The puppets born of an emanator's boredom are purposefully made to resemble her juvenile form, an ironic concept given that most of these creations are centuries old, as a means of efficiency. One cannot make thousands of puppets without partaking in cost-cutting measures, after all.
Asta, lead researcher of the Herta Space Station, may be made of money; but the station's namesake is not.
Despite this, there does exist a singular creation that holds the honor of portraying the great Madam Herta in her true form.
Though one could argue that such is the least of the doll's peculiarities.
As while most of her puppets serve to limit the genius' need to interact with others of her kind, this one serves to do the opposite. A creation whose existence allows Herta to indulge in her most inconvenient of animalistic needs, social bonding.
Now this doesn't necessarily pertain to conversation. If she ever so desperately needed to hear her own voice, she would merely monologue to one of her puppets, who in turn would listen with rapt attention before praising her genius and beauty.
Instead this doll fills a more intimate niche in the madam's needs.
It resides permanently within her bedroom, a place seldom visited, sleeping comfortably within the large bed residing in the middle of the room; the heavy purple and black covers obscuring it's form.
On most nights, the doll would find itself alone in the lavish space; though rarely it would have company in the form of the illustrious Madam Herta herself, with tonight being the first instance of such in a little over two decades.
Adorned in a silken, frilly purple nightgown, the genius joins her doll; their bodies held up by a plush mattress, warmed by soft blankets, and resting gently against soft pillows.
Enveloped in the darkness and comforting solitude her bedroom offers, Herta allows herself a moment to be human, wrapping herself around the doll in a tight embrace.
One of the peculiarities of this particular doll is it's skin: a soft, elastic, synthetic material that is notably warm to the touch. Most of her puppets utilize porcelain for their skin, and are often colder than the air around them, with synthetic skin only being used on their face to allow for facial expressions to assist in communication, though even this skin lacks warmth.
This doll, however, is entirely composed of the synthetic skin, warmed by small heaters inside the body that ensure it's internal temperature mimics that of a living thing.
Another oddity is the layer of soft material underneath the doll's skin, a feature entirely absent in her puppets.
It acts as a sort of cushion, allowing one to touch the doll without feeling the metal and wires that make up it's internal components. A feature not too dissimilar to that of fat stored within a living being's body, even if the purpose of each are entirely different as it is unlikely any creature evolved with the intent of being cuddly.
The uniqueness doesn't end there, else this doll be little more than a strangely shaped plushie.
It's skeletal structure closely mimics that of a real human being, with every individual bone being present inside; an excruciatingly inefficient and unnecessarily complex internal structure that is entirely absent in her other creations, whose skeletons are downright crude by comparison.
This skeletal structure supports another illusion of life, the artificial heart and lungs residing within the doll's rib cage. While the heart is fairly simple in it's function, merely pulsing in a slow rhythmic beat; the lungs are a tad more complex, as they are connected to an entire respiratory system housed in the doll: where it draws in air to fuel the lungs, causing them to expand, before the air is pushed out and released from it, causing them to deflate.
This allows the doll to breath, slowly inhaling and exhaling as it sleeps.
It should be noted that, despite all of it's uniquely inefficient features, the doll is still capable of autonomous movement, though specific programming parameters limit the amount of movement it regularly partakes in. Usually little more than moving enough to wrap itself around it's creator.
If Madam Herta so desired, then there is nothing that would prevent her from projecting her consciousness into this specific doll, nothing other than her unwillingness to, that is.
The reason as to why she refuses to allow others the opportunity to witness this marvel of engineering is an entirely selfish one, befitting a selfish woman like herself; for she holds within her mind the indisputable thought that this doll is hers and hers alone. A treasure far too precious and delicate in it's existence to risk being tarnished.
And so this doll is known only to her, safely hidden in the furthest edges of the universe, forever patient in it's wait for her return. Always willing to offer her the warmth of embrace, cradling her from the bitter chill of isolation.
Cradled by her own creation, Herta can feel the beating of it's heart, the softness of it's skin, and the breathing of it's lungs, as she nestles herself into the crook of it's neck, lulled into slumber for what may very well be the first time in years.
This rest may only last for a few minutes, there's only so much a genius can ignore the millions of ideas racing in their mind before it becomes overwhelming, though it may sometimes last for hours, days, or even weeks as the illustrious madam hugs her favorite doll so dearly.
Such is the sole purpose of this doll.