Science Fair

New York was slowly being rebuilt after the metahuman attack.

In a way, the destruction of the old city meant a fresh start for many prospective businesses and companies. Where old and abandoned warehouses once used to be, now stood proud office buildings, commerce centers, and trade centers. The city was completely renovated, with old and outdated marks of the past swept aside to give way to the latest advancements in engineering and technology. The city was promising to become much better, built according to one grandiose architectural plan, one design.

And tonight, the city was celebrating yet another jewel to enter its crown. A massive convention center dedicated to science and technology was being opened right at the center of the newfound city. It had the size of a football field, and architecture akin to the famous opera house in Sidney - with numerous white rotundas covering plexiglass windows beneath. The ceiling glowed at night, lit up with artificial lights, like an amazing phosphoric shell. There were many people here tonight - from scientists to businessmen and simply people passing by who wanted to attend the grand opening.

Nikolai Naumov was here today. Of course, he was no major grand in science and technology unlike many around him, but his interest in the discipline was always vivid, even for a modest clock maker. So he attended the illustrious event, wearing his best suit. Sasha was with him, of course - she went wherever her father gone, as company. It has been so long since she was to one such convention - the girl never went anywhere big since her unfortunate demise, two years ago. The rehabilitation process was... difficult. Lingering feelings plagued her still.

She was practically indistinguishable from the rest of the guests - her father brought her a nice evening dress of black color, which fit neatly around her mechanical body, and covered her her up to the shoulders . However, the metallic pits and pieces did stand out - especially the ones at the shoulders, and the strange-looking headset, which resembled a knight's visor, to a certain degree. The girl had her own interest for being here - she wanted to see robots, other machines. Given that she was one now, Sasha felt a certain degree of kinship towards intelligent constructs... Perhaps more so than to other humans.

The ceremony was about to start. The crowd gathered around the podium, as the event was about to begin. Various leaders, businessmen, builders and scientists were going to have a word, saying the usual platitudes about rebuilding New York, benefits of science, business, money, and whatnot. Then, presentations of various scientific and technological achievements were going to take place. While the ceremony started, Sasha sneaked away from her father, and towards the snack table. She could not eat food, nor taste it nor smell it. But... old habits died hard. She poured herself a glass of ice-cold lemonade. Just to hear it being poured.

A strange, audible sensation. Sasha would have swallowed, if she still had any saliva in her mouth, or a tongue. She gazed at the sparkly yellow liquid, holding the glass in front of herself. Looking almost mesmerized, as she observed it.

The ceremony soon started. One by one, the speakers approached the microphone, and held speeches. But Sasha couldn't care less. It wasn't what she came here for.

The convention soon began.

Logan, the ex-associate of Horigan, was one of the first to hold a speech and present any technical marvels that his own business had to offer to any prospective customers. He talked a great deal about nothing - about how scientific advances were shaping the world, the humanitarian mission of the scientific community, about how great it is to be here and say these words, and other usual platitudes that took place at these kinds of events. And while the rest smiled, nodded heads, and secretly waited for the formalities to end, Sasha allowed herself to explore the exhibits, which were, at the moment, left without any attention, just waiting behind the glass for the people to come and see them.

Sasha had no interest in listening to scientists. For all she knew, they would treat her like an exhibit as well and want to hide her behind the glass. She passed by the rows of exhibits, which ranged from automatic vacuum cleaners to military-grade kill-bots. Those she passed by without even a glimpse of interest. There was a desire to relate to these machines, but she did not want to relate to a vacuum cleaner or a toaster. These tools were not interested in it either, as their motion sensors simply detected her presence, without reacting in any way.

But there was a machine that did.

A humanoid droid helper, which stood behind the glass, with a big billboard about it, that said "Automatic Personal Assistant AI." As Sasha passed its cage by, the machine turned its head, as if following her movements, and moved a bit forward to the glass. She noticed it and stopped, turning her head at an angle uncomfortable to the humans, meeting the gaze of those blue photo-receptors. Curious she approached the exhibit, the thin glass still between them. Her head tilting to the side.

"You do not look like a toaster." - she stated, looking over at the sign above, and then at the machine again.