The Eternal Smile

Lydia asked, “Bill, can I start?”

William Mackenzie said, “Yes, start.” He allows everyone who meets him to call him by his first name. No one before this girl had ever dared to.

Lydia said, "We've created about a dozen Animan prototypes. They're growing in our lab. I could bring one or two if you'd like, but I think you'll get a good idea from these pictures, videos, and the 3D presentation.

"My sincere gratitude to you; I never had to worry about money, so I faced no limitations in my research. I think the legal support was even more significant than the financial backing. There were many things in this research that were illegal and punishable under the country's existing laws. I went ahead and did them without hesitation because I knew you would protect me from any repercussions. In particular, we tested various models on the wombs of poor women in the third world. It's not that local journalists didn't get wind of it and try to protest once or twice, but thanks to your support, it never became a problem. In the end, the journalists themselves were the ones who ran into trouble. 

Lydia then showed a picture of a human baby on the screen and said, “This is our Animan's model. You can see there's no doubt it's a human baby, but at the same time, if you told ordinary people it's not actually a human baby but some kind of animal, they'd accept that too! You've surely noticed that the baby's eyes are different from those of ordinary people. You've probably noticed that the child's eyes are larger than a human's; we can design the eye color. Because of its flat nose, even when it reaches full maturity, it will still look like a child. The ears have been made a bit longer, with pointed tops—different from humans. We haven't changed the mouth, teeth, or tongue, because otherwise it wouldn't be acceptable to humans.

The most important thing is its fur. After much thought, we covered its entire body in fur. There are several reasons for this: if it has long fur like a dog or cat, it's easier for people to imagine it as an animal rather than a human. Secondly, it provides a form of protection, so they don't need to wear clothes like humans do. Also, we can add variety with different colors of fur. Although they are human, we don't normally let them stand on two legs. Their arms are designed to be relatively long so that when they walk on all fours, it doesn't look out of place. If it wants to, this Animan can stand on two legs, but we're leaving that up to the customer's preference.”

Lydia quickly showed a few pictures and videos and said, "Now I'll get to the most important part of the Animan: its use and behavior. Its intelligence will be like that of a five-year-old child. It has no language; it can't speak. At best, it can make incomprehensible noises like a one-year-old child. Its face will always have an expression of happiness and joy. Just looking at its face will make a person's mood better.

All creatures on Earth have fear and terror, and some even have the feeling of sorrow, so it was impossible to completely remove these feelings from the Animan. It has feelings of sorrow and pain alongside joy too. But its face will never reflect them. It will always have a smiling expression. It will always smile."

At that moment, William Mackenzie raised his hand, stopping Lydia, and asked, “What would you do if I deliberately tortured it, say, by heating an iron rod and branding it?”

Lydia smiled and said, "Even then, it will giggle. The only reflection of any of its emotions is laughter! An ordinary person will never find any other emotion on its face. Those who keep it as a pet will never feel that they are hurting the creature. Even if you torture and kill it, everyone will think the creature is filled with happiness and joy."

A smile spread across William MacKenzie's face as he said, “Amazing!”

"You're right, Bill, it is extraordinary. This part of the research was the most difficult. But we did it; we managed to do the genetic coding correctly. We had to make some changes to its nervous system to do it, so its sensation of pain is relatively low. Its method of birth is somewhat complex, but the buyers don't need to know that. We will never give a completely new-born baby to the customers. We'll raise it a bit, give it some training, and then supply it. When a person buys a dog, they have to give it various kinds of training at first; with an Animan, there will be no need for that.

The Animan has a maximum lifespan of ten years. However, it will never show signs of aging. It won't suffer from illness and die a painful death. Its death will always be a natural one. It will be the size of a small dog, and people will be able to pick it up in their arms if they want. They can pet it. It has no gender; it's neither male nor female. Since we won't be breeding this species, there are no males and females. It's all the same, neutral."

Lydia then started a 3D presentation and said, “You can take a closer look at this creature if you wish.”

William Mackenzie said, “There's no need. Congratulations, Lydia, for this remarkable discovery.”

“And thank you for your incredible cooperation.”

“What are your plans now?”

“My part is done. Now it's all on marketing. You get it passed in Congress, and we'll start production.”

A strange smile slowly spread across William MacKenzie's face. “Consider it passed by Congress. Prepare to hold a press conference and let the world know about Animan!”

Lydia said, “I'm ready.”