"Mister Kamski.", you shook his hand as you met him at the elevator downstairs. "You wanted to see me?"

Somehow, it made you nervous to be in his presence again.

Had he found out about the little stroll of yours on the internet?

Would you be scolded for violating the contract after mere hours of being an employee?

No, that couldn't be the case. The code you wrote was a strong one, not noticeable unless some was looking for it.

There was no way Kamski could know. Or anybody else.

He folded his hands behind his back.

"Please call the elevator, Chloe.", he addressed his android, a small, blonde model with blue eyes.

She was a cliche looking model, the embodiment of a perfect human woman, small, tender and looking as little threatening as possible.

Kamski had probably chosen for her to look this way to make the introduction to humans less strange and uncomfortable. After all, he was smart enough to know that humans didn't like things they didn't know.

Gifting you a sweet smile, Chloe nodded and called the elevator via her access to the CyberLife network.

You and Kamski entered.

She stayed outside.

"Thank you, Chloe.", he said in a surprisingly friendly way. "I will call you back down once we talked about everything."

She nodded.

"See you soon, Elijah.", she said in a sweet, soft voice and disappeared.

It struck you as odd that an android used his first name.

As far as you were concerned nobody in this company was allowed to do so.

Kamski reached out to press the button to the lowest floor.
It went quite deep, you noticed, all the way down to floor -49.

"We keep the models and prototypes down there that aren't ready to be sold yet.", he explained as he noticed you staring at the number.

Understanding, you nodded.

"Will you show me the models so I know what would be according to your standards, sir?", you asked.

"Yes. But also to show you the possibilities. As you may know, CyberLife is constantly working on new models. We want this prototype to be as humanly as possible. Both in appearance and how it acts."

"I assure you I'll do what I can."

"That I have no doubt about. But you might be trapped in your own expectations and visions. I'll show you what reality looks like and you'll work from there."

"As you wish, sir."

The number -49 lit up on the screen.

With a dinging sound, the elevator came to a stand and the doors swung open.

Surprised, you took a sharp breath in.

A sea of white and grey default android models came into sight. Like soldiers in the army, they stood side by side, backs straight and hands hanging low.

Their eyes were wide open, but none of them seemed to work. They just stood there, like mannequins, trapped for an endless amount of time until someone decided they should serve another purpose.

On the right of the huge warehouse like floor stood the male models, while the left was occupied by the female ones. There were no children's models.

Relieved, you let out the breath you had held.

Despite liking kids, they still freaked you out a little. Not working with their mechanical versions did take some pressure off your shoulders.

Kamski led you through the path that separated the male androids from the female ones.

"Those are the best models we have at the moment.", he said and glanced over his shoulder at you. "Our engineers are constantly changing them, but the improvements are minor. This is what you can expect to work with."

Letting your eyes wander over the many androids, an army so to say, you nodded.

"So the program part is my job.", you said, as if you didn't know. "Make it as humanly as possible."

"No.", he stopped abruptly. "And yes. Make it seem like it's human, make it be friendly and please the people without scaring them how empty and obedient it is. It's supposed to be as flawless as a machine. But the programming is supposed to make people feel like they are interacting with one of their own."

"You want a slave who doesn't act like one.", you corrected him.

The corners of his mouth twitched. He let out an amused sound.

"Is that your opinion on androids?"

For a moment, you looked at the models again.

"They are tools.", you said and turned to meet his eyes again. "To make human life more comfortable. Nothing wrong with that. It's not like machines have a free mind anyways."

He hummed.

"Well, I'd argue about that. After all, I want you to mimic a free mind as realistic as possible."

"I'll try what I can, sir. That's what you hired me for."

"I cherish employees like you.", he turned to walk on again. "But I don't want to undermine your own creativity. Therefor, me and the shareholders decided to let you have free hand with certain things."

You raised an eyebrow.

"For example?", you asked and stopped again as he unlocked the door at the end of the hall.

He stepped aside to let you have a look inside the office, which was equipped with a criminal amount high tech computers, an examination table from a hospital and a huge window to always have a good look at the sea of empty shells outside.

"We do not limit you with the appearance of the android.", he flashed you a smile. "Make it look the way you want. Chose the gender. Give it a personality you find appealing. Once you're finished, we will take a look at it and adjust everything that seems unfit together."

You let your fingers run over the clean table.

"That sounds like a lot of trust you put in me, sir.", you noted.

The sight of this office, your office, made the heart inside your chest beat wild with excitement.

"That is true.", he did a gesture. "Now that we talked about everything we should get back. Chloe will need a sample of your voice. The access for this floor works via voice recognition. May we?"

"Yes. And thank you, sir."

"What for?"

"The opportunity."