"Why is it naked?" I ask, turning my head to the side. "And was it really necessary for it to be, uh, 'anatomically complete'?"

"Look, you had some really tough specifications, chummer, and this was the only one that fit all of them," my fixer responds. "Well, most of them. It's a tad overspecced since it's been heavily customized, so your budget may be creaking a bit. Unfortunately, the only other option that comes even close to your reqs is a medkit, and you obviously already have plenty of those."

My eyes narrow. I'm not used to Parc3l failing to meet my standards to a tee; I suppose my wishlist of qualities was a bit too expansive this time around. I needed him to get me a cheap home assistance droid that could also help patch me up after runs. I hate drones, so I asked for it to be inconspicuous, but this wasn't exactly what I had in mind!

I take another look at my new assistant. It's currently deactivated, but I figure if it wasn't and I didn't know any better, it would be almost impossible to distinguish from an actual child. It brings to mind the Horizon Little Buddy™ in its size, and I bet that's the platform used to build it. They're not the most reliable drones to start with, but the chassis is cheap and it can be reasonably modified for non-combat tasks—and I have no intention of bringing this one on my runs.

What distinguishes this drone from a typical Little Buddy™ is the heavy application of what riggers call "realistic features". In fact, the job that this unit has received would regularly cost tens of thousands of nuyen. The normally almost amorphous white plastic has been entirely replaced by lifelike synthetic skin and flesh, and I imagine that once it's turned on, the facsimile goes down to simulated body temperature, breathing and heartbeat. What I find disturbing, however, is that the drone is complete with a set of genitals clearly modeled after a little boy's.

A small, immature-looking penis and a pair of testicles hang from the android's crotch. If I'm correct in my assumption regarding the level of modification this drone has received, the genital is fully functioning as well. I can't even begin to guess what kind of a sick pervert would have originally commissioned this drone, and I don't even want to know the purpose.

"How much over budget?" I ask. Beggars can't be choosers, unfortunately. If Parc3l is to be believed, it's this or nothing.

"¥9000. It's got all the softs you need with it, though."

"Bullshit! What's the catch?"

"Well, the drone may or may not have a substantial amount of heat on it, so it's a bit risky to take on, chummer. There's also a hardware-originating skillsoft that my guys couldn't purge, so you'll have to deal with that. We already checked and it's not dangerous, but we don't know exactly what it does. Our best guess is that it's some kind of a therapy soft."

I'm not sure if I should whoop the fixer's ass for the "subtle" insinuation that I'm in need of therapy, but if the ware's hot, that explains why it's so cheap. And that means if I play my cards right, I might be able to sell it later for a profit.

"Fine," I give in. "I'll take it. But if I don't like it, or it gets me in trouble, I'll kill you." I fish a credstick out of my pocket and drop it in Parc3l's hand. We fiddle with our comlinks for a second as he transfers the ownership certificate to me, before I throw him out of my flat. Time to turn this thing on and see if there won't be any surprises.

I can never be too careful, so I pull out a pistol and point it squarely between the drone's eyes. Then, I turn it on from my comlink.

At once, the drone comes to life. Its posture rights up and its disturbingly lifelike face looks around until settling on me. It smiles, and I can't help but admire the craftsmanship.

"Hi there!" it says, cheery. "I'm Noah, and I'm happy you're my new owner!"

"Uh, right. You can call me Sam," I say awkwardly. My team has a rigger, but I'm not used to drones behaving like humans. And the fact my drone is currently butt naked in front of me and fully anatomical isn't helping me keep my thoughts in check. "I guess we should first get you some clothes," I say.