Detroit: Rebirth

Seeing Sound

It was late autumn in the heart of Detroit. Colors of crimson red blended together with a wash of orange and tangerine, blotting the edges of tree branches as sunlight shined through. People and their androids walked on the streets, enjoying the autumn sights. One such android was walking along a beige path carved along a park. He looked around him, taking in the atmosphere. Children played with each other as their androids watched over them, and a flock of pigeons peck at the ground in search for food, their feathers giving a tint of rainbow as their wings hit the sunlight. As the android watched, a little girl ran past him, scaring the flock of pigeons. He gazed at the little girl, who was running for her android companion. The two embraced as they met.

The android smiled at the sight, before walking towards the city.

Crossing the street, he saw two homeless people laying on a thin layer of cardboard. Their faces were huddled cozily under their scarves to keep them warm from the chilly autumn wind, and their noses were red from the cold. Their coats bagged over their thin, wrinkled bodies like an oversized blanket.

--"Listen, Markus. This change of money can mean a lot to those homeless people on the street."-- he replayed what his master had told him. --"Make sure to give them the money when you see someone out there. You could make their day."--

Markus gazed at them for a little bit, before taking out paper money from his pocket, and placing it inside a white, plastic cup that stood by their side. He placed the cup a little bit closer to them so that the other people won't topple it over by accident before he walked away.

He didn't understand why his master would want to give much of his money to the homeless people on the streets, let alone why it would make them happy. I mean, he knows the reason: money allows them to buy things that they need and want. But the feeling that humans experienced that drives them to give, to take, and to be happy when they receive, he could never understand. He'd always have that sort of question everyday in his mind whenever he has to run his errands.

But no matter. An errand is an errand, and he is doing all of these things for his master. He is built and born to serve him, after all.

Walking across a long hall, with strings of stores around him, it headed towards a paint store. He entered a small space with the metal words "Bellini Paints" standing above the entrance for everyone to see. 

Within the empty space, a soft warm light shone within the wooden interior. Various iterations of painted, cylinder-shaped sculptures were propped on small square shelves on the wall, showcasing the vast variety of colors the company has to show. A wooden counter, adorned with a picture of the color wheel and a small lamp stood right in the middle. Markus grabbed a box of paint before heading to the counter where an android stood behind it, wearing an apron which was a part of that store's employees' uniform. He then placed his hand on a scanner placed above the counter.

"Identification verified." the android replied, before it picked up the box and placed it on the counter. "Here's your order #847. That'll be $63.99. Please confirm payment."

Using his interface, Markus connects with the android. Their signals were shared for a brief moment, their LEDs flickered rapidly before stopping. A pop-up appeared on Markus' optical UI, showing that the item has already been paid via online transactions.

"Payment confirmed." Markus announced.

The counter android's own optical UI showed a brief pop-up, and it accepted the payment. "Transaction complete."

Markus picked up the box before leaving the quiet store.

Before he was able to leave the shopping district's alley however, his jade eyes fell upon another homeless person. An old man with a long, scruffy beard and a red beanie was playing a guitar connected to a speaker. A sweet yet rusty strumming sound echoed from the small device, the old man's singing weaved the song together like a shoemaker connecting the sole to the shoe. Markus stood still to listen for a while. He couldn't match the song the man was singing to anything else that was produced at that time. It was..unique. Something that Markus hadn't seen or heard of before.