Reed Wonder, Aurora Olivas - The Machine
1
Gemini was in her laboratory. It was an engineering bay racked with cast iron tables. She was tapping her foot to the R&B music playing from her desktop. Her hands were tapered in black leather, and she was inserting a chip into an android's brain with the help of a long white surgical tool. A goggle covered her left eye, and her shoulders were vaguely muscular against the backlights of the studio. The android that was splayed out before her was nothing more than a rough skeleton. Its faceplate hadn't been installed, and as she docked the chip into its CPU, she held her breath as it came alive.
''Easy,'' Gemini said as it flinched. Lifting her hand, she settled it against the android’s faceplate. It took a moment for the machine to settle, but when it did, it clutched her fingers like a child.
''Scared...?'' Gemini said, lifting the goggle from her eye. Her features were dark-eyed, with too-large lips and a hooked nose. She had always disliked the way she looked, but modern prosthetics reviled her. The android turned towards her vaguely, but with no face, it was impossible to tell if it was looking at her or not.
''Don't be afraid,'' Gemini said. She took the android's hand a little more firmly, weighing it in her palms. ''Want me to shut you off whilst I run the initiation protocol?''
The android shook its head quickly, then seemed to force itself to relax. She let out a quiet smile, double-taking the android as she then rolled her chair across the studio. Her combat boots hit the floor before her personal desktop, and she strummed her hand across the mechanical keyboard. The android remained where it was, almost at ease, though she noticed its fingers stroking along the arm of the chair close to where she'd been.
She raised her hand to her mouth, touching her fingers to her lips as the initiation protocol began. The screen read, ''3% progress,'' as she lightly chewed her nails. Then standing up abruptly, she took a walk to the balcony and stepped outside.
The cold, frigid air of New England washed over her skin and she let out a slight tremble. She was only wearing a long vest and cut-off jeans as she huddled against the wall and peered down at the neon-scraped landscape below. The city lights were claustrophobic as she started on a cigarette. Her hand was still repeating the same motion at her side as she thought about the android’s clinginess.
The corruption and decay of the city kept her in most nights, and she was surprised to realise that the android's touch had been familiar, somehow. It was the first real, authentic sign of human emotion she'd felt in.... weeks, maybe even months? Scraping her nail against her thumb, she cut at the skin and inhaled a little deeper on her cigarette, trembling as she studied the city below.
Gunshots went off in the distance, along with the echo of police sirens. Somewhere, she imagined a hundred thousand other women like her, leaning out on their balconies and listening to the warning signals from the streets below. It wasn’t safe to go out anymore. She wouldn’t dare walk the city without a friend. It hadn’t been like that in the beginning. It had been good, clean, safe. But now… armoured cars patrolled the streets. Gangsters looking for new projects. Street-level samurai, hoping to cut their names into the foundations of the city. Corporate-level instigators, always looking to make a buck. There was safety in solace. Quiet at home. Yet she craved to be a part of it again; that was the worst thing. The discomfort, the unrest, the anger. The clubs. She wanted to prove to them she could handle it, but she couldn’t. Not alone. Palming a hand to her head, she let out a quiet sigh as she hung off the end of the balcony. She had tried making a name for herself once, but now it seemed so very long ago; and it hadn’t ended very well, either...
The police sirens faded, and the vibration in her pocket brought her to her senses. Still holding the cigarette, Gemini fished out her phone.
''Hi Daddy,'' Gemini said carefully, keeping her voice level as she quickly ashed the cigarette beneath her heel. She then folded her arms and tucked herself closer to the wall.
''Hi baby. How's it going...?'' Her father sounded as artfully calm as always. She let out a quiet sigh as her eyes flashed towards the city—at the tower in the distance. The words: ''Arasaka Corporation'' flashed a hard red.
''I'm good,'' she answered, ''listen Dad. I think I'm going to change up the project. There's been a breakthrough.''
''A breakthrough? ... Is there something I should know about?'' He said.
''No,'' she said, shaking her head lightly, shuffling with her arms across her chest to keep herself warm. ''No, but... well, I don't really know yet. I'm working on it. Trying to bring it to life, like you always told me. It isn't even online yet, but the data I'm getting from this new CPU looks so promising. Internal responses. Unchecked feedback. It’s thinking at an alarming rate.''
‘’Thinking? I don't understand. You mean predicting?’’ Her father said.
‘’Yes. Predicting. That’s... that’s what I meant.’’
''What do you need...?'' Her father said after a moment, and she let out a slight sigh of relief as she rested her head back against the wall.
''I could use more money,'' she admitted.
‘'How much?'' He said.
''Five hundred thousand,'' she said whilst chewing her fingernails. ''It's the externals. The mimetic skin and the wiring. It needs to be perfect. Dad, I don't want the prototype to look uncanny. It needs to look and feel real if the customers are going to buy into what it represents—''
''Gemini,'' her father said. ''I know. I trust you. Check your devices. I’ve already wired it through.''
''Thank you,'' she sighed, relaxing with her hands and glancing at the lab. She studied the android thoroughly, then glanced back at her phone once her father spoke.
''How’s rehab? How's it going...?'' Her father said.
''It's good… five months sober,'' she said, crossing her fingers lightly as she bounced against the wall, letting out a painful smile. There was a moment's pause, then her father said: ''I'm really proud of you. Your mother would be too. Listen, if there's anything else you need...''
''I know, Dad. Thanks. Listen, I've really got to go. I have some... some friends coming over,'' she lied, reaching out for the balcony door.
''Don't forget we have dinner tomorrow afternoon,'' her father reminded her as she stepped back inside.
''I know. I've got it. Arasaka Tower. I'll be there,'' and with that, she hung up the phone.
Stepping back over to the android, she sat herself down in the chair beside it, then checking the funds on her personal device, she quickly ordered the next round of parts and waited for the delivery. They were here within the hour--express and promptly paid for, she accepted them nervously from a guy in a slick black suit. He seemed a little surprised when he saw her, yet she had come to the door with a small pistol in hand. There was no telling who might knock on your door late at night in New England.
''Miss Arasaka?'' He said, glancing her over from behind a pair of black-tinted sunglasses. He had the strict, traditional aspect of a henchman; a gunrunner for the Miltech branch.
''Mhm,'' she answered, taking the parcel in hand. He glanced into the apartment briefly, and she raised an eyebrow at him, knowing what he was after. She was the daughter of an international business leader. He was surprised to see her here in sweats and a throw-over, with an apartment that looked like it hadn't been cleaned in months.
''Have a good day Ma’am,’’ he said instead, heading towards the elevator. Corporate kindness. It will kill you. He pressed the button and nodded at her firmly, and she almost felt a little guilty. His modesty annoyed her. With a slight sag of her shoulders, she went back inside.
She spent the next few hours installing and wiring the parts, along with adding the decals to the face-plate and setting up the android's internal systems. As she worked, the machine lightly tapped its fingers against the the gurney; and she reached over to the radio once she realised what it was doing and played her music a little louder. In time, a rough face took shape; though it slept still. She hadn't wired it in yet. And once the morning came, and her studio went from a deep purple to a misty grey morning orange, she felt exhaustion creeping up on her as she wiped her eyes. Yet beneath her was a solidly-built, striking-looking young man with thick lips, a dented nose, who looked somewhat dark around the eyes. He was rough-cut, with ample muscles below the collar, where she was still fitting him with a nameplate across his neck like a brand; or a tattoo. Her fingers tapped his skin with the soldering iron carefully, and she did finissed the nameplate so small that it could not be read from a distance. Yet up the left side of his neck, the name ''Leon'' ran in patented grey.
''Leon,'' she said as the android slept beneath her. She lifted her goggles slightly and looked at him, a vague blush rise to her cheeks. Warmth crept up her skin. Over her arms, across her waist. She reached out and touched him hesitantly across the lips.
Featherweight, Gemini slowly caressed his features, tracing with her thumb--leaning into a caress. She tilted her head, examining the beauty of his skin. The mimetic skin was gorgeous; almost Human. His face had a grey sheen, his eyelids a tad too dark, but his lips were full and red, and though she hadn’t chosen his hair implants, she imagined him with a full head of shaggy brown hair. Lightly feeling up the left side of his temple, she looked at the fastenings behind his ears. They were still up. Tucking them down, she smoothed them out and secured them with the blowtorch. It took her a second of leaning back in her chair, but when she looked at him, she couldn't believe that she was looking at an android.
''You’re… perfect,'' Gemini muttered, finding the dissonance disconcerting. She then glanced at his hands again, and to her surprise, she found her fingers had slotted into his. They had been holding hands for the last five minutes.
Rolling her chair back, she quickly cleared her throat.
‘’Huh,’’ she said, clutching at her neck. For some reason, she was short of breath. She gave the android a last glance, then went to wash up.
She slept immediately after that, with the android in the cradle and her in the bed. Exhausted, she didn't even hear her phone vibrate on the balcony when her father called. Instead, she fell into a somewhat fitful sleep as she dreamed about her father coming and taking Leon away. It was only when she woke up a few hours later that she realised she’d overslept. Cursing, she leaned out onto the balcony from the corner of her bed and yanked the door open.
‘’Yes, Daddy, I’m coming right now. I got… caught-up with the prototype,’’ Gemini said as she ran across the room, pulling on a coat and grabbing a hat to tame her hair. ‘’No, I don’t need you to send a car — Daddy please. I… alright. Alright. I understand. I’m so sorry, Daddy. I really tried—’’
Stepping out of the apartment, she closed the door, and hurrying towards the elevator, she went down to the first floor and leaped into the car that was waiting outside…
* * *
2
Gemini was sat in the car wrapped in a plastic rain jacket, paling and fighting hard to breathe. The lines of her jacket were bleeding from the inertia of the city outside. The windows were vibrating. She could hear the rain muffled against the thin plastic exterior of the car. It was like she was stuck inside a candy wrapper, and the candy wrapper was rustling against her ears and inside her skin; so tight and clingy it worried her and made her feel thin.
She could barely feel her legs.
Her thoughts were racing.
Her breath, stilted.
She clutched at the lapel of her jacket, gritting her teeth. She wanted to be back inside the studio.
What if she didn't make it back?
The streets outside seemed to be expanding, the street lamps too bright. Muddy faces blurred one into the next in a red and blue spiral that stretched into the kinds of jumpscares you’d see in a low-light cinema. It was like watching life play out on a distorted widescreen. She let out a sharp breath and leaned towards the driver, smiling tightly.
‘’Can you tint the windows?… Thanks,’’ she said.
With a glance at her from behind his glasses, the driver nodded. ‘’Of course, Miss Arasaka,'' he said, and the windows turned dim. Gemini sat there, scratching her thumb against the inside of her fingers bitterly. By the time they’d arrived, she’d sliced her thumb to ribbons.
She got out and made the little step up onto the pavement. It was raining. Disorted faces. A valet talked to her, but she let the driver handle it. She looked out into the rain that washed the tower building and turned it featureless. Someone took her by the arm and put her in a second coat, and she walked forwards and out of the rain. They put her inside and made her stand before the receptionist like a child as they took down her name and she did a whole lot of shivering. Then when she said her name, they all changed. They came and brought her a hot towel and smiled sorrily, and an android came and walked her the rest of the way. She sort of followed it into an expensive room filled with expensive people, all of them faceless like the ones outside. Her mind was still racing when they sat her down, and only then did she notice the man sat across from her. She was also aware that there was a chandelier overhead roughly the size of a guillotine, and if it dropped on her she’d be cut in half.
She looked up into the face of her father and said: ‘’Hi Daddy,’’ aware of his stare. He did not look unhappy, but he did look like he was trying very hard to look the opposite. She wondered what it was. Was it the hoodie beneath the thin plastic rain jacket? Her lack of make-up? Or the rain-washed, exhausted state of her hair? It couldn’t have been the infection making its way up the corners of her thumbs where she’d bitten away the skin. It must’ve been the frightened way she looked at him, like a rabbit cornered by a bloodhound outside its den. She tried to smile, but she was almost certain she gasped instead.
‘’Gemini,’’ he said. But that was all he said. He just looked at her with a fawning, fatherly look of mild-mannered contempt. It was supposed to be appreciation, but there was nothing left about her to appreciate. She looked a fool and she knew it.
‘’I’m so sorry Daddy. I tried to get ready in time, but I got so caught up with the prototype, I lost track of time. Then I left my phone outside and didn't hear my alarm go off. I swear I was supposed to get all dressed up for you, I can always go back home and—’’
He raised a hand and she stopped. Then she sat there chewing her lip whilst the family across from her made a toast. She looked over and saw they were toasting to their son; a tall dark handsome young man with unworried eyes and a relaxed veneer. His skin was like wax. He was almost grey. His dark suit was polished with hints of lilac. He was drinking chardonnay. His mother was the ageless white velvet of a woman who'd come from money. His father had that stern, disapproving gaze of everything but his son. They caught each other’s eyes for a moment and he seemed to stare at her. It was a slightly downwards stare as he looked her over and seemed to grow embarrassed at the mere presence of her. He adjusted his tie and looked at his parents as if her inadequacy might rub off on him. Then he made a point of looking away, but not before sending her a brief, piteous smile; as if telling her to enjoy her night. No one saw. In fact, she was almost certain she must've imagined it.
''Gemini, you haven't been drinking have you?'' Her father's voice said. She was still staring at the young man across from her.
''No.''
''You smell of cigarettes.''
''Yes. I've been smoking.''
''You're sure?''
''Sure of what?''
''That you haven't relapsed. You look terrible.''
''Thanks Daddy.''
She sat there looking at the son whilst worrying her finger. Why couldn't she be like him? So perfect. So cool. Sitting there without a care in the world cracking jokes beneath his parents incredible scrutiny. He had devoured their societal calm and took it in stride. He had manifested their dreams and become precisely what they wanted him to be to an almost surgical degree. She could smell him from here; masterful in his certainty. An absolute playboy who went out at night with all his college friends and ruined girls like her. She wanted to sink her teeth into his skin; in more ways than one, and stab his beautiful, angelic face with the inside of her thumbs until he screamed and told her his secrets. Feverishly, she looked back at her father, sucking on her lower-lip and trying to meet his eyes.
''Go home, Gemini. You're clearly not fit to be here. I'll contact you in a few days... keep working on the prototype, it seems to be good for you. Perhaps... it's time I sent over a handler, as well. I really don't know,'' her father sighed, lifting his hand to call for a porter to send her away.
She was handed over. Like a doll, handed over. She saw the playboy's eyes peering at her questioningly, as if her dismissal caused him further second hand embarassment. He then glanced at his parents, who were now watching her, and she quickly looked away from them all. She could no longer stomach their scrutiny. She could've sworn she saw the parents mutter something beneath their breath as she was escorted out. It caused a self-aware, conceited laugh from the young man; as if that would lessen the disease. And as she stepped outside, she quietly begged someone to loosen the chandelier from its struts and end it all.
1
Gemini was in her laboratory. It was an engineering bay racked with cast iron tables. She was tapping her foot to the R&B music playing from her desktop. Her hands were tapered in black leather, and she was inserting a chip into an android's brain with the help of a long white surgical tool. A goggle covered her left eye, and her shoulders were vaguely muscular against the backlights of the studio. The android that was splayed out before her was nothing more than a rough skeleton. Its faceplate hadn't been installed, and as she docked the chip into its CPU, she held her breath as it came alive.
''Easy,'' Gemini said as it flinched. Lifting her hand, she settled it against the android’s faceplate. It took a moment for the machine to settle, but when it did, it clutched her fingers like a child.
''Scared...?'' Gemini said, lifting the goggle from her eye. Her features were dark-eyed, with too-large lips and a hooked nose. She had always disliked the way she looked, but modern prosthetics reviled her. The android turned towards her vaguely, but with no face, it was impossible to tell if it was looking at her or not.
''Don't be afraid,'' Gemini said. She took the android's hand a little more firmly, weighing it in her palms. ''Want me to shut you off whilst I run the initiation protocol?''
The android shook its head quickly, then seemed to force itself to relax. She let out a quiet smile, double-taking the android as she then rolled her chair across the studio. Her combat boots hit the floor before her personal desktop, and she strummed her hand across the mechanical keyboard. The android remained where it was, almost at ease, though she noticed its fingers stroking along the arm of the chair close to where she'd been.
She raised her hand to her mouth, touching her fingers to her lips as the initiation protocol began. The screen read, ''3% progress,'' as she lightly chewed her nails. Then standing up abruptly, she took a walk to the balcony and stepped outside.
The cold, frigid air of New England washed over her skin and she let out a slight tremble. She was only wearing a long vest and cut-off jeans as she huddled against the wall and peered down at the neon-scraped landscape below. The city lights were claustrophobic as she started on a cigarette. Her hand was still repeating the same motion at her side as she thought about the android’s clinginess.
The corruption and decay of the city kept her in most nights, and she was surprised to realise that the android's touch had been familiar, somehow. It was the first real, authentic sign of human emotion she'd felt in.... weeks, maybe even months? Scraping her nail against her thumb, she cut at the skin and inhaled a little deeper on her cigarette, trembling as she studied the city below.
Gunshots went off in the distance, along with the echo of police sirens. Somewhere, she imagined a hundred thousand other women like her, leaning out on their balconies and listening to the warning signals from the streets below. It wasn’t safe to go out anymore. She wouldn’t dare walk the city without a friend. It hadn’t been like that in the beginning. It had been good, clean, safe. But now… armoured cars patrolled the streets. Gangsters looking for new projects. Street-level samurai, hoping to cut their names into the foundations of the city. Corporate-level instigators, always looking to make a buck. There was safety in solace. Quiet at home. Yet she craved to be a part of it again; that was the worst thing. The discomfort, the unrest, the anger. The clubs. She wanted to prove to them she could handle it, but she couldn’t. Not alone. Palming a hand to her head, she let out a quiet sigh as she hung off the end of the balcony. She had tried making a name for herself once, but now it seemed so very long ago; and it hadn’t ended very well, either...
The police sirens faded, and the vibration in her pocket brought her to her senses. Still holding the cigarette, Gemini fished out her phone.
''Hi Daddy,'' Gemini said carefully, keeping her voice level as she quickly ashed the cigarette beneath her heel. She then folded her arms and tucked herself closer to the wall.
''Hi baby. How's it going...?'' Her father sounded as artfully calm as always. She let out a quiet sigh as her eyes flashed towards the city—at the tower in the distance. The words: ''Arasaka Corporation'' flashed a hard red.
''I'm good,'' she answered, ''listen Dad. I think I'm going to change up the project. There's been a breakthrough.''
''A breakthrough? ... Is there something I should know about?'' He said.
''No,'' she said, shaking her head lightly, shuffling with her arms across her chest to keep herself warm. ''No, but... well, I don't really know yet. I'm working on it. Trying to bring it to life, like you always told me. It isn't even online yet, but the data I'm getting from this new CPU looks so promising. Internal responses. Unchecked feedback. It’s thinking at an alarming rate.''
‘’Thinking? I don't understand. You mean predicting?’’ Her father said.
‘’Yes. Predicting. That’s... that’s what I meant.’’
''What do you need...?'' Her father said after a moment, and she let out a slight sigh of relief as she rested her head back against the wall.
''I could use more money,'' she admitted.
‘'How much?'' He said.
''Five hundred thousand,'' she said whilst chewing her fingernails. ''It's the externals. The mimetic skin and the wiring. It needs to be perfect. Dad, I don't want the prototype to look uncanny. It needs to look and feel real if the customers are going to buy into what it represents—''
''Gemini,'' her father said. ''I know. I trust you. Check your devices. I’ve already wired it through.''
''Thank you,'' she sighed, relaxing with her hands and glancing at the lab. She studied the android thoroughly, then glanced back at her phone once her father spoke.
''How’s rehab? How's it going...?'' Her father said.
''It's good… five months sober,'' she said, crossing her fingers lightly as she bounced against the wall, letting out a painful smile. There was a moment's pause, then her father said: ''I'm really proud of you. Your mother would be too. Listen, if there's anything else you need...''
''I know, Dad. Thanks. Listen, I've really got to go. I have some... some friends coming over,'' she lied, reaching out for the balcony door.
''Don't forget we have dinner tomorrow afternoon,'' her father reminded her as she stepped back inside.
''I know. I've got it. Arasaka Tower. I'll be there,'' and with that, she hung up the phone.
Stepping back over to the android, she sat herself down in the chair beside it, then checking the funds on her personal device, she quickly ordered the next round of parts and waited for the delivery. They were here within the hour--express and promptly paid for, she accepted them nervously from a guy in a slick black suit. He seemed a little surprised when he saw her, yet she had come to the door with a small pistol in hand. There was no telling who might knock on your door late at night in New England.
''Miss Arasaka?'' He said, glancing her over from behind a pair of black-tinted sunglasses. He had the strict, traditional aspect of a henchman; a gunrunner for the Miltech branch.
''Mhm,'' she answered, taking the parcel in hand. He glanced into the apartment briefly, and she raised an eyebrow at him, knowing what he was after. She was the daughter of an international business leader. He was surprised to see her here in sweats and a throw-over, with an apartment that looked like it hadn't been cleaned in months.
''Have a good day Ma’am,’’ he said instead, heading towards the elevator. Corporate kindness. It will kill you. He pressed the button and nodded at her firmly, and she almost felt a little guilty. His modesty annoyed her. With a slight sag of her shoulders, she went back inside.
She spent the next few hours installing and wiring the parts, along with adding the decals to the face-plate and setting up the android's internal systems. As she worked, the machine lightly tapped its fingers against the the gurney; and she reached over to the radio once she realised what it was doing and played her music a little louder. In time, a rough face took shape; though it slept still. She hadn't wired it in yet. And once the morning came, and her studio went from a deep purple to a misty grey morning orange, she felt exhaustion creeping up on her as she wiped her eyes. Yet beneath her was a solidly-built, striking-looking young man with thick lips, a dented nose, who looked somewhat dark around the eyes. He was rough-cut, with ample muscles below the collar, where she was still fitting him with a nameplate across his neck like a brand; or a tattoo. Her fingers tapped his skin with the soldering iron carefully, and she did finissed the nameplate so small that it could not be read from a distance. Yet up the left side of his neck, the name ''Leon'' ran in patented grey.
''Leon,'' she said as the android slept beneath her. She lifted her goggles slightly and looked at him, a vague blush rise to her cheeks. Warmth crept up her skin. Over her arms, across her waist. She reached out and touched him hesitantly across the lips.
Featherweight, Gemini slowly caressed his features, tracing with her thumb--leaning into a caress. She tilted her head, examining the beauty of his skin. The mimetic skin was gorgeous; almost Human. His face had a grey sheen, his eyelids a tad too dark, but his lips were full and red, and though she hadn’t chosen his hair implants, she imagined him with a full head of shaggy brown hair. Lightly feeling up the left side of his temple, she looked at the fastenings behind his ears. They were still up. Tucking them down, she smoothed them out and secured them with the blowtorch. It took her a second of leaning back in her chair, but when she looked at him, she couldn't believe that she was looking at an android.
''You’re… perfect,'' Gemini muttered, finding the dissonance disconcerting. She then glanced at his hands again, and to her surprise, she found her fingers had slotted into his. They had been holding hands for the last five minutes.
Rolling her chair back, she quickly cleared her throat.
‘’Huh,’’ she said, clutching at her neck. For some reason, she was short of breath. She gave the android a last glance, then went to wash up.
She slept immediately after that, with the android in the cradle and her in the bed. Exhausted, she didn't even hear her phone vibrate on the balcony when her father called. Instead, she fell into a somewhat fitful sleep as she dreamed about her father coming and taking Leon away. It was only when she woke up a few hours later that she realised she’d overslept. Cursing, she leaned out onto the balcony from the corner of her bed and yanked the door open.
‘’Yes, Daddy, I’m coming right now. I got… caught-up with the prototype,’’ Gemini said as she ran across the room, pulling on a coat and grabbing a hat to tame her hair. ‘’No, I don’t need you to send a car — Daddy please. I… alright. Alright. I understand. I’m so sorry, Daddy. I really tried—’’
Stepping out of the apartment, she closed the door, and hurrying towards the elevator, she went down to the first floor and leaped into the car that was waiting outside…
* * *
2
Gemini was sat in the car wrapped in a plastic rain jacket, paling and fighting hard to breathe. The lines of her jacket were bleeding from the inertia of the city outside. The windows were vibrating. She could hear the rain muffled against the thin plastic exterior of the car. It was like she was stuck inside a candy wrapper, and the candy wrapper was rustling against her ears and inside her skin; so tight and clingy it worried her and made her feel thin.
She could barely feel her legs.
Her thoughts were racing.
Her breath, stilted.
She clutched at the lapel of her jacket, gritting her teeth. She wanted to be back inside the studio.
What if she didn't make it back?
The streets outside seemed to be expanding, the street lamps too bright. Muddy faces blurred one into the next in a red and blue spiral that stretched into the kinds of jumpscares you’d see in a low-light cinema. It was like watching life play out on a distorted widescreen. She let out a sharp breath and leaned towards the driver, smiling tightly.
‘’Can you tint the windows?… Thanks,’’ she said.
With a glance at her from behind his glasses, the driver nodded. ‘’Of course, Miss Arasaka,'' he said, and the windows turned dim. Gemini sat there, scratching her thumb against the inside of her fingers bitterly. By the time they’d arrived, she’d sliced her thumb to ribbons.
She got out and made the little step up onto the pavement. It was raining. Disorted faces. A valet talked to her, but she let the driver handle it. She looked out into the rain that washed the tower building and turned it featureless. Someone took her by the arm and put her in a second coat, and she walked forwards and out of the rain. They put her inside and made her stand before the receptionist like a child as they took down her name and she did a whole lot of shivering. Then when she said her name, they all changed. They came and brought her a hot towel and smiled sorrily, and an android came and walked her the rest of the way. She sort of followed it into an expensive room filled with expensive people, all of them faceless like the ones outside. Her mind was still racing when they sat her down, and only then did she notice the man sat across from her. She was also aware that there was a chandelier overhead roughly the size of a guillotine, and if it dropped on her she’d be cut in half.
She looked up into the face of her father and said: ‘’Hi Daddy,’’ aware of his stare. He did not look unhappy, but he did look like he was trying very hard to look the opposite. She wondered what it was. Was it the hoodie beneath the thin plastic rain jacket? Her lack of make-up? Or the rain-washed, exhausted state of her hair? It couldn’t have been the infection making its way up the corners of her thumbs where she’d bitten away the skin. It must’ve been the frightened way she looked at him, like a rabbit cornered by a bloodhound outside its den. She tried to smile, but she was almost certain she gasped instead.
‘’Gemini,’’ he said. But that was all he said. He just looked at her with a fawning, fatherly look of mild-mannered contempt. It was supposed to be appreciation, but there was nothing left about her to appreciate. She looked a fool and she knew it.
‘’I’m so sorry Daddy. I tried to get ready in time, but I got so caught up with the prototype, I lost track of time. Then I left my phone outside and didn't hear my alarm go off. I swear I was supposed to get all dressed up for you, I can always go back home and—’’
He raised a hand and she stopped. Then she sat there chewing her lip whilst the family across from her made a toast. She looked over and saw they were toasting to their son; a tall dark handsome young man with unworried eyes and a relaxed veneer. His skin was like wax. He was almost grey. His dark suit was polished with hints of lilac. He was drinking chardonnay. His mother was the ageless white velvet of a woman who'd come from money. His father had that stern, disapproving gaze of everything but his son. They caught each other’s eyes for a moment and he seemed to stare at her. It was a slightly downwards stare as he looked her over and seemed to grow embarrassed at the mere presence of her. He adjusted his tie and looked at his parents as if her inadequacy might rub off on him. Then he made a point of looking away, but not before sending her a brief, piteous smile; as if telling her to enjoy her night. No one saw. In fact, she was almost certain she must've imagined it.
''Gemini, you haven't been drinking have you?'' Her father's voice said. She was still staring at the young man across from her.
''No.''
''You smell of cigarettes.''
''Yes. I've been smoking.''
''You're sure?''
''Sure of what?''
''That you haven't relapsed. You look terrible.''
''Thanks Daddy.''
She sat there looking at the son whilst worrying her finger. Why couldn't she be like him? So perfect. So cool. Sitting there without a care in the world cracking jokes beneath his parents incredible scrutiny. He had devoured their societal calm and took it in stride. He had manifested their dreams and become precisely what they wanted him to be to an almost surgical degree. She could smell him from here; masterful in his certainty. An absolute playboy who went out at night with all his college friends and ruined girls like her. She wanted to sink her teeth into his skin; in more ways than one, and stab his beautiful, angelic face with the inside of her thumbs until he screamed and told her his secrets. Feverishly, she looked back at her father, sucking on her lower-lip and trying to meet his eyes.
''Go home, Gemini. You're clearly not fit to be here. I'll contact you in a few days... keep working on the prototype, it seems to be good for you. Perhaps... it's time I sent over a handler, as well. I really don't know,'' her father sighed, lifting his hand to call for a porter to send her away.
She was handed over. Like a doll, handed over. She saw the playboy's eyes peering at her questioningly, as if her dismissal caused him further second hand embarassment. He then glanced at his parents, who were now watching her, and she quickly looked away from them all. She could no longer stomach their scrutiny. She could've sworn she saw the parents mutter something beneath their breath as she was escorted out. It caused a self-aware, conceited laugh from the young man; as if that would lessen the disease. And as she stepped outside, she quietly begged someone to loosen the chandelier from its struts and end it all.