#possible murder

(Name) is a normal girl working a normal job in a tech dominated world. Until, her boss tells her to take care of four androids to see if they could work at their cafe. (Name)’s devastated of course. She doesn’t want to deal with androids especially when she knows nothing about them. Not only that, these androids…aren’t like the ones she sees walking around or working or even on TV. Maybe it’s because they’re demos that were from a discontinued line that was never released. Whatever it is…they’re definitely strange.

——————————————————————————

Androids. Humanoid robots or other artificial beings often made to have a realistic human appearance.

They didn’t become for sale until a couple of years ago. At first, they were used for jobs in factories or as laborers since they possessed way more strength than regular humans. But as time went on, they were seen practically everywhere for any little thing. Some used them as companions, some used them as babysitters, some used them as maids, some even used them for things that were not so holy.

(Name) sighed as she looked at the ad. She never really thought about owning an android, not that she could afford one anyway, but owning something that looked so human-like just didn’t sit right with her. She took one last look at the ad before returning to her game.

A few minutes later, she finally received the email from her boss. (Name) read the email in disbelief. Her boss was asking her to test run four androids. (Name) held her head in her hands. Four androids? Her boss really wanted her to to test four androids. Not only that, but they would have to live with her for an unspecified amount of time.

‘She must be joking…and these models that she wants me to test…they’re all models that haven’t even been released yet. What if they break or I damage them or something?! I can’t afford that!’ (Name) thought to herself.

Suddenly, her phone rang. (Name) picked it up quickly. It was her boss calling. She answered immediately. “Hello?” (Name) asked timidly. "Did you receive my email?” her boss asked impatiently. "Yes, but…ma’am…are you sure this is a good idea? Entrusting me with the androids? ” (Name) asked hesitantly. “Yes, I’m quite sure. If there’s anyone I could trust it’s you. I know you might not be familiar with androids, but I really think we could use them at our cafe. I want to leave them in your care so you can assess whether they’re compatible enough to work for us. This could be a great opportunity and I’m sure we can make it work. Just do this for me. Okay?” her boss said earnestly.

(Name) hesitated for another second before answering. “I...I understand. Thank you for trusting me with this. I’ll do my best. But seriously, I don’t know anything about androids. How will I even-” (Name) paused when she heard a small chuckle coming from the other end of the line. “You won’t need to worry about that. You’re a smart girl, you’ll learn everything very quickly. The only thing you need to do is supervise them and see how they will fit in at the cafe. You know, just test them and see what jobs and tasks they can do as well as see how they are around humans. Now, the androids will be sent to you by tomorrow morning and they already have a manual and instructions with them so don’t worry.”

With that, she hung up. (Name) put her phone down on her desk and massaged her forehead. Well, time to research about androids.

———

(Name) woke up early the next day hoping that the androids would just arrive already. She spent her morning researching and learning more about androids. It wasn’t until 12 in the afternoon that a delivery truck arrived.

The delivery man knocked on the door, which (Name) opened immediately. The delivery man made her sign a few papers before opening his truck and wheeling out the four androids. (Name) followed him closely while he unloaded the four androids onto her living room floor. (Name) thanked him once he was done and watched him leave.

She stared at the big metal box the androids resided in. ‘Is it too late to turn back?’ She wondered. (Name) shook her head to snap herself out of her thoughts. She walked over to the boxes and tentatively placed her hand on it. “How do I even open this thing?” she thought aloud.

She looked and felt around the box, finally finding a small button. She pressed it and watched as the sides of the box fell down, revealing her first android. (Name) looked at it in shock. She knew androids were supposed to look like humans, but this was another level. She wouldn’t even know it was an android if it hadn’t come in that box.

The android wore a plain white tee with ripped jeans. He was quite tall and he seemed to be her age range-or at least designed to look that way. She slowly raised her hand and placed a finger on his face. His skin was soft to the touch, just like a real human. She stood there for a good 20 seconds just admiring him.

She finally snapped herself out of her daze and looked around for a manual. When she found one, she opened it. She skimmed through the pages trying to figure out the basic things. The manual mentioned that this particular android’s name was Heeseung and that he is supposed to be the oldest of the four. He’s a funny guy who’s good at practically everything and the other androids really look up to him. ‘Wow, they really have their own personalities huh…,’ (Name) thought to herself.

She continued reading.

Another important thing she read was about the LED lights. They are located on the androids’ temple surrounding their power button. Blue symbolizes that they are stable and okay, yellow means that they are thinking or concerned, and red means that they are extremely distressed. She finally looked for how to activate the android.

She put down the manual and looked at his temple, seeing a small button with a thin ring around it. (Name) held down on the button for about 3 seconds then the ring around the button flashed blue. She stepped back and waited for a few seconds. After about two seconds, the android opened his eyes. His eyes as well his LED light turned blue as he stared at her. When his eyes returned back to their normal dark color, He smiled at (Name) and introduced himself.

“Hello, my name is Heeseung. May I ask yours?” His sudden introduction startled (Name) a little, “Oh, um…yes! My name is (Name)….uh…nice to meet you…?” She replied nervously. He smiled at her and (Name) couldn’t help but notice that he had a nice smile. “It’s nice to meet you too, (Name).” Heeseung eyes turned blue again and he looked around the room. Once he was done, his eyes returned to normal and he faced (Name) again. “Sorry if I disturbed you just now. I was scanning the home so that I can memorize the layout.” He explained. “That’s fine. I understand,” (Name) said. Heeseung nodded at her.

The two stared at each other in silence. (Name) looked away awkwardly, feeling uncomfortable. After a few moments of awkward staring, (Name) spoke up again. “Uhm..so…I’m going to activate the others now…you can sit on the couch or look around or whatever else you want to do….” (Name) mumbled, unsure of what to really say. Heeseung nodded at her and sat on the couch.

(Name) walked towards the next box and opened it by pressing the button like last time. It opened and she was met with the android named Jay, as stated in his manual. (Name) looked at the android. She noticed that he was wearing the same outfit as Heeseung: a plain white tee and ripped jeans. She looked through Jay’s manual some more. It stated that he would make the perfect house husband. He was great at cooking, cleaning, and took pride in taking care of others. He was more on the sophisticated side, meaning he enjoys the finer things in life. He also held a lot of knowledge about fashion.

After (Name) was done with manual, she activated him. Jay opened his eyes as they were flashing blue and looked around the room. He looked back at (Name) and bowed introducing himself. “My name is Jay, pleasure to meet you.” (Name) replied, “It’s nice to meet you as well. And you don’t have to be so formal...” Jay nodded at her. “You can go sit on the couch with Heeseung over there.” (Name) told Jay while pointing towards Heeseung. Jay did as he was told and went to sit on the couch beside Heeseung. ‘Two more to go…’ (Name) thought to herself.

She went to the third box and opened it. This android’s name was Jake. She read his manual just like she did the others. Jake was the happy-go-lucky type. He has lots of energy and is very playful. Jake is the nicest guy anyone could ever meet. Basically an angel in android form. He’s usually obedient, but can be a huge prankster sometimes. He’s also a huge scaredy cat. He loves animals, especially dogs. He has a special love for ramyeon, same as Heeseung. (Name) finished reading and activated him. The process went the same as the other androids.

“Hi, I’m Jake! Nice to meet you!” Jake said enthusiastically. (Name) smiled at Jake and answered, “Nice to meet you too, Jake. My name is (Name).” “Wow! That’s such a pretty name!” Jake said with wide eyes. (Name) looked at him in surprise, “Oh…thank you.” ‘Wasn’t expecting a compliment right off the bat like that. He seems really sweet,’ (Name) thought to herself as Jake shook her hand. “Anyway, Jake, you can go and sit on the couch with the others if you want to.” Jake looked over to where Heeseung and Jay was and smiled widely, “Okay!”

(Name) sighed and turned to the last box. This final android was named Sunghoon. (Name) stared at him breathtakingly. He was really beautiful. She observed the moles on his face, his lashes, and his pale skin. Once she finally stopped ogling at him, she finished looking though the manual. Sunghoon was more on the shy and reserved side compared to the others, but he’s really funny and outgoing once you get to know him. He loves to tease the others and argue with them. And he also seemed to be a pretty good figure skater. Although she was unsure on why an android would need that type of programming.

(Name) put the manual away and activated Sunghoon. He did the same as the others before him then introduced himself. “Hello, I’m Sunghoon….nice to meet you.” (Name) smiled at him, finally getting used to these introductions,

“Nice to meet you too. I'm (Name)." Sunghoon nodded at her then stood completely still, just staring at her. (Name) looked at him confused, the other androids did something similar, but when he did it, it looked a little...off.

(Name) shook her head trying not to think rudely of any of them. "You can go sit on the couch with the others," (Name) told him. He seemed to snap out of whatever daze he was in and followed her orders.

Once he was seated, (Name) stood in front of them and cleared her throat. “As you already know, my name is (Name). So I guess starting from today, I’ll be your owner…”

(Name) cringed at herself, 'I can't believe I just called myself their owner,’ The androids remained silent after she introduced herself. All of the androids just stared at her blankly, not saying anything until she asked, "So…I’ll be testing you guys starting tomorrow I guess. For now, you guys can rest, explore, or whatever you want to do…and if you have any questions, please feel free to ask me."

Heeseung raised his hand. “Miss (Name). I have a question,” he said. (Name) nodded at him in acknowledgement, "Go ahead, but you don’t have to call me miss.” Heeseung nodded at (Name) and continued, “You stated that you are our owner now correct? Does that mean we’ll be following your commands?” (Name) nodded in confirmation. Heeseung nodded his head and turned toward the other androids. “You guys heard her, right?” They all looked at each other and nodded their heads. Heeseung as well as the other androids turned back to (Name).

Suddenly, everyone’s eyes and LED lights kept flashing from blue to yellow. "Um what are you guys doing...?” she asked confused. They didn't answer until they returned back to normal a few seconds later. "We are acknowledging that you are our owner," Heeseung finally answered. (Name) looked at them in confusion, "Acknowledging?” Heeseung nodded his head, "Yes. We were inputting it into our data so that we can officially recognize you as our owner.” “I see…” (Name) said even though she was still confused.

“Anyway, that’s all for today,” she told them. “If you need me just let me know.” She walked towards her bedroom and went inside.

As soon as she sat on the bed, her phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and answered immediately once she realized it was her boss. “Hello?” (Name) greeted her boss. “Hello. Did you receive the androids yet?” The woman asked. “Uh…yeah, I did.” “Excellent! How are things going so far? Are you having any issues?” She asked. “Nope, but I haven’t really interacted with them much yet,” (Name) answered.

“I see. Well, if they do act a little strange or do something that doesn’t fit their personality, don’t worry about it.” “What do you mean, ma’am…?” (Name) questioned. “Well, you know how expensive androids are…and I was offered a deal for those four and I just had to take it. The only reason they were so cheap is because they’re basically demos from a discontinued line,” the woman explained. “Demos? As in they haven’t been properly tested? And what do you mean discontinued? Is something wrong with them?” (Name) inquired further. “Don’t worry about it. Everything will be fine. That’ll be all now. I just came to check in and make sure you got them.”

(Name) thanked her and hung up the phone. After putting her phone down she decided to take a shower. She sighed as she thought about her boss’s words. ‘I hope they don’t break down or go crazy on me or something,’ She picked out some pajamas and headed to the bathroom.

———

Now feeling more refreshed after her shower, (Name) went to check on the androids. She found three of them sitting on the couch watching TV. She looked around for the one who was missing, Jay.

She walked towards Jake to ask him about Jay. "Jake?" she called out softly. He looked up at her with a smile. (Name) smiled back then continued asking him, "Where's Jay?" Jake looked around before answering. "He’s in the kitchen, master.” “Thanks…” ‘Did he just call me master..? Whatever, I’ll worry about that later,’ She thought. (Name) walked into the kitchen seeing Jay over the stove. He was cooking ramyeon. “What are you doing, Jay?” (Name) asked him. “I’m making ramyeon. It should be ready soon, mistress.”

(Name) nodded and leaned against the counter. ‘Mistress’ she thought to herself. “You don’t have to cook…I can do it myself.” Jay chuckled and said, “I’m happy to help you, mistress. Just make yourself comfortable while I finish this. I don’t mind doing this anyway.” ‘Well, his manual did say that he was good at cooking, so I guess there’s no harm in letting him do this. I guess I’ll just consider it part of his assessment,’ (Name) thought to herself as she sat on the barstool at the island, slightly taking advantage of his cooking skills.

“Jay,” (Name) started, “Can androids eat food? Sorry, I know it’s a dumb question…” Jay laughed softly and shook his head. “It’s fine. You can ask us anything you want mistress. And yes, androids can eat food but it doesn’t give us any nutrients like it does to you humans. Well…It’s not really considered eating to us anyway since we don’t have actual organs. But, we still choose to eat food to fit in more with humans, plus it’s pretty fun…if that makes sense.”

(Name) nodded her head, “That’s pretty cool. Thanks, Jay.” Jay simply smiled at her then resumed cooking. "Oh, and androids are water proof by the way. Water doesn't bother us.” (Name) frowned, “What makes you think I was going to ask that?” Jay grinned at (Name). "Nothing…" he said teasingly. “I’m kidding, mistress. I wasn’t implying anything. I just wanted to let you know.” “Alright...” (Name) replied. “I’m done, mistress,” Jay announced as he brought out five bowls and placed each on the table.

“Boys, dinner is ready!” The three other androids who had been in the living room got up and headed to the table. They all stood around the table while Jay brought the ramyeon pot along with some rice. (Name) got up from the island and went to the table as well. She took a seat near the end of the table. As soon as she sat down, Jake rushed to sit beside her. When Jay saw what he was doing, he shook his head disapprovingly and scolded him. Jake ignored him and instead proceeded to get some ramyeon.

Everyone else did the same and filled their bowls with ramyeon and rice and began to eat. “You really made my favorite ramyeon…did I tell you that you’re my favorite Jay?” Heeseung joked. Jay chuckled and went back to eating his food. “Thank you for cooking tonight, Jay. This seriously tastes delicious,” (Name) said happily. “No problem mistress. I’m just glad you enjoyed it,” Jay replied.

(Name) stared at the androids for a bit, almost forgetting they were androids for a moment. They seemed so normal…so human…making jokes and interacting with each other as if they were just regular friends.

After dinner, everyone put their dishes into the sink and headed to the living room. “So, you wanna play some games?” (Name) suggested.

———

Everyone sat in a circle in the living room paying UNO. The only two left in the game were Heeseung and (Name). The others watched the two play. "Uno!” Heeseung yelled as he was finally down to his last card. (Name) frowned upon his action, knowing that she might end up losing since she still had 5 cards left.

She played a card and hoped that it wouldn’t lead Heeseung to his victory. Heeseung groaned when he saw the card (Name) laid down. (Name) chuckled, feeling like her chances of winning has gone up. She watched as Heeseung went to draw a card but just as he did, he placed down his both his new and current card and exclaimed, “Uno, game!” Darn those stack rules…

“Ugh, I can’t believe I lost again…” (Name) groaned. “Sorry miss,” Heeseung laughed. The others laughed as well. (Name) got up and stretched, “Well, since Jay lost the most rounds, you have to clean the dishes,” she smiled at him as he glared at her. “This seems a little unfair, mistress…” (Name) laughed, “Don’t complain when you’re the one who suggested that bet to begin with.”

Jay sighed and made his way to the kitchen. (Name) sat on the couch with the other androids following after her. Heeseung sat on her left and Jake on her right with Sunghoon on the single chair. (Name) turned on the TV and flipped through channels until she landed on a comedy movie that had already begun. They all watched the movie together silently.

Once Jay was done with the dishes, he joined them on the couch in watching the movie. “Quick question, do you guys need sleep? Like do you get tired? Or do you not sleep at all?” (Name) suddenly asked. “We don’t need to sleep. We do require a recharge, however, which I guess is equivalent to resting or sleeping,” Jay answers her. “Oh, I did read something about android charging…I think your chargers are still in the box somewhere…I’ll get them for you guys,” She says before getting up from the couch and walking away.

She walked towards the boxes they came in and got a charger for each. It looked like a regular phone charger except the block part was much larger. She placed their charges on the floor in front of them, “I’ll leave your charges here for when you need them.” She began to walk past the couch then stopped, “I’m going to go to bed now. I have two extra bedrooms so you guys can stay in whichever one you want. Well, goodnight everyone.”

Jake got up off the couch and said, “Wait, master…can you tuck me in…?” Jay punched him in the shoulder, “Did you seriously just ask that you weirdo?!” Jake rubbed his shoulder and pouted, “Sorry, master…I thought that it was normal to tuck someone into bed…”

‘Oh, no! He’s pouting, did that really make him upset? Wait, no, they’re androids so they don’t feel anything. But wow, he looks so cute when he’s pouting…How could I say no that face and adorably plush lips?!’ (Name) thought to herself. She walked towards Jake and calmly placed a hand on his shoulder, “Don’t worry, Jake. I don’t mind tucking you in if that’s what you want. It’s just that people who ask to get tucked in are usually kids, you know.” “So I can’t?” Jake pouted. (Name) smiled at him, “Nah, it’s okay Jake. I’ll tuck you in tonight.” “Thank you, master!” Jake said happily.

“So, does anyone else want to get tucked into bed tonight? ” (Name) asked as she stood next to Jake. The androids all looked at each other. “Well, it’d be embarrassing if Jake was the only one…” Jay said while looking away. (Name) giggled at Jay’s comment. Heeseung wrapped an arm around Jay’s shoulder and grinned, “Well if Jay’s doing it then I will to. What about you Sunghoon?” Sunghoon merely shrugged.

“Well, come on then and don’t forget to bring your chargers,” (Name) said as she led them to the first bedroom. “Who wants this room?” She asked as she opened the door. Jake and Jay raised their hands at the same time. "Sorry, but this room only has one bed though so you’ll have to share,” (Name) told Jake and Jay. Jake shrugged, "That’s fine.” Jay nodded his head in agreement.

“By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask, why do you guys call me that: master, miss, mistress?” (Name) questioned. “It’s just the way we’re programmed. We can’t call our owner by their name,” Jake answered. “Can you guys control it?” (Name) asked curiously. “Nope. But, I don’t mind it. You get so flustered when we call you those things…it’s really cute,” Jake said while winking. ‘What the?! The manual said that he was cute and basically an angel! This isn’t very holy of him!’ (Name) thought to herself as she felt her cheeks heating up. ‘But the boss did say they might not act as their designed personality…no, I’m overthinking this,’ she thought once more.

She cleared her throat, “Just go to bed already, I’m tired.” “Okay, okay, sorry, master. But you still have to tuck us in,” Jake teased. (Name) sighed. “Plug your chargers in,” she told them. Jake and Jay did as told and plug their chargers into the outlet near the bed. “You can get in the bed now,” (Name) told them. Jake crawled into the bed with Jay following after. (Name) pulled the covers up to their chin. “Goodnight guys…” She smiled as she gave them a pat on the head before plugging the charger into the port on the back of their necks. “Night mistress...thank you for tonight,” Jay said. “Goodnight master,” Jake said.

(Name) nodded before holding their power button, watching them close their eyes as they powered off. (Name) walked out of the room and turned off the light, motioning for Sunghoon and Heeseung to follow her. Once she closed the door behind them, she went across the hall to another bedroom. This one had two beds this time. She gestured for the two to take a bed. They obliged and each climbed into their own bed after plugging in their chargers.

(Name) went to Heeseung first and wished him a goodnight. “Goodnight, miss,” Heeseung replied. She plugged the charger into the back of his neck and powered him off. (Name) then turned to Sunghoon and wished him a good night although he didn’t respond and chose to just close his eyes instead. She plugged the charger into the back of his neck as well and powered him off.

The Mystery of Jennifer Fergate.

On May 31, 1995, a woman under the name of Jennifer Fergate checked into the Oslo Plaza Hotel in Norway. She was given room 2805. She payed in cash and did not show any ID. She did give the hotel staff some information. She said to be 21 years old and came from Belgium.

Originally she also checked in a Lois Fergate into the same room as hers. Nobody had seen another woman with Jennifer but an employee said he saw a man with her. This man remains unidentified.

During her stay, Jennifer was absent from her room for the next 2 days. When the cleaning staff checked her room, everything was clean.

On June 2, Jennifer extended her stay until the following Sunday. A member of staff saw Jennifer enter her room, where she put a ‘do not disturb’ sign on the door. The sign stayed on the door until the next day, which alarmed the employees of the hotel. There were 3 attempts to get in contact with her by the staff, it is confirmed the messages were read but not answered.

A hotel security guard gets called to check on her room. When the hotel security knock on the door of room 2805 he immediately hears a gunshot inside. The room is left unattended until the evening. When the security guard checks again, he finds Jennifer on her bed inside the dark room. He couldn’t get a response from her and called the police.

The police arrived half an hour later, to find Jennifer dead on her hotel bed. She had a single gunshot wound in her forehead.  

Blood was found all around and up to the ceiling. She did not have any blood on her own hands. A second shot was found through a pillow and mattress.

There was nothing to suggest who this woman truly was. There was no identification in her room and all the tags were removed of her clothing. The only personal belonging found was a man’s perfume.

It was determined that she was around 30 years of age, not 21. She had also eaten her room service the day she died, even though she ordered her room service 24 hours earlier.  

The only things sure was, that her name was not Jennifer Fergate.

The was only one possible suspect, a man that was being called Mister. F. He was in the room right across from Jennifer’s. The man was said to be from Belgium and checked into the hotel on June 2. Mister. F. had told authorities that he had been told that Jennifer was dead right before she was found dead. Before he could be questioned he had checked out.

In my home town, yesterday it was revealed a boy had gone missing on a night out and hadn’t come home. He’d been seen outside a night club with some boys (don’t deserve the title men) trying to fight with him. His family were appealing for information and there were massive search parties. Things like this don’t happen in my town. It’s quite quiet, especially the part where it happened is the posh area. It’s a massive shock to my whole community that he even went missing.

This afternoon they found a body in the river. Although it hasn’t been confirmed it’s looking more and more likely it’s his body. I am in total and utter shock. I didn’t know the boy but I can’t believe someone has been murdered in my little town I thought was so safe. I am sending all my love to his family and praying he’s found safe and it’s not his body but it doesn’t look like this will be the case :(

This case has particularly touched my heart as both my brothers have been subjected to violence on nights out in my town, a different part but nevertheless. One of them was stabbed in the hand (could’ve been a lot worse if he didn’t put his hand out to defend himself) and the other was beaten up and mugged by a man who tried to hurt his girlfriend.

I am now more than ever so so so fucking glad they’re okay. It could’ve been my family trying to find their bodies. I have sent them both a message tonight to stay safe and that I love them. It’s hard because we all live in different places for uni and work. All I want to do is go home and hug them tight.