I was really looking forward to seeing the new Julia. How true would the replica be to reality? I wondered. Would the Models Unlimited version of her be a disappointment or an improvement? And would it be possible to feel any kind of love for a machine only because she was going to resemble Julia? Would that love of illusion also be blind?

  I stopped asking questions. All I could do was to wait. Those two weeks passed slowly. I was in a state of uncontrolled excitement. Once in a while a representative of Models Unlimited phoned me to find out more about certain aspects of my dream woman. I was assured that the model that was being assembled for me would be as close to the image of the woman on the photo as possible. The only difference I might see would be an improvement on the real woman.

  The doorbell rang exactly two weeks after I had placed the order. It was a Friday afternoon. I was unable to wait a second longer and rushed to the door. I opened it. Julia stood there in front of me, just the way I remembered her. I was so shocked that I took a few steps back. The new Julia just stood there smiling. It was unbelievable. Replica Julia looked more like Julia than the real Julia did. She was just a little bit younger and prettier.

  'I am Julia,' she said and kissed me on the mouth.

  I introduced myself and invited her in.

  'Make yourself at home,' I said. 'Excuse me for a moment, I must make a phone call.'

  Julia walked outside and sat down next to the swimming pool under a beach umbrella. While I stared in amazement at her I phoned Models Unlimited.

  'Hi Chloe,' I said when she answered. 'I just wanted to make sure if my delivery was dispatched today.'

  'Yes, according to my records she was already delivered. Haven’t you received her yet?'

  'Yes, I have.'

  'Is there a problem with your order?'

  'Are you sure she's a machine? She looks so real.'

  'So you are impressed?'

  'More than I can possibly express in words.'

  'I'm glad that we could have been of service to you. Remember that you can reach us at any time on our toll-free helpline. Now enjoy your new Julia.'

  I went outside to join Julia next to the glittering water. While I approached her I noticed how beautiful she looked. She was perfect, without the blemishes of a real woman. I silently thanked Doc for telling me about Models Unlimited.

  Although I could barely wait to see what she looked like underneath her clothes I wanted to test her intellectual abilities first. If I was really able to communicate intelligently with her I would consider myself as the luckiest man alive.

  'Do you want to drink something, Julia?'

  'That would be nice. What do you have to offer?'

  'Everything. What do you like?'

  'White wine.'

  Just like Julia, I thought.

  We started talking after I had poured a glass of wine for both of us. It impressed me that she was able to answer every question about books, movies, even music. She shared book and movie reviews with me that I had never heard of before. The way in which she did it was very realistic. I knew the information she used was stored somewhere in her computer brain, but she didn’t recite it. She spoke like a real woman, very natural. I had to remind myself repeatedly that she was actually a machine.

  Every time after I had asked a question she thought about it first, as if she was busy formulating her answer. Even while she discussed a movie she occasionally stopped to breathe before she continued. And her vocabulary was more extended than that of most people I knew.

  The bottle of white wine didn’t last long. Heat was one of the reasons. Excitement was another. I drank quickly in order to calm down. I still found it too unreal to be having an intelligent conversation with something that resembled a human woman but who wasn’t really a real person. I had to admit that although it was bizarre, I enjoyed the interaction between us more than most past dates with real women. There were never uncomfortable moments of silence. When I didn’t find a new topic to talk about, Julia did. She seemed to be really interested in what I was saying.

  I couldn’t get enough of looking at her. She was a very faithful reproduction of Julia. No, she was an improvement. She smiled easier, unforced. Without a doubt she was also more attractive than the old Julia. There was a quality of dreamlike beauty in her face, her voice, her body and in the way she moved. She was sensual and I read promises of excitement in her dark eyes.

  'Do you want to swim?' I said after taking the last sip of wine. I hoped that it would relax me and clear my head from the confusion that ruled there.

  'I would love to. It is hot today.'

  Although she spoke about the heat I couldn’t see any sweat on her forehead. She must have a built-in thermometer, I thought.

  'Do you mind if I swim naked? I forgot to bring a bikini,' she said and smiled seductively at me.

  'No, not at all.'

  She started unbuttoning the red buttons of her white blouse. She did it unhurriedly, as if time didn’t exist for her. When the blouse was open she shook it loose and let it slide over her tanned shoulders. It dropped to the grass behind her. She approached me and came to a standstill in front of me.

  'Help me with this skirt,' she said.

  I fumbled with the button. When I finally got it loose I pulled the zip open and pushed her denim skirt downwards. It fell around her ankles. She looked at it briefly before she kicked it out of the way with her one foot.

  Julia reached out and put her right hand behind my head. She pulled me closer. She bit the lobe of my ear softly before she spoke in a whisper.

  'What do you want to take off first? My bra or my panties?'

  'Your panties,' I said and pulled it off in a swift movement. She turned around and I loosened her bra. She threw it down. It landed next to the black panties. She turned around again and faced me.

  In front of me a woman stood unlike anyone else I had ever seen. She was so perfect that it was difficult to believe what I saw. Her beauty was unreal, like a vision of the perfect imaginary woman. I wanted to feel what her mechanical body felt like and struggled not to touch her.

  'Do you like what you are seeing?'

  'Like is an understatement. Perfection comes to mind,' I said while I tried to control myself.

  'I'm all yours. Remember, I belong to you. Nobody is going to prevent you from doing to me whatever you want. I'm here for your pleasure. And please don’t be a gentleman with me. I find it so boring.'

  While she spoke she started undressing me, touching my body only here and there, teasing me with her red nails. When we were both naked we jumped into the pool. She stayed close to me and rubbed herself against me every now and again. After a while I was no longer able to resist her wet body. She noticed the lust in my eyes. She took me by the hand and led me from the pool to one of the towels that lay spread open on the soft grass. She laid down on her back and pulled me down on top of her. I was already hard and she guided the tip of my penis into her. She was moist and warm.

  While we started making love reality disappeared completely. It was replaced by a state of bliss in which the new Julia did not only control my body but also my mind. I was willingly under her spell. I was vaguely aware that I was trapped in a dream. From within that place all my senses screamed out with one voice of pure enjoyment. The pleasure was so intense that I had never felt so alive before.

  Now that I look back at that first afternoon with Julia I know that it was the best sex I had ever had with anyone. Sexually that mechanical woman was definitely not the same as Julia. The new Julia was willing to try anything. What I liked about her was that she really participated. She was there with me, only me, in body and mind. She didn’t want to be anywhere else or with someone else. I was the only important person in her life.

  I knew it was the first time she had sex, but it was difficult to believe. I often wondered on what real woman they had based her sexual experience and responses. She was spontaneous, adventurous and exciting. I knew she was a machine but didn’t once find that making love to her was mechanical.

  That evening Julia offered to cook for me. I hadn’t been to a restaurant with a woman in such a long time that I wanted to go out, but Julia insisted that she wanted to make food at home and spend a romantic evening alone.

  'We can dress up and pretend that we are in a restaurant. Here we can listen to our own music and we don’t have to worry about drinking and driving. And, the best of all is that we are close to your bedroom and that big bed of yours that has been empty for so long.'

  She kissed me on the mouth while she moved her hands slowly over my back. I was convinced.

  'Can I help you with something?' I asked.

  'All you can do is to pour us a drink and open a bottle of red wine for later. If you don’t feel like keeping me company here in the kitchen you are welcome to go and watch sport on television or go and read the newspaper. Just shout if you need another beer.'

  'That's a nice offer, but I want to stay here with you. I want to see how you prepare the food.'

  I sat down and took a sip of my beer. I looked at the new Julia and decided that life couldn’t be more perfect than it already was. I wondered why I hadn’t ordered her sooner. Doc was completely right. I had only spent an afternoon with her and I already no longer saw her as a machine.

  The meal was outstanding. Not even one of the best restaurants in the city would have been able to prepare so many mouthwatering dishes in such a short time. I thought back about some of the meals the previous Julia sometimes made. It was unfair to compare her attempts at making food with the delicious dishes I ate that evening. I wished I could invite her to come and eat at my place and let the new Julia cook for her. It would have been a welcome revenge to let my new Julia give the other one a few cooking lessons. Then she might see how happy I was.

  I couldn’t wait for the day when we bumped into the other Julia somewhere. I knew it was inevitable, only a matter of time before we would see her at a restaurant or in a pub. She didn’t move too far away after we broke up. Her apartment was only a five minute drive from my house.

  Later that evening I had my first doubts about the new Julia. I realized that she might not have been an improvement on all levels. We had finished eating. After sitting in the lounge for another hour talking, it was time for me to lead her to the bedroom. I took her hand and lead her upstairs. Halfway up I turned to her, pulled her closer and started kissing her. I pinned her against the wall and started taking off her blouse. She kissed me back passionately. After a while she pushed me away playfully and escaped from my embrace. She ran up the stairs. While she ran she took off her skirt and threw it at me while she smiled seductively. I noticed that she wasn’t wearing any panties. She continued undressing and by the time we reached my room she was completely naked.

  'Now it's your turn,' she said.

  She moved in behind me and pressed her firm breasts into my back. She touched my chest with the tips of her nails before she started unbuttoning my shirt. She pulled it off me violently and threw it swiftly to the floor. She licked and bit my ear softly. Her hands were all over my upper body. I loved the attention and closed my eyes for a while.

  She let go of me and sat down on the bed in front of me. She took my shoes off and tossed it into the corner of the room. Julia kneeled in front of me and started unbuckling my belt. Without any difficulty she pulled my trousers and underpants off in one movement. My penis was already stiff in her right hand when she suddenly stopped functioning.

  It was as if she was alive the one moment and dead the next. I got a big fright when her hand tightened its grip around my dick. Luckily I was so frightened that I instantly lost my erection. I was able to escape from her clasp. I left her just like that, eyes closed, mouth open and kneeling while I grabbed my mobile phone and immediately phoned Models Unlimited.

  I explained to Chloe what happened.

  'Have you fully charged her batteries yet?'

  'Batteries?'

  'Yes, haven’t you read the instruction manual? At the beginning her batteries must be charged every eight hours. After that it will only be necessary once a week.'

  'How long does it take before she'll be functional again?'

  'To ensure that her battery pack is not damaged you'll have to charge her uninterruptedly for two hours. During that time she will be fully dysfunctional.'

  'Two hours? No ways. How do I recharge her?'

  'Are you with the model now?'

  'Yes.'

  'Look for a small button on the right side of her head, under the hair, right behind her ear. It's hidden under the scalp but you'll locate it easily. Have you found it?'

  'Yes.'

  'Push it twice, wait a moment then push it again once, wait another second and then push it thrice. I repeat: twice, once, thrice. Her synthetic skin will move out of the way now.'

  I watched while it happened.

  'Can you see the electrical plug?'

  'Yes.'

  'Good. Use an extension chord and plug her into any wall socket for two hours. After that time you must remove it. Use the same code to reactivate her. Two, one, three. She'll wake up after exactly one minute. Understood?'

  'Yes. How can I prevent this from happening again? It will be very inconvenient and actually embarrassing if it happened in a public place.'

  'Use the same button you just used. Hold it in for three seconds. She will be switched off. As soon as she's off you can look into her eyes to see how much battery life is left. Her left eye will tell you the hours that remain and the right eye will give you the minutes.'

  'Any additional questions?'

  'Yes, one last question. Is Julia aware that she is a machine?'

  There was no response. Chloe was quiet. I looked at the phone's screen. It was still connected.

  'Chloe, are you still there?'

  'Yes, I'm just thinking of a pleasant answer. My software is going haywire here. A few swear words flashed through my brain but they were censored by my correct speech monitor. Let me make one thing very clear. Never again refer to Julia or any one of us as a machine. It can lead to serious frequency interference.'

  Chloe sounded really upset.

  'I'm sorry. I didn’t know you were so sensitive about it. What should I call you?'

  'There are many options. The most acceptable one is 'modern woman'. Another option is 'improved woman'. An example of the most technically correct way of referring to us is 'fully functional female model'. Will you be able to remember one of those descriptions?'

  'I'll try my best.'

  'Good. Now I'll answer your original question. No, Julia is not aware that she is a 'modern woman'. Her software is programmed in a way that allows her to believe that she is a real woman.'

  'But how does she experience it when she is switched off? You know, for a battery recharge or when she must go for a routine service.'

  'She's not aware of the interruption. Her life simply continues where it stopped. If you wanted to you could put her back in the same situation where she froze when her batteries went flat, but it's not a necessity.'

  'Thanks Chloe. I must go. I'll call you again if I need any other answers.'

  'You're welcome. Enjoy the rest of your evening. Bye for now,' she said in her friendly voice.

  I went downstairs to the kitchen and found an extension chord in one of the cupboards. I plugged it into Julia's head first. Afterwards I also plugged it into the wall socket. I set my alarm for two hours later, wondering if I would anyway be able to sleep.

  While I sat there on the edge of the bed I looked at Julia. Suddenly I found the events of the afternoon and the evening strange. I was still getting used to the idea of reality replacement. However, I was also disappointed that she was dysfunctional. I tried to pretend that she was sleeping. It was more pleasant than imagining her to be temporarily dead.

  Since meeting Julia earlier that afternoon I had rarely thought of her as a mechanical object. It was true what Doc said: the illusion becomes more real than reality. What surprised me though was that the transformation was happening so quickly in my life. It already felt to me that Julia had been with me for a long time. She felt familiar, not at all like a cold machine. Maybe it was only because she was a replica of the real Julia. I had ordered her as a substitute for Julia after all. In only a few hours she had taken over very competently. She also did it in a much more pleasant way, without the constant bickering and distrust.

  In the dark I laid thinking about my relationship with the other Julia. If we had still been together we would definitely have been sleeping at that time of the night. I had to admit that lying there next to a dysfunctional robot wasn’t much more exciting. At least I wasn’t missing Julia so much any more.

 

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