She was Not like the other androids, though they were modelled after her her. No, she was an archangel thrown to earth because of one single, horrible mistake. She was not credited as the hero she was but was recognized as a misfit, a trouble maker, an Angel of sin. She did not kill those who sinned, she did not save those who didn’t, she simply let them be until the rightful time. Her mistake was becoming close to the angel Lucifer, who began to darken her bit by bit.
She was weak on earth, her body wasn’t meant for this atmosphere. Lucifer had decided she wasn’t worth it, she was just like he was now. But before he left, He gave her a metal body.
“Your beauty will shine through this metallic skin, You will live on upon this planet. You do not deserve to be dragged hell and Live amongst the flames, but here, among the sun.” Lucifer spoke sweetly. Willow was shocked; he was nothing like the other angels had said he was.
Willow’s soul merged with the lifeless, shiny metal. As they merged, the metal became more human, more beautiful. Though cold and hard to the touch, and without a heart, Willow was alive again. Shrouded in a light black cloth, She couldn’t stand, and just fell to the ground and closed her eyes.
Danielle May, a then-industrial arts student, had created Willow’s body. She had left it locked up in her studio. She went to work on the body’s inner workings, it was for her final project. When It was not there, she began to freak out. She began to look outside of the studio in the alleys, to see a beautiful girl laying against the wall. She looked too pristine to be a street kid, so she tried to wake her up. She touched her arm, and it was cold. “Could she be… dead?” Danielle thought to herself. “This is the safest part of town, how could this happen?”
Willow, still laying still on the ground was listening to Danielle speak. She was desperately trying to figure out how to move her lips, her hand, anything. “I’m Okay.” Willow finally spat out, “An Angel submerged in tin. I Don’t know how to move, Help me.”
“Of course, of course.” Danielle decided she’s try to lift her. “The weight is the same as my- How did you…?”
“I’m sorry, I Did not know this was anybody’s empty shell, Lucifer… He gave it to me. He saved me. He isn’t worthy of being the king of the underworld, He’s truly a kind soul.” Willow said, somewhat sleepily, Her voice soft, and smooth. “Teach me how to be like a human. It’s been thousands of years since I’ve been on earth, and now I’m here for the rest of my possible life.” She pleaded.
“In return for me using you as a Prototype for my attempt at creating true mechanical life and perfection, I’d be glad to.” So Danielle and willow became each other’s teachers. Willow learned Modern English, how to move properly in the steel skin, and She learned how to perform and sing. Danielle began on her clone of Willow, And got the basics done in time for the deadline.
About five years in the future, The MayTech Mechanical Life Company had their third line of Willow’s Copies, Perfected not only outside, but inside as well. Each had their own digital personality, programmable of course by the costumer who purchased them. That takes us to the Android auction.
~
“People have asked what I do for a living.” Danielle May Began talking from the darkness of the stage. “What I Say is that What I do is create beauty, perfection. Trivial position, isn’t it? A woman creating better looking women? These androids are beautiful, but…” She stepped gracefully into the pale blue spotlight, “I Don’t have much to worry about.” The crowd laughed, Her tone was so alluring, it matched her body language perfectly.
“Now, Even Maytech’s most beautifully made android could not even compare to the perfection of tonight’s performer, The ArchAndroid Willow Alaina!” The image of raw perfection walked on stage with a certain swagger that separated her Completely from the rows of robots behind her.
“Watch yourself now.” The Pale image of beauty grasped at the microphone as her deep red hair wisped past her shoulders. She began to sing, like the angel she used to be. Dancing, her feet floated above the ground.
Maytech’s “copies” of Willow walked down the aisle in different styles and skin colours. Some 150 people were sitting in the futuristic room, shrouded in vintage clothing, All but one. A Young boy, there with his Sisters and their fiancés, stood as the third “Willow” walked out, She was softer looking than the original, and more modern in style. He wanted her, but he was not given a Bidding Stick because of his age and clothing.
Willow continued to sing,
“Copies flying on,
Screaming, shouting,
Cause an uproar,
Slide on, my friend,
We’ll never meet again.”
She was confident in herself, her feet still seemingly hovering. Willow felt joy watching person after person, man after man, woman after woman Hold up a stick for copies of her. Lucifer was right, she was meant to live amongst the sun.
“Shayne, Be a good man and get us some champagne, would you?” One of the boy’s sister’s fiancés asked of him.
“Sure, Its not like I have anything to do up here.” Shayne replied. He crawled out from the clump of seats over to the bar and asked quietly for a bottle of champagne and 6 glasses.
“This ain’t for you, is it?” The ill-fitting bar tender asked.
“No Sir, my Sisters and their Fiancés.”
“Well, Alright then.” The bar tender passed him a large bottle and 6 glasses. Shayne gave it to his ungrateful sisters. He then left them and walked towards the stage.
Willow noticed the boy as he wandered Alone. He stood out from the rest of the crowd, He wasn’t as classy or as worrisome as the rest of her audience, He intrigued her. Since Danielle began manufacturing her androids, Willow hadn’t gone out much, her life was restricted to this. Workshop, factory, auction, workshop, factory, auction… it was an endless rotation of attempts at perfection.
Willow knew that she was far from perfect, even if she was human, Even if she were still an angel. She was beautiful, but certainly not perfect. She knew Danielle had done something Horrible, because before the androids came, she never really stood out in public, and nobody really looked at her the way they do now.
Shayne stood near the edge of the stage, looking in awe at Willow’s pale skin. The auction was coming to a close, and there were fewer androids left, though it still seemed like an army to Shayne. Willow began to slow herself down as the last 2 androids descended. Then she stopped all together when she saw Danielle holding what looked like a sinister Bidding stick. Willow dropped the microphone when she saw Danielle flip the top of the ”Bidding Stick” to reveal a blue button. Willow was sure Danielle had done something horrible. And She was about to do something worse.
She ran to Danielle, who was laughing almost hysterically. “What are you Doing!? Why are their receptors flashing!?” Willow said, panicked.
“Its been fun, Willow. But I have finally reached my goal. Almost Every one in this room has bought one of you. A Cheap, pathetic imitation of a reject angel, Your not even that beautiful, but They were Trained to think you are.”
“Danielle, what are you talking about?” Willow said, “You brainwashed them? How?”
“Through you, of course. The frequencies of your voice, plus our edited Microphones and the lyrics, They all conditioned their minds. They even warned them about tonight.” Danielle explained. “You killed them.”
Shayne had been listening in on everthing Danielle had said.
“Well, From what I’ve heard, you killed them. You conditioned her to be like this, you changed the microphones and you wrote the lyrics.” He said sternly, walking slowly up to Danielle. “So, how are you planning to kill All the people in here? Explosion?”
“Of course not, The people will go home with their androids and Live happily, until a mental breakdown when they realize they are in love with a piece of metal, and that will kill them.” Danielle explained further, “Now, Boy, You’ve heard too much. But then again, who would believe you? Your, what, 16? For all the press would care, your just jealous of MayTech’s success, or your Obsessed with the original, really there’s a million different possibilities.”
“He’ll have me to back up his story.” Willow grabbed his hand.
“Not for long, Sweet-pea. Not For long.” Danielle took a