The mood at work was rather bleak, when Lauren arrived to finish up her tasks. She had heard that there was an accident yesterday though she didn’t know the details. Her focus was on the possible trip to Tokyo so she didn’t pay attention to what were rumors at the time. But now the details had come in and there was a memorial on the screens in the lobby of her building.

Stanley Mason, ID477900:  11/6/1986 - 7/9/2030

From what Lauren found out, he was an analyst for R&D. She found a little bit of a connection as that was the department her reports on the Doll were being submitted to. He had left early due to a family emergency and had tragically been hit by a delivery truck just outside the premises. The truck was being driven by a Doll who had a technical issue; it was currently being investigated.

There were still the odd rumors spreading here and there. There were claims Stanley had been fired before he got into the accident. People were saying that the driver had forgotten to put the truck into auto-drive while taking a toilet break. Others pointed to mechanical and signal issues. Though nothing like that had happened with the industrial Dolls before. Lauren dismissed the rumors and just chalked it up to being a tragic event.

Lauren logged onto her work terminal and opened up her current tasks to see what she could finish off and what to delegate to other co-workers. While she was making a list for her tasks, and a time frame it’d take to finish them, she found the report she began yesterday. She read through it and hesitated. Her criticisms were a huge concern but one of her tasks was to pilot the Doll again from Tokyo. With what she had written she’d likely been thrown out of the Doll program and it could affect her business trip. She wasn’t sure if her discomfort was worth throwing away this opportunity, so she opted to leave it for now.

Once her tasks were delegated and Lauren finished off what she could, she signed out of her terminal and headed to the HR building. She signed into security and was sent to the fourth floor. She greeted the receptionist and was buzzed into the office.

“Mr Jones?” Lauren hadn’t expected to see him waiting for her as she entered the meeting room.

“Lauren Smith,” He smiled and shook her hand. “I appreciate you being able to say yes on such short notice, that I had to thank you myself.” The older man smiled. Lauren felt honoured that a senior executive used her name. “I have a lot of work to do, so I’ll leave you with 110935 to sort out the details.”

The younger woman smiled as she motioned for Lauren to sit. “Hi I’m Janet North, ID110935.” She greeted with a pleasant smile that hid her envy of Lauren’s treatment.

“Lauren Smith, ID299935. Hey, we share digits,” Lauren remarked as she shook her hand.

“Sign this form so I can release your company issued passport. This passport is to be returned immediately on your return,” Janet ignored the number thing and went straight to business. “Here is your itinerary as well as an expense card.” Janet handed over the documents as well as more forms for Lauren to sign. “The expense card is prepaid and capped at five thousand dollars, this is for emergencies only and all receipts are to be kept and be justifiable. Failure to comply can lead you to be financially responsible and disciplinary actions may be undertaken, do you understand?”

“Yes…” Lauren assured her as she looked over her flight details.

“Good, you may contact finances if you require additional funds,” Janet continued. “Any questions?”

“Yes, I’m a little confused as to what exactly I’m being sent over for… I only know some details.” Lauren admitted. She knew that her status as a Doll tester was sensitive information and didn’t want to divulge it just in case.

“I’m sorry, my job is just to arrange the travel details and expenses. I’m not aware of what you do or what you’re being sent over for,” Janet let her mask slip as she gave a little bit of snark. “Our business is concluded, Lauren Smith, ID299935. Have a pleasant trip.”

Now that Lauren had all the paperwork and details, she was sent home early to pack. She signed out of the building and went back to hers to get her personal belongings before heading home. She drove slowly as she left the lot, making sure to double check the road before driving off.

Lauren wished she was sent home early more often, the traffic was so much easier to handle in the middle of the day. She drove to her gated community and pulled into the driveway, opening up the garage. She didn’t usually park in the garage as it was more of an inconvenience to take it out every morning but she was leaving tomorrow and Ben didn’t drive so it was safer to park inside today.

Not wanting to disturb Ben while he was working, Lauren walked up the stairs as quietly as she could and opened her office door. She tried to ignore the Doll as she organized her belongings, setting the flight ticket and passport in the top draw of her desk. She then went to the bedroom, got dressed and began packing.

Lauren settled down for the night as she waited for Ben to finish work. They then spent another night enjoying each other’s company before she left for a month. Lauren was rather passionate the other night as she wanted to feel as different from the Doll as she possibly could. Tonight was Ben’s turn, he was extremely frisky and heavy into foreplay. It had been forever since they had been apart and he was going to miss her, or so Lauren thought.

* * * * *

The following morning left Ben sleeping as she usually did. He wasn’t a morning person and had work to do so she didn’t want to wake him up, so they agreed to say their goodbyes in the evening. Lauren went to her desk and grabbed her ticket and passport and looked at the Doll, knowing that she’d be using it again.

Lauren shuddered at the idea of using it again. While it looked like it was sleeping, she could see the hints of panic on its face. She didn’t realize she had been panicking last time she used to but it made sense given how she felt. Still to see Ben in person and for an extra ten thousand dollars she knew she could endure it.

With everything packed and ready to go, Lauren walked out the front door and down to the community’s main gate to wait for the company issued taxi. She didn’t wait long as it was pre scheduled but it was still running a few minutes late. Unfortunately it wasn’t going to take her all the way to the airport and dropped her off at the nearest train station instead.

Between the taxi running late, missing the first train, and changing lines, then getting another taxi to the airport, Lauren barely made it in time. It was a hectic morning of constantly changing transportation that made her glad to finally check in.

The delays didn’t stop there as she was caught in the morning rush. The line to check in was moving slow, same with security. She ended up making it through both just in time for boarding to begin. She took her seat in business and could finally relax.

When Lauren landed in Tokyo a few hours later and cleared customs, she found a company driver waiting for her. She was driven straight to the company’s offices before she could even see any of the city. She had to remind herself that this was a work trip not a holiday.

Due to being given access to a neurochair so she could use the Doll back home, Lauren would be staying at the office for her entire duration. It was clear that the small room she was occupying wasn’t designed for residence but they made it work. She had a sleeping pod, small armchair, desk and TV setup with a mini-fridge loaded with water. She was also allowed to have her belongings in the room, though wasn’t allowed to leave without them. Still it was going to be cramped, but she guessed that they expected her to use the Doll during her down time.

Lauren decided to bite the bullet early. She wanted to say hi to Ben and get using the Doll out of the way for any reports she needed to do. She laid in the chair and put on the neurolink.

“Activate,” she commanded, though nothing happened. She felt silly when it didn’t as the one at home had been made for her, this one hadn’t. “Lauren Smith, ID299935, activate.” Still nothing happened.

Now Lauren was confused so she went over to the room’s phone and looked at the address book. Fortunately all the internal numbers were the same as they were in her other office.

“Lauren Smith, ID299935 for tech support, I’m having an issue with my Doll.”