There was a road several yards away to his right. Looking to his left, he saw the wall of an abandoned warehouse. Hmm, odd place to put a manhole cover. But I guess it all makes sense, considering the clone farm secrecy, he thought. He turned to the opposite direction and recognized the alleyway. It was the same alley where he left his hypercycle. It was still camouflaged by the chameleo-ware cloak. Before he fully lifted the manhole cover to exit, a figure crept toward the location of the bike.
The chameleo-ware was supposed to make any object that it covered, invisible to the naked eye, unless someone had some sort of device or cybernetic implant to enhance their vision. The figure was inspecting the area where the bike was, almost as if he could see the bike, but not see it at the same time. Nevertheless, Caiden knew that something was up. This person must have followed him and tracked him down to this location. The figure looked around. Caiden quietly lowered the manhole cover, trying not to be seen. He continued watching this strange person to try and figure out their motives.
Focus, focus, he kept thinking to himself. As if by sheer force of will, he managed to see more of what was going on. Somehow things appeared closer to him, even though he hadn't moved an inch. The silhouette became a bit clearer; it was a man wearing a dark cloak. There was also a faint blue glow emanating from under the hood. Some sort of visor?
The silhouette vanished down the adjoining alleyway, as though they knew that they were being watched. Huh? They must know I’m onto them, Caiden thought, referring to the androids. After another minute of waiting, he decided that it was safe enough for him to move. He successfully placed the manhole cover back and advanced forward. Not sure if that sketchball planted something there for me or not, but if he came this far to inspect what should look like a regular wall to him, he must have some bullshit in store for me, Caiden thought. Instead of heading to the bike, he took another path in-between two neighboring buildings, in plain view, knowing that the hooded figure would see him. That blue glow; it must be another type of android scout or something. This area is way too large to just pinpoint my location only, he thought.
Caiden began to feel a knot in his stomach; someone was watching him. The figure was on top of the building watching Caiden’s every move. Perfect, he thought. He deliberately began to walk with heavier footsteps, to draw him in closer. As Caiden came to the opening between the buildings he stopped suddenly, and then bolted. The figure jumped down and took off after Caiden, hoping to catch up to him. As the person arrived at the same opening, Caiden was nowhere to be found. A split second later, the cold barrel of a pistol tapped the pursuer’s head.
“May I help you with something?” Caiden said with a menacing tone. “You’ve been trailing me since Merchant’s Rowe, haven’t you? And you must’ve been the shithead that tried to get me killed with those other androids too, huh?”
“Wait! Please!” the voice shrieked.
Hm? That’s weird, this person’s voice sounds like Wizard’s, but more masculine, Caiden thought.
He yanked the hood off the pursuer. It was another android, but with glowing blue eyes. The upper body was shaped like a slender human male. The android’s face was very human looking, equipped with a nose, mouth, ears, and chiseled jawline. Like the others, this model of android was made with the purpose of applying skin grafts. The color of the porcelain and graphite materials of the face were a greyish-white color. The neck was encased in a translucent, powerful, and flexible plastic. Beneath the casing, were hundreds of thousands of blue wires.
“Who the fuck are you?” Caiden asked.
“I go by the name Electro Dynamic Drive Initiative, s—sir,” he nervously replied.
“What kinda name is that for an android, man? Electro Dynamic… Fuck that! Your name is Eddi now!” Caiden replied. “Why did you follow me all the way here, Eddi?”
“I can explain,” Eddi fumbled about.
Is this android nervous? Ha! He acts even more human than I do, Caiden thought.
“I can help you and your friend. You know, the one they kidnapped.”
“Tell me what the fuck you know. Now!” Caiden yelled while shoving the android up against the wall with his forearm, pressing the gun against his face.
“Wait, wait, wait!” Eddi cried out.
“I—I followed you because I wanted to help! I needed help too! Those guys, those androids; they're my comrades. Well, they were my comrades. But a few months ago, they started acting strange after using one of our terminals; doing things they never would have done before. Completely defying the teachings of our former leader, Jana Cero!” Eddi exclaimed rather emotionally. Caiden pulled back.
“Jana Cero? Wait, you mean Wizard?” he asked
“You know her!?” Eddi said excitedly. Caiden, guarded as ever, left no response, just a deadpan stare. “I knew following you would be worth it! Jana was the former leader of The Sentience. She was always for integrating into society, becoming an integral part of life with the Purebreds and Hybrids. Her philosophy and outlook on life as the first awakened android was revolutionary. Through her actions, she was responsible for the awakening of all the other androids
