As the water rose inside the hot tub, the Rival began twitching into life. Starting from a fetal position, it began moving its torso and limbs into a series of specific body patterns modeled after yoga poses. Each one activated different parts of its core system, apparently, and the whole process wouldn´t take more than about ten minutes. This part of IntimaTek´s technology was the one I found the most extraordinary: the fact that they were hydro-powered. Watching it move under the water of the jacuzzi was mesmerizing. Its movements looked like more than balletic, or like that circus company out in Las Vegas. This was something more hallucinatory, like something out of mythology or something. This was closer to watching a real-life mermaid awaken from a deep slumber.
 
According to the materials I glanced at before sneaking off with it from my firm, this Rival was referred to as “Simone”. I couldn't tell what color eyes it had because they were still closed beneath the water, but it's thick long hair was sandy blonde, growing darker in color as the water filled up to the edge of the jacuzzi. Like all of these newer Rival models, Simone´s body was lithe and strong, without any freckles or scars along the pristine contours of its skin. Its limbs and torso displayed the kind of ideal degree of muscle tone that I had been working at for years doing Pilates and yoga. Rivals, like all other kinds of artificially intelligent humanoid robots, were designed to be physically perfect.
 
I thought Mike would love it.
 
4915 words (F/AI, M/F/AI)
 
Cover art by Arthur Durkee
https://artdurkee.substack.com/