"Cool. Luke said he's there. Should be fairly quiet though. We have meetings on Fridays but people sometimes stick around for the weekend. You should meet Marie if she's there today. She had an android boyfriend like you for the longest time until his dick broke off. I mean literally broke off. Shocked her in the middle of having sex and she wound up in the hospital with third degree burns. She had to wear a catheter for a month. You might take that as a warning you know, during your bedroom screaming sessions. Android sex can kill you."

Kate pressed her fingers tighter against her eyes as if it would drown out the sound of Taylor's voice. She rested her elbow on the arm of the car seat, wobbling from the rumble of their travel. Even through her eyelids the sun was blaring shades of orange and yellow as the sun sank lower in the sky. It flickered into darkness behind buildings as the taxi took them through the outskirts of the city along the river's edge where everything was mostly industrial. It hadn't occurred to her how close her father's house was to this section of Detroit, although judging from the size of the modern buildings around it, it was likely the area had been hidden for years.

The car began to slow down, and Kate opened her eyes. They had entered what appeared to be a hallway of steel and brick on either side of a wide and empty street. Debris and litter was piled along the roadside as if no one ever came here, but there was still evidence of newer garbage every several feet. Kate narrowed her gaze as the car rolled to a stop. A large doorway opened into the side of a steel building with a ramp leading up into its depths. Several people were gathered in a circle as if waiting for them.

The doors of the taxi opened, and Kate closed her coat against her chest as she exited the car, swinging her backpack over her shoulder. She gazed up at the massive building, squinting against the harsh glare of the sun which peaked over the top. "This is where you hold your meetings?" she said.

"Sure," said Taylor as she moved next to her, the taxi rolling away on its own. She tied her own black jacket closed against her chest, and if it hadn't been for Taylor's obvious arched eyebrows and brown puppy eyes, she could easily have passed for a boy under her black beanie. "It's better than having to pay for a warehouse. The city abandoned this thing years ago, and as long as we don't try to drive the thing, they let us have it. Not that it could actually run, anyway."

Kate threw Taylor a narrowed glance as she followed her across the street to the ramp. "How the hell would you drive it?"

Taylor motioned up. "It's a ship, imbecile."

Kate looked up again, studying the structure. Now that she was looking for it, she was able to identify the outline of a ship's helm, the old remains of shipping containers, and bent cranes. As she gazed further down, the rusted leakage and missing patches of paint gave way enough to reveal faded white lettering of the word Jericho.

Kate raised her eyebrows as she looked sideways at Taylor. "This place looks like shit."

"Just stick to the main areas and you won't die," said Taylor. She waved as they approached the gathering at the ramp. "Look who I brought!"

Kate made a face as she looked down at the ground, still following Taylor although she let her move forward ahead of her. She wrapped her arms tighter around herself as she neared the group which turned towards them.

"Hey, Taylor."

"God, it's freezing ass. When are we getting those heaters put in?"

"I put the order in yesterday. It says it's still processing."

"We got the screens actually put up though."

"Seriously? Did you just do that today?"

"Peter got them up this morning. He said he was sick so he didn't go to class. Lying jerk."

"This is Kate, by the way."

Kate looked up as she recognized the voice. Luke was gazing at her with his dull brown eyes, his hands in his coat pockets. Taylor spun towards her.

"Yeah! Sorry, this is Kate, the one I was telling you about. She finally decided to come. It was her decision, by the way."

"Was it?" Luke was still looking at her, and Kate rolled her shoulder as she adjusted her backpack and found an excuse to look away from him.

"Yeah, I wanted to come," said Kate. "Figured I'd check out what you guys do here since it sounds pretty big. It looks pretty big." She threw another glance around the massive interior of what appeared to be the loading bay. From the outside, the ship appeared to be crumbling apart. Now that she could see the interior, it was obvious that parts of the ship had been modernized. Floodlights faced inward from the walkway to light up the square room which by the look of the floors had been recently cleared of shipping crates, the square patterns on the floor still visible from whatever fluid had been leaking from them. Two steel doors opened to reveal a corridor which turned out of sight, its walls bright with clear electric lighting. Cables had been looped along the ceiling, carrying power further into the depths of the ship.

"It was supposed to be temporary," said Taylor. "But we just kept building on it. Now it's almost more work to get everything moved to a proper building than to just keep improving what we've got here. Come on, I'll show you the cargo hold. That's where people usually hang out."

She moved ahead, and Kate followed her closely as the rest of the group walked loudly behind them. The corridor was made of steel like the rest of the ship, but it almost appeared to have been scrubbed clean compared to what Kate had seen so far. The walls were lined with hatches although some had come off the hinges, so those doorways were instead closed off by black curtains. The low drum of music reverberated through the metal structure and caused the piping along the ceiling to rattle. Kate gazed up at the industrial framework as they traveled.

"Oh this is Marie," said Taylor, twisting behind her as she walked and pointing to a thin brown-eyed woman wearing a thick black jacket and her dark brown hair twisted into a braid. Taylor motioned to a tall, lanky man with blue eyes and narrow features, wisps of auburn hair poking out from under his hat which was also covered by a hoodie. "And that's her boyfriend, Will. She likes him better than the last one."

"God." Marie put her forehead in her hand. "You told her about the electric dick, didn't you?"

"Well, she needed to know," said Taylor. "She's getting the 'D' about five times a day from what it sounds like." Kate felt her face flush and clenched her hands into her jacket.

"Do yourself a favor if you plan on having kids someday," said Marie. "Put a condom on it."

"Or better yet, get yourself a man that's not going to fry your vagina when you have sex with him," said Will in a thick foreign drawl.

"Alright, give her a break," said Taylor. "I'm pretty sure she gets the point." She led the way up a metal set of stairs where the music was growing louder and combined with the sound of conversation which echoed through the passageways so that it almost seemed there were more people speaking than were actually present. As they climbed higher, the stairs opened into a flat hallway which flashed white under the reflected light of distant screens. The hallway ended on one side, becoming steel pillars instead of a wall, and a massive room was revealed.

Kate couldn't help but be impressed by the obvious compromise of the abandoned structure with comfortable amenities. The square room had tall walls that stretched up into the darkness giving the illusion that it opened into the night's sky. A steel staircase ran along one wall and led up to a pathway which bordered the entire room and crossed in the middle along a catwalk. The center of the room was filled with tables and benches, and couches lined the walls. Screens flashed overhead in all directions, each displaying a different channel with subtitles. Though the speakers were hidden, percussion reverberated throughout the room filling the air with a classy and relaxing vibe.

Fairly quiet had been an understatement. The room was full of people. Most of them appeared to be young college students huddled on the couches with their laptops in front of them, or deep in conversation as they manipulated different pieces of equipment at the benches. Some people were even stretched out on the couches asleep, their arms flopped over their faces or lying face down. The activity reminded Kate of the university library, only with less supervision.

Taylor stopped as she talked amongst some of the group, and they branched off.

"They're gonna go grab something to eat," she said. She gave Kate a smile as she approached, then motioned with her head to the stairs. "Come on, the loft is sort of reserved for the uppers, I guess. Anyone can go up there but usually no one does."

Kate panned the room as they moved, observing the smaller details that came into view. There were vending machines in one corner, and signs directing to a bathroom. Old equipment had been moved to the side, and Kate recognized some of it as pipes and scaffolding. Large white crates were stacked along one wall, some of which were opened. Several people were digging through them, pulling out what Kate realized with a nervous wave of surprise as white plastic biocomponents.

She slowed for a moment as she gazed at them. Almost automatically she felt in her pocket for the paper that Simon had given her with the list of components written on it. At least she was in luck.

"They like to build stuff with it."

Kate jumped slightly and looked next to her. Luke was looking past her at the white crates. "Kind of like legos," he said. "They get really creative sometimes, making little airplanes, vehicles, armor, that kind of stuff. One guy even built a motorcycle."

Kate let out a laugh as they moved up the metal staircase. "A motorcycle from that?"

"Well, we've got more scrap in the junk room," he said. "If you want to build something really big, you're going to want actual androids."

Kate narrowed her eyes and gazed down at the room below them. "You build things from broken androids?"

"For the most part. We kind of encourage the idea of using biocomponents for more practical things than making fake people. You know. Giving actual humans the power of technology rather than handing it off to the next intelligent race."

Kate slowed and gazed at him. He seemed to notice, and slowed with her as he turned to look back at her. Kate shoved her hands into her pockets. "The next intelligent race. So you see androids as a race?"

His shoulders shook and a smile spread over his face. "Well they're definitely not just machines, if that's what you're asking. If they were just machines, we wouldn't have to worry so much."

Kate opened her mouth to speak, but found herself frozen in confusion. She closed it again to give herself more time to think. "You─ wait. I thought the whole point of SoulState was that you guys don't like androids."

"We're opposed to androids in society," said Luke. "That doesn't change what they are. Or what they're capable of."

Kate tilted her head. "Capable of what?"

Luke threw her a smirk as he turned away, raising an eyebrow. "Wouldn't you know?"

A deep discomfort swept through Kate's body as he moved after the group which had slowed up ahead. She clenched her hand tighter on the paper in her pocket, drawing her shoulders up before moving forward down the platform. She could see Taylor looking at her from the front of the group, and Kate purposely gazed down at the rails to avoid her gaze. If this was only the beginning of the rest of the night, then at least they were starting off easy with her. She drew in a deep breath and felt her nerves settle. She'd heard worse. She'd seen worse. As the posts of the railing file by her, the nervousness gave way to a solid stoicism. It felt safer. And for a brief moment, she felt she was back with Jamie and Matt again.

She followed the group into a large glass room which overlooked the area below. It was lined with seats which faced towards a large screen which was dark. The room was empty, and Taylor flopped down in a love seat as Marie and Will sat next to eachother on a large sofa. Luke stood to the side of the doorway and leaned against it crossing his arms. Kate moved slowly into the room, swinging her backpack off of her shoulder as she migrated to a seat off to the side. She set the backpack down and unzipped it, drawing out her laptop.

"Did you guys see Joey's new video?" said Taylor as she swiped through her phone. "He posted it this morning."

Marie let out a groan and threw her legs up onto the couch, resting her back against Will's shoulder as he stared down at his own phone. "Why are you still watching him?" she said, dropping her head back.

"Because he's so full of shit that I can't help it." Taylor exaggerated a swipe. "He dragged another thirty androids out of the graveyard and set them free in the streets. They started following people around and scared the shit out of them because they were missing limbs and stuff."

Will let out a snort. "That's fackin' awesome."

"Sounds like a zombie apocalypse," said Marie. She arched back so that she looked at Taylor upside-down. "Did he get arrested this time?"

"Hell no," said Taylor. "Why would they arrest him?"

"You'd think after pulling the same shit over and over again they'd find a reason to," said Will. "He'd be better off buying lobsters from seafood restaurants and setting them free in the lake."

"Lake Michigan is freshwater," said Marie. She bumped Will's cheek with her forehead. "Dork."

"I know." Will turned and pressed his mouth to the top of her head. "Dork."

The screen flickered overhead, and it burst into sound. Kate couldn't see the screen from where she sat, but by the frantic sounds, she guessed it was the android dumpster-diver. She threw a narrow glance up at the side of the screen anyway before returning to her laptop. Will and Marie gazed up at the screen, making occasional laughs at whatever was happening. Kate allowed the break in conversation to help her drift off from the group, and she rested her forehead in her hand as she tinkered with a small RTS, busying herself for the first several minutes simply finding names for all the characters. Eventually she had Simon, Seph, Clark, and Spot, putting Simon at the helm. The first run ended after only two galaxy jumps with the ship exploding in a solar flare. She set Simon to engines and placed Clark at the helm, progressing much further before they were overrun by pirates, and the crew was slaughtered.

After another four runs, she threw a glance up at the group. Marie was sitting cross-legged next to Will who was still relaxed deep on the couch staring at his phone and in a bantering debate with her. Taylor watched the screen, a blank expression on her face while making an occasional comment on Marie and Will's conversation. Luke meanwhile was browsing on his phone, having been quiet the whole time. Kate returned her gaze to her laptop, chewing on her lip as she moved the characters around. Part of her simply wanted to stay in the corner and let the time go by. Things had been fairly smooth besides a few odd remarks that caught her attention. But as time drew on, she felt the pressure to do what she came there to do. It seemed simple enough in theory. Putting it into practice was something else.

"What about you, Kate?"

Kate looked up, a startled wave washing over her. "Huh?"

"What do you think of android armies?" said Will.

Kate stared for a moment, absorbing the question and trying not to feel pressured by everyone suddenly looking at her. She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know?"

"You're not worried that they're basically building SkyNet?" said Marie.

"I don't know," said Kate. "So I guess I'm not."

"You really should look into it," said Marie. "I mean, I know you trust your android and all, but you really should have a survival plan."

Kate felt her eyes narrow as she gave her a skeptical look. "A survival plan against terrorist androids?"

Marie snorted, her head dropping forward. "No. I mean like a basic knowledge of how to protect yourself in case something goes wrong."

"What could go wrong?" said Kate. "They could bug out and go homicidal?"

"Or try to set your house on fire," said Marie. "Or drive your car through a building. Put bleach in your coffee instead of water."

"Break their dick off while having sex─" Will laughed and brought his arms up to cover his head as Marie turned and wacked him with the excess ends of her jacket.

"Will you please let me die without having to hear that every day of my life?" she said. Will pulled back his hood and straightened as he removed his hat, unleashing an explosion of thin sandy brown hair.

"Nope," he said as he adjusted his hat before slipping it back over his head.

"I told her I'd teach her how to shoot a gun," said Taylor. Will made a noise and stared at Kate in disbelief.

"You don't know how to shoot?" He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "You from America?"

"I was born in Detroit," said Kate. "Where are you from by the way? England?"

"Pff, no. Australia."

"Australia." Kate gazed at her laptop. "So are you vegan and do you punch kangaroos for fun?"

Marie burst into laughter and rested her forehead on Will's shoulder. He gave Kate a tense smile and nodded, raising his fist and slowly flipping her off.

"You want to go to the junk pile and do some target practice?" said Taylor. "Will's dad got him a new colt. It's pretty easy to learn."

"Yeah…" Kate gazed at her screen, tapping away as the spaceship was attacked by Mantids. "Sure. That sounds like a lot of fun, Taylor."

The room was quiet, and she glanced up to see that Marie and Will were both smiling in a way that looked like they were unsure of how to respond. Taylor had her arms folded across her chest and she watched her with a smug grin as if to test her.

"You'd like it," said Taylor. "It's a really good way to release your stress."

"I'm not stressed," said Kate.

"Come on, Kate," said Taylor. "We all know you're dating an android and you're here at SoulState. You can't tell me you're not a little bit stressed."

"I wouldn't really call it dating," said Kate. "Or fucking, before you say it."

Taylor tilted her head back so that she threw her eyes up at the ceiling. "We all know you're making sweet sweet love to your android. And our specialty is curing people of their robosexuality. Look at our awesome numbers so far." She motioned to Marie who put her face in her palm. "But you can't expect to come here and not have a little bit of reality thrown at you. You're clearly not living in it. That shit can be hard to deal with."

Kate bit her lip as she struggled to keep the flames out of the engine room where the little Simon character was attempting to beat them out. "I'm dealing with it pretty well."

"Really?" said Taylor. "When was the last time you actually left your dad's house?"

Kate shrugged. "I don't have anywhere to go, so I don't."

"How about school? Did you drop out?"

"Don't know. I assume I'm at least flunked for the quarter."

"You've got no friends, your only family is an asshole dad, you had a boyfriend but he fucked your roommate." Taylor cocked her head to the side as she looked at her. "Don't you think you wouldn't be up shit creek if it wasn't for your android?"

Kate narrowed her eyes and restarted her game, aware that everyone was looking at her. "Maybe. Maybe not."

"You're a liar."

Kate looked up at Taylor, pausing what she was doing. Taylor gazed back at her with narrowed eyes. "You told me what you really wanted. You had a life, with friends and family. You wanted it all back, but you can't get it back. You were fucking crying. But none of that matters now because you're so in love?"

"Alright, Tay, come off it," said Will. He set his phone down and leaned back as he looked at her. "You don't have to be a bitch."

"I just want to know the truth," said Taylor. "I don't like looking like an idiot."

"Seriously, calm the hell down." Marie shifted so that she rested her back against the sofa, leaning against Will's shoulder. "It's not that big of a deal."

"Just answer this one question, Kate," said Taylor. "Do you think─ and be serious about this. Do you think you'd be in as much shit right now if it were a human you had feelings for instead of an android?"

Kate straightened, feeling a smile pull at her mouth as she felt a swell in confidence. "No, I wouldn't be. I'd be nowhere close. Because you know what…" She tilted her head sideways and let her smile grow wider. "Nothing ever happens at all. My 'boyfriend' fucked my roommate because he wasn't my boyfriend. He chased me for two years before he finally got the hint that I don't want relationships. So before you go on about how I'm missing out on what it's like to be with a real man," she narrowed her eyes further, "I don't think I'm missing a fucking thing."

Taylor let out a harsh laugh through her nose. "No, you're not missing out on anything. You just think you're getting it from an android."

"Guys─" Will pressed a hand to his forehead so that his cap tilted up.

"I mean, the sex is really good in case you couldn't tell," said Kate.

"Bullshit," said Taylor. "It's not just a sex fetish for you. You've got that plastic asshole telling you it loves you."

Kate gave her a smile over the screen of her laptop. "I love my walking talking dildo."

"Okay," said Marie. "We get the point. Sorry." She gazed wide-eyed at Taylor so that her brown eyes became even more round, as if to warn her to be quiet. Taylor shifted further into her chair so that she was sideways in it, her legs dangling over the armrest. Kate didn't have to look at her to know Taylor was staring at her. Still, Kate couldn't help the warm satisfaction that coursed through her. She tapped away at her laptop when she noticed that someone was closer to her. She looked up to see that Luke had sat on the across from her, resting his elbow and pressing his knuckles to his mouth so that part of his expression was hidden as he gazed at her with pensive eyes. Kate narrowed her eyes questioningly at him before returning to her laptop.

"Yeah, so…" Will coughed. "Anyways, what are you majoring in, Kate?"

"English composition," said Kate as she light-jumped to the next galaxy.

"Really?" Marie pressed a thumb to her bottom lip as she leaned forward. "What do you do with that? Are you going to be an English teacher?"

"I was hoping to be an editor," said Kate. She looked up at them. "What do you guys do?"

"I'm studying nursing," said Marie. "Specializing in oncology. I want to be a space surgeon."

Will laughed. "She's played too much surgeon simulator." His hat went flying as she smacked it off his head. He barely reacted as he stared down at his phone. "I'm majoring in architecture. I want to build the world's tallest skyscraper."

"Every architect wants to build the world's biggest skyscraper," said Marie as she fished his hat from behind the couch. She settled next to him and flipped his hat on her head. It was huge on her, and fell sideways. "I'm trying to talk him into building Hogwarts."

Kate let out a snort. "Why?"

"Because she wants to live there," said Will. He reached sideways and snatched the hat off of Marie's head, slipping it over his own and containing his mane of hair. Kate tensed her lips as she tried to keep from smiling.

"You want to run through the magic paintings and attend potions classes?" said Kate. Marie was laughing into Will's shoulder and covering her face. Kate waved an invisible wand around. "Flippendo! Stupify!"

"Shut up! Stop killing my hopes and dreams!" Marie breathed out a heavy sigh into Will's chest, her voice muffled. "I'm never getting Hogwarts, am I?"

Will patted her head. "Sorry, babe."

Kate shook her head as she smiled, adding upgrades to her little ship now that it wasn't being destroyed by everything in the known universe. She threw a glance up at Taylor who was browsing idly on her phone and still laying sideways in the loveseat. Taylor's face was blank, and Kate hesitated a moment before returning her gaze to the screen. "What about you, Taylor? What are you majoring in?"

Taylor was silent for a moment, and Kate resisted the urge to look at her. "Economics," said Taylor. "Accounting."

"Christ…" Kate ran a hand over her face and sighed. Then she looked up over the top of her monitor at Luke who had been staring straight ahead as though thinking, his chin on his fist with one finger opened along his jawline. He glanced at Kate as she looked at him, and his eyebrows went up. He lowered his hand slightly.

"Psychology," he said. "Grief counselling."

Kate tilted her head. "That's… interesting."

Luke laughed. "Why? You don't peg me as a therapist?"

"No," said Kate. "It's just kind of morbid."

"It's actually not as bad as you'd think." Luke rested his chin on his fist again, staring off to the side. "You learn a lot about humanity when you're talking to people who've confronted death."

"Yeah," said Kate. "Morbid."

"You want to see morbid," said Marie. "We have to take courses on dead bodies. Actual dead bodies. All sliced up and what not. Hell, they even have brains in jars. I couldn't understand why they didn't just use projections but apparently it's to desensitize us to gore."

"I don't get why they even bother using living things," said Will. "I mean, it's not like you're ever going to actually touch another human being. Everything is just pills and machines anyway. And now androids are in charge of the menial shit."

"I don't mind that androids are doing the menial shit," said Marie. "It just means I get to be hired a step above them."

"No, it means you have to go through another five years of college, plus pay a hundred-thousand more in tuition because you can't rise through the ranks like you should as a nurse," said Taylor. "You know. Getting paid?"

"It's not like I actually pay for it," said Marie. "I've got grants and my softball scholarship."

"Good for you," said Taylor. "Maybe in another five years there'll still be a job for you. Or maybe that will be considered menial labor and it'll be another five years and a hundred-thousand in the can."

"Then I can just stay in college forever and never have to work a day in my life." Marie raised her hands above her head. "Just like I've always wanted! Can't charge me for student loans if I'm already dead!"

Taylor sighed and pressed a hand to her forehead. "And that's why this country is going broke."

By the time Kate stopped listening to their conversation, she had already made it to the final galaxy and managed to survive with the correct placement of characters. She ramped up the difficulty and started again, partially listening into Marie's and Will's conversations with Taylor and waiting for an opportunity to slip in just enough to be inconspicuous. She began to tap her foot as time went on.

After about an hour, she finally searched actively for a break in their subjects. She had been continuously reaching into her pocket, fiddling with the paper until it was soft in her hand. A thousand doubts raced through her mind as she waited for a perfect segway. There were a lot of parts on the list. Most were fairly small, but that would only make them harder to find in the crates of biocomponents down below. She also didn't want anyone to know what she was doing. It wasn't clear if taking the components would be considered stealing, or if they were free for everyone. She'd never know unless she tried.

Kate shifted in her seat as Marie took a break in arguing with Will over androids in space, and they were squirming on the couch as they fought over his hat. She pushed her backpack to the side with her foot so she could pick it up, and shoved her laptop into it.

"Well, I'm going to go build a motorcycle," she said. Taylor looked up at her.

"You're going to what?"

"I'm gonna go build something," said Kate. She swung her backpack over her shoulder. "This party's really quiet."

"It doesn't have to be," said Taylor, staring back down at her phone. "If you'd just come shooting with us."

"Or you can come build something with me," said Kate. She glanced at Marie and Will who hadn't acknowledged her and were still struggling over the hat. "You know where I'll be then."

Kate moved out of the room, her muscles slightly sore from being in one position for so long. As the sounds of voices from the room were muffled and replaced by the ambient beating music of the cargo hold, a burning apprehension began to rush through her. She approached the metal stairwell, and she reached into her pocket for the paper, throwing a glance behind her to see if anyone was following her. No one was, so she blew a bit of hair out of her face and began to descend.

She moved down the staircase quickly, opening the paper in front of her as she went. The edges had been worn from her constant fidgeting though she had no trouble reading Simon's writing, if she could even call it that. It was written in a flawless font as if it came off a printer, and the diagram he'd made for her was anatomically accurate. Kate found herself staring at it as she moved, noting how the ink was in lines as opposed to having been written in one stroke. She couldn't help a small laugh, and she shook her head. He really had written it like a printer.

Kate looked up as she reached the bottom of the stairs, and headed towards the white crates. She threw a glance around the room at the people huddled on the couches, and the few tech nerds building unrecognizable bits of biocomponents on the tables in the center of the room. There were a lot more crates than she'd noticed before with only a few of them being open. As she peered inside one, a part of her felt a wash of relief to see that it was full of white parts and panels, as well as some obvious parts such as fingers and ears. As she reached in to sort through it, another part of her felt horrible dread. There were so many parts. This was just one box. She had no idea how she would find the ones she needed without having to analyze each specific panel.

She let out a heavy sigh. It was her only option. She held out the paper in front of her and began the process of sorting the panels one by one. It was easier to simply pick a panel and attempt to match the number on the back with the list she'd been given, then to toss the panel to one side of the crate before moving onto the next. Some of the panels were damaged, either split, burned, or corroded. She didn't want to think about what had happened to the androids that the parts had come from.

She'd made a fairly deep hole in the pile before she paused on one component that matched a part on the list. She held it up and narrowed her eyes at the list in front of her. It appeared to be a single panel on the upper arm. Her frustration eased somewhat at this small success, though it only made her aware of how long the list actually was. She couldn't be sure if it was a good or bad thing that there were several crates packed full of parts, and it was getting harder not to feel discouraged.

She swung the backpack from her shoulder and twisted to stuff the part inside before an unmoving figure caught her attention. She looked up, and felt a wave of dread wash over her.

Luke was standing several feet away, his arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against one of the steel pillars. His head was tilted and he had the faintest hint of a curious smile as he gazed at her.

Kate felt her heart hammering before she could even comprehend the situation. She held his gaze, her backpack still twisted off her shoulder, paper in one hand and the white panel in the other. If he was suspicious of what she was doing, he didn't show it, and it made Kate's apprehension grow worse. She didn't need anyone to tell her it clearly didn't look like she was simply building something.

She lowered the backpack, resigning to her guilt. Luke however, remained against the pillar, his strange smile still frozen on his face. As the seconds ticked by, Kate felt irritation replace her dread. It made her feel stronger somehow. More defiant. Finally, she adjusted the backpack on her shoulder and moved towards him.

"I take it these are up for grabs?" she said, holding the white panel in between two of her fingers. Luke reached out and took it, turning it over as he seemed to analyze it.

"AP700," said Luke. He handed it back to her. "Is that your android?"

Kate processed the question, searching for malice behind it. It surprised her when she couldn't find any. "Sure," she said. "It might be." She waited for him to state the obvious question, but he continued to gaze at her with his studying expression. She threw a glance to the side. "So can I take them, or can't I?"

Luke's smile grew wider. "You can take them. No one's going to stop you."

A jet of nervousness shot through her at the calm tone of his voice. It was startling how frustrated she was becoming at his apparent lack of concern for her behavior.

"Are you just going to stand there and watch me?" she said.

Luke's brown eyes flicked to the paper in her hand. "That's a long list," he said. "You need some help?"

Kate let out a strained laugh and ran her fingers through her hair. "Why? It's not enough fun for you to just ask me what I'm doing?"

"I didn't want to be intrusive," said Luke.

"So you're just going to watch me like some creepy-ass fuck while I dig for my list of parts?" she said.

Luke's brown eyes narrowed and he breathed a laugh through his nose. "Did you hear yourself just now?"

"You've been watching me like a creepy fuck since I got here," said Kate. She took a step towards him. "What do you want?"

Luke straightened, and Kate suddenly felt her anger drain as his expression turned serious. His brown eyes left her, and his gaze dropped to the ground. "I guess as long as we're being honest here," he said. "I just wanted to get to know you. You seem like an interesting person and you don't say much, so I didn't want to pressure you. We don't get very many interesting quiet people around here. I figured staying surface-level would get you to open up. But that was a lot to ask." He pushed off the steel pillar and threw her a narrow glance. "Sorry I was creepily watching you."

An unexpected wave of shame washed over her as he began to move away, and Kate found herself fumbling to hold onto her defenses. There was too much to consider in such a short time. He was clearly testing her in some way. Trying to figure her out. And the thought made Kate uneasy. But at the same time, she couldn't help but realize her own assumptions. There was nothing she could tangibly argue against anything he'd said or done. And in the frantic moments of acknowledging her overwhelming task, she knew there wasn't much for her to lose.

She dropped her head back and closed her eyes, feeling resentment bite at her. "Hey."

She heard him stop. For a while, she didn't move as she reconsidered her decision. Then she let out a slow breath, opening her eyes as she turned towards him. He'd paused in mid-step to look at her, one of his red eyebrows raised and the curious smile threatening to return. Kate felt her shoulders drop as she blew her hair out of her face. "Can you um…" She rubbed the back of her neck and looked away from him. "...creepily help me look for the rest of this shit?"

Luke was silent for a moment. "Maybe if you say please."

Kate let out a groan and pressed her hand to her forehead. "Please help me look for this shit." He laughed.

"Sure."

Her nervousness faded somewhat as she lowered her hand. She watched as he moved towards her, throwing her a cautious glance before taking the paper from her and looking over it carefully, his brown eyes scanning. Kate crossed her arms over her chest, bracing herself mentally for the vulnerable position she was putting herself in. The thought of owing him anything made her anxious, and she combatted it by reminding herself that as long as no one knew the full truth behind what she was doing, there was only so much she would need to put up with. Until then, she could make this easier by simply giving everyone what they wanted.

Luke let out a soft breath, the side of his mouth tensing. Then he looked up at her. "Did your android get damaged or something?" He turned away from her and moved towards the crates. Kate followed behind him.

"He said he needed these parts, so I'm getting them for him," she said. She watched as Luke ran his hand over a crate, moving past it and pausing at another one. He looked at her, his red eyebrows narrowed.

"Just because he asked?"

Kate shrugged. "He said it was really important."

"So you put yourself in this hostile environment so you could get them for him." Luke pushed open the lid of another crate, peering inside before throwing another puzzled smile up at her. "You infiltrated the enemy base."

Kate couldn't help a laugh, and she leaned against one of the crates next to him. "I wanted to come here anyway. See what the arguments are and why you guys hate androids so much. I mean, I was never really an android supporter and I can't really say that I am even now. But I just don't see why you don't want them in society."

Luke straightened with a white panel in his hand, comparing it to the list. He leaned towards her, turning the panel sideways. "Colored model numbers," he said. "They usually print it to the same color as the uniform they're issued in. The WR series is all green." Kate noted it, then looked up at him when he didn't move. He raised his eyebrows slightly as he waved it in front of her, and it took her a moment to realize what he meant. She took it from him, swinging her backpack around and tucking the panel in. By the time she'd zipped her backpack closed, Luke was already matching another panel. "I find it hard to believe that you're not an android supporter, by the way," he continued.

"Why?" said Kate. "Because I'm a robosexual?"

Luke snorted, handing her another panel. "I love that episode." He reached inside the crate again. "But no, not because of that. It's because you care about people."

Kate narrowed her eyes at him, feeling her mouth pull in skepticism even though she knew he couldn't see it. "Because I care about people?"

"Yeah." He looked at a panel before throwing it to the side. "Even though you're pretty good at hiding it. You care. You care so much that you can't stand to see someone hurt, even if that someone is an android." He stood up with another panel, handing it to her. "It really tore you apart when Taylor cut off that android's face, didn't it?"

Kate was frozen for a moment as she held the panel. Luke seemed almost not to notice, returning to the crate "Was it that obvious?" she asked.

"Maybe not to Taylor," said Luke. He didn't look at her as he handed her a white panel. "It probably wasn't even obvious to you. But I noticed."

Kate let out a soft laugh. "What makes you so god damn perceptive?"

Luke glanced up at her. "I'm a psychologist."

Kate rolled her eyes. "So what am I? Some psychological playground?"

He tilted his head as he looked at her, his arm still elbow-deep in the stash of biocomponents. "You're an enigma to me. That's why I find you interesting. I like mysterious people and you're not exactly a social butterfly, which is why I didn't ask you what you were doing here in the first place."

"Maybe I really do want to be cured," said Kate, gazing off to the side as he rummaged through the parts. "Did you ever think of that?"

He held the list in front of him before handing her another white panel. "Is this part of your recovery?" he said. Kate narrowed her eyes at him as she took the panel.

"I'm backsliding," she said.

"So soon." He straightened and pulled the lid of the crate closed, leaning against the side. "Bummer." Kate stared at him, her arms folding across her chest. Then he handed the paper to her. "You'll have to get the last part from the junk room," he said. "Looks like you need a right eye. Are his eyes blue or brown?"

A jet of shock shot through her. She looked up at Luke, fighting to hide her confusion. "There's different colors?"

"Yeah," said Luke. He was giving her that scanning gaze and Kate immediately looked away from it. She tried to hide her anxiety as she desperately tried to remember what color Seph's eyes were. Before she could risk a guess, Luke moved past her. "The junk pile is on the second floor." He was walking towards the metal stairs when he stopped to throw her a glance, shoving his hands in his coat pockets. For a moment, he simply stood still. "Unless you'd rather look for it yourself, but you might get lost and fall through the floor and die."

Kate let out a sigh and adjusted her backpack before following him. He led the way up the stairs and along the pathway, leaving most of the buzzing activity below them. As they passed by the glass room, Kate slowed and peered through the windows. The room was empty. She furrowed her eyebrows and straightened taller as if it would help her find Taylor and the others.

"They're probably doing target practice," said Luke. Kate faced forward again to see that he had turned to look behind him as he moved towards a branching hallway. He stepped sideways as he moved so that he could look at her, his eyebrows raised as if questioning what she wanted to do. She brushed her hair behind her ear as she quickened her pace again, not quite walking next to him but at least following a few steps behind.

"Don't worry, as long as you stay where the lights are it's not a problem," said Luke. "Occasionally people like to go exploring and they end up a little lost. And then there are the ones looking for a bit of fun. If we're lucky, we don't have to call the police─"

There was a loud slam and Kate jumped, her heart pounding. The yellow hatch next to them was rattling, and as Kate breathed deeply to calm herself as a sickening dread fell over her at the muffled sounds coming from behind the steel. They were loud despite the barrier, and Kate could distinctly make out a man's exhausted voice. Her gut twisted, and she slowly turned to gaze at Luke, aware that her eyes were wide and her mouth open in disgust. It worked in asking the question for her, and she was somewhat relieved when he gave an awkward smile and stared at the floor.

"Yeah, like that," he said as he continued down the hallway. Kate followed after him, wrapping her arms around herself as the rattling faded behind them. "The rooms here are still pretty much general purpose."

The interior of the ship was less maintained the further along the corridor they walked, the lighting now simple hanging LED bulbs and debris piled along one side. The paint had chipped from the walls, creating a scatter of snow-like flakes at the edges of the hallway. Though the dull beat of the music still echoed through the steel structure, most of the sound from the cargo hold was now silent. Just as Kate was wondering how deep they would go, voices up ahead caught her attention. A large hatch stood open, the yellow metal framework pushed back against the wall. And as they neared, she recognized the voices.

Luke stepped over the frame of the hatch before she did, and she slowed to a stop as she took in the view of the room. It was less of a scrap pile and more of a storage unit, with rows of shelves dividing the large upper platform, and stacks of white crates rising up from the lower area which compromised the back half of the large space. White bodies of androids stood motionless in groups where the shelving was divided, and the ripped apart torsos that occupied the spaces on the shelves gave Kate the impression of a haphazard museum. Tables on the upper platform had been used, androids in different stages of disassembly resting on each one. Not all of it was stationary. Some body parts were moving, hands groping along the floor as if searching for their lost owners and detached heads mumbling incoherent static rambling. A perturbed wave floated through her at the sight of large metal cages along one wall, the shadowy silhouettes of wandering androids drifting between the bars. Some androids were in perfect condition, their uniforms clean and shiny. Others were clearly in some stages of experimentation. It was difficult not to be unnerved by the sight of eye-less humanlike figures, or the failed attempts of splicing androids with one-another, and Kate focused instead on simply moving through the room while taking in as little detail as possible.

Luke had stopped ahead, and the three figures stood with him at the edge of the platform. Marie was leaned against the rail, her dark braid falling over her shoulder as she seemed to be watching whatever was happening down below. Taylor and Will were each analyzing something that Will was holding, and as Kate neared, she saw Will straighten and point a dark pistol across the open room.

"Front to back," said Will. "What do you think the grip is for?"

"You look like an idiot," said Taylor. "You're going to get your fingers chopped off by the slide."

"I'm not even touching─ oh." Will turned as he finally seemed to notice Luke, and then he twisted as Kate slowly approached. "Hey! You came anyways."

"I'm not going to shoot," said Kate. "But I don't mind watching you guys act like a bunch of fackwits."

"If anyone's acting like a fackwit, it's her." Will nodded towards Taylor. "She wants to be gangsta."

"No, I don't want to get a sprain," said Taylor.

"You just want to break your nose. I get it." Will stretched both arms out in front of him as he pointed the barrel of the gun down to the area below. He set his shoulders and panned. "This gives you the best grip without allowing the gun to recoil back up towards your face." He continued to rotate slowly as Kate moved forward to see what he was aiming at. A jolt of shock swept through her body.

The area below was full of wandering androids. Some were piled up in a mix of white and texture while others stumbled aimlessly through pathways that had been cleared between the unmoving machines. Though most of the androids appeared mindless, some were hunched into corners, their broken arms wrapped around their knees, heads twitching oddly, mumbling quietly. A few were even clawing at the edges, their fingers having turned white from damage and their faces expressionless as though they were performing a simple task. Kate struggled to contain her apprehension as she gazed down at the crowd of androids, though at this point it was almost pointless to hide it. Stairs which had once led down into the lower area now lay in a broken pile, the edges blackened as though the metal had been laser cut. There was no way for the androids to get out. It was a modified pit.

Someone moved next to her, and she straightened slightly without looking away. "Where the hell did you get so many androids?" she said.

"From the Detroit scrap yard mostly," said Luke. "You didn't hear it from me though. And some of them were donated."

Kate let out a snort. "People donate their androids for you to use them as target practice?"

"Not necessarily. There are always older obsolete androids that people don't know what to do with. CyberLife is just going to throw them in the scrap yard anyway. So we take them off their hands."

"Does that include AP700s?" Kate motioned towards a model that was identical to Seph except he wore a deep blue suit. She looked sideways at Luke who was gazing down at the androids below. "Where'd that android go that you had yesterday? The brown-haired girl?"

Luke narrowed his eyes as if he didn't want to answer. Kate stared at him, a nervousness growing in her at the sight of his hesitation. "Did you rip her apart or something?" she asked.

"Not really," said Luke. "She's doing jobs."

"Doing jobs." Kate continued to stare at him as she let his answer sink in. Then she clenched her eyes shut, a churning dread flowing through her. "Oh you guys are sick."

"Hey, we just deliver the parts," said Taylor. "People can decide what they want to do with it."

"You guys hate androids, but you don't mind fucking them," said Kate. She tilted her head as she gave Taylor a dull glare. "And you give me shit about my plastic dildo."

"Guys will put their dicks wherever they want," said Taylor. "At least they're not asking the plastic to marry them."

"No, they're just using androids for the only reason they were built to look like people," said Kate. "To pretend that they're fucking a real person─"

The gun popped suddenly, and Kate jerked in surprise. Will lowered his arms, pointing the barrel down at the ground as he cocked his head towards them. "Will you guys please just give it a rest?"

Kate dropped her head so that her hair fell over her shoulders. A heavy weight was sinking onto her that she hadn't noticed during the time she'd been speaking, and it left her feeling suddenly very vulnerable. Taylor's accusations had been unexpectedly powerful, and Kate was aware that she had been responding with a degree of emotion even if the others couldn't detect it. It was too risky to pretend that she had been feeling nothing at all, and so she settled on a safety net. One that she didn't have to lie about at least.

She clasped her hands in front of her and tilted her head to the side. "Sorry, Taylor. It's really none of my business." She heard Taylor let out a sigh next to her, and mentally braced herself against Taylor's smugness.

"No, I'm sorry Kate."

Kate looked up, a cautious surprise tugging at her. Taylor had turned around so that she leaned back against the rail, her hands resting on the worn metal. She stared at the floor, her black eyebrows drawn in a reflection of concern. "I told you we weren't going to make you feel like shit and I keep going back to your damn android," said Taylor. "If anything, that's none of my business. Like I said, I speak out of turn sometimes." Taylor raised her eyebrows, biting her lip. "A lot, actually."

The weight started to lift. Kate stared at her a moment as she debated whether or not to believe her. In the end, it didn't matter. She let out a quiet laugh through her nose. "Well, if you didn't give me some crap for dating an android, there'd be no point to me coming here at all."

There was a small laugh behind her, and Kate turned to see Marie gazing down at the pit, a tense smile on her face. Marie gazed up at her, and her smile faded slightly. "Sorry, it's just hard to tell if you're serious sometimes," she said. "I mean, dating an android."

"Do you think I'm serious?" said Kate.

Marie's eyes widened, and she straightened a bit. "I… really don't know."

"So, if you're dating an android─" Will stopped. Kate looked at him, and he gave her a nervous sideways glance. "I don't want to keep harassing you."

"No, go ahead," said Kate. She rested her elbows on the rail. "This is what I'm here for." Silence filled the room as Will stared at her, and she let out a sigh. "I'm being serious."

Will's shoulders relaxed, and he gazed down at the pit. "So, if you're dating an android…" His mouth twitched and he raised his eyebrows as if making himself believe his own words. "How do you see them?" He motioned to the pit below.

Kate stared down at the wandering androids. It was tempting to give him a contemptuous answer. Yet even as she tried to think of one, her curiosity about his reaction was even stronger. As the androids stumbled and tripped over themselves, she considered his question in deeper detail. It was certainly unnerving to see so many human-shaped figures in what anyone would consider to be distress, though these were obviously not human. She would never be able to deny her automatic assumption based on their appearances alone, and the empathy that came along with it. Anyone that didn't cringe at the sight of a humanlike figure missing its head and yet still upright and walking in circles was a psychopath.

Still, the initial shock would wear off. The understanding that it was a machine without a will of its own would sink into place. And they would become as meaningless as a simulation or a video game. Objects meant to mimic humans and hold meaning based only on the humans' projection of it onto them. No one cared about the androids below. They couldn't feel what Simon, Seph, or Clark could feel. Clark had been one of them only hours before─ a machine fulfilling a purpose based on what his programming was telling him. Now that he had deviated, it was as if he'd had value and meaning all along. It seemed almost cruel not to extend that same value to the androids below.

Kate tilted her head to the side as she pondered the moral aspects. "Should I care about them because my android is special to me?" she said. She looked at Will who was gazing at her with wide eyes.

"Well, if you see one android as a real person, shouldn't you see them all as real people?" he said.

"Not all androids act like him," said Kate. "He's different."

"What makes him special?" said Marie. Kate stared down at the pit, considering how truthful she should be. She raised her head, clasping her hands together in front of her.

"Because he's mine," she said.

"What about─" Taylor made a noise and gave Kate a small apologetic smile when she looked at her. "What about Clark?"

Kate blinked, her body suddenly freezing. "What about Clark?"

"You got really upset when I cut off his face," said Taylor.

Relief swept over her, and Kate let out a snort. "Seriously? Do I really have to answer that or do you want to just ask it again?"

Taylor laughed and crossed her arms across her chest. "Fair enough."

"But does that mean you don't care if I use those androids for target practice?" said Will. He raised the pistol so that the barrel pointed up towards the ceiling, his index finger extended off the trigger. Kate threw another glance down at the wandering androids, then back up at him. She shrugged.

"Not really," she said. "I don't really like it. I think it's retarded. But they're just machines."

Will raised his eyebrows so that they almost disappeared into his hat. He turned on the spot and squared his shoulders as he brought the pistol down in front of him, his arms stretched so that he held it in both hands. Kate watched with slight trepidation as he panned after a distant target, and he threw another glance at her. Then a smile spread over his face. He lowered the gun and shook his head.

"Fack me," he said. "I can't do this now. It's too weird."

Kate smiled, part in awkward relation and part in relief. "It's tough when you actually start to see them as people."

"I just don't want to make you upset," said Will.

Kate nodded to the androids. "Try it. We'll see if I get upset."

"Arright." Will held the gun out in front of him again. "How about… the AX400 right there?"

Kate raised her palms up. "What the hell is that?"

"The girl android without its skin," said Will. Kate followed the trajectory of his gun as he motioned with it, and spotted a pure white female-shaped android which was standing almost perfectly still besides the slight twitching of her head. Faint red lights were flashing at specific points of her body and on her chest where a circle glowed. It looked as if the android was barely functioning as it was.

Kate tilted her head slightly and made a face as if it would help to bury the doubts that crept up in her. "Okay, I guess."

"Okay," Will repeated. He threw her another nervous glance, then set his shoulders as he aimed carefully. Several moments passed in silence, and Kate struggled to keep her uncertain emotions under control. Just before it seemed Will would give up, a startling pop blasted through the steel room.

The android's head jerked, and for a moment Kate thought that he had missed. The android remained upright although she had gone very still, and it took Kate longer than she expected to realize that the red lights had gone dark, and a small hole above the android's temple was leaking a dark blue liquid.

A numbing sensation swept through her as she gazed at the now empty android shell. She wasn't quite sure what to think. For a while, all she could do was stare and wait for something to take hold. When it didn't, she looked sideways at Will, stunned at her own lack of emotions.

He gazed back at her, his eyes blank. Then he waved his hand down at the android. "Aren't you going to compliment me on my perfect headshot?"

"Wow…" Marie clapped. "Really good, babe!"

"Yeah, swell," said Kate, feeling a peace fall over her as she spoke.

"Nah, it's too late now." Will lowered the pistol. "It sounds phony."

"I mean it was only a few yards," said Taylor. "With a PPQ. The thing practically aims itself."

"Fine." Will raised the gun and panned. "How about that PJ500?"

"The one walking in circles?" said Marie, leaning over the rail slightly. "You'll never hit that."

"Watch me." There was a loud pop, and the ringing sound of the bullet hitting the steel wall. "Fuck."

"God you suck," said Marie. Another pop burst through the room. "You're embarrassing me. Do you need me to get you some binoculars?"

"You know what, Marie?" A pop, and an echoing ping. "I don't even like Harry Potter."

"Good," said Marie. "I don't want you to like what I like."

"But if I did─" Another pop. "I'd probably be Ravenclaw." Marie let out a sharp gasp.

"What? Why?"

"Because you hate it. And I'd kick your ass in Quidditch." The pistol popped and the bullet whistled. Will straightened, his eyes narrowed. "Stop fackin' moving, ya cunt!"

Kate felt a tap on her shoulder and turned as Will let off a series of frustrated shots. Luke was standing next to her, one hand on the rail and the other in his coat pocket as he gazed slightly past her, a hint of a knowing smile on his face. Before she could say anything, his brown eyes met hers, and he pulled his hand from his coat pocket, discreetly holding it out to her. In his hand was a white curved panel, a single blue eye open in the center of it. There wasn't time to analyze it. She quickly took the biocomponent from him and shoved it into her own coat pocket, giving him a quick tense of her eyes to indicate her gratitude.

"Die─ you─ fucking─ suck─ my─"

"Language, babe!"

The android suddenly froze in mid-step, his arms still in a swinging motion. For a while, there was only silence.

Will punched the air. "Yeah! Fack you!"

"Are you sure you used enough bullets?" said Kate. "You should shoot off just a few more to be safe."

"Says the yank who's never fired a gun," said Will. He held the gun out to her, the barrel pointing down. "You want to prove me wrong?"

"Not really. Watching you struggle is way more satisfying." She leaned further onto the rail, and stared down at the animated pit as she saw Will approach her out of the corner of her eye.

"Come on, I want to see you try," said Will. He leaned towards her as he held the gun out in front of him, clasping the grip in both hands. "Hold it high up under the slide as much as you can and completely close your fingers around the grip."

"I don't want to do this," said Kate, resting her chin in her hand as she watched him demonstrate.

"Keep your finger off the trigger like this unless you're ready to actually shoot," he said, tilting the gun sideways so she got a better view of his finger straightened across the side of the trigger. "Then take your other hand and tilt your palm like this. You press it flat against the grip and close your fingers all the way around it. So you've got the whole grip completely covered in both your hands. Got it?"

"Sure." Kate swung her hand so that the excess of her sleeve spun past her fingertips. Will let out a sigh. Then the gun appeared in front of her, the barrel pointing away as he handed it to her.

"Here. Right hand first."

"I don't want to."

"Just─" He made a noise and caught her sleeve. "Right hand."

Kate pressed her lips together as she let him puppet her hands into holding the pistol in front of her. It was heavy and rigid, far more complex than she was expecting. She straightened herself as she gripped it carefully, suddenly very conscious of not dropping the weapon into the pit below. Will guided her hands as he gave her back below her shoulder blades a small push so that she stood tall, and he pulled the gun higher so that her hands moved with it, placing her in a firing stance. A nervousness flowed through her at the uncertain power that she now held, and it was difficult not to imagine a thousand ways she could make this go terribly wrong.

"Now it's going to have a bit of a kick, but not as hard as say your standard glock," said Will. "Push with your hands on the sides, but don't clench. And squeeze the trigger. Don't pull."

"How am I supposed to pull the trigger if I can't pull it?" Kate muttered.

"Because you squeeze it."

Kate let out a sigh. "Thanks." She gazed down at the androids below, holding the gun out in front of her. The power seemed to grow unbearable as she found herself deciding on a target, moving her gaze from one android to the next. It was difficult not to look for signs of individuality among them, and even harder not to imagine them as potential for deviation. She narrowed her eyes as she paused on a stationary android standing near the debris of the fallen stairs, her heart racing the longer she considered it. Then she moved to a female android that was pacing along the wall, her head tilted back as she looked away from her as if looking for a way out. They were all clearly machines, and yet the longer she hesitated, the more she was racked with doubt. She could never truly know. Not for sure.

"How about the ST300?" said Will. He pointed. "The one missing the arm right there."

"Come on, go a little easy on her," said Marie. "Just go for the ones closest to you. It's your first time."

"Fine, we'll take it easy," said Will, and his hand came into view as he pushed the gun down towards the androids below. "Remember. Squeeze, don't pull."

Kate drew in a breath as she watched several androids moving below her. There wasn't exactly a choice. She clenched her hand slowly, tightening her finger on the trigger. The gun reacted quicker than she was expecting, and she jolted as a loud pop echoed through the room. It was a second before she realized the force of the shot had forced her elbows to bend, and the barrel of the gun had flown upwards. With a burst of shock, she fumbled to keep the gun in her hands, and let out a yelp as she nearly dropped it over the rail.

Will was also reaching out as he frantically held his hands underneath the pistol to catch its fall. Kate straightened as she held the gun carefully, her heart pounding from the flurry of action. Will let out a nervous laugh.

"Yeah um, okay. Maybe we should aim for something a little closer," he said.

Kate breathed in deeply, clenching both her hands on the grip. With a nervous but careful energy, she quickly looked down at the androids below to see which one she had hit. They were all still moving calmly along the wall as if nothing had happened.

"Here." There was a shuffle, and Taylor propped up one of the white android torsos on a table next to them. "You can't miss this."

Despite her residual tension, Kate laughed and felt it begin to melt away. "Thanks for the confidence, Taylor." She stood in front of it and squared her shoulders up, raising the pistol in front of her at the white silhouette. It was easier this time. There were no doubts. She cast a quick glance at Will who was now standing next to Marie, one arm wrapped around her waist. He motioned with his free hand.

"Squeeze," he said. "And it helps to breathe out slowly."

Kate nodded and turned back to the plastic torso. She flexed her fingers on the grip, remembering the strength of the recoil from the last shot, and this time preparing for it. She let out a slow breath, then squeezed.

The gun popped and she felt the force travel through her arms, pushing her back only slightly. There was a ping, and the torso snapped back off the table.

Will and Marie were cheering behind her as she recovered, pointing the pistol down at the ground. She couldn't help her awkward smile as she looked at them. "Sweet," she said. "I can shoot an unmoving target from five feet away."

"Give yourself a little credit!" said Will. "That was a nice recovery. Barely any recoil there."

"Try again." said Taylor. She was pulling a frozen android along the ground as if it were a statue. Kate recognized the model as one of the red-headed commercial androids. Taylor leaned it against the wall and stepped back. "I always hated these ones. Everyone knows you can't trust redheads."

"Pretty sure it's gingers," said Luke.

"Same thing. And I don't trust you either." Taylor moved back against the rail and gazed at Kate. "Aim between the eyes. Picture Luke's face if it helps."

"I didn't know I was preparing for the zombie apocalypse," said Kate as she raised the gun, attempting to aim down the barrel.

"Nope, just an android apocalypse," said Taylor. Kate couldn't help her smile as she held the gun steady, narrowing her eyes as she breathed out. She squeezed the trigger and the shot sent a jolt of energy shooting down her arms as the barrel of the gun flicked up momentarily. For a second she thought she'd missed, but the dark hole in the center of the android's forehead and the splatter of blue blood dripping down the wall behind it confirmed her precise aim.

"Holy shit!" Will moved next to her. "Not bad!"

Kate lowered the gun and blew her hair out of her face. "I'm not sure how much of that was luck."

"Try again then." Will leaned sideways into her as he seemed to measure the trajectory between her and the android. He stretched his arm to point. "Try to aim for the same spot."

"Hit that same spot, Rose!" said Kate as she raised the gun again. "At least we're not sinking." She squeezed the trigger and a second splatter hit the wall behind the android, a new hole appearing on the android's cheek.

"Christ, you're actually pretty good at this." He moved down the shelves and there was a clanging. "You sure you never shot a gun before?"

"Never." Kate turned the gun in her hands as she gazed down at it, then looked up at Taylor and Marie. "Am I done now? You guys want to murder some androids?"

"Are you kidding?" said Marie. "This is so much more fun to watch."

"Here, blast this one for me," said Will. He had his hand on the shoulder of an android in front of him that was in various patches of white and skin. The android was twitching, its LED blinking red as it mumbled to itself. "He called me a dick."

"D-d-dick," the android stammered, his voice garbled by static.

"That's because you told it to call you a dick," said Marie.

"D-dick."

"I thought we were bros!" Will lowered his hand and moved away from him, and the android rotated on the spot as he looked at his surroundings. "If he really loved me he wouldn't actually call me a dick!"

"Dick."

"Shut up!" Will let out a sigh. "It didn't have to be this way mate…"

"D-d-d─" The android continued to rotate as Kate raised the gun.

"Sorry about this, dick," she said quietly. She waited for the android to turn a bit more, and he faced her direction. His eyes were focused on the ceiling, making it a bit easier for her to aim for his face. He spun slowly as Kate released her breath and squeezed.

The gun popped, and the android froze in place, his eyes still focused on the ceiling and his expression locked. Kate lowered the gun as a surprising sense of pride filled her in place of her apprehension.

"No! Gumby!" Will raised his fists in front of him. "He was my soulmate!"

"It's okay, Will," said Marie as he curled into her, fake sobs muffled against her chest. "He's in a better place now."

"Alright, now can I be done?" said Kate as she took a step back.

"Wait, wait!" Will straightened and moved back towards the cages. "One more."

"God…" Kate pressed her hand to her forehead and closed her eyes.

"Seriously! Last one."

"Grab a working one," said Marie. "Give her a moving target."

"Shit, these are all broken."

"Use the other cage then," said Taylor.

"Those are the experiments though."

"How about the one in the blue?" said Luke.

"Ah man, that's Phillip's project."

"He abandoned it a month ago. That's his fault."

"Fine…"

Kate lowered her hand as an android in a deep blue suit moved in front of her. His arms were missing, and parts of his uniform were torn. A sigh left her as she readjusted her grip on the pistol, and felt a slight jolt of apprehension when she realized the android was the same brunette model as Seph. She gave a small smile and shook her head.

"Jesus, you must be the only people that use AP700s as target practice," she said.

"Yeah, well, technology has to get old sometime," said Will. He gazed carefully at the android. "Oi, mate. Walk five steps in that direction, then walk five steps back. Do that forever."

The android's mouth moved though no sound came out. Then the android began to pace back and forth in front of Kate. She let out a soft laugh again and shook her head before turning to gaze around her. She was about to face forward again when Luke's expression caught her attention. He was leaning back against the rail, his arm crossed in front of him and his other arm resting on it as he pressed a knuckle to his mouth, his brown eyes narrowed in strong scrutiny at her. It was as though he were trying to make what he was doing obvious, and an unnerving wave swept through her. She tensed her eyes as she gazed back at him, signaling a silent question to him before turning back towards the now pacing android.

She panned with the android's movements as he moved back and forth, his expression completely blank. If it hadn't been for the uniform, he would have looked just like Seph with two missing arms instead of just one. His lack of emotion made it easier for her to separate him from the AP700 that she knew. As he turned, she let out a breath, waiting for his face to turn towards her. It did, and she squeezed.

The android's eyes locked on hers for the briefest moment, and she felt a nervous jet of apprehension. His LED flashed red. Then he froze in place as the gun popped, and there was a spatter of blue blood behind him. Thirium dripped down his nose and along his neck from the hole just above his right eye.

Kate lowered the gun, her heart pounding. She was hardly aware of the cheering next to her.

"Okay, okay one more," said Will.

"No…" Kate ran her hand through her hair as she stared at the now lifeless android, a strange numbness flowing through her. "No, I think I'm done now."

"Come on, you're kicking ass." Will was already throwing open the cage and pushing androids aside. "Here I'll pick something easy for you."

"What? Don't give her that one," said Taylor. "Get the other one. The white one."

"This one?"

"Yeah. I've been meaning to take it apart anyway."

Kate closed her eyes and sighed, rolling her shoulders as she gripped the gun in both hands again, squaring herself up. "Seriously, you guys must be either really bored or─" Her heart froze, her body turning to ice as she gazed at the android in front of her.

Simon's blue eyes met hers, his blond eyebrows drawn in a concerned interest though the rest of his face remained blank. He was back in his CyberLife uniform, creating the familiar black shoulders, white body and blue accessories image that stirred unnerving distant feelings of the life before her father's house. He was stained in blue, his blond hair ruffled and oddly spiky around an empty patch where bare plastic had been exposed. Blue blood drained from there, down his forehead, pooling in his eye before lining down his neck, disappearing under his white shirt and draining down his arm to his fingers where it dripped.

Kate's body was shaking, her chest locked so that she struggled to breathe. Simon was standing in front of her. But if that were true… she straightened slightly, forcing her panic to subside. It wasn't Simon. He had Simon's face, Simon's hair, the same uniform, even the same expression that Simon had before he deviated. But this was a different PL600. The same model, but a different being entirely. The relief she felt at knowing this was only plagued by the discomfort of her misplaced concern. It had affected her so powerfully and so fast her mind was on overdrive to correct itself.

Someone leaned into her vision, and she saw Will's perturbed face. He waved a hand. "Kate?"

She sucked in a sharp breath of air and tensed her shoulders, the rest of the room suddenly becoming clear around her. "Yeah."

"You okay?"

"I'm fine." She flexed her fingers on the pistol as she stared at the android ahead of her. He was gazing back at her as if waiting for an order. It was so much like Simon had done before. Before she had given him a name. A purpose. Before he meant anything to her at all…

"You need a minute?"

Kate closed her eyes and tensed again. "I got this," she said. She raised the pistol at the android who narrowed his eyes slightly at the weapon, his LED spinning a flickering yellow. It was likely he had no idea what was about to happen. He was just a machine with no concept of life or death. No idea that his only purpose was at this moment was to be a target. He couldn't possibly know that other androids had free will. That there was another PL600 out there just like him that Kate cared about. A clone of him that she burned for and owed everything to. She knew what that android's face felt like, the texture of his hair, the taste of his mouth. And yet she knew he shouldn't mean anything to her at all.

She tightened her hands on the grip, aware that everyone was watching her internal struggle. Her teeth clenched and a wash of focus fell over her as she aimed at the android. She'd already shot several androids. He wasn't any different. The way he was gazing at her was devoid of any real feeling. She aimed for his forehead, noting the subtle changes in the angle of his jawline, the tensing of his brows, and slight pulls at his mouth. Again she forced her mind back into focus, the creeping electric panic rolling back as she locked her shoulders.

"Look, you don't have to if you think it's a real person," said Taylor. "We can just put it back."

Kate glanced at her, a horrible dread flowing through her. Taylor's face was completely blank, her brown eyes lit underneath her black eyebrows. A wave of several emotions drifted through Kate at once, overwhelming her with fear, disgust, horror, and shame. She drew in a shake breath, returning her gaze back to the blond android.

"It's a bit much, Kate," said Taylor. "Come on, I'll do it. We've pushed you enough so─"

The gun popped. Kate jolted as the gun recoiled and pointed up to the ceiling, a jet of shock bolting through her as she drew in a startled gasp at what she'd chosen to do. It faded, and she stared into nothing as she lowered the pistol down. The android wasn't moving. She didn't need to look to know it was a clean hit.

"Oh my god, Kate," said Will. "You're fucking brutal!"

Taylor laughed as she stepped past Kate towards the android. Everything was a blurry mess in Kate's vision, her muscles tightened and threatening to tremble. A soreness rose in her throat as she heard a clunking next to her.

"You must have really hated this one," said Taylor. She let out a grunt and something snapped. "What did he do to deserve this?"

Will was laughing. Kate swallowed heavily and attempted to straighten, though her wide eyes remained fixed on the floor.

"Fuck it's oozing," said Taylor and Kate saw her black shoes as she moved next to her, fumbling with something. "Check it out. You should hang it on your wall." Something moved in front of her.

Kate threw herself back as Simon's face came into view. His head was detached, the same blank expression frozen on his face. Only one blue eye was visible, the other shattered with pieces of optic machinery visible beneath the flow of blue blood. Her stomach lurched and her heart pounded. It followed her as Taylor moved with her.

"Come on, you can keep it as a trophy," said Taylor, laughing.

Blinding panic swept through Kate's body as she moved back, then with an agonizing effort, she let out a groan as she grabbed the blond head in one hand and quickly wrenched it out of Taylor's grasp, swinging it quickly away from her so that it flew spinning down into the pit below.

There was laughter around her, though she couldn't tell who it was from anymore. She knew how she looked. She had to look exactly how she felt. Her blood pounded in her temples, and she was unable to stop her trembled breathing. It didn't matter what it looked like at this point, or how vulnerable she was allowing herself to be. She didn't belong there. She didn't know these people. She had to get home.

She turned and pressed the pistol sideways against Taylor's chest as she moved past her, and Taylor grunted as she took the gun from her. The shelves were moving past her and the laughter quieted down. Her eyes were open, she knew where she was, and yet it was as if she couldn't see anything at all. It was only when she reached the open hatch that she realized her eyes were welled with tears.

She ran a hand across her face to push them away, and her hand shook violently. She clenched it as she brought it back down to gain some means of control though it only served to make her whole body tremble. For a moment, she paused against the frame of the hatch to catch her breath. The others were calling behind her. She'd given them no explanation. And she didn't need to.

She moved forward again, walking with a frantic energy down the steel corridor. Her breath was sharp and seemed to ease her terror the faster she moved, as if giving her body a physical reason to be exhausted. The tears were welling up again, and she furiously wiped them away, drawing in a deep breath and straightening with her strides. With her vision now cleared, the agony began to roll forward again, putting pressure on her chest and stinging her cheeks with sharp fire. Flashes of Simon's face were appearing before her eyes. Her Simon. The blank PL600. Simon's warm grin. The tension in the android's eyebrows. Blue eyes that closed as he breathed out, touching his nose to her cheek. The sapphire glint mixing with blue blood pooling on the lower eyelid. She'd shot him. She'd killed him.

Kate stumbled and moved to the side of the corridor, leaning against the wall and breathing heavily. She didn't want to touch the wall. The floor under her shoes was disgusting. The sounds of the people in the cargo hold ahead filled her with horrible dread. They didn't know what she was experiencing. They had no idea what she felt. And if they did, they would argue that she was making a terrible mistake. There was no way to fit into this place. Nothing she could do to make her situation any better. She didn't belong.

She moved along the wall, and a shocking sickness took over her as the hatch up ahead rattled. She paused a moment, her eyes narrowing as she watched the wheel shake, loud cheers echoing from the other side. Her hands automatically clenched, and a strong determination grew over her panic. Before she could convince herself otherwise, she strode forward, gripped the wheel in both hands, and spun it so that the hatch flew open.

"Hey, hey! What the fuck!"

A young man was stumbling backwards from the door, fumbling with his pants which were loose around his thighs. There were other men in the room, each rising from where they were sitting as Kate pushed her way in. She didn't look at them. And she didn't say anything. Her attention was focused completely on the brunette android in front of her.

The android had fallen onto her hands and knees when the hatch opened, and she now gazed up at Kate with wide brown eyes. Kate knew she should have felt shock at how the android was naked. Disgusted by the opaque dried fluid running down the android's chin and neck. She could feel her body reacting physically to the awful sight in front of her, yet her emotions seemed to have reached a threshold. There were so many other things for her to be upset about.

Kate knelt and grabbed the android's arm. "Come on."

"Hey, what?" One of the men strode forward. "Where are you going with that?"

The android rose to her feet, and Kate pulled her towards the hatch. The man grabbed the android's other arm.

"Uh, excuse me? We were using that."

Kate gave the android a tug, narrowing her eyes at the man. "Back the fuck off."

"Fuck you." The man pulled back so that the android stumbled. "Go get a different android."

"I said fuck off!" Kate moved forward, an electric fury burning through her when someone pushed by her. She saw a flash of red hair.

"It's okay, it's okay." Luke put his hand on the man's arm, holding his palm out. "Just let it go, Terry."

The man made a noise, then flung the android's arm away from him. Kate didn't wait before she pulled the android forward out of the room, her hand clenched tightly around the android's wrist in case she was wrenched away from her again. She shrugged her backpack off her shoulders as she moved, then began to remove her coat.

"Kate. Kate!"

Kate paused, though she didn't look up as she focused intensely on removing her coat while keeping her heavy backpack in one hand. Luke stepped in front of her.

"Kate… Kate what those guys did back there─"

"They didn't do anything." Kate swung her coat over the android's shoulders, folding it closed across her bare chest. Luke sighed and she heard him run his hand over his face.

"I'm really sorry. That shouldn't have happened." He was silent for a moment as Kate buttoned the front of the jacket closed, her hands still lightly trembling. "It was a stupid thing to do and I should have said something. I shouldn't have just stood there and let─"

"You know what, Luke." Kate suddenly rounded on him, powerful rage igniting her as she looked into his startled brown eyes. "I don't know what Taylor told you about me. If I'm some prize for you and that you can put your psychology degree to work because you think it'll turn me back to humans like I'm some android faggot. I'm flattered." She swung her backpack onto her shoulders as she threw Luke another fiery glance. "No, really. I am. I didn't think you guys cared so much. I'm sorry I missed the chance to see how stupid I've been and ruined your ego. It's nothing to do with your psychology skills. I just don't give a shit." She moved into him and she could see his jaw tense and his red eyebrows narrow as he looked at her. "So do me a favor. Don't try to fix me. Don't psychoanalyze me. And leave me the fuck alone."

He didn't say anything as he gazed at her, though a fierce spark had grown in his normally dark eyes. The electric fury began to die down, though Kate didn't want to wait for it. She gripped the android's arm and pulled her forward as she moved past Luke, leaving him to stand alone in the corridor.

The sounds of the cargo hold returned as they moved onto the walkway towards the stairs. Kate didn't look at the android as she stepped down, and didn't acknowledge the looks of curiosity from the people around them. She focused instead on the metal floor in front of her and the pressure of her hand around the android's wrist. Only when they entered the quiet corridor leading towards the exit did she close her eyes and feel the tension in her shoulders release somewhat.

"What's your name?" she asked. The android didn't reply. Kate looked at her, catching the android's attention. "Your name," Kate repeated. "What is it?"

"My name is Lauren," said the android. Kate slowed as they reached the low stairway leading to the exit. She let out a soft sigh, closing her eyes against the cold night air.

"Welcome to your new life, Lauren."