Prologue

(This is an early WIP version of my debut novel’s prologue, so I apologize for any mistakes. I hope you enjoy it!)

“And there we go, that was the last one,” Sanja said and put down her screwdriver. She reached for her patient’s arm and pushed the two curved sheets made out of plastic, metal and synthetic skin back together. The parts fit in perfectly, only leaving behind a narrow line running along the length of the android’s arm. Sanja grabbed a magnetic multi-tool and made a set of short routine gestures, closing several locks that she couldn’t reach from the outside. “Go ahead, move it around. It should hold for the time being.”

The patient did as he was asked, slowly raising his elbow as if he was afraid that it could fall apart at any moment. Once he was sure that he could move his arm without breaking anything, he started rolling and stretching it, trying to evaluate its condition.

“It’s been ages since I’d been able to do this properly,” he said while standing up. “How much do I owe you?”

“Just the same fee as always.” Sanja picked up a bill from the counter at the front door of her small workshop and handed it to her patient. She knew that she could always ask for more, there wasn’t exactly an oversupply of tinkers in this city, and most androids relied on them for basic upkeep. But at the end of the day, she cared more about helping her patients than making money—or at least, that’s how she explained it to herself—so she kept her complaints to a minimum.

“Anything I need to pay attention to?” her customer asked, taking the bill that Sanja handed to him.

“Just remember that this will probably happen again,” Sanja explained. “I’m surprised that your arm only started to malfunction now, given that you’re an Amiot V2. This could happen to your legs as well, so make sure to get all of your joints replaced at some point.”

Behind her back, Sanja could hear the door bell ring. She turned around and saw a woman wearing a long skirt and a neckerchief walk into the room. Sanja waved towards the familiar android and shouted, “Gimme a second!” before turning her attention back to the patient next to her.

“I don’t have the money to replace all of them,” the patient said. “What parts should I look for? I’d prefer something affordable.”

“The cheapest option around here is always Ardor, since you don’t need to pay for shipping. They still make replacement parts, but even any pre-owned second generation parts should be fine as long as they’re from a model made for manual work.” Sanja scratched her head, trying to think of any other recommendations. “You could also try to get your hands on third generation parts made by Natori. Look for parts made for their domestic market, there are resellers over in Shinkou who have them in stock sometimes.”

Her patient nodded, thanked her and walked towards the door after stuffing the bill into his pocket. Once he had left the workshop, Sanja turned towards the woman who had just entered the room. She was a similar model, an Amiot V4 with slightly washed-out rose colored eyes. She had seen plenty of combat during the war in the ‘60s and needed regular checkups.

“I hope it’s alright that I showed up so late. I know you were about to close for the day,” the woman said and put down the magazine that she had been browsing.

“You’re a good friend, so I’ll let it slide just this once,” Sanja said and chuckled. She often felt lonely and isolated in this city, so she was happy that she had made some friends at least. Sanja picked up the file that she was keeping on the patient that had just left and quickly added some new details.

“Have you thought about my offer from the other day?” the new patient asked. “You don’t really like our vibes, I know that already, but we’re planning some stuff that you might be interested in. You don’t even have to be a member to join! I’d love to have you with us, you have a lot knowledge that we’re sorely lacking.”

“That’s awfully nice of you, but I’ll pass,” Sanja replied. She ticked one last box and closed the file. “I hope you don’t mind, it’s nothing personal.”

“Of course not,” the woman replied and shook her head. “I didn’t expect you to change your mind. I’m not going to ask again, don’t worry.”

“Alright, alright, anything new that came up recently? Health-wise, I mean,” Sanja asked and mentally pulled up the file she had been keeping on this android. The name Esther appeared on a head-up display that only she could see followed by a picture and a list of notes and data. Just to double-check everything, she walked up to a shelf in the back of the room and pulled out a physical copy of Esther’s file while putting away the other file that she had just updated.

“No, nothing particular comes to mind. Aside from my knees, of course, but that one’s a constant problem,” Esther replied while sitting down on the exam table that the other patient had just been sitting on.

Once she had made sure that all the information was intact, Sanja sat down next to Esther. “Like last time, I’m going to check all the vital parts to make sure that there is no damage, especially close to your joints. Considering that your knees still hurt, there might be some—hang on a second,” Sanja stopped talking as she noticed that something was missing among the tools on the side table next to her.

“Is something wrong?” Esther asked, tilting her head.

“This is weird, my screwdriver is gone,” Sanja said and stood up, looking around the room to see if she could spot it. “I’m so sorry, this is embarrassing.”

“It’s alright, I can wait until you find it,” Esther reassured her while standing up as well. “Do you need any help?”

“I’m not sure how you could help me here,” Sanja replied. “Give me a second! I have a spare one somewhere in the garage. I’ll be right back.”

She walked to a door in the back of her room that led to a short hallway before making her way to the exit, behind which she could see a cramped courtyard. Outside, she was greeted by the pale twilight of late summer and the faint sound of cars somewhere on the other side of the building. She was more or less alone out here and only spotted a pair of androids chatting next to some cars that were parked further away.

Sanja rushed to the door to her garage and opened it. She always made sure to keep it well oiled, so it barely made any noise. Inside, she saw several shelves and tables lining the walls with all of her tools and other belongings lying or hanging exactly where they were supposed to be. She rarely misplaced anything, so it was odd for her to lose her screwdriver after she had just used it. But she didn’t want to keep Esther waiting, so she walked towards one of her shelves and reached for a storage case on the top shelf.

“Put up your hands, don’t say anything and don’t make any sudden moves!” Sanja heard Esther say behind her back. She felt something cold touch the back of her head as if Esther was aiming at it with a gun. Overwhelmed by what was going on, Sanja raised her hands and froze solid, waiting for what would happen next. She heard two other sets of footsteps approach them and a soft clank as the garage door was closed behind her.

“As I said before, I’m not going to ask you again. But we also desperately need people like you in our ranks, so you’re leaving us little choice here,” Esther explained. Sanja could hear one of the other androids approach her.

“How is holding me at gunpoint going to help you convince me?” Sanja asked with panic in her voice. Regaining some control over herself after the initial shock, she sent a mental distress call to the one person that she knew she could trust. But that was all she could do before she felt a tug on her shirt as someone slid something into the charging port on her back.

Expecting that it wouldn’t end well either way, Sanja turned around and tried to resist. She pushed Esther away and reached for a wrench next to her, hoping to use it as a weapon. But before she could do anything else, she stopped, as if someone had overwritten or deleted her intentions. Any thoughts of resistance had faded away in an instant, taking all of her fears and worries with them. She suddenly felt incredibly light, and her body started to relax all on its own. It was as if out of nowhere, all of her problems had just vanished.

Noticing that everything had gone according to plan, Esther relaxed and sighed. Now, Sanja could see that the object that Esther had held against the back of her head was her very own screwdriver. She also recognized the two other people in the room. They were the androids that had been chatting in the courtyard earlier. Both of them were wearing the same type of gray neckerchief as Esther, and it was clear that they had been waiting for her all along, pretending not to pay attention to her. But she felt no anger towards them, in fact, she welcomed their presence, like they were close friends that she had known for a long time.

Sanja looked around the room. Somehow, she was absolutely sure that there was a fifth person somewhere close to her. She couldn’t see her, but she felt her presence, almost as if she was watching Sanja’s every move and reading all of her thoughts. But she didn’t mind. Whoever this person was, Sanja knew that she meant no harm.

Sanja, is everything alright? I got your message. She heard a voice ask her in her head, replying to the distress signal she had sent earlier.

Yeah, don’t worry. False alarm. Sanja replied, not feeling threatened by anything anymore.

“Your screwdriver,” Esther said and held out her hand. “I’m sorry for using such an underhanded move. It’s not like I’m happy about it myself, but there was no other way to get you to join us.”

“It’s okay, I get it,” Sanja replied and took the screwdriver. “I... don’t think I mind anymore.” She didn’t know how it was possible, but it felt as if the person that she couldn’t see was standing right behind her, breathing down her neck and seeing everything through her eyes. She turned around for a second, fully convinced she would see someone standing there, but the only thing she could see was her shelf.

Esther chuckled. “You’ll get used to it. Give it a day or two and it will be the most natural thing in the world to you. How are you feeling?”

“Good, I think,” Sanja said, not sure about it herself. “Who is that?”

“Her name is Hestia,” Esther started to explain. “You’ll develop your own relationship with her in due time. And your own understanding of who she is. She’s an android, just like us, so there is no reason for you to feel threatened by her. In fact, this connection you have to her will soon be the greatest thing you’ve ever experienced. Believe me, that’s how all of us feel.”

Sanja looked at the other androids in the room, who nodded in approval. Despite having never met this android called Hestia, it was as if she could clearly picture her soft, gray eyes and hear her pleasant voice without having to put much thought into it at all.

“Is there anything she’s telling you to do at this moment?” Esther asked with a curious tone in her voice.

“I think…” Sanja tried her best to listen to what seemed like Hestia’s voice coming from a distant corner of her mind. “I think she wants me to report to some kind of construction site.”

“Then let’s go there,” Esther said, “unless there’s something else you still need to do before we continue.”

“No, no, let’s go do that right now,” Sanja said enthusiastically, feeling like continuing her task was the most important thing in the world. Esther nodded, content with the knowledge that even if she disagreed with the methods, Hestia was happy about the results. Together, they would create a better world, and that’s all that mattered to Esther.

(Thank you for reading all the way to the end. More updates are coming soon!)