"Get in line!" a muffled voice ordered from behind a plated mask. A rifle barrel knocked Mai in the back painfully, making her stumble. Naru's arm was around her in an instant, pulling her close and keeping her on her feet. She was shivering in the cold, snow covering her boots as they moved. She pressed against Naru fearfully as they approached the metal gates. They were huge. Towering above the small line of androids being forced towards them. Barbed wire circled a long electrical fence that wrapped around the whole site. The gates swung open with a shrieking creak as the line moved closer. Mai watched as the androids were forced to strip at gunpoint. They were terrified. They were being treated like animals. Even animals would be treated better than this! As they stripped, their clothes were tossed into recycling dumpsters. Huge, industrial sized things on large wheels. Mai didn't even want to guess how many androids had come before them. There were twelve bins, and four of them were overflowing.
Mai clutched Naru's sleeve as she watched the group ahead of them. One of the male androids didn't want to strip. He was saying something, but she couldn't hear it over the howl of the wind that rushed through the compound. One of the armoured men struck his temple so hard that blue splattered the snow and the android stumbled. His companions hurriedly began tugging off their own clothes. They didn't want to be next. The injured android was slow to obey. His hands were shaking shamefully as he slipped his jacket off to reveal a thin grey shirt. He could barely work the buttons. She felt Naru hold her tighter as one of the armoured men wrenched the shirt off, gripping the android's brunette hair and yelling at him to stop stalling.
The androids continued to strip. Their clothes were separated out into cottons, wools, nylons, and shoes. They were forced to properly recycle their own items, along with their dignity. The naked androids were a truly miserable sight as they tried to cover themselves. Not all of them had anything to cover. Only Traci models, companion models, and a few of the newer business models had been released with genital components. A lot of them simply had smooth, hairless mounds between their thighs, which was strange for Mai to see. Her cheeks were already red from the cold, and it wasn't exactly the right time, but she swore she was blushing in discomfort as she caught sight of them. It was humiliating. She hated the way her people were treating them. She could barely even bring herself to call them her people.
The worst part came as their humanity was removed entirely. A soldier further up barked an order, waving his gun threateningly as he did so. The androids were reluctant, but had little choice but to obey. Mai watched as they slowly raised their fingers to their temples. Many still had their LEDs, which were spinning either red or yellow. She was horrified as she watched the trickle of blue light chasing flesh as their skin retreated to leave their white and grey casing on full display. She'd never seen a naked android before. She couldn't even tell them apart anymore as she looked between them. It was too hard to pick out the unfamiliar facial features without their skin in place.
The line moved forward, and the next set of androids was forced to suffer the same humiliation. Mai was close enough this time to hear the jeers and crude jokes the armoured men made. Her chest heated as she watched them. How could they just stand and watch this? How could they make these people go through it at all? How could they enjoy it? It was disgusting. It made her sick to her stomach. It hurt even more as she realised they'd make Naru go through that. They'd make her go through that. She crossed her arms over her chest vulnerably as she leaned into Naru's side. He pulled her closer, doing his best to share his warmth. It was so cold. Far too cold for Mai to be outside for an extended period in the clothing she was wearing.
The line moved again. Mai and Naru were next. A muffled voice barked at them to get on with it. Mai watched timidly as the female android just ahead of her reached up to unzip her blue dress. It was the kind blonde android from before. Her crystal eyes seemed strangely vacant as she did as she'd been ordered. She didn't want to. Mai knew that much, but she went along with it. She had no choice. None of them did. Mai shivered as she slowly reached for the zip of her coat. Naru's hands stopped her firmly. Mai's gaze was pleading as she looked up at his tightened jawline. He shook his head.
"You can't go any further." His blue eyes shifted to the androids ahead of the bins, who were removing their artificial skin. Mai shook her head stubbornly. She wasn't just going to let him go through this alone. She wasn't going to let him go in there without her. The armoured men were still barking orders around them, though they seemed to have escaped notice for now. "Mai, you're a human. You don't belong in there." Naru's expression was firm as he continued to hold her freezing hands, silently willing her to accept and understand. Mai's hazel eyes told him everything he needed to know. He didn't need to be able to interface with her to see the affection and fear in her eyes.
"I want to stay with you!" she insisted through chattering teeth, accepting the warm kiss that was pressed to her lips and the softness in Naru's blue eyes. He stayed close, leaning down to rest his forehead against hers. Even in the cold, he could feel her warmth. She'd probably get a cold after being outside for so long. He didn't need to open his eyes to know that Mai had started crying. He could feel it in the quivering breath against his lips, and hear it in her small sniffles and gasps. She was shaking so badly. A mixture of cold, fear, and despair. He wanted to comfort and reassure her, but he wasn't sure he could.
"If I could choose my own life, I would stay with you…I'd go back to that coffee shop, and I'd run it alongside you…I'd hold you. Care for you. Live with you for as long as you allowed me to…I can't exactly name this feeling, but…you were one of the first humans to show me affection and treat me kindly. I'll be grateful for it until the end," he said softly, allowing the skin of his hand to peel as he caressed her reddened cheek and kissed her warm lips. Mai gripped his arms tightly, desperate not to let go. They only parted when a rifle jabbed at Naru's shoulder.
"That's enough! We don't have all day!" the armoured man scoffed with a hint of disgust. Naru shot the man a glare, but that was the worst he could do. If he made a move, he'd be shot. He didn't want Mai to see him die like that. At least by going inside, he'd be out of her sight when they killed him. Naru began to strip. He didn't want to look at Mai as he pulled off the large coat her grandmother had loaned him. He didn't think it was right to put it in the recycling bin, but he didn't have much choice. It was a shame he wouldn't be able to repay her kindness. Mai watched with an increasing sense of dread.
"And you," the soldier added as he pointed his rifle at her. Mai froze fearfully as she looked at the rounded barrel and then at the masked man holding it. She couldn't help taking a small shuffled step back as he moved it to prod her. He laughed. She was terrified, and he thought it was funny. Naru stepped between them. He'd already removed his clothing. The small pile was ready to be tossed into the recycling bins, along with his shoes. He accepted the press of the cold rifle against his shoulder as he stood firm.
"You've made a mistake. She's human." Mai's chest ached as she watched Naru raise his hand to his temple to remove his synthetic skin. She shuddered as she watched the blue light chase away his flesh. Even from the back he looked so intricate. A patchwork of delicate sections woven together to create the perfect human form. Naru looked over his shoulder, meeting her eyes with a warm gaze. She could still pick out the details of his face, but once he turned away, he would be indistinguishable from the others. His hair was gone. The definition of his muscles was gone. The defining tone of his skin was gone. "She was caught up in the crowd by mistake. She was never meant to come this far," Naru added as he returned his gaze to the armoured man. Mai shook her head firmly, taking a step closer to Naru. She looked at the man anxiously as he looked at his colleagues.
"He's lying! I'm an android! I've just been damaged…I can't remove my skin," she objected, her voice shaking from the lie. It was easy for Naru to tell she was lying. She could barely meet their eyes. He hoped the soldiers were just as perceptive. The group of armoured men looked at each other questioningly, likely speaking with internal radios. They'd heard androids claiming they were humans all day, but an android insisting that it was an android? That seemed unlikely, given the circumstances. The androids all knew what was waiting within the recycling plant.
"She's lying! Scan her if you don't believe me," Naru insisted, ignoring Mai's desperate grip on his bare arm. Mai shook her head as one of the soldiers stepped forward to do just that. Her lip trembled as she watched the handheld scanner beep and turn blue. He'd confirmed she was human. Mai yelped as the man reached out to grab her as she latched onto Naru tightly. She didn't want to let go. She couldn't let go. If she let go, then they'd take Naru away. They'd take him in there and kill him with the others.
"You can't do this! They haven't done anything wrong! Don't do it!" Mai cried, her vision blurring as she felt Naru's cooling plastic shell beneath her fingers. She screamed as she was torn away by a strong arm around her waist. She was lifted off her feet, kicking and screaming as she watched Naru getting shoved towards the other androids. She struggled against the hold, vaguely hearing Naru's heartfelt pleas that she not be harmed. "Naru!" she sobbed, watching as the group of androids was split between two inner entrances. Mai struggled desperately, writhing and kicking. The massive outer gates were closing. She had to get free now if she was going to make it through. She finally managed to get free by elbowing the helmet's glass front and knocking the man's head back. He cursed as he dropped her and stumbled away, clutching his head. "Naru!" Mai yelled desperately as she raced forward.
She heard voices yelling after her, feet crunching the snow as they gave chase. She was a human, so they couldn't exactly shoot her. The media would be in an uproar about it, even if she was a sympathiser. She was a cute young thing. They all knew how that would go down on the evening news. Mai made it through the first gate, which was already rolling shut behind her. She hesitated as she looked between the two lines. Naru was in one of them, but she'd lost sight of which group he'd been shoved into. She took off towards the one on the right. It didn't matter if she was wrong. The lines must all go to the same place. There were more armoured men in the middle section. Two of them were rushing towards her from the gates ahead. She wasn't sure how she'd dodge them, but what mattered for now was getting closer. Mai screamed as she was tackled from the side. She hadn't noticed the guards waiting within the first gate. She writhed and struggled as the armoured man tried to pin her down. Desperate cries and pleas escaped her lips as he put his armoured knee between her shoulders.
"Fucking sympathisers!" he sighed, before slamming the butt of his rifle into her temple. The world span as her head dropped to the snow. She could hear another muffled voice reproaching the man on her back for the rough treatment. She whimpered as the heavy weight left her back. The voices continued to argue. She was vaguely aware of being lifted by strong arms before she passed out against a hard, armoured chest.
