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Flesh and Blood: Act 1

Lucas looked over the buttons on the elevator panel. The vulpine swished his tail in frustration; he had been having a crummy week. First off his boss suspended him, thankfully with pay pending an investigation into a situation which he was the project manager on. Second of all he was behind on paying his bills, and third and lastly of all he had discovered his girlfriend Mia had been cheating on him.

It had been three days ago when he came back to the apartment and discovered her in bed with another male, a tiger no less; he angrily demanded an explanation. As she spoke to him she had not made it blatantly clear. She told him that he already knew the reason why she did it and that he could not hide it from him. Lucas at that point was so upset he did not want to deal with it; so after calling the female Siamese cat a backstabbing, cheating, lying, cock guzzling slut, Lucas had to relocate. He had found a decent apartment not far from work and had settled in there.

However now he was in bewilderment over what the research and development team was calling him up for. Had something come up broken in the bay that only an engineer could troubleshoot or fix? He doubted it, but he shrugged and thumbed the button for the tenth floor. Immediately the whooping of the security sirens went off, a red light turned on in the elevator and the automated voice spoke to him.

"Identification please?" the elevator inquired in a very pleasant female voice. Lucas hastily swiped his badge through the scanning slot and the light turned green.

"Thank you Mr. Nelson proceeding to your desired floor." The voice intoned and then the elevator began moving. In a short matter of moments the elevator came to a smooth stop and the doors opened. He adjusted the collar of his dress shirt and straightened out his tie as the doors opened up.

Lucas stepped out into the room before him and the elevator doors shut behind him. One of the walls had a large screen on it and it displayed some kind of timer counting down. Lucas knew what he had to do; he quickly walked to the mask station and donned a breathing mask, and goggles. When the timer reached zero the room was filled with a fine mist; it was a sterilization processing room. They wanted him to walk in clean.

When the mist was done being vented from the room Lucas set the mask back at the station and walked out to be greeted by one of the research and development team, Professor Richard Solaski. The Professor was a white furred male rat with red eyes, however he was far from intimidating, a bit creepy but seemingly harmless.

"Welcome to the R and D department Mr. Nelson." The professor said cheerfully and offered a hand to Lucas. Lucas shook the rat's hand dubiously but nodded.

"Thank you for having me here, so how may I help today?" Lucas cocked his ears forward showing he was paying attention. Lucas released the professor's hand and Professor Solaski motioned.

"Follow me please Mr. Nelson." Solaski turned and began to walk. Lucas followed with curiosity. As they walked there were various screens showing various things being tested, all of it much more technical than he could ever imagine.

"Before we begin I want you to meet the team." Solaski opened a door and walked through, Lucas following close behind him. He was stunned when he walked into the room and saw two other scientists standing there. One was a female lapin, with white fur and a lab-coat over her white, slick, tight body suit, with a data board in one hand and a stylus in the other, busily scribbling down notes on the touch sensitive surface

The other was a large black furred wolf who was mulling over a monitor and scratching his head. He looked perplexed over the picture of some kind of sphere on the screen, and then he typed in some adjustments before nodding and leaning back in the chair. Both of the other scientists looked up as Solaski introduced them.

"Mr. Nelson, this is our wetware to software psycho-analytical specialist, Jessica Venus." The female lapin stopped scribbling and smiled to Lucas. She picked up a holo-disk from the table and inserted it into the side of her data board.

"And this is our synthetics and mechanics technician, Jonathan Korbas." The wolf idly waved from his seat looking back to the monitor and growling a little. Solaski then indicated a stack of papers on the desk.

"Please read that thoroughly and sign the bottom." Solaski then went to a desk and sat down leaving Lucas to read the material. As far as Lucas could tell this was some kind of release saying he would not willfully damage what he would be put in charge of and so on and so forth. There was some part that seemed odd in its clauses but he signed the bottom of the last page and set the papers down.

"Are you ready for what we have in store for you Mr. Nelson?" The voice of Jessica said from behind him. Lucas jumped startled but turned and nodded looking to the lapin who smiled. She motioned for him to follow as Professor Solaski, and Doctor Korbas also stood up and followed. Jessica led Lucas into a room with a computer terminal and a strange looking apparatus. This apparatus was like a chamber of sorts that looked as though it might contain something large.

"Are you familiar with the Gen-robots?" Jessica asked Lucas and looked over her data board. Lucas hastily nodded.

"What kind of contact do you have with Gen-robots Mr. Nelson?" Jessica said making a notation on the board. Lucas shrugged but then thought for a bit before answering.

"Well mostly Gen-twos, they take my trash away and take on janitorial duties." Lucas said recounting in his mind the robot types. Gen-robots were in essence regular robots; however they came in three classifications. Gen-one robots were rudimentary, resembling male wolfen or female felines. They had no outer fur covering and were kind of clunky, only relying on base information to perform skills. They ran on a simple battery which needed to be recharged. Most of these were decommissioned due to malfunction in original programming.

Gen-two were much more varied having three different species male and female, usually feline, canine, and rodent. These were much more realistic, having fur covering almost all their bodies and they had a much more advance computer brain. They had to also be recharged, but the battery they had could last them for ten days straight. Usually a hidden plug was in the end of the robot's tail. They tended to do labor tasks and clerical filing jobs or could do secretarial work.

Gen-three were by far the most expensive and the most realistic; mostly these could be nearly of any species. They could perform a wide range of skills, their intellect was not much better than Gen-twos, but they had very upscale uses. Most Gen-threes could be a nanny for a child, or a love doll for those with the taste for it, they could even be performers in a show, singing and dancing.

"Please have a seat and input the information that is asked." Jessica said; Lucas hesitantly sat down.

"May I ask something before we start?" Lucas inquired with curiosity.

"Yes?" Jessica answered with a cheerful smile.

"Your last name is really Venus?" Lucas cocked his head to the side.

"Yes it is; now no more procrastination Mr. Nelson." Jessica nodded her head and then walked over to join her fellow scientists.

Lucas pushed the button labeled start and the screen lit up. The first question it asked him was if he had a companion what his preferred gender and species would be. It gave him five choices: lapin, feline, canine, vulpine, and rodent, Lucas chose the gender as female, and was at first tempted to pick another vulpine like him but instead for some reason he decided to pick lapin.

It then asked him out of four favorite colors which he liked the most: black, white, brown, tan. He chose tan. Lucas paused again and thought for a moment. He looked back to the scientists who just stood there watching him. He went on to the next question.

Body type was the next question, the choices were: athletic, buxom, petite, and average. Lucas was ever so tempted to pick buxom. Perhaps they were making some kind of new pleasure model robot? Lucas decided he would dwell on it later and picked average. The screen then went blank and the computer started to process the information.

"Now you will meet the future of advanced artificial beings." Dr Korbas said stepping up to the chamber as it hissed. "Using a combination of latex, polyurethane, nylon, silicone, carbon, enamel, and fiber optic cable nerve conduction we have put together the next generation of autonomous beings." The camber then opened slowly.

Lucas was startled to see a naked female lapin with tan fur standing in the chamber, her eyes were closed, her ears hung limply down, she was suspended on her feet by a harness around her midsection. The female looked like she might have been in her mid-twenties.

"Mr. Nelson, meet A.N.A., Autonomous Neuro-synthetic Anthropoid." Jonathan seemed to grin with pride and he walked up to the chamber and undid the harness, carefully catching the lapin girl in his arms and carrying her over to Lucas. Jessica was already walking over with a blanket to wrap around the girl.

"Anthropoid?" Lucas inquired arching an eyebrow.

"What most would call and android, but anthropoid is the correct term." Jessica said as she tucked the blanket around the girl covering her up.

"Isn't an android just like a robot?" Lucas said as he took the girl from Jonathan's arms and looked the lapin girl over. She was so realistic in look and feel, much more advanced than any Gen-three he could imagine. She even felt warm to the touch.

"No... she much more than a robot, Mr. Nelson. She runs on a micro-hydrogen fusion cell; the by-product is water which is used to cool her neural-net logic core and is used to keep her lubricated." Jonathan explained. "In other words, you don't need to plug her in to recharge her power source she is totally self sufficient. Unlike other previous artificial beings she can learn from watching, so mind what you do when she observes you." The wolf then stepped back to let Jessica talk.

"When you take her home you will have to rub the center of her chest in order to start the process of her cells. Once that is done she will follow you around, she will be in her learning stage so careful what you do. Eventually she will start talking and asking questions; answer her with complete honesty. Every week you must bring her in and we'll run diagnostics on her. Her data jack is located behind her left ear under a small hidden fur plug that will feel like a mole." Jessica indicated the area of the data jack as she ran through the process with Lucas.

"B-but why choose me?" Lucas said a bit stunned and unsure of what they were asking.

"Well first off you fit our psychological profile with ninety-nine point eight three percent accuracy, number two this is a test trial to see is we can successfully integrate this anthropoid into society, and third of all we want to see how interaction between flesh and blood and synthetic beings is retained. Mr. Nelson don't disappoint us." Solaski said and with that he turned making a dismissive motion, Lucas had a feeling that he might be getting more than he bargained for.

Lucas had to be careful when carrying Ana into his apartment. It would be awkward to explain to his fellow resident neighbors why he was carrying an unconscious girl into his apartment, and a naked one at that. Once he brought her inside he set her down on the bed and contemplated. He also went over the list of commands that Solaski had given him. They were simple override commands that would help Lucas regulate Ana's behavior.

"Well here goes nothing..." Lucas said to himself and he placed his hand on Ana's chest right between her breasts and gently rubbed her sternum. At first nothing happened and he thought that perhaps he had done something wrong.

Suddenly Ana's eyes shot open and she sat up, Lucas jumped back startled. Ana slowly turned looking to Lucas with a blank stare. Lucas stared back unsure of what to do, but he recalled that she would follow him around for a while until she could learn enough to formulate her own personality.

Lucas was a bit offset at her nude form so he stood up and picked out some clothes from his closet, just a simple t-shirt and shorts and when he turned around he was startled to see Ana standing there watching him. He awkwardly dressed her, but she was responsive to him, when he grabbed her leg and lifted it so he could get the shorts on her she let him lift her leg. After getting her dressed Lucas decided he would get something to eat, after all he had spent nearly the entire day at the R & D area.

Lucas walked to the kitchen and sure enough Ana followed him just with that creepy blank expressionless face. Lucas got out a microwave dinner and put it in the microwave to heat it and in the meantime he poured himself some iced tea. The only problem was that Ana would follow four feet behind him making it difficult for him to get moving around his small kitchen. Finally to remedy the problem he led her to a chair.

"Sit." Lucas commanded and Ana sat down in the chair

"Stay." Lucas finished and when he walked to the microwave to get out his food Ana sat in the same place but still looked at him as he went about his business. Lucas ate his dinner and then after he go up and washed the glass and fork he used. He then went to Ana after.

"Stand... follow." Lucas said and Ana stood up and proceeded to follow him once more. Lucas walked to the couch and he pointed at the couch.

"Sit." He said and Ana sat on the couch her eyes gazing at him blankly. Lucas sat down next to her and picked up the remote. He turned the TV and flipped to the news in order to see what was going on in the world. Turn out that Vulcan-Tech was attempting to monopolize once more. It started out as a small business trade that turned world wide conglomerate. They now had ties into everything from the food that everyone ate, to the latest military weapons.

But the latest endeavor of Vulcan-Tech was its Keeper Neutralization Force. It was like a private army or police force; they even had authorization to use deadly force if necessary to accomplish their missions. Needless to say that Vulcan-Tech wanted everyone to hire out the Keepers; for security and for other projects as well.

When it was time to go to bed Lucas got up and Ana followed him into the bedroom. For a moment he contemplated how he was going to accomplish this arrangement. Would he leave her standing up all night letting her watch him sleep? He decided that what would be best would to have her sit down and perhaps enter rest mode.

"Sit... rest." He said and Ana sat down on the floor next to the bed and slumped against it her eyes closing. Lucas then turned over and with a bit of unease went to sleep. The next day when Lucas awoke Ana was already active, sitting next to the bed in the same spot and watching him with that ever so blank gaze. However, it wasn't bothering Lucas as much as before. He calmly got up and as before situated Ana. He cooked breakfast, some scrambled eggs and lizard sausage. Ana watching with a blank stare.

Once he was done eating did his laundry and cleaned up around the house. He even ironed his clothes. Then after that it was a lazy day of watching reruns of sitcoms, eating lunch, and dinner. At the end of the day once more he instructed Ana to rest and she shut down for the night. In the morning Lucas was waking up and smelled something in the air. It smelled like... food cooking?

Lucas leapt up and looked around and Ana was no where to be seen. The kitchen! Lucas ran for the kitchen in time to see Ana holding the frying pan cooking scrambled eggs like the way Lucas had done the previous day. Lucas contemplated on stopping her, but instead he observed. She carefully did everything as he did the morning before and when she was done she set the frying pan in the sink and then looked to Lucas with that ever far off gaze.

"Uh..." Lucas started to say, but he promptly was silent when Ana set the now made and ready eggs down on a plate, turned off the stove, and then set it at the table for him. She sat down in the chair across from him, awaiting him to take his seat. Lucas was a bit stunned but he calmly sat down and ate the eggs. They were made just right and he gobbled them down before he wiped his mouth with a napkin and looked to Ana staring blankly at him.

"Thank you." He said dubiously, Ana didn't even twitch in acknowledgement of his expressed appreciation. Lucas sighed and noted to himself that she was still on auto-pilot; she might not even comprehend what she had done. Lucas stood up and took the plate to the sink to wash them. Suddenly he heard the T.V. turn on and he peeked over to see Ana sitting on the couch with the remote in hand flipping the channels.

She stopped on the channel that he had watched the previous day and then set the remote down. Lucas hastily washed the dishes setting them in the washer and then walked over to the couch. Lucas sat down next to Ana, looking over to her blank forward gazing eyes.

"Thank you." He said again, as before she did not respond to him. "Do you... even know what I'm saying?" he said as politely as possible. Ana was unmoving; Lucas sighed again and he deduced that it wouldn't hurt to maybe be a bit affectionate and slowly slipped an arm around Ana's waist and pulled her close to him. Ana's head limply lulled to one side, resting on his shoulder, still expressionless.

Lucas sat there feeling a little silly that he was watching T.V. with a synthetic partner who probably had no comprehension of anything going on around her. He rolled his eyes at his own foolishness and instead just sat there and watched the program. When lunch rolled around he once more told Ana to stay on the couch and she did so sitting up straight. Lucas walked off to make a sandwich for lunch.

When Lucas returned he sat back down with the sandwich and proceeded to consume it savoring the taste. Suddenly he felt a small arm curl around his waist and he felt Ana's head lightly resting on his shoulder. Lucas suppressed the reaction to jump in surprise, but he now felt even a bit more creeped out that this female, who of course, was not real who was laying her head on his shoulder like a real girl would.

Lucas did not eat dinner that night feeling just a tad awkward at the situation. Ana still had an emotionless gaze, but Lucas notices the little things about her, her ears would twitch slightly, a finger would tap, she'd move her head to adjust its position on his shoulder. Lucas just waited till it was bed time and he hesitantly helped Ana to her feet from the couch.

Lucas led Ana to the bedroom and without a given command Ana sat down in her usually spot near the bed and slumped against the side of the bed her eyes closing. Lucas watched in slight bewilderment. His thoughts dwelled upon the entire day spent with the anthropoid. In a gentle manner Lucas carefully picked Ana up in his arms and set her on the bed and pulling the sheets over her.

Lucas then made his way out of the room as quiet as possible and he lay on the couch with a sigh looking up to the ceiling as he drifted off to sleep. Morning came and this time Lucas woke up before Ana became active and poured himself a bowl of cereal. He was munching away when Ana walked into the room and sat down across the table from him, yet this time there was something different, her blank gaze seemed less far off than normal. In fact her eyes moved watching him transfer the spoonfuls of milk drenched food to him muzzle.

"Thank... you." said Ana in a plain feminine and monotone voice.

Lucas nearly fell out of his chair with shock, but he looked up to her and this time she was looking at him. Still her eyes were a bit blank but he could see that she was in some kind of lucid state of reasoning.

"For what...?" Lucas asked, dubious that she would formulate and answer.

"For letting me sleep on the bed." Responded Ana, she still had a very blank gaze but at least she was starting to actually look as though she was absorbing information.

"Your welcome." Lucas said with unsteady ease. He continued to eat watching her now as he got near the bottom of the bowl.

"Do you want me to turn on the T.V.?" Ana inquired plainly.

"Yes please." Lucas responded nodding his head slightly. Ana stood up from the chair and sat down in front of the T.V. with the remote in hand and pressed the power button turning it on. Lucas put his bowl in the sink and then sat on the couch next to Ana. She put down the remote and then leaned against him like the day before. Lucas didn't mind this time. However, he was a little nervous about Ana's new personality that was beginning to emerge.

He wrapped his arm around her waist and she returned the gesture her arm also going around his waist. They watched the programs in silence for a while before Ana spoke to him.

"Do you do this all day long?" Ana inquired her ears twitching showing some kind of inquisitive body language.

"Not always, there are some days I go to work; today is not one of them." Lucas responded as truthfully as he could. For a while Ana was silent again.

"Where do you work?" Ana once more questions after about a two minutes.

"I work as an engineer at a research company. I make parts for buildings, vehicles, and other applications." Lucas deduced that this would be the part where Ana would start asking him questions. And he was correct to assume so because soon Ana started asking him about who he was, where they were living, and what he did other than watching the television.

"Who am I and why am I here?" Ana probed him with a very tough question. Lucas was hesitant to answer but he didn't see where bending the truth a bit would hurt.

"Your name is Ana, and you're here because I'm looking after you, I have to take you to the doctor later so that they can take a look at you." Lucas tried to be as vague as possible, not wanting to indicate that she was not a true living being.

"Am I sick?" Ana asked leaning her head more against his shoulder as if she were concerned. Lucas had to admit that now Ana was acting much more life-like.

"No, you're not sick; the doctors just want to make sure you stay healthy." Lucas said twisting his words into a sugar-coated lie. Ana accepted that answer and then moved on to other questions. Lucas skipped lunch that day, but he was able to have Ana stop her questioning just long enough to have dinner. Once he was finished he then answered more questions that Ana asked of him.

Lucas started getting tired of answering questions at about midnight and he yawned heavily. Ana lifted her head from his shoulder looking to him.

"Are you going to sleep?" Ana asked to which Lucas nodded and stood up walking towards the bedroom. Ana followed behind him, watching Lucas strip down to his boxers as he looked to her unsure of what the sleeping arrangements should be.

"Is it alright to sleep in the bed with you?" The lapin girl asked him. Lucas was taken back a bit but he nodded as he climbed into the bed and pulled the covers up on him. Ana walked to the bed and crawled up beside him her right arm wrapping around his waist and her left arm tucked under her body. Lucas was surprised as Ana almost instantly went into rest mode.

The vulpine male at first felt a little odd but she was warm and soft to the touch. He reached over carefully and turned off the lights. Sighing softly as he drifted off to into a deep slumber. All through the night he had Ana pressed to him, she did seem mechanical in some respects and at the same time she felt like a real female. Lucas was caught in a dream about feeling silly because of him developing a fond feeling for this automaton, and feeling a genuine empathy for Ana.

The next morning Ana stirred with a gentle moan and Lucas woke up from her slight commotion. He looked at her and now her blank gaze was no longer so creepy. There seemed now to be actual pupils in her eyes as she gazed up to him.

"What are we doing today?" Ana asked him right off the bat. Lucas thought for a while and mulled over something that she could have more interaction with. Lucas decided he would teach her something today instead of just watching reruns.

"Today you're going to learn a few things from the T.V. besides just talking." Lucas said, and then with that they headed to the kitchen for breakfast. Lucas did not know quite what to expect when Ana took a bite of her toast. At first it seemed like she'd spit it out but she chewed and swallowed with no ill effect. She then drank down some orange juice and then she proceeded to devour the rest of her toast.

Lucas would definitely have to take her back to Solaski after this, mostly because he didn't know if her consuming real food would be harmful. After they ate Lucas turned the T.V. to a channel that focused on arts and crafts. To relax Lucas usually did amateur type paintings of things like the sunset or the moon. Thus getting out his brush set and colors he let Ana paint. He noticed that she followed any instructions carefully. She was able to mimic aspects of the painting instructor she did not produce a prefect replica.

Lucas praised her though for her effort to which Ana smiled brightly. Ana spent the rest of the day painting. Ana painted a cup sitting on the table; she painted the lamp on the living room desk, and even attempted to paint Lucas. Of course the Vulpine had to remain still during the time to no great discomfort. Then when the night approached, Lucas once more ate dinner with Ana, giving her something more feasible, he gave her jello and pudding, then after that they once more both curled up in his bed and slept.

The first thing next morning Lucas called Professor Solaski who arranged for a special method of transportation. A white unmarked van arrived shortly and Lucas ushered a nervous Ana into the vehicle. When they arrived Lucas looked to Ana and held her hands.

"Now don't worry ok? The doctor will just make sure you are fine... Pygmalion." Lucas said, and upon saying the mythological name of the piggish sculptor, Ana closed her eyes and went limp. Lucas carefully caught her in his arms and carried her into the special elevator that would take him directly to the R & D area.

Solaski and his team carefully set Ana down on the scanning bed. The first thing they did was they carefully had to pump her innards of the undigested food. Solaski promised Lucas they would work out something for that situation. They placed the plug into Ana's head data-jack to take diagnostics.

"It seems that she progressing much better than expected." Solaski said smiling as he looked through the data charts. Doctor Venus and Doctor Korbas both worked on getting Ana set for the next phase of the project.

"We installed a simple food removal process... a nanite-solution with millions of microscopic silicone robots, will break the food down into simple elements and dispose of them as if it were waste; she'll have to go to the bathroom in other words. Korbas explained to Lucas and the vulpine nodded. Once they were all set Jessica gave Lucas a short summery of what the next stage of mental progress would be for Ana.

Jessica encouraged Lucas to be as supportive as possible when dealing with the anthropoid. With that Lucas careful picked up Ana and they were transported back to Lucas's apartment.

Once back home Lucas carried Ana in and set her on the bed and gently rubbed the area between her breasts and sat watching as she sat up and glanced around. Ana looked to Lucas and tiled her head gently to one side.

"Did the doctor find anything wrong with me?" Ana inquired with concern which of course was more than likely a simulated emotion.

"No they did not, you're just fine." Lucas assured her and then he perked up with an idea, all this time she was wearing his clothes, but maybe she'd like to go shopping for some clothes that she could wear, it would be a time to test just how personable she could be.