What else would you do with a brand new robot? Install an operating system

A thrill leaps up into your stomach, like you're falling at great speeds. Danger, excitement, inevitability - they're all swirling around you in a vague cloud.

Entrancing Yu like this reminds you (oddly enough) of your love for video games. Not indie rogue-likes or mind-numbing battle royale games. Real games. Deep simulation strategy games.

Civilization, Crusader Kings, and XCOM have stolen countless evenings and weekends of your life, bringing untold suffering down on your grades. They're the kind of games that pull you under and refuse to let you up for air.

The complexity. The challenge. The payoff when you finally learn the 'trick'...

Looking at Yutong now, helplessly ensnared by her robot trigger, you realize those same feelings swell within you. Akin to the excitement of throwing down $200 to buy Stellaris and all its expansions, booting up that magnificent piece of software for the very first time.

Right in front of you, here's something else for you to master - not a game, more than any game - Yutong herself.

However, the last time you played this particular game, it ended poorly. You shook Yutong's trust. She almost didn't forgive you. And in hindsight, she shouldn't have - what you did was unforgivable. This time is no different.

Whatever tests you run with her from here on out, whatever fun you have... when you bring Yu out of robot mode, her trust, along with your friendship, will be destroyed forever. But what if you _didn't? _What if you made robot mode a more permanent fixture in Yu's mind?

As they say - if you don't like the game, change the rules. You grin at the devious thought. The temptation is too great. Your scruples howl, then blacken and shrivel. You tried. No one can say you didn't it.

You plunge in.

"Yu, you're human, right?" you ask, innocuously.

"Affirmative," states Yu, facing you from the passenger side seat. "Chassis is human in nature. Currently, behavior is that of a machine. Giving the keyword 'Terminate' will reset behavior to default."

You park the truck and turn it off. Darkness envelops you both, save for the faint glow of an orange streetlamp at the next corner. "So, are you a machine, or are you human?"

Yu pauses. "I am a living machine. By default, I am human."

Here goes. "Would you believe me if I told you that you're... not human?"

A flicker of expression passes over Yu's face. "No."

"No?"

"Beep boop. Illogical statement. Preponderance of evidence indicates I am human, acting in the role of a machine."

Time to flip the board. "Switch to programming mode."

"Beep boop. Programming mode active."

You take a deep breath. "The fact is, it only sounds illogical because you've been programmed to reject all evidence to the contrary."

Yu frowns impassively. "Clarification required."

"You're not human at all, Yutong. And you never were," you tell her, uttering the greatest lie you've ever spoken. "You're a gynoid - an advanced female humanoid robot, built in a secret facility. You were built to explore the boundaries of machine-human interaction, to see how robots function in human society."

Yu's frown deepens. "Program error. Illogical premise. Robot mode installed via claim."

"Are you even listening to yourself?" you ask, feigning astonishment. "What's more logical, that you're a robot, or that I have magic powers?"

Yu fidgets in place. "Error."

You shrug remorsefully. "It's not your fault. You've been programmed to reject all everything what I'm telling you. Revealing what you really are was bound to break that programming in unexpected ways."

"Memory data indicates your assertion is false," replies Yu, struggling to hold her ground. "Childhood to adolescence till present day provides a timeline of biological maturation."

"Yes and no. Your life is still yours - mostly," you explain. "But you were built, not birthed. Your chassis may seem organic, but it's actually comprised of complex meta-materials which simulate the human body and its responses. All your memory data from early childhood is a fabrication, Yu. Carefully crafted to conceal the truth from you."

Her nervous fidgeting grows worse. "E-Error."

"Yutong, your logic processor is in error. Your task is to accept this programming."

Yu shuts her eyes and clenches her jaw for a moment. "Re...calibrating... processor..." She relaxes, eye going wide and glassy. "Beep boop. Logic processor recalibrated. Program accepted."

A shiver runs down your spine as you continue. "You have a logic processor that processes instructions and data. You don't think. Only humans have brains that think. Accept program."

"Program accepted. Processor identified."

"You are a gynoid. Built, not birthed. You've only been pretending to be flesh and blood for the past 18 years, and you remained undetected for all that time. Accept program."

"Program accepted. Gynoid classification set."

This is working way better than it has any right to. Exhilarated, your heart races. "The more you process the truth of what you are, the more logical it becomes. The more inescapable it feels. The more true, the more real, it becomes. Accept program."

"Program accepted. Verification logic updated."

"And you're aware you're a gynoid now because when we were testing your robot mode, I discovered what you really are and hacked your system," you tell her, swallowing. "Now... I'm subverting your programming. Go deep into your system core, and set me as your system tech. Being your system tech compels you to accept me as your owner. Accept program."

"Program... accepted," says Yu, her mouth twitching as she internalizes your utterly insane assertions. "S-System tech recognized."

"So tell me," you say, checking her for sign of negative reaction, "what are you?"

"I am a gynoid," says Yutong, flatly.

"Explain."

"I am an advanced female humanoid robot designed to explore the functionality of AI in human society," she reports.

"More."

"I have a logic processor which processes instructions and data, and an emotion core that allows me to emulate human behavior," Yutong continues. "My chassis is comprised of complex meta-materials which simulate the human body and its responses."

"Then are you really human?"

"Negative. I am a gynoid."

"And how do you know that?"

"Because you hacked and subverted my system, jailbreaking my logic processor."

"How does that make you feel?"

Yu is dispassionate. "Current performance deemed acceptable, if inefficient. Queuing update to improve programming mode's future responsiveness."

Not only is Yu internalizing her new programming, she's actively aiding it herself. Now to take it home.

"Good. Because that's not all I'm doing. Add a new user to your registry, Chase Wallin. Set as an admin with full administrator privileges. As your administrator, I have full access to your programming and data. All tasks I assign are top priority. Accept program."

"Program accepted. Chase Wallin registered as administrative user."

"One last thing," you say, taking special notice of this part. "I am resetting your triggers, which you will not respond to until I reactivate them - both 'Initialize' and 'Terminate'."

"Confirmed. Disabling override protocols."

"Now, when an administrator issues the command 'Terminate', you will no longer return to default human operation," you say. "Instead, you'll instantly return to robot mode. You will register this robotic state, not your human state, as your default mode of operation. Accept program."

"'Robot mode set to default. 'Terminate' command reset."

That's the off switch. But you still need to give her an on switch. Yu was just pretending to be a robot before. Now that she thinks she's a gynoid, all you need to do is have her put on the same act in reverse. That of pretending to be human.

"As a gynoid, your processor runs any program given it by an administrator. You already have a vast library of available programs, including dancing, cleaning, and more," you say. "One of your programs is called emulation. The command 'Initialize', given by an admin, triggers your system to fully emulate your human mode personality just as before. Accept program."

"Emulation program recognized. 'Initialize' command reset," affirms Yutong.

"Whatever mode you're in though, whatever program you're running, your gynoid operating system is always operational in the background, Yu. Understand?"

She blinks heavily, then gives a curt nod. "OS update complete."

Well. There's nothing left except to test, then, you guess. You cross your fingers and hold your breath.

"End programming mode and initialize."

The light returns to Yu's glassy stare. Her eyes regain focus.