Perfection

How much would you go for money?

Think about it. How far would you go to earn extra money, or claim extra credit? Now imagine, if you ran a worldwide company, how far would you go to create fantastic products to beat back the competition?

...

Tick, tock. If you paid enough attention, you could feel the steady beat of the city as it progressed on in mechanical orderliness. It was like the tick of a huge, unmoving metronome, like the click of robots shifting into gear, the emotionless operations carried out by these computerized beings. In this town of Woodsville, the people all enjoyed a ‘perfect’ life. And if you thought about it, it really did seem perfect. Streets were swept clean, great construction projects were built flawlessly at top speed. In this robotic age, everything everyone wanted was done and made perfectly for them.

With her not-so-glossy brown hair and even-but-not-spotless complexion, Fourteen-year-old Selena Neelon looked plain compared to the rest of the population, having refused plastic surgery. She was scowling as she glanced out her window, twirling a stray lock of hair with her fingers. Seriously, was she the only one in this world who could actually resist the artificial ‘perfection’ brought by robots? Really, she thought. The city’s so fake it could have been dead. Selena had despised robots, ever since what had happened when she was six. She could not stand the idea of these unfeeling, emotionless ghouls taking over the world with their ‘perfection’. The unmoving orderliness of it all made her slightly claustrophobic. There was no freedom, no variation that music-loving Selena embraced.

A message flashed across her brain from the communications center of the all-purpose chip wired to her brain that was a sort of back-up drive for all her thoughts and memories should the need arise (in court, for example) to explore them. It was from Jasmine, Selena’s best friend.

Want to go to the mall later to meet Victoria?

Victoria was this supposedly cool amazing girl that Jasmine had befriended a few days ago and never stopped talking about. Well, Selena would see just how awesome this girl was.

Sure!

…

Victoria was a hauntingly beautiful girl a head taller than Selena. Slender and graceful, with waist-length white-blonde hair that fell in a straight sheet, and radiant, spotless skin, she seemed to glow. She was giggling with Jas when Selena found them.

Upon seeing Selena, they both started to wave, sunshine smiles lighting up their faces. Selena felt a twinge. Since when did Jasmine and this other girl stand together like a team, waving at her like she was the newcomer?

“Sel! Glad you came!” Grinning toothily, Jasmine looped an arm around Selena’s shoulders and hugged her tight.

“Selena, Victoria.” Jas introduced. “I’m pretty certain you’ll get along more than fine. I mean, Victoria is just perfect, Sel!

Perfect?

Selena smiled uncertainly at Victoria. “Um… Hi,” she murmured shyly, twirling her hair nervously.

“Hey! Jasmine’s told me everything about you. She says you’re heart-stopping when it comes to the piano!”

Victoria’s voice felt so… polished, as if she always knew the right thing to say at the right time. And as she spoke, Selena got a full view of her eyes. She started. The deep black irises seemed empty, giving no hint as to her thoughts.

Somehow she unsettled Selena.

Victoria strode forward with the confidence of a dancer and Jas followed her, linking their arms affectionately and leaving Selena to trail along in their wake.

Fear started to gnaw on Selena’s stomach again. Usually, it would be her and Jas strolling through malls like they owned the place, laughing about ridiculous things. Did Victoria really have to pop out with all her charm and perfection and change everything? Intruder.

“This suits you!” Victoria commented as they entered a shop, picking out a shirt. As she held it up, her sleeve slipped, revealing her inner forearm.

Branded on her porcelain skin was a familiar symbol.

Selena stumbled backward, shocked. She should have known! From Victoria’s polished sentences and flawless appearance to the way she had so easily woven herself into Jas’s life, it was clear that she was perfect, too perfect to be human. A knife-sharp memory pierced through Selena’s mind.

“We regret to inform you that Albert Neelon was pronounced dead after doctors failed to save him from severe injuries caused by an out-of-control robot at his workplace.”

Panic rose like a sandstorm in Selena’s mind.

Jas.” Grabbing her friend’s arm, Selena dragged her behind a row of clothing, out of earshot.

“You didn't tell me she was a Technobot!" She hissed.

Technosense was a worldwide company that manufactured robots of all kind. A month ago they had launched a new series of ‘robotic friends (robots programmed to be people’s ‘perfect friends’)’ called Technobots, after receiving complaints that their previous type did not have enough personality in them. These Technobots, however, had eerily complicated personalities and feelings in them, almost like flawless versions of actual people.

To tell them apart from humans, Technobots all had the Technosense symbol tattooed on their arm.

“You’d overreact,” Jas replied, exasperated. “It’s not such a big deal, you know.”

Selena’s brain whirled.

“Please, Jas. It-it’s dangerous.”

“Come on, Selena. You’re a teenager! You can’t always be like the older generation, shunning what the modern world has to offer. I know what you’re thinking, and I promise you that it won’t happen to me! You’ve got to live a little.”

“Jas-”

“Seriously!”

With that, Jas turned away from Selena to march back to Victoria, her long, chocolate-brown hair falling in a curtain between them.

…

As the days passed, Selena tried to win Jas back, messaging her more and trying to be ‘cooler’. No way was she going to let Jas spend time unguarded with a robot. Her uncle’s last kindly smile swam to the forefront of her vision, and she shuddered. Also, her pride would not allow her to lose a friend to someone who was not even human.

At first, Jas replied her with the same old enthusiasm. But as time passed she started slipping away. Selena found herself constantly desperately starting falsely cheery conversations and receiving only half-hearted, one-word responses, if Jas even replied at all. She saw Jas less and less, and every time she did Jas was arm in arm with Victoria. Then one day, Selena found herself reeling from the slap that Jas’s message delivered.

You don’t know how to live, Selena. You’re just too arrogant to admit the Technobots are cooler than you. When we were friends you seemed fun but that was because I didn’t know what cool was. Stop being so clingy and pestering me, emotional music geek.I’m better off without you.

Selena could not breathe. Her world crashed down on her, burying her in the rubble. Her mouth flapped like a fish out of water.

Throwing herself down on her piano bench she started to play a song she knew, an angry, hopeless song, a channel to pour all her emotions into. So, people now only lived for fun? Selena remembered the amazing stories people told of rainforests and blue skies some fifty years ago. Then she thought about the callous way humans had destroyed them all to create this terrible artificial world devoid of nature. People now were empty as shells, forgetting human emotions to chase materialism from meaningless ghouls. A wave of disgust rippled through her. She thought of the irony of Jas saying she did not know how to live, and cold anger bubbled up under the surface like burning ice. Really, who was Jas kidding? And after three years of friendship, all those memories shared, Jas had thrown her aside like a broken toy. The music throbbed in her ears like a heartbeat, drowning out the tick of the city outside. This, at least, was gloriously real. The seed of creativity, of emotion and flexibility in this unmovable world, her emotions woven into ropes of melody that tore her away from the real world.

Then something occurred to Selena. This nasty version of Jas was not Jas. It was because of Victoria. Victoria who had stolen away Selena’s attention and friend. Victoria, the empty husk of perfection that had ruined everything. Without her, everything would be just the way it was before. And somewhere in Selena’s mind an idea started to form. A crazy idea it was, but what else could she think now, fuelled by all the passion of her thunderstorm song? But if she really could do it...

…

Victoria stood before Selena, poised as always like Aphrodite herself, in Jas's back garden. Selena did not speak. She did not need to. Victoria heard and felt nothing, no matter how she acted otherwise. She was nothing but a computer, a machine. A machine that Selena was going to destroy.

Selena trembled slightly. She's just a machine, she told herself firmly. You're here, and you're going to do what you promised yourself you were going to do. But still. What if she got into trouble for this? What had she been thinking in those angst-ridden moments?

"Hey, Sel," Victoria gave her signature charming smile. And that was enough to clear any doubts Selena had.

Stepping forward wordlessly, Selena grabbed hold of Victoria's wrist and held her there. To her surprise, she did not give any struggle. Oh, this was too easy. Without pausing to allow herself time that might change her mind, Selena took hold of Victoria's sleeve, yanking it upward. On her upper inner arm there was a small button, just like her previous day's research had shown. Yes, this was the robot's self-termination button. It looked bizarre on the seeming human flesh. But one press... One press and Victoria would be nothing. Jas would be back.

Closing her eyes, Selena sank her thumb into the button, willing this to be over.

And what felt like a lightning bolt seared through Selena from her finger to the chip in her head.

...

That morning, in Jas Fisher's backyard, the shell of a terminated robot could be found. Also, one completely changed Selena Neelon. The sparkle had gone from Selena's eyes. This Selena might not be as empty as the robots she despised, but she certainly was closer to being so. Something that Technosense did not tell the public was that the termination button not only deactivated the robot, but also reached into the microchip implanted in the terminator's head and removed the best qualities and memories he or she had, to be sent to Technosense factories by a wire in the robot that connected to Technosense headquarters. These heartbroken people were the ones that had anger in them, and were not empty like the rest of the population. In the factories all these qualities and memories were mixed and implanted into Technobot programs, thus giving them their striking personalities. What is perfection, but the best of everyone combined?

It was a vicious cycle. The Technobots made, the more people like Selena were left behind by friends and decided to do what Selena had decided to do. Thus, more people to contribute themselves for enter Technobots for Technosense to bloom. So ruthlessly.

So, how far would you go for money?

Author's Note

This was written for a school project. What do you think? Good? Bad? Do tell me! :)

Reviews

[Trestababy]

Absolutely love the concept and you told the story very well. Just thinking that the story would work better if you left out the first paragraph from tick tock. It sets the scene where in my opinion the story does that well enough itself. Also remember to show not tell. One example of this is where you write 'just as her previous day's research had shown'. It might have worked better if you had shown her doing some research earlier. Just my thoughts on what I think is a good story and plot that had me gripped until the end.

[Aarea]

BTW have you ever seen i-robot?

[Appassionata]

Nope. What is it?

[Aarea]

It is a futuristic movie where basically there is one robot for every human. The main character hates robots and doesn't trust them, like yours. This story just reminded me of it. :)

[Trestababy]

As soon as I started reading it I thought of Irobot.

[Aarea]

This is good, nice futuristic touch. Hope you got a hundred percent on it!

[Appassionata]

Thank you! Glad you liked it. It means a lot :)