Chapter 1

She was perfect.

Aphrodite had blessed me with her divine power at last to create the perfect human being. It took long and hard weeks to construct her from the ashes of the cremated citizens, but at least the effort paid off in her immaculate form. All of the sweat, tears and blood at last taking shape.

I glanced upon her with caution, fearing that any sudden lurching would disrupt the process of her life energy accumulation. Her pale skin was supple, not too taut and not too loose. It wrapped smoothly about her round face, gleaming in the blinding lights of my torches. Her eyes were unnaturally huge and wide open, with irises of ethereal aquamarine. Her nose and mouth were minute, twitching every moment as the energy pumped slowly into her. Her short golden locks were in quite a mess, and I made a mental note to tidy them up later. Her petite figure was carefully drapped in entirety by a grey blood-stained blanket that I usually used for the corpses.

I waited as the ADAM filled her completely. I recalled how she came about in the first place. She was just an idea, but soon the idea blossomed and I just could not get it out of my head.

It was the city of dreams, they called it. Rapture. A seed of an idea that sprouted magnificiently in the great mind of Andrew Ryan, founder of the city itself. I came to Rapture looking for a chance to let my dreams take off, and indeed it did bestow me with that opportunity. The opportunity to be a surgeon, a cosmetic surgeon at that. I could manipulate the flesh so easily with all these amazing new tools and equipment that Rapture provides, along with numerous clients who were willing to let themselves be my artistic masterpieces.

The real chance came when I met this man named Sander Cohen. He was a magnificient artist, dominating Fort Frolic with all of his stunning works. I respected the man in every possible way and it came as a surprise to me when he invited to me for a chat one evening in the pub that he called Eve's Garden.

Meeting Mr Cohen in person was an amusing experience. He had a face that leaves deep impressions, it being so pale with his exoticly curly eyelashes and moustache. There was an air of aristocracy about the man as he spoke, something that felt slightly like a stiff upper lip though he was not from Britain.

"Hello, Doctor," he said casually to me as I sat beside him. "I have noticed your impeccable skill of sculpting the flesh."

"Yes, so as I have witnessed yours in your sculptures," I replied.

"I have an idea, Doctor," he whispered. "A very interesting idea. One that I wish you would be able to help me with."

"Go on," I urged, leaning forwards.

Cohen let his eyes dart about the chamber for a moment. When he scrutinised that almost everybody's attention was fixated on the stripper in the middle of the room, he turned back sinisterly to me.

"You see, Doctor," Cohen chuckled, "I just can't seem to find any women out there that impress me enough. I mean, take that one for example."

He pointed sharply at the dancing stripper with the flick of a wrist. She was already topless, and was slowly wriggling her way out the bottom.

"Looks fine to me," I mumbled, shrugging.

"That's where you fail, Steinman," Cohen spat suddenly. "Look closer."

I squinted my eyes and focused my entire attention on the woman's body. At first she looked entirely normal like any ordianry human being, but upon closer observation I realised that something was not right.

"Symmetry," I hissed. "Yes, the ratio. It's not there."

"And it never will be," Cohen said grimly.

I turned back to face his cold eyes. "So, you want me to - "

"Yes," he chuckled. "Create the perfect woman."

I stared blankly at him for a moment, but snapped out of it when he suddenly called for a drink in a stark tone.

"So, what is perfection, Cohen?" I inquired. "I just want to make sure we're seeing the same thing here."

"Perfection is a taboo," Cohen rushed. "Perfection is beyond human. We have to go beyond the limits. For example, look at my eyes. What do you notice?"

"They've got curly eyelashes?"

"No, don't focus on that. Look at it in relation to my body."

I nodded slowly. "They're too small."

"Exactly," Cohen grinned again. "But that's what you call ordinary. To make something perfect, we have to go beyond ordinary. Something that is human, yet not human."

"Okay, understood," I said. "But how am I going to 'create' this human?"

Cohen's drink arrived and he blatantly ignored it so as to answer my question. "Haven't you heard? They've found this new thing. This new thing called ADAM! The catalyst of all life! Surely you can obtain some for your scientific needs?"

I heard of ADAM just the day before in the news. It was some peculiar kind of stem cell that they found in the sea slugs about the city. I have never seen it in its physical form, but I have heard about its wonders and the miracles it has created. It gave a dying old man new life! It destroyed the cancer cells in a newborn baby! It counteracted the deadly effects of heart disease!

"I'll see to it then, Cohen," I said. "But hang on, what will we do with this artificial human?"

Cohen's face went blank for a second, but then he gave me a nasty grin and pointed at the stripper again.

"She will be an exhibition for all of us to appreciate!" Cohen laughed. "But of course, let's add a twist. Give her an amazing voice. I'm sure she will be a sensation down here in Eve's Garden! Hopefully, I may also star her in my latest musical! It will be a breakthrough, Doctor!"

"Yes, it will be," I chuckled along.

And the rest of the evening was spent in never-ending gallons of sumptuous drink...

As the life energy filled her, she began to breathe harder and faster. Her organs were forming much faster than I expected, and I knew she was going to be a healthy young one.

At last, her eyes moved to look at me. I grinned with satisfaction as I tested her to make sure she was ready. She was absolutely fine, and when she spoke to me, her voice was smooth and delicate, so velvety it may have been the voice of an angel.

"Hello," she said softly, managing a smile.

"Hello, my darling," I chuckled. "Aren't you just simply a masterpiece."

She did not really understand what I was saying, but yet she still blushed. She was probably about fourteen years old, a perfect youthful age, ripe and fresh. I felt a little sorry that a girl as beautiful as her would have to be born in such a grim place like my operation room, but still her sheer perfection pushed back the filthy darkness of the room.

"Now, get some sleep," I told her. She immediately shut off. I noticed how absolutely large her eyes were, so huge that it was not a human trait any more. Yet, it just seemed to make her perfect...

I invited Cohen to my office the next day to share my work with him. I could still remember the look on his pale face when he saw hers.

"My god, Steinman," he commended, straightening his moustache. "You did it. You really did it. I thought I was actually going to be disappointed, honestly."

"So what do you want to do to her now?" I asked.

"Does she have a name yet?"

"Not any that I can think of."

"She doesn't have anything to wear either, does she?"

"Nope."

Cohen fell silent for a moment, but then he snapped his fingers and said, "I got it. Give me two hours, I'll be back."

And with that, he scurried off.

Exactly five hours and six cups of coffee later, Cohen returned with a large suitcase in his hands. I gave him a glare, but he just shrugged it off and proceeded to laying the suitcase upon my desk. He clicked it open with a flourish and presented unto me a pile of odd clothes.

"Now what the hell is all this?" I asked, grimacing at the awful clothing. It was skimpy and looked entirely ridiculous.

"It's for the girl, Doctor," he hissed. "I did some research. I heard from a few Japanese tourists that back in their country, schoolgirls like to wear this kind of thing."

"Are you serious? It looks like some fetish suit for a sailor!"

"Trust me, Steinman!" Cohen growled. "It fits her exactly! I mean, just look at her! She's adorable! Surely you won't want her in some oversized dress? Making her look like a schoolgirl just emphasises her absolute freshness and her undying youth!"

I felt my left eyelid twitch. "Okay, whatever."

"Don't you whatever me, you prick!" Cohen snarled. "Come, help me unpack! Let's get her dressed."

I was entirely skeptical about the entire situation and felt like bailing out, but surely I did not want to lose the hard-earned respect from the great artist Cohen himself. So, I just followed his orders and got the girl dressed. It was then I realised the clothing did suit her entirely.

Her top was white, sleeveless and had the kind of collar you usually see on sailor's uniforms. It was all tied together appropriately with a scarf that matched the golden colour of her hair. She donned a pair of extremely short shorts which were black in colour and had it all belted together with a jagged orange strap. There were detached black sleeves about her forearms and lower thighs which contributed to her seemingly cyber appearance. To top it all off, she even had a dainty white ribbon atop her golden hair, which I must say made her look absolutely adorable. It was also satisfying to know that she liked the clothes as she just could not stop smiling and blushing for some apparent reason.

"Wow, okay," I said, nodding.

"See, what did I tell you?" Cohen chuckled. "Anyway, I came up with a nice little name for her."

"What?"

"Rin. Kagamine Rin."

"Are you sure that's English you're speaking?"

"Don't be an idiot, Steinman. It's Japanese. The name was suggested to me by my personal translator, and I love it! I mean, it's just cute, Steinman! Rin! Three simple letters combined into a word that one can speak of ever so easily. Oh, I just feel like saying it again! Rin! See how that brings joy in the air! Rin! Rin! Rin!"

"Oh shut up, Cohen," I spat. "You're being quite a nuisance."

"And so are you, if you don't agree with me on this matter. Anyway, I asked of you to give her a splendid voice. Mind if you let me hear her sing?"

I turned to the girl who was now named Rin. She grinned happily at me and nodded with an eagerness that one seldom sees in Rapture any more.

"Alright then. Go on."

Rin began to sing something that was absolutely foreign to my ears. It was like a song of the angels again, her sheer presence moving everyone about her. Sander Cohen was already kneeling before her, embracing her very existence with his outstretched arms. He wept at as she weaved the music, like a cloth so pure and white.

When she stopped, Cohen stepped up to her and beamed in a way that was not sinister, which greatly surprised me. He took her by the hands at began thanking her.

"She's perfect, Steinman," Cohen sniffed as he turned to me. "We'll have her tomorrow at Eve's Garden to sing for all of us."

"Okay then," I mumbled as Cohen pranced joyfully out of my office.

"Yes, darling, he wants you to sing for everyone to hear," I said soothingly.

She looked up at me with her head tilted shyly to one side. "Okay, then. But they may not like me..."

"Oh, they will. If Uncle Cohen likes you, they all will!"

"Alright then, if you say so!" she giggled, blushing once again for some reason I just cannot figure out. Either way, it made her look really adorable. She was immaculate in her form, and for once I knew how it felt like to have someone keeping me company about my office. Is this how it feels to have a daughter?