"A Real Boy"

It's taken a long time, but I've figured out how to manipulate the thoughts a bit from here in the background.

I can't hear things, not while It is awake and in control, but I have got a lot better at lip reading. I give it a little nudge so it goes where it can see faces. That means I can see them, too. That helps.

The other thing I do is look at memories. I mean, memories of things that have just happened. I can't hear my daughters playing in another room, but the memory is right there, so I can get at that. It means I'm living a second or more behind everyone else, but at least I'm in the loop.

I have to be careful, because I don't want It to realise I'm here, and what I'm thinking. That probably makes makes me a coward, but whatever. Playing a long game here.

I've noticed Nona gets really pissed off at it any time it acts too much like a robot. She likes it best when it's almost completely human, except for how obedient it is. I think she might be a narcissist.

I've been experimenting with what I can do, and how much, and I do this while it's powered down. It surrenders some control then. While it's "asleep". It reports these things to Nona in the morning. You could nearly believe it really is confused and concerned. She's so tender, then. In those moments. The daft witch thinks it's dreams, or a magnesium deficiency. Human things. She thinks it's proof that her precious bot is becoming more real. Ha! Nope.

It's me, bitch!

The other side of it is this: Any time it starts parroting shite, she rolls her eyes and tells it to shut up or piss off. Some sentences it falls back on are a dead giveaway, and when that happens, all her affection disappears. Like that. (You'll have to imagine me snapping my fingers.)

She says, oh for God's sakes! The sweet requests stop. It's no more, "Darling could you just vaccuum the roof when you're done ironing my great Aunt's doilies? And then maybe do a hundred sit ups and scrape all that black fudge off the oven? Please?"

Instead, she snaps, "Shut the fuck up and get two hundred cookies ready for the food festival on Saturday. I'm going to bed. Don't disturb me. Oh and order some more batteries, would you?"

The daft thing didn't set a timer, because it's a computer, isn't it? It's got a clock built in. Or it's meant to. I'm not sure how I did it, but I messed with the clock, and he burned them all. She was so mad! It was hilarious. She cried! I wonder what her friends would think if they could see her like that. They all think she's so wonderful, and she laps it up. Truth is, she was never very interesting. Before, you know. Plain. Boring.

Anyway, that was her gig at the food Festival ruined. Which was funny, but it also meant she didn't trust the computer so much. That could work in my favour... or not. I'd have to be careful. Think it through. Let's face it: I've got nothing else to do except think.

Another time, I interfered when they were having sex. I think it might have been my best moment.

The last couple of times before that, she'd just used it to get herself off, and then rolled over and went to sleep. Like it didn't even matter if my old pal got his or not.

It couldn't very well sort things out by hand, not with her insisting on sleeping with its arms around her. Physically, things were a bit backed up is what I'm saying.

Now, this bot is forbidden from looking at pornography. But I've seen it. All I needed to do was push those memories to the front and...

Well, things went off with a bang. Things had hardly got started, and I slammed our brain with the most graphic stuff I could remember.

We seemed to freeze up, and his eyes must have twitched and rolled back because my vision went weird, and then black.

She was angry, and it was even funnier this time, because she was naked. Dripping, too. She grabbed one of my t-shirts to clean herself up with.

I should have been mad but I was too busy laughing. It took me a second to realise it was laughing, as well. Head back, holding my stomach, tears leaking from my eyes... We laughed and laughed. Right in her face. Of course it made her madder. She flew at us, still nude, breasts wobbling, eyes flashing, hands like claws... I thought she was going to kill us. I didn't even care.

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Thank you for reading!