What starts as a lab experiment with animals leads to the development of artificial beings capable of carrying out the most varied and complex tasks. These totally human-looking beings are intelligent and versatile – they’re capable of doing simple things like watering plants, setting the table, doing the laundry or feeding a pet. But that’s not all. These beings are almost autonomous and can even talk and interact with us. They have been designed to be more than a perfect appliance; they can cater to what the customer wants them to be – they can be mere home helpers or a children’s toy but they can also be sophisticated lovers or the perfect companion for lonely people. Before being delivered to their customers, the manufacturer develops a sort of final quality control test, supervised by a technician, where certain skills (like learning the customer’s language) are improved. This part of the process invariably occurs in a closed environment, usually a house with the key characteristics of the customer’s home. Alpha is one of these artificial beings. He and Beta are a couple only a few weeks away from being shipped to their future owners in Japan.