"Watch ooout!" Mika entered the laundry room holding a pile of dirty laundry that raised above her head. She dropped the pile on the floor and started stuffing sheets and duvet covers into free washing machines. Sarah and Jay, who happened to be in the laundry room, began to help.
By the old tradition, this hotel network employed young girls as maids, from eighteen to twenty years old. The payment was decent and the duties were simple (although sometimes physically demanding), so the girls were happy to spend all their free time at work.
"Have you heard the news?" Jay asked, untangling the laundry. "The management of the hotel network has bought a big shipment of robot maids and is distributing them to the hotels. We'll get four or five by tomorrow."
"These robots are the big thing these days," Mika said thoughtfully. She closed the filled washing machine, turned it on and went to the next one. "I wonder what these robot maids are good for..."
"Could they replace us?" Sarah asked worriedly. "I like this job and don't want to lose it..."
"Who knows?" Jay shrugged. "I haven't seen them myself. Anyway, there are only a few of them and they are expensive. It would take a long time to replace all of us at this rate."
"We should find out more about these robots," Mika decided. "Maybe they turn out to be useless after all..."
After work, Mika, Sarah and Jay gathered in the locker room to change. There were six other girls who were also changing to or from work. As usual, the girls changed in front of each other without any shame. Their uniforms included everything down to panties, tights and bras (for those girls who already needed them), so it was a common thing among the maids to be naked in the locker room and shower together.
Everyone was excited about the arrival of the AI maids. Some girls were excited to see them, others were skeptical. Everyone agreed that the hotel management probably wanted to test these robot maids before expanding their use throughout the network.
Jay, who had arrived early and had time to read some information on the Internet, told everyone what she knew. According to the information, the robot maids were intended to perform all maid tasks, unsupervised, potentially replacing humans in that position - the last sentence was not included in the brochures so as not to scare people, but it was obvious.
They heard scratching in the back door lock, and the door opened.
"Hi girls!" Sam, one of the hotel technicians, looked inside.
"Hiii!" "Hi Sam!" the girls cheered. They liked him. None of them were embarrassed to stand naked in front of Sam because they knew he was gay.
"What's going on?"
"We're expanding your locker room," Sam explained, showing them the room by the door. "Those new AI maids will be here tomorrow, you know. They will be living here. Um..." he paused. "Or stored here? I don't know how to address these robots. Anyway, this will be their place."
The girls looked, curious. The room was exactly like theirs, only smaller and with more sockets on the walls. Everything else was the same, including lockers and some couches.
"Hmm... I have the feeling that we are just adding some more regular girls to our team..." Mika mused.
"Let's see tomorrow!"
***
Tomorrow morning, everyone crowded into the hotel lobby, even those who were off duty, even those who were on shift, except for a few unfortunate ones who could not break their assignments. Everyone was eager to see the robot maids.
Mika was also here with her friends. They were supposed to be in school, but they all asked to leave today, saying that there was an urgency at work. Really, they were almost telling the truth.
The girls made their way through the crowd to the front door ("Please let us to the front! We are maids, we need to meet our new coworkers!"). People laughed, but they let them through.
Mika really did not know what to expect. Maybe a truck with boxes, some workers unloading and unpacking the robots... Mika imagined them to be like droids from science fiction movies, moving awkwardly and speaking with artificial voices.
The reality was quite different. A simple minivan with the AI company logo pulled up to the entrance, and its passengers opened the doors and stepped out one by one. The girls gasped. These were... not robots!
Five girls, all looking around eighteen years old, followed by the man with papers in hand, walked to the entrance, chatting, smiling, and looking around as any girl would in a new place. They weren't identical at all, they had different faces, hair, heights and shapes. The only details that caught your eye were their bags with the company logo and their outfits. The girls wore maid's uniforms that could have come from a hentai anime: crimson, short and revealing. All the newcomers were barefoot.
They were absolutely stunning - not robots, real girls who walked and talked like any girl on the street or in school. Mika instinctively looked at Sarah and Jay - they looked as if they had been struck by lightning and couldn't take their eyes off the newcomers.
The people in the lobby stepped aside to make way for the AI maids. The girls stepped in and stood, bowing, waving and smiling. Mr. Simpson, the top manager of the hotel, shook hands with the escort, they exchanged a few words, signed the papers, and the man went back to the van.
"Welcome to our team!" Mr. Simpson said to them. "I believe you'll fit right in."
"Thanks! We'll do our best!" the AI maids bowed and laughed.
Mika was amazed. They laughed just like humans, she could not tell the difference!
"Girls," Mr. Simpson said to the maids, "help your new colleagues to their place. I will be with you soon to talk to you all." He turned to the other people in the hall. "So, you have seen them. Gradually, in time, you will all have a chance to get to know each other better. For now, please return to your duties!"
The crowd began to disperse. The human maids approached the robot maids. They looked at each other curiously.
"Please..." Sarah held out her hand, and the nearest robot maid took it gently. "Oh... Please follow us. We will show you our place."
"Of course! Thank you!"
And the girls, both human and robot, left the lobby.
***
"This is the maid's room," Sarah explained, leading the newcomers to the maid's room. "This is where we change, shower, rest and everything else. And your room is here..." She showed them to the back door.
The AI maids nodded, entered, and began unpacking, exchanging words and looking around. Their bags contained two spare sets of the same uniform (which they stashed in the lockers) and plug cables (which they casually tossed on the tables and couches under the outlets). That was all.
The girls crowded around the door, staring curiously, not knowing how to begin the conversation. Fortunately, Mr. Simpson had just entered, so everyone turned to him.
"Hello again..." he sat down in the nearest chair. "Please take a seat, this could be a long talk..."
"So the future has come to us," he continued as all the girls sat around, the AIs between them. He winced. "Let's skip the catchphrases. I'm sure you're all insecure and curious about your future, all of you, I don't make a difference between humans and robots here. Well, I'm in the same completely new reality as you now... So let me give you some advice."
"Threaten newcomers just like normal girls," he continued. "I have seen them in their factory, and I assure you that would be the best thing to do. Make friends, talk to them, help them learn our rules, everything. The rest will follow."
