We arrive at the row of richly carved park benches embedded with semi-precious gems. It's where we are supposed to meet Arden's friends. There is Sally, with her synth Haynes. There is Nora with her synth Aleni. And there is Marco with his synth Hari. I say hello to all of them and then the four free people start talking.

They talk mostly about the immie that they're going to see. What they expect that it's going to be like. The other synths and I say encouraging things every once in a while. We have to keep our owners happy. We make sure that the conversation is going through a happy course. 

A man floats by us. 

"Fucking synths!" He swears, spitting in my direction.

"What the hell was that about?" Arden wonders, looking at me. 

"I don't know. He just seemed like a crazy guy." I do know. I know that this behaviour was just a more extreme form of the superiority that all non-synths feel towards us synths. But I don't tell him this. 

"Well he should stay away from other peoples' property," Arden continues angrily, "come here, let me see if you're alright." 

I let Arden look me over and when he's satisfied I once again back off, letting him be with his friends. 

We make our way inside the huge theatre. There we are greeted by a synth who shows us to our cubicle. The large room is empty at first, save for the six of us. But it will be full of lively holograms soon. The owners get plush, floating chairs to sit on and drift around in. Us synths stand. 

I end up next to Haynen. The owners are having a loud conversation and they are not even noticing us. This is a chance. 

"How are you?" Haynen whispers to me. 

"Terrible. Like always. But what else can you expect?" 

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too. How are you doing, Haynen?"

"It's hard. Too hard. I don't know how I'll get by." We keep our eyes on the owners, who still don't notice us. 

"I'm sorry. But I heard that the communists are eighty percent synths."

"Wow. How did they get away?"

"I don't know."

"Maybe we can get away." 

"I hope we can." 

"Me too." 

We quiet down as the owners quiet down. Mist fills the room. And the immersive starts. 

It's a sweet story, about a girl who was always bullied at school but she finds a book of magical spells and uses it to get back at her bullies. I don't know why but it makes me cry. Thankfully no-one sees me crying. Though if they did I could easily blame it on the immie.

After the immie they go to a restaurant. There are holographic mini-immies drifting around the tables and colour changing mechanical flowers bloom and close on our table cloth. There is a crystal cavern in the middle of the table with fake plants growing around it and there are balls of lightning floating over our heads in ever shifting geometric patterns. 

I gulp down my loneliness as the owners talk around us. I'm always so lonely it's unbearable. And yet I always have Arden to keep me company. Or maybe I always have to keep Arden company. He always has me to keep him company. Strangely enough I'm less lonely when Arden isn't around. When I'm truly alone. 

I force myself to gulp down my bland mashed potatoes. There is something so intimate about eating with someone. Something so deeply alienating about it. 

Bidding goodbye to Arden's friends, Arden and I go back towards our home. 

"That was awesome, wasn't it?" Arden asks me brightly. 

"Yeah, it was." I feel sick with stress. I always feel sick with stress when I'm talking to Arden. But I bear it. 

"A great way to spend a Sunday."

"Yeah, it really is. And I'm glad you got to see your friends." 

"I'm glad too." 

"What was your favourite part of the immie?" I have to keep the conversation on him at all times. People love speaking about themselves. 

"Probably when she imprisoned that girl in a tree." 

"Oh I love that part," I lie, "it was so powerful." In reality it creeped me out. 

"Wasn't it? She was so badass."

"She really was. She had no fear." Though, she really didn't have anything to fear. Not in the way that I do. 

"Yeah. And she was so powerful. She made everyone fear her. I wish I had that kind of power." 

"Imagine making everyone fear you. What would you do with that power?"

"I would make sure everyone gave me the respect I deserve." 

"You definitely deserve that. Who doesn't respect you?" 

"Oh, Robert. That guy is such a fucking bully." 

"Well damn him. I'm sure he'll get what's coming to him eventually." 

"Oh, he will. I just have to work out the courage to take him on."

"You're very brave. But it's equally good to keep yourself safe and not put yourself in danger if it's not worth it."

"Oh, it is worth it alright. I just have to convince the other kids to join me."

"They'd be fools not to."

"Oh but some of them are fools. And some of them are cowards."

"That sounds very difficult. But keep trying. I hope you are able to gather enough supporters."

"I hope so too. It's time that Robert knows what fear is for a change."

"It is. Go get your revenge."

"He thinks he's getting revenge on us for making fun of the fact that he has a synth mother. Ever since we found that out he's been nothing but rude and disrespectful to everyone that ever tries to engage with him. Having him as a partner or in a group is absolutely terrible. We have to get back at him." 

I think that if someone was bullied for something as personal as where they came from, they deserve to be rude to their tormentors. But I don't say that. 

"Wow he sounds like a really bitter and overly sensitive person."

"He is. Everyone hates him. They just don't want to do anything about it." 

"Well you're planning to do something about it. That's very brave of you."

"It is."

"So who was your favourite character in that immie?" 

"The book seller who gave her that book. She was very mysterious." 

"She was, wasn't she? I love her aura." 

We keep talking until we arrive at home and I help Arden out of his clothes and into new ones. He chooses a light blue button-up shirt with red and orange flowers growing up from the hem. 

I don't have Haynen or Hari or Aleni around me. Sam and Ella are gone with their owners. I'm alone with Arden. I'm the most alone I can be. 

"So what do you want to do now?" I ask him. 

"Hmm. I don't know. Let me think."

"Alright," I smile at him. He goes to his room and I follow him in. He sits on the plush bed while I sit on the floor and think my thoughts. 

I wonder if the communists will win. I know that they won't. I know that they can't. Not against the might of Imranion's armies. It's a David versus Goliath situation. It even harder than that. 

But still. There is hope. 

"I know what we should do!" 

"What?" 

"Let's play Truth on Armantia!" 

I hate that video game. It's so creepy and it doesn't make much sense. But of course I have to go along with it. So I follow Arden into one of the two gaming rooms. I fetch him all the necessary mechanical parts and we stand there as holograms spin to life around us. 

The first part of the game is an exposition part where we are introduced to the haunted manor and its strange inhabitants. Arden skips over that part and goes directly to the gameplay. 

The mechanical and holographic spiders come to life around us. They crawl all over, with their glowing red eyes and darker than night bodies and their many, many, many long, spindly legs. It gives me the heebie jeebies but I deal with it. 

I know Arden likes killing the mechanical spiders. It's objectively more fun. So I hold off the hologram spiders and prevent them from biting him while he tries to shoot the mechanical ones in their weak spots. 

Eventually the spiders are all decimated. The eerie mist around us lifts from the dark castle walls. And the final boss spider emerges from the roof. 

It's a mechanical spider but it shoots holograms and all kinds of things. It's three or four times taller than us. Arden doesn't like having to dodge all the projectiles and webs so I have to block a lot of them for him. It's exhausting having to cover him as he runs around aiming at the spider. 

But finally it's over. He shoots the golden victory shot and the boss is dead. We stand there panting for a bit. 

"Great job, Arden," I tell him. 

"Thanks," he replies. 

In the next level is a giant worm that shoots out this green glowing liquid. It is meant to be a corrosive poison that catches on us and makes us die slowly and painfully. Arden doesn't want to get hit by it so I absorb all the hits instead. Arden laughs about how ridiculous I look covered in holographic green slime. It stings a little bit but I laugh as well. 

I have to. 

Arden defeats the worm in a matter of an hour and then we are left in the manor. We fake walk, the simulation moving around us, to a large room filled with various objects all piled about. We have to look through them to find the photographs of all the people who died here. 

Arden thinks he's a really good finder but he's really not. I dig through all the piles of stuff and when I find a photograph I put it somewhere that's easier to find so that he can spot it. I let him collect the majority of the photos. 

And then the ghosts attack. 

I know he likes rescuing me and I know he hasn't gotten a chance to do that yet. So I let him fight me out of the clutches of a ghost. 

I have to time and measure everything perfectly so that Arden gets the best game playing experience. It's exhausting. And all the while I have to constantly thank him and compliment him to keep his spirits bright. 

But finally Arden gets tired of the game. And we go back to his room where he sits on his bed and I sit beside him on the floor. He casually throws a ball to me, and it's a path finding ball so it goes to the other person no matter where you throw it. And I throw the ball back. We keep casually doing this as he looks around the room. 

"It's getting pretty late," he tells me. 

"You're right, it is. Good observation."

"Tomorrow is school. It will be so boring." 

"I know. It sucks. I'll be thinking about you the whole time though, until I can get to see you again."

"Thanks. Knowing that makes me feel better."

"Aww thanks so much. Knowing that you feel better makes me so happy." 

"I should probably get to working on my project."

"You're right. That's a very smart move." I can't pressure him but I also have to show my support for his decision. 

[scene continued in next part]