SincerelyJin
Metropolis
A forbidden narrative through android eyes.
I.
I don't know what it was I saw at that moment. The people, the—the various bidders, my sisters, Parker. They were all gone, as if they never existed. The collaborative cheer and the cadence of crowd's claps muffled into silence. All of the towering seats, full of many cultures and colors became empty, but one. He looked as if he were under a spell. The portals to his soul, clouded with enchantment and wonder; who was he looking at, the ghosts my sisters? Their struts programmed for unyielding confidence and a sense of grace as they strode down the long walk with their glamorous articles. Billions of euros were being spent for their services, while their faces were like mine. While their faces were like mine, the people that were once filling those empty seats, objectified them like canines to a femur.
Was I the one his eyes were directed to? Did he cause my world to fade out? A medley of questions without answers stirred within my mind, until everything faded completely to black. Then the events that were to follow the dark would shake my very being, to this day.
It was approximately seventeen hours ago since I had last restarted. There was Parker, the one I called my brother; he was the only face I saw as I slowly came to. While my sensors booted up, I swore I could hear him mumbling to himself when looking at something I could not see.
"-must be her," he said quietly, as if not wanting to be heard.
"Who is it?" I finally asked, shaking my head at the end of the boot.
His face met mine and his mouth formed into a smile, one similar to a smile made when old friends reunite.
"Look."
I hoisted myself onto my elbows to see my surroundings were of the City Hall—the lobby if I'm correct. We were behind a large pillar, the polished marble floors below us, and a wall nearby; Parker was peeking around the pillar, I did the same. It was her, Lady Maestra: the Master of the Show Droids, and the first android Maker brought into this city. She was the one who brought the Maker his fortune.
Lady Maestra was a highly acclaimed android in the city, rumored to be the only one Maker talks to, and the one she gets annually repaired by. Then again, many rumors circulate through Metropolis.
My older sisters of the Alpha Platinum line were being inspected by our oldest relative. She strolled down the line of perfectly still look-alikes at a slow pace with a woman by her side. The dark-skinned woman was tall and lean, elegant and laced with black onyx-embedded jewelery, a long black dress complimenting her form. "So, do you like?" the woman's Ethiopian accent purred. Lady Maestra's face was quite serious, but quickly shifted to a warm smile, "Your Golden House never ceases to amaze me, Maxxa." Lady Maxxa let out a short, hearty laugh, "Lovely, lovely! This will be yet another grand auction! Thank you, Lady Maestra!" With an energetic couple of claps, the models turned at the heel in a moment's notice, then headed towards an area closed off by a red velvet curtain.
The clicking of Lady Maxxa's heels and of Lady Maestra's boots melted away as they trekked deeper into City Hall. "So that was the oldest of us?" asked Parker, now slumping on the pillar. "It seems that way," I responded. "And that Maxxa woman treated her so well!" Parker kind of chuckled at what I said; was I wrong? "She deserves it," he simply said.
I never knew those three plain words would ring throughout my mind for so long.
Through most people's eyes in this city, no matter what your stature was, an android was just an android that was created to be used in one way or another. Even an android of high caliber such as Lady Maestra has been looked down upon in severe negativity. Did she deserve that, did any of us deserve that in fact? No. 'We have done nothing but what we were told to do, whether it be good or bad,' was something I remember Parker telling me once.
"Let's go, Cindi," his voice brought me out of deep thought. "They're going to be looking for you soon." His cool hand grabbed mine, he lifted me onto my feet. "You mean, us," I corrected. "Oh no, not me, little sister. Just the diamond in the rough," he patted my head. "We'll go there together, anyhow," both of my hands were in his, I could feel an expression of reassurance forming slowly, but surely.
Through the passage of hours, Metropolis' Annual Android Auction closed near. While my sisters were being primped and primed, the many CEOs, inventors, members of royalty, and inhabitants of the upper class arrived to City Hall. The Metropolis Polis surrounded the building, the Punk Prophets emerged from the shadows, The Cybersoul Patrol eyed each and every android they crossed with severe caution. And from this point on, the events that followed would pick up to the point of me barely keeping up with the pace.