#x-009

"i’m okay. i’m fine. it’s okay. i’m good." - Tynan, for any muse of yours you want to write.

For the first time that X-009 could remember, he was powered on. Of course, he had been through the basic tests to assure he had no malfunctions, but all of that memory has been wiped clean from his memory bank.

Geo had never left the house before without a task. He was nervous. Even knowing he was one of a kind in his looks, being custom built, that didn't rid him of any fear of being found out.

His owners would be gone for a few days, a supposed romantic getaway. No androids are allowed at their destination. He would be completely alone. It means he had the perfect opportunity to surprise Max on Valentines Day no less!

He dressed nicely, but not too nice, not wanting to stand out. He put on his best button-up shirt, cardigan, slacks, and shoes. He adjusted his tie as he waited, hoping Max would answer soon.

As always, Geo had timed everything just right. He was just finishing up plating dinner for Wyatt as he walked in the door. There would be no reheating food leftover from the girls' dinners if he could help it. His user would have his food cooked fresh. Tonight the android had made his user's favorite. He set the plate down with gentle hands at the dinner table before moving to greet his user.

"Welcome home, Sir. The girls have been fed, seen to their nightly routines, and put to bed. All of Miss Rachel's homework is complete and I have checked her work. I hardly had to make any corrections. She is proving just to be just as intelligent as her father these days." The android offered a warm smile.

If Geo had thought the idea of being recycled was terrifying, where he ended up was worse. He had only heard of flesh fairs in passing, but he never thought he would see one in person, much less become a part of the line up for the show of carnage. He thought he would be smart enough to avoid them, but he wasn't prepared for how skilled the collectors were. They had large magnets that had made it impossible to run- He couldn't hide. They had found him and many others.

No matter how much he had begged to be let go, it had fallen on deaf ears. He wasn't alive to them- to any of them. It was just a farce of emotions. zeros and ones.

The android pressed his face between the bars, eyes darting around, looking desperately for anyone who could help him, or rather, anyone who would be willing to. His hands gripped the bars on either side of his head rather tightly, as if it would stop them from pulling him away when it would be his time to go on. He knew he was barking up the wrong tree but he had to try. "Please! Somebody help me! I-I must go! I don't want to be terminated!"

They ignored him for the most part, aside from the few who stopped to laugh, throwing their empty beer cans at his head. Geo's face fell, nearly ready to accept his fate- that was until he saw Mr. Grimaldi. What was he doing here? Was he really here to watch this death and destruction? He wasn't too hopeful, but he still had the smallest glimmer that the familiarity they shared might just help his cause. They had had some fun together at those parties, had they not? He had made him laugh! That had to be worth something. He had to try to appeal to him.

William had not been out on his own very long. Only just before the end of the revolution. He did not quite understand it all, considering his more or less sheltered life with the couple who had owned him before he escaped. They were going to rid themselves of him after all. Every possible outcome with them ended in him being taken apart. He had no choice but to run.

He found his luck was not much better out in the world. The first few days he had been shot at. Other days since the laws had been put into place, he was greeted by dirty looks and unkind words by humans. What had he done? He had nothing to do with the revolution, although he was a product of it, he supposed.

Now he found himself huddled on the ground with his arms shielding his face. It appeared some humans did not care much for the law and did what they pleased. They would not stop despite his pleas and bargaining. He could not appeal to them.

There was sound before the rest of his system came online. Voices the A.I. did not recognize. Had he made it to the other side of the portal? Had they brought him back? ‘We don’t know where the damn thing is from. There’s no idea what it’s used to seeing. We don’t need the thing short circuiting again. - Myer’s get in here before it wakes up!’

His memories coming back online, flashes here and there of a laboratory he did not know. Something large and red? Something more fish like? How curious. He was not positive he was seeing anything in the order of which it occurred. Bright lights, humans working. Online. Offline. Over and over. Now online again.

The A.I. opened his eyes as he finished his sequencing. This room looked very much like a library, he thought. He tilted his head at a movement that caught his focus. A human.

William had the distinct sense that he was being followed. While the androids may have won the revolution, there was still a long ways to go. Not every human agreed with the new protections set into motion. It was still only the beginning for all androids.

He quickly took note of the area, assessing which would be the safest place to take cover, to lose them. A bookstore seemed the most logical place to hide. Why would an android hide there when downloadable knowledge was at his fingertips? Or, that’s how he hoped the humans would think.

He quietly slipped inside, careful that the door closed quietly behind him. Without even turning around, hands behind his back, he turned the lock. If they thought the place was closed, all the better. He turned the sign to closed and kept just out of view from the outside.