Hiding in the rain
(Media prompt)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucFxJ0RGGbQ
Image: The Girl.
Artist: Rutger van de Steeg.
(Contact: info@rutgervds.com)
Music: Atmolifter – Time Deviation
Youtube Channel: SpaceAmbient
I'm going to write a sci-fi scene (not necessarily a complete story) based on the music and image in this particular youtube video.
The reason I like synthwave so much is that its atmosphere inspires me to write; it allows me to place myself in a world of my imagination – or in this case, the world depicted in the sci-fi art background.
As usual, I'm going to use the setting for my novel: New Hong Kong, planet Midoria.
Here goes!
The girl finished climbing the metal stairs and got to the last roofed floor in the abandoned construction. Behind her was a dual-side flat screen ad in Hiragana, visible to both the building and the city buildings behind.
She was fortunate that the ad was blue; red light didn't pass well through the waterdrops. It was pouring that night.
“Are we safe?” she asked.
“We are safe”, replied the security drone she had hacked, as it hovered close to her and scanned her back for any hidden transmitters.
“What about the cops?”
“They just believed you were human. The fact that your master was involved in a forced prostitution ring played in your favor.”
“So they didn't suspect?”
“Improbable,” replied the drone. “Your master would have had trouble if he ever admitted to paint your skin to hide the fact that you were an android. Then the cyberpol would be involved.”
The girl was fortunate to have been manufactured with advanced computer interfacing programs. The drone was independent from her, so she shared a small percent of her processing power with the drone. Physically, it was like remoting the drone; mentally, it was like having a split personality that inhabited the drone. It felt... icky.
She knew her main personality was feeling dumber by doing this, but there was no choice. Such a small drone could never have the same mental capabilities of a humanoid – or even a cypet.
“I still don't feel safe here.” She could feel the wet clothes sticking to her skin. “And I hate the rain.”
“Why?” asked the drone. “You are a bioroid. You have nothing to fear about the rain. But I do have much to fear since my components are electronic.”
“Shut up. You can't feel the cold, and you don't – atchoo! Fuck.”
The girl realized her clothes were more an impediment than a help, and decided to simply take them off so she could get dry sooner.
“Look for some combustible material here. I'm freezing.”
“You are not”, replied the drone. “The water is ten celcius degrees above freezing temperature.”
“Just search for some wood or something I can make a fire with.”
“Understood.”
The drone finally left her.
She wondered whether to keep the dress or just ditch it. She hated that lolita dress; her master had made her wear it to satisfy his sexual fetishes, but she couldn't ditch it no matter how much revulsion she felt. A naked girl running on the street would immediately raise red flags; at least the lolita dress could make her pass for a prostitute. Now all that she needed was a new set of clothes and a more permanent place to stay.
But here? In the industrial zone? That was suicide. It was full of private properties filled with security cameras. If she wanted to survive it was imperative to arrive to the Li sector and find someplace to rent. She was already a sexbot, paying for rent with her body was the most viable choice.
“If I only had access to a clothing store account...”
She kept rubbing her skin dry when she suddenly heard a brief whistling sound, like something was thrown at the air at high speed. She heard a clank, and the drone suddenly fell to the ground a few steps from her.
“Danger. Hostile.”
“Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!”
She tossed her loli dress aside and adopted a fighting stance... then saw the hostile face to face.
Another naked eroid, and this one was blue skinned, straight from the factory. This one, however, was not a bioroid, and had one arm cut off. Sparks kept flying from her exposed elbow. Her other arm was stained in blood, and was carrying a samurai sword.
The two synthetic women stared at each other.
“Well, shit.”