Aphelion

Oddly enough, there is a common theme to "Moldable", "Gynoid", and "20% Off Designer Genes!" -- the quest for perfection. In "Moldable", the father offers the son a gift that can become anything (really seeking to improve their dysfunctional relationship). In "Gynoid", the man seeks what he thinks would be the perfect sex partner (physically indistinguishable from a real (if exceptionally attractive) woman, but unrealistically acquiescent to his entirely selfish desires). In "20% Off...", the parents decide to pay more than they can really afford for a "perfect" child (although they should put aside money for therapy for their underappreciated unoptimized son...).

In two out of the three tales, the results are fatal. (And who knows, if we visited the family in "20% Off..." a few years down the road, when #1 Son has had time to really understand how his parents see him...)

The moral of these stories: the easy (if expensive) way is probably not the best way to achieve any goal. See also remarks on the principle of unintended consequences.

Ye Editor

unforgibbon wrote:Frankly, for me, this read too much like a young man's masturbatory fantasy tweaked with violence. I think it's key flaw is a lack of complicated characterization; nothing compelling going on there at all. And because the characters are not interesting to me, the storyline kind of just ambles along in rather typical fashion.

I'm thinking if you make the characters more complex, a story like this can take off in unexpected directions.

I think the whole point was that the advanced gynoid had more depth of feeling than her owner.