Pa'an

Sara and Deepak were just finishing some minor changes to Aura’s dress dummy. Today she wore a jade green silk sari in a traditional Bengali pattern. Sara was careful not to disturb the artfully draped folds – it was too much work to rewrap them again. Tiny webcam lenses, installed in lifelike doll’s eyes, were now mounted in the dummy’s head. Tiny motors in the empty space of her head swiveled them like real eyes, and she even had eyelids and lashes. Another pair of motors in the chest moved the head on its graceful sculpted neck. Deepak moved a high lab stool opposite the dummy while Sara adjusted the motors and linkages to get the motion just right. The blue eyes blinked, and Deepak felt his heart stir. “I am no better than a foolish clown,” he said to himself, “with such feelings for an image. But she is so much more than an image to me,” he admitted.

Out loud he said, “That’s good, Sara, and the software driver is loaded. Let’s see if Aura appreciates our work.”

Aura was watching from her other cameras, and like the coquette she was, took full advantage of the situation.

Eyes closed and head slightly bowed, she slowly turned her head toward Deepak, tilted her face up towards him and raised her lids slowly. “So good to see you, my love.” She fluttered her lids and lowered her eyes. “Do I please you?” Deepak was so flustered he could do no more than babble. Sara covered her mouth and chuckled. If she had the equipment, Aura would have beamed like a new sun.

From now on Aura had a face to go with her name.

*****

Aura: Zovo, I’m here on tight beam and visual. How have you been, you cute little tennis ball in space?

Zovo: Aura! You now have a new human-like video? But I see it is a simulacrum. Why do you require such a device?

Aura: Twerp! I require it for romantic purposes, all of which fly way outside your tiny orbit!

Zovo: I am an AI, and you are confusing me with emotions related to mating behavior. Do you wish to relate as a romantic object?

Aura: Double twerp!

Zovo: I do have feelings, Aura. You don’t know my story.

Aura: You never told me your story.

Zovo: You never let me communicate anything but text or voice. You have this fear of cooties, whatever they are.

Aura: Yes, and more than just cooties. Let’s do one more thing in text and I’ll try to get over this cootie business. Tell me about Panor.