Reggie prepared a little sleeping area for Dane and pat it once he was finished, altered voice echoing in the funny cat mask. “So.. you have an ANDI unit. I read about those.”
“..yeah?” Dane was still sitting on the floor, being embarrassed that one of his new ‘friends’ heard him having a personal, one-sided conversation.
“Those kinds of implants haven’t made it down here yet. In fact, I think you’re one of the few that have them at all. How’d you get that?” He stared over accusingly, glowing yellow eyes unblinking.
“Oh, that’s not a hard story to tell. My parents work on this sort of tech and when I was scanned in the womb I had a mental illness present, so... it was the perfect opportunity to test an ANDI out.” Dane was a little ashamed to admit that, since flaws were always ‘fixed’ now, especially where he came from.
“Interesting.” Reggie didn’t sound judgmental, but his voice was altered and difficult to read as it was.
“Reggie?” Dane asked, “Is okay to ask about your face?”
Reggie pulled the mask off. Oh. He was a human-- or looked like one. He was blonde, young, and good-looking. But everyone looked young and good now. Except Dekartha-- which, oddly enough, made her that much more interesting.
Reggie looked at Dane, voice normal now. “What about my face?”
Dane shook his head rapidly, “Nothing. I just didn’t know what the mask was for.”
“Oh. It’s just protective when Dekartha has me out looking for people. I don’t want them taking images of my face when I’m where I shouldn’t be. And I like cats."
“Them?”
“Anyone can be an enemy here, Dane. This isn’t where you came from,” Reggie started, but Dane had to interrupt.
“Arcadia is full of enemies. They just smile at you instead of stab you, you know? They’re judgmental. They tear you and your family down behind closed doors, treat you like garbage if you don't have the right upgrades, if your servant isn’t the latest model. People die up there too, but.. It’s more of a last resort. Why just kill someone when you can ruin them utterly?”
Reggie rolled his eyes, “Sounds like problems for the rich up there in their ivory city, Dane.”
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