FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Good morning," stated the store assistant. "Welcome to CyberaTech."

For a moment, Luke marvelled at the shop's interior. Crisp, smooth white and silver edges lined the walls. Tables sat, their edges sleek and rounded, to display what outwardly appeared to be only a handful of the stock's top-of-the-line merchandise. The store was a testament to sterile efficiency, a break-neck contrast to the smog-etched and rain-drenched street in Oldtown in which it sat.

Oldtown sat at the junction of the port and the kibble, sandwiched between both districts like a dissatisfied wedge. Each working day, Luke caught the tramline through Oldtown from his apartment on the east side, peeking out through the carriage's grime-encrusted window at the makeshift roadside stalls hawking soy noodles, protein-grown vegetables and sawbones augmentations. Oldtown had become a mish-mash of immigrant cultures, sitting side by side in overcrowded low-rise concrete buildings that were, more often than not, obscured by the presence of cinematic holographic advertisements that offered the local inhabitants the promise of a fantastic new life in the off-world colonies, sexual thrills in virtual reality holidays, and of course, androids to make your life easier than you could possibly imagine. Most people who lived in Oldtown could not afford to buy such extravagant products, but that did not stop any of the megacorps from advertising there nonetheless.

The entire district, predominantly unchanged for the last few hundred years, sat as a sharp contrast to the Newtown to the north. The interior of the store reminded Luke heavily of Newtown, in its white crispness, sleek corporate identity, proficiency and wealth. The fox felt a little uncomfortable. "Hello" he said.

The assistant walked over to him. She wore a smooth blue dress, which shimmered as she took her precise steps towards the fox. Her hair was a neat sway of crimson against her lupine features. "How may I assist you today?"

Looking the store assistant over, Luke could not help but notice that the shade of her fur seemed to match almost precisely that of his new friend from work. She had more than a passing similarity to Cybe, the android that Luke had arranged to meet for dinner later that evening. "I'm interested in an android" he said.

"Of course" said the assistant. "Here at CyberaTech, you will find that our androids offer an advanced user interface. Let me pull up a menu for you."

As she navigated to one of the tables with Luke in tow, the fox played a guess. With more than a little nervousness playing in his voice, he asked "Are you an android too?"

The store assistant turned her head to him, and nodded. "I am a series 4000 KSH-mark android. If you like me, all of my parts are available for purchase."

Luke nodded, slowly. "KSH-mark, you say?" he asked.

She nodded. "You can call me Rachel" replied the wolf. With a sweep of her hand, she brought up a large holographic display that stood, shimmering, over the table. "Have you owned an android before?"

Shaking his head, Luke replied "No. It's my first time. You're so lifelike though. How can I tell the difference?"

Rachel shrunk the hologram down to the size of a small sheet of paper. Turning to face Luke, she reached her hand downwards until her fingers rested on her belt, effortlessly locating a miniature control switch. Pressing a slender button, the blue uniform that she wore snapped out of existence, leaving behind only a light crackle of electrons.

Now wearing only the thin belt around her hips, Rachel motioned to the base of her throat, indicating with her clawtip a neat line of barcode that sat almost three inches above the mid-section of her breasts. "All androids include their registry information placed here as a scannable barcode" she explained, her voice still as effortlessly proficient and direct as before. Then she lifted her right foot, turning her heel upwards. "And located here is the CyberTech seal" she added, motioning to the brand that Luke could not help but realise was identical to the one that he had seen only the previous day. "This is our guarantee to you, the customer, that each CyberTech android has been individually inspected to meet our rigorous standards of approval, and..."

"You have nipples" said Luke.

At the interruption, Rachel lowered her foot. "Yes. All CyberTech models are equipped with a range of functionality for..."

"And a belly-button" commented Luke, his eagerness taking over. His eyes scanned the female android, inquisitively. He blushed a little as his eyes moved below her hip-line.

"The belly-button provides an additional umbilical data port" explained Rachel, "which contains a milti-adapter for older cables and charging units, including USB 5.0 and 6.0, ensuring maximum backwards compatibility. Are you interested in my sexual organs?"

"I..." stuttered Luke. "I suppose?"

Rachel nodded. "They are also available as one of our range of options that you may include as part of your android. I will save that selection for you. However if you desire a sample, I am afraid that due to health and safety we cannot facilitate that in-store." She looked at him, her eyes seeming to glint in the store's fluorescent light. "Would you desire for me to arrange for a home visit?"

Luke shook his head. With a wave of her hand, Rachel grew the holographic display back up into a larger scale, and made a few quick selections with her hand. Satisfied, she reactivated her clothing, her uniform crackling back into existence like a shroud around her.

Luke inhaled, somewhat impressed at the thought that a company could afford to equip something as lowly as a store assistant android with an expensive piece of tech such as a clothing emitter. "Is that standard?" he asked, motioning to the android's belt.

Rachel shook her head. "A CyberaTech clothing emitter comes with a choice of over three thousand dressing options, and can be included in your purchase for only fifteen thousand credits."

The fox nodded, inwardly staggered at the high price.

"What functionality would you like for your android?" asked the wolf. "CyberaTech androids include models capable of personal security, manual labour, home care, military, companionship..."

"That one" said Luke. "A companion android."

Rachel selected the option on the display. "Of course" she added, "elements of the other options can be incorporated into your personalised selection. Please select the sex of your android's main body."

Several options popped up on the display. Luke selected one, "Male" he said.

"Do you desire a male internal identity to go with that?" asked Rachel.

The fox nodded. Rachel swiped her hand to one side, and an array of silhouettes appeared, each outlining a body shape. "Our default model" said the wolf, indicating the first, "is available at a discount today."

Luke scanned the other shadowed icons, his eyes running across the vast selection. There were large, muscular options. Small, quick options. At least one that looked almost identical to himself. Finally, his eyes settled on the default model. Looking at it, he thought that it reminded him the most of Cybe. "This one" he said.

Rachel selected the option, and there was a light churning of mechanics. Luke stepped back as the table before them both started to shift. It slid upwards, the top of the table retracting into the main body. Then, gliding upwards into view came an android body - limp, rigid and looking completely asleep.

The abruptness of this startled the fox somewhat. Until then, the store itself had seemed almost barren. He then realised that there must be a huge stock simply held in the back, waiting to be brought out in such a way to be displayed to the customer. He looked over the android figure that lay before him, lifeless and unmoving. It was very much like Cybe, he thought to himself.

"The main body" explained Rachel, "is highly customisable. We have a selection of over thirty types of faces, and can adjust the model's height and weight to suit. If you have any particular fetishes, we include a large number of alternative bodily segments, such as feet, breasts, or additional sexual organs."

"Additional?" he repeated, a little incredulously.

Rachel, though, seemed to take his emotional statement quite literally, drawing up another menu. "This option includes secondary and tertiary penises" she pointed, "while these include intersex and vaginal inserts. Each organ is customisable in terms of length, nature, girth, tightness, and more. What customisations would you like?"

Luke reached out to touch the android. His fingers hovered, barely an inch from the figure, before he stopped. "It looks complete" he said.

The store assistant didn't respond.

The fox tried again. "There are no exposed mechanical parts" he said. In his mind, he pictured Cybe's cybernetic limbs, his arm and eye.

"That is correct" said Rachel.

Luke closed his eyes for a moment, picturing Cybe. Compared to the android that lay before him, the wolf that he had become such good friends with seemed older, dented, almost like a second hand model. At the thought, he chided himself - thinking about his friend in such a way made him feel guilty. "Can I do that?" he asked. "Could I have a patch here, on this arm" he motioned, "can I have the mechanics exposed on it?"

Rachel fell silent for a moment. "That would be a custom modification" he explained. "While our androids are sold with customisable options, the user terms does specify that downgrading the hardware may void your warranty."

"But" insisted Luke, "what if it loses an arm? Can they be replaced?"

"All of our models come with a four year guarantee. Should any damage befall the unit, we can offer full repairs to factory standard, and returned to the user as good as new."

It was not quite the answer that he had wanted, but Luke figured that it was the closest that the assistant was programmed to give. He considered that for a moment, wondering what this meant about his new friend. It seemed odd to him that an android, especially one that would be covered by a factory guarantee, would choose to continue to function with sub-optimal parts. Clearly, Cybe had replaced those limbs at some point, or been left in a condition where replacement had been necessary. Yet why the android would have then sought out rudimentary repairs rather than utilise his guarantee was a mystery.

Dismissing the thoughts for now, Luke pressed another question. "What else can I do with it?"

Rachel made swift motions in the air above the android's prone body, recovering the holographic menu. "Many customers choose to implant their androids with self-defence systems. Our companion androids utilise the same weaponry systems as our military models, ensuring that our customers are able to feel assured for their personal safety at all times. There are options for projectiles that can be implanted into the forearm units, with ranges including bladed weapon, semi-automatic projectiles, plasma rifling, EMP, flame..."

"No" said Luke, "none of that."

Without missing a moment, Rachel pushed on. "Would you like to upgrade the fur texture? We have six different options, all available with optional stealth camouflage."

"Camouflage?" he asked.

"Initially part of our military line, the fur's polymer is capable of registering light around it and adjusting the shade and texture to suit. This provides a result similar to the Special Force's light-reflecting stealth suits, although in this case it does not actively bend light in order to do so."

The fox shook his head. For some reason, the repeated mention of the military uses of the android seemed to be somehow distasteful to him. "I don't want a soldier" he said. "I just want a friend."

Rachel swiped away the holographic display. "A good choice" she replied. "Companion androids from CyberaTech make fantastic friends. Here in the sprawl, we know that life can be difficult and isolating. Our models make fantastic carers for the elderly, friends for those who find social situations difficult, and reliable assistants for those living with disabilities."

It sounded almost like a sales pitch, Luke thought to himself. But then, he was in a CyberaTech store, and it was their business to sell him a product. He folded his arms around his slender chest. "What kind of personality does it have?"

"Please follow me" said Rachel, as she lead the fox away from the resting android's body on the table. Together they moved to the far corner of the store, where an entire wall was set up ready to serve as a display board.

With a few motions of her hand, the android wolf brought forth a vast display. A three-dimensional image of an android's head sprung into view, hanging in a network of digital webs.

"From here, you can build your android's personality" explained Rachel. "Each CyberTech android has access to a large variety of personality matrices. You can select as many of each personality as you like, and determine the quantity of each matrix."

Luke nodded, feeling just a little lost in the stream of information. "So the personality is not pre-set?" he asked.

"It is adjustable" explained Rachel. "So, for instance, if you wish an android that has the qualities of 'submissive' and 'gentle' at an even match, I can fill the personality like so." She moved her fingers, selecting a single option on a pull-down menu on the walls holographic display. A bright neon yellow shade of colour, representing gentleness, filled the rotating image of the android's head up until the mid-point. She then repeated the process, only this time with a strong vibrant blue shade. "This type of android would be good for a caregiver" explained Rachel, "or home assistant."

The fox watched, amazed. The layout of the image seemed so simple - such a utilitarian and user-friendly representation of what surely must have been an insanely intricate network of algorithms. "I can have as many of each matrix as I want?" he asked, "and as many of each as I wish?"

Rachel nodded, and demonstrated by drawing the vibrant blue 'submissive' option down to fifteen percent. She added a hot pink 'cheeky' option up to twenty percent, and topped the rest of the available space with 'assertive'. "This android" she explained "would be good for somebody whose ideal companion is one that is outwardly a bit of a contrarian. He would be programmed to talk back and converse with the occasional light-hearted jibe. But the presence of the submissive option would keep the android from overstepping the user's personal boundaries, and the gentleness would ensure that there was never any outright rudeness."

"You can make a rude android?" asked Luke, amazed.

She nodded. "Each personality comes with over fifty thousand stock phrases and behavioural routines."

"But will they feel them?" pressed the fox. "Will they actually feel those emotions?"

Rachel fell silent. Almost a full five seconds passed before she spoke, during which time Luke could swear that he could feel her processor searching her memory database for an answer to the question. Then, finally, she spoke. "Your android is, at heart, still a machine" she said. "It is programmed to function for the desire of yourself, the main user. The personality that it displays is simply part of its system performance."

"Do they get upset?" asked Luke. "Or feel pleasure, or pain?"

"There are personality options that allow for a unit to display dissatisfaction" she explained, "and to stimulate pleasure and pain responses. But those are simulated responses. If you are interested in sadomasochistic play, we have just released a new patch that enhances the realism of a unit's pain reactions. A model with a 'submissive' personality will remember if you spank her, and avoid undertaking behaviours that have occured the response from you in the future, while those with a 'bratty' personality will register those behaviours and undertake them more often. Does that answer your question?"

Grudgingly, Luke nodded. It did not answer his question, but he was unsure that Rachel truly understood what he was asking her. He thought back to Cybe, about how hurt he had looked when the fox had described him as a robot, about how pleasured the wolf's face had been as they had explored one another's bodies. Luke wondered if it was indeed possible that his friend's reactions had been derived entirely from an internal network of personality traits and ingrained behavioural algorithms.

Luke sighed. He had hoped that by coming to the store he would have found some answers. Instead, he felt that he was left with more questions. Thinking about the date that awaited him that evening, he wondered if Cybe even felt the same kind of anxiety that sat heavy in the fox's chest. "I'm sorry" he muttered to Rachel, "I think I need to think this over a bit first."

Gracefully, the android nodded. "Of course. We recognise the purchase of your first android is a large step, and here at CyberaTech we strive to make that as smooth as possible. Please enter a name that we can use to save your data so that you may resume browsing at a later stage?"

The fox grumbled his name, and glanced quickly around the store one last time. The male android that he had selected lay still on the table, looking so uncannily like his newfound friend that he struggled to remember that they were distinctly two entirely different beings. He checked his watch, the small holographic pictographs representing the time reminding him that he had only a handful of hours left before his date with Cybe. He wondered if it were even proper that he should consider it a 'date'. He didn't own Cybe - he wondered if anybody did.

Stepping out of the store, Luke glanced back and forth, looking at the people that trudged down the street in heavy rain-proof coats and respirators. He wondered how many of them, under their clothing and skin, were mechanical beings. A week prior, the thought had barely entered his mind. But now, the fox was not so certain at all.