“I’m gonna beg you for the last time...please, please don’t do this.” Isis sipped on acid juice and watched her younger sister get ready to leave, worried about her safety.
“I’ll be in disguise the entire time, they’ll think I’m one of them.” Cindi straightened the wires in her brain, screwed her chromium watch tighter on her wrist, and fixed her synthetic pompadour hairstyle. “I wanna see what it’s like to be in their shoes for a day.”
“What about if people want to shake hands with you? They’ll be able to tell that you’re not a Human. Their hands are soft.”
Cindi sighed and looked over at her sister. “Isis, will you quit worrying? Nothing’s gonna happen to me! I need my daily dose of adventure, you know that.”
Isis slammed her cup down and crossed her arms. “Fine. Don’t come to me if you get dragged to the Star Commission. If you want to be stupid, that’s your problem.”
Cindi really wished that her older sister would see eye-to-eye with her on certain things. Isis was the careful type, not very adventurous. Part of it was that she witnessed both of their parents disassembled right in front of her, and since then she’s been fearful of something happening to her or her younger sister. Cindi was created right when her parents “died”, so she didn’t remember much about the event.
“Look, I promise I’ll be careful. I don’t know what’s willing me to do this, but I just have to go. I’m sick of the same boring routine. Android academy, then home. It’s the same thing all the time. I know that this will be a Humans-only party, and I understand the consequences if I happen to get caught. But how many times have I done something daring and gotten away with it? This won’t be any different, Isis.” She pressed her transition button on the side of her head, and her Human appearance took over. She was the only Android who was able to do this. Most transition buttons on the others were for going into rest mode and awakening. Cindi’s button operated for the same purpose, but while being created there was a glitch accidentally embedded in her system, and one day she figured out how to go in disguise as a Human.
“Don’t always rely on sheer luck, because sometimes it doesn’t come in when it needs to.” Isis went into her room and closed the door.
Cindi sighed, then turned around and left. She was a little nervous about doing something like this, but her curiosity of the Human environment was eating away at her. She was about to get a taste of the high life, the dream that everyone, Human and Android, wished for. There were Humans in certain sectors of Metropolis that were poor, believe it or not. Not even they knew what it was like to go to an exquisite ball such as this one.
She noticed the change in scenery after walking a few blocks. The usual glimmering skyscrapers began to get more and more formal. Guards were strolling around the streets, most likely looking for any Androids to arrest. Cindi stayed alert, careful to walk the way Humans did. She swayed her shoulders and relaxed more, smiled at passersby, and made sure to have the utmost confidence.
In the distance was Queen Regina’s mansion, decorated with ribbons and lights. Her stainless steel heart beat faster each step that she got closer to it, and once she was in line to walk in, she almost felt like giving up...but she stayed anyways. She didn’t get this fancied up for nothing.
“Name?” The guard at the front door asked Cindi.
“Mary Everluck.” She often used her pen name when in disguise. “If I’m not on the list it’s probably because the queen asked me personally to come.”
“I doubt that,” said the guard and raised his eyebrow.
“Oh, do you? Would you like me to complain to the queen about how you denied her distant cousin entrance?”
“Oh, no no. Sorry about the trouble, miss. Go right in.” He let her pass, his head down the entire time.
That was easy. For a minute, Cindi was appalled by the beauty of the queen’s mansion. The place was decorated head to toe. She was the only female in the room with a tuxedo, but she didn’t mind. In a way, she liked the glances people gave her. For an Android and given the circumstances, she was very bold.
For the first twenty minutes, she watched as people talked about Human-like things. She kept herself hidden, away from the attention. The champagne, the calamari fritters, the mini-sandwiches all looked so wonderful, but her machinery could not digest Human foods or drinks or she would break down. Suddenly, a man walked up to her and asked for her name.
“Mary. What’s yours?”
“Anthony Greendown. My father Frederick works for the Human Gentrification Alliance.”
This man’s father was responsible for sending away Androids to live in the poorer sectors of Metropolis. Cindi already didn’t like him. “Sounds interesting. Are you enjoying yourself tonight, Sir Anthony?”
“I am indeed, now that I’ve seen you.” He cleared his throat and sipped more from his champagne glass before speaking again. “I couldn’t help but notice you from the moment you walked in.”
Cindi smiled. She wasn’t in the least attracted to this man, but she played along with it. “Thank you, you’re pretty handsome yourself.”
“What Sector do you hail from, Lady Mary?”
Most Androids resided in Sectors Fourteen and Fifteen. She couldn’t tell Anthony where she really lived. “Eight.”
“Ah, I’m from Sector Nine. “
The lights suddenly turned down low, and Cindi became a little afraid. “What’s going on?"
“Not sure. I guess we will see..."
Bright, flourescent lights turned on over a large stage, and Queen Regina walked out smiling. The crowd instantly applauded her. “Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I hope you all are enjoying the festivities. Now, we have a very special guest for you all tonight. Sir Michael Jackson, all the way from Sector Three! Give him a round of applause, everyone!” The queen hurried off the stage, and it was about a minute or two before someone else came on.
“Oh god, not this guy again..." Anthony mumbled. “He thinks he’s so cool."
As soon as Michael appeared on the stage, Cindi paused in her tracks. She watched as he walked to the microphone. The way he sang and moved his body...the way his long dark curls surrounded his face like a lion’s mane did something to her that she never felt before. She was an Android with as much feelings as any Human, but this sensation she felt...it wasn’t anything she’d experienced before seeing Michael. He’s beautiful.
The performance was over. For Cindi, it was way too soon. She wanted to keep watching him, but he blew a kiss out to the crowd, and that was it. He was gone. And from that moment on, Cindi only had one thing on her agenda. She knew she’d come here for a reason, but at first she wasn’t sure what it was, but now she did. “I must meet him."