The room was dark, foreboding. All the lights had been switched off save from the screen floating in midair beside the window, it’s technologically enhanced glow casting an unearthly electric blue hue on to the occupant and objects that surrounded it. It was silent, the volume of the television played down to a mute, and only when the face of a woman appeared on the screen did the occupant raise a hand. Immediately, the woman’s voice filled the space, bouncing off the walls.

“Today, at 1645 hours, a human male was arrested on the street following a brutal and seemingly random assault on a Droid outside the café Nero in Sector 3. Witnesses say that the human was screaming obscenities at the Droid before grabbing a chair from the table before him and proceeding to attack the victim…”

The reporter’s face was replaced by another woman’s, features deliberately blurred. The background of the shot indicated that it was probably at the scene of the incident.

“He was screaming ‘Go back, you machine!’” the woman said. “He was also saying something about losing his job to a brainless robot, but I wasn’t paying much attention until he threw the chair in the poor guy’s face.”

The screen cut back to the reporter.

“Following on from the story, there have also been several reports of Droids being attacked in Sector 7. The police warn people to walk in numbers, and to not provoke any unwanted aggression from the human race.” The reporter shuffled her papers. “Now, on to the weather …”

The figure motioned with its hand, and the screen vanished. “Burn,” said a cold voice tinged with anger. “Burn you all to the ground.” The figure rose from its seat, walking over to the window and staring out at the city lights. “I’ll burn everything to the ground.”

When Sunggyu awoke it was to a slightly unsettling feeling in his stomach that dissipated as soon as he felt an inkling of it. He settled back against his sheets, eyes shut even when his mind was already wide awake. Sunlight shone through his window and he stretched contentedly as he threw back the covers. No point in lying around, he was going to have to get up sooner or later. Throwing on a jacket, he headed to the floor-to-ceiling window that stood beside his bed.

Outside the sun had just risen, the sky still splashed with the pink and orange hues that came with sunrise. Sunggyu waved a hand downwards, and the upper half of the window slid down. He leaned over the sill and breathed in the crisp morning air. Beneath him the city was just beginning to awaken, and from his high vantage point he could make out the roads, seemingly long ribbons made of light weaving their way between buildings. Nea Pragmaton was just like any other modern city in the height of its era; shiny, clean, with roads built above the ground, structures that stretched into the sky, and neatly divided sectors – 9 in total, with Sector 1 being the central area.

Sunggyu watched a Patroller hover past his building. He made no question of it; the police were always on the prowl for any trouble, specifically from the humans. Sunggyu never questioned the human race either; they were simply another species inhabiting this wonderful city with him. Turning away from the window, he walked into his little bathroom. Time for work.

He didn’t notice when the Patroller suddenly took off, nor did he see the trail of smoke spiraling upwards towards the sky from the southern direction of the city. By then he had already closed the window and waved the blinds shut as he left the small apartment. He had no idea then that he would never be returning.

It was a brilliant day, the sun shining down unfiltered as Sunggyu sped down the street on his bike, the wind whipping at his hair as he weaved in and out between larger, slower vehicles. He stopped at an intersection, resting his feet on the ground and adjusting his riding goggles as he waited. The street turned green, and he kicked off again, turning off at the highway and heading into the lane marked ‘Sector 2’.

It was a little troublesome, of course, to be living in Sector 1 and having to work in Sector 2, but Sunggyu didn’t complain. He didn’t mind the 25-minute ride to his job as Controller in Sector 2’s branch of Sanctum, the one and only energy supplier of Nea Pragmaton. It was the largest and most controlling company, supplying and monitoring the electricity that kept the city and its inhabitants running. At first Sunggyu had been a mere employee, but his efficiency and careful calculation in everything he did saw him one promotion after another, until he was made head of the entire Sector. It was a fulfilling feeling, but Sunggyu was not one to dwell for long on feelings. He was simply content to have a steady, regular life to live.

He pulled expertly into his parking space and removed his hands from the two pads that extended out from where the handlebars on a normal motorcycle would be. Immediately, the glowing blue lines that zipped through the black vehicle faded away and he alighted, pulling off his goggles and stowing them in the compartment behind the seat. He stepped out of the bounding box and a wall made of blue light sprang up from the lines on the ground, creating a cage for his ride.

“Hey Sunggyu!” called out a friendly voice behind him, and he turned to find a rather good-looking young man smiling at him. Human, said a voice inside his head. Nam Woohyun. Head of statistics. Your friend.

“Hi Woohyun,” he replied, walking with the man towards the lift shafts. “Ready for work?”

“I’m always ready,” Woohyun smirked as they stepped into the lift and the doors closed behind them.

It had been an incredibly ordinary day, Sunggyu would remember later with a bitter smile. No surprises jumping out at him, nothing out of the ordinary throughout the whole day. He had held the usual daily meeting with the other heads of the departments, fixed up a minor crisis when an employee had accidentally spilled their coffee over the main switchboard, and managed to complete the weekly report to be sent to Sanctum HQ in Sector 1. Oh yes, everything had gone according to plan.

He was stepping outside his usual restaurant when everything changed.

There were loud voices coming from the dark alley beside him, the sound of objects being shoved over. Loud arguing, and he was sure he identified a female voice among the yells. And then a scream. Sunggyu’s first instinct was to be annoyed that the Patrollers weren’t around to stop it; Sector 1 had always been relatively peaceful compared to the other Sectors. Unbothered, he continued down the pavement, intent on getting home and catching his favourite TV series before going to sleep. As he passed the alleyway, somebody shoved into him rudely, and he staggered to one side.

“Excuse me,” he looked at the offender, who stared back with apologetic eyes. Human. Female. About the same age. Blonde.

“I’m sorry, I-,” the figure started, then narrowed her eyes at him. “No, I take that back. I’m not sorry. Move, I’m in a hurry.” She was about to hurry into the alley when he caught her arm, holding her back.

“Apologize properly,” he admonished her. “A good citizen of Nea Pragmaton should be courteous.” People pushed past them, hurrying on their way as unaffected by the voices in the alley as he had been.

“What would you know about being a good citizen?” she hissed at him, her eyes spitting fire. “You’re nothing but a robot.”

Sunggyu was unperturbed. “Humans and Droids live together in peace,” he intoned monotonously. “We are equals, and it is condescending that you should look down on us. Please apologize.”

“Don’t ever imply that we’re equals,” she sneered at him. “You want to be equals? You can start by feeling something other than what you’re programmed to feel.” She wrenched her arm free and seized the fabric of his sleeve roughly. “You will never understand what it is to be human,” she whispered savagely.

“A good citizen of Nea Pragmaton would not be so coarse,” he simply replied, watching her face closely. It was true that he made no question of the human race and how they were different, but he had always been curious of how they could have so many facial expressions for different occasions. Woohyun seemed to always be smiling, but even he could maintain a serious expression when required to. It was a strong contrast to Sehun, Chief Monitor who sat next to him in meetings and never changed expression once.

“Don’t talk to me about being a good citizen,” she cried out. “This is what a good citizen would do.” So saying, she dragged him into the darkness of the alley, her grip on him tight and authorative as she led him further and further away from the familiarity of the brightly lit street.

“Let go of me at once,” he demanded, pulling away, but she held on until he was aware that they were standing in front of a group of figures, their faces indiscernible in the dim light. Another figure lay on the ground at their feet. They turned to stare at him and his female companion, and he recognized the glowing, fluorescent blue irises of their eyes. After all, he housed those exact same eyes.

“Bloody robots!” the girl cried out, rushing at them, and Sunggyu realized that she was welding a metal rod. Immediately, the irises of the Droids flashed orange, and one of them held out a hand, stopping the girl’s arm in mid swing and sending the rod clattering to the ground. She cried out in pain, holding her arm with her other hand and staring wildly at the Droids. Sunggyu was frozen to his spot, trying to analyze the situation and figure out how to respond.

Rogue Droids, was all he could come up with. He had heard them mentioned briefly somewhere, maybe on the news, but it had only been for a second before his TV out. When it returned a few seconds later there was no mention of the previous topic, and the reporter had been replaced. He had never followed up with the story.

Blinking, he watched as the girl was suspended into the air, glowing orange bonds appearing over her limbs as she cried out, her body jerking as if she was being electrocuted. “Inferior human,” one of the Droids spoke, his voice deep and deprecating. “Know your place.”

This is not right, something inside Sunggyu said. “Stop!” he cried out, as the thought processed. “What are you doing?” The three Droids turned to him, but the girl remained suspended.

“Teaching the human a lesson, brother,” said one. “Wouldn’t you care to join us?”

“We are equals!” Sunggyu protested, taking a step forward. “We should not harm each other, it is not the way of being a citizen of Nea Pragmaton!”

One of the Droids snorted with obvious laughter. “Ignorant brother,” she said, her voice high and cold. “We are not equals! We are above these inferior beings, we are the future of the world. One day you will realize this, and when the time comes you can join us.”

What happened next Sunggyu could not remember without some sense of bewilderment. He had no idea what had overcome him, nor did he know what thought had processed to make him do it. But the next second he had snatched the metal rod from where it lay at his feet and swung it at the first Droid. He fell to the ground, the orange glow fading from his eyes, as his companions cried out in rage. Without thinking, Sunggyu swung out at them too, hitting the female Droid in the face and sending her reeling back into the other male. They both fell to the ground in a mess of limbs. The orange bonds faded from the girl and she dropped to the ground, panting heavily.

Sunggyu hurried over. “We must hurry,” he told her, as a Patroller hovered over the alley. She nodded, getting heavily to her feet. Sunggyu slung one of her arms over his shoulder to support her as she limped down the alley.

“Down here, we can hide for a while,” she gasped, and they turned right into another alleyway. She tried a door that he hadn’t noticed and they fell in, breathing heavily.

“I must get back home,” Sunggyu said into the darkness. There was a quiet humming sound, and then a light glowed overhead, revealing a large, empty space and the girl, who was looking exhausted and disheveled. She shook her head at him.

“You just assaulted three Droids,” her voice was awestruck, but steady. “You can never go home now.”