Mechanical Gods (lgbtq+)

Chapter Two: The Android Factory

     "Mr. North, there's availability in two hours. Would that work?"

     Tyler smiled brightly. "Perfect."

     The woman typed on the computer again. "Its done. They'll be expecting you there."

     Tyler returned to his apartment and grabbed his car, not wanting to take the bus or the train there since he'd be coming home with an android. He thought he'd be late for the meeting, but in the end, he was five minutes early, parking his vehicle in front of the factory in Brooklyn.

     It was a large glass building that stood at least fifty stories high situated a block away from the harbor, which SynTech also owned. When the woman mentioned a factory, Tyler pictured smokestacks with billowing black smoke at the top and a massive mason-bricked building. But that was not the case. It wasn't even a factory but more of a large facility that expanded over hundreds of acres. Tyler had to stop by the gates for the security guard to open it. It felt like he was entering Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory from an old movie with Johnny Depp he saw as a kid.

     Soon, the concrete jungle turned into a lush green terrain, where wooded parks circled the large glass building and the parking lot,  bordered by ten feet giant walls. His old 2011 Honda civic moving toward the building paled in comparison to its grandeur.

     He entered the lobby filled with natural light from the floor-to-ceiling glass windows that encompassed its entire wall, making it harder to find where the front door was because of how transparent the glass was. Once he was inside, Tyler felt underdressed again from the other people in the room. They dressed in semi-casual attire with some men wearing suits by the couches while Tyler only had his brown leather jacket on top of his white shirt and a pair of blue jeans. He walked up to the female receptionist at the oval table situated at the very center and told her of his appointment.

     "He'll be a moment shortly. Please sit in the lounge for the meantime," the receptionist said.

     Tyler sat next to a young couple in their thirties who droned on about the magazines on their hand, pointing at pictures of androids they'd like to purchase and sometimes, cars and other gadgets that SynTech also sold. One man in his sixties stared at him, probably judging the state of his attire, but Tyler didn't let it bother him too much. It seemed he had a knack of being underdressed.

     The familiar face of Harry Gray, the host of the event three days ago, walked out of the elevator and approached the lounge area. His eyes were already on Tyler, and he extended his hand out to greet him.

     "Welcome, Mr. North. When I realized who you were on my schedule, I already made preparations for the AD-Class 700 models until your arrival. I'm sorry if I kept you waiting."

     "Oh, no, none at all, Mr. Gray, is it?"

     "Harry's fine. Though, I'm used to people calling me by my name," he chuckled, pointing at his name tag on his right chest. "Ready to get started?"

     "After you."

     Harry led Tyler to the right, toward the west wing of the lobby where one set of double doors waited. The doors parted on their own as they entered and Tyler found himself in a long corridor that led to another set of double doors at the end. Advertisement graphics for different android models filled The walls, ceiling, and even the floor, moving, swirling, and changing by ten-second intervals. As they reached the other end, he was greeted by a huge room filled with androids.

     The room looked in the same style as a SynTech retail store, but thrice bigger than before because about a hundred androids were standing on their pedestal. Female androids were all placed on the right, and the male androids were on the left, and they were all naked down to their underwear.

     Tyler blanched from the sight, averting his eyes. Harry laughed.

     "Not used to buying an android, Mr. North?"

     "It's my first time, and they're half-naked. The retail stores had their clothes on."

     "It's for modesty sake since they are open to the public. In here, this is a private showing. A perfect place for a premium customer," said Harry nonchalantly. "May I have it?"

     Tyler gave the voucher to him. Harry opened the red envelope and read its contents.

     "Whew! Enormous price. No wonder you wanted it."

     Tyler almost guffawed. "It's not my idea, but I didn't want to let it go to waste in a month."

     "Ten thousand dollars is, after all, a large sum. And the starting price of an AD-Class 700 is around six thousand dollars for the basic units, but this is a premium package, so that leaves you with a room of four thousand dollars to customize."

     "And that's where I need help. The lady in the store told me this would speed up the process of the customization."

     "We got the memo. I assure you, Mr. North, that this is no inconvenience at all. You are a guest at the fundraising event--"

     "Staff," Tyler corrected.

     "...Right. Either way, today you are a customer, and here at SynTech, our services are top-notch. Now, let's begin shall we?" Harry opened his arms theatrically as if showcasing all the models in front of them. He had that wide-irking smile on that made Tyler shivered uncomfortably, but he held his composure.

     "Please."

     They moved deeper into the room.

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A/N: Thanks everyone for reading and also thanks for the votes. They're always appreciated, and I'd like to hear any feedback/thoughts you may have of how the story is going on as well. Thank you!