Chapter Eight

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Mr. H. gave orders to run direct testing on the J-769 and question its owner. Luckily for said element and the owner, the procedure order went to Akira, a young assistant about to get married. Akira was too happy to worry about anything else, and knew that any malfunction could be corrected and reprogrammed at the Ishiguro Service Centers available in pretty much every major city around the world.

As a result, instead of sending for the malfunctioning android and the human girl directly, Akira sent a written notification inviting Anna Solskinn to visit her nearest Centre and make use of her complimentary service of checkup of any product she had purchased. The service would expire shortly, so the sooner she made use of it the better!

When the notification arrived to Anna's house, she and Elsa were well on their way across the ocean to the Institute of Biology and Technogenetical Research and Akira was on honeymoon in Tulum.

Anna's parents had bought her an apartment of her own, so she could be able to live, study, and do her research without interruption. It was Anna's first time living independently, and she wanted to prove everybody that she was capable of surviving. For the first couple of weeks she refused to take any kind of help, be it her parents' money or Elsa's offers to do her cooking and washing while she attended orientation and introductory courses. In the end, however, she had to accept at least the cooking.

The Institute was everything Anna had ever dreamed of. Away from her parents' pressure, her talent shone even more, and she was quickly invited to join several research units. Having her own lab (and her own apartment, for that matter) proved invaluable when it came to privacy, and having Elsa around during her classes proved invaluable when it came to support and protection.

It was around that time, when Anna sat down to enjoy the pasta Elsa had prepared for her after spending six straight hours in her lab, that the Japan Monitoring Centre found out where they had gone.

Anna was bouncing on Elsa's lap. Elsa supported herself on the bed with one hand, and used the other to caress her way all over the freckle-covered torso. Anna let out quick little cries that grew louder whenever Elsa squeezed or nibbled a part of her body. She bounced herself faster and cried out when she reached her climax.

They rolled in the bed so that Elsa was on top of Anna. The redhead laughed as the android's thrusts shook her body, but Elsa was having no laughter that day. Before Anna knew what was going on, she had been flipped on her stomach, with another body covering her and a pair of hands pinning down her own.

Anna's cries were urgent now, tinted with desperation. The thrusts were coming from behind and Elsa's panting fell on her ear; she knew that it was physically impossible that Elsa had the need to pant, and for some reason to know that she was faking it for her turned Anna on even more. She buried her face in the pillow and moaned helplessly.

The weight over her disappeared, and suddenly she felt her hips being pulled up. Elsa's thrusts were more careful now, but no less precise and strong. Anna grabbed a fistful of sheets and whimpered over and over. In some remote corner of her brain, she managed to pray that her neighbors weren't home before screaming with pleasure one last time.

Gently, Elsa moved off her. She brushed away the strands of hair over Anna's face and kissed her on the cheek.

"Happy now, princess?"

"Mhm," Anna answered, still breathing heavily. She smiled.

Elsa rolled her eyes. She took off the toy Anna had insisted on buying and trying and tossed it to the floor. She traced a line down Anna's back with her fingertip.

"Please let me treat you better next time."

Anna kissed her hand. "You didn't do anything I didn't want you to do. Don't worry, Els, it was great."

Anna's vital signs popped up in Elsa's vision; everything appeared to be normal. In fact, the release of endorphins was higher than usual, so Anna had indeed had a very good time and was unharmed. Elsa decided to stop over worrying and focus instead on the things she was certain her princess would need.

"I'll make you something to eat. Don't get up."

Though Anna obeyed for a while, soon the smell of Elsa's cooking became too tempting. She got up and headed to the kitchen, but on her way something new caught her attention.

She picked up the envelope that had been slipped through the door. It was addressed to her, and though for a moment she felt a pang of excitement at getting actual, printed mail, worry soon replaced it.

"Elsa, have you seen this?" she asked as she walked into the kitchen, waving the envelope.

"No. What does it say?"

"It's from Ishiguro. There's a note that says they tried to find me at my old address, and then there's a longer letter. Dear Miss Solskinn," she began to read, "You have registered the purchase of a J-Line element, one of the finest, highest-quality products from the Ishiguro line. Congratulations! As the owner of such a product, you are entitled to a complimentary service of check-up of your element, which includes a thorough revision, update, and the repairing of any and all issues that might be detected. Please do not hesitate to visit the nearest Ishiguro Service Centre. The service will expire shortly, so the sooner you make use of it the better! That's weird. I'd never heard of anything like that."

"Neither had I. We program ourselves, and the updates are installed automatically. Are you sure it isn't a scam?"

"You tell me."

Elsa took the paper from Anna and scanned it. She couldn't find anything suspicious with the font, paper, or style; it all matched perfectly with Ishiguro's official correspondence.

"It's fine," she concluded. "But it's so weird."

"Well, let's not worry too much about it," Anna finally declared. "There's actually a Service Centre a couple of blocks from here, we can go tomorrow and see what they know. Right now, all I want is my grilled cheese."

Elsa raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure that's all you want?"

Anna smiled, a little smile that Elsa knew too well, like she knew the promises it carried. She grabbed the belt of Anna's robe and pulled her closer. Her lips hovered over Anna's for a second.

"Alright, my love," she cooed, releasing her. "There's plenty of time for fun later. But right now, the future winner of the Marie Curie Prize for the development of self-reproducing synthetic DNA needs to eat."

The next morning, as agreed, they went to the Service Centre. In Anna's opinion, the moment they could be checked off their list they'd be left alone. It was like those pesky banks and insurances: they had a quota to fill and once they could draw a tick next to your name, away they went forever.

The Ishiguro Service Centers were known worldwide for their impeccable quality and installations. Only the very best technology was used in the Stations, and the client could do anything from purchasing a personal microchip to fine-tuning the most exclusive device.

That's why Elsa and Anna felt a little intimidated when they first walked in. The place was immaculate, spotless, and people were so friendly to them that for a moment Anna had the impression that it was all a carefully put together act. But a quick squeeze from Elsa's hand reminded her that, no matter what, she'd be safe.

Within seconds, the manager of the Centre was with them.

"Hello, ladies! How can I help you today?"

"Hi," Anna started, "we got this in the mail and we were wondering if by any chance you knew something about it."

The manager took the letter from Anna and began to read. She frowned as she checked the seals and read it one more time.

"Well, I've certainly never seen anything like it, but I'll check in the system. Your name, miss?"

"Anna Solskinn."

"What's the model?"

"J-769."

The manager checked on her computer. Her face lit up when the results appeared.

"Aha, there's definitely a complimentary service assigned to you, Miss Solskinn. I'll do it myself. Please follow me."

Anna and Elsa followed the manager to a different room, whiter and brighter, full of tools and screens. The manager gestured at a chair that reminded Anna of the old dentist chair she'd seen on history books. Thank God for laser orthodontics.

"Take a seat," said the manager to Elsa, pointing, much to Anna's horror, to the creepy chair. "You can sit here, Miss Solskinn," she added as she offered a kinder-looking divan. "Anything we can get you? Water? Coffee?"

"I'm fine, thank you."

"Alright, then, let's get started. It's a very simple and quick procedure, Miss Solskinn, don't worry. We're going to put these two sensors on its temples and run a quick scan of its activity patterns."

"If you don't mind," Anna interrupted her, "she's, well, a she. I prefer using her instead of it."

The woman smiled. "Of course. I'm sorry, it's just that sometimes it's easy to forget the attachment owners develop towards their elements. I've worked in the Assembly department, so you can imagine how I've seen them. It's amazing, all the pieces and work it takes to create one of them. Anyway… Let's do the sensors, and I'll ask her some questions too, in order to see her real-time reactions."

Anna nodded and looked at Elsa to make sure she was fine with the procedures. Elsa reassured her with a smile. The manager prepared her material and approached Elsa; however, she'd only put the first sensor when Elsa jumped in her seat.

"Ouch!"

The manager looked up. "Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry. It's just that the sensor stung a little."

"Stung?"

"Yeah, just a little bit. It's gone now. Sorry."

The manager looked at Elsa for a moment, and continued the procedures. She watched the screen as she monitored her patterns.

"Has there been any altercation recently?" she asked Anna. "A malfunction, anything that might have altered her?"

"Nothing."

The manager fixed her eyes on a spot on the screen and spoke to Anna again.

"Have you modified any of its- her programming?"

"No… She's adapted so well to our day-to-day routine that it hasn't been necessary. And I was told there isn't much programming I could do, because her system takes care of everything."

The manager paused for a moment and then nodded several times. "Oh, yes, yes, the system takes care of everything."

The machine beeped and produced a new view of the scan on an air screen. The manager swiped back and forth, reading easily through the complex waves, dots, and graphs. She stopped here and there, expanding a section or reading another several times.

"Miss Solskinn, do you use your element for sexual intercourse?"

Anna went furiously red. The woman smiled again.

"Now, now, nothing to be ashamed of," she said in a warmer voice. "Pretty much everyone does it, it would be strange that you didn't."

"I… It's complicated."

The manager let out a laugh. "It's easier than you think. We're humans, we have needs, and these elements help us satisfy them."

She continued reading the scan and finally turned to Elsa. She began asking questions in technological jargon of which Anna understood around half or less.

"Have you noticed anything irregular with the new patchwork? Any alerts? Anything wrong with the VS416 or the intercoding?"

"Nothing. The only alerts I get are updates or ads. Everything works perfectly fine."

The manager smiled one more time. "Indeed it does. Well, Miss Solskinn, we're done. Your element is functioning marvelously."

The woman removed the sensors from Elsa's head. This time Elsa only winced, trying to hide her discomfort, but it didn't go unnoticed by the manager. She said nothing, however, and instead offered her hand to help Elsa stand up. Elsa took it with a smile.

"So! Is there anything wrong with her?"

The manager considered her answer. There's nothing wrong with it… but everything's wrong with it. She had found no setting, no piece, no part of the system that might have been damaged, yet its behavior was unlike anything she had ever seen.

"No, nothing wrong," she declared finally.

"Do you know why we're the only ones who got this letter?"

"Well, these are very exclusive services, miss. Your family is one of our most treasured customers, so it's logical that you would have early access to all our new features. I wouldn't doubt, however, that this soon becomes a popular service."

"Well, if you say so… Thank you so much for your time and help."

"On the contrary, thank you for choosing our company. I hope to see you both again, you're welcome anytime."

Once they stepped out of the Service Centre Anna put her arms around Elsa and hugged her tight.

"That was horrible," she, rubbing Elsa's back. "Forgive me for putting you through that."

Elsa kissed her head, reassuringly. "Don't worry, love. It was just a bit weird. I really haven't heard of this happening to anyone else, but we were definitely on the database. That's strange. But it's over now."

Anna sighed. "This is the last time I take anything for free."

The moment the girl and her element were gone, Engineer Steinherz read her scans and reports again and again. The machines couldn't have shown incorrect information, yet there was no way this could be correct.

It claims the sensor stung, can it feel pain? When it hears the owner's voice its system goes overboard. Obviously elements should react to their owners' stimuli, but this one was almost… happy, to hear her. Those peaks of activity are surely from when the girl slept with it. It obviously should show more activity during those moments, but what's the other thing?

With those results there was only one thing she could do. The girl and her element looked harmless, nice, charming even, but surely there'd been a reason why they had been singled out for this checkup, a procedure engineer Steinherz knew wasn't part of any regular service.

It's only a kid and her toy, she tried to tell herself. All they do is talk and listen to music and cook and make love. Surely it can't be that bad?

She could leave them alone. Report no anomalies. But this is what she'd been trained for: quality control and the smooth running of every Ishiguro product.

And she could really do with a promotion…

She called the Monitoring Centre in Japan.

Forty-eight hours later, the Monitoring Centre had gotten them.