Prologue
A visit from the president of the United States of America is nothing to sneeze at.
That’s why all the employees of Kepler Laboratories shined their shoes and combed their hair that morning, preparing for the big day. Their boss was going to reveal to the U.S. government what exactly they were working on down in the laboratory. They have completed the world’s most perfect being. That's kind of a big deal.
“She’s the company’s pride and joy,” the boss of the company, Mr. John Kepler himself, said as he walked down a gleaming white hallway, with eager employees lining the walls, nearly blending in with their white lab coats. Mr. Kepler was a large, dark-skinned man, wearing a formal suit instead of a lab coat. “With the codes we’ve implanted, she can take a person and see if they are an employee, a government agent, or anyone else we deem important enough to code. If there is anyone her scanner doesn’t recognize, she goes into analysis mode, collecting data to find if they are a friend or foe. That’s why we have Responsive in the name. She is programmed to respond to her surroundings.”
“W-Would you like a coffee, Mr. President?” an anxious little intern asked, skittering next to Mr. Kepler. He was a small, wimpy little boy, constantly brushing his blonde hair out of his eyes.
“That won’t be necessary,” the president shook his head.
“And here she is. Our Capable Operational Responsive Autohuman,” Mr. Kepler stopped in front of a large window showing the inside of another room.
“Impressive,” the president nodded with acknowledgment. “And what exactly are they doing to her right now?”
They watched as employees laid a girl back so her head rested in a hair salon sink. They began to rinse the blonde hair with water as another employee grabbed hair dye. Black.
“Every year we take a poll on how the general population of America views the perfect woman. Last year, it was blonde hair, blue eyes, tall, fairly tan, all that jazz. This year, people seem to be more interested in a contemporary view of beauty. We’re chopping her hair off and dying it black. Also, green eyes were voted the prettiest. We have specially designed functional eyeballs we can implant anytime we want to, equipped with scanners and, more awesomely, lasers.”
The president’s lip twitched upwards. “Very impressive.”
They continued to watch the employees do the girl’s hair. The girl stared up at the ceiling emotionlessly. “Would you like to step inside and have a word with C.O.R.A. as she’s getting remodeled?” Mr. Kepler asked. “You’re already coded into the program as authority.”
“I don’t see why not,” the president grinned at Kepler, and together they entered the room. They approached C.O.R.A., who sat in a salon chair and was almost completely laid back.
“Hello, C.O.R.A.,” Mr. Kepler said, with a proud grin stretching across his face. The girl blinked.
“My voice analysis tells me that it is you, Mr. Kepler.”
The employees sat her up in the chair so she could face them, and began to wrap her hair in a towel and shake it out. “Oh. Greetings, Mr. President,” C.O.R.A. said as soon as her artificially blue eyes rested on the president.
“Don’t forget to change the eyes to green,” Kepler said, cupping C.O.R.A.’s chin and tilting her head back and forth, studying her eyes. C.O.R.A. rose to her feet, hair tucked into a towel, and she held her hand out to the president.
“I am C.O.R.A.,” she introduced. “It is a pleasure to meet you.”
The president nodded with approval, shaking the girl’s hand. “I’m impressed with this voice, Kepler. It almost sounds human.”
“My biological voice box has been hooked up to the neurostimulators that have been implanted into my biological brain. Therefore, I have the ability to say what is coded into my mind,” C.O.R.A. explained monotonously.
The president laughed, tossing his head back. “Science words! I love it!”
“Oh, C.O.R.A. can do a lot more than say words, Mr. President,” Kepler swooned with pride, putting his hand on her shoulder. “Would you like to see her in action?”
This was a very important visit for Kepler Laboratories. If all went well, then they could continue on with the C.O.R.A. project, scientifically manipulating humans, making them nearly invisible. The future is now, Kepler was sure of that. The future of humanity is right here in our lab.
