CHAPTER THREE

When I next woke up, I was in my own bed with the covers tucked beneath my chin. It took me a moment to remember what had happened yesterday and when I did, I found it difficult to get my head around it.

How could they be so cruel? How could they allow their own anger and hatred to cloud what it meant to be human – to show empathy and compassion?

"Simon?" I mumbled.

"Yes?"

I gasped, not realising that he had been in the room. "A-Are you okay?"

"Yes. I have done a complete scan of my system and everything is mostly in functional order," he told me.

I frowned. "I'll bring you with me to Cyberlife, today. I don't want the damage to persist."

"Yes, that will be very helpful," he replied. "But there is no rush. I am in no dire need of attention."

I let out a breath of relief. "I'm glad… But I still can't believe what happened, yesterday. How could they just attack us in broad daylight like that?"

"There have been many media coverage regarding a revolt from the humans," he said. "Homelessness is at an all time high and the anger has to be directed somewhere, but they are not entirely incorrect. Androids are much more efficient. We do not tire or feel pain. That is why more and more companies are hiring androids and not humans."

"Yeah… Yeah… But that doesn't give them a reason to hurt you or any other androids. It's not your fault that that is happening!" I ran my hand through my messy hair. "This is madness…"

He smiled gently at me. "You should not stress over this situation."

Not understanding how he could be so uncaring about it, I shook my head and decided to let it go. It was an android thing.

"It is time to get out of bed, Artie," he said. "Breakfast will be ready in fifteen minutes."

…

I placed my hand on the sensor and entered the building. Even after being here for a few months, it was still rather intimidating. Everything was so sleek and clean. Androids far over-numbered the humans. I couldn't believe that I had really gotten a job to work here.

"Hello, how may I help you?" the ST300 model asked.

"I'm wondering if I could have my android checked-up later. There was an incident yesterday and I'm afraid that he's been injured," I told her.

She nodded before turning her eyes to Simon who looked back at her. Their eyes fluttered, signalling that they were temporarily connected. "A room will be ready for the PL600 model after your shift."

"Thank you." I smiled at her, taking Simon by the hand as I went into the elevator. "Sorry, Simon. You'll just have to stay with me the entire day. I won't be able to get you in and out before the appointment."

"That will be fine. I do not mind waiting in your office," he replied.

I entered my office and groaned at the amount of paperwork already piled high on the desk. Didn't they have androids for this? I really hadn't applied this job to read poorly written text blocks.

Then again, I'd rather have this job than none, at all, especially since it paid so well.

An hour in, I leaned back, stretching my arms above my head. A soft groan of pain escaped my lips. It was going to be a while before the bruises were going to go away.

Suddenly, Simon's face filled my vision. "Are you feeling alright, Artie?" His LED flashed a slow yellow.

"Yes," I told him. "Just a little sore still, but I'll be fine."

"Hey, are you done with the files, yet? Mr. Graff has been waiting all morning for them!" Without knocking, the blonde haired woman with bright red-rimmed glasses entered the room. "I don't see why he insists on hiring people like you. You have no work or life experience, no connections, no hope…"

"That is incorrect. Artemisia graduated at the top of her class with two years of internship before she was hired at Cyberlife," Simon informed her. His LED flashed yellow.

"But she can't even control an old, outdated android like you," she sneered back.

I sighed. "Lina, what do you want?" Each time I see her, she was always antagonising me. I couldn't have her do the same with Simon. He was, after all, just stating the facts.

She huffed. "As I said… You've been taking too long doing simple paperwork – no wonder that's all he allows you to touch – and I took it upon myself to check up on your progress. Just because you're slacking off, doesn't mean I am."

"Surely, you have something better to do than come all the way here to make sure I was not slacking off." I shifted another document over to the rejection side.

"It seems that your presence is actually decreasing her productivity," Simon stated. "This is a conflict of interest."

"Just shut up!" she growled. "Why are you even here? Does Mr. Graft know? If not, I'm definitely going to tell him."

"Go ahead," I sighed, rubbing my temple. At this point, I'd be happy with almost anything as long as she left.

Noticing that I didn't seem to be putting much effort into this "conversation," she turned back to Simon. "I can see why someone like her would have an old piece of trash like you, aside from the fact that she can't afford anything better, of course."

I grit my teeth. "Please, leave. Let me do my job before I tell Mr. Graff that you are the reason I am late. He wouldn't be very happy about that." My hand hovered on the phone as I stared at her.

Turning her nose at me, she finally twisted on her red heels, clacking loudly the entire way down the hall.

A puff of air escaped my lips. "I'm sorry, Simon. You really didn't deserve that. If I knew she was going to come here, I would've had you wait elsewhere, but… I preferred you here with me."

He smiled. "There is no need to apologise. Her words did not mean anything to me. She should not, however, have said all those things about you. They were crudely inaccurate."

I reached to the side to give his hand a squeeze. "Thanks, Simon."

An hour later, I had all the paperwork ready. I didn't recall Mr. Graff giving me a deadline for these, but it was probably best to give them to him before I proved Lina right.

His office was five floors above mine, at the very top of Cyberlife Tower with all the other executives. It was a little strange being there because there were many people like Lina working here. They undermined those in lower positions, but we were the ones who did the most work and who knew most about this business. Many of these executives spent their time laughing and relaxing at the over-extravagant lounge areas.

Standing in front of his door, I took in a deep breath and knocked.