Electronica

A Spark dashed through a crowded city, and several others like her followed in hot pursuit. She had failed on purpose, and if she was caught, she would most certainly to be discharged. The world this Spark lived in wasn't exactly cruel or uncaring, but boring. Her refusal to cooperate with the standards set by others meant that she was now targeted. She felt unfulfilled in the normalcy, but as she fled, she was renewed with a sense of excitement, the very chase brought about something out of the ordinary.

The crowd paid this chase little mind, as they had better things to do than to save a Spark from a situation they knew nothing about, let alone the fact there didn't seem to be a problem in the first place. Some found it to be interesting at a glance, but didn't have any time to give it much attention. They continued to bustle around without true purpose, their almost robotic monotony matching the plain grey, black and white colors of the cityscape.

Those that chased the Spark didn't want to enact the punishment that was equivalent to death, as they shared a sympathy of being similar in species, and quite enjoyed the chase themselves. However, sympathy found no place here, and they followed her every move with vigorous hope that she would not cease to run, or run out of room to do so.

Eventually the Spark came upon a Charging Rail, one that partly led up the side of a building. The pathway led further than that, to a raised walkway above a bustling road filled with trams, long and extensive monorails and other speedy vehicles that ran on the rails, some personal, others public.

While the regular people, the humans, used escalators and elevators, Sparks were requested to keep them running by running along these boringly short rails, which were too efficient to really be considered work. Other times, such as these, Charging Rails provided a Spark with a way to better traverse the city without disturbing others in their daily lives. She sprinted up the rail in a vertical fashion, and was given a chance to look upon the currently overcast sky.

A small smile spread on the Spark's face. She adored the rain, as it allowed her to experience a sense of openness, the water droplets letting her spread herself thin. It was a feeling of freedom and chaos otherwise lacking in her reality of control and order.

Before long, she came upon a dead end, in her trance she had scaled the building itself, disregarding the Charging Rail and ending up on the roof. It was dotted with lightning rods, which were then hooked up to giant batteries. Facing up towards the sky, the smile that was plastered on her face during that entire pursuit was replaced with a look of sadness, the fun was over, now.

"I guess that's it, isn't it?" she asked, seemingly satisfied with her attempted escape. The three Sparks that had pursued her approached with melancholic and somber expressions. The chase ended.

The four of them, if not for their obvious inhuman attributes of speed, unnaturally white hair and electrical skin, appeared human. In particular, the escapee was quite beautiful, as her skin was fairer in complexion, and better controlled than her counterparts.

"Yes, now it's a matter of who you will be discharged to," answered the obvious ringleader, who stood a head taller than all three. He lacked the control for his skin that the girl had, but was still a might better than the other two in his companionship, who barely appeared human.

None of these Sparks had given names, at least, not by their knowledge. Instead, the Sparks were given designations based on their natural level of control over their skin, if they appeared fully human initially, they were given a two-digit code, if only having minor human traits, a three digit, if barely humanoid, then a four digit, if not at all humanoid, a five digit, and would rarely demonstrate sentience.

The Spark that stood before her brothers and sister was a rare exception, a highly talented rarity, born with a five digit code. Given time, she steadily improved to a two digit with her first two decades of living, and with hard work, managed to give herself a uniqueness: she had come up with a name for herself.