(thanks)

"Yes, Jesse?" Camilla replied abruptly, with the button on her desk's intercom unit depressed.

"I know you asked not to be interrupted during lunch," an apologetic voice explained, "but there's a Mister Harcourt here to see you. He's very persistent."

Camilla frowned. She couldn't recall scheduling a lunch meeting with a 'Mister Harcourt'. Frowning, Camilla took a thoughtful sip of coffee. It took only a moment more for her to realise the obvious over-sight. It was Charlie! Her ex-husband!! She nearly choked.

She had had only one scheduled meeting with Charlie since the day she met 'Candy', Charlie's all-too-confusable robotic girlfriend. It had been several months since that whole sordid fuse popping incident, and Camilla had thankfully scarcely seen Charlie in that time. She had, of course, had to call him the day following the incident in question, to ask why he had so rudely 'missed the meeting they had agreed to'. To be honest, Camilla had been nervous about making the call, not wanting to incriminate herself, but she believed it better to have claimed to have turned up at his apartment for the meeting (albeit a little late) only to knock and find nobody home, then to have Charlie realise later that he had missed the meeting too and then wonder why he had not heard from Camilla about it. Thankfully Charlie had seemed to believe her claim, and a second meeting was scheduled.

In the end the meeting had been a rather brief, painless affair, though Charlie did seem a little blue about something - what, Camilla just couldn't imagine! She had considered asking how he was coping on his own, but of course that would have either aroused suspicion or, even worse, be interpreted by Charlie as an attempt to reconcile their differences - a thought that made Camilla shudder. The meeting had drawn to a close and the pair had not seen each other since. In one way Camilla considered that a blessing, in that it meant not having had to speak to Charlie, but on the other hand she was a little disappointed at not ever hearing the exact details of how returning home to find his 'perfect princess' with her circuits scrambled had traumatised him.

Camilla wasn't sadistic - well perhaps in Charlie's case - but it wasn't as if Camilla had anything against artificial lifeforms per se - if technology could find a better way to do things, she was all for it. It was just these 'Automates' that were intended for 'personal companionship'. Invariably these over-sexualised androids were designed to be compliant, obedient and subservient. And these robotic women were supposedly a man's ideal partner! Camilla had found Candy particularly offensive because she had been designed to be rather 'dim', to say the least. The whole concept just made her skin crawl. She was also disappointed and annoyed that once again a woman's appearance seemed to be being made such an important attribute. And that's all that these 'Automates' were - playthings programmed to please with the appearance of a supposedly idealised woman.

In the end Camilla had taken solace in the fact that she had successfully removed Charlie's sexist plaything from circulation. But now here Charlie was. Camilla wondered why he might suddenly want to see her, and if she might finally be able to revel in hearing how loosing his poor over-heated pleasure droid had made him feel.

"That's fine, Jesse. Send him on through." Camilla said with considerable relish.

With such expectations, it was therefore unsurprising that Camilla should let out a restrained, though unmistakably startled 'yelp' upon seeing her office door open. It was in fact the long-legged brunette who preceded Charlie into the office that caused the strangled cry. Dressed in a grey knee length skirt and a typically tight, low-cut pink blouse, it was Candy - in all her deeply-tanned, scantily clad, elegantly walking glory. An equally smug looking, though slightly more weighty Charlie followed close behind.

"Cand.." Camilla began in disbelief, suddenly realising that she and Candy had not 'officially' been introduced. She faked a cough instead and tried not to look like a startled rabbit as they both approached her desk, smiling.

"Ch..Charlie!" Camilla stammered, standing finally, "What a.......surprise."

As he reached her desk, Charlie smiled broadly. The ingenuine smile of an insincere salesman. Camilla noticed he seemed to fill out his suit even more than when she had last seen him, though not in a good way.

"Camilla. Great to see you again." he said, extending his right hand across the desk.

Camilla shook it reluctantly, and began to compose herself. She smiled equally icily.

"Charmed, as always, I'm sure." she said flatly. Seemingly unphased by her sarcasm, Charlie glanced at the attractive brunette standing next to him.

"I don't believe you've met Candice." he continued, "Camilla, Candice. Candice, Camilla - my ex-wife."

Candy beamed enthusiastically, outstretching her right hand toward Camilla.

"Hi Camilla, I'm Candice - but you can call me Candy."

Candy's smile seemed somehow more heart-felt than Charlie's, despite Camilla's knowledge that the attractive woman was in fact made out of moulded rubber. Inwardly Camilla was relieved to hear that the voluptuous doll-bot had no recollection of her. Presumably when she popped her fuses attempting to multiply 1 by 2, her memory circuits had also been scrambled. Camilla hesitated, then sensing an even more uncomfortable moment developing, reluctantly took Candy's hand.

"I've heard so much about you." the flawlessly made up brunette gushed, her chocolate-brown eyes rolling excitedly. Candy's demeanor made it seem they were destined to be the best of friends. In truth the skin on the back of Camilla's neck was crawling just touching that perfectly manicured hand. It's grasp was soft and yielding.

"How typical." she thought, disdainfully. Candy frowned curiously, while still trying to smile. She seemed suddenly perplexed by something.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand." she breathed. Camilla suddenly realised that she had inadvertently 'thought' her last remark outsold and glanced nervously at Charlie for a moment, who was likewise looking perplexed.

"Oh, nothing." Camilla gasped, quickly composing herself once again, "It's good to see Charlie's finally found someone who can challenge him on an intellectual level." she assured the slightly confused looking brunette. Candy's frown deepened further, then she looked at Charlie, presumably for clarification. Charlie chuckled.

"Don't worry, honey." he explained, knowingly, "Camilla's just making a little joke."

"Oh...." Candy sighed in feigned realisation, "Very funny!" and she laughed, one hand flicking downward in a playful gesture, acknowledging Camilla's mischief, the other hand rising to her mouth, presumably to keep the guffaws of laughter in check. To someone unaware of Candy's artificial origins, the movements might have seemed quite natural, but to Camilla they appeared nothing more than a pre-programmed display.

"I can see where Charlie got his sense of humour." Candy continued flatteringly as her gleeful outburst subsided. Camilla was astounded by how quickly the voluptuous brunette's cliched recitations were beginning to grate on her.

"And I can see where Charlie gets his big breasts." she chided with a pasted-on smile. Charlie crossed his arms, looking suddenly and distinctly uncomfortable. Candy meanwhile smiled modestly, glancing down at her own bust.

"Oh, Gee. Thank you, Camilla." she sighed appreciatively. Already Camilla felt the urge to find a hatch somewhere in that flawless skin and pour her coffee inside. She clenched her teeth instead.

"So..." Camilla began, turning to Charlie, "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

Charlie uncrossed his arms and tried to smile smugly once again.

"Well, Candy and I were just passing by on our way to lunch, and we realised we hadn't invited you to our party tonight." he explained. Camilla smiled and looked at Candy.

"Oh, is it you're birthday?" she asked. Unfortunately, Candy seemed less confused by Camilla's question than she had hoped. The deeply tanned brunette just smiled back and shook her head.

"Oh, no. Charlie and I have just moved into our new place." she explained proudly, taking Charlie's arm, as if barely able to contain her excitement.

"Sort of a penthouse warming party." Charlie explained still further, his emphasis of the word 'penthouse' not going unnoticed. Camilla nodded, smiling.

"Well, I always new you had a thing for penthouses, Charlie."

Charlie's smug facade faltered, and the pair eye-balled each other coldly for a moment. Shortly Camilla forced a smile and continued, glancing down at the work on her desk.

"But gosh darn it, you know Friday nights are always busy for me, and you've left it so late to tell me..."

"Yeah. We thought you'd probably be too busy...." Charlie said pseudo sympathetically. Candy cocked her head to one side and let out a sad sigh, doing a slightly better impersonation of looking genuinely disappointed.

"But screw it." Camilla exclaimed suddenly, "What's life if you can't party now and then?" Candy smiled excitedly as Camilla added, "Of course I'll come."

Candy then grinned blissfully and bounced up and down a little, still gripping Charlie's arm.

"Oh, great!" she gasped, "We'll have so much to talk about!"

"Yes, I'm sure we will." Camilla trilled pleasantly.

Charlie, however, was now trying not to look disappointed, obviously regretting having decided to show off how wonderful life was with his new friend.

"Uh, well, yeah." he stammered, "That's great. It's a formal affair."

"Oh, that's nice." Camilla began, adding, "Affairs are usually so informal." with a veiled glare. "So where do I need to go to see this brand new love-nest of yours?" she pressed, smiling once again. Clearly Charlie was no longer looking forward to this evening.

"Ah, do you know the new Ligbus Building?" he asked uneasily. Camilla thought she knew of it.

"Down the south end?" she asked.

"Yeah. Top floor." He seemed suddenly to find a reason to smile.

"Bring a friend." he added, apparently assuming there was no-one 'in Camilla's life' at the moment. Camilla smiled back.

"Oh, okay. I'm sure Andrew will be thrilled to come."

Charlie nodded, surprised, though clearly unconvinced.

"Andrew, eh? Well, I'll look forward to meeting him. Actually, I can't wait for you both to....."

Suddenly a cell-phone rang. Instinctively Camilla went to check hers, but quickly realised her telephone had an altogether dissimilar ring to it. Charlie was already extracting his from an inside jacket pocket. He unfolded it, pressed a button and held it to his ear.

"Yeah?" he said gruffly. He made some intermittent acknowledging noises, then glanced across at Camilla and held up an index finger, presumably indicating that he 'needed a moment here'. He then turned and moved to the other side of the office, murmuring softly.

"I'm so pleased you can come." said Candy, attracting Camilla's attention, "I'm sure you'll just love the new place. Charlie and I do."

Camilla wondered if perhaps she should take the opportunity to test the voluptuous Candy on her times tables, but that, no doubt, might have seemed rather suspicious to Charlie, standing just a few feet away. This was probably beside the point as Candy had launched into an in-depth description of the choice of furnishings they had made for the apartment, her eyes wide with excitement one moment, frowning in consternation the next. Camilla just listened passively, smiling and nodding occasionally. It seemed unusual to Camilla that Candy should be so talkative. The last time they had met, Camilla had struggled to get anything out of her - well, apart from plenty of smoke. Shortly, Candy's gripping exposition was cut short by Charlie's raised voice from the other side of the room.

"Forty-five thousand of them?!!" he bellowed into his phone, "He's got to be kidding!...Why didn't you call me when....."

A brief pause, as Charlie listened, "Yeah, I realise that, but did you....."

Another impatient pause, "Okay, okay, I'll come back in now."

And he hung up.

"Shit!" He strode back across the room, taking Candy by the arm, "C'mon honey, lunch is canceled. We've got to go."

"Oh, gee. Is there a problem at work?" Candy asked softly as Charlie led her toward the door.

"Well, duh." Camilla said flatly.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll explain later. C'mon, let's go."

Camilla called after them,

"Oh, so around eight tonight?"

"Yeah, yeah, whenever."

And suddenly the offensive pair were gone. Camilla's office door clicked shut a few moments later, and she realised she was both pleased to have them out of her presence, and disappointed that Charlie's brunette robo-bimbo had escaped unscathed. Perhaps a mathematics lesson would be in order that evening.

Camilla's machinations were interrupted a few seconds later by her desk intercom buzzing. She sat down and pressed the talk button.

"Yes Jesse."

"Sorry to interrupt again, Cam," began Jesse, a little short of breath, "but I think your husband....."

"Ex-husband." Camilla corrected. There was a gasp from the other end.

"Oh, God, sorry!...........Am I fired?" came the tentative reply. Camilla smiled.

"No, That's fine. Go on Jess."

"Ah, Oh. Your ex-husband left his over-coat in the cloak room. He left in such a hurry. I called after him, but he mustn't have heard me."

"That's fine. Unfortunately I'll be seeing him tonight, so I'll deliver it to him then."

Camilla could sense Jesse's impending reply, and depressed the button again.

"And before you say anything," she continued, "It's not a date, okay? Far from it. I'm more interested in talking to his new friend, actually."

"Oh, God, yeah! Where'd her find her? I mean, talk about silicon valley!!"

Camilla thought for a moment, perplexed.

"Silicon valley?"

"Yeah. Didn't you see her cleavage?"

"Oh, I see. Anything else, Jesse?"

"Uh. No ma'am."

"Fine. Now go get yourself some lunch."

"Yes ma'am."

On her way out of the office late that afternoon, Camilla was halted at the door by a sudden gasp from Jesse, who was still tidying her desk.

"Oh, Cam!" she said, disappearing through a nearby doorway momentarily. When she reappeared she had in her hands a large black bundle, "Your ex-husband's over coat." she explained as she approached. Camilla smiled, taking the bundle.

"Oh, yes. Thank you Jesse, my ex-husband owes you one."

"Urgh, no thanks." Jesse quipped, screwing up her nose. She suddenly looked mischievous. "Um, Camilla, I don't mean to pry..."

"Yes, what is it Jess?...." Camilla sighed impatiently.

"It's just I was wondering.....Your ex-husband's friend....She wouldn't be one of those... y'know...what're they called?"

"A cheerleader?" Camilla suggested. Jesse laughed.

"No, y'know. A robot. But, um...What do they call them?"

Camilla feigned shock.

"Why, do you ask?" she said.

Jesse shrugged.

"I dunno. She just seemed so......well, too.....perfect, kind of."

Camilla shrugged,

"I dunno. I'll tell you on Monday." and she disappeared through the door to the elevator foyer.

By that evening, things had not gone exactly as Camilla would have planned. Her new partner, Andrew, had a prior work engagement for the evening, and was either unwilling or unable (it was hard to tell) to cancel it, for the sake of a party. When Camilla had suggested that Charlie would then think she had made Andrew up, Andrew had replied,

"What does it matter what he thinks?" to which she had no argument. Eventually Andrew had agreed to get to the party as early as was practically possible. Dejected, Camilla reluctantly had to settle for that, deciding to go a little later herself.

So now, here she was, at the door to Charlie's no doubt glorious penthouse, clutching a bottle of wine and her ex-husband's coat instead of her best friend's arm. Within, she could hear the hubbub of a party in full swing. Music. Guests talking, laughing. She was about to knock firmly, when she noticed a door-bell and pressed that instead. When the door was opened a few seconds later by a familiar tall, voluptuous brunette, Camilla could not help but acknowledge the most profound feeling of deja vu.

"Camilla!" Candy gasped, pulling the door open wide, and making way, stepping backwards to Camilla's right, "Come in. Come in."

She was dressed in a full length pearl satin dress that clung to her pronounced curves like shimmering glue. A long split up the right side characteristically exposed a shapely bronzed thigh and shin, down to a transparent perspex high heeled shoe. Camilla noticed that the slip-on crystalline shoes were toeless, and also slightly platformed, contributing to the woman's elegant stature. Uncharacteristically, her long hair was pinned up over her head in a decorative, almost floral manner - a few carefully arranged locks hanging delicately down to her neck. In fact Camilla would have had to admit that the athletically toned woman was a beacon of purest elegance, if it weren't for those somewhat over-sized breasts. While the figure hugging outfit at least covered much of Candy's lower portion, by contrast, the upper part covered only her tummy and a bare minimum of her bust, rather unnervingly loosely. Typically, the milky fabric was held up only by a single fine strap that curved over the back of her neck, and seemed tenuously poised to slip sideways at the slightest exertion, revealing slightly more then was intended.

"Hello Candy." Camilla smiled, moving inside. She held up the bottle in her hand. "This is for you. Don't drink it all at once." she quipped, though she suspected Candy missed the hidden joke. Candy took the bottle and inspected the label.

"Oh, how wonderful!" she exclaimed as Camilla surveyed the apartment.

The first thing she noticed was how strangely clinical the large lounge area seemed. Almost everything was white. The floor, the opposite wall, the ceiling, and furniture. It seemed like a surgically sterile utopia. Only the guests seemed to provide the area with some colour, and thankfully there were plenty of them - most dressed formally, like herself. Some distance to her right, past Candy, Camilla noticed a split-level section, up to what looked like a dining area, and beyond that, a bar, or perhaps a kitchen. The wall opposite where she stood featured a pair of doors positioned some distance apart, a stylish (though predictably white) entertainment centre standing between them, while to the left, floor-to-ceiling glazing exposed a wide, brightly lit balcony overlooking the sparkling lights of the city below. A sliding door had been opened, admitting guests to the balcony.

"Thank you, so much!" Camilla heard Candy gasp, obviously still overjoyed at Camilla's selfless gift of wine, "I'll go put this on ice!"

Camilla was still considering sampling the tremendous view and took a moment to realise what Candy had said. When she turned to explain that the wine should be served at room temperature, the tall brunette was already a few paces away, her blemish-less back swaying elegantly as she walked off through the throng.

Camilla rolled her eyes and moved out into the lounge. Near the centre of the room standing in front of a large white lounge suite that faced the balcony, she thought she spotted another familiar face. A moment later she joined the circle of people, a small group of couples and Charlie, who spotted her almost immediately.

"Ah, Camilla, I wondered if you'd come." Charlie boomed over the other voices and soft background music. The others in the circle could not help but pay attention.

"Well, I thought I'd better return this." she began, holding up his coat, "You left it at the office today."

Charlie seemed to ignore her comment, instead looking over Camilla's shoulders in apparent consternation.

"But where's your friend - Andy, wasn't it?"

"Unfortunately Andrew had a prior engagement." Camilla explained, "He'll be coming later."

Charlie nodded knowingly.

"Right." he sighed. Camilla groaned inwardly, failing to look the least bit impressed by Charlie's predictable assumption and tossed his coat roughly onto the couch. She smiled briefly at the others.

"Excuse me, I seem to have come over rather nauseous." she said, with a final glance at Charlie, and retreated from the circle.

She put a hand to her forehead, closed her eyes and shook her head, beginning to wonder why she had even come. When she reopened her eyes she saw Candy approaching from the direction of the dining area, a glass of wine in her hand. Camilla's purpose was suddenly renewed. She smiled pleasantly.

"Hello there, Candy."

"You don't have a drink." Candy pointed out as she stopped in front of Camilla. The pristine brunette held the glass out for her and Camilla took it. Camilla took a sip and was about to speak, when the burly figure of Charlie appeared over Candy's right shoulder. He tapped her on the shoulder and held up his coat. Candy turned her head and smiled sweetly at Charlie as he spoke.

"Babe, could you go hang this up?" Charlie mumbled. Candy took the coat.

"Sure, honey." she trilled. Charlie leered at her, glancing down at her mostly exposed, generous bosom. His hand now empty, Charlie cupped Candy's right breast and squeezed it twice, rather roughly. Camilla was beginning to wonder if she might actually become nauseous, when instead she was suddenly surprised by Candy's complete lack of reaction. The serene brunette simply glided gracefully off, leaving Charlie behind, his groping hand now empty. He looked across at Camilla uneasily, slightly embarrassed.

Camilla shrugged, suppressing a smile.

"Mustn't be in the mood." she suggested. Charlie glowered and turned away, rejoining his boisterous circle of friends.

Camilla turned to watch Candy walking away toward the left-most door. Could there be trouble in paradise? Could the artificial plaything actually be realising that it's 'owner' was a repulsive git? If there was any malice in Candy's ignoring Charlie, she had done a good job to conceal it. No, Camilla didn't think that was the case. The Automate's unresponsiveness to Charlie's groping advances had seemed total. The voluptuous brunette had simply acted as if Charlie's crude fondling had not even happened - or rather, had gone completely unnoticed.

By now Candy was approaching the door. Watching Candy disappear through it, Camilla noticed a small group of women standing nearby, to the left of the doorway. She walked across the room toward them. She waited for one of them to notice her, and smiled.

"Hi. I'm Camilla - the big buffoon's ex-wife."

A couple of the women laughed. Others looked a little embarrassed. The eldest, an attractive blond woman, still smiling, gasped,

"My God, What on earth made you come?"

Camilla raised her eye-brows and shook her head slowly, looking into her wine glass.

"I do not know." she stated emphatically, taking a sip.

"Well, I'm Rebecca." the blond woman explained, turning to the others and indicating each in turn, "This is Jacie, Simone, my daughter Bianca, Lisa and....." She frowned having some trouble recalling the last woman's name, her hand almost clicking it's fingers, "Oh, I'm sorry."

The forgotten woman smiled sympathetically.

"I'm Clarice." she explained.

"Yes, sorry, dear." Rebecca sighed apologetically.

Camilla wasn't sure if she had caught all of the names, but nodded.

"Well, nice to meet you all." Then, in the corner of her eye, Camilla noticed a tall brunette moving by. She reached out and grabbed Candy's arm firmly, pulling her closer, "Oh, and you just have to meet Candy!" she exclaimed excitedly, drawing the somehow still serene siren into the group.

"Candy, this is Rebecca, and this..." began Camilla, but Candy interrupted her, nodding in Rebecca's direction.

"Yes, we met at the door." she explained softly, "Hi, Rebecca."

"Hello Candy."

Camilla continued.

"This is Jacie, and......oh damn."

"Simone." said Simone. Candy acknowledged each with a friendly smile, then looked at Rebecca's daughter, saying,

"Hello again, Bianca."

Bianca reluctantly forced a smile. Camilla continued, indicating the next woman.

"And this is....." She trailed off again, rather uncomfortably, "...Uh..."

"Lisa." said Lisa. Candy nodded graciously.

"Clarice." said Clarice, saving Camilla the embarrassment of confirming her name as the most forgettable.

"Candy is Charlie's new girlfriend." Camilla explained, incredulously, "Ain't she a looker?"

Candy smiled sweetly at Camilla.

"Gee, thanks, Camilla." She turned to the others. "When we asked Camilla to the party tonight, we weren't sure if she'd be able to come. But, Camilla made a special effort to be here." She turned back to Camilla, her smile sickly sweet, as she shook her head slowly, as if to emphasise her sincerity, "We're so glad you could make it."

"Well, we're so glad we could be here." Camilla echoed, in a similarly treacley tone. Opposite, Bianca restrained a giggle.

"So, Candy..." Lisa began, "..what do you do?"

Candy smiled curiously.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand." she explained.

"Y'know - what do you do?" Lisa repeated, " - for a job?" she said finally.

Candy sighed and nodded.

"Well, there's such a lot to do around the apartment. That keeps me so busy." she explained, then she smiled and winked playfully, "And Charlie doesn't look after himself."

"Oh really?" Lisa said evenly, though Camilla noticed a veiled sense of exasperation. Then Lisa frowned. "Have we met before? You seem vaguely familiar..." adding, after a moments thought, "When did you go to college?"

Candy listened intently then smiled.

"I finished college a couple years ago and have done the odd bit of modeling here and there." she explained. Camilla realised suddenly she had heard that line before.

"I thought so!" Lisa interjected, "I thought I'd seen your face in a magazine....or on TV somewhere......"

Candy nodded.

"Well, yeah. Maybe."

"What did you study at College?" Rebecca asked Candy, glancing momentarily at her daughter. Camilla noticed how Bianca rolled her eyes a little. Candy smiled curiously again.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand." she repeated. Rebecca seemed a little flummoxed, clearly expecting a simple answer to a simple question.

"Ah. Well, I mean....what did you study while you were at college?" she restated.

Candy frowned, her deep brown eyes focusing sharply, concentrating.

"I'm sorry, but I still don't know what you mean." she explained. Rebecca let out a little frustrated gasp of air.

"Well, you said you went to college, yes?"

Candy nodded, listening intently.

"Uh-huh." she agreed.

"Well, when you went to college.... what did you study?" she stated clearly. Candy's apologetic smile returned.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand."

Rebecca threw back her head, then shook it quickly, giving up the struggle. Camilla saw Bianca give a wicked smirk, clearly pleased to have the topic dropped from conversation.

"Well, don't worry, Candy." Camilla said consolingly, "No doubt you'll get through life on your great looks, yeah?"

Candy cocked her head to one side and smiled her treacley, modest smile again.

"Awww....how sweet." she sighed. She turned to the others, continuing sincerely, "It's wonderful to have you all here tonight. I hope you're all having a good time."

Everyone apart from Bianca either nodded or made some sort of convivial acknowledgment.

Camilla again noticed a profound difference in Candy's conversational skills. Firstly she seemed altogether more talkative, but more importantly she had not, as yet, dropped into her tell-tale 'searching' mode, which was what had first alerted Camilla to Candy's 'artificial-ness' when the two had last met. When unable to answer a question, the statuesque brunette seemed instead to insist that she just didn't understand. Repetitive, but as yet less of a give away that the voluptuous pleasure droid was in fact altogether plastic. Camilla wondered how the 'new' Candy would cope with mathematics....

Rebecca, piped up, saying,

"Oh, but you don't have a drink, Candy."

Candy smiled, her hands moving elegantly to rest gently on either side of her narrow waist.

"No. I like to watch my figure." she explained. Camilla, who had seen this gesture the last time she and 'little-miss-perfection' had met, heard Bianca say something under her breath. Rebecca turned to her daughter, having also heard something.

"What was that, darling?" she pressed. Bianca rolled her eyes and sighed.

"I said 'I bet lots of people do'." she said, glancing disapprovingly at Candy's bulging cleavage. Camilla had to suppress a laugh. She thought she might get to like this young upstart.

"Bianca!" Rebecca snapped, but she was interrupted again by Candy's sickly sweet voice.

"Well, that's right. We're all women. We all like to look our best." Candy purred, Clearly Bianca's word-play had escaped her completely. Camilla noticed Bianca fuming silently. If only the young woman knew the truth about Candy! There was a brief pause as everyone (apart from Bianca, of course) tried desperately to think of a new topic to discuss. Camilla had just realised how she could work the topic of mathematics into the conversation, when Candy spoke again.

"My measurements are forty, twenty-two, thirty-six." she stated clearly.

The others in the group, including Camilla, were somewhat dumbfounded by the announcement. Camilla thought there was a degree of automated-ness in the way Candy had recited her dimensions, though she suspected that she was the only one present who had noticed it. Rebecca was the first to regain her composure.

"Well, really?" she began, though still uncertain exactly how to continue, "Ah, well. That's very nice, Candy. Yes, well, you do have a wonderful figure.....I hope your Charlie knows how lucky he is."

"Oh, yeah!" Candy assured her, nodding vigourously, "Charlie just loves my figure."

Clarice spoke up, smiling.

"Well, I'm sure he appreciates you for more than just your appearance."

Camilla coughed into her wine. Clarice looked at her and frowned, then looked back at Candy.

"Well, doesn't he?" she asked. Candy smiled curiously.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand." she chimed.

"Charlie loves you for more than just how you look, doesn't he?" Clarice pressed.

Candy frowned, appearing to concentrate.

"I'm sorry, but I still don't know what you mean." she breathed. Rebecca shook her head, dumbfounded in the background. Clarice persisted.

"There must be other things that Charlie loves about you." she insisted strongly.

Candy seemed suddenly exasperated, a shocked hand covering her exposed cleavage.

"Oh yes!!" she gasped, her hands moving to her thighs, "Charlie loves my legs. And he says I have the sexiest eyes he's ever seen." Her right hand raised, it's finger tips touching her breast, as she smiled mischievously, " Oh, and of course, Charlie just loves my boobs!" Candy's posture shifted subtly to further accentuate her figure. This was too much for Bianca.

"Oh for goodness sake!" she spat, "There are more important things than how you look, you......big...........bimbo!!"

"Bianca Reynolds!!" her mother snapped again. Candy looked less shocked by the outburst than one would have expected.

"But, Bianca! How you look is very important!" she explained serenely, "Charlie says my body is just so perfect, and we couldn't be happier!" She was smiling contentedly now, shaking her head and rolling her eyes romantically, "That little bit of extra effort makes all the difference." She looked back at Bianca and frowned sympathetically, "If you just put a bit more effort into - my measurements are forty-one, twenty-two, thirty-six - it, I bet you'd agree with me."

Their were nervous glances from one person to another. Candy hadn't even seemed to notice that she had announced her measurements again. Camilla was beginning to suspect that the voluptuous robotic brunette standing next to her had spontaneously blown a fuse, without her assistance, when something occurred to her. Surveying Candy's figure again, it seemed suddenly more....exaggerated - if that was possible. What had she given as her bust measurement the first time she had announced it? Was it forty-one both times? Camilla wasn't sure. Her bust did seem fuller - the fabric of her dress a little strained. Though, perhaps it was just the change in her posture. No, Camilla was almost certain Candy's breasts had expanded! Camilla looked up, realising Bianca had noticed her eyeing Candy's bust. Bianca was frowning at her, clearly a little disturbed. Camilla could only smile back uneasily.

Despite the dumbfounded expressions of the others listening, Candy continued, looking Bianca up and down briefly.

"You've got plenty going on there." she consoled her, "Just be patient." She shifted her posture yet again, her bronzed breasts wobbling uneasily behind the scant fabric of her dress, "My body wasn't always this shape."

"Yeah." Camilla agreed, eye-balling Bianca, "You'd be amazed at how quickly a body can change shape." Camilla glanced surreptitiously down at Candy's bust a few times, flicking her head sideways. Bianca was frowning back at her still, though more curiously than before. Despite Candy's increasingly Barbie-esque figure, Camilla suspected the clue had evaded Bianca.

"Well, we can't all be super models." Clarice pointed out.

"Or high school graduates." Camilla murmured quietly, with another sideways glance at Candy. Bianca let out another stifled laugh.

In response, Candy proclaimed her measurements yet again.

"My measurements are forty-two, twenty-two, thirty-six." she recited matter of factly.

The dumbfounded expressions deepened, a number of the women glancing with suspicion at Candy's bulging bust. Bianca was frowning too.

"Hey. Didn't she say her bust was forty one inches, before." she breathed uneasily.

"It was wonderful to meet you all." Candy chimed suddenly, looking systematically and serenely at each of the women in the group, "But if you'll now excuse me...." She turned gracefully around, then hesitated for a moment, looking to her left and then turning her head smoothly to the right, surveying the lounge area. After a moment she strode elegantly away, toward Charlie and his group of friends.

"What an unusual woman." someone whispered, as they watched the brunette's swaying figure depart.

"Ah, I really should go and see if she's all right." Camilla suggested, adding, "It really was nice to meet you all. I mean that. Really. Bye."

Camilla was just a few urgent steps behind Candy, when the elegantly walking woman joined Charlie's group, saying,

"Yes, Charlie?" as soon as she arrived. Charlie grunted,

"Yes, what?" and he frowned drunkenly at the shapely brunette. Camilla walked on by unnoticed and stopped a few feet away from the right end of the couch, though still within earshot, sipping her wine innocuously. Candy's arrival also seemed to have gone mostly unnoticed by the others in the circle - although now the 'circle' was more of a semi-circle in front of the couch, with two members of the group having sat down since Camilla's departure. They were engaged in a loud conversation of their own and were not paying attention to Charlie's hushed discussion with his voluptuous girlfriend.

"You wanted me, Charlie?" Candy suggested softly. Charlie leered lustily down at Candy's bulbous bust. He chuckled.

"Oh, I always want you, babe." he mumbled, and he grabbed her right breast and kissed her roughly on the neck. Candy just stood there. No reaction at all. Her eyes remained open, her hands poised delicately at her sides. After a moment Charlie seemed to notice that his advances were not eliciting a response and pulled away. Candy just stared passively at him. Charlie was still eyeing her, grumpily. He muttered something about not being in the right mood, then barked,

"Ah, why don't you just go get us some cake, or something?" waving a hand at her dismissively and looking away.

"Yes, Charlie." Candy replied flatly, turning and heading toward Camilla, "Excuse me, miss."

Camilla stepped aside, allowing the deeply tanned woman by, and watched her walk elegantly toward the kitchen. She seemed to be attracting a lot of attention as she walked. The graceful brunette moved through the busy dining area, around the far side of a bar-like counter, into the kitchen. Camilla saw the tall brunette lean over into a huge refrigerator on the far side of the kitchen. Camilla's view was obscured suddenly by a group of men at the dining table. Previously seated, they were now standing, peering over the counter for the best view, presumably of Candy's rear end. Their gazes scattered suddenly to other points in the room, some sitting down hurriedly, and Camilla noticed that Candy had reappeared. She held a large sponge cake on a serving tray in front of her and crossed the kitchen to the near counter. Placing the cake down carefully, the voluptuous woman then retrieved something from a drawer. Camilla could not see exactly what Candy was doing, but she presumed the attractive robotic woman was simply slicing the cake. Camilla was startled suddenly by a playful, but no less loud, scream from the couch. The seated man was playfully tickling the seated woman who was beating him back as best she could, while trying not to spill her drink. When Camilla looked back at Candy, she noticed she seemed to have frozen. She was just staring down at the cake, though Camilla noticed her mouth moving. After a moment she continued slicing the cake. Then she turned to the far side of the kitchen, knife in hand. Shortly she returned to retrieve the cake, having disposed of the knife, and moved back around the bar, unsubtly ogled once again by the rather lonesome looking individuals of the dining table.

A few seconds later she had returned, holding in front of her a large circular cream sponge cake sliced evenly into eight portions. She drifted serenely past Camilla and rejoined the people gathered on and around the couch, moving immediately to Charlie's side.

"Cake?" she chimed, attracting his attention. He frowned at her for a moment, the continuing antics on the couch having made him forget his request.

"What?"

Then, noticing the cake, he remembered,

"Oh yeah." He smiled and was about to take a piece when Candy spoke again.

"My measurements are forty, twenty-two, thirty-six." she recited clearly. A couple of the others laughed, one man 'Wehey!'ed. From where Camilla was standing, Charlie seemed suddenly very anxious. He considered something for a moment, then darted away, bumping into a guest on his way toward the door nearest the balcony. Candy meanwhile began serving cake to the others in the group, leaning luxuriantly forward to those seated on the couch.

"Cake?" she chimed, serving each in time,"Cake?..........Cake?" A few seconds later only half the cake remained, and Candy stood serenely, surveying the group passively, the serving tray still held out in front of her. Shortly Charlie reappeared from the doorway. Making his way back across the room, his eyes were urgently searching for someone. Camilla was about to look away when he made eye contact with her, and headed determinedly in her direction. He strode up and rather unexpectedly grabbed her roughly by the arm.

"OK, where is it?" he said quietly but firmly, looking around to check he was not attracting undue attention. For a second, Camilla was startled, but she quickly composed herself.

"What the hell? Piss off!!" she yelled, shaking her arm free firmly. Charlie looked about uneasily, forcing apprehensive smiles, then went to take Camilla's arm again, but she stepped back. Charlie took a step toward her, clenching his teeth.

"Where is it?" he repeated firmly. Camilla stared back, dumbfounded and angry.

"Where is what?!" she snapped.

"You know what I mean. I remember now - I put it in my coat pocket, and it's gone, so hand.....it......over." Charlie muttered. Camilla was becoming more angry.

"What the hell are you talking about?!!" she demanded. Suddenly there was a tinny clatter from the couch, followed by outrageous laughter. They both turned to see Candy approaching. Behind her she had left a mess of mangled sponge cake in the lap of the man seated on the couch. The serving tray lay on the floor at the near end of the couch. The entire group was beside themselves with laughter. Candy approached deliberately, appearing at Charlie's shoulder a moment later. She began caressing his arm and running her fingers through his hair, softly kissing his neck.

Charlie was trying to ignore her, and turned to focus angrily on Camilla. Camilla, having no clue what Charlie's problem was, just stared back indignantly. Charlie went to speak, but suddenly seemed convinced of something, and he turned toward Candy who promptly kissed him full on the lips. The kiss lingered. A moment later Candy moaned longingly and began to undo Charlie's tie. He pulled away suddenly, much to Camilla's relief.

"No, honey. Not now. C'mon." he insisted, leading the inexplicably deeply aroused brunette away, toward the door from which he'd emerged a moment earlier. As she walked, Candy was still caressing his arm, kissing his shoulder.

The laughter from the group at the couch had by now mostly subsided and the man with the sponge-cake-lap was trying to figure out how to stand up with the least amount of mess. Still seated, he suddenly twisted his hips sideways, spilling the majority of the cake onto the couch beside him. Immediately, Camilla noticed Candy grind to a halt. Charlie stopped abruptly too as Candy spoke.

"Yes, Charlie?" Camilla heard the bronzed Automate chime, over the noise of the party. Charlie looked uncertain for a moment then looked across at the couch. A moment later he looked back at his suddenly passive companion, frowning.

"Well......Clean up that mess, would you?" he ordered, nodding in the direction of the couch.

"Yes, Charlie." the shapely woman replied automatically, turning around and walking back in Camilla's direction, presumably heading again for the kitchen. Camilla eyed the couch suspiciously, as Candy swept elegantly by. She waited, noticing Charlie returning to his circle of friends.

"C'mon, bathroom's this way." he explained to the cake soiled man, who was now standing, though hunched over slightly trying not to spill crumbs onto the floor.

"But what about all this?" exclaimed the woman still seated, restraining laughter and swinging her arm over the carnage on the couch.

"Don't worry about that." Charlie assured her, "Candy'll get it. C'mon lets get out of her way.." he suggested, pulling the woman to her feet. He turned to the man again, "Yeah, the door on the right." he said, pointing. The man waddled in the direction Charlie indicated. Slowly the others retreated from the couch, ushered by Charlie toward the balcony. Camilla noticed that instead of joining them, Charlie disappeared again through the door on the left. She took the opportunity to examine the couch.

No sooner had Camilla knelt down facing the couch, when she was circled by a few of the women with whom she had been talking earlier - Rebecca and Lisa over her right shoulder, Bianca and Clarice at her left.

"What's going on, Camilla?" Rebecca asked, in hushed tones. Camilla had craned her head around to her right, looking up.

"Oh nothing, just a little accident." she explained, shrugging her shoulders. Rebecca continued.

"We thought perhaps that the man with the cake in his lap had made a pass at Candy!" she explained hopefully. Camilla went to answer, but then heard Bianca's voice interject.

"What did your ex-husband want?" she asked conspiratorially, "He seemed kinda angry."

Camilla twisted around anti-clockwise to address her.

"I really do not know." she said, slowly shaking her, eyebrows raised,

"I think he's just had a little too much to drink."

There was a soft polite voice from outside of the group.

"Excuse me, Miss."

Lisa looked around with a slight start and let a familiar serene brunette by. Rebecca also made some room for Candy. In her left hand Candy carried by it's handle a large steaming bucket of soapy water. She wore yellow cleaning gloves, and held a large yellow kidney-shaped sponge in her right hand. Her new attire set an absurd contrast to her otherwise elegant appearance. Camilla shuffled a little to her left, also making way as Candy's crystalline high heels stepped to her right. She leaned down, putting the bucket between her and Camilla, though a little distance away from the couch. Those overly pert breasts wobbled unnervingly, just inches away as the voluptuous woman knelt down beside her. Candy placed the sponge in the bucket temporarily then twisted around to her right, collecting the upended serving tray. She put this right-side-up between her and Camilla at the foot of the couch and began to collect dollops of cake debris from the couch cushion, piling them carefully on the tray. Camilla assisted her, though without gloves, and without acknowledgment.

"I suppose this is what you meant by being kept busy by Charlie." she suggested shortly. Candy continued working silently, her expression as serene as ever. A few moments later, once most of the spongy crumbs had been gathered, Candy took the sponge, squeezing it a few times below the soapy surface of the water. Rising gracefully up onto her knees, she pulled the white couch swab up, out of it's resting place. As she did so, something fell from beside the cushion, onto the serving tray below. The exotic beauty did not seem to notice it, continuing to wipe down the swab with the sponge. The object had landed face-down in a large patch of cream. It looked like a small pink cell-phone. Camilla retrieved it gingerly and shuffled clockwise slightly, the other women leaning over, and twisting their heads around to examine it also. Candy continued cleaning serenely.

"What is it?" Clarice asked, mystified. Camilla turned it over in her hands and wiped away most of the cream, flicking her finger tips vaguely in the direction of the tray. The lower portion of the device was labeled with a lurid pink sticker, which featured Candy's name. The top section featured a small LED display with the word 'SERVE' showing through the smudged cream in bright pink letters.

"What the hell?" Camilla heard Lisa gasp.

Below the display there were a few buttons - a row of three, then beneath those another two. The words 'love', 'serve', and 'talk' were printed below the first row of three buttons.

Things suddenly began to make a lot of sense. This device must have fallen out of Charlie's coat when Camilla tossed it down onto the couch earlier. The revelers on the couch had been unconsciously pushing Candy's buttons, so-to-speak. And when Camilla had heard Charlie mumbling that Candy wasn't in the right 'mood', he had in fact said that she wasn't in the right 'mode'.

Below the remaining two buttons was the word 'bust'. The button on the left featured a minus sign, the other a plus sign. Camilla glanced at Candy who was still efficiently wiping the couch cushion, then back at the 'cell-phone' in her hand. She pressed the minus button. Immediately Candy's repetitive cleaning motion froze, and her mouth moved automatically.

"My measurements are thirty-nine, twenty-two, thirty-six." she announced clearly, then immediately continued wiping.

Lisa swore. Camilla quickly pressed the 'plus' button. Again Candy froze, mid-stroke.

"My measurements are forty, twenty-two, thirty-six." she recited yet again. Several of the other women swore, including Bianca. Her mother gasped.

"Bianca!" Rebecca chastened, though somewhat hesitantly, having only just sworn herself.

"She's a robot?" Bianca breathed, stupefied. Camilla nodded.

"Looks like it. Programmed to 'love', 'serve' and 'talk'." She held up the device for the others to inspect more closely.

"Shouldn't that be 'obey'?" Rebecca quipped, ironically. Clarice was lost for words.

"But, how incredibly sexist!" she declared. Lisa snapped her fingers, realising something.

"I knew it!" she exclaimed, "I knew I'd seen her before! It was on a TV ad for those....um, what do they call them?....." She paused clicking her fingers again and frowning. Camilla hesitated to finish her sentence, not wanting to admit previous experience with the subject. Shortly Lisa's eyes lit up again.

"Auto mates." she recalled, nodding.

"What is that?" Candy asked Camilla softy but suddenly. Camilla turned toward her, startled. The deeply tanned brunette was staring at her serenely, her left rubber glove pointing daintily at the object in Camilla's hands. The question had rather taken Camilla by surprise, not realising Candy had completed her task. While the group had been talking, the voluptuous brunette had replaced the now spotless swab to it's rightful position on the couch and returned the sponge to it's bucket. She was crouched down again, and seemed intent on hearing an answer. Looking into those flawless deep brown eyes Camilla felt suddenly like she had been caught stealing.

"Ah, I dunno." she began hesitantly, "It just fell down out of the couch, onto the tray."

Candy looked down at the pink object, then back at Camilla.

"May I see it?" she asked, though the question was clearly rhetorical as she immediately reached out and took it delicately in her left hand. She surveyed it for a moment, then looked up again.

"This is filthy." she declared, twisting slightly to her left holding the bright pink object delicately over the bucket. Her other hand reached down into the bucket, retrieving the sponge once again.

"Ah, Candy, I wouldn't.." began Camilla as the flawlessly made up brunette pressed the soapy sponge against the device, wiping firmly downward. Foam and water oozed from the sponge, enveloping the small device. Soapy water trickled over her gloves, and back down into the bucket below. A moment later the small pink device emitted a high-pitched fizzle and a crackle of sparks was heard. Unphased, Candy wiped once more. Half way through the stroke, the small device spat a single yellow spark, that made the surrounding women jump. Camilla noticed the very faint, though familiarly foreboding odour of burning electronics. Candy froze as her remote control began to emit a thin veil of smoke.

"My measurements are forty-one, twenty-two, thirty-six." she announced flatly. Camilla wasn't sure if she should snatch the device back off of her, before more damage could be done. Before she could decide, Candy's eyes suddenly focused and she dipped the sponge back into the hot water, presumably intent on giving the stubbornly dirty device in her left hand another wipe. Although, as her arm rose back out of the bucket, the remote control let out another electronic crackle and she was immobile again.

The other women just waited uneasily. Over the hubbub of the party in the background, Camilla thought she heard a quiet whirring sound - the sound of a straining electric motor. A moment later there was a crackle from within the olive-skinned brunette and her eyes focused once again. Only for a moment however, as they then closed slowly. Camilla sensed the exotic beauty inhaling deeply as her tanned torso turned slowly back toward the couch. As she turned, her grasp on the remote control and the sponge loosened and they fell - the pink plastic device narrowly avoiding the edge of the bucket, clattering to the floor instead - the sponge landing wetly, first on Candy's left thigh, then slipping down with a dull 'thunk' onto the floor, next to the remote. Camilla felt tempted to reach around the bucket and grab the smouldering device, but then Candy suddenly got up onto her knees, and rose elegantly to her feet. Startled, Camilla found herself scurrying back a little. Camilla could hear that the single straining motor inside the voluptuous brunette had been joined by others, a faint orchestra of mechanical winding and buzzing emanating from that taut, toned body as it stood. She noticed the other women backing away too. Finally Candy's eyes reopened slowly. She surveyed them all with a smug, alluring smirk. The faint mechanised humming continued. Her eyes closed and opened slowly a few times. Camilla stood up, next to Clarice, and Candy's head turned to face her, those soft brown eyes almost half closed.

"Candy, are you okay?" Camilla asked tentatively.

"I'm perfect." she assured her, huskily. That breathy voice sounded suddenly like it should be providing phone sex. Candy's shoulders and hips were swaying subtly, her voluptuous curves shifting the creases in the fabric of her dress. Camilla guessed that the Automate was now in the 'mode' that Charlie would have preferred earlier, although from the increasingly audible strains of grinding internal hydraulic motors, Camilla suspected the condition of the aroused vixen would leave something to be desired. Camilla glanced down at the remote on the floor at the foot of the statuesque woman. It was still emitting a faint veil of smoke, crackling occasionally. Just as Camilla went to look up at Candy again, the device began to emit a series of louder crackles. Candy spoke suddenly, regaining Camilla's attention.

"My meas - " she began automatically, but then stopped, interrupting herself.

"My measurements ar - "

A distinct 'click' sounded as the word cut off abruptly, and the phrase repeated. "My measurements are forty-four, twenty-two, thirty-six." she said finally, the other women surveying her swelling bust with some alarm. There was a faint crackle of sparks and Camilla noticed the skin above Candy's bulbous cleavage flashed an orange colour, incandescent for a moment. The flash was followed by a whistling fizzle that descended and faded quickly. The noxious odour of melting plastic was undeniable in the air. Candy's face however remained serenely alluring, her eyes blinking slowly as she looked obliviously from one woman to the next. Oblivious, or in denial - Camilla couldn't tell. There could be no doubt that the other women were now aware of Candy's internal machinations. As Candy's head swiveled serenely back and forth, the chorus of winding electric motors was becoming increasingly strained and discordant. Small flashes began to light up the brunette's exposed skin from within, here and there, as more tiny engines ground against each other.

Eventually Clarice jumped in, her eyebrows raised.

"Ah, having a bit of a problem with your bust, Candy?" she inquired, glancing down at it. Candy looked smoothly down at her swollen cleavage then back at Clarice. Camilla thought she noticed a vaguely indignant expression on the face of the increasingly voluptuous brunette, then that smug smile.

"My boobs are perfect." she purred contentedly, adding, "Charlie just loves my boobs." She stated it as if it were an undeniable universal truth. There was another flash of sparks inside that bronzed torso that appeared to go unnoticed by the elegant woman, and Candy's eyes closed slowly and opened again. Clarice stared back coldly.

"Your boobs are plastic." she insisted, surveying Candy's body with disdain, "...Just like the rest of your body....you.....you..."

As Clarice searched for the correct phrase, Camilla surveyed Candy's figure once again. Clarice was right - the tall, exotic brunette appeared utterly plastic. The combination of grinding motors and intermittent internal sparks made it impossible to see the woman as anything but startlingly artificial, her over-sized breasts hovering with seemingly inhuman pertness, as if inflated with helium.

Still smiling confidently, Candy interjected before Clarice could find an appropriate noun.

"My body is perfect." she breathed alluringly, "I am perfect for Charlie."

"Well, she certainly doesn't have a self esteem problem." Camilla pointed out quietly.

"You're Charlie's sex robot!" Clarice yelled, attracting the attention of several nearby guests. Candy's self-satisfied expression did not falter, and her mouth opened to respond, then suddenly she noticed something over Camilla's right shoulder and inhaled sharply, her eyes widening with excitement momentarily. Camilla turned to see that it was just Charlie emerging from the left-most doorway. As she looked, Camilla heard a sensual husky sigh issue from Candy.

"Charlie..." she breathed longingly. Camilla turned back to face the rather bemusingly aroused brunette.

"Whoa! It's only Charlie." she pointed out. But the passionately breathing brunette seemed now utterly oblivious to anyone else but him, staring lustily across the room. Motors hummed as Candy's toned right leg appeared from the split in her dress and took a small step forward. Instantly there was a frenzy of crackling circuits, and the athletically toned, though conspicuously over-endowed, exotic woman froze. Camilla looked down and noticed that Candy's delicate crystalline high heel had rested firmly on the large wet sponge on the floor in front of her, forcing soapy water out of it. The adjacent remote control had been drowned still further in water and foam. It was now sparking and fizzling continuously. The other women backed further away, as Camilla became conscious of more and more people around the room being distracted from their conversations by the busty brunette's audible emanations.

Motors wound with renewed vigour as the tall curvaceous brunette stood, balanced atop her clear perpex high heels, mid-stride. Several violent flashes rocked her body from within, her torso lurching forward so suddenly that Camilla thought for a moment the robotic woman was collapsing. However, several grinding motors struggled to rebalance the alluringly posed woman, managing it only after sounding like they had changed gears several times. Camilla could see increasingly bright flickers through that deeply bronzed skin. Suddenly Camilla herself was knocked partially off balance as Charlie pushed roughly between her and Clarice.

"Candy?" he blurted, "Are you okay?" He reached across, touching her shoulder.

Still apparently oblivious to the problems her 'perfect' body was experiencing, the faltering Automate's head lolled back and she moaned again, a long, breathy sigh, still more sensuously than before. When she looked forward again her eyes were blissfully unfocused, the heavily made-up eyelids mostly closed. Her internal servos leapt further into a frenzy of wailing and grinding as her rubber-gloved hands rose to caress her bust. Charlie moved closer, avoiding the tray piled with cake debris and grabbed her shoulders roughly.

"Candy!" he said firmly, shaking her. There were several loose rattling sounds inside her voluptuous body. Charlie released her and held his head despairingly.

"Oh, not again!" he whined.

"My boobs are perfect." his 'dream girl' whispered, blinking her eyelids slowly. Gears changed. Circuits crackled and flared brightly through her all-too-flawless brown skin. What seemed to Camilla to be an identical moan to that before, issued longingly from Candy's moist, slightly parted lips as a low, repeating tone began to emit from her body - presumably some sort of alarm. It seemed to fail to alert the voluptuous vixen to any problem. Other alarms quickly joined it, bleeping and buzzing along with the whirring, grinding motors. Charlie backed away hesitantly, glancing nervously at the other women, forcing anxious smiles at nearby guests. There seemed now to be a thin veil of smoke above Candy's head. Camilla could see it appearing in little puffs from both ears.

"My body is perfect." the smouldering brunette breathed, her methodically massaged breasts undulating this way and that. Candy's damp rubber gloves had moistened the fabric of her dress and the discoloration of her nipples now showed through. The malfunctioning android moaned longingly yet again, as more powerful sparks began to flash within that tanned upper body, making the head wobble, the breasts bounce unnaturally. Still posed precariously mid stride, her exposed and athletic right thigh flexed firmly, engines churning within, rebalancing. The fabric below Candy's bust flashed suddenly as sparks singed the dress from the inside, leaving several charred speckles. A moment later thin smoke appeared from between the bulging breasts. There were startled gasps from around the room and Camilla heard hushed whispers of realisation;

"...Charlie's girlfriend?"

"...robot?"

"She's a sexbot?"

Shocked, Rebecca moved around the group of gathered women to Bianca and pulled her daughter away to what was presumably a safer distance. Someone suddenly turned the music off. The strangely behaving gorgeous woman spoke into the newly profound silence.

"I am perfect for Charlie." the long legged brunette insisted alluringly, her formerly elegant hairstyle beginning to loosen from above and become somewhat tousled and messy. Her eyelids lowered slowly and that same sigh oozed longingly from her lips.

With the music silenced, the other strange sounds emitting from her were clearly audible. A multitude of differently pitched alarms were now sounding rapidly, making it seem like a computer from an old science fiction film were performing some complex calculation inside the brunette's tanned, shapely body. Hydraulic motors strained and ground against each other. Circuits crackled with increasing volume.

"My legs are perf..." the malfunctioning vixen began breathily. There was a distinct click, and the sentence was interrupted by that familiar, triggered moan. Looking over Candy's shoulder, Camilla could see that several guests were collecting their coats and leaving.

Camilla's attention was regained by another sudden violent flash, this time within Candy's slender neck. A faint puff of smoke appeared from her open, moaning mouth. The moan seemed suddenly strangely artificial, as if recorded poorly from radio, and her head, though still held upright, seemed no longer fixed laterally to it's body. It swung left and right, buffeted about by the repeating electric flashes from below. They became more and more powerful, knocking that curvaceous torso about, swinging the head to and fro, making internal electric motors wind ever more feverishly. Through the enveloping smoke, husky digitised words were heard, though the lips did not mouth them, remaining uncharacteristically agape.

"My circuits..." the brunette barbie doll sighed incredulously, interrupting herself with a click as the same aroused moan repeated. Camilla wasn't sure, but the inexplicably aroused nymphet may just have realised that 'something was up' with her body. However, before the husky sound had time to play out completely, there was another click and it was triggered again. If the deeply tanned Automate had in fact realised her 'perfect body' was overloading, Camilla suspected it was now a little too late to do anything about it.

Candy's head wobbled uneasily on it's axis. Her dark brown hair was increasingly messy, long strands shaking loose from above and hanging down over her shoulders, others getting caught in the moisture of her mouth. Smoke issued steadily from the open mouth, from both ears and even from the nose as the head swung loosely from side to side. Those deep brown eyes were mostly closed, the irises entirely unfocused. To Camilla, Candy's head seemed suddenly like an attractive feminine fake clown's head at some perverse ball throwing stall, or perhaps even more disturbingly, an inflatable doll, inexplicably burning from within. Through the smoke, the digitally sampled sensuous moan continued looping longingly, clicking unnaturally each time it repeated.

A flicker of sparks spat from the front of Candy's dress and a small yellow tongue of flame appeared through the fabric, giving off a narrow writhing thread of black smoke. Alarmingly the flame seemed to be gaining momentum. Camilla mused that this was unsurprising, given the amount of fuel available to it in that area. She conceded that this was rather a callous observation as Charlie looked desperately around and noticed the bucket. He leaned down suddenly and retrieved it.

"Wait! Charlie..." Camilla began, glancing down at the floor. The still sparking remote control lay there in front of Candy's transparent left high heel. Oblivious, Charlie swung the bucket up towards Candy's smoking bust. The foamy water splashed generously over his artificial companion with a satisfying slap, and flowed quickly down the curves of her body.

The external flame was extinguished, though as soapy water washed down to the floor Candy's doused remote control crackled with renewed intensity. Motors churned and sparks flashed inside that wet, soapy chest, accompanied by several distinct 'pop's, then a sudden, loud explosion made Camilla jump and several other guests cry out in alarm. A vast plume of smoke appeared from behind the mechanically grinding pleasure droid and rose up from her back. Camilla noticed guests standing behind the Automate looking extremely shocked. She saw Lisa leaning around, examining Candy's back and gasping suddenly, putting a hand to her mouth. The same prerecorded moan issued steadily from Candy's mouth, clicking as it repeated. Candy's bust dripped wetly, the rubber gloves continued their laborious, mechanised circular massage. The fabric of her wet dress clung to her body and left leg, soapy bubbles drifting slowly down her tanned, and now shiny, exposed right thigh.

Amidst the internal crackling if circuits, Camilla noticed a new repetitious pumping sound. Alarmed, she became aware that the blissfully moaning pleasure droid's ample bosom was expanding once again. The scant silky fabric at her bust seemed to be tightening rapidly. There were balloon-like, rubbery squeaking sounds from her bulging breasts as her rubber gloved hands continued caressing them. Camilla could not tell if the sound was caused by the gloves caressing the unnaturally stretching skin, or the overly inflated breasts rubbing together. To be honest, she didn't really want to know. Charlie, having finally noticed the remote control on the floor, put down the bucket and quickly picked up the other device. He pushed some buttons desperately.

"Candy?" he said, looking up to check for any response, then he tried some more. The remote just fizzled in his hands.

"Candy!"

Unsurprisingly, there was no response - except for that embarrassingly orgasmic sigh, still clicking repeatedly as the breasts continued to swell. A new distinct blaring alarm warned suddenly of impending danger, to no avail.

There was a dreadful tearing sound. Camilla at first expected that the straining dress was finally giving way, but it held. Candy's right breast however seemed suddenly to rise inexorably upward. It wasn't that it was expanding quicker than it's counterpart - to the contrary, it's bronze skin seemed suddenly less stretched. Thick smoke began to issue from Candy's right side, joining that appearing from the orifices of her unlively face. Leaning a little to her left, Camilla peered at Candy's right flank. She was alarmed to see that smoke was issuing from a split in Candy's skin. Where the breast had previously joined her body, a bulging grey balloon had forced it's way partially out of the new seam, the retreating dome of tanned, dripping wet 'skin' pushing upward. Camilla straightened and felt tempted to look away completely.

With more balloon-like squeaking, the right breast rose up and shrank slightly, the nipple popping up out of that soaking wet dress. Visible crackles persisted within the now undeniably plastic woman, and the inexorable inflation of the androids balloon-like bust seemed finally to have stopped. Smoke was issuing steadily from every orifice - Camilla even noticed a plume of smoke or steam appearing from the inner side of Candy's upper right thigh, where the long, wet dress was split. There was another crackle from within Candy's slim neck and whatever mechanism was emitting the repetitive sigh, was now struggling to even function. The sensual husky moan began to cut in and out, starting and stopping seemingly at different pitches.

Surveying the defunct sex toy, as it sighed artificially and continued caressing it's bulbous, swollen breasts, it's purpose seemed utterly clear. Charlie looked about uneasily as more guests moved to leave. A sudden flurry of crackles sputtered within his smouldering doll. Several straining, whirring motors ground quickly to a halt as the repetitive circular motion of the caressing rubber gloves finally slowed and stopped. Alarms stopped abruptly with crackles followed by quickly descending mechanical hums. There was a brief whistling fizzle and then the remote in Charlie's hand crackled. He yelped and reflexively tossed it away onto the couch, where it bounced pleasantly. With the sound of a hydraulic piston shutting off and winding down rapidly, Candy's tall, precariously balanced body flinched and toppled sideways and backwards onto the couch. Bouncing rigidly, the athletically toned body rolled stiffly down onto the floor, coming to rest on it's front, though leaned slightly to the left side. Her head swung loosely from side to side for a moment, eventually facing the floor. Smoke still issued from the ears and mouth in puffs, as that synthesised moan continued searching for the evasive correct pitch.

Camilla was alarmed to notice an unsightly hole roughly four inches square in the middle of that otherwise flawless back. A huge tangled mass of circuits and smoking wires protruded out of the smouldering cavity. Those toned arms, still bent stiffly at the elbows, had been pushed back slightly by the fall, the elbows sticking up at angles above the otherwise flawlessly tanned back. The shapely torso wobbled unsteadily on it's over-inflated bust, balanced somewhat by it's rigid rubber-gloved hands and flexed athletic legs, still frozen in that recklessly taken stride. Noxious steam and smoke rose up from the tanned, wet and immobile, slender body. That digitised, stuttering moan continued falteringly, apparently still oblivious to any problem, accompanied still by a single deep alarm, bleeping slowly and steadily.

"I think she's had a little to much to drink." Camilla suggested, glancing down at the empty bucket on the floor beside Charlie, as murmuring guests shuffled out of the door.
 
 

The End.