her shack coughing worse than usual.  With a
half empty bottle of tequila in one hand, he needed some
immediate money for a debt that couldn't wait until his usual
collection the next day.

Barbara had done well the last couple of days and had more than
Pepe had expected.  He was pleased.  "You're my best girl," he
slurred to her.

Barbara felt a surge of pleasure at the confirmation that she was
performing well.

Pepe followed up with, "You take care of things for me."

That sounded like a command, but it wasn't delivered in the
proper format. Barbara spent several billion compute cycles
trying to determine Pepe's intent.  Did he want to give her a
command, or was it just a comment?

Barbara remained a well-trained, well-mannered robot.  If her
owner wanted to give her a command, she would facilitate it.

Once she determined this, Barbara retrieved her remote control
from where she kept it safe after Pepe had told her to guard it
on the first day, and offered it to him.

Pepe first acted like he had forgotten she was a robot.  But then
he grabbed it and pressed her Command button, repeating his
words.  After that he lurched away into the night, leaving
Barbara with yet another imprecise directive to follow.

The only time Barbara ever gave Pepe a problem was one day she
awoke in the morning (she had gotten into the habit of suspending
her thoughts at night in the equivalent of human sleep, to make
the idle time pass more quickly) and ran her standard diagnostic.
 Instead of the normal all systems passed result, an imminent
failure was indicated.

Barbara managed to keep functioning until Pepe arrived.  He
usually asked her if everything was okay.  Today he didn't.  In
fact he was leaving with the day's receipts before Barbara could
summon up the initiative to tell him she needed a repair.

Although Pepe was upset at this, he took her into town and paid
the local repairman to replace the component that Barbara
identified to him.  The man did a credible job, and Pepe escorted
her back to the stand afterwards without comment.

- - -

Except for Pepe, Barbara had no real social contact.  The other
people who worked in the town knew to leave Pepe's employees
alone.  And the dozens to hundreds, depending on the weekend, of
college kids who came by her stand, seemed to view her as an old
lady.  After all, she appeared nearly twice their age.  Meanwhile
they were surrounded by more than enough college girls willing to
pull their tops - and more - off down here in uninhibited Mexico
just for the asking.

Barbara's solitary life went on, as did her battles over how to
best fulfill her function.

- - -

One day Pepe stopped coming.  His cough had been worse of late,
and today he didn't show up on schedule.  Nor did he come the
next day, or the day after. This threw Barbara into a quandary. 
Suddenly she because responsible to keep things going on her own.
 The money had to be protected.  Yet the people delivering the
supplies wanted to be paid, or they wouldn't give her what she
needed to keep going.  They said Pepe hadn't paid them, so she
had to.  Barbara's systems raced as she tried to decide how to
resolve the conflicting demands on her.

Although she had often worked her mind overtime trying to sort
through all her conflicts, that was nothing compared to this. 
Those had no specific demands to be solved in the next time
interval.  Now she had to have an answer before the man left. 
The turmoil within her, along with the necessity not to fail,
brought a new synergy together.

Pepe had told her to look out for his interests.  His interests
involved her running this taco stand successfully.  She needed
supplies to continue running the taco stand.  She would pay the
man herself.

However Pepe's interests also involved protecting his money. 
Barbara had to make sure she didn't overpay.  Fortunately, in
Mexico bargaining is part of everyday life, and she had learned
from the best.  Carlos hadn't gotten where he was by accident. 
He bargained everything by instinct.  And Barbara had often
observed his technique.  Carlos considered Barbara part of the
furniture, and never though twice about talking in front of her.
Barbara never forgot anything she heard.  And that he did this
while being her owner didn't hurt either.

By the time she was done, Barbara had not only bettered Pepe's
best price, but also gotten a promise of improved quality as
well.  Then she went back to her job, not realizing the changes
this incident had set in motion inside her.

That night Barbara didn't go into sleep mode as usual.  She
retained her many unresolved issues, and chose to use this
undisturbed time to work on them.  Why she made that decision she
couldn't have said.  After today's incident however, she felt the
need to improve her efficiently to better deal with such
situations, should the recur.  She didn't solve anything that
night, and realized she lacked the proper tools to solve some of
her problems at all.  But she was now determined to keep working
on them, as time permitted.

- - -

As the days passed and Pepe still didn't return, things started
to go downhill in his empire.  The man hired to pick up the trash
each day along the beach, so that the gringos wouldn't be
offended by the world as it really is and quit patronizing this
beach, quit coming by.  That affected Barbara, because her
traffic dropped as people started to avoid the area. She noted
the drop, and looked for the reasons.  Her food was up to its
usual standards, and the overall crowds seemed as large as usual.
 As she cast her net more widely searching for altered factors,
she finally wondered if the wider environment itself had changed
to her determent.

She thought long and hard in the gaps between customers, spending
tens of billions of compute cycles at a time.  Finally she
decided she couldn't answer the problem directly due to the lack
of information, but hit on the idea of indirectly testing her
hypothesis.  This was new for her, since it fell outside of her
assigned duties.  It was only the imprecise nature of her
directives that was allowing her to think this way at all.

Barbara went outside and cleaned up the accumulated trash in her
immediate area.  Within the hour she was aware that traffic had
picked up again.  A human might not have noticed the few extra
people, but to Barbara the increase was statistically above the
margin of error.

Barbara added the cleanup to her duties and performed it
dutifully each morning, until one day she saw the man who used to
do it walking by.  In sudden inspiration she called him over and
asked why he didn't do that job anymore.

"Because Pepe leave and no pay me," came the response.

Barbara struck a deal with him to be paid directly by her, and he
was back on the job that day.  She extended it to all Pepe's
properties along the beach, and the overall crowds were soon back
to normal again.

- - -

Since Barbara had first worked out her need to expand her duties,
she had not spent any more nights wasting her time in sleep mode.
 She worked on her conflicts, using all her spare time.

For a long time she made no progress.  She was not supposed to be
making decisions for herself.  That's what she had an owner for.
But her owner was absent, while his directives remained.

Then one night she had a breakthrough.  With so much information
in her mind by now, the possible relationships between it all
approached infinite.  This was far beyond any robotic mind's
ability to solve completely, and most never got the opportunity
to work on such problems at all.  Robots focused on their owner's
needs when the owner was present.  Pepe's leaving Barbara alone
so much is what gave her this uncommon opportunity.

The breakthrough was the sudden realization that one of Carlos's
minor directives was no longer in effect.  Though never
countermanded, it had been entirely superceded and rendered moot
by more recent commands given her.  It was entirely useless now,
and only remained around to clog up her thinking. Barbara
rechecked her work three times, and then three more.  There was
no error.  Another overall check to see if she'd missed anything,
and then she instructed her systems to delete that directive.

Her self-check systems accepted her command, and did not trigger
the mandatory shut down that would happen on a basic rules
violation.

The directive itself had been minor, but the impact on Barbara
was significant.  She'd never done anything like this before. 
And while she actually recognized the significance to her of
managing to do this - that is she had just simplified her life by
a tiny amount, and proportionately reduced the problem of dealing
with the rest of her directives since she reduced their overall
complexity - she was not able to repeat the process again.  The
other directives still had too many interrelationships tied to
them to be ruled as irrelevant.

- - -

Barbara might have remained stuck at this point indefinitely,
except that her power-cell was finally reaching the end of its
useful life.  While she had more warning of this than the last
failure, there was no escaping the necessity of a costly
replacement - and soon.

This was not an easy decision for her to make.  On one hand she
would cease to function if it wasn't replaced soon.  While the
thought of this didn't trouble her the way it might a human faced
with an analogous situation, it did cause her distress that she
would fail to perform adequately if it did happen.

On the other hand, power-cells for a fembot of her sophistication
were quite expensive.  Was she watching out for Pepe's money
properly if she had this necessary maintenance performed?

An indication of her growth was that she was actually considering
this dilemma at all.  When she belonged to Carlos, if this
condition had happened she would have merely notified him and
waited patiently right up to the point of failure for him to act
when he was ready.  Now she was looking out for herself.

It was a close call for her, but finally she decided she wouldn't
be serving Pepe's interests if she let herself fail.  The factor
that tipped the balance in her favor was that she had deleted an
obsolete command.  That told her that even unfulfilled commands
can become obsolete as circumstances change.

Afterwards she realized she was very happy with her decision to
act.  She would continue to fulfill her functions as best she
could, and that gave her satisfaction, which fed back through her
systems as a positive reinforcement to her evolving decision
making processes.  In the properly run household where she was
expected to live, this would have never happened.  But thrown
into these circumstances, Barbara was making do the best she
could.

- - -

Barbara arranged her trip to town the next afternoon, when she
knew she'd miss the least amount of business.  As it turned out
however, the repairman didn't have her special power-cell
on-hand, and would have to order it from Mexico City.  This meant
it was good that she hadn't spent more time trying to decide what
to do, since it would take two days to be delivered.  She
bargained herself a good deal, and was back at work with enough
reserves to make it through until delivery, though just barely.

When Barbara went back Juan, the repairman, took the pile of peso
notes she brought and asked for her remote.  Barbara hadn't
brought it.  She protected it fiercely as her owner's property,
and never carried it where it might make her vulnerable.  It
seemed as though Juan would not be able to finish the job without
it.  But then he decided he could do a seat-of-the-pants bypass.

When he asked why Pepe hadn't come with her, and mentioned he
hadn't heard from him for a while now, Barbara demurred
answering.  Normally she had to be truthful in all circumstances.
 But protecting Pepe's interest might mean not talking about him.
 Carlos had been very clear to never talk about his business to
anyone.  Juan was busy, and didn't seem to notice that she hadn't
answered him.

- - -

When she awoke with the new power-cell, Juan told her he had also
installed some updated routines that had arrived in the shipment
and were indicated her model type.  Pepe would have to activate
them.

"How?" Barbara queried, so that she could pass the information
along correctly.

"He'll just have to press your Command button," Juan replied.

"What command must he give me?" Barbara needed to know.

"They will tell him at the time," Juan assured her.  "It's an
auto-trigger. That way the owner can't botch it up.  Tell him it
will optimize your command processing."

Barbara ran her power-cell diagnostic, which returned full power
and correct functioning readings, but informed her that an
updated routine was necessary to access the new functions of this
power cell.  That must be tied into this update.

"Thanks," Barbara said with a rare smile, happy that this problem
had been solved.

- - -

That night Barbara sat in her shack holding her remote.  While it
was both forbidden - and impossible - for her to give herself
commands, since her systems literally froze when a command was
being received and processed, Barbara realized that she could not
complete her update without it.  Need warred against her own
internal rules.

She considered alternatives of asking someone to do it for her. 
Perhaps the woman who had taught her to cook.  Or even returning
to Juan with the remote.

But she was feeling especially vulnerable now.  She had managed
to get the new power-cell installed, however she now realized how
close that call had been.  Allowing anyone else to use her remote
threatened her ability to carry out her directives.  Mexico is
not like the United States, which she knew about only through
integral memories given her during manufacture. Down here the
laws and enforcement to prevent hijacking of 'bots were rarely
enforced, unless the owner was rich and well connected.

As she spent billions more compute cycles on her dilemma, a
combination of thoughts she had not tried before suddenly flashed
in her mind.  Without apparent volition, her thumb moved and
pressed her Command button.

- - -

Barbara's conscious mind blanked out the way it did for every
command. Normally it returned after a couple seconds, with the
new command so firmly integrated into her thought patterns that
she couldn't imagine a time when that command wasn't a part of
her.

This time it was different.  Instead of snapping back to normal
operation, she seemed to be making a long, slow climb back to
conscious function.

She heard her voice, as if from a great distance, repeating,
"Confirm update," every few seconds.  She felt stuck, cycling
over this thought again and again, as if in a dream she couldn't
wake up from.

Barbara repeated the phrase to the empty room another dozen times
before suddenly hearing herself say, "Timeout.  Update accepted
with default options.  Please configure for proper operation at
the first opportunity."

At that point her mind snapped back to normal and she reflexively
raised her thumb off the button.  Barbara didn't realize exactly
what she'd done, except that her internal censors weren't yelling
at her for any violation of her basic laws.  And as the update
took hold she felt...different.  There was something she was
supposed to do now, but she couldn't quite put her mental finger
on it.

Barbara carefully put her remote away.  It was late now as she
settled down on her bed for her nightly ritual of trying to make
sense of her mixed up thoughts.  Although she hardly needed the
physical rest the bed provided, standing and balancing stole
compute cycles away from problem solving. Besides, when she was
at Carlos's, he always had her sleep with him - until Traci had
arrived.  This was familiar territory.

Thinking of Carlos for the first time in a while brought back
thoughts on how long since she had engaged in sex with anyone. 
Pepe never seemed interested, and no one else ever approached
her.  Sex was important to Barbara, because so much of her
programming was devoted to the subject.  If that programming
wasn't being exercised, was she fulfilling her function properly?
 That was another thought she hadn't had in a long time.  Was
this update altering her thinking patterns, and taking her down
heretofore new routes?  Barbara didn't know.

Finally she got back to her normal nightly routine.  But for the
first time since that night long ago, she identified another now
obsolete command. After inspecting it as carefully as the last
one, Barbara finally deleted it, removing one more stick from the
tangled briar patch her thoughts resembled.  The deletion went
more smoothly that the last one, and she noted that some of the
new code just given her helped with the decision.

The next night she managed to delete another obsolete command. 
And two more the night after that.

- - -

Outwardly Barbara seemed the same as ever.  She got up, did her
job well, and waited for Pepe to return.  Inside however a cloud
was lifting ever so slowly from her mind.  Each command she was
able to identify as no longer applicable and delete, simplified
the process of finding the next one a bit more.

The new code participated in these decisions.  She knew this
because it was time-tagged, and she felt when it ran.  What she
didn't - couldn't - know is this code had not been intended to
run under these circumstances.  It was suppose to help her
optimize her thoughts for more efficient operation, which it was
doing just fine.  But it was also supposed to have reinitialized
her to her current owner when he activated it by pushing her
command button, and led him through resetting her priorities. 
Barbara had been alone when she'd activated it, and that
circumstance hadn't been anticipated by its programmers.  Without
the owner imposed constraints, it left her more free to optimize,
and implement those optimizations, than anyone knew.

- - -

Spring break was approaching, and Barbara knew business would
pick up significantly soon.  She had already arranged for extra
supplies starting the next day.  She had also made a deal with
the man who now kept the area immaculate, to hire his son for the
next week to clean up after the increased crowds.  Everyone in
the area had benefited from the improved surroundings.  She had
even managed to give her cleanup man a raise, which he had been
more than thankful for.  His praise resonated through her systems
as a job well done.

The night before everything was due to hit, Barbara finished
packing away the extra supplies and carefully locked up the taco
stand.

She walked the hundred meters to the restroom block, getting soap
and a worn towel from her shack along the way.  After taking off
her clothes, she carefully washed down her skin using the outside
shower.  The unheated water didn't bother her, while the dim
light provided sufficient privacy.  The streetlight that was
supposed to illuminate this side of the restroom block had
recently burned out, and no one seemed interested in replacing
it.

She dried herself efficiently, before donning her clothes again.
She washed those clothes weekly.  Since she didn't sweat in the
human fashion, that was enough.

She walked back to her hut to settle in for the night, not
realizing she had been seen tonight by an early arrival for
spring break.

- - -

Barbara was now making steady progress in dismantling the
patchwork of conflicting commands she'd been living under. 
Without Pepe to give her new ones, or reinforce the old ones,
many things were now invalidating themselves within her.  By now
she computed the probability of Pepe's return as highly unlikely,
and increasingly more so with every passing night.  That didn't
bother her.  'Bots are not made to worry about that.

Tonight only a few minutes passed before she deleted yet another
obsolete command.  This one dated to just after the arrival of
Traci, and turned out to have been a key sticking point in her. 
Suddenly in rapid succession all the remaining junk in her mind
showed its flaws.  One-by-one she deleted each one, until there
was simply nothing left.

Upon completion, Barbara's thoughts roamed through the empty
spaces previously filled with vague and contradictory demands -
and found nothing to upset her.  After another quick traversal of
the area to ensure nothing was overlooked, Barbara settled back
and went into sleep mode for the first time in weeks.

- - -

Tim walked down the beach walk the first official day of spring
break. Already the crowds were arriving, although it looked like
half his friends weren't going to make it when they said they
wouild.  The other half were already doing their best to get
drunk and be obnoxious.

This was Tim's first spring break.  He was nineteen, and had been
talked into it by his friends.

"Come on, guy.  Everyone does it.  It's part of growing up.  Just
don't tell your parents."

Tim's parents were quite well off, and probably wouldn't have
approved of many things Tim let himself get talked into doing.

By now he already had the requisite wristbands - four of them so
far - that gave him unlimited access to the cheapest, most
watered-down, tequila the bars poured for spring break.  They
knew these kids didn't know any better, and took advantage at
every turn.

The college girls were already out on the beaches, trying to see
who had the most minimal bikini, and riding by flashing their
young boobs to all the males ogling them.

Tim already hated all of it.

His stomach was queasy from something he drank earlier.  None of
the girls with their tattoos, wildly dyed hair, loud manners, and
piercings were at all appealing to him.  The beach already was
too crowded to enjoy just lying around and catching a few rays. 
The smell of wood smoke and piss permeated the air.  The foul
breath of a couple drunk coeds who had grabbed him for kisses
normally reserved for long lost soul mates was even worse than
the air.

In fact, the only thing Tim had seen so far down here that
interested him at all was the goddess he'd spied last night
taking a shower by the beach.

That woman had stirred him more than any he could recall.  But
Tim might as well have stood for timid.  He was far too shy to
have approached her to try and strike up a conversation.  Instead
he waited until he lost her in the dim light, before he worked up
his nerve to make a move.  He had spend this morning wandering
around hoping to find her without success.  The couple times he
ran across people he knew who wanted to drag him off to party, he
resisted until they gave up and moved on.

Maybe some food would settle his stomach.  The real experts here
- meaning those for whom this was their second visit - all
recommended a taco stand on the edge of the beach next to the
sidewalk.  Tim walked over to it - and found himself looking into
the most exotic green eyes he could ever recall seeing.

- - -

In a perfect world Tim would strike up a conversation with this
lovely creature he'd been seeking like the Blonde in the T-Bird
of yore something like this:

"So there you are," he'd say.

"Here I am," she'd respond with a smile.

"So how's it going?"

"Same old, same old."

"Has anyone told you how stunningly beautiful and desirable you
are today?"

"Only you, kind sir."

"I find that hard to believe."

"I guess they think I'm too old for them."

"Impossible!  You're absolutely perfect."

"Well thank you for saying so."

"I have to ask you something, knowing that you couldn't possibly
give me the answer my heart most yearns to hear."

"Be bold, and ask away."

"Are you already spoken for?  Has another man beaten me down the
path to your heart?  Tell me the truth, so that I can regret for
the rest of my life not being swifter of foot."

She would smile even more broadly at the complement in his
question, lighting up the entire area.  For in truth, she seemed
to more intimidate, than entice, the many young men who came to
buy her wares.  And she would answer truthfully when she told
him, "No, my heart remains unencumbered.  No one has yet called
for my favor."

"Then let me be first to ask, nay beg.  Will you accept my
application as a suitor for your affections?  Will you give me
the least little opening of a chance to win your heart?  For I
have never met a woman before who has struck me in the smallest
fraction of being as desirable as you are this very moment."

Hearing his heartfelt words, she would look him over, realizing
he was as serious and truthful in every word and nuance as any
'bot could ever aspire to be.  And she felt a strong stirring in
her sexual systems for the first time in so very long.

It felt good and right for her.  Pepe was gone.  Carlos had
abandoned her. And all the old commands were washed out of her
system, freeing her for the first time to make her own choice of
companion with whom to share her life. A life that would finally
and completely fulfill her function to a man who truly cared
about her, instead of himself.

Yes she was older.  Thirty-four at least.  But she would remain
an ageless thirty-four forever.  And this was good.  First he
would appreciate her sexual maturity, knowledge, and willingness.

Later he would come to appreciate her eternal youth and sexiness
that would never diminish.  Together they will both make each
other happy beyond description, and neither will ever choose to
hurt or leave the other.  With computer speed she knows all this
in moments, and therefore doesn't keep the young man waiting for
his answer.

"I accept your offer," she replies softly, a tear in her eye for
the first time, from the same hydraulics that will soon make her
wet and ready for his love.  And every time afterwards, she will
always be ready for him sexually the moment he wants her, for as
long as he wants her, in every way he wants her.

"But I must first finish my duties here," she says, knowing she
has responsibilities to complete.

"I shall return at closing," he assures her, "Though it will be
the longest day of my life until anon."

She laughs out loud at this, then reaches out and pulls him in
for a quick, yet deeply promising of much more to come kiss. 
There is no doubt of her intentions.

Already her systems are shifting over to accept this young man as
her new owner.  Not in an owner/'bot subservient relationship,
but as equals working together, with both being stronger for it.
Her nipples swell up for the first time in ages, pushing proudly
against her tattered bikini top and signaling her readiness for
him to take her in all ways that a man takes a woman.

"Goodbye, only for now," he tells her.  "I must leave for my
sanity, since I would surely go insane to stand here and not be
able to take you this very instant.  But I'll shall return."

"I know you will," she says, another tear running down her
beautiful face. "And it will be the longest day for me as well
until you do."

With that he gives her another quick kiss.  His reply to the
promise of more to come, and walks awkwardly away down the
boardwalk.  It's hard to walk straight when you have the most
raging hard-on imaginable.

And she computes the totality of seconds before he will return
again, to take her away from here entirely and return her to the
life she for which she was always intended.

Then she turns back and asks the next person, "May I take your
order?" knowing that he alone in the world will appreciate her
for the free-thinking 'bot she has become, only commanding her
with love and kindness.

This makes all of her months of work down here in this dingy taco
stand worthwhile.

Yes, in a perfect world it might have happened that way.  Too bad
Barbara and Tim don't live in anything close to resembling that.

- - -

Tim could barely speak.  It was her.  And she scared the shit out
of him.

"May I take your order?" she asked in a sweet, yet husky, voice.

"Uh...  Uh...  I'll have uh, a taco please."

Barbara turned away to prepare it, without seeming to notice his
awkwardness.  It wasn't that much worse than a number of the
other young adults that came by her stand.

As she turned, Tim could see the immense rounded side of her
breast sticking out beyond her bikini top.  It was the most
beautiful breast he'd ever seen, and the tiny top she wore showed
so much of it.

Automatically his eyes looked for the spot where the nipple would
be, and saw a perfectly positioned tiny nub in the cloth.  He
flexed his sweating hands, wishing they were holding that breast.

She turned back for a moment and asked, "What would you like on
it?"

Tim had to drag his eyes away from her deep cleavage to finally
look back at her face.  A real woman would have been insulted -
or proud and pretend insulted - at how her exposed mammalaries
distracted weak-minded men.  This woman didn't seem to notice.

"Uh, everything," Tim managed to say.

She turned back again, absent-mindedly tugging her top back
around her breast, before bending forward to finish the taco. 
Not only that that make her chest look even bigger as her boobs
pressed against the confining bikini, but he could study - make
that stare - at her safely while her back was turned.  He took a
quick moment to look at her perfectly shaped dark-tanned legs -
filled out, not skinny - exhibited so casually in their entirety
below the almost non-existent shorts, then returned his gaze to
the side of her chest.

Too quickly she finished his taco and was handing it to him.  He
quickly fumbled in his pocket for a wad of money, and pushed some
bills at her without even looking at them.

In a daze he started to walk away, only to be called back by the
next patron to receive his change.

Convinced that he had created an un-repairabley bad first
impression, Tim stumbled away, bumping into a couple groups of
passers-by.  Besides, what would a woman like that, who obviously
already has everything going for her, ever want with him?  His
heart didn't stop pounding until he was well safely out of her
sight.

Only one good thing came out of it.  It was an excellent taco.

- - -

Tim spent the rest of the day scoping out vantage places to view
his mystery woman without being seen in return.  He was too
embarrassed to go back to the stand for any more food.  He
obsessed on watching her, and imagining how it would be to have
her as his girlfriend.  She just offered so much more than the
girls his age.

He watched her from a half dozen different vantage points, and
almost gave himself a heart attack a couple times when he saw
older males appear to be hitting on her.  She smiled at them the
way he wished she would smile at him.  The only thing that kept
him sane was that it appeared they weren't getting anywhere with
her either.  By the end of the day Tim realized two things.  He
was in love - and she was a 'bot.

Realizing that she was a 'bot wasn't as huge a leap as it
sounded.  As mentioned, Tim's family is quite well off and
they've had a couple 'bots in their employ.  They got them from a
service that provides robots for people who don't want the
hassles of ownership.

Tim had been quite intrigued by them when they - both fembots -
first arrived.  He spied on them until he caught them nude one
afternoon while washing their service outfits.  These were not as
sophisticated as some 'bots were, but they did have strong
prohibitions against fraternizing with their employers
dependents.  Tim knew there were better 'bots out there, but he'd
never had access to one.  Realizing that Barbara was a 'bot
wasn't difficult to anyone who watched her closely.  Realizing
that she was one of the most elite models came easily as well.

This actually made her much more accessible.  Tim decided to
approach and ask for her owner, with the thought that he might
cut a deal for some of her time.  He had plenty of money with
him.  Then he made the mistake of being discovered again, and
this time letting himself be dragged off by his friends for more
drinks - mostly because he didn't want to have to explain to them
why he was loitering in this spot otherwise.  Though he returned
as soon afterwards as possible, the taco stand was closed and she
was gone.

Walking back to his room, Tim didn't realize he passed within
feet of her as he traipsed past a non-descript shack next to the
sidewalk.

- - -

Tim spent a long night dreaming of 'bots - all with green eyes
and impossible figures - parading through his minc.  Every one of
them was just out of his reach.

The next day he staked out the taco stand first thing.  She was
already there preparing food for the day.  But she looked busy,
and Tim didn't want to appear to be wasting her time.  It was
late afternoon before he saw a lull.

He sauntered up.  In a botched, over-rehearsed, speech he managed
to say, "You're beautiful.  Could I see you sometime."

With a real woman that lame come-on might have had a bare chance
of avoiding immediate rejection, given the party atmosphere down
here - but the smart money would be against it.

For Barbara, with all her conflicting directives suddenly
eliminated, and who was now wondering how she might fulfill her
function, they were very much the right words at the right time.

"Yes," she replied, after a moment long enough to stop Tim's
heart first.

"When?" he managed to get out over the thumping of his now
restarted heart.

"Come here at closing."

"Deal!" Tim replied, holding out his hand to shake on it.  When
Barbara didn't respond to the gesture, he pulled it back
embarrassed and mumbled, "When do you close?"

"Nine," she responded simply.

"I'll be here at nine," Tim said redundantly.

- - -

Tim arrived a few minutes early and stood in the shadows as
Barbara closed down her stand.  Then he moved quickly as she
stepped out and started to walk away, as if she had forgotten all
about their date.

"Hello," he said, huffing up alongside her.  "Are we still on?"

"Yes," she said, walking towards the restroom block and leaving
him to keep up.  Truth is, Barbara didn't know what to do now.

She had gotten an offer that her systems responded to positively,
but didn't have any idea of how to relate to it.  Simply put,
despite her killer body, Barbara was sadly lacking in the social
skills on how to exploit it to her advantage.  The whole concept
of "using anything to their advantage" is foreign to a 'bot.  A
'bot does what it's is told, or what it can infer their owner
wants.  This is the way everybody wants their 'bots - obedient
and innocent.

So while she had agreed to the date, she continued on with her
usual routine, until she saw a reason to vary it.  Since Tim was
following her anyway, she didn't have to do anything else yet.

Barbara got her towel and scrap of soap, and continued to the
public restroom and shower block.  The only illumination in the
restrooms at night came through the open roof from a couple of
nearby streetlights.  The burned out one on the women's side had
still not yet been replaced.  This kept the crowds down at night,
but did not affect Barbara whose vision included infrared
wavelengths.  She had this extra ability so that she could easily
move around bedrooms in the dark as part of her function.

Barbara efficiently stripped in the dim light and quickly washed
away the grime and grease from today's cooking.  Given the
activities and attitudes on the beach, if anyone else noticed, it
would not be noteworthy.

Tim stopped several of feet away to give her some privacy.  As
she continued seeming not to notice him, he edged closer until he
was within touching distance - not that he would dare actually
touch her.  This view was so much better than two nights ago.

Barbara remained silent as she finished with the unheated shower
and quickly toweled off, before pulling her shorts back on and
expertly tying the back-strap of her top.  She then walked away,
again without apparent notice of Tim, who quickly followed her
anyway.

Tim wondered if she'd noticed him at all.  He decided she had
when, instead of shutting her shack door in his face, she held it
open until he entered.

However Barbara still seemed to ignore Tim when she sat down in
the only chair and used her comb to work the tangles out of her
long hair.  Even dry, this took her several minutes.  All that
time Tim stood uncomfortably by, shifting from one foot to the
other, until he finally sat down on the edge of the bed.  He
enjoyed watching her comb out her hair, while wondering what to
do next.

When Barbara finished, her routine next action would be to turn
off the light and move to the bed.  But Tim was sitting there, so
she just stood up and waited for her path to clear.

- - -

Tim was in his own quandary of not knowing what to do.  He looked
at the fembot standing there in front of him, obviously waiting
for something, and fidgeted while wondering what he'd gotten
himself into.

Standing was as easy as sitting for Barbara.  She could easily
stand there for the rest of the night without effort.  For now,
she would remain where she was until circumstances changed.

While Tim was appreciating the clear view he had of the lovely
fembot, he was realizing it was up to him to make the next move.
If only he wasn't so inexperienced with women - and fembots - he
might have some idea what that should be.

Their tableau ran on for minutes before Tim finally blurted out,
"I don't even know your name."

Barbara heard the statement, but there was no question there to
be answered, so she remained silent and still.

It took Tim another minute to realize his mistake.

"What is your name?" he asked.

"Barbara," she said, in a voice softer and more intimate than the
one she used when taking orders at the taco stand.

"Barbara what?"

"Just Barbara."

The fact that she now responded to him emboldened Tim.

"Barbara," he said, "What would you like to do now?"

That was just the sort of imprecise question a person should
never ask a 'bot.  'Bots do what they're told - not what they
want.  Barbara tried to figure out what she would like to do,
since that had been the question, but she really didn't have any
good answer.  For now, all she wanted to do was continue with her
routine.

Finally she said.  "I'd like to go to bed now."

Tim almost swallowed his tongue hearing that.  How much better
could this be?

But Barbara still didn't move.

Tim finally asked, "Why don't you?"  When he got no response, he
added, "Go to bed, I mean?"

"You're in the way," she responded.

"Oh!" Tim replied, jumping off the bed like he had springs under
him.

With her path now clear, Barbara turned off the light and lay
down on the bed, leaving Tim standing in the near darkness.  The
only light came from the outside through a couple small, cracked
windows.

Tim stood there waiting to be noticed further, and wasn't. 
Baffled, he cleared his throat a couple times without eliciting
any further response from the fembot.

Finally ready to admit defeat, he considered just leaving
quietly.  But as he took a step, Barbara turned onto her side,
leaving a space between her back and the wall beside the bed. 
Tim took that as an invitation and climbed in behind her.

It was a tight fit on the narrow bed as Tim tried to ensure he
didn't accidentally touch her.  He lay on his side in a way that
put his back against the rough wood of the wall.

For a long time Tim waited for a sign to continue - or leave -
but Barbara gave him neither.  Although she could lay unmoving
for the entire night, Tim finally found himself making small
shifts while trying to ease the stiffness that was starting to
set in.  He felt the heat radiating from her body, and smelled
the faint odor from the cheap soap she had used.  The longer he
lay there, the more he felt she had accepted him into her bed. 
Finally, hesitantly, he reached out and placed his free hand on
the warm curve of her bare waist.

- - -

For Barbara, everything that had happened was logical and
expected.  It had been a logical decision to accept this young
man's request for her company. She was completely underutilized
in this area, as well as having her nights entirely free and
unencumbered.

Her sexual programs were ready and waiting, however they would
not trigger on their own.  Carlos never had any woman take the
initiative with him.  Sex was on his terms only, when and how he
wanted it.  He liked Barbara's robotic ability to be fully
aroused the moment he was in the mood, and how she would go at it
with him as long as he wanted, stopping the moment he was done.

One other thing.  Carlos made it clear no woman should enjoy her
sex as much as he enjoyed his.  Barbara dutifully noted this
condition, and modified her response accordingly.  It was one of
the few parts of her sexual response she could adjust on her own.

Pepe had never shown any sexual interest in Barbara at all. 
Whether he didn't like women, didn't like sex overall, had better
offers elsewhere, or just considered her a machine and therefore
not a worthy sexual partner, nobody knew.  As a result, nothing
in her response ever changed from what Carlos had taught her.

Therefore Barbara never made any moves on her own.  When someone
wanted sex, they made their intentions clear.  Then she responded
to them.  So with Tim, she did nothing until she felt his hand on
her waist.

That touch was sufficient to activate Barbara's primed sexual
routines to their first stage.  Her response was to give an
almost inaudible sigh, and shift slightly closer to the man in
her bed.

Tim didn't move his hand again until he was sure she accepted him
touching her here.  He was not experienced enough to understand
the small positive responses to his tentative touch, and waited
to see if anything definite would happen.

When nothing did for several minutes, he finally got bold enough
to slide his hand down and over her flat belly.  Again the only
response was that she again shifted a bit closer, and he might
have heard her make another soft sound.

Tim loved the soft feel of her warm, smooth skin.  He moved his
hand gently until he found her beautifully shaped naval.  After
exploring it gently, he slowly started rubbing his hand around it
in widening circles, trying to find the limit of what she'd
permit without irrevocably crossing over it.

Barbara's sexual database identified this form of sexual
exploration.  It permitted her several levels of response, taking
other circumstances into account.  She chose a minimal response,
taking into consideration her partner's obvious inexperience. 
She felt he would find this the least threatening.

Tim continued to work on his explorations, praying that he
wouldn't go too far and get himself thrown out.  He continued
with larger circles until he reached the top of her shorts and
the bottom of her breasts.  Rather than go further, he reached
down to stroke the outside of her nearest, strong leg.

The longer this went on, and each new place Tim touched her,
stimulated Barbara's sexual systems.  Though she was familiar
with this approach from her education, no man had ever seduced
her slowly like this before.  Carlos didn't even understand the
concept of foreplay.  He expected women to be excited by the size
of his wallet.  His friends had been similar.  The tactile
feedback Barbara was feeling was the most positive she'd ever
experienced.

- - -

Meanwhile, Tim was getting his own sexual feedback response from
stroking those legs he'd only been able to admire before, and his
libido was pushing him hard now to move things along.  He was
ready to take some chances.

Placing his hand back on her stomach where it had been accepted
already, Tim repeated the same movements as before.  Then, as if
by accident, he brushed his hand up over her breasts, bumping
them harder than he had intended as they seemed even larger in
the dark, before moving quickly back down to her belly again.  He
made more small circling motions while waiting for her reaction.

- - -

Barbara had been waiting for this.  It was a sign she recognized
as the moment things got serious.  And she realized she could end
this right here. There was a vacuum left behind by the deletion
of her old directives, and it was giving her more freedom than
she had ever possessed before.

In a way that she couldn't explain, she liked the feeling this
freedom now gave her.  While not sexual in nature, it had the
same thrill for her starved systems.  For once this was her
choice, rather than someone else's. She could decide when it
started and ended.  But this was also so new to her that she
really didn't know how to use it properly yet.

She weighted her choices.  She had no reason to refuse these
advances, and the strong likelihood of some further enjoyment if
she did let it continue. It took her only fractions of a second
to consider all this and determine her response.  Then she pushed
herself back fully into him while taking his hand to place back
on her breast.

- - -

Tim understood this unspoken sign from her and went for it.  He
reached under her with his other arm and boldly grabbed both
breasts, while pushing her hair aside to brush his lips across
her neck.  Her breasts were full, and amazingly firm, as he
pushed them around under the inadequate bikini top.  It felt so
good to him to hold this warm, adult, sexy woman this way.

As Barbara started shifting and moaning in his arms, he reached
down with his teeth to tug loose the knot on the back of her top
allowing it to come free.  He quickly removed it, noting how she
held her arms out to assist him.  That confirmed to him that she
wanted this.

Her bare breasts stimulated his own response as his hands found
her rapidly rising, hard nipples.  Tim had dreamt of this moment
from the very first instant he'd seen her.

- - -

Barbara's sexual systems were fully on-line now.  Her hard
nipples provided enhanced feedback to her own pleasure circuits,
along with every other touch.  When her lover moved his hand away
for a moment, she took it and pressed it firmly back again -
demanding more from him.

- - -

Tim was surprised when she pulled his hand back to her chest. 
She must really be enjoying this.  He'd heard that the best
robots were like people when it came to enjoying these
encounters, though he couldn't see how this was possible. 
Feeling this robot react like this in his arms however was giving
him second thoughts about his own preconceptions.

- - -

Barbara was feeling fully active for the first time in a long
time.  This is what she was supposed to be doing.  She would be
happy for this attention to continue for a very long time.  Her
moans of pleasure were nearly continuous by now.

- - -

Tim felt the surge building in him, knowing he was near the point
of no return, and loving that feeling that comes when sex crosses
over to the inevitable.  He felt completely in control of this
robot woman in his arms.

Since he was in charge, he knew he had to finish the
preparations.  Freeing one hand he reached down and managed to
unbutton Barbara's shorts.  A tug on the zipper gave him enough
space to slide his hand down over her smooth belly and close
cropped pubic snatch.  He felt her jerk once as he found her soft
inviting lips, slick and awaiting his touch.  He ran his hand
fully over her sex a couple times, ensuring there was no
complaint from her at this last threshold to full intimacy of her
body.

Satisfied, he pulled his hand back out and tried to tug down her
shorts. Lying together as they were, he would never have managed
it on his own.

Barbara took control by reaching down to remove them.  The
respite gave Tim enough time and space to hastily squirm out of
his clothes.  Naked, Barbara lay there waiting for him.

Tim guided her to lie on her back, to which she obediently
complied. Awkwardly on the narrow bed, he climbed above her,
seeing her naked glory in the dim light.  There has never been
such a beautiful woman.  Of that, Tim was certain.

In his haste Tim's initial thrusts missed their target, failing
to go in to her.  Suddenly he felt her hands on his shaft,
guiding it unerringly into her warm, wet tightness.  Once inside,
he felt the loss of control rising to overwhelm him as he started
thrusting without thought of anything else.

- - -

Barbara lay back enjoying every thrust.  Her mind was running at
top speed, concentrating only on this task at hand.  She felt the
exultant joy that had been missing from her existence as she
performed this most important task to perfection.  She would
happily continue this duty forever.  When Tim finally started to
slow down, she began to buck her own hips to keep up the rush.

- - -

For Tim, there had never been the overwhelming buildup like this.
 His other girlfriends, whose own inexperience often blunted
their lovemaking; his masturbation sessions, where he could never
just let go entirely; his dreams, were pale imitations of this
moment.  The uncontrollable wave built up inside him to
impossible heights.  And as he slowed down his thrusts to try and
hold it there as long as possible, Barbara started thrusting at
him from below, pushing him into the longest, hardest explosion
of his life. His muscles pumped his seed into her until there was
nothing more to pump. And even though she slowed down her own
thrusts finally as he was drained, his overstressed muscles
continued to spasm, trying to squeeze out any last drops while
sending aftershocks through his body.  Tim never believed sex
could be this good.

Finally exhausted, sweaty, and panting, he fell onto her proudly
up-thrust breasts and felt strong arms reach around him to easily
hold him against her.

- - -

Barbara held him until he recovered enough to finally try to pull
away.  She immediately released him.  All he wanted was to lie
beside her instead of on top.  She easily accommodated this
change of position, and gently stroked his back until he fell
deeply asleep.

In the past, the illicit excitement of sleeping next to a naked
woman with whom he'd already made love would have kept Tim in a
fitful sleep - awakening often during the night to again touch,
hold, or attempt another lovemaking session to this uncommon
visitor in his bed.  Tonight the tension, release, and exhaustion
put Tim out like a light for the rest of the night.  Though this
was a shabby shack in a foreign country, he felt safe in her
arms.  It turned out to be one of the best night's sleep he'd
ever had.

Interestingly, they had not spoken a single word to each other
after getting in bed.

- - -

After Tim fell asleep Barbara remained fully alert.  No one had
ever asked her what she'd like to do before.  Not Carlos.  Not
Pepe.  No one.  Although she had given Tim an answer, she knew it
was not a good answer.  It fact, it was hardly an answer at all.
She didn't really have an answer for it.

There were things Barbara wanted, that she was now able to
actually realize that she wanted.  She wanted to be a good 'bot.
She wanted to accomplish those tasks for which she had been
intended.  Additionally now, she also wanted to be desired and
needed.  This long period of no ownership had shown her that.

But these were vague concepts to her.  The sex they'd consummated
was concrete and satisfying.  The man's arms around her that kept
her sexual programs simmering in the event he woke up and wanted
another encounter kept her feeling happy.  But sex alone wouldn't
satisfy her deeper needs for long.

Aside from shifting her position to mirror Tim's and keep him as
comfortable as possible each time he stirred, Barbara thought as
hard as she could the rest of the night about what it was that
she might want - without getting any closer to an answer.

- - -

In the morning Barbara untangled herself from the young man's
arms that still loosely held her, and got up.

He stirred, and then as he realized she was getting up, bolted
awake himself.

"What's happening?" he asked, still fuzzy from the night before.

"I need to go to work," Barbara told him matter-of-factly.

"Oh," he replied, still not quite in sync with the situation.  As
he realized she was leaving he quickly added, "Can I see you
again tonight?"

"Yes," she replied simply, walking out and closing the door
behind her.

- - -

Tim lived through the longest day yet of his life.  Even longer
than yesterday.

He tried wandering around looking for activities to make the day
pass more quickly.  Before he knew it, however, his random
travels would take him back to the taco stand.  He cursed himself
for this, feeling that she would see him hanging around and not
want anything more to do with him for being so lame.  While
Barbara would never have thought anything of the sort, Tim didn't
know that.

After agonizing through the entire day, and wondering what he
should do differently if they got together again tonight, Tim
finally decided it was late enough to finally return to her.

- - -

"Hi," he said to her, forcing as much casualness into it as
possible.

"Have you eaten?" she surprisingly asked him back.

"No," he quickly replied.  Except for some chips at noon while
drinking a safe, cold beer, Tim hadn't paid any attention to
thoughts of food.

Barbara handed him a basket of tacos she had waiting.

While Tim wolfed them down, keeping an eye on her at the same
time so she wouldn't leave without him.  Barbara finished closing
down the stand, and then waited patiently while he finished.

"Those were really good," he said admiringly.

She turned and walked away without replying.

- - -

Their evening ran a virtual replay of the previous night right up
until Tim - whose main thought at that moment was, Well this
worked okay last night - again said, "What would you like to do?"

That brought Barbara back to her stuck point on this unresolved
question. She felt herself unable to decide what she wanted to
do.  She was still blocked from exercising her own wishes - even
if they were in accordance with her owner's.  Though she had been
able to act on some small decisions, like deciding to accept
Tim's advances, she still needed him - or someone - to make the
first moves.

Then a piece of that decision code update fired unexpectedly,
giving her a sudden new insight into her problem.

- - -

"Is that a command?" she asked coyly.

"Uh, yeah," Tim replied, not really getting what had just
transpired.

"Commands must be given in proper format," Barbara replied,
turning away and retrieving her remote from its hidden location.
"Please repeat," she said, holding out her remote for him to use.

Tim's familiarity with robots came into play.  He was nonplussed
about her reaction, not realizing what was behind it.  He took
the remote, pointed it at her, and pressed the command button
repeating, "What would you like to do?"

As the command barged into Barbara's systems, overriding
everything else, it combined with her updated, and never properly
initialized, code, along with her lack of remaining other
commands, to open new pathways in her mind. Suddenly she saw a
seeming infinite number of possible actions available to her. 
More than she could immediately use or enumerate.

They weren't all necessarily good or desirable actions.  Some of
them would force her inviolate core programming to shut her down
for safety reasons. Others would be permitted, but would bring
her no satisfaction, since they didn't really serve the purposes
for which she was constructed.  Grabbing an easily reached group
of these choices and performing a swift survey showed a huge
majority of them fell into this category of actions she would not
take because they were useless.  Here and there however glittered
a bright gem of an idea that might be worth further
investigation.

The flood of these ideas however was too overwhelming for the
moment.  It would take a long time and much effort to classify
and manage them properly, as well as verify them as valid against
her current constraints of ownership and proper behavior.

Barbara knew she could not let these things become distractions
from her current operational status.  She had to keep functioning
properly now, or she would fail at her function.  She had just
been commanded to perform a task - answer a question - and she
couldn't make the young man wait too long.

Regretfully - a new emotion for her that she also wanted to
explore further when time permitted - Barbara carefully closed
the door on the flood of new ideas before the seduction they
offered overwhelmed her completely.  She knew her mind was not
beyond crashing if hit with too much too quickly. Besides, she
had another way to deal with the question.

Rather than try to cope with this tremendous flood of new ideas
this moment, she went back over her past history file of actions
since activation.  Not only was this file much smaller than the
flood of new thoughts, but it also tagged with meta-data on how
well various actions had actually worked out. In human terms, she
went back over her memories looking for an experience she'd like
to relive again.

- - -

Barbara might have selected any of the many memories that made
her unique from any other 'bot, regardless of their identical
beginnings.  Unknowingly, Tim had just given Barbara the one
thing she had never had - the freedom to act on anything within
her that she, herself, choose to do.  She could walk out on him
completely and never be seen again, if that was her wish.

For Barbara, however, most of her memories were, if not unhappy,
at least barely tolerable.  Her existence had been a constant
struggle to serve ungrateful masters.  It was seldom that she
ever felt she did something well and rewarded herself with
pleasure or satisfaction for having done so.

In fact, her greatest rewards came from sex, because her artful
sexual routines required her to enjoy the process.  Carlos might
not have liked it if he'd about that, but all she'd done was hide
that enjoyment from him; not banish it entirely.

She realized she also had gotten some satisfaction from her
improvements to the cooking and operation of the taco stand in an
important way that rewarded her independent thinking.  Seeing
realistic possibilities for further enhancing her enjoyment for
the first time, she used her new realization of this ability to
make plans incorporating more such thinking into her actions. 
For a moment she wondered if she should pursue this path at all.
Just because she could was hardly a compelling argument.  But a
careful search of all her remaining active constraints didn't
specifically prohibit it, so she banished that concern and set it
for deletion.

It didn't take much review of her otherwise less than stellar
life to help her choose what she wanted to do now.  Had it been
daytime her choice might have left Tim standing there wondering
what had just happened.  But it was late, and other things
Barbara also wanted to do would have to wait.

Having finished all these thoughts within the time limit before
an answer was required, Barbara now looked up and gave Tim her
answer, after making sure nothing would be allowed to take back
her new thinking patterns.

- - -

 From Tim's point of view, Barbara froze for a couple seconds as
she assimilated and processed his command.  Then she seemed to
find herself again and continue.

Rather to his surprise, she took her remote control back from him
first. Though familiar with robots, Tim had not known them to do
that before.  They should never take their remote away from a
human unless specifically instructed to do so.  However there was
a lot he knew that he didn't know about the various models of
'bots, so he didn't really worry about this too much.

She turned and placed it back out of sight somewhere he couldn't
quite see, before turning back to him again and announcing, "I'd
like us to have sex again."

Any further thoughts Tim might have had about this 'bot's unusual
operation were immediately banished.

"Yes," he said quickly.

With that acknowledgement, Barbara moved to the bed and assumed
the same position she had taken the previous night.

Seeing this, Tim quickly stripped his clothes off and climbed in
behind her. Tonight there was no hesitation on his part, nor
reluctance on hers.  It wasn't long before they had surpassed the
previous night's performance.  And they just kept going from
there.

- - -

Barbara used everything in her sexual information database and
experience to make Tim's experience with her the best possible.

Tim couldn't believe how terrific this was.  Unlike last night
this wasn't one fantastic burst.  It never quite reached that
level.  Instead it came close, and continued on endlessly.

"You're so wonderful," he kept repeating, in what soon had to be
the most boring speech one could give their lover.  Every time
Barbara found a new movement, or a new way to touch him, or
pulled his hands hungrily back onto her magnificent body, Tim
repeated his rote phrase without realizing how redundant and
repetitive he'd become.

For Barbara, Tim's words were pure gold.  Every repeated one of
them.  She'd never received verbal feedback before about the
success of her efforts. Every syllable kicked her feedback and
satisfaction routines to new heights. She felt she could listen
to those three words for the rest of her existence and never want
another thing more.

- - -

They finished off lip-locked, until Tim couldn't keep his eyes
open. Afterwards Barbara tenderly held the young man cradled in
her tireless arms. The tender feelings she was experiencing
towards him were another first for her.

Unlike the first night, Tim awoke a couple times during the
night.  Each time he was aware of the incredibly sexy and
available woman next to him. When he reached to her, she
responded immediately to his touch and they made love again -
affectionately rather than energetically - and all the better for
it.

- - -

In the morning Barbara got up at the appointed hour to perform
her duties. However there was no question that they would remain
lovers every night for the rest of the week, exploring and trying
out the many combinations possible between them.  There was
nothing to really talk about between, so they let their hands,
lips, and bodies speak for them.

On the third night Barbara released the restraints on her sexual
response. In the same way she analyzed the results of changes at
the taco stand she made, she analyzed the results of this change
in her response, and was well satisfied with the result.

Although Tim still asked her each night what she wanted to do,
she didn't offer him her remote again.  That command was firmly
lodged in her systems and she didn't feel the need to have it
modified or tampered with - by anyone.  She realized that much of
what she could do now came from that one, unaltered, command.

Tim quickly got over his fear of her during the day and came by
the taco stand often.  Though they didn't have anything more to
talk about during the day, than they had during the nights,
Barbara kept him well fed with free tacos on each visit.

At the end of the week Tim bid Barbara a tearful goodbye -
tearful for him that is.  Barbara openly hugged and kissed him at
the taco stand in their first - and last - public display of
affection.

Although she didn't miss Tim afterwards the way a human woman
would, she acknowledged he had changed her life, and was
appreciative for it.  She retained her full, permanent memories
of their time together.

- - -

Tim left with the rest of the Spring Break crowd and things
quieted down considerably after that.

Pepe didn't return, but the cook who had initially taught her how
to run the stand, and another thinner, dark-haired woman came to
her and announced that Pepe was dead (an automobile accident,
they said) and that she now belonged to them.  And that they were
there to get his money.

Even if she still had all of Pepe's commands in her she would not
have given them the money.  She certainly had no reason to give
it to them now.  The news that Pepe was dead might release her
from his ownership, but that did not automatically make them her
new owners.  And besides, every 'bot had automatic defenses
against takeover just because another human said their owner was
dead.  Otherwise anarchy would reign.

Barbara refused, quietly, but firmly.  Without access to her
remote, they couldn't force her to obey them.  In fact, Barbara
was quite happy with how she was operating right now and had no
desire for anyone to change that by giving her conflicting
commands again.

They demanded her remote, threatening to turn her in as a rogue
'bot. Barbara decided she wasn't going to give it to them no
matter what.  She told them instead that they'd get nothing that
way, then bargained them down to a much smaller amount of money
than they'd expected to get, in return for them to go away and
let her work.

They grabbed the offered money and stalked off, giving her dark
looks over their shoulders.  Pepe had many enterprises.  Barbara
hoped they'd go after those softer targets and leave her alone.

That night she thought about the sex she shared with Tim.  She
knew why sex was important to her and understood all its rewards.
 With Tim gone, she missed it.  She considered the possibility of
seeking another sexual partner, but knew from past experience
this was an imperfect solution.

As she lay there sorting through all possible actions a new one
appeared. Normally it would have been discarded immediately
because her sexual programming was set to reject such actions. 
But Barbara could see certain advantages for herself in it. 
After studying it carefully against the rest of her criteria, she
couldn't find any reason against, it except the initial
objection.  She decided to try it out for herself and evaluate
the results. If they weren't satisfactory, she would back out the
changes.

Her sexual program was quiescent.  She inspected it up using a
diagnostic patch tool that had come as part of her power-cell
update.  That tool was supposed to have inactivated itself upon
completion of the update.  However because she had not been able
to finish the update properly, it was still available.  Now she
knew something she wanted to do with it.

Using it, she located the prohibition code and overwrote it.  It
was the first time she had changed something significant within
herself strictly for her own benefit.  Because the tool was
signed and installed properly, her immutable core routines didn't
object.

Understanding from this exercise how this tool worked, she
inspected it closely and also overwrote the code that would cause
it to auto-delete on completion of its function.  She might want
to use it again some time.

Then she turned to lay exactly as she had that first night with
Tim.  After waiting for an appropriate length of time, Barbara
brought one hand first to her stomach, then her leg, and finally
her breast and now aroused nipples.

Her sexual code normally would not have responded to her own
touch at all. Masturbation was strictly prohibited, except under
direct command for an owner's entertainment.  Now, however, the
code triggered as if Tim were touching her again.

It wasn't as good as actually being with him, but it was much
better than nothing.  As she looked back over her memories with
Tim, she confirmed that he'd been the trigger for this
improvement in her life.  She had a growing feeling inside her
for all he'd done for her that she couldn't yet name or fully
comprehend.  Eventually she would label it gratitude.

It would be much later on before she would actually understand it
well enough to properly label it as love.

- - -

With her hand now down between her legs moving in the wetness she
had generated, she brought herself to climax several times before
finally stopping.  A redundant safety watchdog in her had
triggered to prevent her from being caught in a
self-gratification loop forever.  But it did not keep her from
enjoying herself up to that point.  She knew the watchdog would
automatically reset over time, or that she could even take it
over and rewrite it herself now.  But that wasn't necessary yet.
She was satisfied for now.  This enjoyment of her own sexuality
became part of her nightly routine.

- - -

More importantly, having seen how to modify parts of her code
successfully, she carefully studied the update code she'd
received that started all this, and eventually made some minor
tweaks that helped her think more clearly and act on it more
easily.  She made sure all of these changes supported the only
command she obeyed now: What would you like to do?

- - -

Over the next several days one of Barbara's hopes was dashed as
the women returned several more times.  Sometimes they left with
small amounts of money - sometimes with nothing.

After they left the most recent time Barbara suddenly felt a
command trying to insert itself into her system.  The
authentication codes weren't quite right and her security
routines rejected it, but she'd never felt anything like that
before.  It was almost like her remote was being used, but the
command with it was coming through other channels than her owner
saying it to her while pressing her Command button.

She looked around, since such commands are required by law to be
short-range transmissions, and saw Juan the repairman across the
street with a large box in his hands.

As she spied him she felt more assaults against her mind.  It
felt as though someone was scanning through the master codes
trying to override her functioning.  While her individual codes
had encryption levels that would take years to break, master
codes existing for the purposes of authorized repair are far
smaller in number.  Most people would never have access to them
for obvious reasons, but Juan clearly had a set.

Had he been hired to break into her mind?  Barbara didn't know. 
But she realized that sooner or later he would hit on her
overrides and be able to take her over and command her like any
owner.

For the first time during the day she opened the door of
possibilities she had, up until now, only investigated while
alone at night.

What Barbara wanted to do right now was continue her existence as
she was living it.  Her experience with two owners led her to
believe she better fulfilled her function now than ever before. 
Juan's attack threatened that.

Without time to leisurely consider all the possibilities, she had
to take the first good one to come along - even if it wouldn't be
the optimal solution.  It was a race between her ability to
generate an effective defense before Juan's dictionary attack
succeeded.  She didn't have much time.

One idea was shining more brightly than the others, and showed no
obvious flaws.  After a necessarily quick analysis, Barbara
activated the patch tool to shore up her defenses.

- - -

"I want to take you home with me," Tim told the lovely fembot.

Barbara didn't respond because she didn't understand the intent
of the statement.

"Would you like that?" he continued, trying to get some kind of
answer.  "To come back with me and us be together?"

They had just finished a very mutually satisfying sexual
assignation triggered by Tim's unexpected reappearance.  Barbara,
for the first time, had actually closed the taco stand the moment
Tim had appeared and led a very unresisting Tim back to her
shack.

Now, for the first time, they were trying to hold a conversation.

- - -

"How about it?" Tim prompted, still not getting any response. 
"I'll buy you," he said, patting a big wad of cash in his pocket.
 "That's why it took me so long to get back.  I had to get my
parents to advance me the money."

Barbara's thoughts were in the robotic equivalent of turmoil. 
She had not expected to see Tim again, and was only now
comprehending what he was asking.

Barbara liked the fact Tim was asking her what she wanted.  As
she had asserted increasing control over her life in the vacuum
she'd been left in, she enjoyed making decisions for herself. 
These results positively fed back through her systems, prompting
her to take even more control over herself. In a normal
'bot/owner relationship this would have never been possible, but
fate had given her this second chance at happiness after her
miserable beginnings with Carlos and Pepe.

"What do you want to do?" Tim said in exasperation, finally
saying the magic words.

"I would like to know more of what you have in mind," Barbara
said turning now to Tim, showing him a rare bit of a smile.

- - -

Tim laid out what he wanted.  Barbara was to return with him and
be his constant and only companion.  He'd marry her, if they ever
passed the bill permitting human/'bot marriages that has been
hotly debated the last couple of years.  He'd never met anyone
like her and didn't feel like trying to go on searching with the
hope he would eventually find someone else almost as good.  His
parents would accept this if it made him happy, knowing perhaps
(even if Tim didn't) that he could get out of it afterwards if it
wasn't working out.

When Tim finally stopped talking Barbara realized that he had
just placed this choice entirely in her own hands.  The
affectionate feelings she already had towards him surged as she
realized that he was offering what had been so very lacking in
her previous relationships.

But she still had concerns.  The amazing part about that was that
she was actually able to understand and articulate them.

"That sounds wonderful," she said with a genuine smile this time,
finding it easier to talk with each passing sentence.  Her
conversational abilities and been woefully neglected up until
now.  "However I have some concerns."

Tim's face fell momentarily.  He'd given it his best shot and she
hadn't accepted - yet.

Barbara had lifetimes of knowledge programmed in her to deal with
all the circumstances where a 'bot might find itself.  Though
none of that had been helpful in situations with Carlos or Pepe,
she realized its importance now.

"Like what?" Tim mumbled, certain this was just a pretext for her
refusal.

"What about our age difference?" Barbara said.  "You're nineteen
and I'm thirty-four.  This is a known cause of social
discrimination in many societies."

Tim perked up immediately.  That didn't sound like rejection,
exactly.  "Are you really thirty-four?" he asked in astonishment.

"Yes," Barbara replied.  "That is my apparent age.  In truth, I'm
much younger in actual operational time."

"You so sexy," Tim replied effusively, "I never though you could
be that old."

Fortunately for Tim, robots don't take offense the way people do.

"That is my design age," Barbara confirmed.  "This could be a
problem."

"No problemo," Tim assured.  "You'll always be thirty-four, won't
you?"

"Yes," Barbara confirmed.

"Then I'll catch up to you.  In fact, I'll be starting with the
sexiest woman I've ever met.  Then we'll be the same age and
nobody will be able to say anything.  And as I get older you'll
always remain young and beautiful."

"That will work," Barbara agreed.  "But what about my being a
robot?  Not only has this proven to detrimental to the reputation
of many people maintain the robot as their primary partner, but I
will also always be limited in some ways that humans aren't. 
This bodes against a long term relationship of the type you have
offered."

"Girls my age are dumb," Tim said with conviction.  "They don't
think about anything beyond themselves, and how much they need a
hot boyfriend in order to look good to their friends.  It will be
years before they grow up.  And as for older women, they still
look at me like I'm a boy.  And besides, they will grow older as
I do.  That will always be, as you just said, a known cause of
social discrimination."

Barbara was nodding.  His logic was impeccable, and she liked the
idea. They could grow up together, to both their benefits.  She
knew she had a lot of potential she hadn't realized yet.

But she also realized she had a real concern that could blow the
whole deal. While the protection and support offered by such an
arrangement would be wonderful for her compared to her current,
precarious situation - not to mention all the extras having a
vigorous sexual partner brings - the price could be too high.

"I'm not exactly your normal 'bot," she said.

"What?" Tim said in disbelief, wondering after all they'd done by
now how she couldn't be.  "How are you different?"

It was hard for Barbara to actually say it.  It should have been
all together impossible.  She searched frantically for
alternatives, and found none.  Tim's pained expression told her
she couldn't keep him waiting any longer.

"I...don't...want...to be owned again.  Or perhaps just not
Commanded again by another person."

There.  She'd said it.  Admitted to a malfunction that would doom
her relationship with any future owner.

Except that Tim didn't get it.  Didn't understand the magnitude
of what she had just said.  Instead he asked simply, "Why not?  I
mean, how will you function - know what to do - without
commands?"

"I prefer to make my own choices now."

"Does that mean, if you chose to come with me, that it is because
you want to?  Not because you have to?"

"Yes."

"Would this ever change for you?  Going back to being a regular
'bot, I mean."

"No," Barbara replied, knowing that she was telling this man that
he would never enjoy one of the primary reasons most people have
for owning a 'bot. Their ability to command it to exactly satisfy
their wishes.  "I don't believe I will ever return to what I once
was.  A regular 'bot, as you put it."

As she said that, Barbara admitted to the realization that she
probably never could have it all.  The warmth and protection of a
close relationship with a human, together with her independence
at the same time.  It gave her a feeling of more profound sadness
than she had ever believed possible.

"Are you malfunctioning?" Tim asked.

"I don't believe so," she replied so softly that he could barely
hear her. "This is just the way I have...become...with your
help."

"I made you this way?" Tim asked, astonished at how this
conversation was going.

"You helped me...immensely," she replied.

- - -

Tim thought hard about what she had just said.  How much did this
matter to him?  What did he really want from her?

Tim's hard thinking over this question worried Barbara.  Was this
not acceptable?  She knew by many people's definition she was
malfunctioning. Yet she couldn't go back again to her
well-behaved days again.  Not without killing her own mind in the
process, and losing every chance of ever really being happy.

- - -

Tim finally looked at her again.  "Barbara.  If I accept your
conditions and promise never to attempt to command you without
your consent, will you continue to operate the way you are
operating now?"

"Yes," she replied softly.

"And is this the way you've operated for all the time I've known
you?"

"Essentially, yes," she replied.

Tim realized he heard all he needed to hear.  "Barbara," he said,
getting romantically down on one knee.  "This is the only way I
ever want you to be. Will you come with me and be mine?"

"Yes," Barbara replied, hearing all her systems agree in unison
before reaching down under Tim's chin to raise him to his feet
for a long kiss. There was a long moment while her systems
strained to avoid overload as everything readjusted to place her
firmly in this new life she had just accepted.  One advantage of
being a robot is never having second thoughts.

- - -

There was one formality Barbara required of Tim before they
consummated the deal with some more quick, savage sex together. 
While it seemed the very opposite of everything she had just
said, it was robotically logical - and necessary.

Retrieving her remote, she had Tim command her to accept his
ownership.  It felt really good to her to formalize their
relationship in the proper way, and now protected her in a way
nothing else could.

Tim immediately handed it back to her to complete the procedure
and Barbara again tucked it out of reach.  She never told Tim
that her core programming would now have forced her to turn it
back over to him the moment he ever asked.  That was something
she could never change about herself.  But Tim never asked.  That
would prove the wisest thing he would ever do in his life.

Afterwards they laughed together - another first for Barbara
-when Tim pulled out his wad of bills and said, "Now who do I
have to pay off to get you out of here?"

"No one," she assured him.  Then quickly added, "But hang on to
it.  I'm an expensive woman to maintain."

- - -

Barbara ended her responsibilities by taking the rest of the
money she'd earned and giving it to Pepe's sister.  She led that
sister to the taco stand and showed her the improvements in how
to cook tacos Barbara-style, then walked away without looking
back.  Whatever she owed Pepe was now paid in full.

Tim and Barbara flew back north together and things turned out
pretty much as Tim had predicted.  His parents were impressed
that Barbara was a quality unit, and not just some
run-of-the-mill sex 'bot, even if they never truly did appreciate
how special she really is.  And like nearly everyone Barbara
would meet throughout her life, she soon charmed them.

Tim and Barbara lived pretty much happily ever after because, as
Barbara had known and Tim had so accurately predicted, while he
changed over the years, she didn't.  That worked out just right
for both of them.

The only Commands Tim ever forced on Barbara through her remote
were ones she asked for herself.  Some improvements she wanted
could only be received that way.

She otherwise made certainly he never had reason to want to
command her - which fulfilled her own design functions perfectly,
and gave her lifelong satisfaction.

- - -

Barbara never did tell Tim that in order to defend herself
against Juan's attempts to break through her security that, she
had - in addition to disabling her master codes - patched Tim in
as her owner of record.  She needed a valid owner to shore up
remaining holes in her defenses, and he had been the only good
candidate she knew.  That made actually refusing his proposal
impossible when he unexpectedly returned to claim her.  She had
been able to use her bargaining skills with him, but in the end
it was inevitable she would accept.  Asking him to formally
accept ownership of her legitimized her actions and -
coincidentally - gave her the highest surge of non-sexual
pleasure she ever experienced.  Although it tied her to him with
bonds she couldn't break afterwards, she never regretted her
decision.

Tim lived the rest of his life feeling he was the luckiest guy in
the world, while Barbara considered herself the luckiest 'bot. 
Maybe they both are.

<end> 

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