Artificial World

Chapter One

I stood on top of the roof of my house. Huffing from the long climb up, I admired the view. There wasn't a better view as far as I was concerned, except maybe from some of the town skyscrapers. I wouldn't know. I didn't get out much.

I checked my boots to make sure they were tight enough, and stepped off the roof. To most, this would be a suicide mission, but the rockets implanted in the boot's soles ensured it wouldn't be. A few inches before I would've been roadkill, the rockets kicked in and I soared a few feet into the air. I was preparing to rocket higher, when I heard a sputter. The rocket boots zigzagged in the air, taking me with them.

I screamed as they made zany patterns in the air, whipping me around. Then, I fell. The rockets had turned off, leaving me free falling through the air. I managed to flip over, only to see the pool hurtling towards me. I braced for impact, and made a gold-medal worthy belly smack on the dirty, unclean water. I came up for air, sputtering and coughing. I heard the house door slam.

"CECELIA!" My father shouted. "WHAT IN HEAVENS DO YOU THUNK YOU'RE DOING?" I guess he was pretty mad. It wasn't like I did this on purpose, though. I don't exactly go swimming in a dirty pool in the middle of fall for fun, you know.

"My rocket boots gave out!" I yelled back, struggling to stay afloat. I wasn't going to get in trouble for this. I'm usually a very stubborn person.

"Get inside and clean yourself up. Now." He whirled around, stomping back into the house. The door slammed behind him, shaking in its frame. Jeez. He was really mad. Madder than usual. Julie must be acting up again.

Julie is my dad's "wife". Julie's a robot. See, the big fad right now is robots. About twenty years ago, a guy named Timothy Opal invented something called a Opalescent. Essentially, a robot, but it looks and acts just like a human. Why he named it an Opalescent, I have no clue. The bots can't actually feel, but they're programmed to act like it. Pretty creepy if you ask me.

A bunch of rich folks found out about the bots, and they all bought them. Celebrities, political leaders, tycoons, all of them clamoring for an Opalescent. We middle classers wanted in. So, Timothy made them cheaper. Since they were in such high demand, he could afford to.

Soon enough, everyone, and I mean everyone, had one. You weren't deemed "cool" unless you had one. The Opalescents were originally used as maids, cooks, and the likes, but people became so obsessed with them that they took them on as spouses and children as soon as it was deemed legal.

I hate them. Well no, hate is a strong word. I try not to say I hate anything. Keeps up a positive outlook. Let's say I extremely dislike them. When I was about six, my family took a trip to Isda, the area where one of the Old Lands called Africa was, once upon a time. My real mom, dad, sister, and I were out sight seeing when some lady's bot husband went cuckoo.

He pulled out a gun, and fired shots everywhere. Some of the bullets hit my mom and sister, and they died on the scene. Calling the authorities was hopeless, the woman had already fled with her bot. My dad pretty much went insane with grief.

For a long time, I was pretty much running the show at home. My dad just sat around, never really "there". By some small miracle, he never lost his job. Apparently, his workplace gives lots of vacation days. When Timothy lowered the price of the Opalescents, my father was one of the first in line.

He was also one of the first in line when marrying the bots became legalized. So, I ended up with a fake mom and brother, neither I like very much. They're both very annoying. Very. To my luck though, my brother ran off last year. He was a defect bot I guess.

I'm still stuck with Julie though. I heard even from outside my dad stomping to the door, probably wondering why I hadn't gotten out of the pool yet. I climbed out of the pool, sopping wet. I sloshed into the house, scurrying to my room so I couldn't be intercepted by Julie or my dad.

After I had showered and changed into a metallic top and jeans, I sat on my bed brushing my long, dark, curly hair. I struggled to wrestle the brush through it, but I couldn't. I gave up and slumped on my bed. Since my boots were broken, I would have to go into the Shopping District.

Everything was divided into districts. There's the Dining, Shopping, and Residential districts. There was also the Main Square, and The Ruins. The Ruins were a huge chunk of town, where signs of the Old World still exist. You know, like cars and building skeletons. They're surrounded by electric fences with barbed wire on top. A tad overkill, in my opinion. Whoever wanted to root around in there was insane. Still, it makes you wonder what they could be hiding.

Of course, I would never go in there. There was still traces of diseases people caught, back when you could still get sick. Timothy Opal also invented some sort of super meds that prevented us from getting sick. Ever. He pretty much invented everything. My door creaked open, drawing my attention to it. Julie stepped in.

Julie was perfect. On the outside, at least. Long blonde hair, hourglass figure. She looked like a supermodel. All bots did.

"Out, Julie. You can't come in without my permission." I knew this would work. One thing that actually was great about the bots was that if your voice was programmed in them, they had to obey your every command.

"Why are you unable to call me mother? Your father has instructed me to take you on a 'Girl's Day'" Julie's perfect, slightly robotic voice slid out. Uh oh. Dad must've taken me out of her programming.

"I don't want to go. You can tell dad I said that. Or not. I don't care what you do."

"Fine. I really am a nice person, Cecelia. I wish you could give me one chance."

"You're not a person." I closed the door on her, and locked it. I cranked open my window, slipping through the hole in the screen, the result of my many years of sneaking out. I used to get some cuts and bruises, but it's a skill I have mastered over time.

As I began the trek to the monorail station, I passed a Opalescent and human couple kissing on a bench. I tried to hold back a gag, but failed. The couple gave me a strange look, but went back to their face sucking. I wasn't the one kissing a piece of metal, but fine. I reached the station and boarded the car headed to the Shopping District.

A/N so what did you guys think? I hope you enjoyed. I plan on making this a trilogy.

Xoxo,
GreyRogueling