Thanks very much, glad you liked it.

Thanks very much. There's still room for continuation- feel free to jump in.

An impressive chapter. 4 stars.

Thanks very much. I quilted it from a 7000-word well of a project from '97 and '98. I was impressed with it back then, but not so much this year.
I haven't considered continuation; perhaps you'd like a crack at it?

Many thanks to both of you! An_D, I felt exactly the same while preparing to write this, and even more so just before publishing. Please pursue that notion of continuation.

Great work. Your multiple springboards for continuation exemplify SM's aim. 4 stars and applause.

2.5 stars. The problems with spelling and punctuation persist, as does the timeframe issue. If several chapters will be devoted to the production of the android, then the first paragraph of Chapter 1 should have been longer- in fact, it should have been the end of the chapter.
Your haughty dialogue of before has given way to a well-acquainted sarcasm that is far too often (and many times, unknowingly,) applied by writers to ALL of their characters.

I can assure you, I've been guilty of it, too.

Hmm... The clockworks. That's a great subplot that you've unfortunately wrapped up in one brief paragraph. I would've loved to read four to five chapters, just devoted to clockwork heists. You would've had another opportunity to introduce new characters: law enforcement officials, rich members of society, black market suppliers of... I don't know, robbery supplies? Stuff like that.

Finally: realistically speaking, six weeks is far too soon for the development of a working endoskeleton. (I'm guessing that you meant endoskeleton.) Initial drawings could've been ready, maybe, but Simonson should've still been spending exhaustingly tedious nights awake in his laboratory, solving problems of robotic engineering.

I'm assuming, of course, that you prefer for this story to proceed for more than only a few chapters. I could be way off base, and misunderstanding your intentions.

Oh well. It is, after all, a workshop site and now you have my advice. I hope you continue with this.

Welcome, clockworkgirl. I cast a vote of 3 stars for this- to be clear, for the plot.
Your execution, however, needs some fine tuning: There are a few errors in spelling and punctuation, and you've included some unncessary dialogue tags. The introduction promises results "tonight," but you conclude the chapter in the past. Finally, it's a bit short. Also, the ending paragraph seems a little rushed. If I were Simonson (or Evens, for that matter,), having just made this exciting wager with my colleague and friend, I wouldn't feel inclined toward social avoidance. Their deal-striking exchange said nothing to me, as the reader, of hostility or even civilized contempt.
It might have helped to have one (or a few,) of the other silently attending colleagues chime in with their two cents, thereby allowing either a later appearance or even a bit of prematurely served red herring. Just an opinion...

I want to reiterate the fact that I really like the plot! I also enjoy the vague setting of time. Might be the future, or maybe not. Please continue; welcome again.

Greetings, SB. Welcome to SM!
Fictional Midnight is a good title, and the idea of beginning the story this far into Betsey's life and career is good as well- it allows for revealing flashbacks in later chapters (if that's the way you're going to go,).

However, this chapter is a bit short. Also, its density of optimism makes me, as a reader, wonder when the other shoe will fall. Now, I'm not necessarily a fan of tragedy and heartache, but a little bit makes for better writing (and reading,) than none at all. To elaborate: If her career takes off here and only gets better throughout the entire story, then you've wrapped the entire thing up in one brief chapter. However, if this were approached a la Camus, making this episode the absolute high point in Betsey's life and career and then proceeding from bad to worse to oblivion (and perhaps even beyond that!), then your readers will keep tuning in, infested with a fear that her newest adventure will be her last, or else even worse than they might imagine for her.

Call me dark, I guess.
Please do continue this- I'm fascinated with music industry stories, and I'm sure I'm not alone. I didn't vote on this chapter, but I shall vote on future ones, should you continue.

Welcome again!

Thanks! Great responses. I'm really pleased. Now spread the word! Trendsetting is not my forte. I just want to inform people. You, the SM pillars, can do that! Your methods of information circulation outreach my own. If asked, feel free to say, "InEnn showed me." Otherwise, no hard feelings will be harbored for seized credit.