Mechanical fairies
It was raining outside. Sitting behind a tightly closed window, Titani looked at her own reflection on the raindrops running down on the glass surface. She was small. No, maybe “small” was not the right word. She was tiny, so tiny that she could fits in a human hand. She was a fairy.
But in this world where technology and magical coexist, where human live with magical creatures, the fact that she was a fairy is not strange. However, there was something else that was strange about her: She was also a machine. Titani sighed and reached to her reflection with her metal fingers. On the other side of the window, another fairy reached back to Titani, her blue glass eyes looked straight to Titani’s eyes. “What am I?” Titani unconsciously whispered to the air her thoughts.
“You are Titani-00, an artificial life form created by Professor Spear.”A calm, emotionless voice came from behind her.
“I did not ask you, Maria!” Titani angrily turned back, making her long silver hair spin in the air, sweeping across her thin fibreglass wings.
“My deepest apology.” Maria, the beautiful servant Doll, bowed down to Titani as an act of apology.
“You don’t have to do that either.” Titani said, frowning.
“It was how I programmed.” Maria replied in the monotone, emotionless voice again.
“Fine, whatever, please leaves me alone. Geez, Dad and his maid fetish…” Titani said as she once again facing the window.
Rain kept falling outside. “’Artificial life form’, hmm? What a nice way of putting it. I am nothing but a mechanical fairy…I am no different from those soulless dolls.” Titani bitterly thought, buried her face in her arms.
Four years ago, her creator, Arch Wizard Professor Wilhelm Spear had successfully using arcatech – a technology using arcane magic as base – to fused a fairy soul into a mechanical body and created her. Unlike the Dolls created by magical programming into a machine, she was a breakthrough of arcatech: a fairy – spirit of nature – inside a mechanical shell. 2 opposing forces existed in one body. Many had failed trying, but Professor Wilhelm Spear was able to created Titani. Needless to say how happy and proud he was, but it was not the case for Titani. Her fairy soul longs for her own kinds, but having the mechanical body, she was rejected by the fairies. She was all alone then.
Titani stood up, and started to fly away on her small insect-like wings. Professor Spear had kept his design for her body resembled a real fairy body for easier synching between soul and body, but mechanical traits are still there: Small round sphere in place of joints that give her a doll-like looks, her ears are leaf-shape devices on the sides of her heads, the metallic blue color of her skin, and the black numbers “00” on the side of her right arm. Those are the things that she hates the most about this body, especially the numbers.
“Where are you going, Titani-00? “ Maria asks as Titani flew across.
“None of your business!” Titani snapped.
“It is my business because Professor Spear had ordered me to watch over you while he is away.” Maria calmly replied.
Titani gave a tired look at Maria and yawned, “Can I just go to sleep? I’m bored.”
“No you cannot. It is not scheduled now.” Maria said as she coldly looked back at Titani, “Besides, overcharging life battery might bring unwanted result.”
“I don’t care! Don’t you dare anger me! You know what happen when I am angry.” Titani angrily stared back at Maria; she hated to be told what to do.
“My deepest apology.” Maria said and started to bow again. But she suddenly stopped when Titani raised her hand. With another gesture of her hand, Titani made Maria goes away like controlling a puppet. It was her power: like the fairies in the wood that were able to control nature as their will, Titani were able to control any mechanical devices as she want. Professor Spear sometimes calls her “Queen of machines” was also because of that power.
“I hate being bowed at all the time…make me feel so old.” Titani mumbling as she slowly flew to the couch then letting herself free fall into the soft cushions. She laid flat on them, then without even looking, she snapped her fingers, turning the TV on.
“Why dad is so late today?”Titani turned aside and looked up to the boring TV news flash by. Things like an elf died because of overindulged or the Dragons Union had opened a new bank system does not interested her. After all, she was not able to go outside anyway, what good would the news do for her? She was “too precious to be lost”, Professor Spear once said that to her when she asked him to go out. And so she lived a sheltered life in her creator’s house in the past four years, all alone with only Professor Spear as her only real friend.
“Honey! I’m home!” A loud voice came from the hall.
“Daddy!” Titani, upon hearing Professor Spear’s voice, instantly stood up, and like a silver arrow, she bolted out to the door on her little wings. Then she saw Professor Spear: A tall, thin man in his twenties with hair so long that you could only see in anime and manga – a proof that he was an otaku. And sticking out of that hair were two cat ears. No, they were not his costume, although he would wear cat ears costume if he didn’t have his real cat ears. He was one of the cat man tribe. He was still wearing his lab coat which was soaked in rain water, on one of his hand was a plastic bag and his other hand was busying taking his shoes out. Without any warning, Titani rushed to him and held his face with her tiny arms.
“Whoa! Careful darling, I am still wet and I don’t want you to get rusty.” Professor Spear let out a warm smile as he carefully took Titani off his face and letting her stands on his hand.
“I am made of rust-proof material!” Titani said and stuck out her tongue at him, then continued, “Why were you so late anyway? I was so bored at home without you.”
“Well darling, it was a long way to home.” The Professor happily said, smiling for two seconds before his smile froze. He had just realized that he had slipped his tongue.
“Long way home from where?” Titani flew up to face him closely, her glass blue eyes burning with anger.
“Eh…he he, did you know that you are very beautiful when you are angry Titani? I sure did make a good work on…”Professor Spear nervously said before he got cut in by Titani:
“Stop avoiding the question.”
“Well, you know, I am back from work, of course.”
“You work right downstairs.” Titani coldly said, her eyes still fixed on Professor Spear’s eyes. It was the truth that Professor Spear’s work place was right below his house. After the creation of Titani, he went on creating dolls. His dolls, like Maria, were so on high demanded that he now became president of Titani Enterprise – an enterprise that mass producing Dolls for customers. And on top of the enterprise headquarter building was his traditional Japanese-style house, like in an anime he had watched long ago.
“The Teleporter is malfunctioning today.” Professor Spear said, trying to smile, but sweat drops were starting to form on his forehead and falling on his glass.
“I did check the Teleporter’s condition today, Daddy, and it works perfectly.” Titani kept on coldly interrogate Professor Spear with her blazing blue eyes.
“Uhmm…well, sorry for trying to keep this as a secret from you, but I went outside a little to buy a cake for your birthday!”
“Oh really?” Titani happily smiled, her eyes sparkled with joy.
“Yes, really.” Professor Spear smiled with Titani, seeing his way out of troubles, didn’t realise that he had made a fatal mistake.
“But daddy, you know what?” Titani flew up and face Professor S. again before he could walk away with the bag.
“What is it dear?” Professor S. smiled again, trying to look calm.
“My birthday is next month.” Titani said, smiling.
(To be continued)
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