At what point has she accepted to lose herself ?
Write 6000 characters of a science fiction short story : Develop a societal aspect that can provide the stakes of your story, a critique of the present to galvanise your perspective on the issue.
Andrea made her way to platform 3 where the Interplanetary Shuttle Horizon awaited her. In disciplined rows, dozens of cyborgs awaited boarding, some anxious for whom it was their first time, others rather apathetic exchanging a few words, out of politeness or boredom. She had received her ITAW* a few weeks earlier after successfully replacing 80% of her organs with prostheses and electronic implants as required by the regulations of the alien planet. The decision for a temporary migration for work hadn't been easy, but their couple had to resolve to it. Energy was lacking at home, and despite the kilometers traveled on the energetic floor of their dwelling, Nolan and Andrea couldn't produce enough to live decently; credits evaporated like fine particles in catalytic rays.
The choice of the departing candidate had logically imposed itself. Andrea had mentioned that she was the most equipped (she had already parted with some organs for the purchase of their daughter Zoé) and had assured she was ready to exchange her heart for a 6.0 pump to give herself every chance of being recruited. Being naturally positive, she had quickly integrated the advantages that this considerable gain of credits would offer them. It was undoubtedly the promise of a better future; weren't they dreaming of a robot housekeeper or a second child? This argument had touched Nolan's sensitive side, who, resigned, had finally sided with the winners. "One Earth year will pass quickly," she had concluded with a knowing smile.
The automatic doors of the shuttle were now locked, and Andrea found a reclined seat near the window. She fastened her straps and sent a final holographic message to her partner before the cabin initiated its sleep protocol. She turned off the transmitter with a press on her wrist and settled comfortably. She was excited at the thought of discovering the home planet. She knew that for this first mission, she would be confined to the manufacturing facility of spacecraft 3001 and to the rest tubes of zone A*, but the videos circulating on the Holonet had aroused her curiosity. The planet was proudly presented as a land of the future, a uniform world of advanced technologies where machine intelligence had replaced sweat. A society where unisex entities with interchangeable physiques (the catalog was mind-blowing) shared space in respect of integrated individual programs. Undoubtedly, it was an Eldorado for disillusioned Earthlings.
At the comforting thought that words like war, suicide, depression, or harassment could one day disappear from the surface of the universe, the young woman closed her eyes as demanded by the robotic voice and let herself be penetrated by sleep.
Upon arrival, the passengers were gently awakened and, as promised in the digital brochure, they even felt rested and rejuvenated despite the duration of the interplanetary journey. They were disembarked in a noisy hangar without having had the chance to observe the sun or any sunrise, but Andrea reassured herself by imagining that once settled, outings would be planned for the newcomers, who all dreamed of new stars. She followed the commotion of footsteps in front of her, between rustlings, clinks, and rolling sounds, when she was lifted towards the ceiling by a giant claw with meshed walls, which upset her abruptly. The transfer wasn't long, but amidst surprise and concern, she wasn't sure what to think anymore. It was a real ballet of cables in the heights of the hangar, like a dance of jellyfish in the depths of the ocean. The lever reared up one last time before letting her body slide into a human-sized corridor leading to what seemed to be an individual room. A cube of about 6 square meters with basic resting space and walls lined with screens that at that moment plunged the silent room into dimly lit light with colors of aurora borealis. The young woman activated her wrist out of habit and was seized by a moment of anxiety; her tactile and vocal commands were deactivated. She was alone. No hologram to fill the void, no sound to fill the absence. Nolan. She wanted to talk to Nolan. She hurriedly touched the panels of her cell, but no pressure, no sliding seemed to activate the screens. Her 6.0 heart didn't race, but her human brain grew impatient. What time of day, night was it? How long had she been waiting?
A purring cut her thoughts abruptly, one of the wall panels had slid, revealing access to a dimly lit corridor. On the ground, blinking signs invited her to position herself, feet parallel, on a weightless slab in front of the entrance. Andrea complied with the recommendations; she wanted to get out of here, talk to someone, smell the grass after the rain, touch the bark of a tree, or the softness of dusk. As two jaws clasped her ankles, she let herself be carried by the machine through multiple empty corridors that quickly opened into an equally cramped space where she was installed, buckled, at her workstation with holographic instructions to follow. It was when an external command activated her bionic arm that doubt slapped her mind with extraordinary lucidity. Had she truly preserved her freedom of thought? Until then, she was convinced. But by what artifice had she become a slave to herself? At what point had she accepted to lose herself?
* Interplanetary Work Authorization for Cyborgs
* Androïd Zone