Single Wired Female (Wired for Love Book 2) by Greg Dragon

comparisons with his situation and that of her fellow androids.
    Like Baltar, they had on digital leashes meant to give the illusion of freedom to one that was still imprisoned. Baltar was treated like a family member, but more in words than in actions. He was an adult in dog years but Miss Pixie Cut would probably always treat him like a baby.
    Androids were restrained to lessen free thought, growth of their AI, and to make them accept that their owner was everything. They were built to be attractive, the perfect models of sexual objectification. They worked hard, never complained, and would gladly do whatever it was that they had been developed to do. Baltar simply had to be cute in order to keep Miss Pixie Cut happy, but for an android stud or maiden, looking human came with a heavy toll.
    It would be very easy to hate the humans but Tricia couldn’t shake the fact that she felt like a human herself. Whatever they had done to make her into Bonnie had left her as an outsider to her android brothers and sisters. It was a miserable existence and most days she felt like sitting in a corner, pulling up one of Reynaldo’s memories and letting it run as she slowly shut down—
    “You look like you’re in heaven,” a familiar voice said and she opened her eyes to see the man who had written her the warning. He was no longer in black, having changed his shirt to a yellow sweater, and he motioned to the seat beside her to indicate that he wished to sit.
    Tricia slid to the side and watched him as he took a seat next to her. “How did you know?” she asked and he tapped his glasses in response.
    “Because I invented these glasses,” he said with a smile. “Not to worry, I haven’t sold them to the public. We wouldn’t want a worldwide panic over synthetic people, now would we?” he said with a little chuckle that Tricia thought sounded pleasant. She didn’t feel any cockiness or bravado from his speech; he was merely stating a fact and finding humor in it.
    “Why did you help me?” she asked.
    He shrugged, then sat back and placed his left leg across his right. “First tell me why you would go into that building and then I will tell you why it is that I helped you.”
    “I had some questions about a friend of mine who was recently murdered,” Tricia said.
    “You think that Fritz and Isaac had something to do with her death?”
    “No, not necessarily, but I know they had something to do with the killer android involved in her death,” Tricia said.
    The man made a slight laugh and Tricia wondered what it was that he found so funny. “It couldn’t have been a model from that company. Not if it was a ‘killer android’ as you say. They write in the laws of human relations as part of the android build-up. Do you recall them? An android cannot aid or preform anything that could lead to harm against a human being. A killer android is just not possible with the way they’re wired. Tell me, have you been able to harm anyone? Can you even do damage to yourself?”
    “No, I can’t do it, and it is the most frustrating part of being alive—”
    “Alive?” the man asked, looking more intently at her now.
    “Yes, I am alive, just like you, the grass, and this big tree behind us. I am sentient, but of course you knew this or you wouldn’t have asked me to meet you out here in the open,” she said.
    “I’m Stephen, an inventor. I also work with Fritz and Isaac in order to make sure that they are a step above the competition in android development. I may sound like I’m full of myself, but their only true competitor is a large Japanese conglomerate. If I’m being honest, they only hire nerds like me to keep them on their toes. But I’m rambling. What’s your name?”
    “It’s Bonnie, Bonnie O’Neal,” Tricia said. “Tell me, Stephen, as an android expert, is it impossible to remove the aggression restraint?”
    “That’s a scary question but the answer is no. You can see that this is possible when you