contAIned

Chapter Two

Lex's PoV

"You can't be serious!" I held my head in my hands as India donned her jacket and slid her shoes on.

"What?" She shrugged nonchalantly, "I'm intrigued as to what he's going to try and sell me. Plus, if the rebels are there it's going to be one hell of a party." Her smile became slightly more sinister. "Think about it. They'll probably crash the party - that or they'll hardwire the AIs to self destruct or something. It'll be hilarious to see Bradley Prince fall." I spun round to her, my eyes widening in horror as she spoke so confidently about the fall of this man and his business.

"India..." I warned, looking into her dark brown eyes with a level of unsurity. "He is going to have the place guarded to the maximum. Hell, the army will probably be there. He's finally stepping out of his locked down mansion to meet the masses. He knows shit is going to go down and he'll plan for it. It's not going to become this epic movie scene you're imagining." I shook my head as i turned my back to her.

"Alright and maybe Josie said she was going." India's tone changed, as if it were now reluctant. I turned back to her and smiled.

"There we go. The truth finally comes out."

"Shut it and get your shoes on. I'm not doing this alone." She hissed, lobbing my boots at me. I shoved them on and grabbed my jacket.

"I swear, if this ruins my life I'll put all the blame on you." I smirked as I grabbed my phone and keys and headed out of the door, India following me quickly.

***
The town hall had been given to Bradley and his team to turn into an AI marketing wonderland. As we arrived, the queue went down half of the road. India and I shared glances before we began to head down the line.

"Excuse me, have you got invites?" The doorman said. We nodded and walked back over to him. We pulled out phones out and showed that alongside a form of photo ID that proved who we were. As we waited for his man to finalise everything, I couldn't help but look him over. He must have been at least six foot five, his towering frame also lean and muscular. He stood with an earpiece attached to a radio on his belt, a tablet that must have had us all registered on it, and dark glasses that held what looked like a camera lens at the corner.

"Alexandria Hudson." He repeated thoughtfully. "You sound familiar." India looked over at me with her eyebrows furrowed, which I retaliated with a small shrug.

"Sorry, never been here before." His eyes moved from the tablet to my face, slowly taking in my features. Under his intense glare I could help but feel uncomfortable, my weight shifting from one foot to another.

"Okay, you're good to go in. Just as a warning, this is a high security event. No videos and photos are to be taken and you will be escorted out if it's necessary. Just be good." The last three words came out in a growl, almost as if he was trying to weasel out who would be part of the rebel group.

"T-thank you. Have a nice night." India said, her eyes wide in fear as we were let straight in, the town halls normally boring and old interior now something completely different. Humanoids littered the area, all on and talking, almost mingling themselves. Suddenly, I realised what Bradley was trying to do. He'd use people's niceness against them. If the humanoid sold themselves to you, you'd feel more reluctant to say no. There were interactive projections and tablets around the walls, all with additional information on the robots that literally filled the room with us. The room seemed clinically white and brightened, in comparison to the usual dull bulbs and wooden chairs.

"Holy shit." India said, her jaw dropping as she took in the same scene as me. We stood in awe for a few seconds, taking everything in, before a humanoid walked over to us with a bright smile.

"Hello there, I'm Daniel. Welcome to the beginning of the new future. Can I get you a drink?" India pushed herself closer to me, the overwhelming room seeming to terrify her.

"No thank you Daniel." I said confidently, steering India away from him and towards a snack table, sensing her fear.

"Did you see that?!" India finally relaxed as she reached out for a muffin and took a huge bite. She said it to me in a harsh whisper but I knew what she was going to say. "He looked human. Like to the last detail. When he smiled, he had crows feet. His hair looked real, he gestured like a normal person. This is fucking terrifying." Another bite of the muffin seemed to calm her down as she looked back over to me. "Yeah I know, you said it was a bad idea." I merely shrugged in response.

"Hi there, I'm Melody." Another humanoid was beside us, India's body tightening as she turned round to take in this robot. Her skin was a beautiful chocolate shade, which looked very skin-like and very smooth. Her hair was braided down to her shoulders. For a moment, India softened, taking in her features and smiling slightly.

"India. And this is Lex." She held her hand out and shook the humanoids hand.

"It's lovely to meet you. I saw you two standing away from everyone else, and was very thankful about that. A lot of these people are quite unfriendly, if not snobby." India stifled a laugh.

"Yeah we're not like others that'd be round here." Our eyes scanned the mix of people that had attended this event. Some were in suits, looking at the humanoids with a judging glare - probably trying to work out how to steal the idea and make money for themselves. Others were in jeans and shirts, people who were likely to have not bought a bot because they were too expensive. Then there were the clear rebels, ones who stood away from it all glaring at every person interacting with the humanoids - like us.

"This mix of people just feels like a recipe for disaster..." I said in a mumble, India eyeing me as I said it. Melody hummed in agreement as she looked over.

"But I wouldn't worry, IntelaCare Ltd put their clients safety as a top priority. Should anything happen, you'll be pleased to hear we all have an emergency response that can be triggered and we will help. Alongside that, Mr Prince has asked for some military attendance." Melody spoke, although her tone just sounded like a sales pitch. India and I exchanged glances once again, and as I looked around once more the uneasy feeling that something was going to go wrong grew even larger.