Thread: A.I. (Artificial Idol) Project [Kaen Lazuli & tiger_lily]

Rory's act of rebellion hadn't ended when she'd gotten off the stage, after two long encores. Rather than going backstage and letting herself possibly be waylaid by Helen, she'd sneaked out via a side entrance and had a taxi take her back to her apartment. After showering and freshening up, she'd changed into... pretty much the same shirt-and-shorts outfit as before, though of course they were new articles of clothing the ones she'd worn on stage were soaked with sweat from the exertion of performing. She had stylish dresses in her closet, but she wasn't going to wear any of them. Anyone who was offended that she would show up to a party - her party - wearing something casual and comfortable wasn't someone she cared about burning bridges with. Rory took another taxi to the ProCom building she had enough money that getting back to kick back and relax for a few minutes was worth not doing her own driving. Then she took the elevator up to the penthouse. Some of the executives, dressed in formal suits, gave her disapproving looks as she strode into the party in shirt, shorts and sneakers. She didn't care, especially since Helen didn't seem to be around. Some of the performers, wearing elegant dresses, likewise turned up their nose at her. She'd never liked them anyway. Rory instead made a beeline for the girls from her agency she'd seen in the front row of her concert, their eyes sparkling with admiration despite, or perhaps even because of, her casual attire. The idol had always had a soft spot for those of her fellow performers that had an innocent exuberance, whether it was real or feigned. They reminded her of the person she'd once been before Helen had demolished that part of her on nearly the first meeting. And they always looked so pretty, in their dresses and ornate hair. Rory was jealous of their ability to wear a skirt without feeling like a fish out of water... but more so than that, she wanted to put them on a shelf in her room someplace, where she could admire them every day. As she chatted with them, she felt a pang of genuine regret that she'd never be able to interact with them again. That she'd never get the chance to actually take one of them back to her room. Rory had never been brave enough to flirt with any of her fellow idols, because Helen had beaten any trace of bravery out of hers, but she was pretty sure the fascinated looks some of them gave her were more than just hero worship. Once they were in her room, she couldn't actually put them on her shelf and keep them, but she'd be satisfied with putting them under the same covers for a single night. Rory swung that way, and she knew it. Of course, it was a terribly delicate thing to try and figure out if others did, especially when if word got out that any of them had tried to take someone to bed, it would probably ruin their careers. Rory chatted amiably with the partygoers, wondering if today, her final chance, will be her lucky day. Of course, there will be innocent, refined, pretty girls beyond ProCom's walls... but she wonders if they'll come to her concerts, or only girls more like her will like the music she really wants to play. Then, abruptly, the party fell silent. The girls Rory was talking to turned away from her, their attention drawn by the new arrival. Rory's eyes, naturally, followed them... and then widened. Is that... is that Nova? It can't be! She... she's not real... is she? she thought, unable to believe what she was seeing. Her jaw fell slack a little, both from shock and from the fact that... Nova was beautiful . Rory knew that already, of course, but it's different seeing her actually standing there. The other idol was exactly Rory's type. Right down to those slightly pointed ears that Rory would never have known she found attractive if Nova hadn't been designed with them because real people never had any such thing - though they'd become a popular cosmetic surgery after Nova had set the trend. And... maybe Nova's career wouldn't end even if word gets out that she ended up in Rory's bedroom. After all, crude imitations of the virtual idol programmed to strip and engage in VR sex are already a centerpiece in millions of bedrooms throughout the solar system. Rory's tried a few of them herself, though eventually she decided it was just creepy to have virtual sex with a simulation of someone she might actually get to meet someday. And that occasion was now, as Nova strode up to her and began talking to her. Of course I've heard of you... I've been waiting a long time to meet you as well, Nova, Rory replied, feeling as if she's practically babbling.. Please, call me Rory. She listened to the other idol, while trying to keep her eyes from lingering too obviously upon Nova's showy dress - a dress obviously made to tantalize those with an eye for the female form. It felt like the hardest thing she'd ever done, but eventually, Rory managed to lose herself in the beauty of Nova's emerald eyes instead. Then she let out a chuckle of her own. Rory was slightly on edge at getting to meet someone so famous and so pretty, but it was hard to feel truly stressed when wearing an outfit she'd chosen herself and not feigning some saccharine voice under Helen's watchful eye, like at her past meet-and-greets. Actually, Nova, I appreciate that you said it, she replied. Idols like us shouldn't be treated like fragile dolls that need to be handled with kid gloves. If we're cut out for the stage, we can handle being told the blunt truth. A natural smile rose to Rory's face as she closed her eyes. Just like how any bridges that deserve to stay standing can handle being singed. Then she opened her eyes and grinned at Nova, with a slight tilt of her head. I've heard far too little truth for the past couple of years, Nova. Why don't you tell me some more? she continued, daringly reaching out and clasping the other idol's hand in her own. Feeling its warmth, its softness. You can start by explaining to me how the heck you became real, if you'll pardon my rudeness. It's, um, quite the surprise seeing you here instead of on my holo-display. Rory was genuinely curious how the virtual idol was standing before her in the flesh, though it didn't seem impossible with the science of the day. The thought had crossed Rory's mind that this could be some kind of trick. Maybe it was a prank - someone in ProCom had dressed some person up as Nova and decided to mess with Rory on her last day. Maybe it was something more insidious - perhaps they wanted this fake Nova to seduce her, get compromising pictures and video of her in private, and destroy her reputation so she couldn't continue her idol career at a rival agency. But right now, even if that happened, it seemed well worth it. A scandal that would destroy Rory's reputation as an idol would just be extra publicity when she launched her rock band. And in the meantime, she'd get to spend the night with Nova. Or at least a dead ringer for her, and that was really no different from the times she'd indulged herself with a fake Nova in VR. Not letting her moment of paranoia affect her demeanor in the least, Rory continued getting to know Nova.