Better than Nature
17 Mar 2024Ryuko Ntsikana
Better than Nature
Colonia Region
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I fell into the trap that everyone does. Just when they think they know something, they learn they don’t. The same applied to Tara. I knew that a biomorphic could eat but didn’t need to; it was part of their ‘better than nature’ tag. I also knew they were fully functional in all areas but had never seen it firsthand.
I wanted to get a good evening's rest, relatively speaking. I had a nice selection of back-to-back contracts that would give Tara a good taste for the business. She was sharing my cabin with me, with Aby’s eyes following her every move, much to both Tara’s and my amusement. The more we could twist his perceptions, the better.
A Python was a decent-sized medium pad ship with a large main cabin for the owner’s use. There was plenty of room anywhere Tara wanted to rest, to maintain the synthetic biological aspects of her design. I felt her slide in next to me and was surprised that I could feel the warmth of her presence. It never occurred to me that she would emanate heat like a human, but it made sense, all things considered.
I reached out to make sure my side cover was still secured by its magnetic tabs as I felt her snuggle up against me, tossing her arm over. There was a gentle sigh, then stillness as she entered her maintenance mode. That made me smile as I thought about how similar that was to human sleep. In a sense, both were a maintenance mode, but I did wonder if they ever dreamed or only processed the information they had gathered during their waking period. It was weird what one thinks of, as I drifted off to sleep.
The usual morning routine was meeting Aby in the galley for my coffee before heading to the bridge to start on whatever task I had set for us. What I didn’t expect when waking up was to see Tara still in her maintenance mode, relaxed and resting, and fully unclothed. I don’t know why it surprised me. She was fully functional, but standing there, in my magnetic slippers, I hadn’t expected that she would be equipped and look as real as an actual human female.
I have no idea why it never crossed my mind, but it hadn’t. I felt kind of stupid for not considering it before or what my innate response would be as I went about my morning process, getting ready for the busy day ahead.
Per the norm, Aby was waiting for me in the galley as I walked over to fill up my zero-g thermos with coffee. I paused again, wondering if Tara would need anything to get her set up for the day or not, falling once again into that all-too-human trap that once you think you know something, you learn how much you don’t.
“Will Miss Tara be joining us this morning?” Aby asked as I took the first sip from my thermos.
“I imagine she will be along shortly. We have a busy day ahead of us, and I need to get the ship in position for our first client of the day.”
“I received the itinerary and programmed the navigational computer for our first destination.”
I nodded as my eyes looked up in the direction of the approaching clicking sound of magnetic boots on the deck plating. I almost choked on my coffee as Tara appeared. Her form-fitting Remlock suit accentuated all of her curves too nicely. I could already feel a flushing warmness, and it wasn’t from the coffee.
Aby looked at her with that same android creepy look he liked to give me. “Good morning. Do you prefer Miss Sha or Tara?”
“I prefer coffee and no questions,” Tara growled, making her way to the coffee machine and filling a zero-g thermos for herself. It took all of my willpower not to burst out laughing as I motioned toward Aby with my thermos.
“Aby has programmed the navigational computer for our first contract.”
“Isn’t that what he is programmed for?” Tara spat out with a venomous tone as she turned around, resting a hand on my shoulder, which I reached up and patted with my own.
Aby tilted his head in curiosity, no doubt attempting to process Tara’s reply, as I sipped my coffee so that I wouldn’t smile.
It wasn’t that I had anything negative to say about Aby. He had proven to be an efficient android, doing the job he was here to do. What I didn’t like, nor had I ever met anyone who did, was having anyone, or anything, prying into their affairs, moment by moment. What he needed was something else to divert his attention and steal away from his processing cycles figuring out, so that I could get one with my own affairs.
I stood up, securing the top to my thermos, as I walked up next to Aby, patting him on the shoulder. “Let’s get to it. The ship doesn’t fly itself, and there are good-paying businessmen we need to liquor up and get to their destination.”
“Let’s go get some credits in the account,” Tara commented as she walked past me, patting me on the ass in the process, catching me completely off guard. Aby didn’t fail to notice but said nothing as he turned his head, following her with his eyes as she made her way to the cockpit.
I couldn’t help but wonder what it was exactly I had created or, at best, unleashed.