January 3 2135
"You're getting your assignment today." Mac greets me as he looms in the doorway of my small, plain room. "Come on."
I stand up from my spot on my bed and he turns to bring me down a set of hallways I've never seen before. In recent weeks he's stopped calling me by my number, instead not referring to me at all. I like to think that means he cares, but I'm a little hesitant to believe that. He rarely shows much emotion, and distances himself from pretty much everyone.
It takes about 5 minutes, but now we're on a helipad. Outside. God, how I've missed seeing the sky above my head. It's cold, I realize, which isn't surprising since it's the middle of winter, and I idly wish I had a coat.
On the helipad waiting for us is a tall, important looking woman with cold silver eyes, tan skin and short brown hair. She's dressed in a bomber jacket of sorts with a variety of badges, I recognize one as the symbol for the New European Union, and one as the symbol for the World Peace Embassy. There are a few others, one with the symbol for the United Nations, which is now effectively disbanded, and a couple of old country flags, Greece and the Czech Republic. Must be where her family was from.
"Ah, Mr. Stevens. How are you?" The woman greets Mac.
"Same as always, Ms. Svoboda." he responds, sighing a little.
"And this is the newest Variant?" She asks, directing her attention towards me now. I force myself to smile a little in response.
"Yep, number 72. It's tattooed right here on my neck in big, bold font so you don't lose me." I respond, my fake smile turning into more of a smirk.
Mac grumbles a little, before gesturing to me. "Svoboda, this is Variant 72, the single most infuriating individual I have ever known."
I give a little bow at the introduction. Svoboda quirks an eyebrow at Mac.
"Did Andrew forget to mention that he's sentient?" I can see a hint of a smile creeping across his face.
"He?" Svoboda laughs nervously, shifting her gaze between Mac and I.
"72 insists that we acknowledge him as no less than human, or he won't cooperate with us." He says with that same almost-smile on his face. "I doubt he'll cooperate with you, either, if you refuse to do the same."
"This is going to make a lot of people unhappy…" Svoboda grumbles, running a hand through her hair. "Well, let's go."
She turns around and walks towards her auto. I recognize the logo as Mercedes-Benz, which surprises me a little. Lots of large brands went bankrupt during the war, so it's nice to see familiar names after all of this time. She sits in the driver's seat, while I climb into the back. She taps an address into the directory, and the auto lifts off of the ground. I look out the window as Mac turns to reenter the facility, which slowly fades into the distance as we head towards…
"Where exactly are we going?" I ask Svoboda a few minutes after we leave.
"We're going to the European branch of the World Peace Embassy." She replies rather bluntly. "If you are, indeed, fully sentient, as Mr. Stevens suggested, you… may want to prepare yourself for the… backlash this development will cause."
"Great, more people who are gonna hate me for existing." I sigh, slouching back in my seat.
The car goes silent for a few minutes after that, before Svoboda speaks again, asking if I'm aware of the current political climate of the world.
"Um, everyone hates each other?" I offer after a moment of thought. "Or do you want me to list all of the billion different wars and conflicts going on right now?"
"That won't be necessary." She insists. "Are you fully up to date?"
"I have access to pretty much all of the information on the planet right now." I respond as snarkily as I can manage. "Of course I'm up to date. I'm more up to date than the news outlets! I can tell you what's going on in Melbourne, Australia right now."
"That won't be necessary either." she sighs. She sounds increasingly exhausted every time she opens her mouth.
Neither of us talk for the rest of the ride. I put my music on shuffle and Anything Goes by Cole Porter comes on first. I hum along and tap my feet lightly, and let myself zone out for the next half hour until the auto comes to an abrupt halt. I look out the window to see a tall grey building with a big pavilion in front of it, trees lining the concrete on either side and an old-looking water fountain in the middle. I can see a tall-looking man sitting on a bench on the left side of the park reading a book.
I hear Svoboda let out a long, pained sigh as she opens her door. I quickly do the same, stepping out onto the sidewalk in front of the large building. Across the archway above a pair of tall doors is a sign that reads "World Peace Embassy- Prague" in bold lettering. The man on the bench looks over to us when he hears Svoboda slam her door closed, quickly standing up and walking over to us.
"Ms. Svoboda." He greets her first, then turns his attention to me. "This is the new Variant?"
"Yes, Mr. Dench, this is him." She sighs, gesturing to me vaguely. The man, Dench, gives her an odd look. "I was informed when I arrived that Variant 72 is sentient and does not comply with anyone who does not address him as human.
Dench's expression changes to less confusion and more mild anger. "They never said anything about sentient variants when we contracted them." He grumbles under his breath, then he looks me in the eyes, "When we contracted the Variants project I was told that you things were meant to be equipment to aid in negotiations. I don't care if you can think, I am still going to treat you as such. If you take issue with that, that's your own problem."
The two of them start walking towards the building, and I grudgingly follow suit. I don't want to listen to this asshole, but I have a horrible feeling that he'll make my life a lot worse if I don't. I think, in passing, that I'm probably gonna die while I'm with these people.