I woke up the next day alone at the top of the lighthouse. Soft sounds drifted up from below; I assumed Diana was already awake. Looking outside, I was reminded once again that there was no sun—the entire city was indoors—though the lighting had dimmed to a soft glow that mimicked the early morning.
"Hmmm..." I made my way down the spiraling stairs, passing floor after floor of empty space until I returned to the fully furnished base. There, I found Diana perched on a sofa, sketching something in a notebook. Was that... a robot?
"Oh, hi Viel!" Diana smiled, then blushed as she looked between me and her drawing. "Ah, umm, I just... I wanted to try drawing you from memory." She held up the book for me to see. "What do you think?"
The sketch was nearly unrecognizable. The body was distinctively robotic, yes, but the face and hair were rendered with a soft, delicate beauty. Was I actually that pretty?
"I mean... yeah, it looks great," I said, blinking. "I'm just not sure about the accuracy. Do I really look that... human?"
Diana looked between me and the sketch, then gave the book a little squeeze. "Mmhmm! You look just like a person to me." She stood up and set the book aside. "I'm going out for breakfast. Do you want to come? I can show you more of the city."
I shrugged. "Sure. Let's go."
I followed Diana out of the lighthouse and down into the streets. We were sticking to the carpet today, thankfully, likely due to the noise complaints from our previous parkour session.
We set off through the streets. Again, there were no mega-malls or department stores—just block after block of Circle workshops and their ornate logos.
"So, where do you actually find electronics?" I asked.
"I guess we just ask around?" Diana walked up to the nearest window and started peering inside.
What the hell is she doing?
"Oh, that one is lovely," she commented, looking at a device inside. It wasn't a store display; it was just a regular TV being used by two guys on their sofa. The screen had a glass-like quality to it, the casing almost entirely translucent, but it refracted the light to create a cool, flashing effect.
"Excuse me!" Diana knocked on the door. Just like that.
Is this normal here?
One of the men stood up and opened the door. "Welcome to the Kaleidoscope Spire. How can I help you?"
Diana beamed. "Hi! I was just wondering, could you tell us where you got your TV? It looks lovely!"
The man nodded easily. "Oh, this? I got it from the Clockwork Red workshop." He stepped outside and pointed down the street. "Go that way for three blocks, then turn left at the fountain."
I just stood there, processing the social interaction. We were looking for a TV, and instead of checking a catalog or going to a store, we had quite literally stalked someone through their window, knocked on their door, and asked where they bought their furniture.
What. The. Fuck.
"Come on, Viel!" Diana grabbed my hand. "It's not far!"
"Uhh, yeah. Sorry for bothering you! Thanks!" I shouted back at the guy.
I quickened my pace to walk alongside her. "So... uh... that was normal?"
Diana blushed. "Ah, well, you're supposed to say, 'Oh, I couldn't help but notice your TV, do you mind if I take a closer look?' and then they tell you where it's from." She looked away sheepishly. "But I got nervous and just asked immediately."
Unbelievable.
After a few more minutes, we arrived at the workshop: Clockwork Red. From the outside, it looked like a cross between a curio shop and a pawn store, packed with all sorts of interesting electronic components.
"Oooh... this place looks interesting. Excuse me..." Diana stepped inside.
I followed her, still grappling with a massive amount of culture shock.
"Eyo," a man in a green hoodie called out, waving a hand. He was sitting on a simple office chair in the corner, a desk beside him covered in PCBs and tools. "Welcome. How can I help ya?"
"Hi! I'm looking for a TV," Diana said.
The man stood up, cracking his knuckles. "A TV, eh?" He motioned for us to follow him deeper into the workshop. "What happened to your old one?" he asked, gesturing toward a wall lined with screens, each playing a different colorful screensaver.
"I left mine back in the City of Love," Diana replied. "It's my first one since moving here."
"Oooh, nice." The man grinned. "The name's Alto, by the way. What's yours?"
"Diana. And this is Viel."
I gave an awkward little wave.
Alto stepped closer to me, his eyes widening. "Oh? A Smart Construct? Don't see many of those outside of Determination." He waved a hand in front of my face. "You got a spark in you?"
"A spark?"
"You know—the pilot's home? Are you 'alive'?"
"I think so?"
"Neat." Alto squinted as he checked me over. It wasn't the look of a guy checking out a girl; it was the look of a master mechanic admiring a custom build. "Heh... Origin Steel. That's rare." He folded his arms and stepped back. "I'm guessing you aren't from around here."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Yeah, I'll take a wild guess—you're from the Old World."
I blinked. "How do you know?"
"Eh, I've spent enough time around ancient junk to know the good stuff," Alto replied. "Not to mention, robots that has spark like you is... an extreme rarity. See most Smart Construct's mind are located in servers in Determination core. So they can't really leave Determination you see? Anyway, if you need some tune up, just let me know and..."
"Oh, I like this one!" Diana interrupted.
Alto turned to see which one she had picked. It was... well...
Pink.
It had a neon pink casing with bright yellow accents. It looked like a piece of high-end candy.
"Nice pick," Alto commented, sounding relieved. "I mean—yes, that's a very vibrant choice." He looked at me. "You guys need help carrying this back to your Circle? I've got a trolley you can borrow."
"Oh, yes please!" Diana said. "It's light, but I don't want to break it."
Alto helped Diana load the TV on to the trolley. "So what do you think of Ingenuity girlie?" he asked casually.
"I love it," Diana smiled. "It's... safe, and stable, I don't feel in danger,"
The guy chuckled softly. "Yeah, someone from the Fleet of Love would say that," he folded his arms. "What about you Viel? Hope the culture shock doesn't go too hard on you,"
I face palmed. "Yeah, feel like smashing mach 10 on to culture shock, I didn't even know that Parenting is philosophically charged... And that you are culturally obligated to thank your roomba,""
Alto chuckled a little. "Well, you don't have to verbally thank them, just be respectful, that's all,"
I looked at Alto, he seems pretty cool, passes the vibe check. "Say, how much does that TV cost?"
Alto raised an eyebrow. "Eh, about 5200 credits? Let me find that TV's documentations," he walked to a room and returned with a book. "Here,"
"Manual?"
"What? Why would you need a manual for a TV?" Alto asked. "I mean, okay, if you're not familiar with it, I can just teach you how to use it, it's not really hard," he waved the book. "This is the documentation, hand this over to the mechanic if you're looking to fix this TV or upgrade it, don't worry, this TV follows the DeMS," he paused and took a deep breath, then gave us both finger guns. "Because DeMS the Standard,"
I blinked. "What?"
Alto coughed, face flushed a little, a smile on his face. "Okay, it's a pun, DeMS stands for Determination Manufacturing Standard, and it's the standard, get it? It means by following the standard, fixing and maintaining your stuff is easy, no need to make your own thing,"
I see...
Diana took the book. "Thank you,"
"Can I see that?" I took the book, it's thick, and it's filled with a literal tutorial how to dismantle and rebuild this TV from ground up. Where to source the materials and spare parts, and like, everything anyone needs to know to remake this exact TV. The blueprint for PCB, software...
Holy shit... I mean, yeah that makes sense, in animistic society, you shouldn't stop an item from being fixed.
"Isn't 1200 credits too cheap?" I asked Alto.
"It's just a TV," Alto replied. "It's another story if you come here asking for a custom design, or getting your TV a hyper specific customization," he grinned and handed me his price list.
I looked at it, and there it is, 400k credits for special effects, 600k for black magic laser upgrade, 50k for audio overhaul. The good stuff are expensive as heck. But repair and maintenance costs pennies.
"Interesting..." I looked at the candy TV. "Anyway, you ready to go Diana?"
"Yes! let's go!"