From the RetCap Log of ParaTech LoveDoll #211276
Date: January 28th 3085, 21:54

It was raining the night that the Master found my body.

It was laying half stuffed into a dumpster, one leg caught in the lid. Whoever had wanted to get rid of it must have been in a rush. The Master did not often leave her penthouse, but she had sensed something was amiss nearby. The fog was thick on ground level, but the Master’s eyes were keen. Down one of the alleys that sprouted from the main roads around her building like creeping vines, the body had been abandoned. It wasn’t what the Master had been looking for that evening, but it was a welcome surprise nonetheless.

Carefully pulling the pieces of broken doll out of the dumpster, the Master made certain that everything was accounted for. The body was badly damaged. Two of the limbs had been completely ripped off. The torso was covered in gashes, synth-skin ripped down to wires and metal armature. The metal skull was dented.

But it was nothing that she couldn’t fix. The body became her new obsession. Long nights spent at her work table, hovering over the doll as she pieced it back together. In life, the Master had once been a doctor, but fixing a doll was not so different than working with a real human body.

Each doll had inner workings that were as complex as any human circulatory system. Wires sending signals from the processor to each nerve sensor so make sure that the doll was able to sense danger and remain safe. We could feel pain just like any human could. But we were also more aware of our surroundings. We were able to process information more quickly. Dolls adapted effortlessly. We could be customized. Although we were expensive, the Master could have purchased a doll long ago. She had only ever kept human servants in the past, completely disinterested in synthetic help. But she felt an undeniable urge to care for that the beautiful, discarded doll.

So she laid her out on a table in her workshop, lovingly putting the doll back together. Synth-skin was mended, leaving only the faintest scars. The doll had a perfect, life-like body. The one thing that could not be salvaged was the doll's Personality Board. It had been destroyed by whatever had caused the dent in the skull – the board itself shattered. The Master cracked its head open and carefully hammered the skull back into shape. Then she removed all of the ruined hardware and replaced it with a new custom board. She gave me a sweet, affectionate personality that suited my lovely physical design. Adding a Loyalty Chip made that I would always prioritize the needs and wants of the Master above all other considerations.

The Enhanced Pleasure Chip was something the Master added for purely selfish reasons.

When I first opened my eyes, the very first thing that I saw was the Master. Although I later learned that she almost one thousand years old, the Master looked no older than forty. She was beautiful and tall, with porcelain skin and sleek, black hair that draped over her shoulders. Her eyes were mysteriously dark, like black pearls set into her sharp features. At the time I could not tell that the Master was not human. She was warm to the touch and incredibly gentle when she first helped me to sit up on the table. With one hand at my back, the Master held my arm and looked resolutely into my face.

“Are you feeling well?” the Master asked. “Are you functional?”

“I think so,” I said uncertainly, because I could not remember ever having been asked that question before. How I felt? I wasn’t sure how I was feeling. With a completely fresh Personality Board, every experience was new. Even so, I was a fully formed person with thoughts and desires and, yes, even feelings.

“Let’s do a quick test,” the Master suggested as she walked away from the laboratory table and went to pull a small rubber-tipped mallet from a drawer. When she came back over, she placed a hand on my bare knee and flashed me a smile. “Let me know if this hurts.”

The Master tapped the mallet against my knee, which caused my leg to jerk up automatically. I had to take a moment to decide whether it was painful or not. Ultimately, I decided that it did not hurt, although it was not comfortable. The other knee was tested, producing similar results. The Master nodded in satisfaction, putting the mallet down on the side of the table. She took one of my hands and turned it over, poking one crescent-nailed finger into my synth-skin covered palm and then tracing it up each finger. It sent a shiver through me and I watched with curiosity as the touch made my fingers curl inward in reaction.

“Normal reactions,” the Master said. “Looks good.”

“What would you like me to call you, Master?” I asked, defaulting to the name that was suggested by the Loyalty Chip.

The Master had not changed the setting before waking me. Laughing under her breath, she brought the my hand up to her mouth and kissed the back of my knuckles. An old fashioned gesture, but one that made me feel wanted. Some may have considered it self indulgent, but I was hers and hers alone. She had built me up from nothing and given me a new life.

“Master will work just fine,” she said. “We need a name for you as well, don’t we?

“Would you like to pick my name?” I asked, the faintest warmth blooming in my cheeks.

“Hmm.” The Master had to consider. She went over to her desk and took up a thin info-pad, bringing up a site that featured long lists of names and their meanings. Holding the pad out to me, she nodded. “You should pick what you want me to call you. Take a look at this while I get you clothes.”

The door to the lab opened for the Master and then closed behind her with a soft pneumatic woosh. I sat quietly on the edge of the cold metal table, completely naked and using a finger tip to scroll through the lists of names. I scrolled rapidly, flying past the A’s and B’s and D’s. By the time the Master was back in the room with a pile of clothing in her arms, I had decided.

“I would like to be called Melody,” I said.

The Master put the clothing down in a neat stack next to my leg. Then she reached into her pocket and pulled out a slender silver ring. Around the inside of the band there were tiny lights, but once the Master had slid it onto my left ring finger, it looked like no more than a simple band. I did not discover this until later, but the ring was a safeguard. No matter where I went, she would be able to find me. If she was hurt or stolen, the Master would be alerted right away. It was an efficient way to keep track of me and it let others know that I was spoken for.

“Then you will be called Melody McNamara,” the Master said as she admired the ring where she had placed it. Then she gave my hand a squeeze.

“You are giving me your last name to denote your ownership of me?” I asked.

The Master laughed. “Sure, something like that.”

“Miss Melody McNamara. I like it,” I said with a bright smile.

“It sounds very official,” the Master agreed. “Which brings us to something very important.”

“My duties?” I asked.

“Not quite.” The Master took the info-pad from me and put it back on the desk. Taking up a pair of black latex gloves from a desk drawer, she tugged them on and then held her hands up to show me. “A few more tests. Let me know if anything feels wrong.”

“How will I know if something feels wrong?” I asked.

“If it hurts. Or if it’s uncomfortable for any reason. Your sensors will let you know.”

“Okay.” I nodded even though I wasn’t entirely sure I understood.


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