Tsubaki was perhaps one of the few androids in existence to have to her own living quarters, residing in a modest unit on the outskirts of Tokyo Robotica’s local headquarters in Kakushin. At the end of each night, she returned home to a small kitchen, a humble bedroom, and a bathroom. She didn’t need these things in order to comfortably exist, much the same as any less advanced type of android, but because Tsubaki’s cells were mostly comprised of nano-robotic Plantoids, and she soon came to find that her state of existence improved if she sustained her cells organically. She was made using mostly organic tissues, derived from a mixture of programmable plant cells and biocomponents synthesised from the unique species of algae called KZ-32. The other advantage of having organic cells was that humans treated her differently—she still existed beneath them, was still nothing more than a machine, but of a higher status somehow than the older, less convincing types of androids.140Please respect copyright.PENANAzxRuGRG8R3
She cooked herself a basic packaged meal containing KZ-32 and sat by the window to eat. Her face was splashed with a vibrant neon caerulean as the streets cast their life into her apartment. She watched businessmen with loose neckties walking home after a long day of work, beneath a shifting ocean of signs and advertisements. Heat activated the chemicals in her meal and gave it the consistency of a soft tasteless porridge. After eating she rested for maybe an hour, laying rigidly on her bed, arms by her sides, and staring at the ceiling while she dreamed of vague things. She had never told anyone that she could dream, not even Takashi. Androids were not complicated. They were designed to behave in a certain way, and this mode was the algorithm that defined their existence. As a spy Tsubaki was ingrained with an acute understanding of the human psyche, a skill that allowed her to track her enemies while limiting her ability interact with so-called friends. Tsubaki’s wants and goals belonged entirely to Takashi and the company.
In her years as a spy, as part of her simcom and cognitive development, Tsubaki believed she had obtained an acute understanding of the human mind. Most humans believed that their souls made them unpredictable, and that androids, operating like clockwork, were two dimensional and easy to figure out, when in reality they had it backwards. Human emotion was nothing more than an algorithm for the soul, vital for communication and survival. It governed their movements, their actions, their choices. Tsubaki understood the algorithm and therefore human beings were predictable, even if her own emotions were limited.
That night, plenty of androids dotted the colour-washed street as Tsubaki stepped from her apartment and made her way down the road. Some were invisible, other shadowed their human masters carrying bags, and some were too outdated not to notice, the rigid ones, the ones that were soulless. Her route took her through the park, which was vast and thick with trees. Paper lanterns glowed like stars in the rain. Tsubaki caught a whiff of incense as she passed a young woman tending to the public shrine. The world here had changed so swiftly, the air was calmer, quieter. Tsubaki was familiar with Shintoism, the way of spirits, and she knew of the belief system’s brief history with androids. That history was written into the eyes of the woman at the shrine. Her eyes looked beyond Tsubaki’s artificial skin and searched for a soul within that did not exist. The woman smiled politely, Tsubaki ignored her.
The Tokyo Robotica building was sleek and modern with tall silver windows and shining white floors, and many of the building’s architectural features relied on precise geometrical patterns. An android receptionist greeted Tsubaki the moment she stepped inside the main lobby, under a high ceiling where lights hung like spears or stalactites in a cave. Crystal water trickled in a nearby indoor pond surrounded by a rock garden and two bonsai trees. Tsubaki handed the receptionist her serial number.
“I’ve been called in—”
“To see Mister Kumagai?” the receptionist finished.
“Yes.”
“He’s been expecting you. He’s in his office.” The receptionist gave an artificial smile. “Just take the—”
“I know the way.”
Once again as the elevator smoothly ascended, she felt her systems shifting into disharmony, causing a shrill ringing in her ear and a momentary ache in her skull. On the way to Takashi’s office, Tsubaki passed a large window viewing into an operating theatre where Takashi oversaw the modification of combat androids. She witnessed an android not too different from herself, laying on a table with its eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. She stopped and observed the android for a while, watching, expressionless, as a human technician dismantled parts of the android’s body with a long mechanical claw. Her reflection appeared in the glass but it seemed altered, as if she were looking at a younger face that all the same belonged to her, and in a painful flash an image emerged in mind. She winced and put her hand to her head. She saw vague outline of a man on a riverbank, tall as if she observed him from the ground. She heard distant laughter, and recalled the sweet taste of lemonade. Or was it orange soda? The man’s outline slowly became clearer, and he held a fishing rod in his hands. She recalled the swaying bobbing motion of a small boat before her ringing phone snapped her back to reality.
“Meet me on the roof,” said Takashi’s grim voice through the receiver.
Takashi stood waiting on the drizzling neon-swept rooftop, entirely motionless as a warm wet breeze tenderly tugged at his suit jacket, hands folded behind him, eyes seemingly gazing listlessly at the shifting theatre of billboards and city lights. Takashi tilted his head towards Tsubaki as she approached, even though the rain drowned her soft footsteps. He seemed tired, his face weathered and his silver eyes heavy. He regarded Tsubaki without expression. Takashi in his own way showed Tsubaki the kind of respect that a warrior bore for his weapon, and Tsubaki could not deny that the bond that they shared, unemotional as it was, could in another world have been fatherly.
“The data you have recovered from your informant has proved fruitful,” Takashi commended. “We may now begin to approach our next steps. I met a reporter recently at Khaganate named Rhianna Price, who is based here in Kakushin.”
“Shay Ueda mentioned her in his report.” Tsubaki didn’t have to fake using human expression in her voice, not when she was speaking to Takashi.
“Yes. She has ties to the GAIA project and to Khaganate, but the extent of her connections remains unclear. She may know more than she is letting on, or just enough to make her investigations dangerous for our organisation.”
“What secret could she want to expose that we can’t share ourselves?”
“That information is not for you to know,” Takashi said sharply. “You are my most loyal soldier, but information disclosed needlessly becomes vulnerable. You may discover the truth yourself as you pursue her, if it comes to that.”
Tsubaki bowed her head. “Of course, sir.”
“I met with three other significant figures during my visit to Myles Vulcan’s estate.” He handed her a data pad displaying files for Harry, Shannon and Jak. Tsubaki read their information within seconds.
“This third one, Jak,” she queried, “his information—”
“Seems falsified?” Takashi suggested. “I suspect he is another science experiment of Vulcan’s.”
“An android? What is its function?”
“That will be for you to find out.”
“The report mentioned androids malfunctioning all across the country, deviating from their core programming, could this Jak be one of those corrupt androids?”
Takashi nodded approvingly. “This leads us to your new orders. An android that can think freely is a variable that is beyond our measures of control. You are familiar with PROMETHEUS and the other subsystems of Project GAIA?”
“I have a vague understanding,” she replied, only possessing surface knowledge on the subject.
“GAIA is the governing system of the project. Under her are seven subsystems. ARES is meant limit major human conflicts, PROMETHEUS is enhancing the human evolutionary potential, ZEUS is providing clean energy, ARTEMIS restoring global fauna, DEMETER global flora, and POSEIDON and AETHER are detoxifying Earth's water and atmosphere respectively. PROMETHEUS believes that the answer to prolonging human life lies within the evolution of the android. Thanks to Stephan Valentino’s simcom program, paired with PROMETHEUS’ vast influence, our own androids possess the potential to become a threat unlike anything that Tokyo Robotica has seen before.”
“What is to be done, sir?”
“Plans are being made. PROMETHEUS must be dealt with but first I require something else from you. Epsilon-12 is a production facility for KZ-32, far to the north.” He transferred the relevant files to her tablet. “Hidden within the facility is POSEIDON, a subsystem of project GAIA designed to detoxify the planet’s water. You mission is to manually access POSEIDON’s mainframe and install this program.” He handed her a USB. “It will turn control of the facility over to Tokyo Robotica.
“I’ll get it done, sir.”
“I have no doubt that you will. Remember, discretion at all times.”
“Understood, sir.”
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