Autonomously Yours: The Life of a Compandroid | K N Parker
In the future, robots are part of our daily lives. They serve and protect us, they watch our families and keep them safe, they treat us when we're hurt, and they take our orders when we're hungry. There is, though, one untapped market... Meet Sally. A fully-functioning-female-human-imitation-android, created as a companion for the lonely men of the world, the first of its kind. But, there are problems for her creator. Robotics engineer Dr. Harold Okamura is finally given an opportunity by Mr. Jerrald Axell, the CEO of a company with dubious intentions, to realize a lifelong ambition: to create a robot that is indistinguishable from a human being. The problem is doing so breaks the first law of modern robotics, an offense punishable by imprisonment. Good thing for Harold, then, Mr. Axell is powerful enough to skirt such laws. But that's not the only problem on the horizon. In fact, it's the least of Dr. Okamura's troubles. Before Sally can be brought to market, she has to go through a trial period. Dr. Okamura and his faithful android servant, Cran, monitor Sally as she is tested by three clients--all men of very questionable motives. From the author of The Death of Death comes a more mature, technological tale. Autonomously Yours is a story of relationships, emotions and tragedy, as told, literally, through the eyes of the world's first Compandroid.