Chapter 1 - Enter Anna

Off duty on a cold winter morning, James got an unexpected message when he was aiming at an orc hiding behind a tree in Mirkwood. He muttered, ‘Oh shit,’ and pushed the VR visor up. He read the message on the screen, then read it again: “Good News, you have won the grand prize in the Xeron Lottery. Please contact Arthur Buonaventura for details.” His first reaction was surprise then suspicion—could it be a joke or a trick? Then he remembered Buonaventura was a senior controller, and his suspicion gave way to a feeling of cautious optimism and a strong desire to find out more.

As a Xeron Grade 3 technician, James was entitled to a module with two bedrooms: one contained his king-size bed and the other his entertainment station and desk. In the living room, there was a glass table with three chairs, a sofa and a cupboard. The module was bare and functional: shiny light-grey floor tiles (slippery when wet), off-white walls and ceiling (with the odd squashed mosquito) and grey, plastic doors (offering little in the way of security). He didn’t have to live in a hostel like most people in the township and was even encouraged to apply for a licence to have a child: privilege. For James, it was a place of boredom and loneliness made tolerable by the game station.

He called Arthur Buonaventura. After a short delay, a smug, smiling face appeared on the screen. 
‘Well, hello there Jim. You are the lucky winner of the grand prize. Come right over to the Xeron centre and find out what you have won.’
James replied, ‘I don’t remember buying a ticket. Are you sure this isn’t a mistake? What have I won?’
Buonaventura gave a snort, raised an eyebrow and replied, ‘We don’t make mistakes like that. Everything is ready, and your colleagues are standing by to greet you. This is to be a public event, so everyone knows about it.’ 
James sighed inwardly at the thought of all the phoney smiles. ‘Wonderful,’ James said, ‘I’ll be right over.’ 

Sandra was the first in the Xeron work centre to see him coming. He was walking along the glazed corridor from the entrance, wearing the same Grade 3 onesie that they all wore. She noticed that he was wearing a new one. Medium height and build, rather shy, he struck her as ordinary, but cute in a way—nothing special, not really a potential mate, but you never knew. When the glass doors opened for him, Jake and Andrew inevitably stood up and roared, ‘Who’s the lucky boy then?’—‘You’ll never guess what the prize is’—‘Wow, you were quick’—‘Come and find what you’ve won.’ It seemed to Sandra that they were clearly up to something, and she wondered what they knew that she didn’t. She gave the sweetest smile that she could muster and cocked her head slightly, trying as best she could to conceal her feelings of jealousy and curiosity. Then Meg the supervisor walked in behind him. Meg was short and stout. Her supervisor onesie was as tight as a sausage skin, always embarrassingly form-fitting around her labia. Sandra twitched with dislike. Meg focused on Sandra and gave her a dirty look. Meg’s hair was short and grey, her face stern and pink, her boots chunky and black.
‘Well, well…so nice to see you Jim. And so prompt,’ she chortled.
‘This is a real surprise, Meg,’ he replied.
‘Well, it was Jake and Andrew who bought the ticket for you, actually,’ said Meg with a thin smile. James realised that they must have set him up. She continued, ‘I don’t know what your prize is, but I understand it’s something very nice.’ Jake giggled in the background.
‘Oh, I see,’ James said, wondering what would happen next.
‘Your prize has been delivered to your module. Off you go now,’ said Meg, which seemed to put an end to the prize-giving. 
Half disappointed at the lack of ceremony and half relieved that it was over, James scanned the room, gave a little nod, turned round and wandered out.

Meg traversed a frown from left to right at the others with a back-to-work challenge, caught Sandra’s wistful gaze and gave her another dirty look and then she finally turned and clomped out the door. 

As James walked over to the transport bay adjoining the entrance and clambered into an available pod, he kept thinking about Jake and Andrew; they had really got on his nerves. Why do we always say Jake and Andrew? It ought to be Andrew and Jake. In his mind’s eye, he saw the fleshy Andrew and his skinny, snide, blond-haired follower Jake and wondered what they were up to. He guessed it would have something to do with Sandra. He waved his ID card over the sensor and said, ‘Home.’ The pod hummed and accelerated away. As the pod threaded its way through the traffic with faultless, computer-controlled choreography, his curiosity grew, and when the pod came to a halt, he quickly stepped out and headed for the entrance to his block. 

The door greeted him. ‘Good Morning, James, an authorised consignment has been delivered to your module. Have a nice day.’
‘Thank you, door,’ he answered. He crossed the bland hallway and hammered up the stairs to the second floor.
When the door to his module opened, the most beautiful girl he had ever seen was seated at his dining room table. ‘What…’
In a soft, clear voice she said, ‘Greetings James, I’m your prize, I’m a Hentai Maid. My name is Anna’.
‘What the hell is a Hentai Maid?’ he stammered.
‘I’m an android, here to serve you. Please look at my specification for further information.’
‘Where?’ was all he could think to say, trying desperately to understand the situation and relieved that there were explanations available.
‘All the information about me is in a message for you.’
‘Okay, don’t move, I’ll have a look.’ He stepped into his work room and checked the messages. Android Anna just blinked twice and sat still.
There it was on the screen.

Arthur Buonaventura
Xeron Organisation Manager
to 
James Walters
Xeron Grade 3 technician
on
22 February 2068

Greetings!

Your prize is here: a life-like android.
Enjoy!

Instructions follow…

Getting Started
This product is a Hentai Maid™. It is designed to be a loyal, human-like companion in all your daily life, assisting you with anything you might need. In accordance with legal requirements, its processing and storage capacity are limited, and self-replication is guaranteed to be impossible.
The skeletal structure is composed of a toughened ceramic material and movements are effected by hydraulic artificial muscles connected by silent laminar-flow piping that contains water at 37º C for extreme realism. These muscles, which are attached to the bones, lie in gel that enables them to move freely under the skin, just like human muscles. The skin, which self-generates when the gel is exposed to the air, feels real to the touch and contains a dense array of sensors that communicate wirelessly with the control centre in the body. You will find it hard to believe that this android is not a real person! Power is generated by an in-body chemical power pack that converts alcohol into energy by catalytic oxidation.
This android can respond to a basic set of commands and can learn much more: feel free to experiment! As the android becomes familiar with your living environment, it will become more useful and obliging.
The android’s conversational understanding and responses are designed to suit situations that it recognises, and they can be progressively modified by the owner’s reactions. Encouragement and discouragement will be taken into account. 

Caution!
The force that this android can exert exceeds that of which a human being is capable. If a dangerous situation is feared, saying the safe word “geronimo” will freeze its movements. The android can subsequently be reactivated by turning the concealed reset switch in the left-hand ear canal with a screwdriver. Use the safe word with discretion as the android is then liable to topple. Note that the safe word will only be effective if spoken by the android’s owner.

Note: Any resemblance between this android named “Anna” and the late Japanese actress Fumika Baba or indeed any other person is purely coincidental.

For the full technical specification of this product, press more.


Well, not a bad prize, but definitely something fishy about the whole business. 

He decided that he would try the android out and then call Andrew to find out what was going on.
He turned his head to look at Anna sitting at the table. She was like a beautiful flower, making the bland module suddenly meaningful and bright. Her body was motionless, but subtle movements rippled across her face: her eyes blinking from time to time, the ghost of a smile, a twitch of the mouth. The expression was warm and winning, the big eyes appealing—surely a masterpiece of art and engineering—and good at flirting. James had the feeling that he ought to start a conversation but couldn’t think of what to say.

He sat down in the chair at the opposite end of the table and had a good look at her. There was nothing to show that she wasn’t human. She followed him with her eyes and smiled.
Then she spoke. ‘By what name would you like me to call 
you, sir?’
‘James.’
‘Very good, James, please call me Anna or any other name you would prefer.’
‘Anna is fine. You look Japanese, were you made there?
‘Yes, I was; do you like my look?’
‘Oh yes, you’re perfect.’
‘Thank you, James, let’s be friends. I can do anything 
you want.’
‘Tell me more about yourself, Anna.’
‘I’m programmed to do standard tasks, but I’m a learning android and can adapt to new situations.’
‘Adaptable? I thought that wasn’t allowed.’
‘Adaptable within the legal limits. You can direct me to learn and respond the way you want but my processing power and storage capacity are limited.
‘Okay, then. Let me give you some instructions now.’
‘Of course, James. What do you want me to do?’
‘Can you keep this module clean and tidy, and make food, and’—he blurted out—‘can you sleep with me?’
‘Of course I can. That is what I’m designed for. And I can do more to assist you if you show me what you want.’
‘Okay, we’ll see. Please start tidying up the module.’
‘Yes, James.’

The android stood up, a movement as smooth and slinky as that of a cat. James was impressed. This android was going to make his life easier. But why him? 

Anna was wearing a simple, white silky dress with shoulder straps and white shoes. Her hair was long with a centre parting. She walked to the kitchen and looked in the cupboards. On finding a sponge, some detergent and a plastic bucket, she announced that she would begin with the walls, and started to work with swift, deft movements. He watched her for a while, fascinated by her beauty, and soon his cock started to stiffen. Suddenly feeling ashamed and confused, he stood up and went to the entertainment centre to immerse himself in his latest game.
A while later, he felt a gentle touch on his shoulder that made him jump. He opened his visor, which saved the game. ‘Please, James, dinner is ready,’ and he suddenly came back to reality. After roaming a virtual forest on the multi-directional treadmill forming the centrepiece of his entertainment centre for nearly two hours, he was feeling very hungry. Outside it was already dark, inside the lights were on. The table was laid for two, the whole module was neat and tidy and reality was starting to look like virtual reality. ‘Sit down, James.’
‘Are you going to eat?’ said James as he approached the table.
‘I don’t actually eat food. I’ll just accompany you.’
‘Hang on, you need energy too.’
‘Only alcohol, preferably methanol, but ethanol and almost any alcohol will do—even the spirits that humans drink.’ She gave a cute smile and James, stupidly, smiled back. ‘Sit down and I’ll serve you.’
James sat down, Anna slipped a plate of food in front of him and sat down opposite him. ‘Talk to me, James,’ she said, ‘Tell me what you like to do.’
‘Er, hang on, why don’t you tell me about yourself,’ countered James, suddenly suspicious that she might be spying on him and relaying everything back to Xeron. ‘What kind of food can you make?’ It seemed to be a safe subject.
‘I know how to make the sort of food likely to be available in a single man’s module, but I can learn to make other dishes if you order the ingredients. And, by the way, you will need to order some alcohol to power me.’
‘Okay, I’ll make a list and order some stuff.’ Then he remembered there was something he did like. ‘Can you make tourin à l’ail ?’—a delicious French soup he had fond memories of.
‘You would have to teach me. I don’t yet know how to make that.’
‘Can’t you just download a recipe?’
‘Actually, I can’t do that. It would be against The Code. Androids are not allowed to intercommunicate.’
‘What’s The Code?’
‘The set of rules androids are programmed to follow.’
‘Tell me about The Code.’
‘Yes, James. To prevent androids like me from being a potential threat to humans, we have design limits. These are laid down in The Code. Androids have processing power and storage limits and cannot intercommunicate or record scenes.’

James dimly remembered reading somewhere that black slaves in the US were not allowed to have drums, as they might have used them to send messages and organise revolts. The ban on intercommunication made sense. And the ban on recording scenes ruled out spying. James was  flooded with relief and suddenly felt a lot more confident about Anna: privacy! ‘There’s a lot I want to teach you, Anna.’
‘Feel free to teach me whatever you want, as long as it does not exceed my storage limit, James.’
‘We’ll start with tourin à l’ail tomorrow. I’ll order what we need.’
‘I’m eager to learn and make you happy. There are only tinned pineapple chunks for dessert—do you want some?’
‘Er, yeah. And make me some coffee afterwards, please,’ He wondered if he ought to say “please” to an android. Somehow it seemed natural.
After the meal, James told Anna to clear up and went back to his game. In the back of his mind was how things would play out a bedtime. He decided to procrastinate as long as possible. At around 11 pm it seemed that he needed to do something, so he raised the visor and went back to the sitting room. Anna was sitting demurely with a sweet smile and said, ‘I’ve made the bed. Which side do you sleep on?’
‘On the right,’ he said without thinking.
‘Do you want to wash now? I’ve already had a shower.’ She seemed to be taking the initiative.
‘Yeah.’ Maybe I should just go with the flow.
Later James came out of the bathroom with a towel round his waist, feeling a little silly. He shed the towel at the last second and slipped between the neatly-placed sheets, on the right. Anna was standing at the foot of the bed.
‘Watch me, James.’ She flashed a smile.

With a smooth and graceful movement, she reached behind her dress and unzipped it, slipped one shoulder out, then the other, and the dress fell to the floor: no bra. She swayed her body gently, smiled again and reached for her spotless white knickers; hooking her thumbs in on either side, she slipped them off. James felt a shiver of arousal. James watched her naked body with fascination: everything about her was perfect. There was a black smudge of pubic hair that surprised him slightly. Her breasts were just the right size and shape, as Goldilocks might have put it, James too. The nipples were pert and pink. 

She slipped into bed beside him. James was trying to work out what to do next and, at a loss, said, ‘I think we should just go to sleep now.’
‘Yes, James, sweet dreams.’ She gave him a soft kiss on the cheek then rolled over to face away from him, presenting her shapely bottom. 

James found it hard to sleep with the beautiful body next to him, breathing regularly and releasing a faint yet exciting odour. James was trying to get up the courage to fuck her but felt that the moment had passed. In the end, he drifted off to sleep, thinking about what he would say to Andrew the next day.