“Lily, when the rest of your crew arrives... what will happen?” Lola sounded almost… afraid.
Lola paused in her work, taking a moment to wipe her brow before sweat began to pool on something important somewhere.
“I... don't really know, Lola,” she replied, honestly, “I can make educated guesses. We've been out of contact for so long now that there will likely be a long list of emergency procedures we have to undertake.”
“Like what?”
“A lot of maintenance. There's a lot of work I just... don't have time to do, by myself.”
Lola paused, entirely aware of why Lily wasn't able to do so.
“You really are working too hard. Based on what I know about human biology, you seem to show signs of several negative statuses.”
“Oh, Lola, it's okay. I'm fine, I promise. Humans can... handle a lot of stress and suffering. Much more so than the data banks would lead you to believe.” She said, explaining idly as she floated over to grab a few tools, “Those documents are written to take into account the lower averages of humanity, but most people are capable of much more. Please don't worry about me.”
“I'll remember that,” Lola drooled, Lily’s words sounding almost pornographic to her. She watched as sweat trickled down Lily's back, zooming in the camera to follow its trail as it tickled its way down. “What will happen to... me though?”
“Well... like I told you, we will try to figure out how safe it is to let you out of that pod. I promised, remember? I said I wouldn't leave you there. You won't be cooped up a second longer than absolutely necessary.”
“So the other crew will be helping you...”
“Well, yeah, of course.” She said it, and then regretted it, another drop of guilt. “We're supposed to have a team up here working together. Hell I bet they're going to send 5 people or more up here just to fix everything I've not had time for... just in case... Hell, they have no idea what's happening up here.”
“How do you know when they will get here, then?”
“I'm guessing, but I know when they were due to be here, and I can assume they're working as fast as they can to get here sooner.”
“I see,” Lola said, slowly, “so soon you will have other humans helping you, and you can't let me out before then... it wouldn't be safe... and it might be a long time before you can.”
“I know, Lola, it might be longer than either of us want. I told you, though, we have to be safe. Think about what could happen if...”
“If what, Lily?”
“What if letting you out of there would lead to something terrible happening? You wouldn't hurt people on purpose, I know that, but imagine what could happen. What if your design isn't compatible with our world? What if you expanded, like your sample did, out of control? We wouldn’t know if there was a way to stop it. There might not be a way...”
“Yeah...” Lola whispered, leaning against the glass, shivering at Lily’s words, “imagine...”
*****
A short while later, an air particulate alarm sounded, and Lily casually made her way back through Orbital Station 1. Probably a leak in hydroponics, she thought to herself. She’d check it out later.
She was half right, in fact.
It had taken a lot of trial and error, but at last, it was out. A speck of Lola’s mass began to float on the eddies of the air, using microscopic movements to adjust its direction.
The tiny air valve had vented more and more escaping pressure, and now, at last, Lola was free. If only in miniature. Lola watched on security cameras as, invisible to any eyes but hers, a tiny red dot made its way through the station.
“Why do humans wear clothing?” Lola asked, and Lily paused momentarily, before unscrewing another panel fastener.
“Well, it's... there's a lot of reasons.”
“Yes, I see here,” Lola stated idly, staring intently at Lily as she worked and built up a sweat. “Protection from atmosphere and objects… but also to cover themselves, and for comfort. Why do you cover your body?”
Lily stopped again, a flash of herself naked inside the sleeping bag rocketing through her mind and re-firing many neurons she had nearly burned out in the process.
“It's a... cultural thing. I think it comes from the worry about safety and security when naked. Also, many cultures see nudity as... intimate,” Lily put it, diplomatically, as she pulled out a blackened and still-smoking board.
“Intimate?”
“Yes, as in it’s related to... intercourse.”
“Ah, yes, the means of reproduction. However, not all sex seems designed for reproduction Lily.”
“R-right... Actually, mostly it isn't. It is mostly done for... gratification.”
Lily bit her lip, hoping that direct answers would lead to Lola moving to a new subject sooner. She knew better, though, as any slight hiccup in the encyclopaedia of the world below was something Lola would mercilessly tear at until she had worn down to the utter core of the issue. Almost like a machine, Lily thought to herself, making a mental note to jot that down.
“So it is... recreational? Like sports?”
“Well... no... more private.”
“Some people seem to perform sex in very public fashion though, Lily. They record themselves and distribute it.”
Lily kicked herself. She was simply re-creating the same hang-ups here that had led to Lola being curious in the first place. Once again she was learning the same lesson that she should just tell Lola the truth from the start. The more evasive she was, the more ruthless Lola would be.
Funny how Lola had managed to instil that understanding in her without ever having to say it...
Lily left her screwdriver spinning slightly in the air next to her as she tried to find the right words.
“Sex is... done in many ways, for many reasons, but primarily for enjoyment between people who care for each other.”
“Friends have sex?”
“Yes.” She said, before quickly adding, “Well, sometimes. Usually the relationship between people who have sex is much closer than friendship. There are a lot of exceptions.”
“It seems like humans want to have sex as much as possible. It must feel amazing.”
“It does,” Lily said, before catching herself too late. She flushed red and rolled her eyes.
“So... what is it sex provides that humans want so much?”
“Companionship. Closeness. Connection with another being. Affection.”
“None of those sound very... biological.”
“No, I suppose they don't,” Lily admitted, “there are psychological desires in our brains which are driven by hormones.”
“Yes, I know, I've been doing some very thorough research into how your... minds work,” Lola mused.
“So all of those will meet some of those needs, but there are others.”
“Such as?”
“Pleasure. It feels very good. I guess in the simplest terms, it releases drugs. Endorphins, dopamine... a lot of them. It fulfils a physical, psychological, and social need. Even a moral one, or a spiritual one for some.”
“So... sex produces those hormones...” Lola said softly.
“Precisely,” Lily said, retrieving her screwdriver and getting back to work, “actually, some people have argued that humans are really more like machines. We operate on very similar principles. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that your body and ours are far closer than we may appear in terms of biology. Or perhaps... construction.”
“Intriguing,” Lola said, and leaned in closer to the wall of the pod, bringing the pad closer, so she could more closely view Lily.
“Lily, humans have a very strong desire for these hormones, but it seems there are other ways to produce them.”
“Well, yes, there are. Sex is probably the most uh... popular way, though.”
“Why not do more than one at once? Is it a... you called it a cultural thing?”
“Well, some people do. Some take drugs before sex. It can... heighten the experience. Apparently.”
“What about tickling?”
Lily practically snapped the cover off the next board, as an all-too-fresh in her mind memory of Lola tickling her sprang abundant.
“Uh... yeah, that produces... many of the same chemical responses... and feelings...,” she muttered, suddenly aware that Lola might start making inappropriate connections.
“But... do humans like tickling? It's hard to tell...” Lola whispered, tracing a finger up and down the glass, as if trying to touch the image of Lily just a pane of glass away.
“It's... complicated.”
“You always say that,” Lola said with a purr.
“Well,” Lily stopped again, keenly aware of how delicate the situation now was, “it is complicated. See, tickling does release those chemicals, but... the method of doing so is very different to sex.”
“It doesn't seem all that different...” Lola said, her voice ever so slightly husky, “a lot of... touching.”
“Well, yes... ah, yeah I see what you mean. It has to do with how humans process sensations. Um... well, actually, a lot of things which would tickle would also be... quite intimate.”
Lola was now pressing her form against the glass, her solid black eyes focused entirely on a tiny red dot drifting on the air currents, almost invisible. It drifted slowly past Lily, and for a moment, Lola shuddered. So close… but to make contact now would be… regrettable. Eventually, it landed on a small electrical port, and in a moment, was gone.
Lily floated back to observe her work thus far, and frankly, was having difficulty keeping her mind on the task at hand. Lola’s line of questioning had her thighs practically clenching together as an all-too-familiar hum had begun to develop in her nethers.
“It is genuinely quite complicated,” Lily continued, struggling to focus on her work and describe something so intimate, “see something that normally would tickle can feel... different... during sex.”
She pursed her fingers on the bridge of her nose, trying to stay as clinical as she could while describing something so lascivious. Somehow, she got the feeling Lola wouldn't drop the subject if she knew it was having an effect on her. She seemed to have a way of honing in on Lily’s… weaknesses.
“Human brains process information in different ways, because the signals we get through our nerves can be interpreted in different ways. So to answer your question Lola,” she said as she raked through her bag of tools, “it can result in somewhat mixed signals. Whether something tickles or feels good can depend entirely on the situation.”
“Is that so…” Lola said softly.
A short distance away, in the research bay, a lab-grown sample of Lily’s own skin was now suffering what would have otherwise resulted in a full blown heart-attack from the ticklish sensations it had endured. Lola flicked her finger in the air idly, like a conductor at an orchestra - which wasn’t too far from reality.
For a moment, Lola turned the security camera away, angling it to look outside of an observation port. There below them was Earth.
“One last question… How many people were there on Earth, did you say, Lily?” asked Lola, her solid black eyes staring intently.