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.
Markus looked around him. Sure enough, there were more people like this old man. Some are singers alike, others are painters with old brushes and paint, scribbling on a canvas, desperately trying to earn a living for themselves through selling their artwork. The android recalled that the reason the atmosphere of this part of the district was unlike any other place he had been was partly because of them.
He analyzed the change his master had given him. Taking the amount of money he gave to the two people he saw by the district's entrance out of the equation, he noted that he was able to give a small amount of change to a few of them. So he went, and passed the change to three people in the alley, one of them being the old man with the red beanie.
"Look at me." the man chuckled to himself. "I lost my damn career due to androids and yet here I am, being helped by one."
Markus shrugged off the comment as he handed the money to him. The man reluctantly accepted.
"You're just being ordered to give money to us folks by yer master or somethin'..but thanks. I still hate ya for stealing my job, though." he grumbled.
Markus tilted his head in slight confusion before heading on his way.
--"Humans will harbor hate and disdain for those they believed had wronged them. That feeling can grow to the point where they will harbor said hate towards others as well."-- his master's words ring in his mind.
-It all started with just one person. Why would someone let their feelings get ahead of them like that?- Markus wondered as he headed to the bus station. He looked behind him. The three homeless people were silent, picking up on their business as usual. But even so..
..a scowl remains present on their faces.
Suddenly, something, or someone, shoved Markus onto the ground. His LED was flickering a bright yellow as he struggled to see what, or who, had hit him.
"Looks like someone needs to be taught a lesson!" a raspy voice shouted, inviting others of their group to join. They were once holding up signs made of construction paper and cardboard, and were carrying the plastic megaphones found in sports events. Soon, a crowd of people gathered to see the commotion.
"Look at this nasty mother-fucker." a woman taunted. "Stealing our jobs yet it can't even stand up!"
"Hey look, we got one of those tin cans over here!"
Markus tried to stand up, but was kicked on his side. Dropping his box of paints, his knees buckled and he stumbled. He can feel his stress levels going up as they continue to harass and taunt him.
A grown man grabbed Markus and lifted the collar of his shirt, bringing the android to eye level.
"Now you listen here, little shit." he grumbled. "It's your fault that we've all lost our jobs!"
Markus tried to push him away, but he was shoved back on the ground, the man pinning him down and gripping hard onto his neck. The android could feel the rush of thirium to his head as the vessels in his neck were pressured.
He noticed that the man was also holding something on his non-dominant hand, hidden behind his back.
"All of this is YOUR FAULT! YA HEAR THAT, TIN CAN? HUH?! ALL OF THIS IS YOUR FAULT!!! YOUR! FAULT!" he shouted. Markus scrambled for a way out, and clawed at the man in self-defense. Suddenly, the man pulled something out from behind him. Markus' jade eyes met with a sharp, small sheen of metal.
Markus froze. He stared at the object with fear as it approached him, aimed right at his face. Time began to slow down for him, as if it wants to play a cruel game with the android.
Markus' LED went from a distressed yellow to a blaring red. It flickers so quickly that you'd swear there was a red lightning storm inside his head.
It grew closer, and closer. He could feel it's cold aura about to connect with his synthetic skin.
-STRESS LEVEL: 78%-82%-89%...-
Suddenly, he felt the weight on top of him being lifted. Using this chance, he quickly got up, retrieved his box of paints that he dropped, and quickly averted the crowd.
"You damage that android, and you'll be fined for vandalizing someone's property, ya hear me?" he heard a security officer said as he restrained the man. Markus stood afar, watching the scene. He couldn't look at the man that attacked him any longer, so he quickly left, averting any eye contact with anyone that he passed by.
.
What..was that? he thought. He clutched his chest, strangling the fabric of his uniform as he watched the view from the bus window. Buildings whizzed past as quickly as a bee buzzed from one flower to another. He couldn't stop thinking about the attack. He couldn't stop thinking about how the man nearly ripped his face apart with a dagger. He couldn't stop thinking..
..about how he felt during that moment.
The pumps of thirium rushing to his head, his desperate attempts to free himself from the man's clutches, the fear that instilled in his mind at that very spot in time.
Fear and desperation.
He felt all of it, a mess of emotions clouded in his mind, like droplets of paint mixing together in a cup of water forming a murky color.