Raymond sipped his coffee as he read through multiple reports about the Dolls that were currently active. Two more people had been pulled from the program, leaving only six official test subjects left. Unlike DLY-4 he had let DMW-5 and DGD-2 be recycled. Even as a senior executive he had to be careful about getting too greedy. There were a lot of regulations regarding Dolls and he had crossed the line more than once. So far he had been safe, he had blamed 477900 for DLY-4’s missing paperwork, someone that the world thought dead. Then there was DLS-9, technically that Doll had been compromised and should be flagged for destruction, but that was easy enough to claim ignorance.

DLY-4 and DLS-9 were the wrenches in the works that threatened to unravel the entire Doll program. Though they presented an equal opportunity for something much greater. Both units had incidents completely unrelated to each other but through these incidents presented opportunities to benefit each other. DLY-4 had integrated enough of 278314’s mind to be able to move on its own and even do complex tasks like driving in traffic. Through some miracle it hadn’t taken on much of 278314’s personality or memories. Raymond’s initial idea for DLY-4 was to have it tested to see how autonomous it could be, which was illegal under AI laws. It wasn’t until DLS-9’s incident that Raymond saw the true potential for DLY-4.

What happened with DLS-9 shouldn’t have been possible. The Dolls were set up so only the designated user could pilot them but DLS-9 had been left in standby mode. Standby mode was meant to allow for quick reconnections after bathroom breaks. So another pilot connecting to the Doll while in standby mode was an oversight. What made it more interesting was the Doll hadn’t been fully integrated with the user, if it had, it would’ve carried on like normal and the pilot would’ve spent however long thinking they were the other person.

‘Tamara, lockdown DPT-1 and find another pilot for the model, I want to test something,” Raymond buzzed his assistant.

DLS-9’s had barely started the integration process but there was a groundwork from the initial scans. As a result DLS-9 wasn’t fully 299935 or 299935B. The latest report even mentioned that it had developed its own personality separate from 299935B, who was now the primary user. 299935C had even designated itself as ‘Laura’. 299935C technically broke AI laws as it was officially a new entity, the only thing stopping it was the ‘on/off’ switch of a pilot in the chair.

299935C would not have been able to come into being without Raymond’s interference. The unauthorized user should’ve been booted from the system but the forward thinking of 477901 had stopped 477900 from doing so. Even better was 477900’s refusal to go along with it, allowing Raymond a scapegoat if this all went wrong. Though after 477900 was set up to take the fall the state of DLS-9 came to mind and 477900 was one of the company’s best analysts.

The PR stunt to cause the accident that took ‘477900’s life’ would be costly to the company for quite some time, and it would take a while for Raymond to rebuild those favors. He actually owed others for this. Keeping 477900 on life support while his mind was carefully downloaded and integrated into DLY-4 was a time consuming endeavor. Especially keeping out what made 477900, them. It was only the knowledge of the job Raymond was after so he had to have 477000 do a controlled integration. Raymond trusted him for the job, but not the knowledge of 477900’s fate.

This was another opportunity that was open up by integrating 477900 with DLY-4. The Dolls were meant to be for the living, to be used for a variety of reasons. Even though it wouldn’t fully be him, it was a way to test life after death. Raymond wasn’t sure how someone would cope fully living as a Doll but they did have the means to copy someone’s mind fully to test it out before they died.

“Tamara, open a new project, operation Phoenix. Our eyes only for now.”

Raymond had so many plates spinning all starting from one project. He realized there might be loose ends, people to bride, others to silence. He was already uncomfortable about how many people were aware of his side projects or had involvement with the nefarious means he had taken to accomplish them. He wasn’t sure how many people he could trust or what information could accidentally be leaked.

The two people he could trust completely were Tamara and his Japanese counterpart. The former was his personal assistant, who knew everything. The latter was overseeing phase two of the Dolls and watching over 299935. 477000 could be trusted with all the questionable programing and dual integrations. 477901 proved to be smart and capable, DLY-4 was assigned to him after the integration of 477900. The two had worked closely together, so he’d likely pick up where DLY-4’s skill set comes from. He would need to be monitored. The HR and security personnel, the IDs which Raymond couldn’t remember on the top of his head, were aware of the events leading up to 477900’s untimely demise and how he was still listed as an employee. Those two would need to be terminated. The doctors, coroner, and everyone else covering up 477900’s accident were being paid out, money didn’t equal loyalty. He would need a way to eliminate them, one that didn’t leave him indebted to others.

Everything would be so much easier if Raymond could control everyone. He was already doing it with 477900 but that was only the doll version of him. Unfortunately with how the Dolls worked, he could only make alterations to them, not the people behind them. The technology was almost there. They were able to copy human minds to artificial bodies and have those artificial bodies send information back to a human mind, but they could change what was already there. Though if the mind was to be erased, it could be possible.

“Tamara, what time is it in Japan?” Raymond had an idea formulating.

“Three a.m. sir,” Tamara replied. “I’ll leave a message to call you.”

“Excellent.” Raymond drank his cooling coffee.

Raymond had bold plans for 299935 and 299935B. Though there was something else he could do with them first. Another experiment, one that would solve the issues of whether or not someone could live their life as a Doll and if it was possible to transfer one mind into another. 299935B already seemed willing enough to be female. 299935 had issues adjusting to the first model of Dolls so would be the perfect subject for experiencing the more realistic second phase Dolls.

There was so much to do, so many preparations to be made. What started as a means to test a secondary artificial body, had turned into a way to control everyone. Raymond could only dream of the possibilities, eternal life, multiple copies of himself, control over world leaders and companies. The world would be his and it started with a simple project to expand Doll from commercial to personal use. That is why he was the senior executive of Research and Development.