Q had been holding onto the tag for a long time, but on this particular day, he couldn't shake it off. It was the day he decided to give names to his servants, Felicia and Tina.
Physically, Felicia was slightly smaller than Tina, with green eyes, whereas Tina had icy blue eyes. Tina exuded an air of elegance, always thinking before acting, whereas Felicia was more impulsive.
Despite having everything he could wish for, Q felt an overwhelming urge to explore this new world. He had heard about a nearby business event and decided to attend.
Although he suspected his servants might be spies, he couldn't deny their dedication to their work. He sought Tina's counsel, knowing she would provide valuable insight.
After a moment of contemplation, Tina replied, "You'll need us to make an impression at this event. If you go alone, no matter how capable you are, you'll always be perceived as inferior."
Q knew she was right. He also realized he needed to expand his social circle quickly.
Tina hesitated, glancing towards the kitchen where Felicia was preparing dishes, before adding, "To succeed, you need to make us invested in your success. That's the only way."
Q summoned Felicia, who sat down quietly, awaiting further instructions.
"What do you want from us?" Felicia asked.
Tina responded, "To serve you, of course."
Q looked puzzled. "Can you explain how that works? I don't understand your culture, and I've felt out of place the past few days."
Felicia explained, "It's simple. As the owner of the house, we're your property."
Q asked, "Is it about the property, not me?"
Felicia continued, "It depends. If you buy our rights from our mother company, we can belong to you regardless."
Q's eyes widened. "Your mother company?"
Tina raised her eyes, exasperated. "The place that created us."
Q asked, "So, you're kind of robots?"
Felicia and Tina smiled faintly.
"No," Felicia said gently, "we were born from this company, and they assigned us to this household."
Q sat back, processing this information. It was a lot to take in. The idea that these women were essentially owned, their existence dictated by some distant corporation, felt unsettling to him. Yet, he couldn't ignore the nagging feeling that there was something fundamentally wrong with this system.
"So, you have no say in your lives?" Q probed further, his curiosity mixed with a growing sense of indignation.
Felicia shook her head. "Not really. Our purpose is to serve you and fulfill whatever tasks you assign us."
Q couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. Here he was, surrounded by individuals whose lives were not their own, while he enjoyed the freedom to do as he pleased. It was a stark reminder of the privilege he had unknowingly inherited.
As since the consul assigned him this mention and those servant, he assumed he was a privileged, but he started to understand it was not the case.
"But what if you wanted something else? What if you wanted to pursue your own dreams or desires?" Q pressed, unable to contain his incredulity.
Tina's expression hardened slightly. "That's not how it works. Our desires are secondary to our duty. We exist to serve."
Tina then explained him how she was born in a white hygienic room, as everyone here, that she was feeling lucky because she demarked herself in the "woman school" where she was demonstrating outstanding performance and graduated brillantly, which allowed her to be assigned to circle 3. In circle 3 her owner did something very rare, he paid the fee to upgrade to circle 4 and she ended up here, thanks full. Unfortunately, her master died in shadowing circumstance and she ended up allocated to this mention until someone new arrive. She was lucky to still have a job since it was questioned if she would become useless or not. Being useless being the equivalent of death.
The weight of her words hung heavy in the air, suffocating in its implications. Q couldn't shake the feeling of discomfort that settled in the pit of his stomach. These women were not just servants; they were prisoners of a system that reduced them to mere commodities.
A surge of determination coursed through him. He couldn't stand idly by while such injustice prevailed. He had to do something, anything, to challenge the status quo and grant these women the agency they deserved.
But how? The question lingered, elusive yet pressing. Q knew he couldn't dismantle an entire societal structure on his own. Yet, he refused to be complicit in its perpetuation.
As he mulled over his options, a plan began to form in his mind. It would require careful strategizing and a willingness to confront the ingrained prejudices of his peers. But if it meant even a glimmer of hope for Felicia, Tina, and others like them, then it was a risk worth taking.
With newfound resolve, Q turned to his servants, his companions in this journey towards change.
"We need to talk," he declared, his voice brimming with determination. "About how we can rewrite the rules of this game."