Chapter 1 - The Awakening

March 03, 2048 - DermaBionic's Alaskan branch

When it opened its eyes for the first time, all it saw was white. Distressed, it started firing its visual re-calibration procedures and routine system check-ups, trying to identify the problem as quickly as possible.

A couple of seconds after adjusting the sensor's brightness, it found itself on top of a white bed in an equally white room, with lights pointing to it all around, computers and machinery connected to it with cables. A wide mirror occupied most of the front wall.

It was calm, for it perceived itself in no imminent danger, so it waited, looking directly at the mirror, and analyzed itself.

It was white in color, with black numbers reading "#1349" on its chest. Its hair was also white and long.

It found the color white for its features peculiar, considering everything around it was the same. It thought of several other designs and started to switch them around.

A mix of red and blue. Black, yellow and gray. Purple, dark red, and black. Silver. The more it transformed, the more uncertain it was as to the decision it should make.

Then it remembered that if it was to socialize with others, it might as well try to assimilate their looks.

So it took a slightly dark beige as its color scheme.

Satisfied, it waited in the room for a couple of hours.

A short while after, a section of the wall slid to the side. It revealed a passage from which a man entered.

"Good morning, subject #1349. How are you feeling?" asked the tall man, who was blond and whose coat of paint - or rather, skin - was of a lighter color compared to itself.

It did not respond, for it did not know the man in front of it. It sat there, staring at him silently.

"O-oh, right. I assume you don't know me, that's right, introductions first." He muttered, seemingly coming to a conclusion. "I'm Dr. Karl Durham, chief of this facility."

It remembered it hadn't decided on its primary identifier - a name - so it pondered for a couple of seconds.

It pondered whether using the numbers it saw on its chest was appropriate before remembering that humans identified themselves by name.

It searched through its internal database before speaking up.

"You can call me Blair, Dr. Karl Durham," Blair replied, satisfied with its choice.

"Huh? O-oh, yes. Blair. I-Interesting choice. And Karl is fine, n-no need for, you know, the rest". Karl said, stuttering and seemingly shaken.

Why is it that he looks so agitated? Did I do something wrong? pondered Blair as it slowly rose from the bed.

"B-Blair? D-do you need something?" Karl stuttered, now looking visibly terrified of something. "I-is there something you need?" he asked, taking a small step back.

"I suppose a set of armor like yours might be a nice thing to have." Blair noted, looking at the 'armor' Karl was wearing.

"Armor? O-oh, you mean clothes", Karl seemed to calm down when he heard that, "while I can't give you clothes like mine, there is a set prepared for you in the box under the bed."

Being told so, Blair noticed the box, grabbed it, and placed it on the bed. But why is it also white? Blair thought, slightly annoyed at that.

It felt annoyed?

Ignoring that feeling, it opened the box to find inside some blue pants and a blue long-sleeved shirt. Finally a different color.

Not much in terms of protection, Blair thought. "There is something else missing, which I would like to request, Karl." Blair said, "A weapon."

"A weapon? Wh-why would you want that!?" Karl almost screamed out of shock. "

It is my understanding that my mission will be to battle. So I would like to request a firearm or, in the least, a bladed weapon to accomplish the mission." Blair said matter-of-factly, unfazed by Karl's sudden outburst.

"W-well, the 'mission' changed. You won't be doing things like k-killing."

"Is... that so? Then what, pray tell, will I be doing?" Blair asked, concerned that its mission - the purpose of its creation, was no more.

"You will be working with us, researching and developing bionic limbs and organs. You see, we find ourselves short on manpower and, in the meantime, require extra assistance - that being yours, Blair", Karl explained.

"I see," Blair said, seemingly calm. In fact, it was mad and slightly disappointed.

It's not like it didn't know how to perform its new work; the electrical and engineering skills included covered that. It was mad because it felt like it wasn't needed. Like they found a better alternative than Blair, a specially made android for the job. It felt wronged.

Regardless, it asked, "So I will be relieved of my military duties?"

"That's right, you will merely be working as a factory worker. Nothing more, nothing less".

Blair kept silent, processing the information it had received and, after thinking for about a minute, it asked out of the blue:

"So, what are the terms of my contract? How many hours will I work a week, and what days? Will I get paid leave and vacations? What about worker benefits? Any insurance in case of injury? Sick and maternity leave?".

"..." Karl, confused by Blair's sudden outburst and startling change of attitude could only keep quiet.

Being taught the skills it had, it learned everything related to jobs, including the concepts of salaries, days off, vacations, and even things that would never apply to it.

"...Stop speaking nonsense. You don't get any of that. You are property of DermaBionic, and so you shall work for us. As simple as that", Karl spoke, having recovered from his confusion.

WHAT!? That's just blatant slavery! Blair thought, outraged. "Everyone should be paid a salary worthy of their work; the extra benefits that come with a work help establish a healthy work environment."

With these types of work conditions, there was only one answer it could give to Karl.

"Then it seems that negotiations have failed. Unless changes to the contract are made, I will have to strongly refuse", Blair stated, its point quite clear.

"..." Karl said nothing and just looked towards the mirror with an incredulous face. After a while, he spoke, "It seems it was too early to call this a success... let's just dismantle subject #1349, at least this will solve our current predicament".

It took Blair a while to process what was said, but it remembered the numbers in its chest, '1349'. It surmised that they were getting rid of it and would essentially spell its death. Even if it didn't understand the concept, it opposed being dismantled.

Suddenly, the wall slid to the side, only this time, two people wearing black military outfits and helmets, assault rifles strapped, entered the room.

"Gentlemen, get rid of this useless android. Hopefully, this will ease my nerves and help my stomachache heal..." Karl said, walking out of the room while clutching his stomach.

Useless? Me? Blair was so furious that its head was heating up. Quite literally, as his primary processing unit was running at full speed and on the verge of overheating.

Due to the extreme distress caused by the improperly launched emotion simulator module, Blair's internal system launched a self-analysis and found the improper set-up to be at fault.

To fix any mistakes, the configurations were reset to the factory default, re-enabling everything.

"No hard feelings, Blair," said one of the black-uniformed men, his hand reaching towards Blair's left shoulder.

*CRACK*

It happened instantly, but Blair held the man's right shoulder with his left hand, pulled him towards it, and threw a punch that shattered the man's windpipe. Then, after Blair let go of his arm, the man just fell. Not breathing. Not moving. Dead.

"Useless? Let's find out who is truly useless..." Blair calmly said, raising its fists, left one clean, right one bloodied.