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Pygmalion Ch. 02

By: Anitole



It was not unconsciousness which had overtaken her, nor had she overloaded on the sensations of Henry's body, his thrusts, his hot kisses, the feel of her fingers through his hair. But when she opened her eyes, the bright summer afternoon had faded into dusk. Henry was still beside her, asleep on the work bench, his lovely sinewy body showing in the half-light. How his human body fascinated her, the way it simply was without the aid of design or programming, how it was grown naturally and not fabricated. She doubted any human really knew how to be awed at this complicated thing they simply called life.

She sat up and scooted off the table, doing her best not to move too much. Henry looked so peaceful now. She knew it had been days since he'd last slept. She inched her way over to the WC and turned on the light.

She looked at herself in the mirror. Soft pale skin, thick wavy hair. She turned to look at the scar just over her hip. She'd fought hard with Henry over the scar. She'd wanted it so badly. She'd spent hours designing it, fabricating a story. "I can say it was a gymnastics incident," she'd argued. "That I missed a step and fell on some equipment..."

She turned on the shower and stepped under the stream, feeling slightly sad that this was the SOP after coitus, washing away the traces as if to conceal some great crime. She used the soap and then ran some of the gel through her hair before rinsing thoroughly and then shutting off the stream.

She toweled her body and hair, using her fingers instead of a comb. She hung the towels to dry and then went back through the lab to look out the window at the gathering night. Light shown in the buildings were late classes were being held. Some students laughed and shouted happily as they walked the pathways along St. Giles towards Blackfriars. She felt like opening the window and shouting down at them for some reason. She shook her head and then looked over at Henry, his breathing slow and heavy as he dreamed of who-knew-what.

She found herself scowling at him as she thought of him dreaming. She'd never dreamed, and could never understand the concept no matter how many times he'd tried to explain it. Visions, epiphanies, memories, fantasies... all these things and yet none of them purely, it was all too confusing. She hated confusion, it was frustrating. She walked over and ran the back of her hand over his forehead, envying him his dreams. 

"I'm going to leave now," she whispered. She bent to kiss his cheek and then walked to the closet, finding a pair of blue jeans, some sneakers, and a blouse. From a hook she took Henry's raincoat and with a last look at his sleeping form, she left, closing the door behind her.

***

Freddie was trashed. He took up the bottle and had a pull, leaning heavily on the shoulders of his "mates."

"Showed you, didn't I?" She chuckled, some of the whiskey dribbling down his chin. "Americans can hold there own, you' see?"

"Yeah, Freddie, you showed us." Simon shot a glance at Sean and rolled his eyes. "Let's get you back to the rooms, eh, Freddie?"

"I don't want to go back."

Sean chuckled and laid on a bit of his Irish brogue. "What would you rather do?"

"Not go back, I just said. The night is young and I'm a poet."

"A poet, eh?"

"Y-," He hiccupped. "Yes. I'll have you know I was junior poet laurite of Tishomingo County. I was 12. They gave me a plaque. My mother hung it in the den at home." He broke away from them and took up a rather shaky stance on the steps in front of the Department of Engineering Science Building. 

"Go on then, give us a reading, Mr. Elliot," Dick crossed his arms as Sean did his best to squash his fit of laughter as Freddie tottered on the steps drunkenly.

"I-I intend to," He cleared his throat and began, his voice taking on a bit of a serious timber. "What angels seem to be forever unhappy because of this particular atom in the cherry orchard?" He paused, taking a slug. "We stare into eyes of Cheshire cats striped and menacing, torturing, droll, with music unwritten, playing. silence, like corpses singing elegies, eulogies, ballads of drunken, homeless lyrics, roaring into undiscerning ears. They're the songs that teach the world. Songs without author or admirers only blank pages – stainless sidewalks." He lifted the hand clutching the bottle, point off into the distance. "Where comes in character and where goes it when they push the ejector button of mankind's motorcar?"

He nodded, shaking the outstretched bottler as if punctuating his poem with the movement. His two friends smirked up at him as a single girl who'd exited the building behind him clapped. 

"That was lovely," the girl said.

Freddie bowed. "I do hope someone wrote it down, missy. I just made it up."

"You're American?" She circled him appraisingly.

"A Rhodes Scholar, at your service," He bowed a deep bow and nearly collapsed. The girl caught him and righted him before the two other men could make a move up the steps. She looped his arm over her shoulder and moved him down the steps joining the other two men.

"This is what they call inebriation, isn't it?"

The two men chuckled, taking the weight of the drunken poet from the girl as they resumed the walk towards the dormitories. "Oh, it's gone beyond that," said the smaller of the two, "Hours ago, in fact."

The larger one with the posh accent piped up, "What's your name, miss?"

"Eliza. Yours?"

"I'm Simon, this is Sean. This one here, when he's conscious, it's called Freddie. He's a real charmer, Freddie is, when he's not being such a Yank."

"Sour grapes. You're just upset 'cause you lost the resolution and we made all the bad guys in Star Wars British because of it."

"The resolution?" Eliza cocked an eyebrow.

"I think he means 'revolution'," Simon, hefted Freddie up again. 

"What the man said." Freddie patted Simon's back as he sang out a line of a song. "Won't you listen what the man said?"

"Uh oh, Sean, he's singing again."

"Let him. he's got a good voice."

The four ambled through the doors and one of the men, Sean, waved a hand over the screen so that the door opened and they all passed through. As they walked up the stairs, Simon propping up Freddie while Sean fumbled with the keys, Freddie shouted down to her. "You're welcome to come up, if you like?"

"Thank you, I will."

The three men stopped, even Freddie seemed to straighten up and widen his eyes a bit.

Simon suddenly became the sober spokesman. "Really?"

"Yes."

"Why?" Sean took a few steps down to join his two friends on the narrow stair.

"He invited me. It is impolite to refuse an invitation, is it not?"

"Well, yes, but..." Simon started to say but was cut off by a firm elbow in his gut from Freddie.

The American straightened up adjusting his vest and tie a bit, to make up for his unkempt way of speaking. "It's just never that easy to get a girl up to the room."

"Why not?"

"Well... Uh..." Sean said, looking to Simon.

Simon took it up. "Well, we're not exactly charmers, you see."

"Terrible nerds, terrible nerds," Freddie smiled, taking a shaky step down, holding out a hand to Eliza. "And yet, as they say, even blind squirrels..."

Eliza smiled as Freddie stumbled falling down the steps and flat onto his face, finally unconscious.

***

Simon and Sean had marveled when the girl at the bottom of the stairs was able to catch the falling Freddie in her arms and hoist him up on one shoulder.

"So where's the room, fellas?"

Sean pointed a thumb over his shoulder and up the stairs, "Third floor."

Simon took a step down to grab Freddie's other shoulder. "Here let me help, he must be heavy." Taking most of the dead weight off of Eliza.

"I could have managed." She brushed past Simon and went up the stairs to stand with Sean. "So once we get up there what are we going to do?"

Simon and Sean shared a look and then Sean joined him in carrying Freddie. As they struggled to carry Freddie up the stairs they both quietly admired Eliza's backside as it took the steps slowly in consideration of their burdened pace. When the reached the third landing they directed her to the left and she continued down the hall until the two men told her she'd found there door.

"I'll unlock it for you," she said, taking the key from Sean's hand and putting it in the lock.

Once inside they drug Freddie through their common room and put him, fully clothed, on his bed in his bedroom. Eliza followed and watched as the two boys let their suitemate flop onto the bed fully clothed and then she walked over and brushed a dirty blonde lock of hair away from his face before taking a blanket and covering him. "He's handsome," she said, smiling at the other two. "And so are you two." She seemed to think this a simple observation and delivered it as such, turning easily after saying it to inspect the room. It was as if she were taking mental pictures of the place, photos on the desks, papers scattered across the blotter, lamps, window blinds...

"What do you do in a room like this?" She asked after a moment.

Simon pointed to Freddie on the bed. "Sleep, of course." Then he pointed at the desk. "And study when nobody else is here to bother."

"And the room we came through, what's that for?" 

Sean laughed. "You're putting us on," his smile softened a little bit when she shrugged. "It's the common room, we... well, we watch tellie, play vids, have a laugh now and again."

"That sounds fun, let's go in there." She brushed between the two boys and went into the common room, there was a wall screen which she switched on. She pressed a thumb to the screen and the vid game display came up. She selected a game at random. "I'm player one," she announced and took a seat on the sofa and took up controllers.

Sean looked at Simon and then together they took a seat on either side of the marvelously strange girl. Simon took the floor, "Well, we'd love to but it is rather late and we're a bit bushed..."

"Yes," said Sean. "We were going to hit the sack..."

"Alright then," Eliza said, logging out of the game. "That'll be even more fun." She walked up and kissed Sean square on the lips, sucking his tongue into her mouth and running one of her hands up into his hair while the other hand reached out to clutch Simon's sweater and pull him close.

"Blimey," Simon said, as the girl released his suitemate and pressed her pelvis to his, feeding him her tongue passionately, silencing his surprise.

Eliza was pleased to discover that each kiss was subtly different. Where Henry's chin had been stubbed with a two day growth of whiskers and his hair had been wild and uncombed, both of these specimens were smooth-shaven and soft skinned, Sean had a wide think lipped boyish mouth with very straight white teeth done up in a Hollywood smile, his hair was curly and a ruddy shade of red. He wasn't much taller than her, but he was well built though slender and boyish. Simon, however, was tall with muscular shoulders and large hands. When she kissed him she found his lips were soft and full and his tongue was soft against hers. His cheekbones were high and covered with pale white skin and his hair was dark brown and smooth. She was pleased suddenly to feel his hand come up to the small over her back and press her stomach against him She could feel his growing erection and as she drew away she looked over to see Sean's manhood was causing a bulge in his trousers. "Where do you two sleep?"

Sean pointed to one room off to the left. Simon pointed to the room next to it.

Eliza grabbed both boys by their hands and led them into the room on the left. "Look's like Seanmy's our host for the evening," she said, moving into the dimly lit room. The light blue glow from the computer screen bathed everything, and once Eliza had come to the center of the room she turned to see both boys silhouetted in the doorway, watching her. She smiled and pulled the hem of her blouse up and over her body. She had neglected the pretense of a bra and stood naked from the waist up in front of her two would be lovers. She cupped her breasts gently as Simon took a step from the doorway toward her. "I want you both so badly," she said, waving for Sean to follow. Sean did so, tentatively. "I've never been with two men before."

Simon looked over at Sean and Sean shrugged saying, "It's my first threesome."

"Me too," Simon nodded looking down at the big almost luminous green eyes of the girl who was pulling his sweater up over his head. Once he was shirtless, he let out a soft moan as she ran her fingers over his hairy chest. "I'm not stopping it, though."

Sean was suddenly there with them, his shirt now gone so that his naked and smooth chest pressed against Eliza's back.

She was now sandwiched between them. "Who would dream of such a thing?"

Sean's lips brushed against the back of Eliza's neck as she stood up on tip-toes to kiss Simon again.

She rapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself up into the kiss, as she felt Sean cupping her backside through her jeans. She turned and smiled as she let her hand move down to his bulge and as she rubbed it though his flannel trousers his eyes closed and he moaned. Simon's hands were not idle, however, he squatted down and pulled the hem of her jeans down so that he could kiss along the small of her back and fiddle with the lace of her tiny thong panties. "Did you ever see such a perfect little botSean?" He whispered between soft kisses into her warm flesh.

Sean was to busy feeling the warm fingers that had opened his fly work their way into his briefs to stroke his rigid 8" member. He simply let out a soft gasp as she squeezed him and pulled him close so she could run her tongue along his collarbone, his trousers falling to the floor.

Simon's hands were cupping her shoulders, his lips against the flesh at the nape of her neck, she let out a gasp at the sensation of his tongue lightly brushing her skin, his teeth nibbling in as he sucked slightly harder. A hand went under her arm to cup her breast and there was a start from both men as they realized they'd suddenly touched hands in the process.

Sean and Simon seemed to both go rigid but she simply giggled and took both hands in hers pressing them to her chest. "Silly boys," she said nibbling at Sean's ear as she reached on hand behind her to find the belt of Simon's blue jeans and undo it.

Switching from kissing Sean, Eliza faced Simon in time to see him kick out of his jeans and taking his thick cock in her hands she licked her lips. "I can't decide which I want more. She nuzzled into Simon's chest hair feeling Sean's smooth chest and hard cock come up against her back. A hand was rubbing between her legs, softly, making he moist and hot. She lightly bit into the flesh above Simon's nipple and he gasped slightly, and the hand at her quim thrust an index finger firmly inside her causing her to jump with a sudden pleasure. Simon's other hand was at her neck pushing her face up from the small red welt on his chest. "Not so hard," he said, and a thumb drifted up to her lips and she kissed it gently before taking it in and suckling it softly while meeting his eyes.

Sean was on his knees behind her, running his hands up the back of her legs. His tongue moving around the curve of her buttocks, light kisses—almost brushes of his lips, soft and teasing. And in a moment she felt the pressure of his finger at her anus and her eyes widened slightly as she moaned around Simon's thumb and Sean's little finger was inside her.

Simon withdrew his thumb from Eliza's mouth and kissed her fully on the lips, her hand left his turgid member and joined the other flat against his firm chest. She ran her fingers up over his nipples to his broad shoulders, feeling the pressure on her anus increase as Sean switched out his little finger for his index. Simon's rhythm with his hand in her vulva was quickening and she was finding it hard to keep her balance. The room was moving so fast and her breaths were short as the first orgasm rocketed up from inside her, overloading her systems slightly as she fell back slightly into Sean's steadying hands before Simon took her in his arms and carried her easily over to the bed and lay her down.

She caught her breath a moment looking up at the two boys standing aside considerately. She smiled up at Simon and Sean and they smiled back down.

"Thank you," she said to both of them.

Sean laughed and looked to Simon who was smiling broadly. "She's very polite, you've got to give her that?"

Simon sat down on the bed running his hand over her bare abdomen. "And such a lovely kisser, too."

Eliza sat up and took Simon's face in her hands, as she gently kissed him again. He let his mouth open a bit to accept her tongue and as she ran it along his lower lip savoring the flavor of his lips she felt the depression on the bed beside her. She ended the kiss with Simon and turned to share one with Sean.

Sean's mouth was wider, and his lips a bit thinner, but the kiss was deep and passionate as he moved his hand over her knee and up to her hip and then to the small over her back pulling her close to him until He toppled over backwards onto the bed, pulling her atop of him, her breast squashed against him, his legs moving between hers as she straddled him, feeling his firm erection against her stomach and His soft hands moving up her back to the nape of her neck as the kiss ended.

"Mmmm," she moaned as she suddenly felt Simon's larger rougher hands move over her bottom and Sean's moth move down to take one of her nipples softly between his lips. As Simon rubbed his hands up her back, Eliza positioned herself above Sean's member and felt it slowly press up inside of her hot sex. She pulled up from Sean sharply with the penetration and found her back pressed once more against Simon's broad and hair chest. 

His arms encircled her and he nibbled at her ear and then ran his soft moist lips along her neck down to her shoulder where he bit, causing her to gasp sharply at the slight pain. She let an elbow come back sharply into his ribs so that he grunted. "Not so hard, you said..."

Sean smirked up at the two of them, as he lightly thrust his hips up into Eliza's wonderful sex. "Would you two like headgear?"

Simon ran his lips softly over the already healing welt on Eliza's shoulder, kissed it softly as she giggled. "I was just evening the score," he said. "Little sadist bit me first."

Pygmalion Ch. 03



Awake, and not too happy about it. Freddie attempted to roll onto his stomach in his bed only to discover that he'd been perched on the edge of it in the first place. He hit the floor hard and let out a sharp, angry, "Owe!" before rolling onto his back and rubbing the pain out of his shoulder.

He opened his eyes against the evil sunshine and closed them again, clutching his head, in agonized regret. "I'm never drinking with and Irishman and an Englishman at the same time again."

"Wise decision."

Freddie rubbed his eyes to see the slender girl poised in the doorway looking down at him, her legs were bare and she wore a man's shirt over her frame. From the size and length of the sleeves she imagined it must have been Simon's. In her hand she held a slender glass full of tomato juice.

"Hello..." he said, sitting up quickly on his floor and regretting it. He lay back down. "Do I remember you?"

"I don't know, do you?" She sat down cross-legged on the floor holding out the glass. "Drink this, it has a bit of something in it. It's supposed to help."

Freddie took the glass and had a swallow, making a face. "According to who?"

"Mr. Boston.com," She pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them. "It has all the vital nutrients you need to overcome the general dehydration and withdrawal symptoms that subsist after a night of binge drinking."

"What are you, a computer?"

She cocked her head at him. "Is it that obvious?"

He smirked and sipped the terrible concoction again. "What's in this?"

"Mr. Boston advises against telling the imbiber what is in the beverage."

"You talk like a computer, I'll say that much." He passed the drink over to her and stood shakily. "So, it's Lisa, or something like that, right?"

"Eliza, actually..."

"And Simon picked you up at the White Lion?"

"No, you picked me up. Or I should say I picked you up after you read your poem in front of Henry's offices."

"Henry? Poem? I read a poem?" He walked over to the mirror to examine the red blotches under his eyes. He pulled his rumpled shirt and vest up over his head and was naked from the waist up.

"Yes, it was not a very good poem," Eliza said, rising from the floor to pick up the shirt and toss it in a hamper by the door. "But I thought it was wonderful of you to recite it."

Freddie turned around to see her staring at him, a strange look on her face. "What?"

"Nothing, you just, look so pathetic..."

"Thank you," he brushed past her through the door grabbing a towel off the doorknob. "And thank you also for the eye-opener. I'm sure you'll have no problem seeing yourself out. Have a pleasant day."

He was shocked to suddenly find her standing in front of him, blocking his way to the loo. "Your tone is quite abrasive. Have I done something wrong?"

Tugging at the collar of the oversized shirt. "Where is Simon, by the way?"

"He left earlier this morning along with Sean, they both had to get home for the Spring Holiday. They said you were staying, and that I should keep you company."

"So you slept with Simon..."

"And Sean, too. They introduced me to something called double penetration, have you ever tried that?"

Freddie shook his head. "You had a threesome?"

"Ménage à trois. Yes, it was quite pleasurable, I especially liked it when Simon was in my anus while Sean was stuffing his penis down my..."

"Ah, ho, okay, stop." Freddie put a hand on her shoulder patting it gently. "I'm sure it was fantastic, but I really don't want to hear the details. Would you mind stepping aside, please? I'd like to shower and shave and..."

"I thought guys liked hearing about when their buddies score. It's on all the discussion boards..."

"Discussion boards?" Freddie shook his head. "You're confusing Virtual Life with Real Life, baby. In RL you'll find a lot of guys like to play it close to the vest." He scratched his head. "So, Simon and Sean left you hear for me to deal with, huh?"

"Is 'deal with' some archaic American slang for 'slam'? Because that's what they said when they were leaving. "Liza, baby, you stay here so that Freddie can slam that sweet..."

Freddie put his hand over her mouth. Eliza stopped talking. Freddie took his hand away.

"Two complete strangers tell you to stick around and ball their roommate and you just roll with it?"

"Well, I have nothing better to do today, Freddie."

"Well... I..." he looked perplexed. "Well, neither have I, but that doesn't mean I'm just going to hop into bed with some skank!"

"Skank?" Eliza did a quick search with her browser and then her eyes lit up and she smacked Freddie across the face."

"Ouch! What the hell."

"I am not, quote-- a nasty ass female that sleeps with anything male for drugs, money, or popularity-- unquote!"

Freddie messaged his burning cheek. "Jesus, that hurt."

"Such is the point of the action, is it not?"

"Now you're talking like a computer again." He patted her shoulder. "Look, I'm sorry if I offended you. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings and I'm not trying to be overtly rude... although, I must admit I am doing a bad job of it... but I'm hung over, tired, dried out, and whatever was in that thing I just drank is causing a very bad taste in my mouth to get worse. So, I'm going to take a shower..."

"Can I join you?"

"I..." Freddie paused only a fraction of a second before shaking his head. "I'm not really into sloppy seconds... or thirds for that matter, so why don't you just get into your own clothes and when I get out we can go for a walk or something and just, you know, talk, huh?" He pushed her aside and went through the small door into the bath.

Eliza looked at the closed door, a puzzled look on her face, listening to the sudden burst of running water. Recalculating... She knocked on the door timidly, hearing the shower shut off and a grumbled expletive. The door opened a crack. "What!?"

"Are you saying that you don't find me... arousing?"

Freddie's expression shifted a bit as he tightened his grip on the towel he'd slung around his waist. "It's not that... I just."

"You prefer men?"

"No! I just, well, I'm not into fast women."

"Fast?"

"You know 'fast and loose,' 'free and easy,' I mean, sure your kind is good of a shag but where's the substance? I prefer liking women before I sleep with them."

"But sex isn't sleeping..."

"Don't be so literal." He ran a hand through his soapy hair. "Look, I'm being short with you, and I'm sorry, but you can't just switch off from one guy to the next and expect us to all be fine with it. Some guys are... not like that. Do you understand?"

There was a brief pause as Eliza's eyes, from Freddie's point of view, seemed to become a slightly brighter shade of blue and when she'd finished her organized search of the World Wide Web, she smiled. "You're a nice guy..."

It was almost a question, but then again there was a sort of tone to it that made Freddie suddenly feel like he'd been called the last unicorn. "I... Well, I'm just fickle, puritanical may be the right term, I'm not sure... You're standing very close."

Eliza was standing very close, looking up into the tall, thin boy's brown puppy-dog eyes. "I don't want to join you in the shower, but..." She paused, timidly.

"But?"

"Freddie, can I kiss you and have you mean it, please?"

"Huh?"

She jumped him then, pushing up on her toes and throwing her arms around his wet neck, pressing her lips to his. There were no tongues, no nibbling, no sucking or pawing, he fought it only momentarily and then his hands went from the towel at his waist to her hips and when eventually he pulled back from her, she went back down on her heels and smiled up at him. "Your towel..."

He grabbed the towel just before it fell completely away and watched the girl saunter into Simon's bedroom and shut the door soundly behind her. "What the hell is she?"



Pygmalion Ch. 04



"Where the devil have you been!?"

Henry was disheveled and antic when she breezed into the laboratory, a contemplative smile disappearing from her lips at his tone. "Out," she said, simply. "I met a boy."

"A--." Henry blinked. "What do you mean? You don't mean to tell me that you went out and..."

"I did. But I didn't meet the boy, well, officially, I suppose, would be the term, until this morning. I made him a drink and then he told me off for sleeping with both his flat mates and then the boy and I went for a walk and I came back here."

"You slept with both his flat mates!?"

"Yes, brilliant data streaming algorithms. Would you like to see the holo-record?"

Eliza pressed her thumb to a digital plate and the room was suddenly filled with the loud animalistic grunts and panting of the 3D image displayed in the center of the room. Henry ran over and took the gynoid's thumb away from the pad. "That will do, thank you."

"I'm detecting quite a bit of hostility, Henry."

"Y-you, heartless, lascivious, infernal piece of flawless nano-technological biomechanical engineering!"

"You dear sweet handsome man," she kissed his nose. "This is what is called jealousy, is it not?"

"I--" she placed a finger over his lips to prevent him from saying anything.

"Hush. I'm a self-aware, intelligent artificial life form and I will do as I please with whom I please whenever I please, if you please." She took her finger from his lips and kissed it. "If you're displeased by my demonstrations of free will, then I suggest you blame yourself."

Higgins, folded his arms over his chest and scowled at her. "You will in the future be so kind as to at least inform me when you are going to walk out in the middle of the night, I hope. You represent a very large investment of time and money..."

"...1,127 hours, £5.23 billion."

"Yes."

"And for that amount of time and money, you would think I'd be able to take care of myself, don't you, Professor?" She walked her fingertips up from his top vest button to the knot of his tie. She straightened it for him. "Are you still cross?"

"Yes."

"Would it help you to know that the sex meant nothing to me?"

"All sex, or just the sex with those two men last night and the one this morning?"

"I didn't have sex with the one this morning."

"Oh, what spared him the thrill?"

"He didn't want to." She kicked off her trainers and stood on tip-toe as she snaked a leg around Henry's, licking his earlobe with the tip of her tongue. "And not all sex, Henry. Like my creator, I'm very fond of initial experiments."

Henry's face was still very stern, but Eliza smiled to feel a growing stiffness pressing against her abdomen. "You're in a state," she smiled rubbing her nose over his."

"You're damned infuriating. I shouldn't have programmed you to be so... so..."

"...like you?"

Henry tensed as he felt the fingers at his belt buckle.

"You're very fond of doing what you want when you want, aren't you Henry Higgins? Why should I be denied the same independence?"

Henry grabbed the gynoid's hand and held it firmly in his grasp. "Beta-epsilon-omega-delta."

Eliza didn't even have time to register surprise as she straightened up to attention, her hands moving firmly to her sides. Higgins smirked as he looked into her azure eyes, turning slightly red at their centers.

"Right now your wondering why you can't move or speak," he said, running a stray strand of hair out of her face with his index finger. "Well, Eliza, I have fail-safes implanted in your programming. Now, you can hear me, I know, so I'll be brief. You have misbehaved, Eliza. I'm not angry with you so much as disappointed. I am not jealous of these boys with whom you've been playing so much as worried for their welfare. What happens if one of them come probing around for you? What happens if one or more of them become more than just physically attracted to you? Have you considered what sort of psychological damage you could cause in allowing a homo sapien male to become entangled emotionally with... with..." He waved a hand in frustration and scowled at the emotionless face, while taking a breath and contemplating its symmetrical beauty. "A lesson that you will have to learn Eliza is that you are not human. You may be a replication of humanity but you are not a reproduction. You are not made of bones and blood and flesh. You are synthetic silica and polymer made to fell like skin, you are light weight alloys and plastics. You are a doll. A fake thing. A moving, thinking, walking, talking, infernal machine! You are a... a... transistor radio with tits! End lesson. Resume normal function."

Eliza's shoulders fell forward and her head sank low. In a moment she lifted her head and there was a gentle deepening in the intensity of the blue in her eyes. "Lesson assimilated and understood, Professor Higgins. One is not real, merely a reproduction of the real. Should one retire, sir?"

"Stop referring to yourself as 'one' for Christ's sake."

"Should I retire for the evening."

"And don't use that abysmally beaten tone of voice."

"But you say that I should never be loved."

"I didn't say that at all. I simply said that you should consider the feelings of others in your actions, Eliza. Human beings, we're much more fragile than we let on. Both physically and emotionally speaking, I mean to say. We have practices, ethical and moral practices in place."

"Inhibitions, you mean."

"Very well, you may look down on us from your lofty tower, if you wish. But the point is we have them and you should be mindful. Someone could be hurt by your apparent lack of moral obligations."

"What moral obligations should I be aware of, Henry?"

"Well, one to me, I should think."

Eliza smiled. "You think you deserve some sort of, some sort of fealty, is that it?"

"Well, after all, I was independently responsible for you design, your programming. In a way you are mine. I am your creator."

"You are the Lord my God and I should have no other Gods before you, is that it?"

"Well, I wouldn't go that far. I-I'm simply asking that you don't wonder off at all hours and to all manner of places without... without telling me the particulars of who, where, and whatnot."

Eliza nodded. "You mean to monitor me, is that it?"

"Well, yes." Higgins took from his pocket a small slip of metal, no thicker or larger than a small coin, it was attached to a slender chain of silver. He put the chain around Eliza's neck and fastened the catch at the back. "You'll be kind enough to never take this off, won't you?"

"Yes, Henry."

"And you'll notice on the side," he lifted the little device to show her the edges. "The inside of it will glow green when I need you back here. I expect you to be prompt in returning, is that clear."

"Yes, Henry."

"That's a good girl."

Eliza smiled at the slight variance in Henry's voice. He would probably have tried to hide the slight break in his usually even tone had he not known it would have been in vain.

"Don't act like that, Henry. It's not like I'm leaving for Siberia. I'm just asking to go out on my own when you don't need me around."

"Well, I..." Henry smiled. "I'm afraid an emotion common to all animals is that of protectiveness. I know you're very capable. I built you that way. Still, you're my... my baby and, well... It's tough watching you grow up and branch out at such an alarming rate. Most parents don't have to deal with this sort of behavior until the children are somewhere in their early teens. You're not even two days old yet."

Eliza nuzzled in close to her creator. "I'm just a transistor with tits, Henry. You don't need to get all choked up over me."

Higgins at last unfolded his arms, putting his hands in the pocked of his lab coat and looking at the gynoid's bare feet. "So you said the young man this morning didn't sleep with you, was it because he didn't find you attractive?"

"Actually, I think his reasons were more along the moral and ethical lines of to which you earlier refered."

Higgins waited for further information.

"He said he didn't like to share."

Higgins smiled. "Sounds like a stout fellow after my own heart. Did he have a name?"

Eliza smiled, "Freddy."

"And what did you think of Freddy's rejection of you as a candidate for sexual intercourse?"

Eliza's smile became a bit more deadpan. "It was not pleasant."

"Why was it unpleasant?"

Eliza thought for a moment and then cocked her head to one side. "Because I wanted him to very much. Because I would hope that he found me attractive enough to demonstrate his attraction to me physically. Because..."

"Do you like Freddy?"

"Like? Freddy?"

"Well, let me put it this way. Describe the two partners from last night. Start with the bigger chap."

"Dark hair, brown with blue eyes. He was stocky with a bit of fat around his middle, but not an unattractive amount. I'd say he was what you might call a rugged outdoorsman type."

"Would you say his appearance was pleasing to you?"

"Well, he was, as I said, 'not unattractive'"

"And the other fellow?"

"Smaller, and very thin. He had large hands though that were very strong and his stomach was flat and their was less hair on his body." Eliza smiled.

"Something more?"

"His ejaculate had a most pleasing taste."

Higgins did his best not to balk at the statement. "And would you say you appreciated his appearance in about the same fashion as the first chap?"

Eliza nodded. "They were both fun and energetic. I'd say they were both interested in me and appreciative of my appearance. The larger man was charming, the smaller man was gentle and humorous."

"Now Freddy..."

"Tall with a thin frame that widens at the shoulders. Not muscular nor scrawny. He is lightly tanned with thick light brown unruly hair that looks downright obscene in the morning, I must admit, but nonetheless is kind of flattering to his otherwise flawless face."

"Flawless face, you say?"

"Oh, yes. It looks as if you'd designed it yourself, Henry. Dark brown eyes that have little flecks of gold in them. Thin eyebrows of neat and tidily kept size. Medium lips, straight teeth, and a jaw that is square without being comically so."

"And how would you rate his treatment of you in relation to the other chaps?"

"Horrid. Gentlemanly but nonetheless superior and dismissive. Arrogant. Prideful. And he kept calling me Lizzie. The whole time we were walking through the commons he kept this brisk straight posture and there was an expression on his face I didn't like when he said it."

"What didn't you like about it?"

"Overall he had the demeanor of someone doing something out of obligation. And when he said my name... or, when he called me "Lizzie," it was sort of like he was mocking me. I was distinctly aware of his thinking our whole liaison was some sort of practical joke. I have to say, I wouldn't have gone more than ten meters with him if it weren't for the way it had felt when I kissed him earlier."

"You kissed him?"

"Oh, yes. I nearly forced myself upon him while he was trying to take a shower."

"You barged in on him in his shower?"

"Not barged. I knocked politely. Don't interrupt, Henry."

Higgins scowled. "Go on then, let's hear about this obviously important kiss."

"He didn't know how to react at first, I felt his lips widen at first as if he were trying to say something in protest, but then I moved my hand over his stomach and I felt his at my back and the lips pressed against mine gently and as my tongue moved forward so did his and-- oh, Henry. I could have kissed him all day and all night."

"And still have begged for more?" Higgins smirked and walked over to the computer. "Well, upload the data you collected into the mainframe here and after that," he put on his glasses and looked at her through them. "After that you're free to go, Eliza. Go and track your Freddy."

"Henry," she moved over and put a hand on his shoulder. "Does it bother you when I talk of other men?"

Higgins sighed. "No, my dear." He smiled. "No more, I think, then it bothers you to be my obsessive, selfish, attempt to resurrect a lost love."

Eliza leaned against Higgins's back and let her lips kiss the nape of his neck. "Tell me something more about her? Something you haven't told me before."

Higgins felt her hand snake over his shoulder and he let his move up to hold it gently. "She loved to prove me wrong almost as much as she loved chocolate."

Eliza smiled, enjoying the feel of her breasts slightly squashing against his back in the embrace. "I doubt I'll ever love anything more than chocolate."

Higgins tapped a few keys with his free hand. "I doubt you know everything there is to know about what you will and will not love, silly girl."

*****

After they'd finished, Eliza walked into her closet and Higgin's, lingering a moment at the computer, followed cautiously.

He peeked around the door to watch her untying the ribbon at the back of her blouse and leaned his cheek against the door. "I used to watch her undress, in the evening when she would come home the first thing was to rake of the soiled clothes of the day and slip into a bubble bath."

Eliza turned and smiled, lifting the blouse up over her head slowly, then letting her hair tumbled down over her pale white shoulders and lovely breasts.

"Kissing her all over and running my hands over her legs after she'd shaved them and the smell of her hair... These are the things I miss."

"And did yesterday help?"

Higgins looked up to see Eliza slowly unzipping her jeans seductively, a genuinely curious but playful smile on her lips. "Oh, it was good," he smiled, but then he let it fade. "You aren't here though and no matter how much I try to fool myself, no matter how perfect a facsimile I make you, you will never be her."

"I'm sorry, Henry."

Higgins shook his head. "Don't be. You're still a terrific shag, Eliza."

She peeled the jeans down around her buttocks and thighs and on down over her claves and thin ankles. When she stepped out of them, it was a graceful movement. She gathered her hair back and then over one shoulder. She stepped close to him, and ran her hand over his tie. "I was programmed by the best."

She leaned in and kissed him on his soft warm lips and then the hot sting and the loud slap jarred her, along with the registering of the burn on her left buttock. She let out a gasp and clutched against Henry doing her best to understand what he'd just done. Then she felt his hand move away and the slight rush of the air before the same loud smack and the pain. She leaned heavily against him only a moment and then clutched his shoulder with her hand. "W-Why did you..."

"So you'll remember to never leave without telling me where you're going." Higgins cradled her bum gently, letting his fingers slide around and underneath. "Promise me."

"I promise," she sighed, feeling his fingers trace against her anus and then over her labia. "Oh, I promise."

"Good," He said, "Or I'll have to spank you again."

Eliza moaned as the pain subsided and was replaced by the wonderful feel of his index finger working into her opening, "We wouldn't want that," she said burying her flushed face against patch of lab coat over his shoulder. "Would we?" She smiled as they moved together into the closet and shut the door.