Greetings pt.2

"Excuse me, could I please take your depiction?"

A man in a black suit, plain in every way, approached him, holding a small device in his hands.

"All right, but who are you?" Lobert asked.

"I'm just the depicter; I'm supposed to make a depiction of you."

Lobert relaxed a little, finally someone who wasn't extremely important.

"Good, then I'll start now. The lady next to him, can you please step aside?" he said to Reiko.

"No. Non-negotiable." Reiko replied promptly.

"Then I will try it this way." The man held his device in front of his eye and the lens began to flash at rapid intervals.

"Please stay like that." He said.

He circled Lobert around, maneuvered a bit awkwardly around Reiko and arrived back at the starting point.

"Thank you very much, that's all." the man said and then disappeared.

"I'm going to get something to drink, are you coming?" Lobert asked.

"You know I don't have a choice in the matter, right?"

Lobert sat down at the bar and ordered a chilled soft drink; Reiko stood behind him and ordered plain water.

"There are so many choices here and you just want a water?" Lobert asked judgmentally.

"A soft drink that can be found in any store isn't exactly the most exotic choice either."

"Touché."

"That being said, water is the best thing you can do for your body. That other stuff is just pure garbage." Reiko said even more judgmentally.

"I don't have many pleasures in life, so I refuse to give up my soft drinks."

Lobert and Reiko were enjoying their drinks when another old man sat down next to them.

He ordered a straight vodka; you could tell by his smell that he was a friend of alcohol.

The old man, like many at this party, also had a white suit, but this one was striped. Underneath he wore a brown shirt.

His gray beard was disheveled and below his bald head, worry lines decorated his forehead.

"So you're the arbiter, boy."

The man took a sip of vodka and stared into his glass.

"Yeah, that's who I am. Do you want something from me?" Lobert asked. 

Who might that be?

"You seem a little young to be holding the reins." The man said, shaking his glass in a circular motion.

"Should I know who you are?" Lobert asked.

"Oh where are my manners." The man said.

"I am the chief justice of Central City, Tyrone Dewey my name. Let me give you some advice, old to young. Listen, it's really quite simple. Don't get on the wrong people's bad side, and don't do anything stupid."

He took another sip from his glass.

"You better enjoy your life." He glanced at Reiko.

"With this pretty young lady, for example."

Reiko seemed unaffected.

"I'll buy you a round; you are welcome to reach for the expensive booze, too."

Reiko was sure to take just water again, but this time he would go for something more exotic, Lobert thought to himself.

"When I was as young as you-" Mr. Dewey was interrupted.

"If it isn't Lobert Natus, the man of the festivities."

A man in a golden suit and a black shirt approached Lobert from behind.

He wore rose-colored glasses with round lenses and he had two lightly dressed women in tow.

"Up close, you have quite the handsome face." the man said.

Strange men had been coming to talk to Lobert this whole time, but this one was the strangest so far.

"Reiko, do you know who this is?"  Lobert asked over the directocom.

"It looks like the owner of GINKEN, Daisuke Kirinumi."

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" The man looked to Mr. Dewey.

"No, no, not at all." Mr. Dewey answered with a blank smile, before taking another sip of vodka.

"Splendid!" the man clapped his hands.

"Lobert, shall we go for a short stroll?"

"Alright." Lobert agreed.

Lobert got up from his chair and Mr. Kirinumi was about to guide Lobert with his hand, but Reiko blocked it.

"The cat wants to protect its property, amusing." Mr. Kirinumi said.

Mr. Kirinumi turned to Lobert.

"I don't think I've introduced myself yet. You see, I'm a businessman..."

"...an Artist!" the lady to his left said.

"...a Benefactor!" the lady to his right said.

"...a Visionary!" Mr. Kirinumi said.

"Daisuke Kirinumi." the three said in unison.

They must have practiced that, Lobert thought.

Lobert and Mr. Kirinumi walked around the rooftop garden a bit.

"Isn't it beautiful? The lights, the atmosphere, the people?" Mr. Kirinumi asked Lobert.

"Yes, I think the lights are beautiful, but what do you want from me?"

"Sometimes you just have to stop for a moment and look at your surroundings; take in the beauty. Tell me boy, how do you feel about androids?"

"Hard to say, I've never really seen any."

"You certainly have, there are even some in the outer districts; as a matter of fact, even the waiters here are androids, created by me!" Mr. Kirinumi proudly stretched out his arms.

"I think he has a god complex." Reiko commented over the directocom.

Lobert briefly pondered for an answer.

"If I practically can't distinguish them from humans, then i don't feel about them any other way than i do about humans. So I don’t think the details matter much."

"That's right!" Mr. Kirinumi exclaimed, like a teacher praising a student who got the answer right.

"I like you boy, I think we can become friends." Mr. Kirinumi added.

He leaned his arms on the two women who accompanied him.

"And with these two as well. Believe it or not, they are androids too."

"I presume you are also an android?" Lobert said.

Mr. Kirinumi laughed.

"You have a sense of humor boy! Know this, humor is also one of the many forms of the arts. But no, I am flesh and blood." Mr. Kirinumi did a pirouette.

"Mr. Kirinumi, what about you, what is your opinion on androids? You brought them into the world; do you see androids more as useful tools, or on the contrary, free people?"

"An interesting question. Humans are birthed, and before they are adults they are under the control of their parents, are they not? Humans are born with duties and expectations to fulfill. It's much the same with androids. They are built to perform certain tasks. Be it to be the companion of a rich man, to wait tables or even to kill. If they do that for twelve years, I think they have earned the right to a life of their own; sentient beings shouldn’t be enslaved for eternity. Right now, though, they have no hope of freedom, because no law in the world recognizes the rights of an android. Don't you think that's a terrible pity?"

Oddly, Lobert noticed how he agreed with many of Mr. Kirinumi's opinions.

"That does sound like something worth changing." Lobert admitted.

"I knew you'd understand!" Mr. Kirinumi clapped his hands excitedly.

"What do you say, I gift you an android, from friend to friend. You can then have it do any labor you desire. Would you rather have a male..."

Lobert hesitated for a moment.

"...Or a female one?" Mr. Kirinumi winked suggestively.

"I guess an android would be handy."

Reiko gave Lobert a discreet kick.

"Relax; I've never dealt with androids before, so it would be useful to have one for research purposes." Lobert said to Reiko over the directocom.

Mr. Kirinumi wore a broad grin on his face.

"Then we are in agreement, I will have one shipped to you as early as possible."

The man might have been a bit odd, but he seemed to have his heart in the right place, Lobert thought to himself.

A woman in a white suit and a black shirt underneath approached the conversation from the side. She had a black bob and looked to be in her mid-40s.

"Good afternoon Mr. Natus, I hope you are enjoying yourself. I'm Emily Wickes, the head of the War Smiths defense contractor. If you ever need heavy weapons, I'm the one to call."

The woman stared into Lobert's eyes, and he stared back, he felt like she was looking straight into his soul. Her eyes glowed red.

"You seem interested in my eyes." Mrs. Wickes said.

"I've never seen glowing eyes before." Lobert admitted.

"Developed in my company, normal eyes can't compete with these. 20 times better eyesight, night and heat vision; with these you can literally see the world with different eyes, I recommend them to anyone who has the money."

"I don't really like body modifications that much." Lobert opined.

"Are you one of those who want to leave their God-given body untouched?"

"No, I prefer not to replace the things that still work with things i don't know about by people i don't trust. And who knows if malicious people really can't hack them." Lobert explained.

"What we make at our facility is perfectly safe, otherwise we wouldn't sell it. I for one have absolute confidence in my technologies, but I can understand your concerns."

"Lobert, I'm sorry but I have some important business to discuss with Mrs. Wickes, if you would be so kind." Mr. Kirinumi interjected.

"It was nice to meet you." Mrs. Wickes added.

"I understand." Lobert left the two to their conversation and returned to the bar with Reiko. As far as he could remember, Mr. Dewey still had something to say.