International Humanoid Robotic Competition

Scanning... scanning... no recognizable features... shutting down...

“Come on!” Becky yells, “Work!” The college-age female, clearly dressed more for a date than for the laboratory setting, screams at the humanoid robot in front of her. As she draws in another breath, causing her chest to stick out, pressing her already-tight top out, the robot slumps over and stops beeping. Rather than yelling, Becky just lets out a heavy sigh.

Tenesha reaches out and puts her hand on Becky's exposed shoulder. Tenesha's very dark-skinned hand makes a stark contrast with Becky's very pale shoulder. Becky seems to draw strength from her and raises her head back up, saying, “Well, I guess we are stuck in the lab for another Friday night.”

“You act like you have a date,” Victoria, the rather athletic-bodied woman in the room, says with a slight dig at Becky. Victoria's one hand is on her hip, while the other holds a calculating tablet. One of the other ladies in the laboratory, wearing a modern-looking kimono, says, “Ha, like any of us will get a date with anybody, spending all our time in here.” The asian-descended Tracy brushes a strand of black hair out of her face.

The final college-age woman in the room replies, not even looking up from her phone that she is texting on, “Speak for yourself, Brad's picking me up in 45 minutes.” Jessica is not wearing anything fancy, but every part of her looks put together, unlike the others, as if she just stepped out of a department store window.

The five ladies, known as the Fave Five, have been friends for years. At some point, each one has been a roommate with one of the others. They all attend the Canadian Academy of Engineering in Quebec. It is an all-ladies university, giving special attention to those ladies wanting to excel in engineering. The Fave Five have just gotten to their last year in college, and for their final project, they must enter a top-10 finishing product in the International Humanoid Robotic Competition.

They are all fairly competitive individually, but together, they seem unstoppable. No group project has received anything less than a 100 when they have all worked together, which is one of the reasons they started hanging out together. But now, they choose to stay close, as their friendships have blossomed over the many hours spent together.

Their competition product is a male-looking android of their design. It will walk, talk, and complete basic household chores. Since they have no boyfriends (except for the ones that Jessica attracts with all of her father's money), they thought a male robot would at least let them think they are working on a relationship. He is modeled after an average guy of average build with average height and average looks. The outside looks great, thanks to Tracy and Becky. The software by Victoria is nearly perfect, but the hardware by Tenesha and Jessica just cannot seem to pull it all together. If it is not burning out motors and servos, its failing gears or actuators. They seem so close, yet so far away from being done.

In the back corner of Professor Braum's laboratory, Tenesha has recently found something that might help them move forward. In the earlier days of droids and drones, engineers thought it would be best to do away with joysticks or d-pads and go completely with natural human movements. This particular set has two sets of gloves and shoes, a helmet, a thick belt and basic wire attachments to knees, elbows and back. With the right software, you could map every human movement to any robotic movement.

Originally, this set was for a weather predicting drone, so that the wearer could tilt their hands and fly, while twisting their neck for camera angle adjustment. Bending knees or flexing elbows would alter which sensor was being used and what type of data it would record. A task that took a team of pilots and scientists could now be done by one trained person. The government bought the idea and paid billions, which has been the staple of drone flight ever since. 

This weekend, Tenesha has invited Victoria over to help her make some key changes in it. “...which might be why it failed,” Victoria finishes her explanation and sets her coffee down. Tenesha nods her head and replies, “But, if you could map my movements in your software, then you could just transfer that over to the competition bot.” As she makes hand gestures, the wires get tangled on the gloves she is wearing. Trying to be careful, she can only entangle herself more. Victoria chuckles as she walks over to her “cuffed” friend. “Hang on,” she says, “I can help you.”

Moving her fingers in and out of the wires that go around the gloves Tenesha is wearing, she slowly frees her. Victoria takes in Tenesha's non-Caucasian features and finds her mind wondering where it probably shouldn't. She focuses partially on the wires, but out of the corner of her eye, she notes the slight frown of Tenesha's mouth, the way her hair is pulled back tightly in braids around her head. She can smell her perfume, which reminds her of summer... and the competition... and that they got to have this done.

Shaking her head, she quickly finishes the job, and steps away. “Ok,” she says quickly, “Let's try that again... separately, obviously.” She sits back down on the couch where a coffee table holds three different laptops. From the back of each are wires upon wires hooking Tenesha's technology-exoskeleton (T.E.S. for short) to them. Every movement of Tenesha writes a series of 1's and 0's into Victoria's spreadsheet. Using those numbers, she is writing the code for their competition robot to have mobility.

Standing again, Tenesha flexes her hands, elbows, and knees. “Right,” Tenesha agrees, “Just like a walk in the park...” Stepping up on the treadmill that she never uses anymore, she begins walking slowly along it. On the screen, a wire frame person matches her. Victoria, monitoring that, says, “Can you swing your arms a bit more... your movement does not seem natural to me.” Nodding her head, Tenesha complies, adding more arm movements. Stealing another quick look, she adds, “Yep, that's better.”

Tenesha and Victoria spend most of Saturday and parts of Sunday getting as much human movement data as they can, so that when Monday rolls around, they have something meaningful to take into the rest of the Fave Five. The team is impressed with the idea, and when their “man” starts to move like a person should, they get excited. To save time, they hook Tenesha's T.E.S. straight into the android, so that she can control him by her own movements.

The week goes by quickly, as Tenesha continues to control the android, while they get more movement data for the android's main program. On Friday though, Tracy makes an observation that causes Becky to cringe. “You do realize, that our guy here walks and has mannerisms like a woman.” Becky shakes her head, “I noticed that, which means...” Both ladies look at each other and then at the competition android, and say together, “total makeover!”

The weekend is here and gone, with Tracy and Becky redoing the exterior, while Tenesha And Victoria continue pulling the hardware to match the software, leaving Jessica to finish writing a grant proposal for more money. Having lost some of her faith in this project, Jessica puts little effort into the grant, and submits it late. The organization denies their proposal immediately for that, but Jessica does not have to tell them for a few weeks, and by then, she will have a good explanation why they were rejected (leaving her not to blame). Adjusting her make-up again, she heads down to the dorm lobby, trying to remind herself what her date looks like, when he eventually shows up.

If one of them had stepped back and looked at what they were doing, they might have stopped: they are making an exact duplicate of Tenesha. Instead, each hour of each day makes their android look and move like her. It still needs help from her or one of the other Fave Five, but the android is looking and acting more human-like every day. While they see progress, they also see the competition deadline approaching even faster. The coming weekend is their last opportunity, but so much still does not work. Tenesha has had a back-up plan, hoping she would not need to use it. However, it might be time.

Late Friday night, they are all sitting around, exhausted but trying to get something done, but not being very successful. Tenesha stands up and looks around at her friends' faces. “Ok, here's a thought,” she says uncertainly, “We are not getting anything done at the moment. We are just sitting here breathing.” Becky started to rebuke that, but then thought better of it. “So,” Tenesha continues, “Let's take the weekend off. Nothing robot related... nothing together... think of it as a mini-vacation.” 

Tracy replies quickly, “But the competition is next week! We can't stop now.” Before Tenesha can reply, Victoria says, “Yeah, but aren't exactly getting anything done at the moment.” Tenesha then jumps in, “Right! We need to recharge ourselves... reboot, if you will.” As the others think on her plan, realizing they want to say 'no', but they cannot seem to put forth the effort, she adds, “We start back first thing Monday morning at full speed.” 

While a suggestion like this might have been voted down weeks ago, tonight it just made sense. They all agree no robot-related events this weekend. And while it was a harder sell, they all agree to avoid each other as well. They need a break before they finish this marathon.

After they have all left, Tenesha puts on the T.E.S. and walks herself and the android out to her car. Once home, she puts her robot self in the closet. She takes a shower, eats a small tub of ice cream, and then goes to bed. “I think I could sleep until Monday,” she mumbles as her head hits the pillow.

Other than a few breaks to go to the bathroom, she sleeps into the midafternoon on Saturday. She showers again and then eats a frozen dinner. That evening she takes a few pills, showers one more time, and then goes to bed until Sunday afternoon, but no interruptions from trips to the bathroom.

Sunday night, she checks herself in the mirror. Her body has started to take on a plastic shine, almost sheen. “Hmmm,” she observes, “That waxing soap is working well.” She tries to use the bathroom, but has no desire. “And the digestion pills are working perfectly. I will take two more tonight, which should get me through the week.” Adding a special set of eye-covering contacts, she seals the moisture in her eyes, so no blinking required. The only side effect was the hardest part, but also the most necessary. Her last shower, she saw the last of her hair go down the drain... literally.

The skin-shining wax had done its job by giving her a fake appearance, right down to no hair. Tenesha looks again at herself, a bright shining black dome sets on her head. Never shaved my head, she thinks with a grin, running her hand over her smooth scalp, but I think I like it.

She calls Victoria and tells her she needs to go the country's border to verify a family member's ID, so she will not be at the academy on Monday. “I left the android standing by the door, so let yourself in and go. Ok?” Victoria replies with some concern, “Yeah, but I can't lift it or move it.” Tenesha replies with a grin, “Don't worry, I guarantee it will follow your commands. I fixed the motor problem, so you get to be the first to try it out.” Victoria almost screams over the phone, “HEY! You said no robot-related activities, and here you are working on it without me,” catching her mistake, she adds, “Uh, I mean, us?”

Tenesha replies calmly, “I did not work on it until today, and that was only because I knew I was going to miss tomorrow. Can you pick it up tomorrow?” The long pause is Victoria processing this information, and finally replying, “Sure, be careful... see you Tuesday.” Whew, Tenesha thinks, that was close.

Monday morning, Tenesha puts on competition outfit for the android. It is not something she would wear, but they all sort of agreed on it. She puts on the corset, which has self buttoning snaps (once activated by remote). The corset straightens her back, narrows her waist by a few inches, and drastically improves her posture. She feels like she should wear a bra, but the corset provides ample support. Using the press-on nipple covers, she sticks them in place, smoothing out her shiny breasts. Her shirt is a white satin button top, that tapers in, thanks to her corset. The skirt is a latex (too-tight) micro skirt. It is hard to get into, causing her to peel it over her hips and into place. Her shoes are 4 inch heels with platforms. I'll have to take it slow at first, she reasons, only taking baby steps until I get used to these. Her choker is a simple black strap with a white “jewel” in the center. She did not bring a wig home from the lab, but this will have to do, since Victoria just pulled up. Ok, Tenesha thinks while controlling her heavy breathing, this is the moment of truth. Can I pull this off to save all our butts?

She can hear the footsteps outside her apartment. There is a fumbling of keys as she hears movement near her door. Easy now, trying to steady herself, you know her and this is going to work. And with that, Victoria comes in the door and gasps. Her gasp nearly made Tenesha look up from her head-bowed-at-attention stance. “It looks amazing!” Victoria comes right in and starts looking the “android” over. “Wow, it, uh I mean, she looks ready to go.” She briefly touches the slick top and tight skirt. “And for an android, sexy, too,” she adds with a giggle.

“But enough of that, here's the real test,” Victoria says slowly, “IHRC 3.0 voice recognition Victoria power up.” Tenesha raises her head slowly and opens her eyes, “Voice Victoria recognized. Good morning, Victoria,” she says in a monotone voice. “Run diagnostic, IHRC 3.0,” she replies. Tenesha replies, “Complying... systems nominal and within parameters.” Nodding her head, Victoria mumbles, “Here we go... IHRC 3.0,” in a commanding voice, “Follow me to my car.” Turning around to walk out, Tenesha follows her. As they near the steps, Victoria walks down them backwards, making sure the android does not fall. Tenesha maintains her balance perfectly and gets to the car without issue.

As Victoria gets in the car, she notices she left the apartment door open. “Oops,” she gets out of the car, “Let me get that. IHRC 3.0, power down.” Tenesha ducks her head slowly and closes her eyes, whew I fooled one person at least. As Victoria closes and locks the apartment door, Tenesha realizes she is out in the world without ID or keys or anything. She is completely dependent on her friends now. Hope they take good care of me, she thinks with a grin.

On the car ride to the lab, Tenesha can mostly guess where they are based on the turns of the car and the sounds around her: the elevated monorail makes a distinctive sound. About halfway way there, Victoria gets a video call. Putting in on the dashboard screen, she recognizes Becky's voice. “Hey, what's the hold up?” she asks too loudly for the small car. Victoria, only glancing at the screen. Replies, “Sorry, I forgot to lock the door and had to go---” She is interrupted by Becky screaming, “Hey, what's Tenesha doing in the car with you? She looks like she's hungover.” 

Tenesha says to herself, oh no, my ruse is blown already. She starts to raise her head, then Victoria chuckles, “Haha, yeah I thought that, too, but it's the android. T worked on it some.” Becky screams again too loud for the small car's occupants, “Hey! I thought we were supposed to take the weekend off!” Victoria nods as she makes another turn, “Yeah, yeah, but T knew she was not coming in today, so she spent some of her Sunday getting it ready.”

Somewhat satisfied, Becky says, “Well, I can see your car pulling onto campus, so we can talk when you get inside. Need a handtruck?” Victoria shakes her head as she pulls into a parking spot, reserved for students, “Nope, T got it running enough that I can walk in with it.” Ending the call, she says, “IHRC 3.0 voice recognition Victoria power up.”

Well, Tenesha thinks to herself, this is it. Calming herself mentally, she raises her head and says, “Voice Victoria recognized. Good morning, Victoria.” Victoria giggles and hops out of the car. Walking around to Tenesha's side, she opens the door and commands, “Get out of the car and follow me inside the building.” Tenesha replies without turning her head, “Compliant.” She then stiffly gets out of the car. She is now aware of how bright the day is and how many people are on campus. So many people that can easily see her, yet known seem to notice. In some ways, she is glad of that, but then pretending to be robotic might not be good for her self-esteem.

As ordered, she follows Victoria into the building she has spent so much time. Victoria gets her past all of the locked doors with ease. As they near the lab doors, Tenesha can feel her stomach churning. This was a bad idea, Tenesha whines, bad idea, bad idea. Before she can lose her nerve, Victoria ushers her into the lab room.

The rest of the Fave Five look at her and collectively gasp. Again, Tenesha is not sure whether she has been discovered, or... “It looks amazing!” cries one. “It looks hot!” cries another, “It actually works,” cries still another. They are overwhelmed with what they see in front of them. “Three years,” Tracy says, “of work standing right there.” They all agree and begin to poke and prod Tenesha.

Victoria acts like a bodyguard and says with her hands up, “Easy girls, easy. Let's put it through some tests first.” They reluctantly agree and set out to work. Using voice commands and the test area, they have Tenesha follow the lines on the floor, sit down, go up stairs, stand up, go down stairs, and many, many other things. After she completes each one, she gets a hard slap on the butt. After the third time, Becky asks, “Tracy, why are you doing that?” Tracy shrugs her shoulders, becoming more self conscious, “Uh, well, I see the football players do that after a big play.” Becky replies, “yeah, but not after every play, give the droid some space, ok?” She nods and backs out of arm's reach.

After a couple hours of this, they decide to take a break and discuss some improvements. Tenesha maintains her stiff stance, even though she would really like to sit down now. The Fave Five are circled around their planning table, talking over what they can do after the next round.

The IHRC has multiple rounds before the finals. Each round is like a checkpoint, so to speak. Their droid must pass each checkpoint to qualify for the finals. The reason they were so stressed, that even though they knew they could have a droid ready by the finals, they were not sure they could get past the first hurdle by the first deadline. With the droid's current state, they are at round 1 completion and near-to round 2 completion. Hearing that, Tenesha lets out a slight sigh of relief.

“It's got the WiFi choker antenna, but it is not interfacing,” Tracy says. “We can't seem to get any data from it for analysis.” Becky replies, “Well, let's just plug it in then extract it manually.” Jessica adds, “And while you're at it, change its clothes... those shoes are dreadful.” The others moan at Jessica's constant bend on fashion and looking good.

Victoria stands and walks behind Tenesha, trying to remove the choker. “Fashion sense or not, I think this droid looks great.” Tenesha smiles on the inside from the compliment. She can feel Victoria's hands on her neck and the choker finally being released. Victoria makes a sound, “Hmmm.” Becky walks over and says what Victoria was thinking, “No interface...T must have removed it, but why?” Oh no, Tenesha swears to herself, I forgot about the interface. How are they going to pass me off as a droid now?

She hears fumbling from her right. “No problem,” Tracy says, “this is what an interface injector is for--” Tenesha feels pressure and a uncomfortable prick in the back of her neck, “this should attach to the CPU wire bundle and... See? A new interface!” Satisfied, they fist bump. As Becky grabs a cable. Ow, Tenesha grimaces, that kinda hurt.

Before she can think about that, she feels something inserted into neck. It is metal on metal and it actually feels cold as it enters her new socket. Woah, she thinks, this is weird... I just got a plug put in me. What did it even connect too? She can hear Tracy tapping on her screen, “Here we go, data coming in now.” Tenesha can see them all crowding around the screen. They are all “ooo” and “aaahhh” as they stare at something she cannot see.

“Your software is awesome, Tracy,” Victoria compliments, “The droid is within all human parameters.” As they stare at the data, they notice other things as well. “Yeah, I mean this droid is fully functional in its mobility, there's even code for stuff I didn't write. T must have dove into the programmaming and spent the whole weekend filling in gaps I did not realize we had.” Their faces seem to show they are trying to figure that out, making Tenesha uncomfortable again. Again, she thinks, not something I ever considered they would do: plug me in and pull data.

Jessica reaches over and pushes a few quick buttons, “Let's at least name it.” As she punches in a quick word, she hits submit. Tenesha can feel something strange come over her, a tingling sensation starting at her neck then moving up her head causing her to say, “Blow Job Joy at your service, which hole will you fill.” All the others on the team gasp and stare at Tenesha. If it wasn't for her glossy finish, she is sure they would see her blush.

“What did you do?!” Becky yells. Jessica giggles, “Just gave HER some personality! She is more than just 'droid' or 'IHRC 3.0'.” They all nod, but then Victoria adds, “But that can't be her name, I mean, seriously, it can't.” Tenesha says to herself, yes, thank you, Victoria, please stop this. “Until you figure out how to change my code and come up with a better name, it stands. Deal?” Jessica says will putting her hands on her hips. The others all nod their heads and agree, reluctantly. Victoria thinks that when Tenesha gets back, she will be able to fix the name, so she puts it out of her thoughts.

Ready to change the subject, they start putting Tenesha back through the same things they did that morning, except with the cable plugged in, they can monitor all the data from the movements. Instead of using voice commands, they type simple phrases into a command prompt, and Tenesha executes them. Tenesha has no idea what the commands are until her body carries them out. She can hear them making comments and taking notes, remarking how impressed they are with what they are seeing. At one point Jessica typed in a command and Tenesha found herself spreading her legs and bending over impossibly far. With her butt sticking up into the air, she was looking up her own skirt and nervous that she would tip over. Victoria again came to her defense, “What are you doing? She won’t have to do anything like sexual emulation until round 4.” Jessica smiling rejoined “Just checking her contortion limits is all. I think we can make it more flexible”. Hitting another key Tenesha stood back up smoothly. By dinner time, she is exhausted, and to save the day, Jessica suggests dinner at the student center to celebrate.

They all agree and walk out, powering down their new droid. As the last one leaves, Tenesha slumps down and falls into a chair. She mumbles, “I'm worn out.” As she sits there, she decides to enjoy this moment, and refresh herself with some vitamin water. Walking over to the fridge, she pulls a vitamin water from the well stocked university-sponsored machine. As she walks back to her seat, taking a long draw on the bottle, she hears a noise and turns to see Victoria staring at her dumbfounded.

Tenesha nearly spits her vitamin water out, as Victoria says, “Tenesha? It was you all along?!” Trying to compose herself, she stands at attention, but realizing her cover is blown, she falls back into the chair in exhaustion. “Uh, hey, Victoria,” she says weakly, “Dinner okay?”

Over the next few minutes, Tenesha explains herself and her plan. She figures she cannot fool the judges at every round checkpoint, but the first 3 should be doable, and it would give them several extra months to get the bugs out of the other droid. While Victoria agrees with her logic, she cannot help saying that this seems like a bad idea, “So many things could go wrong,” she continues, “Take the interface you have now, and your new name.” 

Tenesha nods with her head at that cogent point. “Yeah, that was unexpected. I never thought you would try to access me today. I had not thought that through.” She says with distaste, “My name is” and even though she wanted to say 'Tenesha' her mouth says, “Blow Job Joy.” Victoria might have laughed, but she couldn't, this was her friend here. 

After several moments of silence, she asks, “So now what?” They decide to keep this a secret from the others for a while. Victoria would try to help Tenesha with her ruse, and after the second checkpoint, they will tell the others. By then, they will hopefully have the other droid running. Without thinking, they hug for a long time. As they break their embrace, they make eye contact, knowing this will be the defining moment of their relationship.

For now, Victoria will shuttle Tenesha back and forth from her apartment, so that she can still maintain her plastic sheen from the soap and the proper vitamins and digestion pills. She will also need a good night's sleep to survive a week of this. They will have to leave early each morning to get her back to the lab before anyone notices that she is gone, and then leave late from the lab, so no one sees them leaving. Fortunately, Tenesha's apartment is towards the back of her complex, and not all of the units are being used, so she does not have many neighbors. And to help Victoria out, she will be staying with Tenesha, so that she does not have to drive back and forth all the time. To the rest of the Fave Five, Tenesha is still at the border, stuck in legal issues with her “uncle” trying to cross into Canada without a proper passport, and Victoria has to run home during the day to take care of her neighbor's dog (when in reality, she is taking care of her own, since she is sleeping over with Tenesha all week). Victoria has been trying to work on the android at Tenesha’s place but has not been able to find the time.

The rest of the Fave Five do not seem to notice that their android is really their human friend. Tenesha follows all their commands either through the computer, or spoken, and so each day they continue to map her movements, refining the software which is in actuality, her mind and personality. By week's end, they have the software perfectly set, so if anything happens to their android, hopefully they can reboot it or transfer it. Tenesha has begun to enjoy being programmed, and feels pleasure as commands are received and interpreted. Throughout the week, she has grown stronger and better capable of handling the stress of staying in character when she is not carrying out a command. If they are going to do this right, she will need to do something about her emotions. She had barely kept herself from laughing at a joke Tracy made earlier in the day.

Friday night, Victoria has to leave without Tenesha, so that she can take Becky home (her mom had to borrow her car again). The rest of the Fave Five are chatting with Dr Braum, their advisor, as Tenesha stands powered down near a work table. “Agreed,” the tall robotics professor says, “She is the most exquisite android you all have ever made.” Dr Braum takes a step forward, making a slight whirring sound. Both of her legs are robotic from a monorail accident many years ago. It was that accident, and the embarrassing prosthetics she was made to wear, that pushed her into making robotics better. Her desire is to be able to fully integrate organics and robotics. If she only knew that standing in front of her is her life's dream, along with her student.

“The exterior and interior are perfect, and I cannot wait for the IHRC rep to see her in the morning.” Dr Braum makes another lap around Tenesha, straightening the android's coveralls. At her suggestion, they changed the more “human-looking” outfit for a less fashionable yet utility uniform. The coveralls do just as they say, they cover ankle to wrist to neck of Tenesha's body. The somewhat baggy suit reduces her curves and makes her seem less feminine. Her feet are covered by a transparent plastic boot with a gray sole. From a distance, she would look barefooted, but up close, you can see the boot. Her hands are left exposed, showing the same shiny sheen as her head. Her make-up is mostly gray, to match her coveralls. No one, even Dr Braum, would think she is anything but an android.

“Speaking of tomorrow,” Dr Braum addresses the ladies, “You best be off. Get some rest, freshen up, and I will see you at 10. I will lock up.” As the ladies prepare to leave, Jessica says, “My date just called and said he is running behind. You all go on, and I will lock up.” The others are fine with that and leave Tenesha alone with Jessica.

Once all gone, Tenesha can hear Jessica coming closer. Unable to see her, she can only feel pressure in her neck. A now almost familiar tingly sensation goes from her neck into her head where it feels as though it is spinning, and then back out. “There we go,” Jessica says, “All files backed up to my flashdrive.” Why would Jessica need a back-up of my files, Tenesha wonders. Removing the flash drive, she inserts another one. “Blow Job Joy activate.”

Tenesha raises her head and states, “Voice recognition Jessica confirmed. Good evening, Jessica.” Before Jessica can say anything else, Tenesha feels that tingling sensation again from her neck. “Ok, let's make some changes,” Jessica walks in front of her, “What is my name?” Tenesha can feel something happening as she replies, “Your name is Mistress of the Skies.” Her name is what? Tenesha questions.

Jessica giggles, “Ah yes, yes it is. But when do you call me that?” Tenesha replies, “Only when no one else is around, Mistress of the Skies.” Jessica laughs again. Her phone buzzes, “Oh, he's here. Time to secure our win.” Tenesha is now totally confused, as Jessica walks to the service entrance at the back of the lab. Opening the door, she lets in a man she has never seen. They make some small talk as they walk over to Tenesha.

The man whistles, “Wow, you weren't lying. This looks really good.” Jessica adds, “But wait, there is more.” Reaching over, she unzips Tenesha's front and exposes her chest, mostly covered by a satin pink bra. The man's eyes get bigger, “Those look so big and shiny and beautiful!” Unable to control himself, he cups one and moans slightly. Oh gross, Tenesha thinks, Jessica's got her latest catch in here groping me.

Jessica pulls his hand away, “Uh, not yet, we need to discuss the arrangements.” The man turns away from Tenesha to face Jessica more seriously, “And what arrangement is that?” She puts her hands on her hips, “You know what I mean. Our android gives you something, and you pass us onto the next round.” The man shakes his head, “Now, that is against all the ethics of my position. I just can't let anyone do this.” Jessica nods her head but adds, “But, you are not letting just anybody. This is the latest pleasure bot. I assure you she will make you soar, and you will be begging me to let you in here next time you are in town.” The man seems skeptical, and as he turns slightly, Tenesha catches a glimpse of his polo logo. I know that symbol, she thinks, this guy is from America. He is from the IHRC group. At this point, Tenesha realizes what Jessica is doing: she's bribing the judge. 

“Look, I don't even know if this thing will work,” the man says waving his hand at Tenesha. Jessica grins, “Well then, see for yourself.” Turning to Tenesha, she commands, “Run Mike.” Tenesha can feel something in her head click, then she puts one hand on her hip, pulls herself back, thrusting out her chest, then stretches one leg forward slightly. And then, she starts speaking in a language she has never heard before.

The man (whose name is Mike) stares bug-eyed at her, his mouth dropping open. “Wha-wha-was that mandarin Chinese?” Tenesha nods her head and says back to him, her mouth making sounds she could not even imagine. Jessica asks, “So tell me, is this android qualified to pass round 1?” The man starts to nod his head, then says, “Well, uh, I, would need to see some form of humanoid motor control with advanced potential,” quoting from memory the rules for round 1. Tenesha says something else to him, causing Mike to perk up and reply, “Woah, can she do that to me... uh, right now as a demonstration?”

Unsure of what Tenesha offered, Jessica says, “Perhaps this will help... unwrap!” At that word, Tenesha finishes unzipping her coveralls, pulling her arms out of the sleeves, letting it fall to her ankles, revealing her matching pink panties and bra. She resumes her original pose, adding a wink to it. Mike's jaw drops again as he stares at the shiny curves of the android. “Motor control seems fine... very fine,” tilting his head as he stares, “b-b-but is there more?” 

Jessica looks down below Mike's belt. “You seem to have something that wants out, perhaps she can help. Job him,” she commands. At that, Tenesha can see hundreds of images going through her head of what to do next. Oh double gross, she thinks, I gotta give this guy a blow job right here and now. Trying not to think about it, she gets on her knees and scoots closer to him. Unzipping his pants, his member pops right out.

She starts talking to it in Chinese, which cause Mike to shudder. Tenesha is now staring at his unit, and though she would like to vomit, she doesn't. She simply says a few more things, then turns around. She takes the position Jessica put her in earlier, causing Mike's member to slide under her butt and between her legs. Using a rocking motion, she begins to slide over him, saying other things in Mandarin. Jessica whispers into his ear, “That would be the rainfall-on-leaves technique... very sought after in many circles.” Mike can only nod his head, as he enjoys whatever this android is doing to him. She brings him to near climax and then back down again by her rocking movements, all based on this program running in her head. The sounds Mike makes are almost comical, forcing Jessica to leave the room to return later. I wish I could leave, Tenesha thinks.

After many minutes, and two near climaxes, she finally takes pity on Mike, mumbles something else, and then forces his release. Having never done this before, she is surprised by the sheer volume running down her leg. Once finished, she wipes him off with her legs as she pulls away. Her program done, she stands at attention, mostly naked on the outside, screaming 'gross' and 'ew' on the inside. If she was not under the control of the program, she knows her gag reflex would have made her puke.

Jessica returns at this point with a small cleaning robot, about half the size of her hand. Placing it on Tenesha's leg, it begins to suck up all of the mess on her legs from Mike. Oh, thank you, Jessica, Tenesha says to herself, despite being rather put out with her friend right now. “Now, Mike,” Jessica says as he zips up his pants, “How's that round 1 qualifier looking?” Mike fumbles with his small tablet on his belt, pulling up the right screen. With trembling fingers, he punches in a few things then holds it up for Jessica to see: “Round 1 complete: qualified.” Not needing anymore from him, she ushers him to the door and pushes him out.

She returns to Tenesha and says, “Rewrap!” Tenesha stands and pulls the coveralls back over her, zipping up the front. Jessica pulls the robot off her legs, saying, “You, my Blow Job Joy, just earned your 3-year price tag.” Oh, Jessica, this was your plan all along, Tenesha thinks, but we wanted to win fairly and not cheat. But as she thinks that, she realizes that she has done nearly the same thing, assuming she continues fully on the path that she has started. Without time to think more on it, Jessica pulls the flash drive out of her neck. Tenesha feels a strange sensation then ducks her head, disoriented.

At that moment, Victoria walks back in. Jessica quickly hides the robot in her purse and asks, “What are you doing here?” Victoria, also surprised replies, “I could ask you the same thing.” Jessica pats her purse, “You know...” covering the last several minutes with some misdirection. Victoria makes the 'ok' symbol with her hand and replies, “Me, too.”

Jessica quickly exits while Victoria pretends to look for something. After a couple of minutes, she asks, “Hey, T, you ready to go?” Tenesha raises her head, smacking her lips noisily and stretching her legs noticably. “Yeah, I'm so tired. I can’t seem to remember the last half hour. Thought you guys would never leave.” Victoria chuckles then remarks, “Something wrong with your legs?” Tenesha makes a face, “I don't know. I got the most peculiar feeling between my thighs, and I don't think I like it.” Victoria shrugs her shoulders, “Maybe all the things we put you through?” Tenesha shakes her head, “Not like this,” shaking her legs to the side again, “ah well, I just need to go to bed.” 

The next morning, Mike passes the Fave Five's android without hardly even looking at it. When questioned about his brief review, he makes a comment about having an early flight today back to California. He shows them the qualified screen and walks out, giving Jessica a long look... almost to say, 'see you in a month for more.' 

Dr. Braum says loudly as Mike leaves, “Congratulations on completing round 1! I am so proud of you all.” 

Trying to explain why Tenesha was not showing up to work was getting harder and harder. They had a week or so with the “uncle stranded at the border” and they got another week or so from the “flu.” But, it is about time for the real Tenesha to show up. Victoria and her had been working on the android Tenesha on the weekends to get it up to speed with her. So far, the android was making great progress. So much so, they thought they might bring it to work next week to replace Tenesha, who was replacing the android.

The one issue that would be the biggest hurdle for round 2 is the scan. Every android, when scanned, comes up as an android. Every person, when scanned, comes up as a human. Everyone's phones have this capability. It was required by law a few years ago to help against scammers. People would pretend to be androids, show up as a “maid,” then steal the owners blind. Now, you cannot tell if someone is telling the truth or not, but you do know if they are an android or not.

Over the third weekend from passing the first round, Tenesha took the interface injector home. With a slight modification, she was ready to fool a scanner. Using sensor enhancers, which is standard issue on all androids, Tenesha can trick a scanner into thinking she is an android. With the interface injector, she places one at each elbow, each knee, each wrist, each ankle, each side of her waist, each shoulder, and finally, two at the base of her head. Victoria was in the other room at the time, so Tenesha was able to do this without her knowing.

While it may hurt a little bit, she could quickly “snap” each sensor in place. Fortunately, there are not many pain sensors where the robotic sensors are supposed to go. Once there, she pulls up her phone app and scans herself. The app pauses, thinks, then displays: “Android: no designation.”

She nods, “And there is another step to being an android, and winning the contest.” Smiling to herself, she walks in the back room. Two similar chairs are side by side, with one of them being filled with the android Tenesha. As Victoria is bent over the android Tenesha, she cannot help but take in her perfect figure. And while the clothes are not that flattering, Tenesha finds herself staring at Victoria.

Stepping back, she says, “Well, I was gonna try the personality mode again.” Pressing a small remote, the android Tenesha begins to animate. “Well, I guess we better get going.” Tenesha was amazed how much it sounded like her. Playing along, Victoria says, “Right! Meet you at the front door.” Victoria makes a motion to walk out, so the android Tenesha does the same thing. It stands up, puts on a pair of sandals, and walks towards the front. The real Tenesha stands still, as she watched herself walk by.

Careful not to block her way, Tenesha watches how the android walks like her. The hours of the T.E.S. have paid off, giving life to this android. Tenesha is impressed, and feels her days as an android are numbered. Saddened but excited, she follows the android to the front. As they near Victoria, the door bell rings. Victoria and the real Tenesha jump, but the android Tenesha simply says, “I wonder who that could be.”

Acting like a person, the android goes to the front door and opens it. Standing at the door is one of her neighbors, holding out an empty cup. He clears his throat and says, “Hey, Tenesha, could I, uh, borrow some coffee creamer?” The android tilts its head and replies, “And a good morning to you, too, Ray,” with a smirk. He runs his hand through his hair and says, “Uh, yeah, morning. So about that coffee creamer...”

Victoria says, “I'll get it,” unsure if the android could handle finding that and returning it. Tenesha had stayed back in the hallway unseen. Although an android is not uncommon in public, but their android is quite sophisticated (and looks just like Tenesha), and some of their advances would be classified as top secret. While Ray is not a competitor, he might still reveal things they don't what revealed. Tenesha expects he has a little something for her, but she is not quite sure if she wants that or not.

Within moments, Victoria is back, and the awkward silence between Ray and the android Tenesha is over (no programs for small talk). With the door closed, Tenesha breathes a sigh of relief. “That was close,” Victoria says, and Tenesha adds, “And very promising, he seems nice.” What gave Victoria and Tenesha a start, was that it was the android Tenesha that said that. Before Tenesha can speak, the android says, “Well, we better get going or we are going to be late.” 

Victoria, still speechless, watches the android walk over to the real Tenesha. Deciding to test the software further, Tenesha stands motionless. The android grabs the T.E.S. and puts it on, while attempting to connect the wires to the real Tenesha. Tenesha can only grin, as she does not have the right connections to be on the other side of the T.E.S. 

Victoria, seeing what the android is doing, says, “You should just use the neck connection.” The android nods her head and plugs into the back of Tenesha's neck. The next part surprises Tenesha as her ability to move is halted. She wants to move but cannot. As the android raises its right hand, Tenesha does the same. Oh no, she exclaims, the android is controlling me. 

Victoria, thinking Tenesha is just playing along, says, “Well, let's get this pile of parts to the lab.” Tenesha replies, “Yeah, we are going to be late as it is.” The trip to the lab is uneventful for the android and Victoria, but Tenesha continually tries to speak or move but cannot. She is completely at the mercy of the android's controlling. How is it able to do this? She wonders, it is not like I have something controlling my... she pauses her thinking at that thought: the sensors I put in! They would give access to any electrical signal at the right frequency, making me controllable.

As she ponders that further, she finds herself walking into the lab with Victoria and the android tethered. The androids controlling has made walking in the 4 inch heels much easier today, she thinks. Once inside, the team has already begun to plan round 3, as Jessica has convinced them that round 2 is “in the bag.” They do not share her optimism, but they also do not share the knowledge of a small vial of Mike's DNA setting at home in her bedside table.

Victoria would like to switch the real Tenesha with the android one, because she is sure it will not work all day. They have not built in all of the controls for it yet, so while it may be competition-ready at the moment, she knows it is short lived. Fortunately, they are wanting to update some software, so the android Tenesha has to disconnect. The real Tenesha can finally move on her own. Now, she reasons, I just gotta get my clothes on the android and vice versa.

As she ponders that, they insert a USB connection in her neck. They have done this many times, so it is becoming second nature. I'm not sure if I should be happy about that, or scared? She can feel the updates radiating out into her, removing some small parts of her humanity, one bit at a time. And while she does not realize any of this, she continues to think this is just temporary.