Acting the Part

AI: James Dean

"... are stable. I just turned him on."

August opened his eyes and the world filled with color. He felt air against his skin and smelled the stale scents of the set. It was as though he had just climbed out of a cave, or some pocket of an alternate reality where senses don't exist and there is nothing but darkness.

It always felt like that.

His agent, a large, older man with smile lines around his light amber eyes, grinned at him.

"Good morning August. Are you ready to start filming your next movie?"

August sighed and stiffly crossed his legs. It sometimes took him a moment to get his movements going smoothly, especially if he had been under for awhile.

"How long has it been?"

His agent hesitated, glancing down, the grin lessening some.

"Well? Cruz?"

Mr. Cruz knelt next to the AI who was already sitting down. He gave the room a look around, then shrugged a shoulder. "Four years..."

Four....

August stiffened, his whole body tensing. "You... You imbecile! How dare you! I am an artist! I have won you over thirty various awards! I was on Broadway! Four years? Four years of wasted money! I could've been in movies and shows and plays! I could've made a guest star appearance on... on... Anything! Even NCIS! Four years!"

Cruz completely lost his grin at that. "There were... complications." He looked up, his eyes finally meeting August's. "Do you not-" He paused for a moment, but finally started again. "Do you not remember?"

"Remember... What?"

Cruz hesitated, then smiled and shook his head. The smile looked pressured, much more so than usual. "Never mind that. I just remembered you're supposed to have brown eyes for this movie, and you still have blue!" He snorted a little after he spoke, then grabbed a small tablet and pressed a few buttons. August felt a soft pressure feeling behind his eyes, then it stopped.

"Ah, beautiful #8B4513, or saddle brown."

"And what will you do with my hair?" August asked, reaching up to touch his hair. Typically, they would leave it in loose curls. His famous curls. The chestnut brown, soft, bouncy curls that draped just over his ears and across his forehead. As he reached where his curls usually fell to, he met nothing but air, then skin.

"My..."

Cruz shifted back a little, placing the tablet on the ground. "They... wanted you bald for this film."

August felt his jaw nearly fall off his face.

"They what?" He snapped, his hands both running across his scalp now, as though he would rub away his shiny skin to find his curls hidden under it.

"I can give you your curls back temporarily, but they wanted you to lose them."

August took a deep breath, slowly letting his hands fall.

Four years and no hair. What a nightmare.

"No, no. It's not needed..." He muttered, half trying to convince himself of that. "What... What part do I have..."

Cruz cleared his throat, nervously. He wouldn't meet August's eyes.

August snapped his fingers. "Respond, mortal."

Cruz always took offense to that, so of course he looked up and responded, a cold look in his eyes. "You're a minor villain. It's the best I could do."

August clenched his jaw, then forced himself to his feet quickly. "How dare you! I am August Oliver! I am AIA-206! I have won every acting award possible for an AI to win! I have had dinner with six Presidents from four countries, a Prime Minister and a Queen! I was based off of James fucking Dean! There is no way I am a minor villain!"

Cruz slowly got up, letting out a soft grunt as he did. He smiled at August, then placed a hand on the shorter man's shoulder. "You're right. You were one of the originals, one of the best. You and your brethren really started all of this. But your time is done. The curls don't cut it anymore. James Dean doesn't cut it anymore. Especially not after... Well, the point is, any job is a good job. Your fans will still support you, even if it's a small part. It's a good way to get back on your feet, if nothing else."

August glared at him for a while, then made a low growling noise and looked away.

"We will get your image back, I promise." August could hear the smile in Cruz's voice while he spoke.

"What happened to my image?" August asked, hesitating before hand, then looked over at Cruz again, his face softening a little.

Cruz lost his smile, then looked down at his feet. "Do you remember what happened to Jamie?"

August felt his back straighten up a little and his jaw drop slightly.

"... Yes...?"

"Something if that sort." Before August could ask anything else, Cruz put a hand on his shoulder. "Sit back down, I need to load the program on you."

August hesitated, but sat down slowly. Cruz pulled out a wire and a few stickers, sticking them across August's forehead. He pushed in the AI's neck a little, then plugged in a wire.

Then everything went black.