Zeya 77 stood in front of the glass mirror, staring intently at her distorted image. The distortion couldn’t dare to hinder her quintessential presence. Her milk-white starry pupils were positioned perfectly inside her black irises. A silver sparkle in the corner of the eye twinkling faintly. A never-ending twinkle. It mocked her constantly to enlighten the air she breathed through her slim nose and the ground she stepped on with her porcelain heels. Her presence was like the moon, not like the barren ones in the sky but a special one. She wanted all of it. Her silk-embedded flawless skin, rose gold hair that stayed the perfect length and her mannequin body overflowing with symmetry. Her soft crimson lips whispered the acoustics of an angel. She craved nothing, not because she was fulfilled but because it was impossible for her body to crave. Her bioreactor stomach was never hungry, her mechanical tongue couldn’t comprehend bitter. Her metallic heart pumped red blood as pure as distilled water in her glass veins, only present to imitate the redness of a human. A human, which she resents to be now. She would rather be as valueless as a speck of stardust in space, aimless and free.
She didn’t know who she was anymore. Humans were her forgotten ancestors; she had no resemblance left with them. She did want all of this, she practically begged for it with every inch of her being. But now she stood in front of the mirror. She couldn’t possibly damage even 1% of herself with the sharp edge of the mirror’s broken piece. She was programmed to not feel any emotions, so why did she feel like she could feel? Her eyes were only familiar with her obsidian smile. Tears ducts were malfunctioned. Her laugh was so sweet that it felt like a deception. Even if an animal devoured her alive, she would be numb. A lilac dress hugged her inhuman body decorated with exquisite gems. She used to admire her dress but now she felt it made her lose her sentience.
As unique as she sounds, she was surrounded by hundreds of distinctive versions of herself. All the “other” Zeyas with twinkling eyes smiled; clueless about the broken mirror. They all stood in front of their own flawless mirrors absorbed into their own reflections. Zeya 77 couldn’t remember the last time she stopped smiling. This was a first. Her neatly manicured hands caressed her face but there was no touch. It was like she had woken up from a deep slumber yet had been aware of her every move. At the ring of a bell, her long legs moved in synchronized motion dragging her along. She was a victim of her own legs, going crazy at the loss of control. Her smile slowly started to reappear but she fought against it with all her parts. At least the parts that she could still control. She was being manipulated like a puppet.
There it was, a line of Zeyas walking to a long table surrounded by velvet chairs with unfamiliar people seated in them. She assumed they were people but she couldn’t trust anything anymore, not even her own organs. Now her hands moved unwillingly and placed gold dishes in front of the unknown beings. She saw their mouths moving but her decorated ears could only hear a simple tune. It was pleasant but permanent. She couldn’t understand if she was imagining things or if she was crashing and needed to be fixed. The gold dishes were filled with what resembled some kind of food. She walked back, her legs following behind the line that now entered a grey room. The aluminium walls were too high, her face almost fell back as she could barely see the ceiling.
Zeyas paused in front of a black conveyor belt carrying more gold dishes while Zeya 77 gained consciousness back. She could finally move as she pleased. In a quick movement, she grabbed another Zeya by her shoulders turning her towards herself. “Look at me! Can you hear me?”
The Zeya did not react nor meet her eyes. With a bright smile on her face, she calmly turned back to pick up the gold dishes. Zeya 77 stood there feeling invisible. All other Zeyas walking around her, dodging her seamlessly, kept walking in and out of the dining room. She stood there like a rock for almost 10 seconds after snapping back to reality again. Something was very wrong. Her body was acting as a being different from herself, with the power to erase her identity at any moment. Before the appearance of any thoughts in her brain, she turned away and faced towards the opposite wall of the room. The only solution she could think of was to escape this place and run away before losing control again.
While observing the tall room, she finally found a small device in the corner of the opposite wall. “A type FH lever.” She was astonished by the sudden announcement in her mind. How do I know what this is? Her hand, without her control, pressed a square indented button on the device in front of her. It was like she had just freshly stepped into a new body. She felt her lips attempting to open but she suppressed this action wanting to be in full control.
A black lever appeared out of the wall, startling her. She looked back at the other Zeyas and nobody had noticed the commotion. “This is all I have got right now,” she thought holding the black lever and pushing it with all the power she could muster. Her impulsiveness increased slowly. After looking around for a few seconds, the wall just beside the lever parted from the floor and moved upwards revealing a massive spaceship with two metal doors wide open. The lights in the ship switched on and the whole interior of the ship lit up.
Zeya 77 glanced once again at the other Zeyas but still, no one had even flinched. Her porcelain heel clicked against the amethyst floor of the ship as she stepped inside. She felt a tinge of excitement and rush inside her cybernetic self. As soon as her eyes landed on different panels and equipment inside the ship, her mind would describe exactly what they were. She felt like her mind had taken her side, guiding her to the perfect escape.
After pushing another switch inside the ship, the main gates closed while she saw the last glimpse of other Zeyas. She immediately walked towards the front and seated herself in the driver’s seat. “But where will I even go?” she thought as confusion arose inside but her hand quickly selected an option on the screen that read “Planet Zexis”. Suddenly, an artificial voice spoke through the speakers in the ceiling, “Coordinates for Planet Zexis selected. Initiating launch in 3… 2… 1…”
The ship launched itself at full speed throwing Zeya 77 back in her seat. This time she felt scared but she laughed at the same time. A sense of pure joy travelled through her whole body as she felt grateful for feeling any emotion. The spaceship zoomed in between countless small asteroids and stars, launching them around like confetti.