Rainbow Book Reviews
In this world there are robots, robot-human hybrids, and natural-born humans and aliens. The first story of the series was about a robot-human hybrid who eventually became human. Don’t ask – it’s an unexplained process where the chips dissolve, one that just “happens”. Whether or not it makes sense is secondary, I think, to the point the author was trying to make. In this second story, the focus is on Joon, a BDSM-trained robot who is not thought to have the ability to become human. The central question is whether he would want to, and the answer is rather surprising, if not totally unexpected. Joon lives on a pleasure satellite and is a trained Dom. His perception of the world, and biological beings like his clients, is rather different from the way we look at things, and I found the descriptions of his sensors and how he resets them really interesting. His ability to measure and perceive his clients’ reactions to what he does was truly helpful. As a full robot, he is not supposed to have feelings, but I have my suspicions about that. When it comes to Joon’s special client, all bets are off. Interestingly, said client also has a few secrets, and the reveal was well done, exciting, and Joon’s ultimate reaction made me smile. If you like stories about robots who seem rather human, if you want to find out more about the secret desires of a robot built to give sexual pleasure, and if you’re looking for an entertaining read with a thought-provoking ending, then you will probably like this short story.
