There are a thousand others like me in the city.
Androids.
The day after the incident with the outsider, the High Prince called me to his throne. I was surprised, because I was merely a guard, and a lowly one at that, with a faulty eye. If it was about yesterday, then why hadn't he called my fellow LX-18 guard as well? But I arrived on time, and bowed before him.
"Reporting for duty, sire."
"You're a model LX-18, is that correct?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Manufacturing number?"
"Number 82, Your Highness."
"Well then, LX-1882, I have called you here for a very special reason today."
Was I about to be thrown out? Terminated? But I could only reply with:
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Excellent job at the gate yesterday, LX-1882. I think that you are in need of a promotion."
"Your Highness?" I looked up swiftly to catch his expression. The prince was smiling.
"You are no longer in charge of guarding the front gate. Let's see…why don't you…" He looked across the room, and his eyes landed on [her].
"Why don't you guard Lady Mao's chambers from now on? I hear she's in need of a new protector."
And I could only feel the system within me whirring at high speeds, as I looked up and looked straight at [her].
She was the most beautiful creature in all of Shuijing City.
From the time that I had entered the palace, I had noticed her.
Lady Mao.
She was always flanked by guards, but when she passed by me, I saw how her long black hair flowed, framing her thin, pale face, braided with golden ribbons and jewels; how here satin and silk blue robes were studded with diamonds that made it look like she was wearing the night sky; how her golden earrings didn't distract but complimented her dark eyes.
She never looked at me, of course. But I looked at her often.
There was nothing more that I wished to see, in this city of crystal.
And now, as I looked at her, she looked up at me, and smiled, and I could only stand there, stunned, that this dream of mine, this impossible dream, had finally come true.
"But…Your highness, with my eye, I—"
The prince smiled, and tapped his own left eye. "Don't worry about it. Look, we match."
And indeed we did.
I bowed swiftly to him. "I will follow your commands Your Highness."
But when I looked back up at him, the way that he smiled at me was strange. Like he knew something that I didn't know.
And so I began the next day standing guard outside the door to her apartment rather than the gate to the palace.
Once she finished her daily duties she came back, opened the door, and went inside. After a moment she popped her head back out and said, "Well, don't be a stranger. Come in."
"I don't think I'm allowed to, my lady."
"This is my house, what I say goes. Besides, there are cameras."
And so I went in, and she shut the door, though that was supposed to be my job.
She looked me up and down, and then said, "Well, you've grown."
A smile twitched at my lips. "I'm afraid I do not grow, my lady. But I have had several repairs and modifications since you last saw me."
Ah, she remembered me. It had been so long…since we had first met long ago.
She grinned. "I do remember you. LX-1882, was it?"
"Yes, my lady."
"Might I call you something else? Having a number just seems to have no personality…"
"You may call me whatever you wish, my lady."
She thought for a moment, then said, "How about Lex?"
"If you wish, my lady."
Lex? The more I thought about it, the more I liked it.
Because she had given it to me.
"I think it's fitting," she continued, reading my expression. "It means 'defender of men'. Besides, you look like one. And it matches your serial number."
I didn't know what to say. I could only dip my head in the small space, because how could I possibly convey the gratitude and emotion that I felt towards her?
"Anyway. If you're going to be guarding my quarters, I suppose you ought to know your way around. Come take a look."
It was dim inside, as opposed to the bright reflecting lights outside in the palace. The ceiling was low, barely higher than my head. There was a low tea table and several colorful cushions on top of a carpet where we were standing, right inside the entrance, and a dusty keyboard and bench sat in the corner. A colorful bead curtain hung from the entrance to the kitchen, which was small and cluttered. Her bedroom door was slightly open off to the side. All in all, a small but suitable living area, strewn with color.
I had thought that royalty would live in a place more…like the palace.
"I'm going to go change," she told me, heading inside of her bedroom. "Feel free to stick around."
Feel free? So did that mean to stay or not to stay? So I merely stood there stiffly in the corner, trying not to break anything.
"Do the cleaning androids come in here, my lady?" I asked hesitantly, glancing at the forgotten keyboard.
"Oh, they do," she replied through her door. "I just tell them not to touch anything."
When she came out she was dressed in more casual clothing, a cotton collared shirt and long skirt, barefoot with a bracelet wrapped around one ankle. "So what do you think?" she asked.
About the quarters or about her?
"You're going to be here a while, anyway, I suppose. It'd be awful if you didn't like it."
Oh…the quarters… They were perfectly fine, but… "I thought I was supposed to be guarding you, my lady."
She gave me a half-grin. "You guard me when I am home. I'm with my personal guards or Lord Castro otherwise. So there's no need to worry." She patted my shoulder. "After all, we can't have you running around everywhere after me, can we?"
She was right, of course. She was always with someone else, every time I saw her, be it her personal guard or one of the other lords or ladies. I, with my blind eye…how could I guard her that closely? I was considered a defect, and for that, I ought to be terminated…
But I had stayed here, thanks to her and the mercy of the High Prince.
There came a knock at the door, and she started, then pushed me towards it. "That must be Lady Kim," she said. "Let her in, Lex. But only when I'm home."
I opened the door to see the familiar face of Lady Kim. Her short black hair framed her pointed chin and almond-shaped eyes perfectly, but her face usually devoid of smiles and when she stared at you her dark eyes seemed to bore somewhere far beyond your soul.
She looked up at me and arched an eyebrow. "Hello," she greeted, "LX-18. Might I be let in?"
"Her Lady Mao agrees to it," I said, and stepped aside, letting her in through the narrow doorway.
Lady Mao nodded at me, indicating for me to leave. As I closed the door behind me, I heard Lady Kim comment, "So is this your new guard that I heard about? Did you see that he's blind in one eye?"
I closed the door with a click and let out a long sigh, standing up straight against the wall. I didn't know what I was expecting, coming here. I was just an android, and this was just orders, this was just work, this was just life…
A JT-35 walked by and smirked at me. "Having fun?"
JT-3514, to be exact. One of the androids in charge of the kitchen and deliveries. Pale blonde hair with mismatched eyes.
"It's fine," I replied. "Better than the gate."
"I heard they replaced you with an RX-22. RX-2219."
Ah, an RX-22…better than me in almost all aspects. Save for my specially modified hand, something reserved only for my LX-18 model.
"Where are you off to today?" I asked, changing the subject.
"Me?" JT-3514 grinned. "Lord Lenin has ordered special food down in the dungeons today. For that new prisoner. That you brought in yesterday, I believe."
"LX-1893 did most of the work."
"If you say so. But anyway, maybe after I catch a glimpse of this new guy…I can come back and tell you about him."
"I saw him yesterday."
JT-3514 laughed. "Don't you know, human beings are completely different when they are imprisoned than when they are free? I think it'd do you good to take a look."
"If you say so."
"Anyway, I gotta go. Got a lot of work today."
I let him leave. He only wanted to boast, as usual…
And I let them all walk on top of me. Because I should be counted as the lowest in ranking, because of my blind eye.
But I had been promoted, to a position that I had only dreamed of.
What more could I ask for?