The synthetic dragon-hatchling stared at Kai with blank eyes that sparked with a low level of artificial intelligence.
Kai stared back. He'd never seen a dragon before, even if it was fake.
So this was the other projects the Morrighan Corporation spent their dollars on; diamond-studded collars for fake pets.
"Tarasque, come here."
The unknown voice – husky and smooth, like good whiskey and scotch – made Kai turn around in annoyance. It was rare that someone could enter a room without him noticing.
A handsome man dressed in a tailored, charcoal-hued suit emerged from the shadows. His face was carefully neutral as he took a few steps forward, his hands casually resting at his sides. The hatchling glided over gracefully and perched on the man's broad shoulders. He didn't even blink as the clawed feet of the hatchling dug deep to find its balance.
"It's artificial." Kai phrased it not as a question, but as a statement.
"Of course it is." The man's bored expression didn't change as he walked closer.
Kai leaned against the edge of the long table and shoved his hands into the pockets of his trenchcoat. The man was a head taller than him and twice as bulky, but Kai wasn't intimidated in the least.
"Welcome to the Morrighan Corporation, sir. I'm Hurk and I'll be assisting you today, should you have any questions."
A hand was held out for a handshake, and Kai took it warily. The other man's palm was calloused and scarred in odd places but surprisingly warm.
"Kai. I'm here on rumors of a new type of Replicant."
There was an odd gleam to the Hurk's eyes when the professional handshake ended. "It seems you feel our work is not a benefit to the public."
Kai shrugged a shoulder. "I'm only here to see if the Replicant's a hazard. Otherwise, it's not my problem."
Hurk gestured for him to take a seat, which Kai did. He also made sure to let his trenchcoat fall off to the side just enough so that the leg-holster with his gun was in plain sight.
The other man's eyes flickered down to the holster before going back up to Kai's face. "Before we begin, may I ask you a personal question?"
"No."
Hurk continued as if he didn't hear Kai's response, the look in his eyes curiously bold instead of blank. "Have you ever retired a human by mistake?"
Before Kai could answer, another voice cut in – this time, a female.
"Is this to be an empathy test? Voight-Kampff, the dilation of the iris, the flush-response?" A smartly attired woman with Asian features strode into the room with all the confidence in the world.
Kai got up from his seat, in a rare show of respect and politeness.
"Mr. Kai, Dr. Evie." Hurk straightened up his posture and clasped his hands behind his back. The mask of indifference was firmly back on. Even the hatchling on his shoulder adopted an air of stillness in the presence of the Morrighan Coporation's figurehead and leading scientist.
Dr. Evie had an aristocratic air that went hand-in-hand with the sharpness of her eyes. "I'd like to see a demonstration of this so-called test. How would you distinguish a human from a machine made to be human in almost every way possible…"
"On you?" Kai managed not to roll his eyes.
"No, no. I want to see a negative before I can provide you with a positive." Dr. Evie had an out-of-place expression of enthusiasm on her face.
Kai tried not to sigh. Rich people made no sense, and their demands more so. "What's that going to prove?"
The look that Dr. Evie threw at him spoke of a patience that never had the time to grow beyond the span of a goldfish. "Indulge me. Try him."
The said assistant blinked when Dr. Evie pointed at him, but he barely reacted – aside from a very fleeting smirk that Kai almost missed had he blinked – as he took a seat on the opposite side of the table. The hatchling on his shoulder screeched before lifting off and gliding over to the other side of the room where its cage was.
"It's too bright in here." With that, Kai turned his back on them and took out the testing kit from the department-issued briefcase.
"Do you mind if I smoke?" The assistant had fished a pack of cigarettes and a lighter out from a pocket of his suit jacket.
"No. I'm going to ask you a series of questions, and I want you to answer honestly."
"Alright."
The cigarette lit with a sharp flash of an orange flame, and the smoke that trailed out from the end was deep blue in color. Huh, it was one of the expensive kinds.
Kai took a look at the iris and pupil that was magnified and projected on the screen of the device. So far, nothing alerted his instincts except for the slight hint of red that seemed to hide within the black of the pupil. It could be a genetic thing, or…
"It's your birthday. Someone gives you a catskin wallet."
Hurk leaned back slightly in his seat. "I wouldn't take it. I'd also report the person to the police."
Nothing changed yet, but it was still way too early to tell. "You meet a little girl, and she shows you her insect collection along with the killing jar."
"I'd report her parents to the police." Another calm exhale of that blue smoke.
Still no change in the eyes, posture, or facial expression. "You're reading a magazine and come across a full-page nude photo of a man."
"Is this testing whether I'm a Replicant or a homosexual, sir?" There was an undercurrent of amusement in Hurk's voice.
"Answer the question." Kai would've loved to snark back, but with Dr. Evie hovering over his shoulder that wasn't an option. "You show it to your wife, and she likes it so much that she hangs it on the bedroom wall."
"I wouldn't let her."
"Why not?" Another cloud of smoke made Kai's fingers twitch absently. He wanted a smoke, now.
"I should be enough for her."
After an hour of questions of a similar vein, Kai turned off the machine after it gave a low wail.
Kai gave a hard stare at Hurk, who smiled tightly and flicked the ashes from the end of his almost-done cigarette into the ashtray that had been conveniently provided.
Dr. Evie was quick to jump in. "Hurk, I'd like to talk to Mr. Kai alone."
"Certainly, ma'am. Sir." Hurk got up with a slight bow of his head and walked over to the door at an unhurried pace.
Kai waited until the door had slammed shut before speaking. "He's a Replicant."
"I'm impressed." Dr. Evie crossed her arms. "How many questions does it usually take?"
"Twenty. Thirty. Depends." Kai folded up the machine and set it back into the case.
"It took more than a hundred for my assistant. Interesting."
"He doesn't know." Kai got up from his seat and straightened his coat. "How does it not know what it is?"
"More human than human is our motto, Mr. Kai. We'd be doing a poor job of that, otherwise." The smile Dr. Evie had on her face was full of knives and concealed danger. "Hurk is an experiment. Nothing more, nothing less. I hope your department's curiosity has been more than satisfied, officer."
"It has." Kai's grip on the handle of the case tightened. "Thank you for your time, Dr. Evie."
As he left, Kai could feel the woman's dark eyes drilling holes into his back.