The year is 2141; man and machine have become one. Some have benefited from such a transformation, prolonging life with mechanical hearts and lungs, but some malfunction. Parts have become scarce and expensive, jobs have even been replaced completely by robots, mostly for law enforcement and security, as they aim at perfection to try and keep the streets clean and safe, but Brendon was only concerned with one thing: the truth.
On the outside, it just looked like any other ordinary club. However, underneath lay many secrets, exchanges of information, drugs, and programs being made, but there was something else going on behind the scenes. It wasn't exactly apparent for everyone, but Brendon knew there was something.
Brendon entered the club in search of what he hoped would be an answer to all his questions.
"I am model number B87CQHD-45-JJHFKLU6HS-45-FQ-24-68-93-B. I weigh 986 pounds and have the strength of 5,000 pounds of pressure. Please do not cause trouble. Please be nice to others. Please be respectful of our staff. Please do not make me angry as I will cut your throat and rip out your heart. Thank-you, and please enjoy your stay at our fine establishment."
Android Bouncers. Brendon couldn't stand them. Most establishments in this part of town still used one of the first AI chip implanted models. It was older technology and sometimes their way of talking or describing things just sounded dumb, but even so, they still proved to be effective.
Some technology, however, has become so advanced that most are unable to tell which are humans, which are androids, and which are cyborgs. Brendon was usually good at spotting them, though. He had immediately spotted a hybrid as one of the female dancers on stage.
Brendon began looking for his contact from whom he was to retrieve his information. Moving through the crowded dance floor, he spotted her, from the distance, looking directly at him. When he finally got to her, before he was able to say anything, she took his hand and placed her other hand around his waist. "Dance," she said softly.
After a few moments of silence, Brendon started to feel confused. He wasn't sure how the information was to be exchanged. "How does this work exactly? Is there something I need to do?" Brendon asked looking into her eyes. One way of spotting androids are their eyes. They have very thin black rings in their irises and Brendon knew that she was one. Yet he had never seen one with such detail, even had blemishes, and the way she looked at him, made him want to believe she was real.
"That's not very polite. Aren't you going to ask my name?" She seemed so genuine with the words she spoke. Brendon was a bit puzzled and decided to just ask rather than drag this out.
"Ok, with whom do I have the pleasure of this dance?" She looked at him and cracked a half smile, "Zoe." Brendon almost felt as though she was playing games with him, yet he kept his patience and went along with it. "Well Zoe, you have something for me?" Her half smile turned into a full smile. She brought her lips to his ear and whispered, "All you have to do is kiss me." Things were starting to get interesting, Brendon thought. "I'm not sure I understand."
Zoe set her eyes on his. "Sshhh. People are watching," she said as she eyed in a direction behind him. He slowly turned their dance so he could face near the front door. He saw a man sitting at one of the booths by the door, wearing a light brown trench coat, sun glasses and a fedora. "You talking about Inspector Gadget over there?" "He's a dangerous man," she said. "And he knows why you're here. I have to get you out of here and there's not much time to explain so..."
Brendon's patience had run out. Before she could finish her sentence, he forcefully placed his lips on hers and kissed. She had not seemed surprised, almost like she was expecting it.
At first, Brendon didn't seem to notice that anything was happening, but then he started feeling a kind of tingling sensation on his lips. He was startled and started to pull back, but she grabbed the back of his neck and, with the strength of her mechanical hand, pushed his head forward back to her lips. Brendon began to feel what seemed like a gravitational force, almost as if locking their lips together, and then it happened. Like a jolt of electricity, Brendon felt a surge pass through his body and into his head. Flashes of images and various sounds were scrambled through Brendon's mind, like a surge of data had just streamed to his brain. Eventually it began to feel like too much, and Brendon could feel a pounding in his head, almost like it was the echo of his heartbeat. He frantically tried to pull away, but it was as though he was paralyzed, or as if he was being controlled. Then, there was nothing. Everything went away, there was no pain, no sound. Everything was dead quit.
Brendon opened his eyes to find himself face down in the back of an alley. It was morning, sun shining bright. A gust of wind whirled around him, carrying dust from the streets into the alley. Brendon slowly got up, placing his hand on his head, trying to remember everything that had happened that previous night, yet he was unable to recall any details. As Brendon got up, he noticed a small piece of paper that was crumpled in his hand. Not knowing whether he had put it there himself, or if it were someone else, he held up the paper to reveal the following name and an address.
Dr. Edward Elingston
185 Braxton Ln.
Sector 17 Hub 5
Neither the name nor address was familiar to him. Brendon looked up at the sky and took a moment to think of what his next move would be.
