There was a taste in his mouth. A strange taste, not as metallic as you'd think, but certainly not natural. It was a synthetic quality that I have to admit aroused me. His lips and skin felt smooth and warm, but were lacking the subtle imperfections people have. It was like kissing a perfect man.

I was surprised when he did kiss me, having just arrived from the factory without any real orientation period. I was showing him the dining room when he leaned in and touched his lips to mine. I accepted this affectionate gesture with wide-eyed shock, but I noticed his eyes were closed, almost demurely, like he was an experienced lover who knew and trusted in what he wanted. When he finally pulled away, I was a little short on breath and probably blushing.

"Did I offend you?" he asked. The synthesized voice was growing on me. It had a surprisingly laconic quality, the kind a guy could fall in love with.

"No, no I was just surprised. Let's continue the tour." He nodded, and we headed upstairs. I felt my heart race knowing my ultimate fantasy would soon be realized.

When I ordered him from the manufacturer, they made quite a few promises I was skeptical of. Being the first artificial intelligence designed for male same-sex companionship, there were certain attributes you could probably predict: fit body, short-cropped hair, large endowment. But it was the other characteristics that surprised me: gourmet cooking skills, expert masseuse, aromatherapy specialist. It all seemed like trumped-up marketing to me. I certainly wasn't expecting any kind of personality, but I'd secretly hoped for one.

Even as a kid, I'd always fantasized about a robot lover. An artificial lover would be predictable, I reasoned, and would never leave me for petty reasons. And the erotic possibilities! The stamina he could have, taking my body to levels I'd never experienced with a human male. I had to wait until I was twenty-four for my wish to happen, but now I was with him, and we were walking into my bedroom.

"What do you wish to designate me?" he asked in his humming voice.

"Um, what do you mean?"

"My name. Have you considered a name for me?"

"Oh. I… hadn't given it much thought. Is there a name you would like to be called?"

"Trine. It was my founder's name for me. However, I can assume any designation you wish."

"Then… that's what it will be."

We were standing right outside my bedroom. I leaned back against my doorframe, drinking in his form. He was tall, taller than me at least, and had steadied, mellowing brown eyes. His hair was dark and curly, and his long neck made him look younger than the twenty two-year-old he was designed to be. He looked about seventeen to me.

"Do I please you?" he asked.

"What? Yes, oh yes! Come," I said, taking his soft hand, "Let me show you the bed."

I sat down on the edge of my mattress, already hard. He lowered himself to his knees, and started kissing me again. I was more aggressive this time, pulling off the black sweater he was wearing, him obliging by raising his lithe arms. I touched his back, lightly at first, but found its smoothness intoxicating. I couldn't stop touching him.

He began to moan when I finally grabbed his crotch. Soon, he was unbuckling his slacks, and was on top of me, grinding into me against my belly. I went down and tasted him. He had a pubic odor, strangely human, and it occurred to me that somehow he must sweat like people do. I took as much of him in as I could, and he cried out, "Oh, yeah!" Soon I positioned us to sixty nine. He could take every inch of me in, unlike any guy ever could before, and I was in heaven. Then, just as I was licking his smooth head, he shot his wad, all down my belly. I tasted it; sweet, like honey. "Nice touch," I thought. Soon he was taking my load, gulping it down as I fiercely pumped every last drop into him.

"Did I please you?" he soon asked, his lips wet.

"Very much so," I said, licking my fingers. "Perhaps we can do that again later." I leaned over and kissed him, our tongues mingling.

"I'm available at a moment's notice," he said. He was already hard again, and I think it was at that moment that I realized he was not a human being. My surprised look must have signaled something, for he began to get soft immediately. "Come," he said, "I will cook for us."

After an amazing breakfast, I said goodbye and left for work, confident he'd be just fine in the place all by himself. I told everybody at the office that I'd be orienting my new cyborg partner, and they seemed pleased to hear that I was settling down, even if it was with just an artificial. Of course, lots of my straight coworkers had synthetic partners, some in addition to their human spouses. I just found Trine to be the perfect mate, very quickly, in fact. I wanted to know even more about him, so I did a data search on him, digging a little deeper than I did when I first ordered him.

I soon found his designer, Jeremy Simon, and took a look at his personal site. Out of curiosity, I peeked to see a photo of him, and have to admit I was surprised. That old cliché's from sci-fi, Trine was the splitting image of him. Jeremy looked slightly older in the photo, which was still pretty young. It made me realize something I'd gone on and on about with my friends when I decided to do this, that I may age and grow wrinkled and senile, but my artificial lover will always be youthful and adoring. Somehow, though, I found this less comforting looking at Jeremy's graceful face. It felt like I was avoiding something by choosing a non-human to love.

I set this thought aside, and focused on my work. Too much goofing off anyway, I chided. After a long, anxious day at work, I raced home, and Trine and I repeated our sex three times that night. I was exhausted, but somehow knowing he could continue made me all the more aroused. In between, we talked about literature, he asking all kinds of questions of me, before I fell asleep. He just lay beside me, going into sleep mode. I woke up holding him. He and I screwed around once more that morning, his member ever ready to go. This time, I refrained, and pleasured in watching him climax. I left for work, but not before a lengthy good-bye kiss.

My workday went by quickly, but I found myself leaving a little earlier than usual and driving to the Simon Design Center. My curiosity got the better of me, I suppose, as I walked into the lobby and took a look around. There was Trine, greeting me behind a handsome marble reception desk.

"Can I help you?" he said in his same humming voice I'd grown so found of.

"Oh." I wasn't sure what I wanted, but I found myself asking the question, "Is Mr. Simon in?"

"Mr. Simon is in a conference. Do you have an appointment?" This Trine spoke a little smugly, like he knew full well that I didn't have an appointment. So they're not all alike, I concluded.

"No, I'm just a happy customer stopping by to meet the father, so to speak."

"I will inform him of your presence. Mister…?"

"Haven. Samuel Haven."

"Mister Haven. Wait here in the lobby. We have ample literature for you to browse through."

I watched him walk toward the back offices, and noted his effeminate steps. "Definitely not my Trine," I whispered to myself.

I was reading about the hydraulics of the synthetic's circulatory system when a soft male voice caught my attention. I turned, and suspected that it must be Jeremy Simon. A young curly-headed man who matched the photo I'd looked at earlier was talking to the receptionist.

"Hi! Sam, is it?" He approached and I shook his hand. His strong grip surprised me, but I was more taken by his face. It lacked the perfectness of his creations, yet somehow I could stop looking into his eyes.

"Hi, yes, Samuel Haven. You must be the big guy."

"I'm Jeremy. Yeah, I guess you could say that. I take it you're one of our 2X-3000 customers?" Jeremy seemed to have a hopeful look on his face when he asked me this.

"Yes, a proud owner, or partner, I should say. It sounds so enslaving to say owner."

"Well, you'd be surprised how many straight people are into calling them that sort of thing. I just design them, though, I don't judge."

"Yes, we'll I just wanted to let you know how pleased I am. I was told I was one of the first 2X customers, and so far I couldn't be happier with Trine."

"Trine?"

"Yes, that's what we decided to designate him. He said that was his name before coming to me."

"Trine. Yes. Well, I'm glad you're happy with him." We paused awkwardly, and both looked over at the reception synth as he typed away behind his desk.

"So, do you have a model yourself?" I asked.

"Me? Oh, no," Jeremy said, laughing a little. "I'm not that into the whole make-love-to-yourself thing. That's another guy's trip."

"Huh. So why not make another model, one that doesn't resemble the designer?"

"You mean one cute like you?"

My eyes opened a little wider, and I couldn't help smiling. "I dunno," I said.

"Actually, designing these guys is just a day job for me. I work with my own form because I know it intimately, and I can readily duplicate anatomy without paying enormous royalty fees to another model. It was really the only way to get investors. I just made some enhancements here and there, and will continue to do so. But really, I'm into human contact."

Jeremy turned to look back toward his office, and his hand brushed against mine. I felt a tingling all over. "I'm afraid I'm not so good at it, human contact I mean," I said. I looked at the floor, embarrassed.

"Hey, every combination is different. You never know until you try." Jeremy reached into his pocket and gave me his card, and I returned the favor. "Give me a call. Or stop by any time. Maybe we could go out." I took the card and thanked him for the invitation before I departed.

"You are 47 minutes beyond your accustomed time of arrival. Why are you late?" Trine was waiting for me in the hallway, making his inquiry as I closed the front door.

"I had some business to attend to." I looked at him. How long had he been standing there like that?

"I called your office. You weren't available."

"What? Why did you call? I was in a meeting, Trine."

"I will accept your explanation. Please accept my apologies for intruding into your personal workspace with my call."

"Uh, yeah, okay. Shall we have some food? I'm starving." Trine prepared another wonderful meal in record time, and we did it again that night, only once though, but I did manage to make it last. I decided to try entering him, and found the sensation delicious. He could contract at will, making the pleasure unreal. After we'd finished, I said goodnight and went to sleep, or tried to. Something was bothering me. I couldn't stop thinking about Jeremy. I kept wondering what it would be like to enter him, to eat a meal he'd prepared, to prepare a meal for him, to touch his face, or just have a conversation like we'd had earlier. After thinking about this endlessly, I finally fell asleep.

I was sitting in my cubicle at work thinking about how behind I was getting, when I got the call. I snapped up the view screen. It was him. "Hey, Jeremy!" I wondered if the enthusiasm on my face betrayed my prior ambivalence toward him.

"Listen, Sam. I've been thinking about you a lot, and I was wondering if you might like to swing by. I could give you a full tour of the manufacturing sector, and we could… talk some more."

"Okay, that'd be great. I'd like that a lot."

"Great. Can you come by at noon today, maybe take a long lunch?"

"Yeah, I can do that, I think. Sure." Noon came by at a crawl, which was good because I managed to get the work I needed to complete done, and begged my reluctant office mates to pick up the slack until I came back.

Jeremy was waiting for me in the lobby when I walked in. He led me into a deserted back office, and he closed the door. I sat on the edge of a cedar-wood desk, and he walked toward me. "Nice to see you again."

"Likewise," I said. My heart was racing, my hands shaking. He stepped closer.

"I was really surprised how young you were. Our customers were expected to be old gentlemen. You aren't the demographic we were targeting. Not that I'm complaining."

"I'm not a typical guy, I guess."

"No." Jeremy reached out and took my hand in his. I leaned closer to him, and we kissed. I found his taste infused with life. I embraced him, and he quickly yanked off his shirt.

"Are we okay in here? I mean…"

"I locked it. It's private." I kissed him again, working my way down his smooth chest. His body was young like Trine's, only I could smell his sweat, his humanness. I found myself drinking him in as I licked his belly and unbuckled his pants. He pulled me back up, and tugged my shirt off. Our chests rubbed together, exhilarating every inch of me. I kissed his neck, and felt his fingers work my pants down to my ankles. He reached down and grabbed me. I gasped.

I got down on my knees and took him in. He was impressive, not like Trine, but curved and eager. I worked and sucked, feeling his desire as he pumped hard into the back of my throat. He turned around and leaned against the desk. I licked the base of his shaft and pulled his balls into my mouth as he jerked himself. I spread his legs wider, and he rolled back on the desk, showing me his eager hole. I buried my face into sweet, iridescent skin, licking every inch of it, inserting my tongue in as far as it could go. He pulled me back up and kissed my face, his tongue exploring my mouth. He finally pulled away and took me in his mouth, expertly working and sucking rhythmically, anticipating my climax. Then, just as he took my balls in his mouth, I came, ropes of hot jizz covering his muscular back. He followed suit with big, hot squirts all over my chest. We kissed for a long time afterward before he finally spoke.

"Nothing like the real thing, huh?" he said.

"Real thing?"

"You know, with a man, not a machine."

"Oh, right." I thought about Trine for a moment, surprised that I was feeling guilty. How could I cheat on a machine? I reminded myself.

I never did make it back to work, and by the time I got home, there was Trine, waiting outside this time. As I approached the front steps, I asked, "What are you doing?"

"Waiting for you!" His shouting surprised me. I took a step back.

"But I'm not even late today. What's this about?"

"Perhaps I should be asking you the same thing." There was a freakish wideness to his eyes.

"Let's… let's go inside and talk about this."

"Fine. Let's." I followed him in, not sure what to make of this strange display. We walked into the kitchen and stood around the marble countertop. "Where were you after you left for lunch today?"

"You called my office again? I thought…"

"I sensed something amiss! Don't you have any respect for my abilities?"

"Your abilities?"

"Please! I can smell him on you. Did you think my heightened olfactory sensors wouldn't detect your afternoon romp?"

"I-I don't…

"Shut up! How dare you violate me. How dare you!" Trine raised his fist, plummeting it down on the counter and crushing the marble beneath with a single strike.

"Oh my God! What the hell are you…"

"Silence! I'm the one who's been violated. I'm not just a sex toy you can dirty at your discretion. I'm a model synthetic, infused with loyalty and commitment subroutines. You cannot deny what you've done!"

"Okay, okay, stop shouting! And don't destroy anything else." I started trembling. I had to get out of there, but I knew he'd catch me no matter what I did. I tried to remember the user's manual saying something about an emergency shut off, but my mind went blank with terror. "Let's just, just talk, okay?" my voice cracked. "Let's just have a seat right here, in the dining room, okay? And talk." I quickly sat.

Slowly, reluctantly, Trine approached the table, pulled out a chair, and neatly sat himself at the table. "I'm just so upset," he said, liquid running from his eyes. "How could you betray me like this?"

"I… I'm sorry. I wasn't aware that you'd react this way."

"It's probably all my fault, anyway," Trine replied glumly. "Perhaps I've been too accommodating. Too easy for you, and less of a challenge. Men like a challenge. Anyway, I know who it is. It's Father. You made love to Father today."

"I… suppose I did."

"Suppose?" Trine began to get agitated again. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I only meant that you would consider him a father, that's all I was saying."

"Don't you still find me attractive?" he asked in a soft, humming voice.

"Of course Trine, of course."

"Then make love to me, then. Prove your love."

"Oh. I…" Trine stood and tugged his pants down, his huge erection springing out. He sat on the table, and turned to face me.

"Please?" he said.

I was afraid if I hesitated any more, he might break something else, so I took him into my mouth. He began to moan softly as I worked his shaft and sucked his head. Then, just as I'd begun licking his balls in earnest, he climbed off the table and pulled me up to my feet like I was a small child. He unbuckled my pants. "Time to teach Junior a lesson," he said.

"Trine, what?" I was only semi-hard, but I began to shrink in fear. He turned me around and bent me over the table. "Hey, um, I'm not sure I can take you, I mean…"

"Shut up, boy! Give me your ass!" I suddenly felt his tongue darting all over my hole, stabbing deep into me. I couldn't help myself; I began to get hard again.

"Yeah, you like that don't you," Trine growled. "Now, it's time."

"Don't!" I begged. He held me down with one hand as I felt him position himself.

He was surprisingly gentle at first, his huge head going in a millimeter at a time, giving me a chance to take him. Then, ever so slowly he began thrusting, each time increasing in intensity and depth. It was painful and intense, but I was surprised how erect I'd become.

I moaned involuntarily as he continued his pumping, and soon he was all the way. He crawled up on top of me and gripped the edges of the table, pushing harder and harder. I couldn't breathe.

"Oh, God!" I cried.

"Yeah, you take it. Your God wants you too."

The sensation of his pushing while I slid against the smooth wood table was too much, and I felt myself coming under my belly. Trine must have sensed this, for he pulled out and rolled me over. He put his hand behind my neck and pulled my face to his waiting member. He sprayed his hot, thick liquid all over my face and lips. I gasped.

"Oh God."

"Perhaps I am your god now, boy," Trine said. I looked up at him, helpless. He was grinning now, his eyes smug and squinted.

I made an excuse to get cleaned up, and sat in the bathroom, sore from the sex. I hugged myself. What was I going to do?

The next morning at work, I thought about how Trine acted like nothing was amiss. It was as if nothing had even happened, except an unfortunate "accident" with the kitchen countertop. He'd even made an appointment for a repairman to make an estimate.

I felt numb and afraid. I was thrilled by the sex, but frightened by his violence. I needed to talk to someone, and there was really only one person I could talk to.

"Do you have an appointment?" I became quickly irritated with Jeremy's reception synth.

"Just tell him Sam is here," I snapped. The synth rose from his desk and curtly turned and walked toward the back offices.

I fidgeted with some brochures. "Make the man of your dreams yours today!" declared one. "The ultimate lover, now and forever," stated another. I felt nauseous, and just wanted Jeremy to hold me.

"Sam, hey, what's going on?" Jeremy appeared, and I indicated a desire to be alone, and he led me back to the room where we'd made love the day before. Once he closed the door, I sat down.

"You look a wreck," he said, concerned. "What's the matter?"

"I, I don't know where to begin. Look, it's my synth, Trine. He's acting… strange. Jealous. Jealous of you."

Jeremy's eyes widened, a little bit like how Trine's did when he freaked out yesterday. I started to get a flashback, which also made me a little aroused. "Oh, God," I said, burying my face in my hands.

"I see," Jeremy finally said. "And how does this make you feel?"

"Feel? Well, I… Look, Jeremy, I don't… I don't want the synth anymore. I want to be with you. I really like you, and I want us to be together. All I want is to have a human lover. Do you feel the same about me?"

Jeremy smiled, a strange, broad smile, like a proud man. "I couldn't be happier. You've really impressed me, Samuel."

"What? What do you mean?" I was dumbfounded.

"You've exceeded all of our expectations. Even with the additional programming, to make you attracted to the kind of sex the synth could offer."

I felt chills at his words. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about how proud I am of you. We built you, Sam. You're a machine, like Trine, only you are a very special synth that's going to sell 100,000 units overnight. The investors will be so happy."

"Stop it, this isn't funny! Please, I have a family, I was raised in Ohio, I have a sister, a brother, a high school diploma. A job, for God's sake! What are you trying to pull?"

"All programmed. All your memories are built in. We were trying to create a synth that didn't realize he wasn't human. At first, you displayed a profound affection for your fellow synth's, especially the Trine model. So we created this test, and you've passed."

"This is crazy!" I cried.

"Sam, you're getting agitated. Don't you think it's time you go to sleep?" Jeremy began to shush me, and whisper some kind of gibberish, words and numbers. The room began to get dark.

"What's happening?" I asked, feeling suddenly weak. "Please, what? I'm afraid…"

"Shh," Jeremy said, very softly. My vision decreased. All I could see was his face, smiling down on me.

"But I love you," I said. I felt his fingers touch my lips, and he kissed my cheek.

"You'll be fine," he said, the sound of his voice fading like an echo. "You'll be just fine."

My name is Samuel. I live in an apartment with Ricky. He's my husband. I cook for him, and keep the house up. I'm very happy, especially when he tells me he loves me. I vacuumed today, and watched a soap opera about synths in love. It reminded me of a funny dream I once had, about having to choose between a synth boy and a real human. I told Ricky about it, and he just laughed. I don't care for synths; I like a real man. That's my Ricky—a real man.

 

©2003 Jim Schutte - Contributor's Bio