As Remy had expected, the family dinner proceeded in the usual way. Haley, always the bubbly conversationalist, talked while everyone else ate. She managed to finish her food around the same time as Remy, partly because she lacked reservations against speaking with a mouth half-full, and partly because no one had bothered to cut Remy’s slice of pork.

The pork had been stewing all day in the slow cooker, and it wasn’t particularly hard to cut, but it still slowed her down. The stringy meat folded like enormous strands of pasta, and it resisted perpendicular slices, forcing Remy to cut at an angle and slurp the smaller strands of meat in an unrefined manner. Perhaps it was no worse than Haley’s undignified display, but it was certainly no better.

“Who’s got room for dessert?” Mom asked.

“Full.” Remy patted her distended belly.

“I’ll have some!” Haley raised her arm high into the air, her stomach with room to spare. She still had the metabolism of a kid, because she was a kid. She could very well eat the entire pecan pie and burn it off in a couple hours.

“I’m going to my room.” Lily got up, empty plate in hand.

“After you do the dishes,” Mom said. “Remember?”

“I’ll do them later,” Lily said. In response to Mom’s warning look, she said, “I need to use the bathroom.”

“Fine,” Mom said. “But if you forget, I’m waking you up an hour early tomorrow to clean.”

“Ok.” Lily dropped her plate off in the sink and glided upstairs, her thick-socked feet padding silently. She had the uncanny ability to appear and disappear soundlessly, even to Remy’s sensitive ears. Remy attributed the quality to Lily’s socks, though the teen had a certain grace about her. Lily had struggled with her weight during puberty, but it had been a misdirected struggle, a direct result of bullying. She’d never been stick thin, nor had she ever been overweight. Didn’t matter. Self image could get corrupted by all sorts of shit, including so-called friends.

“Wanna bite?” Haley extended her fork to Remy, the prongs coated with the gooey center of the pecan pie. To a prime, it would appear as an empty fork, but the remnants on a single prong would be enough to fill Remy's mouth and Haley knew it.

“No thanks,” Remy said, standing to stretch.

“Still on that fad diet?” Mom asked. “Keto-whatever?”

“Not really,” Remy said. “But I don’t like sugar.”

“W-fy not?” Haley asked, her mouth stuffed with pie.

“Because it’s really bad for you,” Remy said, her fingers dancing, mimicking those of a spooky ghost.

Haley’s eyes widened as she stopped chewing. Then, she promptly opened her mouth and let the bolus of pie roll onto her plate. “Blech,” she said, sticking her tongue out and scraping with her teeth.

Remy had trouble grasping how such an otherwise adorable kid could regularly and consistently engage in such feats of disgust. It’s as if God had tempered her natural cuteness with an irrevocable need to do something gross at least once an hour. Whether it was picking her nose, burping, or farting, she’d do it with glee, seemingly drawing energy from the reactions of those in her presence.

“It’s NOT bad for you.” Mom glared at Remy, a hard glare, one that meant she was serious. “I can’t believe you said that.” She whisper-yelled at Remy.

“It is.” Remy stood her ground. “And eventually you’ll thank me when she doesn’t get diabetes.”

Mom’s lips thinned and straightened, her glare fierce. Then, she threw up her hands. “Fine! I’ll throw it away then. It’s obviously not going to get eaten, thanks to you.”

She swiped Haley’s plate and unceremoniously dumped it onto the garbage. Then she made a show of upturning the remaining pie, letting it fall into the trash, then tossing the container in along with it. Remy didn’t like upsetting Mom this much, but she had a right to speak her mind, especially when science had her back.

“There!” Mom said. “Happy?”

“Yes!” Remy yelled. “I’m so happy you’re pissed at me for having an opinion. Can’t wait to see how fun the rest of the week will be.”

“Mommy…” Haley seemed about to cry. “I’ll eat it if you want.”

Mom took a deep breath, ran her fingers through her graying hair, then said, “No. Your sister’s right. It’s not good for you. I think a little is ok, but it’s not worth arguing about.” Her eyes landed on Remy. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to yell.”

Remy could’ve said a million things. She could’ve belabored her point about the toxicity of sugar, or passive-aggressively mentioned how she’d expected a few shout-fests, or any number of things. But it had been a long day. So, she pulled a Lily. “It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine. I shouldn’t have yelled, but we’ll move on.” Mom glanced at the trash. “It was store-bought anyway.”

Something about the way she said it touched Remy’s funny bone, and she couldn’t suppress the resulting snicker. Whether it was due to the tension or the way the laughter had escaped her belly, it quickly became contagious. Haley wiped her eyes then giggled, covering her mouth as if she’d done a bad thing.

“What?” Mom asked. “Publix makes good pies!”

The girls at the table laughed harder, and even Mom cracked a smirk. She turned her head away, but not before Remy caught sight of it.

Eventually Mom sighed, then presented her hand palm up to Remy. “I have a surprise for you. Hop on.”

“I dunno,” Remy said. “If it’s more pie…”

“It’s NOT pie.” Mom tapped her fingers impatiently. “Hop on please.”

***

It wasn’t pie.

“What is it?” Remy asked as Mom set her on the carpet.

“ Open it and find out,” Mom said.

“It’s huge!” Remy stated the obvious. She’d rarely seen gifts this large, even when she’d been a prime child. The rectangular box had to be nearly as tall as Haley, which to Remy, made no sense whatsoever. How could she possibly use something so big?

“Lily, get in here!” Mom said. “You’re sister’s opening her birthday gift.”

“My birthday’s not for another five months.” Remy stepped toward the skyscraper of a present. The paper boasted colorful geometric shapes, which seemed childish, but who cared.

“Well, this counts as your gift from me,” Mom said. “It was certainly expensive enough, so you have no choice but to like it.”

“No pressure.” Lily monotoned from the back of Haley’s bedroom. If she hadn’t spoken, it’s likely her arrival would’ve gone unnoticed.

Remy finally reached the base of the gift and placed her palms on the paper. It didn’t budge, probably covering a sturdy box material, rather than a flimsy layer of plastic. Giant teddy bear? Life-size doll? Weren’t they usually encased by plastic on one side so the child could see inside? Then again, perhaps the plastic was on one of the other sides.

“Go ahead,” Mom said. “Open it.”

Opening presents had been one of things she’d demanded to do herself after shrinking. She remembered the first Christmas after she’d reached her final height of three and a quarter inches. After waving Haley away, she proceeded to open her gifts, but almost immediately regretted her decision. They were sometimes hard enough opening as a prime. As a beta, she discovered the resistance of simple wrapping paper to be almost insurmountable. Almost. She always managed, but just barely.

Point being — there was no f-ing way she’d be able to unwrap this particular present.

She caught sight of her target: the seam. It hadn’t been sealed along the entirety of its vertical span, but it had been taped along the area she was capable of reaching. She faked a laugh to hide her rising embarrassment.

“I’ll let Haley open this one,” Remy said.

“Ok!” Haley leapt up from her perch, but Mom extended her arm to the side.

“Give it a shot,” Mom said to Remy. “Opening it’s half the fun.”

Remy rolled her eyes along with her head, hoping her mom would see her expression. Then she turned and walked to a corner of the box. She knelt, dug her fingers into the crease, and pulled.

It didn’t budge. Her fingernails weren’t long but they were sharp and strong enough to peel a beta orange. They, however, failed to dent the wrapping paper. It felt like attempting to puncture a hard plastic lining, even though she knew it was paper.

Exhaling in frustration, she stood, then turned around. “Haley, can you get it started for me?” Whether from embarrassment or exertion, her cheeks had already started to burn.

Mom kept her arm out. “How about I get your knife —”

“I don’t want the knife!” Remy slammed her fist back against the box. “I want Haley to open it! It’s my gift and I want Haley to open it!”

“Hey!” Mom said. “This is supposed to be fun. Why are you so — “

“I can’t open it!” Remy could feel the water briming in her eyes but she willed herself not to cry. “Is that what you want to hear? The tiny, helpless girl can’t even open her own birthday present.”

Mom steepled her fingers against her forehead. She exhaled, then said, “You know, I should just expect I can’t do anything right when it comes to you.”

“I never said that.” Remy wiped her nose, already feeling a little better after venting her feelings.

“Haley.” Mom gestured. “Go ahead.”

Haley hesitated, then crawled over to the box, her right pigtail casting a shadow over Remy. She reached for the same corner Remy had been working on, pinched and tugged until the paper ripped a couple of inches. She had such power in those youthful fingers, more in her pinky than Remy could muster with her entire body. When Remy watched the fingers of primes work up close like this, she couldn’t help but feel amazed. Amazed at what they could do with seemingly so little effort. Amazed at what they could potentially do...by accident.

Haley looked down at Remy, her blue-green eyes questioning.

“Can you unwrap the whole thing?” Remy asked. “Please?”

Haley sucked up some drool that had been about to fall from her mouth in her half upside-down position, then nodded silently. With a growing smile she unwrapped the entire box (it was indeed windowless), then moved aside and announced: “Tada!”

Remy backed up several paces and craned her neck to read the sleek metallic sticker:

BetaBot v3.7

Her eyes felt as if they might spring from her head and her mouth gaped. A BetaBot? Didn’t they cost thousands of dollars? This couldn’t be real, could it?

This time the tears flowed before she could stop them, but she didn’t want to stop them. They were happy tears. She could only recall crying once in her life from a present. It had been her first smartphone. But this — nothing could compare to this. Other than, perhaps, a new car. Not that she was complaining. What sensible beta would ever complain about receiving a state-of-the-art BetaBot?

“How...?” Remy turned around to see Mom wiping tears from her own eyes.

“Happy now?” Mom asked, her voice choked.

“Oh my gosh!” Remy rushed to her mom’s outstretched hand and hugged a couple of fingers so tight she feared she might be cutting off circulation. “Thank you so, so, so much! How’d you know I wanted one? Can I try it now? Are you sure we can afford it? I feel… I feel like my heart’s going to explode!”

Mom scooped Remy up in her hand and lifted her into a cheek hug. Remy endured the familiar affection, waiting until Mom got it of the way before repeating her questions. She’d wanted a BetaBot since the day she’d heard about them, but they’d always been too expensive. To have one sitting in their house! It seemed like a dream.

“Don’t worry about the cost,” Mom said after settling Remy in her palm. “It’s paid in full and entirely yours.”

“But how much —”

“I said not to worry. I’ve been saving to buy one since the day you began shrinking. It’s not the most expensive model, but it’s also easy to resell. Eventually you’ll get the full-sized version, but this will help for now.”

Remy knew enough about BetaBots, the 3-series being their most popular model. While they stood only half the size of an adult prime male, they represented an enormous leap forward in terms of integrating betas into prime society. Three feet might not sound like much to a prime, but to a beta, it meant freedom, protection, transportation, and all sorts of things primes often took for granted.

Unable to contain her excitement, Remy jumped down from Mom’s lowered hand and ran toward the box. She stopped and stared upward as Lily and Haley lifted the gigantic block of styrofoam from it’s cardboard casing. The box toppled backwards and they set the block in front if it.

Haley carefully removed the front styrofoam piece, revealing the BetaBot. It looked like a giant doll, a toony teenage girl, wearing a blue shirt and black shorts. Although it’s oversized head matched the scale of a prime child, it’s limbs were hardly half the size of Haley’s, it’s full height barely reaching past her younger sister’s elbow. Although it had brownish hair, the bot looked nothing like Remy (nor any human for that matter), but it didn’t bother her in the least.

What mattered was the technology.

Though top-heavy, the giant head somehow contributed to the bot’s uncanny ability to balance. In the rare event of a fall, the controller would sustain no damage. The bot itself would break from a drop three stories or more, but the cranial VR chamber would remain intact, protecting its occupant from injury.

That’s right! It was based around VR tech, presumably the most advanced in the industry. Remy skipped with uncontrolled excitement as Haley tore open the foil package containing the haptic suit. It was red and black and looked like it might be too big, but Remy knew better. The suit was designed to shrink to the wearer’s dimensions.

With a leap, Remy snatched the suit from Haley’s hand, then ran to the other side of the box. “No peeking!” she said as she disrobed.

She removed everything, including her underwear, then unzipped the front of the suit. It didn’t unzip far, but it was far enough to get her legs through the collar. She pulled it up the rest of the way, and stuck her arms into the sleeves. It fit like a loose trash bag until she zipped it.

There was a hissing sound, and the suit contracted until it clung to her like a second skin, covering her body from neck to toe. In spite of its tightness, her movement wasn’t impeded. The suit stretched like silky spandex, feeling both incredibly soft and surprisingly durable. Once she got used to it, she ran back out to her watching family and did a twirl. “Fit’s perfectly!”

“It looks so cute on you!” Haley eyeballed her from a too-close distance, causing Remy to back up a step. She then handed Remy the visor. It was red and black like the rest of the suit.

Without hesitation, Remy pulled it over her head and let it rest on her ears and nose like a pair of heavy glasses. The weight bothered her somewhat, and she’d imagine it would eventually become an irritation. However, as soon as she pressed the large button on the exterior of her left earpiece, a hissing sound emitted and the visor became almost weightless. It was as if she were wearing the most comfortable headphones imaginable, one’s that padded not only the skin around her ears, but her entire face as well.

The augmented reality (AR) HUD came into view. Essentially it was Haley’s bedroom, the same as always, except for the faint ‘info’ symbols. She stared at the one above Lily’s head for a few seconds. The information panel expanded:

Liliana M Phillips

Age: 15

DOB: Sep 22, 2003

Address: Private

...

Remy focused on the ellipses. Most of the additional information (phone number, blood type, etc.) was either private or restricted (she wasn’t sure of the difference). The panel also contained lots of biological information, such as heart rate and pupil size. Such data, she remembered from her studies of BetaBots, could be used to detect lies. It wasn’t a hundred percent, but combined with intuition, it could be quite useful.

“How do you turn it on?” Haley swept the bot’s shoulder-length hair aside and searched for a switch.

“There’s a phone app,” Lily said. “Or Remy can do it.”

“C’mon, Remy!” Haley said. “Hurry up and turn it on!”

Remy focused her gaze on the bot’s info symbol and read the panel:

Remy Phillips Bot

ID: BB3724-019188

Power: 94%

Status: Sleep

…

“Turn on!” Remy said, fully expecting nothing to happen. At first, nothing did. Then the status changed from Sleep to On and a female voice filled her ears.

“Good evening, Remy. I am Remy Phillips Bot. Would you like to initiate boarding procedure?”

“Holy shit!” Remy said, fumbling backwards and nearly falling onto her butt.

“Language!” Mom’s said.

“What happened?” Haley asked. “Is it on? I can’t tell.”

“It just spoke to me!” Remy said. “It literally just told me it’s name and asked me to board. Should I?”

“Yes!” Mom and Haley spoke simultaneously.

“Ok. Um. Yes then,” Remy said. “Initiate boarding procedure or whatever.”

After a brief pause, Bot said, “I do not understand...whatever.”

“Initiate boarding procedure.” Remy enunciated each word as clearly as possible. She noticed small buttons beneath the info panel with commands like board, sleep, and charge. She assumed she could focus on them to accomplish tasks without needing to speak, but talking to her bot was far cooler.

“Initiating boarding procedure,” Bot said.

All at once, several things happened. Bot’s face fell, literally, opening from the top and rotating on a hinge under the chin. Then it knelt, lowered it’s right hand to the floor, and said, “Please watch your step.”

Remy did as asked, marveling at the small size of the hand. While plenty large enough for her, it couldn’t have been half the size of Mom’s. And although she couldn’t feel it’s texture through the haptic suit, it seemed pliable, it’s skin indenting slightly at her footsteps.

“Sit,” Bot said.

“I’m fine, just lift me up.” Even if she fell, a fall from the bot’s kneeling height onto carpet wouldn’t hurt much.

“Sitting is a mandatory precautionary measure. If you’d prefer, I can secure you in my hand to ensure —”

“Ok, ok, I’ll sit,” Remy plopped herself onto the bot’s palm, her legs extending to it’s wrist.

The bot’s other hand appeared and cupped Remy, making it impossible for her to see, much less fall. She stifled a complaint, knowing it would likely fall on deaf ears. The manufacturer of these bots placed safety above all other concerns, as well they should. A single lawsuit from an injured beta would likely wipe out an entire year’s worth of profits.

“This is so cool.” Haley’s enormous eyeball could barely be seen through the space between the bots fingers.

“Ascending to cranial platform,” Bot said.

Thankfully, the ascent was fast. There were no mechanical sounds involved, and the movement of Bot’s hands mimicked that of a trained prime: smooth and without abrupt starts or stops.

Upon reaching the destination, the covering hand peeled back, revealing the inside of the VR chamber. It looked like a padded cell one might find in an insane asylum, except it was a black material and perfectly spherical in dimension. Since the other hand remained partly overhead, Remy found herself forced to crawl onto the inner ‘facial’ platform. It too was hemi-spherical, like a shallow, rubbery futon in both softness and shape.

“Please step carefully inside VR chamber,” Bot said.

Remy turned to find both Haley and Mom staring at her, both wide-eyed, both perched like cats waiting for a mouse to exit it’s hole. It was enough to make Remy laugh. She tried to walk to the far end of the platform to give them a better view, but her feet wouldn’t move beyond the edge of the inner ‘futon’. She could move easily inside the futon, but lifting her foot became impossible at the out edge, as if held in place by a powerful magnet. Falling off at this point would be impossible, unless she somehow managed to rip her feet from her ankles.

So instead, she waved then turned and walked toward the chamber. The inner futon edge offered no resistance whatsoever and she proceeded to step inside the Bot’s ‘head’. As soon as she entered and turned around, the Bot spoke in her headphones. “Initiate merging procedure?”

“Yes!” Remy spoke loudly, hopefully loud enough for her attentive audience to hear (even Lily appeared mildly fascinated). “Initiate merge procedure!”

“Initiating merge,” Bot said.

Remy’s feet locked in place, glued to the floor as the outer facial platform raised in front of her. It eclipsed the view of her family, the room, everything. Eventually it sealed shut, surrounding her in darkness. She’d never been claustrophobic, but for a moment, her heart skipped at the thought that she might be trapped.

Then the strangest thing happened. She lost all weight. She couldn’t describe it any other way. It was as if she’d suddenly started floating with no sense of gravity and no sense of orientation. She couldn’t see, hear, or feel anything. If it weren’t for the sound of Bot’s voice softly counting down from ten in her ears, she’d have freaked out.

Once Bot reached zero, it said, “Merge complete.”

Then the light returned.

Feeling returned.

Everything and more returned in a way that took Remy’s breath away.

She found herself standing in the middle of Haley’s bedroom, except everything, literally fucking everything was different. The carpet under her feet was actually under her feet. Strange, perhaps, for it to be the first thing she noticed, but after wading through ankle-high carpet, it was hard not to notice.

Secondly, everything was beta-sized. Well, not quite beta-sized but close enough. The bed, the book-laden shelves, the pink chairs. The family! She could literally see over Haley and Mom’s crouching bodies, their eyes staring up at her like she’d grown a second nose.

Up...they were looking up. At her!

Dizzy, she stepped backwards and felt her heel collide with something hard but not too hard. Her arm went out, but it wasn’t fast enough. The fall happened all at once and in slow motion, simultaneously, which seemed impossible. She fell to the floor, her feet propped over a random piece of styrofoam, but the impact was more like a friendly pat on the back than anything else.

She recognized the styrofoam block as the same one that had towered before her just a few minutes ago. Now it seemed positively small in comparison, still larger than her but not so big she couldn’t kick it aside, which she promptly did.

“Sweetie!” Mom rushed over, followed by Haley, both with concerned looks on their faces. “Are you alright?!”

Remy heard voices differently, more clearly, as if she could pick out nuances she’d never noticed before. She scrambled to her feet and looked around, utterly confused at what was happening to her. One minute she’d been talking to the BetaBot and the next, she was standing outside of it, feeling like an entirely new person. A giant beta, if such a thing existed. Except her BetaBot...it was gone...

“Where’d it go?” She asked, looking around, trying to get her bearings.

“Sweetie, calm down. Are you ok?” Mom asked.

“My BetaBot. I — I remember...what happened to me?” Remy had so many questions. She could recall being this confused at one other point in her life. She’d awoken at two in the morning after passing out from smoking too much weed. At that time, she thought she was dying, unable to hold a thought in her head for more than a second. Now, while she shared the confused state of mind, she didn’t feel about to die. She felt pretty great actually.

“Sweetheart, you’re inside the BetaBot,” Mom said.

“What?” Remy asked. Mom wasn’t making any sense. “I’m obviously not in the Bot. It somehow teleported me out and” — she looked at her hands, her arms, her legs. Her bare feet… “Why’s everything so different. I’m — ”

“You’re in the Bot, sweetie.” Mom placed a large (but considerably smaller than usual) hand on her shoulder. “You’re controlling it.”

“No,” Lily said. “She is the bot.” As soon as she spoke the words, it all clicked.

“This is me? This is me!” Remy grabbed her legs, her stomach, feeling the touch of fingers on skin, the material of the shirt on her chest. “This is my body. Oh, Mom! I never imagined it would be like this. I’m…I’m big. I’m huge! Look at me!”

She rushed into her mom’s outstretched arms and buried head into chest. She’d forgotten how to hug Mom properly. It had been so long. She wrapped her arms around Mom’s neck and burst into tears, relishing the feel of her mom’s heat on her body, the smell of her mild perfume on her collarbone.

“Oh...my baby…” Mom’s tearful voice — a caress on Remy’s back. “I love you so much. I’m so glad you’re happy.”

Remy didn’t want to pull away but she had to start moving or she feared she’d burst from happiness. She wriggled out of her mom’s embrace only to find herself surrounded by Haley. In the brief glimpse Remy had of Haley’s face before being pulled into an awkward hug, she’d seen the girl’s soaked cheeks and emotional expression. It wasn’t surprising given that she could cry at the drop of a hat (and usually did, especially when Mom cried). What was surprising is that Remy could see all of her face at once, not just parts in closeup or profile.

“Put her down, honey,” Mom said, and for the first time, Remy realized she was actually floating. It was different than earlier. She felt gravity, but her feet no longer touched the floor.

Haley’s teary face became visible as Remy found herself held out by the girl’s two arms, one hand under each armpit. “I’m just s — so happy.” Haley stuttered the words before pulling Remy back into another standing hug.

A tearful laugh escaped Remy’s chest. She might’ve grown, but Remy was still no match for a ten-year-old girl with a cuddling addiction. She’d be returned to Earth when Haley deemed it, and only when Haley deemed it. At least that much hadn’t changed.

“It’s ok, Haley.” Remy chuckled. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Haley!” Mom said. “Put your sister down. She’s still getting used to it.”

“Oh.” Haley sniffled, inhaling twice. “Kay.”

Remy felt the carpet under her feet once more, the release of Haley’s encircling arms from around her body. Her sister remained directly in front of her, but she no longer eclipsed Remy’s field of vision as she usually did.

“You guys!” Remy touched her face, tracing her cheeks with her fingertips. “This is so amazing! I can feel everything. It’s like I’ve become someone else.”

Amazingly, she could feel her own face, both through her fingertips and on her cheeks. The area around her eyes was slightly numb, but she couldn’t feel her visor, which seemed odd. She reached out and planted a hand on Haley’s nose, causing the girl’s gap-toothed smile to widen.

Haley’s skin, as smooth as ever, felt warm, and moist from drying tears, and slightly oily. The fine hairs on Haley’s cheeks, usually easily visible to her beta eyes, only barely registered under her fingertips. The blond hair on top of the little girl’s head felt silky, not like a mass of thin ropes.

Haley giggled at the attention, bringing Remy back to reality. She spun around, then dashed to the room’s door, forgetting she was actively controlling an enormous machine. As she considered it, she couldn’t fathom how it replicated the feel of ‘running’ in her mind. Although it was the bot’s feet pounding on the carpet, they felt like her own, though admittedly larger and toonier than she’d have thought possible.

She bumped into the door with a thud, and stumbled backwards. But, she regained her balance, narrowly avoiding another undignified display.

“Careful!” Mom said.

“I’m ok!” she said before turning her attention to the doorknob which was roughly at eye level. Even though the door was parted, she reached for it and turned it successfully. She had to use both hands, but it wasn’t too difficult to twist.

She slammed the door shut, turned the knob, reopened it, then repeated the process several times. “I can open doors now! Look! It’s easy!” Granted, she could do all these things on Earth Beta, but her brain had reverted to prime mode. She hadn’t been able to do simple activities on Earth Prime in years and it delighted her to no end.

“Sweetie,” Mom swept Remy up into her arms, and held her on her hip like a toddler. It made her realize, in spite of her feeling of hugeness, she was really no bigger than a toddler. “You can stay in there as long as you want, but no going outside until you get used to it. And you’re always to be with someone when outside. Understood?”

“Ok, but I’m already used to it,” Remy said. “It feels like my own body.”

“You say that but you just ran straight into the door.” Mom tapped Remy’s nose, which she felt.

“That’s because — ok — maybe I need to get used to it but...but...” So many things to say, to think about. “I’m just so happy you bought this for me!”

“So am I sweetheart. And I’ve got one more surprise for you but I’m going to save it for later. You should have enough to keep yourself busy for now, right?”

Remy wasn’t too sure what Mom meant by keeping busy, but she nodded, eager to be placed back on the floor.

“Good,” Mom gave her a peck on the cheek and set her down. “You two play nice with your sister. The bot’s expensive to repair, but more importantly, I don’t want her getting hurt. I know it’s supposed to be impossible, but I don’t want to see any roughhousing. She’s still a lot smaller than us.”

“Roughhousing?” Lily said.

“Seriously mom,” Haley said. “What are we? Eight?”

Remy stifled her laughter, especially since Haley wasn’t exactly far from eight. The girl had matured quite a bit over the last couple of years, but she hadn’t outgrown the need for playful physicality. Only now, Remy looked forward to it because she’d be able to hold her own. Well (Remy glanced at her youngest sister who still dwarfed her in height and size) perhaps not, but at least she wouldn’t be pinned under a single finger anymore.

“Alright then.” Mom ruffled Remy’s hair. “Call me if you need anything. Bedtime in an hour.” Then she stepped out of the room and went downstairs.

Naturally, the first thing Remy did was rush to Haley’s leg and bearhug it. “Let me see if I can lift you.”

Haley giggled, whisper yelling, “Mom said no roughhousing!”

It didn’t matter. Try as Remy might, her youngest sister’s feet didn’t leave the ground. Remy could feel the resistance as her muscles strained, her feet pressing hard into the floor, the smell of Haley’s thigh plastered to the side of her nose. It all felt so real, she couldn’t convince her own brain otherwise. To her, she was the bot. No. She was herself, only much bigger.

Unfortunately, not big enough to budge Haley.

Laughing, Haley pried Remy from her leg and lifted her once again by the armpits. “You’re too light. Like a teddy bear. There’s no way you could lift me.”

“Hmm, maybe there’s a strength setting somewhere.” Remy looked at the options and found several settings, many of them she noted to revisit later, but nothing for strength. Too bad. It would be cool if she could at least match Haley in strength, but again, no complaints.

“She’s seventeen pounds,” Lily said, not looking up from her phone.

“I’ve gotta put you down.” Haley walked to her bed and placed Remy at the edge so the bot’s feet dangled. Haley sat down too, and took hold of Remy’s hand, cupping it in her own.

“Your hands are so cool,” Haley said, using her free hand to trace around Remy’s. “They’re not even very warm, but they’re tiny and cute. It’s like you’re a doll but you’re my sister too.”

Remy watched as her hand got swallowed up by Haley’s larger one. She could feel the heat and pressure. “How’s it any different than my real body? To you, I’m like a doll either way.”

Haley missed Remy’s mild irritation and continued, “Usually you’re too small, even for a doll. I feel like I’d break you if I tried to play with you. But now you’re big enough to hug, and hold, and cuddle all night and not get hurt.”

A mischievous look flitted through Haley’s eyes. Before Remy could hop down, Haley tackled her back onto it, pulling her into a reverse hug, nuzzling her blond hair against Remy’s neck as her legs curled around Remy’s butt.

Remy squirmed, but she couldn’t budge Haley’s arms. “Leggo!” Her cry would’ve worked if she hadn’t let lose a bit of laughter at the same time.

“Cuddle snuggles!” Haley said, continuing her nuzzling and progressing into tickles against Remy’s abdomen which felt like real tickles. Remy’s laughter intensified. Her feet flailed, but bounced ineffectively against Haley’s legs. At one point, Haley’s thigh brushed against Remy’s groin and an alert appeared in midair:

Enable external genitalia stimulation?

Remy’s laughter ceased as she stared at the NO button. In what seemed like forever, NO registered, causing the question to disappear from her view. Everything was so real she’d forgotten she could still see faint pieces of the HUD. Strangely, they disappeared after a short time, leaving only a single info circle at the upper right of her vision, virtually invisible unless she shifted her gaze to the upper right.

“What happened?” Haley’s nuzzling stopped.

“Nothing!” Remy said. “Nothing,” she repeated herself in a calmer, less suspicious tone. After clearing her throat, she asked, “Care to let me go now?”

“Ummmm, not until you promise to sleep with me tonight,” Haley said.

“Haley, you know I can’t do that. If you rolled over —”

“With your new body, I wouldn’t be able to accidentally hurt you.”

“Uh, yeh, I guess.” Remy considered. “But I doubt I can sleep in here.”

“You could,” Lily said from her seat on Haley’s small table. “It can charge while you sleep.”

“Sure,” Remy tried to sit up but Haley still held her too tight. “But what if I need to use the bathroom?”

“It’s one of your private rooms,” Lily said.

“Yeh. Not following.”

“Go to options. Private Rooms. You should see bathroom.”

“Still not following. I mean what if I have to take a piss in real life.”

“Oooooo, you said the ‘p’ word.” The air from Haley’s voice tickled the back of Remy’s neck.

Lily sighed. “It’s a virtual bathroom. You walk in there, do your business, and walk out. The bot will handle the biological aspects.”

“So you’re telling me, if I take a poop — ”

“The bot has a dry flush toilet, a bidet, along with the ability to open specific parts of your haptic suit,” Lily said. “I could go into more detail.”

“Whoa.” Remy blinked. “Wow. No, that’s quite enough.”

“Does that mean she can pee like a Baby Alive?” Haley asked.

Suddenly, Haley sat up, pulled down Remy’s shorts, and felt around Remy’s groin area. “She doesn’t have a pee hole.”

Thankfully the warning didn’t reappear on Remy’s HUD, but she felt a distinct sensation down there — far more than she ever wanted to feel from her little sister. Remy scrambled back, pulling her shorts up in the process. “Don’t! I can feel — ”

“But I don’t understand how you pee without a hole,” Haley said.

“She actually does have a hole, but it’s under adult options,” Lily said. “And she doesn’t pee from it. The waste is wrapped up and disposed of later.”

“So it stays inside the bot with me?” Remy asked, thankful to be away from Haley’s inquisitive fingers.

“No offense, but you’re real body is quite small,” Lily said. “So is your waste. The bot can store months of your urine and fecal matter without filling the container which, by the way, is located — “

“That’s ok! I don’t need to know where it’s located.” She did, but she didn’t want to find out from Lily.

“If her pee hole isn’t used to pee, what’s it used for?” Haley asked, clearly hung up on the topic. She’d received a Baby Alive for her ninth birthday, and it had been one of her favorite toys, so the line of questioning made sense.

“It’s used for other things,” Remy said. “Next topic.”

“You mean it’s used for sex?” Haley asked.

Remy glanced at Lily who, unfortunately, appeared eager to let Remy speak.

“I know about sex,” Haley said before either of the older girls could talk. “I’m not a dummy. It’s how babies are born. The boy sticks his penis into the hole where a girl pees. It hurts at first, but then it feels good, and then a baby is born from the girl’s stomach.”

This didn’t come as a surprise. Remy had explained how sex worked during her visit last summer. Clearly Haley had a few of the details wrong, but she remembered most of it. At the time, as Haley’s endless stream of questions had continued, Remy had even explained masturbation.

However, Remy had no desire to reconvene on the topic, especially with Lily in the room. If anything, this should be Mom’s job, though she couldn’t remember how she herself had learned about it. She remembered her first orgasm, but that had been at least a year after she’d learned about sex and masturbation.

“Yes, it’s for sex,” Remy frowned at her own words. “Maybe. I don’t know.” She really didn’t. Could BetaBots have sex? “Talk to Mom if you want to know more about sex.”

“I already know about sex.” Haley sounded exasperated. “I want to know about — “

“We don’t know,” Remy said. “Listen, when I find out, I’ll tell you.” She considered what she’d just said. “Maybe. It’s private, so if I don’t want to talk about it, you’ll have to be ok with that.”

Haley huffed, crossing her arms. “Ok. But I don't see why it has to be such a big secret. How am I ever supposed to learn anything if you don’t tell me?”

“I’ll think about it, ok.” Remy said. “End of discussion.”