When Lord Lenin returned, he brought with him two bodies.
Lady Mao's apartment was situated above a courtyard in the back of the courtyard, which is how I saw the scene. Lord Lenin entered the courtyard, flanked by YV-7144 and NB-9819. He carried something wrapped in a white sheet, as did NB-9819, and they laid the bundles down on the white tiles.
Lady Mao, who was passing by, saw, and nodded at me to follow her. Lord Lenin looked up and beckoned her. I followed Lady Mao down the white marble staircase and stood in the background, watching.
"What happened?" Lady Mao whispered, and Lord Lenin pulled back the sheets.
"This," he said, indicating what was left of two androids, who were nearly broken beyond measure. "ZH-8353 and ZH-8367. They've been off the roster for ages. Heard about them from the outsider."
Lord Lenin is in charge of almost all of the androids. He keeps tabs on each of them, dispatches them to jobs and stations, and pretty much knows each one of them by serial number. He does his job effectively…and cleanly.
Especially when he's in charge of punishment.
"You guys went outside?" Lady Mao looked up at him, then glanced at YV-7144 and NB-9819 behind him. YV-7144's white robes were trailing sand, whereas NB-9819's pink hair had come loose, and she was trying to retie it into her normal pigtails.
Lord Lenin's eye twitched. "Yes," he whispered. "We did. But we're back now."
Lady Mao bent down to examine the androids. "What are we going to do with these?" she asked, lifting the white sheet a little.
"They're bodies would have to be completely replaced, and even then, their systems are completely down. I don't know how long it would take to repair that…"
"They don't make androids anymore," Lady Mao murmured.
I hadn't realized until I heard those words that it was true; I hadn't seen any new models or new additions for at least five years now.
Why had they stopped?
"YV-7144, take them down to the workshop. Try to arrange for them to have new bodies, preferably of the same model. And see if you can do anything about the systems." Lord Lenin was about to say something else when he looked up and the blood drained out of his face.
"My dear Lord Lenin." And up on the balcony that led from the front part of the palace stood the High Prince, Evian Grace.
"My prince." Lenin bowed, and the rest of us followed suit.
"Are those two androids I see?" Prince Evian came down the staircase, his robes fluttering behind him. Lord Castro came close behind, and he shot Lady Mao an inquisitive glance.
"My prince. They were—"
"Two ZH-83s. I remember them." Prince Evian looked up and smiled at Lord Lenin. "Thank you for bringing them back. It must have been a difficult journey."
Lord Lenin was at a loss for words. His mouth tried to form a smile, but it looked a grimace instead.
"But you know, my dearest Lenin…" Prince Evian looked up from the two shells, a strange light in his eyes. "I was the one who sent them out there."
Lord Lenin's eyes widened, just a bit, and a bead of sweat rolled down his brow. "You did, my prince?"
"Of course I did. I dictate everything that happens around here, don't I?"
"I – I wasn't informed—"
"I know you weren't." Prince Evian tilted his head to the side, like he was calculating something. "Because I knew that you would be outraged."
Lord Lenin began to tremble. "My prince, these – these two—"
"Were sent out by me for a very special reason. They were not to have returned."
Lord Lenin lowered his head. Surely he was going to be punished…
"I will permit you to repair them. But I'm afraid, my dear Lenin…you left Shuijing City without my permission. So for that, you are going to be spending a lot more time in the dungeons. Do you understand?"
Lord Lenin bowed. "Yes, my prince."
He swept from the scene, and NB-9819 singlehandedly hoisted up one of the androids, following him. YV-7144 motioned for me to help him pick up the other one. As we left, the scene was one of a chilly silence.
NB-9819 led the way down to the workshop, a place where I hadn't been in a long time. The further down we went, the less noise there was. But it still wasn't as far down as the dungeons…
Inside the workshop was a sole HH-23 unit, along with an EQ-47, who was barely visible behind the tables. YV-7144 motioned for me to bring the android to one of the tables on the side, while NB-9819 brought the other one to the center table.
"What's this?" HH-2300 pulled back the sheets. After staring at it for a moment, he said, "Surely you aren't expecting me to fix this?"
"If you can't on your own, that's fine," YV-7144 sighed, looking at his dirtied hands. "I'll examine their systems. You guys have any parts left from that model?"
"I can check," HH-2300 replied. "EQ-4715, can you go into the storeroom and look for anything for model ZH-83?"
EQ-4715 nodded and scurried away. His model was on the short side, but they were useful for delivering things.
YV-7144 rolled up his now dirty and somewhat torn sleeves. "Even if you can't find anything, it'd be best to get them up and running. It would make Lord Lenin so happy…"
"It would, wouldn't it?" HH-2300 hit a switch on the back of his hand and spoke into it: "Can HH-2399, CW-3316, and JT-3527 come down to the workshop? Thank you."
"Thank you for your help," YV-7144 addressed me and NB-9819. "NB-9819, I believe that you're wanted over near the roof. Cleaning, I think. LX-1882, shouldn't you be getting back to your post?"
"Of course," I replied, backing out.
"Wait." HH-2300 halted me. "How're your modifications holding up?"
"They're doing fine, thank you," I replied. It had been HH-2300 who had fixed me up when I first came to the palace…
"If you ever want to get that eye checked again, do be sure to come back down."
"Of course." And I turned and left.
On the way back up I bumped into HH-2399, CW-3316, and JT-3527. As they passed by, I moved to the side, out of their way.
"Oh, if it isn't LX-1882," CW-3316 commented, her green eyes nearly glowing in the darkness. "Weren't you the one who brought in the outsider the other day?"
"It wasn't just me," I replied, keeping my eyes on the ground.
"Must be a big achievement," JT-3527 added. "I heard you got a promotion."
Heard it from JT-3514, no doubt. "Yeah."
"Come on, guys, let's hurry," HH-2399 said. "We shouldn't keep them waiting."
"Cya." "Ciao." And the three of them went on, so I continued on my own path.
Some androids were closer than others, but I was not one of them. Because of my manufacturing number (82) I was treated more as a younger sibling by most of my own model, and because of my eye, the more capable ones looked down on me.
Of course. That was only natural. I was supposed to be terminated years ago. I should be thankful to be working here right now.
A few days later, while I stood outside my usual spot, I saw the two freshly repaired ZH-83s. Much of their skin on their faces had been replaced with the phasing kind that I had, creating a patched look, and ZH-8367's right eye had been replaced with one from a FA-49 model. There wasn't much else I could see underneath their cloaks as they passed by, both of them casting me a glance.
At least I wasn't the only one so obviously damaged anymore.
I wondered where they would be working now.
JT-3514 sidled up next to me again. "You know, I heard that YV-7144 had a really hard time fixing up their systems. Parts of their memories had to be erased. JT-3527 said that they only remember twenty years ago now."
"Really?"
"Yeah…we should ask them sometime."
"I think they'd be busy…"
Twenty years ago… What if I got repaired one day, and I couldn't remember now? They could make me do whatever they wanted me to do…
Was this all because of the outsider?
Was this all because of me?