Moonbyul was dressed as casual as ever. Her jacket was blue like a midwinter night an hour before pitch dark; that colour seen as velvet no matter what the texture is. Yet even under her chilled fingertips the fabric was far from soft. Such a feminine cut in coarse fabric made little sense. She sat in her chair examining the room where she sat. There was no back wall to the room at all, only tempered glass. Moonbyul was expecting it to appear blackened as it did from the outside, yet it was crystal clear with the most stunning panorama of the city, the trees below like the ones on her father's miniature train table. She tried to smile but a twitch was all she managed, as she closed her eyes and tried focusing on her memory. Her mind only could make out abstract objects, blue and more shiny than a summertime lake as radio static rang through. A figure as friendly as a kindly relative, yet still her insides contracted like the air were an cold flow of snow as a loud bang echoed in her mind. As she opened her eyes in hard gasp, she was brought back to the therapist office where she sat. Her mind flustered from the memory whiplash she had just experienced.

"Now, Tell me what you remember, Detective"~The Therapist said as he pulled out a clipboard

"This time...I remember the radio call...... from Seulgi"~Moonbyul spoke taking in a deep breath.

"From my report, She was your partner."~The Therapist said checking off a few boxes on his evaluation 

"Yeah. But not much more than that. I still can't remember every detail."~Moonbyul muttered as her head began to throb

"You made good progress tonight, Detective. You were in a coma for 1 month, yes?"~The therapist asked as he put away the clipboard.

"Yeah, I was technically declared dead for 4 hours"~Moonbyul said putting her hands in the pockets of her jacket.

"Technically, we shouldn't be doing this procedure until you've been fully conscious for one year. But you've made great progress in the last 5 months."~The therapist said as he pulled out his cellphone, beginning to input something.

"So what are you saying doc?"~Moonbyul asked excitedly

"I am saying...... that you are now cleared to re-join the force detective"~The Therapist said as Moonbyul's eyes went wide. She thanked him as she headed home. She reached her apartment and slept the best she had ever slept in the last year. Before the day has started for the masses Moonbyul was already in her kitchen, fully dressed and ready to go. Outside it is as black as night, only by the clock can she tell the difference between the time to sleep and the time to rise. The dawn will come as she drives to work, lighting her way first in monochrome and then with subtle hues of colour. Byul turns the radio up, jiggling up and down to the beat. The highway yawns wide before her with only a light smattering of traffic. It's six thirty, meeting starts at seven. She reaches the precinct and looks upon the grayscale building. The digital holographic sign displaying proudly "Seoul Police Department". She made her way through the entrance past many familiar faces, even passing her office with a 'Detective Moon Byul' plaque upon the door and finally reaching her destination. The door read "Commissioner Anh Hyejin", Moonbyul giggled to herself as she opened the door.

There sat in the chair sat a short black haired woman, in a black blazer rummaging a through a bunch of paperwork. She looked up at Moonbyul and gave her a smile.

"Well good to have you back girl!"~Hwasa exclaimed getting up to hug Moonbyul.

"Yeah I'm just glad to be working again, Hwasa"~Moonbyul said returning with a bigger hug.

“Just happy you’re not too broken to work, was getting tired of giving you paid leave”~Hwasa said with a chuckle

“Ha Ha, Whatever, just give me my cruiser’s keys and I’ll be off”~Byul requested as Hwasa shook her head

"No not yet, you need to report to Wheein for your assigned Synth first"~Hwasa said as Moonbyul stood there in shock.

"Oh no I'm not driving with one of those things. A human partner is good enough for me."~Moonbyul said crossing her arms in disagreement.

"Since you were last here, Synthetics have become mandatory for all on duty officers. I'm not gonna fight you on some kind of regulation thing, okay?"~Hwasa said sitting back down

"Well, I'm not doing it."~Moonbyul said giving a small pout, crossing her arms

"Like h*ll you're not. Have you even read your psych profile? And, by the way, You've had a very capable therapist. But your doctor said you should never ever return to service"~Hwasa said pulling out a very thick binder labeled 'Officer Byul'

"Never ever? Wow, that's........... that's a long time."~Moonbyul sarcastically spoke

"Here I quote your therapist, "Moon Byul is suffering from depression, mental atrophy, trauma onset OCD, PTSD, and psychological rejection of her new synthetic body parts."~Hwasa

"Well, that last part is true."~Moonbyul sassily retorted.

"Listen, you're the only person more desperate than I am to find out how your incident occurred but you need to follow regulation Moon."~Hwasa said throwing Moonbyul a case file labeled 'Jongo Case'

"Ok fine"~Moonbyul begrudgingly agreed grabbing the case file, walking away.

"And you need a Synth to be on duty, report to Wheein"~Hwasa said as Moonbyul shut the door. She made her way through the halls of the station remembering where everything used to be and then Byul finally reached the lab. There she saw her favourite spunky nerd, Jung Wheein, all dressed in a her lab coat and wearing very thick rimmed spectacles. The girls met gazes and it was a fitting reunion. 

"Heyo Wheein."~Moonbyul said embracing her friend.

"As I live and breathe Byuli Baby! You're back! Or should I say, as you live and breathe?"~Wheein said as she pondered 

"How are ya?"~Moonbyul said giving her a pat on the back

"Constantly turning down party invitations. I've become quite popular with the ladies. How can I help?"~Wheein said as she adjusted her glasses.

"I got a rec order for a synth, Hwasa told me you're in charge of that?"~Moonbyul said 

"Oh yes, bad news on one end, we are all out of Model M's, every officer has checked one out....."~Wheein said as she scrolled through a list on her tablet.

"Awe well if we don't have any......"~Moonbyul smirked

".....Good news is we have an older unit that hasn't been registered to anyone yet"~Wheein excitedly said

"Great......"~Moonbyul said in a dissatisfied tone, following Wheein through the lab.

"Funny, actually. This, uh... this S.L.R. unit was scheduled to be transferred to Busan next month. It's sad really. She's scrap metal. The platinum circuits in her skeletal structure are worth more than her entire being."~Wheein said as she stopped in front of a tall grey pod-like case, the cases wall's were matte grey glass which had S.L.R. engraved all over it.

"Wait a minute. S.L.R.? Aren't those the crazy ones"~Moonbyul said inspecting the case

"What? No. That's rude. Not crazy, per say."~Wheein retorted 

"You know, they had their..."~Moonbyul said gesturing her finger near her head in a circular motion.

"What? Problems? Who doesn't have problems? Technically, they're perfectly functional. Look at her. She's street ready. Byul meet S.L.R. S.L.R. meet Byul."~Wheein said as she tapped on her tablet making the glass transparent revealing the brunette girl within the glass. Five foot seven, willowy and a face cut right from the pages of a beauty magazine. Her eyes...... Its eyes showed it's soul. They were a deep pool of restless colour, an ocean of hopeless grief. As Byul looked into the android's eyes she knew, all the beauty of the universe could not even hope to compete with this simple thing: passion. Passion turned it's eyes into orbs of the brightest fire, and in them I read clearly that she would fight to the very last tear for her life. She clung to it with passion. Passion that made her beautiful.

"Woah......."~Moonbyul said backing away from the case.

"I know, pretty right? she is modeled after the designer's daughter, Kim Yongsun, after she died in that car accident"~Wheein said typing away on the tablet

"Such a shame."~Moonbyul said walking towards the case.

"There. Should be functional. Her pathfinding was bad."~Wheein said as she finished working on her tablet.

"Anything I need to know?"~Moonbyul

"Well the Synthetic Life Replicant, the S.L.R. series-- they were based on a program called Artificial Soul. And while she isn't crazy, as you say, there may be some minor bugs."~Wheein 

"Bugs? What kind of bugs?"~Moonbyul

"Some of them had difficulty dealing with their emotive regulations. Emotional issues. The concept behind the S.L.R's was to be as human as possible. And the truth is that it's human to have unexpected emotional responses. And if, uh, being as close to human was the goal, then, I guess the S.L.R.'s weren't such a failure after all. People have breaking points, and so do machines."~Wheein 

"So you're saying she's daft in the head?"~Moonbyul

"Not words I would use, or agree with."~Wheein

"All right, plug it in already. I got to get back on the street."~Moonbyul said, waving for Wheein to get on with it.

"Ok just gotta register you with her now, place your hand on the glass pane"~Wheein said pointing to the case as a handprint silhouette appeared on it. Moonbyul walked forth placing her right hand onto it as a feminine voice replied "Not compatible". Moonbyul quickly switched to her left hand before Wheein could say anything as the feminine voice returned saying "S.L.R. Calibrating". Her left hand felt a slight pinch and burning sensation before the case opened with a loud bell ring. "Calibration Complete, Operator Registered". The girl in the case stepped out blinking for a few moments before looking directly at Moonbyul and smiling.

"Greetings Operator I am S.L.R. 2-21"~The Android said bringing her hand out for a handshake.

"Wow that's a mouthful, S.....L.....R...."~Moonbyul mumbled to herself.

"How about I call you Solar?"~Moonbyul said as she shook the robot's cold mechanical hand.

"Acknowledged, Thank you detective"~Solar said nodding in agreement.