Artificial

The flight from the Rigo-12 colony was less than phenomenal. It was horrible. The G-force produced by high-speed space flight left the passengers feeling sick. But, all of them were used to this. Flying under crappy conditions between Earth and the colonies was the norm for smugglers and dealers. Morrow simply needed to take a pill and execute a certain algorithm in his Neuroware to shake off the jetlag. Once that combination of drugs and software kicked in, he was good to go. His self-driving van was being controlled by a VA that notified him of its arrival. Morrow had already checked out of customs and picked up the goods he was importing. This airport was privately owned by the Sanchez Group. They were a group of companies that was largely funded by black market assets and activities. That said, this private airport was a hub for the importing and exporting of illegal goods. That included cybernetic implants(like Morrow's Neuroware), farmed organs, bioengineered pets, and any perversion of life you could think of or any mods that would help people survive on less. The Sanchez Airport of Manhattan is a multi-leveled facility that seems legit on the surface.

'Good evening, Morrow.'

Morrow ignored the VA that greeted him as he placed the goods in the trunk of the van. He hopped in the front passenger seat and scrolled through the various screen projections of the news. Morrow seemed calm on the surface, but the truth is that he was excited. It was his first time in Manhattan. His first time importing goods into such a sophisticated establishment. The VA was still attempting to strike up some form of dialogue with Morrow as it drove off into the highway. The magnificent view of New York left Morrow feeling speechless. This was something the VA was able to see thanks to its advanced emotion/facial analysis modules. Moving on, Morrow closely watched the massive skyplate that seemingly hovered over the Tri-State Megastructure. It stretched as far as his biocybernetic eyes could see. Massive pillars were one of the primary structures sustaining the skyplate.

'Quite the sight.'

'Yeah.'

Morrow uttered his first words at the VA while scratching his distinguished beard. It was nicely groomed and trimmed well. In fact, his VA continued to point that out to him all throughout the drive.

'The Tri-State Megastructure has a self-sustained biome. Autonomous robots and AIs like me are the ones sustaining it. We work hand-in-hand with our human creators, of course.'

'I know. I've read all about it my friend. No need to waste your breath.'

The VA dropped Morrow off at a bar in East Village. He eagerly got out of the van and stepped onto the curb and took in the ambient noise of the hyper urban structure he's about to immerse himself into. The blasting sound of music, the annoying noises associated with holo adverts; everything from those, all the way to the loud and distant roars often accompanied by gang violence. Unbothered, Morrow walks into Synthetic Dreams, hoping the bar lives of to its reputation. It was a hub for crooks like him. That said, it was also a place for crooks with style. Those who weren't trying to be the hottest thing on the street. People who preferred discretion like him.

'Welcome to my bar!'

Before Morrow had seated himself, the bartender had presumptuously slid a glass of beer towards one of the empty stools. Morrow smiled at the bartender and raised his glass at him before having the first sip. He observed the other guests and saw that Synthetic Dreams had a justified rep. They were classy crooks.

'You're the owner?'

The bartender leaned forward in response but not too close. Morrow got a good look at his face and used his emotion/facial analysis modules similar to how the VA did to him. The difference being that his module operated from the frontal lobe modifier of his Neuroware. After having a few more sips, he immediately notices the heart-shaped locket the bartender was wearing. His attention was so fixated on this familiar locket, that nothing happening in the background could disturb him. Normally, Morrow would've mingled with the other guests by now. There was a lot of activity at this time in the evening. People were playing the latest AR interfaced games with one another. There were those who just got off from a gig. Morrow knew he'd have more time to enjoy Manhattan later on. He had to import those goods he brought in. Neural Signatures, or Neurosigs, were ripped out from living people and stored into flash drives. These were the souls that were forcibly taken away from innocent civilians in the ghettos of the Rigo-12 colony.

'Hey-'

'Call me K.'

'Ah, K. Where'd you get that locket?'

K smiled and gently stroked the bright red heart-shaped locket that stuck out despite the artificial luminance polluting the bar.

'A gift from my mom. She died when I was a kid. It's a long story, but-'

'I wanna hear it.'

'Well, I can't remember much. But I was poor. And, I tinkered with my Neuroware over the years so much that many of my memories have been lost. Neural pathways have been erased entirely. There was a time where I forgot how to walk or take a dump.'

He raised his hand at K, gesturing him to say no more. This was a touchy subject for him. However, it was for Morrow as well.

'I used to have a similar heart-shaped locket. Except it was from my aunt. She died when I was a kid.'

K poured another glass and raised a toast.

'To those who loved us.'

'Prime stuff right there man. To those who loved us.'

Morrow left the bar after finishing his second drink and walked to the nearby alley and awaited his van's arrival. There was a black cat hiding behind the trash. It had human-like eyes that light up in the dark in ways a natural cat's eyes couldn't. He waved his left hand at it, gesturing for it to come closer. The black cat fearlessly approached and allowed Morrow to pet it. From what He could tell, this was a farmed cat with an ability to understand human speech. He parted ways with the cat as his van arrived. Its unflinching, lifeless stare was unnerving. That said, Morrow hopped in and was immediately greeted by the VA. Needless to say, he made sure the goods were still there.

'Ready to meet with her?'

'I take it you're owned by the Sanchez Group?'

'Yes.'

'Good. I was wondering how you knew about my job.'

'Mary the Saint is waiting.'

'Okay, floor it then.'

The VA did as Morrow commanded. Mary the Saint is some psychotic engineer to who the goods were being delivered to. She wouldn't say which company she represented, according to Morrow's boss. But, Mary the Saint put up a sizable deposit when she demanded a case of Neurosigs. An entire case summed up to 50. That's how many souls were in his possession. It's what Morrow does. He smuggles souls for a living.

'Mary the Saint wasn't too far off, Morrow.'

'I know.'

'We're here already!'

'I know that too. She wanted to meet here.'

'Why the Gamble Plaza?'

'Why not?'

Morrow exited the van and grabbed the goods while acting confident. Mary the Saint was several meters ahead. She was alone, but not really. Morrow immediately spotted the presence of her security officers and the perimeter they established. If he tried anything funny, or if she did, he'd be screwed. Of course, a fight would be entirely pointless.

'Mary the Saint. Pleasure.'

As he got closer, he noticed the flawlessness of her smooth skin. Her long black coat couldn't hide it, not that she'd try or anything. Mary the Saint removed her shades, revealing her bright red eyes. She was checking him out, but not in the way he'd prefer. No, she was making sure Morrow wasn't a threat.

'I've sent the second payment. Now, I'll have those goods.'

'Of course.'

There was something Morrow instantly noticed upon handing over the case of Neurosigs. A red heart-shaped locket that she wore around her wrist. She noticed his astonishment. It was like K's, but a little smaller and more beaten up, the locket that is. Furthermore, it was like the one Morrow once had. The one he lost.

'This locket is real prime stuff.'

'Is it?'

Morrow scoffed a bit.

'When I was a kid, my aunt gave me one like it. My memory's pretty bad though.'

Morrow iterated.

'I can't remember where I got mine, but I think this is from a long line of products.'

Mary responded.

'What line?'

'Nothing special. Just random accessories.'

Mary turned around and began to walk away.

'Tell your boss I said thanks. Some of these Neurosigs are going to be used for Bioroid development. Others for anthropomorphic and polymorphic organism development.'

'Wait, what?'

'That cat that followed you. A lot like that one.'

She was referring to her upcoming work on non-humanoid organisms. That's not what Morrow was focused on.

'What are you-'

Morrow paused and noticed the cat from earlier. It latched itself onto the van. It persisted in staring lifelessly at him.

'Bioroids aren't any different from that cat. Both are bioengineered for something. Labor, entertainment, you name it. I've even redesigned some Neurosigs to suit the prerequisites for a pleasure model Bioroid.'

'Is that what you do? I knew you were an engineer, but not a bioengineer. You guys don't have a good rep these days.'

'It's definitely better than smuggling souls.'

Morrow scratched his beard. He knew she had a point. However, he believed it was also uncalled for. Mary the Saint realized that she was being a bit too reactionary to his comment. As a way of making it up to him, she engaged Morrow in some conversation and found herself being genuinely interested. She explained to Morrow how Bioroids are built. Many of them go through a long process of accelerated post-birth aging. This way, they're already in their adulthood upon being born. Prior to their birth, they have redesigned Neurosigs installed via their Neuroware implants. Morrow was not ignorant of this information. Everyone knows how Bioroids are made and not born as opposed to normal people. But, nobody knows who and what or where to spot one. Therefore, the masses at large dismiss it as being exaggerated conspiracy propaganda. Morrow, on the other hand, found the topic to be fascinating. He's been smuggling souls, or rather, Neurosigs, for as long as he can remember.

'I just realized I've been smuggling this shit for Bioroid development my entire career.'

'That seemed obvious to me.'

Mary the Saint stuck her hand out at Morrow. For some reason, she had some sort of inexplicable compassion for him. His work didn't only include the smuggling of souls. It would also include others; like sex trafficking and the slave trade. Morrow's hand was gently gripped by hers. Upon this, she saw the conflict in his eyes.

'Keep this.'

Mary the Saint gave Morrow the heart-shaped locket. She bade Morrow a pleasant farewell and disappeared into the pollution of hologram projections advertising their products. Morrow looked at the black cat as it stood atop the van. He gripped the locket and then stared for a long time. Morrow couldn't remember who his boss was, or how he got hired for this job. In fact, he couldn't remember how he left the Rigo-12 colony. The only thing that mattered to him was the job. The VA asked him what had been weighing down on his heart. It kept asking him over and over. The cat had joined Morrow and sat beside him in the van. After spending a few minutes driving, Morrow finally answered the VA.

'Everything is artificial.'