Perfect

By Pauline C. Harris

Drew now knows the real mission her creators were trying to accomplish; create a perfect world. In other words, taking people, eventually all of the people on earth, and turning them into mechanically altered, perfect, human beings. That is what Drew previously found out happened to her.

But, although Drew, Jessica and Michael know that they need to somehow stop the creators, Drew also knows that she's made another enemy along the way; one possibly even more dangerous than the creators.

As Drew struggles to detach herself from the people who "created" her and untangle the mess they've made, she discovers that it might not be as easy as she thought, that she is destined to play a larger role in this plan than she ever intended.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Melange Books, LLC
• Release date: Jul 26, 2013
• ISBN: 9781612356839

Pauline C. Harris

Pauline C. Harris is a seventeen-year old author living in Northern Idaho. She started writing short stories when she was eight, and after she self-published her first book when she was fourteen, moved on to write the Mechanical Trilogy. She loves anything that has to do with science fiction, including Star Trek, and her main hobbies are writing and playing the violin in various orchestras and quartets. ​Mechanical is her first professionally published novel. ​She is currently studying in both high school and college and hopes to achieve her AA degree alongside her high school diploma. ​She is also working on another series of YA science fiction novels.

Book preview

HARRIS

Drew now knows the real mission her creators were trying to accomplish; create a perfect world. In other words, taking people, eventually all of the people on earth, and turning them into mechanically altered, perfect, human beings. That is what Drew previously found out happened to her.

But, although Drew, Jessica and Michael know that they need to somehow stop the creators, Drew also knows that she’s made another enemy along the way; one possibly even more dangerous than the creators.

As Drew struggles to detach herself from the people who created her and untangle the mess they’ve made, she discovers that it might not be as easy as she thought, that she is destined to play a larger role in this plan than she ever intended.

For Grandma and Grandpa

Table of Contents

Perfect

Dedication

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Previews

Prologue

Yvonne pressed her ear against the hard, wooden door, quieting her breathing and leaning in. She could hear the voices of the men inside—one was a creator and the other was someone he had invited.

You’ve got to be kidding, she heard the stranger’s voice float out into the hall, incredulity lining every word. The door hadn’t been shut completely so Yvonne gave it a small push, revealing a tiny crack. She leaned down and stared through, barely making out the two figures seated at the desk. The man was facing away from her and although the creator’s chair was facing her direction, he was so intent on the conversation that he failed to notice her peering in.

The creator shook his head, a small frown morphing his features cold. What? You don’t like my proposition? he asked in mock surprise.

Yvonne’s keen eyesight caught the stranger’s reflection in the glass front of a trophy case on the wall facing him. The man, clothed in an expensive-looking suit and whom she assumed was someone of importance, just stared at him. "You’re proposition? It’s insane. Literally."

The meeting was no longer of low priority. It was funny to see a man of such stature and composure gaping in such an unattractive expression. Yvonne stifled her urge to smirk.

The creator frowned again, his eyebrows furrowing. Yvonne knew that look. He had been expecting this. The creator knew what this man’s reaction would be, but for some reason, he had expected he’d be convincing. It would be a better place than it is now. Can’t you understand that? He leaned forward in his chair, his voice slightly strained.

Yvonne couldn’t help but roll her eyes, wishing she could burst into the room and smack both of them. They were both wrong. Stupidly wrong. No one had any idea what the creators were doing. Not even the creators themselves. The androids were the perfect ones. Not the creators.

And if it was perfection the creators were looking for, they needed to step out of the way.

The man stiffened, and although his back was to Yvonne, she could see the revulsion in his reflection. No. I don’t understand. I don’t even want to try. His words were spit out as if poisonous. Yvonne curled her lip, disgusted.

The creator suddenly smiled. A sickening smile that seemed almost a grimace. But we already have. He drummed his fingers slowly against the desk in front of him, creating an eerily rhythmic beat.

The man was silent, his lips parted, watching him. What?

The creator’s smile widened. We’ve already tried it. Yes, we have created perfect people. More than you would think actually. Hundreds. He looked like a proud parent, bragging about his accomplishments in raising his children. They’re all perfect.

There was a long, tense pause as his words hung in the air, clutching both men and seeming to freeze them.

And these people gave you their consent to...perfect them? the man asked warily. This caught Yvonne off guard. Consent? She had never given consent. She had never remembered a time when she wasn’t an android. She frowned momentarily, realizing that it didn’t make sense, but then focused back on the meeting. It didn’t matter.

The creator shrugged nonchalantly. Not necessarily. His eyes glinted.

The man stood so quickly he knocked his chair backward with a loud series of clatters. "You mean to tell me that you took people against their will and surgically altered them?" he almost yelled, his deep voice demanding not only an answer, but an explanation as well.

His rage startled Yvonne. No, she didn’t want more perfect people. The amount they had was enough. She was enough. But she didn’t like the way the man’s voice changed to horror and cracked with fear, the way his body stiffened at the idea of them.

The creator met the man’s eyes, glaring. I need you to support my idea, he said calmly, his eyes ice cold. You’re in a high position and your support would make a huge difference. Each word was chosen carefully, spoken carefully. An explanation and possibly a threat.

I would never support such a thing, the man spat back at him. In fact, I should have you arrested for what you’ve done. His eyes were blazing and he reached for something in his coat pocket. But before his fingers had even dusted the object, the creator sprang from his seat, shot toward him and hit him over the head.

The man crumpled instantly to the ground and the creator smiled down at the metal that was now exposed from a cut within his own skin.

Yvonne glared through the door, knowing what the creator was going to do. She knew they would stop at nothing to perfect the whole word—to make everyone the same. And that would leave her useless. Mundane. She gritted her teeth.

If you won’t support me, the creator said, glaring down at the unmoving body on the floor, malice lining his voice. Then we’ll have to make you perfect, too.

Chapter One

My mouth was dry as we trudged through the forest, our footsteps muffled by the thick underbrush. The summer air around us was hot and merciless. My palms were sweaty and I held them clenched at my sides, slightly trembling. I could feel my rapid pulse beneath my fingertips, fluttering wildly. Although it showed how scared I was, it reminded me of how alive I was. Truly alive. Human.

Yvonne walked ahead of me, my tracking device, her leverage, clasped tightly between her slender fingers, blinking. I hadn’t known until only minutes earlier that I even had one. It must have been injected into me without my knowledge. And now Yvonne had the device to locate me. It wasn’t all that surprising she had found some way to manipulate our creators into giving it to her. She was very persuasive. Apparently they trusted her with much more than they had ever trusted me. She gripped it as if she would never let go. The information she would gladly give over to my creators if I refused to do what she asked. Another wave of frustration washed over me at the realization. If the creators had my tracking device, they’d find me and I’d be dead within days. There really was no choice for me but to do whatever she wanted. However insane it might be. And knowing Yvonne, whatever she had in mind had to be extravagant or at the very least, dangerous.

Miraculously, only a few hours prior I had escaped from the Institution where I had been created, after I had helped certain innocent people escape from becoming perfected, or in other words, turned into mindless, expressionless androids. But I wasn’t sure if created was the right word to describe my existence. Altered? Changed? Perfected.

I had been human before becoming an android. I had only now just found that out. But apparently my creators were planning on making a perfect world, meaning all perfect people, if perfect meant robots without memories or emotions. And I was getting in their way. I was the one who had rebelled against them, helping people they captured to escape.

And Yvonne could turn me in to them any minute. What would they do to me? Before they had told me they would just turn me off, like any other piece of electronic equipment. And that was terrifying in itself. But now, a scarier thought arose.

If I had been human before, then I partly still was. And what did turn off mean now? My blood ran cold. The thought floated into my mind, causing my breath to catch in my throat. They would kill me.

I sighed. All I wanted was to rid myself of the ties to my creators, but for some reason I always ended up sinking myself deeper into their chaos. I knew it was wrong—every bit of it. And I couldn’t let myself be their puppet on their road to power. The creators wanted me to be their compliant little android, Yvonne wanted me to help her overthrow them for her own greedy benefit, and all I wanted was to get away from all of it. But I couldn’t. The creators wanted me dead and Yvonne was using that like a chess piece, maneuvering me wherever she wanted.

My best friend, Jessica, who had unfortunately gotten herself all tangled up in my mess, glanced in my direction, shooting me a worried, frightened look, and I remembered that she had just been witness to probably the strangest thing she had ever seen in her life. No, scratch that. Not probably the strangest thing, most definitely the strangest thing. She had just been told, by me, that I was an android. Her newfound friend from school was a robot. And now she had seen Yvonne, the backstabbing, traitorous android that I had grown up with, who had just told me that I did have a soul, and that I had been a human. In fact, all the androids had been human once. Talk about a culture shock.

She and her twin brother, Michael, who was also trudging alongside me, had escaped with me after school when the creators had come barging through the doors in search of me. Jessica had been on their list to be perfected and since I couldn’t just stand by and let that happen, we were forced to run, only to be found by Yvonne. I wasn’t sure which was better.

All I knew was that I had to keep them safe. This was all my fault and I couldn’t let them pay for it. Not to mention that they were the only ones who’d ever really cared about me. Even after finding out what I was, they were there—still my friends.

I soon realized that we were walking closer to a road, although still sheltered by trees. Yvonne went ahead to check that there were no creators before ushering us up to a dark colored vehicle stationed at the side of the road.

Why should we go anywhere with you? Michael demanded, eyeing the car.

Yvonne gave him an annoyed look. Because if you don’t, the creators will find you. She raised her eyebrows as if asking him which he’d prefer—the creators or her.

He heaved an irritated sigh. I saw him pat his pockets then groan quietly. Jessica nudged him, a worried expression in her eyes. The cell phone—it’s gone.

Where? Jessica demanded.

He shook his head. Must have fallen out.

Suddenly Yvonne grabbed my arm and pulled me toward her car.

Is this yours? I asked as she turned the ignition on.

She shrugged. Got it from one of the creators.

I wasn’t sure if getting it from them meant that they gave it to her or she just took it. I guessed probably the latter. Michael looked at me and I could see in his dark brown eyes that he was thinking the same thing.

So where exactly are we going? he demanded. When Yvonne didn’t reply, he repeated his question.

I heard you, she snapped irritably. But you’ll find out whether I tell you or not, so I don’t see much of a point.

Michael sighed loudly.

Yvonne switched to drive and pulled out into the road. After a twenty minute ride up a long spirally road that nearly made Jessica carsick and caused Michael to snap at Yvonne every time she sped too fast or turned too sharply, we came across an old broken down house. Or more like a cabin or a shack.

Um... Jessica stared out the window at the building that seemed like it would fall apart any second. The window facing the driveway was broken, dirty panes of glass glinting in the sunlight. The door stood slightly ajar and the steps leading up to the front porch looked rotten and crumbled. I didn’t even want to