Andromeda [Brian May]

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Accompanied by exactly those two security guards the young woman was led along a hallway. It was empty, white, somewhat what you would expect a morgue to be like. Depressing, scary maybe. But definitely intimidating. She did not like being there at all. But she didn't have a choice. Her hands were cuffed together, and even though technically she could run away, the prospect of being shot by the security guards was definitely not inviting. It was not more inviting that whatever was awaiting her.

She let out a heavy sigh, wondering how much longer this hallway could be. It seemed to be never ending. They should install speakers, like they did in lifts. Even more than 1000 years after their invention, that had not changed. There was still music - awful music - in lifts. But at least it was something to fill the time. The guards probably had their hoverboards, but of course they would never allow a convict to travel on one of those. Especially not one of her kind. So the only option was to walk, and to hope that she wasn't shot 'by mistake'.

Even though that was unlikely. After all even though she was a sentenced criminal, she was still valuable to them. Not essential, but valuable enough to not shoot her 'by mistake'. That wasn't just an assumption, she had been told that by the judge who sentenced her.

One the one hand she knew she could be very happy about the deal she had gotten. On the other hand however, she wasn't sure which option would be worse. She only hoped that the option she had decided on wouldn't be awful. Instead of being stuck in a cell for years she was now the guinea pig for an important scientific experiment. It could go horribly wrong, but if it didn't then it was definitely the better option. The chances were 50:50.

Ah, there, finally they seemed to be approaching their destination. Most likely her cell. She wasn't exactly looking forward to being stuck in a tiny room without anything to do for... well, for how long? Until the execution of her judgement. Whenever that would be. Hopefully not too long, because a human could only spend so much time alone with their thoughts before going crazy. And she knew that for her that time wasn't very long.

The footsteps echoing through the hallway slowed down, until they stopped completely. She found herself standing in front of a little inviting door. One of the guards placed his fingers on a screen, before he looked into a camera. Finger print and iris scanner. That was a tough lock to crack. The young woman knew she didn't stand a chance against it, not in that short time with no equipment except for her hands and brain. In different circumstances a lock like that was definitely something she could crack, but not like this.

The door slid open smoothly, silently, and what lay behind confirmed her suspicions of being without a chance. A complex manual lock. One you had to open with a key, or multiple keys, depending on the lock. Something that was incredibly rare, and only used to lock up people like her. Hackers. The prison's mission was to keep her away from any electronic device.

It wasn't that she necessarily wanted to be criminal, she simply liked to see how far she could take it. And it just so happened that sometimes her action were considered against the law by some stuck up office people. She always made sure to never harm anyone, but they kept telling her that she could know that for sure. Which was why - after two suspended sentences - she had gotten something worse. Which was kind of fair, after all that was what you did with criminals. The only unfair thing in her opinion was that she wasn't a criminal.

"Turn around," she was told by one of the security guards. With his weapon pointed at her, he glared at her.

"O-Okay," she replied and quickly did as she was told. What would happen now? Why the gun? She gulped and closed her eyes. There was metallic noise coming from behind her, but she didn't dare to look around. She didn't want to test her luck too much. Nothing happened for what felt like a much too long time, before she was finally released from her agony.

"Turn back," the same security guard commanded.

She was quick to do as she was told. And now it was revealed that the metallic noice had been the lock being opened. Nothing to worry about, apart from the usual worries that were appropriate in her position. Which actually were quite a lot.

"State your full name and date of birth," a voice suddenly came from the wall. From a real person. There was a woman sitting by a desk, with a pen, and some paper in front of her. Actual paper, nothing electronic, all manual, of course.

The young woman couldn't keep an astonished expression off her face. She couldn't remember the last time she had used an analogue pen and real paper.

"Name and date of birth." Her voice was very unpleasant, matching the stern expression on her face.

"Katsaros." How would they check that? There was nothing to read her ID chip, she could probably lie, couldn't she? But then again. What was the point? Plus, the security guards knew her name. "Andromeda Gaia Katsaros. My date of birth is May 12th 3029."

"Your age is 21. Correct?"

How did she do so fast maths in her head? It was impressive and not at all what she had expected. Andromeda nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"Sentence?"

Again. She had already done this, why did she need to do that again? "D19Y72A..." Whatever that told her. She didn't exactly have a device to look it up.

The woman looked at her and nodded. "Good. Step inside the cell, Katsaros."

Andromeda lifted her hands, showing her handcuffs. "Won't I get those taken off?"

"Step inside the cell."

She sighed and did as she was told. Great. She hated the handcuffs, they were incredibly uncomfortable and you couldn't even scratch your nose without looking like an idiot. Maybe that was exactly what they wanted. Aversion therapy by letting the convincts make fools of themselves. It wouldn't surprise her in the slightest.

Once she was inside the cell she sat down on the metal bench. It felt cool, even through her clothes. She didn't even have a mattress or anything. Her quick survey of the cell was interrupted by a security guard stepping up to her.

"I will take off your handcuffs. Do not move."

Andromeda nodded and stood completely still, waiting for that to be done. She had her eyes closed, not really daring to look at her surroundings. Not that they were very nice to look at anyway. The security guard took his time to unlock her cuffs, and she was getting a little more nervous with every second that passed. What if there was a change of plans or something else wasn't going as planned? She didn't want that.

Not that she necessarily liked things the way they were planned, but it was the best option she had. Anything else would be even worse. But it wasn't like she was in the position to complain or tell them what to do. She was at their mercy. Whatever they told her she would have to accept, because in this institution she wasn't worth anything. She was just a number, nothing else.

Finally she could feel the metal being removed from around her wrists. However, when she wanted to move her arms to her front, so she could have a look at her skin to check for injuries, she was startled by a loud voice.

"Do not move." The security guard was almost yelling at her.

Andromeda flinched, freezing on her spot. "Y-Yes sir." She closed her eyes again, not daring to move even just a tiny bit. It wasn't long before she could hear metal sounds again, and when she opened her eyes and glanced at where they were coming from. The guard had left the cell and locked the door securely. Now she was trapped.

"You may move again."

That was at least something. Andromeda let out a heavy with and moved her hands to her front, rubbing her wrists gently. Wearing handcuffs was anything but pleasurable, and even though she didn't like being locked up in a cell, it was better than wearing handcuffs because at least she could move. Somewhat. She looked at the other three people who were in the same room - on the other side of the metal bars.

It were the security guards and the lady who had asked - or rather demanded - her name before. All three of them were looking at her and it freaked her out. She sat on the metal bench - the only thing in the cell apart from dust - and tried to sit in a way that she could pretend they weren't staring at her. With a sigh, she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. Hopefully she wouldn't have to endure this for too long.