“Good Morning Amelia, your vital signs show that you slept well, so you got a good night’s rest. Your Morphine is next to you on your nightstand along with a glass of water. You must hurry, because your meeting starts at approximately 9 am, and it is currently 7:00 am.” Ekko stated, blinking me away from unconsciousness. I sat up, the cables on my head and chest placed back onto me. I ripped them off and threw them aside, my eyebrows furrowing.

“Ekko, screen down,” I barked, the black screen with the green line slowly coming down from the ceiling again. I crossed my arms over my chest, annoyed. “What did I tell you last night about the cables? I didn’t want them on me. You did not have permission to put them back on, You may be self-thinking and self-acting, but without permission, that behaviour was inexcusable, do you understand?”

I stood there for a moment, breathing hard. Normally I was fine with such behaviour, as sometimes I would forget to put them on myself, and it was quite handy for her to put them on, but last night, no part of me desired to be weighed down by the looming cables.

“I understand, I do apologise” Ekko replied, almost seeming sad. I tapped her screen, and back up into the ceiling it went, away from view. Away from me. I ran my hands through my long hair, fluffing it out, parts of it still damp from the brief shower I had taken the night before.

I looked at my nightstand and there was my bottle of Morphine pills. I slowly picked up the bottle, swallowing hard. “I wouldn’t have to take these if it wasn’t because of that stupid drunk driver.” I thought sadly, taking one out of the bottle and downing it dry, taking a sip of water to chase it. At eighteen, I was in an auto accident, a man accidentally disengaging the automatic driving system in his car, hitting my own Delorean. I could still walk, the way our cars collided, but without the Morphine, the pain was too much to even get out of bed. So, knowing they can cause people to be addicted to them, I take them.

“Excuse me, Amelia, but Liam Eirheart is here,” Ekko said in a hushed voice, making me roll my eyes.

“First off, I’m not mad so don’t go all ‘depressed robot’ on me like last time I snapped at you. Second, let him in, maybe he’ll calm my nerves.” I said, skipping downstairs into my kitchen. The front door opened, standing there was my fiance, Liam Eirheart. His soft, dark ginger hair was combed back and his hazel eyes twinkled with excitement. And in his right hand was a bouquet of white lilies. He rushed forward and embraced me, making me smile hard and forget my worries.

“How’s my CEO doing?” He asked playfully, making me hit the back of his head gently.

“I’m not a CEO yet, and you know that,” I replied, rolling my eyes. Liam walked to the counter and set the flowers down, still grinning at me.

“You might as well be by now! Today’s your meeting yeah? I bet you’ll do great. Do you work in the labs today?” Liam was rapid-firing questions, and that only made me smile at him, He was a goof, but he was my goof.

“To answer all your questions; yes, my meeting is today, and yes I work in the labs.”

“Amelia, you need to leave in approximately 10 minutes, if you would like to get to the labs before the rush. It is currently 7:20 am.” Ekko cut in, making me look up at her interface wall. The text she just spoke was covering the screen. I stepped over and swiped it away. I knew what I needed to do.

“Okay, uh, Liam, you stay down here, I’m gonna go get dressed and get all my things together,” I quickly kissed Liam on the cheek before running upstairs and into my room.

Laid out on my bed was a neatly folded light pink button-up, an above the knee black pencil skirt, black stockings, and at the foot of my bed were shiny, black kitten heels.

As I stripped from my pyjamas and dressed, I couldn’t help but glance over at the Holo Creator I had open on my desk. A pleasantly slow swirling pattern of cubes writhed through the air, a light blue colour. Once I had finished buttoning up my shirt, I walked over to it, smiling a little. This project was going to make Ekko obsolete in many ways, but advancements were always good. I took a deep breath, pressing both palms on either side of my Holo Creator.

“Syntha 2.0, commence start sequence,” I whispered my voice shaking slightly. The cubed thrashed in the air until they spelled out the words “Syntha 2.0” as quickly as it came the word disappeared and replaced by a feminine face, the basis being Aki Amida, my partner. I took a moment to look down, and remember her, but Syntha still needed testing, no pondering.

“What may I help you with today?” Syntha asked, her voice low but sweet-sounding. This was it. The test.

“Syntha, what it the local weather going to be like today?”

Her face became warped as the many cubes were processing the question. A few even flew out of bounds of the limits of the face but came back moments later. Once they stopped pulsating, Syntha’s face came back clear. “Please work.”

“Today’s weather will be a high of 26 degrees Celsius, or 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and there will be a 90% chance of precipitation, along with the wind at 8 miles per hour. Anything else I can help you with today?”

Shock and adrenaline rushed through my body as I shook my head, Syntha deactivating and receding into my Holo Creator. I slowly picked up the device in my hands and let out a happy squeal. “She works! She works!” I thought, absolutely dumbfounded and awe-struck. She was a very early prototype and I was absolutely astonished!!

“Amelia?” Liam inquired, knocking on my door frame. I turned to him, smiling wide.

“Syntha! She’s functional!!” I exclaimed, gripping the project in my hands like it was my lifeline.

“Amelia.” Ekko’s screen came down from the ceiling, and I detected a trace of bitterness in the way she said my name.

“Yes, I am aware I need to get going, just, Syntha works!!” I breathe, running my thumbs over the cool steel box. I thought for a moment before picking up the box, cradling it in my arms as if it were a baby. “I think I’m going to take this into the labs today with me, run some more tests!”

“That’s a great idea, honey.” Liam placed his hand on the small of my back, and I turned, catching his soft smile. “Come on, I’ll drive you to work.”