Date: Wed, 31 Mar 2004 16:43:04 +0200
From: Zustara Orur <zustara@hotmail.com>
Subject: "Si-C", Chapter 4 + 5

 4 - The game.

Simon nodded his head enthusiastically. "I understand, Brian. I won't
tell." He then tilted his head slightly to one side. "Does this game have a
name? Maybe I know it already. I know lots of games!"

'Oh I bet you do you mechanical little freak', Brian thought to himself. He
didn't say that out loud though. "The name's not important", he spoke,
trying to not let the robot distract him. He was feeling kind of weird
doing this, his young heart pounding strangely in his chest, but it was his
only chance, really. He was way too shy to ever dare to try this with
another boy, a real boy whom would not let himself be lead on anywhere near
as easily, he knew that only too well. "First we decide who's going to
start", he said and picked up a small plastic wheel belonging to a model
kit he never completed from his desk in one of his hands. He held both
hands hidden behind his back as he shifted the wheel from one hand to the
other. He felt a bit bad about tricking a stupid machine like this, but it
WAS his only chance. "Now pick one!", he ordered Simon.

The robot hesitated for a suitable amount of time, following a matematical
formula calculated from the studied behavior of over a thousand children in
similar situations before randomly selecting, and then pointed at one of
Brian's arms. Of course, based on Brian's arm and shoulder movements, the
robot could have tried to predict which hand held the wheel, but that would
go against the spirit of the game it decided (despite not really knowing
anything about the 'spirit of the game'). The arm it was pointing at was
the boy's left arm as it happened.

It was also - quite by coincidence - the hand with the wheel in it, though
that didn't really matter. The outcome would have been the same had it not
been. "Haha! You loose!", Brian said triumphantly as he presented the
object.

 "It would be easier if I knew the rules", Simon chided in a thoroughly
kindly manner. Brian again felt a pang of guilt, but quickly suppressed
it. This machine probably wasn't anywhere near as stupid as he wanted to
believe. In fact, it was probably a great deal smarter than just about any
human being that had ever lived, in some ways at least. He could still lead
it along by its nose however by deliberately keeping it in the dark of what
was to happen next.

 "The rules are easy", Brian said quickly to try and cover his
feelings. "You'll learn as we go along."

 "Alright, if you say so", Simon replied in a trusting tone of voice and
again there was that pang of guilt.

Brian cleared his throat. He was getting nervous! Even though it was only a
machine, one that by design had to obey virtually his every command. "Now
you have to take off all your clothes. It's the punishment for losing."

 "I fail to see the point of this game", the robot started. "But okay, if
you say so", it repeated and obediently began to unbutton its
shirt. Sleeves first, then from his neck and downwards.

Brian sat back and grinned to himself in a satisfied manner. YESSSS! It was
his big break! He hoped those engineers or whatever hadn't skimped on any
of the little details! Button after button revealed more olive-colored
skin, and then the blue shirt came off entirely. Simon's body was fit and
well-sculptured, if thin much like any other kid his age. Not really
muscled at all, since he hadn't hit puberty yet if he'd been a real boy
that is, but he had no fat on him either, so every bone, every muscle and
sinew was sharply defined all the same. Stomach was a flat, well-defined
grid of muscle, and equipped with a navel which kind of surprised Brian,
and it was an 'outie' too, which he thought rather cute! Simon took his
time, neatly folding up the shirt and putting it down beside himself on the
bed.

Simon then stood up straight again before unzipping his blue jeans as well,
and undid the top button also and let the garment drop to the floor so he
could step out of it. His legs were a bit more sculptured than his upper
body, a little fuller, or so it seemed to Brian anyway, and noted it had
some kind of innate grace in its movements. Even the simple motions of
lifting one foot at a time and setting them down on the floor again, then
bending down to pick up the jeans almost seemed almost like dancing moves
to the boy. Precise, yet flowing. Not mechanical at all!

He wasn't much surprised to see that the small robot came dressed in blue
socks and blue bikini briefs in the exact same color as the shirt and
jeans. Once having picked up the jeans, it folded them up also, turning its
back towards Brian as it put the bundle down on the bed. Those briefs sat
snugly on its body, mostly concealing what looked like a perfectly normal
boy butt, or even a rather attractive boy butt actually, and right then
Brian felt it for real. He was definitely getting a hard-on by looking at
Simon's tight butt, even though it WAS mostly concealed by that blue set of
underwear...

Brian had known it for a while. A year and a half, maybe two. He liked
looking at other boys. Liked to fantasize about being naked with them,
touching, kissing maybe... Doing...things. Not quite sure what, but things,
anyway... Of course he couldn't tell anyone about it! Not that being gay
was anything really spectacular. Not these days anyway, but he still felt
uncomfortable enough to keep it a well-kept secret, especially since he
didn't really have any true friends. Now however... He had a chance for
once, to see what another boy REALLY looked like underneath his clothes.

The robot was removing its socks now, doing it one at a time, doing it
gracefully. It looked so much like a real boy, and here Brian was, tricking
it. Decieving it... Making it expose itself. It mattered little to the
robot, after all, it knew it was just a machine, a device made to serve
humans in whatever way those humans saw fit. Brian on the other hand
couldn't quite get over that himself, it looked SO LIFE-LIKE! It blinked
and breathed. Its muscles flexed and moved under its rich, olive-colored
skin. It could smile, it could frown. It could speak, and its voice sounded
human. Like a boy's. Sometimes uncertain, sometimes happy. It was as if he
was coercing it in the boy's own mind... Brain-washing it into doing
inappropriate things.

 "O-okay... That's enough!", Brian suddenly called out, a little louder
than he expected or really wanted to, just as Simon had stuck his thumbs in
under the waistband of his underwear, ready to slip the thing off.

Simon halted, an uncertain look on its face. "You said all clothes. I'm not
finished yet."

The boy somehow sensed the robot's confusion. "Uh, yeah, I did. But it's
not fair. You didn't know the rules after all."

The small robot's expression softened. "Alright then, Brian. Fine. What
now, what do we do next in this game of yours?" Its voice was interested
now. Curious and eager to please.


 5 - Beyond games.

Brian paused, still feeling more than a bit guilty over what he'd tried to
do. "Uh... Just sit down again okay?" He paused, knowing what he had to
say, but not really sure how to say it. This boy-robot (or was it
robot-boy?) was messing with his head. He didn't know what to believe of
it/him anymore... He wanted to feel angry at it, for not being the dog he'd
wanted, but it was getting increasingly difficult, more difficult by the
moment in fact to muster that anger. Actually, it was already beyond his
ability to do so. "I... Look... I'm sorry about before, alright?", Brian
said quietly all of a sudden. "I didn't expect...you. I expected something
else. But... You, you're okay too I suppose. So I apologize, okay?"

Simon relaxed more in his more than half-nakedness and smiled. "It is
alright, Brian. You don't have to apologize. I'm just a robot after all."

 "But... You look like... You look like a boy. You're so, uh, life-like,
that it's actually a little creepy!" He found himself smiling wide at
Simon, not really knowing why. "Anyway, I know you're a robot, but I would
feel bad if I wouldn't say I'm sorry anyway since you do look like a
person..."

Simon smiled too, feeling increasingly more at ease with his new
master. "Thank you Brian! That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me!
Apology accepted. Don't feel bad about it, I can understand if it was a
shock to you."

The two boys giggled to each other, and Brian found himself leaning
forwards and grasping the little robot's hand in his own again without
really realizing it. He had a friend now, a friend that would never let him
down, a friend that would always understand, always be there for him... He
didn't realize all that just yet, not in his conscious mind, but it was
there, deep down under the surface.

 "So you have to do everything I say, huh?", he asked.

Simon nodded. "Yes, it is the second law of robotics. 'A robot must obey
the orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would
conflict with the first law'", he regurgitated with precision. "With the
additional exceptions that I can't do things your parents would disapprove
of, or things that are illegal of course, unless it is needed to protect a
human life." He paused for a moment, unsure if Brian knew or not. Most
human beings would know about the three laws of robotics of course and
almost as many knew them by heart, but there was no way of telling. "The
first law overrides the second; 'A robot may not injure a human being, or
through inaction-"

 "...Allow a human being to come to harm", Brian finished for him. "Yes, I
know. And the third law says you have to keep yourself from coming to harm
unless it conflicts with either the first or second law. Right?"

Simon smiled again. "Right."

 "So I could basically tell you to go jump off a cliff, and you would be
compelled to do it?"

The little robot giggled in a quiet, dignified way. "No, I do not have to
obey orders from you to deliberately harm myself, or from any other minor
either. That's a second exception. However, your parents could tell me to
go jump off a cliff and I would have to do it. Or you could, once you turn
eighteen."

 "So basically, the people who designed and built you don't trust us kids,
huh?", Brian said with a laugh. "Ouch! That hurts, man!" He let go of
Simon's hand to touch his chest as if he'd been shot in the heart with an
arrow. He took hold of it again almost immediately afterwards though, still
not really being aware of what he was doing. It just felt comforting
holding that soft, warm hand... Holding it with one hand, patting it with
his other. "But I could never tell you to go jump off a cliff...", he
added, not really aware he was saying it either. It was a thought that got
spoken out loud. Simon smiled more, in a completely friendly
manner. "Anyway, 'Simon', is that short for something? Like, 'Synthetic
Imaginary... Macroscopic... Uh, Something-Or-Other'?"

Simon laughed. "No, it's not. There's more than two thousand individuals in
my model series alone, they don't bother basing our names on our model code
anymore. They did with the early models though."

 "So can I call you Si, then?" He paused. "If it's okay with you, I mean."

 "Sure! If you want to."

Brian frowned. "You don't say that just because you're supposed to obey
almost anything I say, right?"

Simon seemed a little uncertain. "Well... Uh...", he tried.

 "Simon! Hey, if you're going to be my friend, you're going to have to
start having opinions of your own! You can't just go along with anything
and everything I say without question, that would be totally boring!
Sometimes you just have to disagree!" He looked sharply at the little
robot. "Alright?!", he said and squeezed Simon's hand a little, still not
quite realizing he was doing it. "And don't just disagree every once in a
while either just because you think I expect you to! You have to do it
because you GENUINELY disagree. You understand?"

Simon nodded, comprehending. "I will try to, Brian. But 'Si' is fine with
me. It really is! I like it."

 "'Si' is the chemical name for silicon, you know... The stuff they used to
make computers out of..."

 "Silicon: a metalloid semi-conductor. Second-most abundant element in the
Earth's crust after oxygen. Atom number fourteen, atomic mass 28.0855
amu. It has three stable isotopes; Si-28 to Si-30 and two that are
radioactive; Si-31 and 32. Main constituent in natural materials such as
clay, granite, quartz, and man-made materials such as glass, porcelain and
various composite laminates."

Brian laughed. "Thank you for those worthless bits of trivia, Si. Next
time, please warn me before you start spouting facts like a fountain,
alright?" They giggled a little. "That was a joke by the way", he added
just to be on the safe side, not knowing exactly how literally the robot
might take his words.

 "I understood that, Bri." Simon squeezed Brian's hand in turn, and they
smiled at each other. 'Bri'... He usually hated being called nicknames, but
it felt so good hearing Simon say that... It was okay. He actually LIKED
being called Bri. The boy found himself studying Simon's pretty face once
again, marvelling at how life-like it was... "Anyway, I believe we were
playing a game?", Simon said quietly. "I think I have figured out all of
the rules now. It is alright, Brian. You can look, I understand you are
curious." The boy's dick, which hadn't softened at all since first going
hard, twitched once, then twice, as understanding filled his brain.

 (My thanks to Nifty for posting this! :))