This probably won't be like anything I've written so far. It might be considered boring from a fapping viewpoint. It is more reflective.

==Value==

===Part 1===

Left...right...left...right...left..right...

It's raining. Pouring buckets actually. The windscreen weepers are barely keeping up. It's autumn, so I suppose that's normal, though the seasons haven't been as clearly separated as they once were...
The windscreen weepers are kind of redundant in this day and age, as cars drive themselves... I suppose it is important for the passenger to still be able to see outside - that *MIGHT* save them from an accident. They don't really happen that often nowadays. Level five autonomy cars have been declared to be the only street legal vehicles five years ago, in 2047. Since then, we've had less than two dozen accidents a year across the country.

There's nothing to see outside though...nothing but the city and the endless maze of roads. It's 9 PM so there aren't that many people on the streets. I'll probably get to the LifeGen showroom in a few minutes. Plenty of time to read some synthesized information digests.

---

-Research team in China invents new non-invasive technique to enhance biological memory through EM stimulation
-Genetically engineered slaves are legalized in America
-An existential crisis of outstanding proportions takes over Europe and Asia as researchers prove with 98% certainty that we're living in a simulation
-A.I. research might be heading towards another winter, as consciousness turns out to be a non-solvable problem

---

Pfft. These aren't even news anymore... I have to revise the algorithm. I'll get to that tomorrow though. I've arrived at the LifeGen showroom. I activate my sonic umbrella hat and walk outside of my expensive four seat sedan. I twist a bit to the left and right to shake the numbness in my back after the long trip and then go on inside.

"Hello and welcome to our shop. What can we do for you today, Mr. Andrew?" a young girl in a black, stylish suit asks me after I've been identified by the quick retinal scans of the ultra high definition surveillance cameras.

"I'd like to browse your selection of purchasable companions. I seek to purchase two high quality specimens with a remaining lifespan of more than a decade." I say in a neutral tone, perhaps due to my tiredness.

"Sure thing Mr. Andrew. Describe the qualities that you desire in your companions." she replies with a cute smile and a high-pitched voice.

"Female. Young looking. Educated. Physically well developed, neither too skinny nor chubby. That should narrow it down." I reply with a bit of excitement.

She inputs the data.

"Right this way, we have 5 Companions that match your criteria available at this showroom." she says leading me to a simple room. There's a mirror on one of the walls, along with a door to it's left side. Across that window is a couch. There's not much else in the room. The room on the other side of the glass is just as simple, but is outfitted with a few holographic projectors and two metal bars on one side of the room. I can't really figure out their use, but that doesn't matter. Nothing really does...

"Here they are." The young girl from the front desk, whose name I haven't even bothered to read or ask for, says as five young women walk inside the room. They're all dressed in a formal red dress that isn't really revealing.

"They're all quite nice, aren't they? Remarkable even." the remark slips my tongue.

She nods in approval.

"Now time to face the burden of choice. Hand me their description tablets please." I command.

She obeys and hands me a tactile glass tablet that contains all their data.

---

1.Michelle: african, biologial age: 23 years, real age: 41 months, eye color: brown, hair color: dark chestnut, breast size: C cup, height: 175 cm, weight: 67 kilograms, education level: high school, misc. skills: poetry and acting. Recommended use: movie background character.
Price: $168,999

2.Nadia: caucasian, biologial age: 21 years, real age: 38 months, eye color: hazel brown, hair color: light blonde, breast size: A cup, height: 185 cm, weight: 72 kilograms, education level: high school, misc. skill(s): cooking . Recommended use: restaurant or hotel client relations.
Price: $165,999

3.Sophie: caucasian, biologial age: 23 years, real age: 40 months, eye color: emerald green, hair color: light auburn, breast size: D cup, height: 163 cm, weight: 58 kilograms, education level: college, misc. skills: philosophy and massaging. Recommended use: none available.
Price: $175,999

4.Taylor: caucasian, biologial age: 20 years, real age: 37 months, eye color: blue, hair color: black, breast size: D cup, height: 172 cm, weight: 66 kilograms, education level: high school, misc. skills: stripping and bar dancing. Recommended use: love hotel personnel.
Price: $159,999

5.Ava: asian, biologial age: 20 years, real age: 37 months, eye color: hazel, hair color: dark blonde, breast size: B cup, height: 175 cm, weight: 67 kilograms, education level: high school, misc. skills: tennis and fitness knowledge. Recommended use: tennis club coach.
Price: $179,675; 10% off.

---

Their profiles are accompanied by photos of an interactive 360 photo of them nude and a video showcasing their skills in action. I stare at them through the glass and at their profiles for a few minutes.

"I'm taking Ava and Sophie. I'll skip going into the room and meeting all of them. Get those two prepared. Please." I say, coming across as perhaps a bit in a rush, though I am on my paid leave.

"Alright. We'll just have to take care of a few legal matters then you're good to go." says the front desk clerk girl, waiving her long perfumed hair in my face and leaving the room.

"You will pay LifeGen the sum $355,674 for the acquisition of two Companions. You have the legal right to command them fully and use them to your will. You can return them within a month, if they have not suffered any severe physical or psychological injuries. LifeGen takes no legal responsability for any injuries that you might suffer due to direct or indirect action of the sold Companions. You are liable for a refund in case the Companions present high autonomy and insubordination or die prematurely - in less than a decade, as stipulated by the Engineered Human Companions act 561. Place your finger over the scanner at the end of the page to sign that you have understood these terms of conduct and to select the account from which you deduct the funds necessary for the purchase." she says in a rather monotonous tone.

I place my index finger on the scanner and conclude the purchase.

"A pleasure doing business. Miss..." I say shaking her hand

"Carla. A pleasure as well." she replies

"I hope I'll come again. You have quite the selection."

"We're the largest farmer and distributor of genetically engineered companions after all." she says as Ava and Sophie enter the room, ready to leave with me.

"Indeed. Well, it's time to go then. Come, the car is waiting outside... hopefully the rain has died down a little. Au revoire Carla." I say opening the door and stepping outside.

"Blasted heavens...it's still pouring cats and dogs outside. Sophie, Ava - come closer to me so you don't get too wet. The car isn't too far."

They are a bit reluctant, but come closer and brush up against me. They're wearing the same red dresses they had in the showroom.

"You hungry? We could grab something from the nearby restaurant then head home." I ask them as we walk through the rain, the disk of ultrasonic waves above our heads deflecting the rain in a one meter radius around my head.

"We have had dinner at the shop, there's no need." replies Ava.

"What's your name, sir?" inquires Sophie.

"My name is Andrew." I state with confidence, taking a glance at Sophie as she was striding alongside me with finesse.

"If you don't mind me asking, why did you purchase us?" asks Sophie.

"I don't know. I guess I liked you, if you wanted to know why you specifically. You have one of the cutest faces I've ever seen." I say, smiling at Sophie.

"What's to become of us?" asks Ava a bit concerned.

"Well...I might kill and eat you. I might just torture or sodomize you." I reply.

There's a long and eerie silence. They seem to be a bit glum about what they've heard, even though they're probably mostly okay with the idea. Upon reaching the biological age of 18, their general education that they're given across the span of 24 months is considered complete. They are thoroughly bathed in nihilism and conditioned to accept that life has no meaning beside that given to them by their masters. The will to live is usually very vague or completely missing in Companions, which is just a fancy way to call lab grown genetically designed slaves. This is the latest breakthrough in the devaluation of human life, brought to us by our corporate overlords, for which I am a slave too... a slave with a higher degree of autonomy and that gets paid a lot, but still just a cog in their machine. Through social engineering we've been made to renounce ideas like family life, decency, faith in a higher power, morality...now it's quite customary for people to buy and abuse Companions and even execute them at their whim.
They call this, the final freedom, the final liberation - the power to command and kill, given to the masses, as long as they kill Companions and not 'normal' people. Truth is, a lot of shady companies in third world countries have been just slapping the Companion chip on poor or disenfranchised people and selling them for obscene profits. For the ultra rich and powerful the common people were just cattle anyway, now they've become actual cattle. Most people in the world aren't even necessary anymore, due to automation swallowing 90% of the jobs that were available in the the past decade. Few companies, like LifeGen, bother to properly engineer and grow their Companions. Their leaders actually believe it's more ethical this way... or so they say, but it's probably because their HQ is in an eastern european country, where people would outright riot if they found that a company just abducts people and publicly sells them as Companions. In America, Africa the middle east and Asia it is common practice, even though the governments won't admit. They just keep blasting their propaganda and silence the few who dare to dissent. I've been fortunate enough to realize the nature of our reality and also realize that it's better I keep to myself about these sort of matters. I neither hate, nor like the current world status. After all, we're probably just pixels inside a powerful computer. Mere information being continually processed.

"Come on, get in the car. Don't be so glum." I say, opening the door.

We get inside and start driving towards home.

"You... you were joking about killing and torturing us...right?" asks Ava with a shiver in her voice. They're standing in front of me, our seats facing each other.

"Why would I be?" I reply.

"So our lives will only amount to the short lived pleasure that you will have while doing this...?" she replies, her eyes swelling up a bit. Sophie on the other hand seems to be detached, only looking out the window at the pouring rain.

"Do you want to live?" I inquire.

"I...I..." Ava stutters a bit, trying to hold in a tear.

"It's ok. You can say it, you can say anything you want" I reply, going towards her and giving her a kiss on the forehead.

"Psh.... 'want'... as if that term even holds any meaning. Our desires are nothing but the result of a series of events, a series of space-time slices arranged in a certain way. Our wills matter not. Neither does yours in the greater context of things... Mr. Andrew." replies Sophie, turning her head towards me, with a bit of disgust.

"So you are a staunch believer of determinism AND nihilism, then... Sophie." I utter her name, elongating the last sound. She turns back and ignores me.

"Yes... I want to live." replies Ava in the end.

"That's perfectly normal. You're human. What for, though?" I ask her.

"Well, why not. We're hardwired to place higher value on existing and perpetuating our existence, than not to. It is a biological compulsion. Our attempts to rationalize it are feeble and fruitless." replies Sophie, cutting Ava before she could respond.

"There are many things in this world. I want to see and experience some of them..." says Ava reluctantly.

"I have killed many Companions so far, 55 to be more precise, as many as I have lived years in my life. Always seeking a new thrill, a new way to exert power over other living beings. At first it was an intoxicating feeling. I was driven by lust and I seeked to unleash unspeakable atrocities upon other humans, just so that I might assert myself and make my existence unique... meaningful. Now, however, this too has been normalized...stripped of it's uniqueness. What a foolish struggle this is, the battle for asserting one's own identity through the suffering of others. Perhaps I've reached the point where the scale weighs more in the favor of keeping you two alive, if that's what you desire." I reply, looking at Ava.

"T...thank you." Ava murmurs.

"Whatever...got any cocktails and booze at home?" replies Sophie.

"You'll see for yourself. We're almost there." I say, turning my chair towards the front of the car.

Sophie seems to be completely detached from this world. She's almost like an empty shell, a depressed husk. I'm not even sure killing her would be exciting. Despite her hot, feminine body, she seems not to have any other charming features.
Ava seems to be a little, scared, asian girl. She could even be a regular human that got abducted from an overpopulated Asian country and raised to be a Companion. That might explain her will to live - she knows that the world there are a lot of things to see and do in this world, regular Companions don't.

The rain has stopped. It's 1 AM now and we're finally at my estate - a two story villa sitting at the back of a 4 square kilometer terrain that's mostly covered in trees and solar panels. They're mostly fruit trees-plums, apples, apricots. I have a greenhouse too where I keep a banana tree and a few palms for coconuts. There's also a firing range in the back, where I can usually have fun. I live alone, yet often I have friends visiting me and we throw parties and debaucheries where we usually kill a few Companions. I don't know if I will continue with these outings or not.

"Come in, come in." I say, welcoming them inside the main atrium.

"Whoaa, nice place." exclaims Ava, marveling at the chandelier in the middle.

"I try to keep it old school." I say with pride in my voice.

"Can I eat some of those?" asks Sophie, looking at a bowl of fruit.

"Yes, go ahead. They're from my own trees. I've grown them over the years and now I enjoy their fruits." I reply.

They both oblige and serve a few apricots and plums.

"Grab some and let's get you to your rooms. Follow me."

I lead them upstairs and into big guest room with two double beds, sitting at the left and right of the door.

"You have spare clothes in the cabinets over there, the TV's above your beds have vocal control.The bathroom is behind that door on my left. Consider yourselves at home. Technically...it is your new home, maybe for the rest of your lives, however long or short that might be."

Sophie throws off her red dress on the bed and reveals her toned belly, shaved pussy and alluring tits.

"You aren't going to sleep with us?" she asks.

"I sleep better alone. Have a good night, sleep for as long as you like." I reply, closing the door, but not locking it.

I got to my own room, lock the door, change myself and lay to rest. Tomorrow's going to be a good, interesting new day.

---

---

This story probably won't feature snuff, it will probably have vanilla sex. I am interested to see how I'd envision this story going forward, as it is more of a mental thought experiment of mine about how my life could be. *perhaps*.

Anyway, I'd appreciate any input regarding this story. Do you want Ava or Sophie to die, or perhaps let THEM kill someone?