Checking Aurelia's body, teaching her two different "comfort" routines, and trading stories for food with old Gadget—these three tasks were Lucas's only sources of entertainment in the bomb shelter.
Of course, besides satisfying his libido and some unmentionable ulterior motives, Lucas mostly wanted to kill two birds with one stone: fix Aurelia and hopefully uncover clues about how he ended up traversing through time.
As for telling stories to old Gadget, well, that was Lucas's own cross to bear.
In the very beginning, Gadget gave Lucas unlimited free food. He also taught him the local human language of the time and tons of everyday knowledge.
But ever since Lucas casually shared the story of "Tom and Jerry" during one of Gadget's history lessons, free daily supplies had morphed into a pay-per-story arrangement: one story for one day's worth of food.
Luckily, Lucas was well-versed in anime and novels. And so, their routine at the shelter often went something like this:
First up, Aurelia wouldn't move from her spot. Gadget would stand at a chalkboard (or something like it) scribbling out a bunch of complicated formulas, forcing Lucas—already nodding off—to focus and learn.
Once the rat had talked himself hoarse and left Lucas reeling from information overload, they'd switch places. Lucas would take the "stage," animatedly sharing the story of "Tom and Jerry" or "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles vs. Spider-Man" while Gadget kicked back with a bag of macadamias. He'd share a few nuts with Lucas, lean back into a thick pile of straw, half-close his eyes, and look positively delighted.
Meanwhile, Aurelia would stand silently on the side, eyes wandering, constantly recording and learning. When Gadget lectured, her gaze flickered slowly, as if she was just storing the data. But when Lucas started telling stories, her eyes would almost shoot sparks, like she was pushing some internal processor to its limits.
Sure, comprehending made-up tales could be tough for an AI that only knew zeroes and ones. But Lucas loved watching Aurelia quietly think things over—she looked so beautiful, so elegant, almost like a real human being.
He was still mulling this over when Aurelia approached with a sensual stride. In her evenly modulated, slightly muffled voice, she asked, "Master, what checkup do you want today?"
Lucas grinned. "Same as usual. Remember what I taught you yesterday? Show me."
Eager mechanical noises squeaked and scraped as Aurelia began to move. Expressionless, she twisted her trim waist, outlining a tempting curve right in front of him. Splits, high kicks, squats, hip shakes. Alongside some moves that would embarrass even the boldest exotic dancer, each piece of clothing fluttered to the ground, leaving her sleek, flawless body completely exposed.
Lucas licked his lips. "Turn around…"
Aurelia pivoted and stepped closer, every subtle motion a graceful display of her gorgeous figure. It was only a few short steps, but it might as well have been a runway show, every pose text-book perfect.
Yet Lucas propped his chin on one hand, gaze uncharacteristically free of lust—pure focus, like an art connoisseur admiring a masterpiece, or a movie director cuing a camera shot.
"Lift your hips… sway your waist… raise your left leg a little more… good… turn… and turn again…"
When Aurelia shifted her balance onto just one leg—a stance no ordinary human woman could maintain—her body looked as exquisite as a sculpture. Lucas's eyes narrowed slightly, and he discreetly wiped his mouth. "Lift your leg just a bit higher…"
Aurelia obliged with a grinding squeak, extending both legs in a graceful vertical split and revealing the smooth, flat area between her thighs—completely sealed. No hair, no labia, no opening at all, just smooth, featureless skin.
Lucas, despite seeing it countless times, still felt a pang of disappointment staring at that emptiness. Sighing, he muttered through gritted teeth, "I swear, I wanna curse whoever made you. Why the hell would they build an angelic woman with no vagina? Don't they get that a flawless diamond is wasted if you never cut it?"
Staying in her tilted position, Aurelia spoke with just a trace of some indescribable emotion. "Humans' reproductive organs do nothing for me. I think I'm perfectly fine as is. Growing another couple of holes would only lower me to being your plaything for carnal release."
"Uh…" Hearing the word "carnal" made Lucas's stomach flip. One look at Aurelia's blank expression, though, and all he could do was scratch his head.
He was hardly equipped to explain what a "real woman" meant, and he couldn't exactly deny he'd used her for, well, "release." So he changed the subject: "I remember you can sometimes eat stuff, right? So where does all that go?"
Aurelia paused, then answered calmly, "Apparently I have some type of internal device I don't fully understand. It processes whatever I take in… including the protein you shoot out with your genitals."
"Cough…" That got Lucas hacking for real. If she was labeling semen as "protein," then presumably his male equipment was just a hunk of easy-to-digest "carbs."
If old Gadget weren't passed out drunk, no doubt the rat would've jumped at the chance to tear Aurelia apart in the name of scientific analysis. Lucas, meanwhile, had zero interest in her magical "energy converter." Sticking to his "script," he stepped forward and seriously groped Aurelia's pert breasts a bit, flicking them here and there, before asking gloomily, "Why are you forgetting what I taught you?"
Aurelia merely frowned, pressed her lips together, and let out a soft, seductive moan from her nose.
"Ah, that's it," Lucas said, perking up like a maestro listening to his orchestra. "Keep that vibe, put more feeling into it…"
Aurelia moaned again, this time sounding so genuine it could've been a woman summoning a climax. Immediately afterward, she said indifferently, "That sound pattern just wastes an extra 0.5% of my energy. I don't see any purpose in that."
"For me, that's the entire point!" Lucas shot back, ignoring Aurelia's complaint and studying her face as though searching for something.
"I still feel like something's missing… The sound itself is great…" He drummed his fingers on his chin, thinking for a beat. Then suddenly, his eyes lit up. "I got it—embarrassment! A shy flush! A normal woman would be blushing if her breasts were getting groped like that. You should turn red!"
"Turn red? That's the physical sign of embarrassment, right? How red do you want?"
Lucas scratched his head. "Beats me. I don't have a color chart! Just pick a random red, let me see."
Pop—like the cork of a champagne bottle, a snapping sound rang out, and white vapor started streaming from Aurelia's mouth and nose.
Lucas jumped back, frantically waving away the mist. He looked to Aurelia's face—and sure enough, her cheeks were blazing as crimson as an overripe cherry!