The Imitators (Major edit: 5/23/2018)
By Alvin Atwater451Please respect copyright.PENANAUrLW8bWvzs
Year 4000…
I looked at my savings account once again before shrugging. Only five thousand dollars left before I could buy my own imitator. Not really. My friends often urged me to join their weirdo ways and cast out the real woman. I honestly just wanted to be left alone, desiring neither. After a shitty breakup, the last thing I needed was some happy-go-lucky anime girl attempting to cheer me up. Just let me stay miserable dammit. Some people like it when the sun’s not shining. I closed the hologram that sprouted up from my phone and sighed. The hologram projection on my wall played the current news. Women were protesting the ban of imitators, many of them tired of having kids through sperm banks or getting told that the male imitators will be ready in a year. The company responsible hadn’t pushed on that promise due to the extremely low demand for them. No point of wasting resources if almost every woman in the world wanted them banned.
I shook my head. Imitators have been around for six years now. At least the female version. This whole ordeal was simply a crazy Japanese idea for years until several rich billionaires invested millions into the project. Soon, anime girls were all over the place. Yes, imitators were real-life 3D anime girls…Or the most advanced androids possible, complete with their own super-advanced artificial brain and so on. They have something that mimics independent thought and emotions, which means if they wanted to, the anime girls could live on their own. Many scientists, engineers, and conspiracy theorists have speculated quantum computing but the Japanese company Kawii-tech refuses to release any information. So yeah, imitators. Special androids with special skin and artificial things to copy humans as much as possible, until we get to the anime-girl appearance. Kawii-tech refuses to make them look realistic. And as much as I want to deny it, biology refuses—the imitators, well anime girls in general, looked way better than real women. Their designers demanded it. Just when we went one thousand years without objectifying women, Kawii-tech unleashed something this daring.
Okay, enough thoughts and exposition. I’ve got to get to work or I’ll be late. I tried not to think of how the president granted the imitators equal rights, as I dashed downstairs. What is this world coming to?
My house automatically shut off all lights, locked the door, and activated the micro security cameras around it. Before you jump the gun into thinking I’m some kind of rich guy, I’m not. Just another salary earner. The government mandated security for every household and even paid for it all. With the security so advanced, if a criminal so as much as think of trying anything, ZAP, stun, and then one of the drones that patrol the city would fly down and pick him up. Automatic-arrest has brought crime rate to zero. The drone automatically downloads all security footage in the area and to make sure no mistakes were made; a quick scan is passed to a database of common and odd criminal behavior. If guilty, the criminal party gets their ass booted to a labor prison. Whether mining or assembly, they’d be paying for their own prison time, costing taxpayers nothing. It’s rumored that special imitators pay weekly visits there.
Anyway, I hopped in my car and put on my seatbelt. A second later after auto-starting, it drove me to work.
An imitator by the name of Maki greeted me as I stepped in my office. I nodded, still disturbed by them. If that Japanese company wanted, they could make the appearance one hundred percent human-like and we’d NEVER tell the difference. I sat at my desk. She sat nearby, ready to do personal assistant jobs at will. Being the youngest person—just twenty-three—to ever gain the promotion as department head, the boss insisted that I have the personal assistant.
“Derek, have you finished the boss’s report number four,” Maki said as she walked over. Her boobs pushed against my face. The imitator did this every time. At first, she blushed and apologized, but after half a year, this became routine. The anime girl believed she could brownnose me with her body. I don’t know if I should be surprised that the government allowed this kind of sexist behavior… but the thing is, she did it of her own will. No different from when a human wanted to be manipulative. I made sure to keep it professional between us—as much as possible. Didn’t need an imitator trying to slut favors out of me. It’s weird.
“Did it last night,” I said, moving a little away from Maki. “You know this.” She smirked, but pretended to not notice. She’s been extra active ever since my breakup. The imitator placed a hand on my shoulder. The warmth is disturbing, perfectly mimicking human temperatures, heartbeats, among other things. “Do you have any requests for me, department head.”
“Yeah, you can have a seat, chill out, relax. This is going to be an easy day.” That was the truth. I finished processing any special orders, programmed all applications that the lower guys couldn’t handle, and approved or rejected client requests. I couldn’t help it—I needed some way to cope with the breakup. Especially since I was the one who did the breaking up. But I won’t waste your time with the details. You’re not reading my file for that.
The anime girl did a pouty face and then sat on my lap. “Maki,” I said in an emotionless nonchalant voice. “What the hell are you doing?”
“You said take a seat,” she said, smirk returning to her face. “Well, I’m taking one.”
“Look, I don’t want the boss to call me in for fraternization, so get off.”
The imitator simply grinned. “You say that but a certain organ in your body disagrees.”
I pushed her off, checked to see if anyone saw that—didn’t want to be demoted because of the imitator—and then sighed.
“No goofing around or the boss will have both of our asses,” I said.
“You can have mine,” Maki said then laughed. “I’m kidding, department head.”
“I’m going to get a drink,” I told the purple-haired secretary and then strolled off down the hall, toward the breakroom. I caught a glimpse of Miku on a hologram TV, a once vocaloid aka anime idol, now made into an imitator, singing some pop song. It still baffled me that the persona was a couple thousand years old—first created in the year 2007. A few imitators were sitting at the table, listening to the song, some enjoying it, others indifferent. Damn, they were beyond life-like, forming a truly artificial opinion. Someone needed to investigate Kawii-tech.
Anyway, I grabbed myself a Health Plus but Awesome Taste (HPAT) soda, opened it, and took a sip. Yeah… a good old reminder of the mandatory health regulation set by the department of labor. It’s a borrowed idea from ancient Japan. So…fat people didn’t exist unless they’re really rich or jobless and lazy. No one wanted to be called out—not to mention that the government practically pours jobs in the tech industry on people.
The vending machine automatically deducted credits from my bank account just by scanning my DNA. I headed back to my office, preparing for round two with my seductive imitator personal assistant. No one appeared to be inside when I walked in. That’s when the door closed behind me with a click signaling a lock, the automatic blinds shut, and the lights dimmed. Maki whispered in my ear.
“The boss is gone for the day, the other employees are two floors below, and no one is allowed to disturb you. They have been notified that you’re handling important matters.” My eyes widened. Did this fucking android set this all up? Why is this imitator in so much heat? Real women wouldn’t do this, obviously. I felt softness on my back then a hand did a reach around. “I want you. Wanted you ever since I was assigned to be your personal assistant.”
Dude, I am not about to have sex with a robot. Isn’t this the equivalent of doing it with a sex toy. No… I shouldn’t think messed up thoughts like that. They have independent thoughts, needs and wants, a system where they could feel, have senses, and experience pleasure. Imitators to the core. Still, this wasn’t happening...but what would it be like if I tried it? Some of my friends bragged that sex with an imitator is unlike anything you’d experienced before. They amplify the pleasure, greatly. I suppose that’s why we’re in this situation. Women want them gone and some men fought to get them equal rights. Yeah, twisted world, right? A massage snapped me out of the daze. Maki pushed me onto the office chair. She straddled and began an assault of kisses that caught me off guard. “You know you want me.”
The turbo boner is what made me realize that I wasn’t ready to let technology completely poison me yet…right? I tried to move Maki to the side, but she fought back this time.
“Maki, what are you doing?” My voice was nonchalant. It’s not like I’m in danger or anything. But sex with an android…I don’t think so.
“I want you—and you need to start being honest with yourself. Your body sure is.” The imitator reached toward my zipper.
Once again, dude, I am not about to have sex with artificial intelligence. A fucking robot. I caught the hand. She switched to kisses and attempted to unbutton my shirt.
“Well aren’t you a horny one—look, I’m not—”451Please respect copyright.PENANAzzz5f2XhQK
A kiss ended my resistant words. Then…I stopped resisting all together. Maki seemed happier and grew wilder. Like holy shit—a tongue slipped into my mouth and massaged mine. At first, I wondered if there was an off button to these things, but came back to my senses. You can’t go around turning off people right, so why should it be different for them? Still, did the boss set this up? No. Maki worked here longer than me. Ironically, senior coworkers told me this imitator had no interest in humans until I came around. And the clever droid must’ve been ecstatic when I broke up with my bitch of an EX.
I felt control slipping. So what if I did it with an android. No one would know, right? Well, except Maki. Fuck it. Maki seemed to feel my resolve because she pulled off her shirt, wild look in her eyes. She was just getting to unzipping her skirt when my phone rang.
I set it on Legacy mode so that the hologram wouldn’t project. The last thing I needed was the boss to see everything.
“Derek here,” I said.
“Legacy mode? You’re more old school than me. Anyway, you’ve done a great job and made our latest client happy. She’s a huge customer. Close out of your station for today and get down to the Liberty Building asap. She wants to meet you personally. Tell your personal assistant’s she off for the rest of the day. That woman works very well under you.” He hung up before I could say anything, leaving my mouth agape. Maki took that time to stick her tongue in, resuming the kisses.
“Stop, stop, stop,” I said, pulling away. “I’ve got to go. The boss is expecting me.”
Maki frowned. “Let’s make him wait. I told you, I want you and I’m not letting you leave until I have you.”
“Yeah, no,” I said. “I’m not ready to get fired yet.”
I tried to move her to the side again, but she still fought. My hand accidently slipped into a grip full of panties. Woops—you see that’s what happens…holy shit they were wet. Kawii-tech went this far.
“Let’s make him wait,” she said softly, her voice final.
I didn’t object. She was a woman…with needs? At least as close as an anime-chick could be. Somehow no one interrupted the entire half-hour.
451Please respect copyright.PENANAnMxxlYzSrQ
After that, we quickly cleaned up and then I headed to see the boss. The client had left on short notice, so the boss ended up giving me the rest of the day off. He tried to call, but for some reason my phone didn’t receive it.
When I arrived home that night, Maki was waiting in front of my door. I frowned. The imitator appeared to want more than a one-time shack-up. Goddammit, I needed to deescalate this before it got bigger.
451Please respect copyright.PENANARrrQ3ZAcK5
To be continued in story 2….