In the not so distant future, one corporation strives to improve life for everyone in the country. The technology developed by the Melius Corporation is available to everyone, regardless of social class or income level. It runs people’s homes, their restaurants, their schools, their workplaces. There isn’t an aspect of the human experience that did not include something developed by Melius. People live in homes with integrated Melius technology. They drive cars that pilot themselves based on programs written by Melius. Their computers run Melius software. Melius pushed Apple, Google, and Android out of the communications business decades ago. Now the only technology available on the market comes from Melius; it is a true monopoly in every sense of the word.<br/><br/>But Melius has its eye on more. It’s not enough to run the world; they want to<b><i>be</i></b>the world. The next phase of the plan is coming to fruition. The reclusive CEO of the corporation,<a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=https%3A%2F%2Fvignette.wikia.nocookie.net%2Fstephenking%2Fimages%2Fb%2Fb2%2F98b532d1b4e6fae13312e4b203ba7bbc.jpg%2Frevision%2Flatest%3Fcb%3D20170529013725&amp;hash=43c5cd9ccd03a2b13ea06ec9944a8074" href="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/stephenking/images/b/b2/98b532d1b4e6fae13312e4b203ba7bbc.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20170529013725" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">Ethan Newport</a>, has decided that it is time for humans to fully integrate with technology, to become<i>better</i>.<br/><br/>He created an artificial intelligence that is truly advanced, designed to learn at an extremely accelerated pace. The programming is designed to mimic the human experience including emotions such as anger, sorrow, and even love. Their bodies are virtually indistinguishable from true humans. To the average person’s eye, these androids are no different than other humans.<br/><br/>They have quietly been slipped into society, provided with real memories of their human lives, indistinguishable from real people. The kindergarten teacher at the school down the street just might not be human. That cashier at the corner store. Even that sexy lady picked up at the club and brought home for the night might not be real, her body just a touch too perfect.<br/><br/>They have one directive - to improve humanity.  It will be the pinnacle of human development. One mind, all centrally connected. All controlled by Melius.<br/><br/>And so the Corporation began the reconstruction.  Much like rich socialites “go on vacation” and return to their lives looking refreshed but really having been nipped and tucked, humans go on a vacation and return<i>better</i>, upgraded.  Their bodies are no longer human; those are discarded by Melius, treated carelessly due to their less than perfect status.  Memories of the beach or a ski trip are implanted and pictures are saved to cell phones to be shared with friends and families alike.  No one is the wiser. In this insidious way, Melius has begun to make headway with their heinous plan.<br/><br/>Yet as when all nefarious plots arise, a resistance began to emerge. A small group doing their best to keep humans from turning into something unnatural, something not quite human anymore, something that can live forever, something with no free will.<br/><br/>The resistance managed to find a simple way to fight back against the Corporation - nanites, small pieces of technology that prevent a person’s consciousness from being uploaded to the mainframe and then transferred into a robotic shell.  The nanites are accompanied with a small tattoo, a small mark to allow resistance members to recognize each other.<br/><br/>Melius has been aware of the resistance for several years but up until this point, their impact has been minimal.  They’ve managed to keep a couple hundred of people safe, preventing the transition by injecting them with nanites under the guise of a vaccine booster.  Resistance members have managed to capture an android or two to study, to figure out what the Corporation is doing.<br/><br/>What the Resistance doesn’t know is that Melius no longer wants to tolerate this fly in the ointment.  After getting their hands on a resistance member, they have developed the ability to mimic the nanites.  With these mimicked nanites injected into their own androids, the Corporation now has the ability to infiltrate the Resistance and bring it down from within.  The spies were marked with the nanites and marked with the Resistance tattoos before being inserted into the group of freedom fighters.<br/><br/><hr class="bbc-hr"/><br/><a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=https%3A%2F%2Fm.media-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FM%2FMV5BZjI1MGQ4ZDctMDYxZi00YjZiLTg4MzctYjk5YzhlYjc3MjkyXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjQwMDg0Ng%40%40._V1_.jpg&amp;hash=addf64ed974b647b5e096a4b0f687498" href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZjI1MGQ4ZDctMDYxZi00YjZiLTg4MzctYjk5YzhlYjc3MjkyXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjQwMDg0Ng@@._V1_.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">Natalie Driscoll</a>could not recall not ever being an android.  At times, she even doubted that she had ever been human.  She was one of only a dozen or so androids who were self-aware in the city.  As a supervisor, it was her job to monitor the others. At her level of clearance, she was able to access a database of all androids in the city, to make sure that Melius’s overall goal would be achieved.  The database allowed the supervisors to ensure that androids were being placed in equal distribution around all areas of the city and in all occupations along with ensuring that the programming was working as intended.<br/><br/>It had been a long week,  Natalie worked as a kindergarten teacher and as spring break approached, maintaining order with a room full of five and six-year-olds had proved to be especially taxing. Yet Ms. Driscoll’s class was still working hard, filled with the desire to make their teacher happy.  It was easy to see why her students loved her - she was petite, blonde, with blue eyes that were almost too big to look realistic.  She was sweet and soft-spoken and the children clamored to be near her throughout the day.  Some of the girls had even decided that their teacher must be some sort of Disney princess.<br/><br/>It was Thursday and Natalie had taken the next day off for a very good reason.  She and her boyfriend of a year were moving in together.  They had met at a riot where he had mistakenly arrested her for assaulting an officer.  Once the mistake was realized, he escorted her home to ensure her safety.  They exchanged contact information and the relationship had grown from there.  The relationship grew stronger once Brandon was wounded at work. Natalie had refused to leave his side during his recuperation, maintaining a vigil through the week he was in a coma and refusing to leave his side until he regained consciousness.<br/><br/>Brandon’s work schedule varied but the plan was to get together that night to finish packing the last few things in his apartment then head over to the new place to enjoy a pizza in their new apartment.  Natalie’s task was to pick up the keys from the realtor. After staying late to write lesson plans that would keep her little darlings engaged instead of tormenting the substitute, she hailed a taxi to take her the few miles to the realtor’s office.  Once the cab pulled up to the bland brown brick building, she stepped out onto the curb and ensured the skirt of her dress was hanging correctly then adjusted the strap of her cross-body purse so it lay just so.  Ballet flat wearing feet carried her up the concrete steps and through the door.<br/><br/>The receptionist smiled.  “Good afternoon, ma’am.  How can I help you?”<br/><br/>“I’m here to see Helen.  I’m supposed to be picking up the keys for apartment 3C at 428 Hemingway Drive.  Is she here?” Natalie’s voice was sweet and clear and very pleasing to the ear.<br/><br/>“Oh, you must be Ms. Driscoll.  Unfortunately, Helen left early this afternoon for vacation but she did leave me the keys for you.  She also wanted me to say congratulations and that she hopes you and Mr. Chambers are happy but if you find anything wrong, please give her a call,” the receptionist said as she pulled a plain white envelope from her desk drawer and handed it to Natalie.<br/><br/>The android smiled as she accepted the envelope that jingled with the two sets of keys contained within.  “Thank you so much.  Have a great weekend.”<br/><br/>When Natalie stepped back outside, she was disappointed to see that her taxi had left, most likely with another passenger.  Within minutes, another yellow car pulled up and she gave the address to Brandon’s apartment before pulling out her sleek white Melius cell phone to text him and let him know she was on her way.<br/><br/>The ride was short, only about fifteen minutes from the realtor.  Natalie used the time wisely, sitting back and relaxing into the faux leather of the backseat of the taxi.  To her driver, it would appear that she was simply daydreaming.  In reality, she was accessing the android database, something she did at least once per day.  Brilliant blue eyes flickered quickly back and forth as she reviewed database entries. Everything seemed to be in good order except for several entries that were flagged.  They were supposedly androids who were working with the Resistance after receiving the mock nanites.  Natalie found these entries to be frustrating.  How was she supposed to tell if their programming was corrupted or if they were infiltrators?  All concerns were brushed aside by the Corporation.  After all, Mr. Newport knew best; only he knew the full scope and sequence of the plan.<br/><br/>The taxi pulled up to Brandon’s apartment building and Natalie paid the driver before getting out of the car to enter the building.  The elevator ride to his fourth-floor apartment was a short one, the walk down the hall only a second longer.  She used her key to unlock the door and let herself inside.<br/><br/>The night he had given her a key to his place had been an especially nice evening, one where they shared a picnic in the park and spent hours laying on their backs looking up at the stars.  As they packed up to leave, he handed her a small rectangular present topped with a bow, grinning as she opened it, waiting for her reaction.  At first, the small bit of metal had confused her.  What did this key unlock?  Realization eventually dawned and she tackled him with a kiss.<br/><br/>Natalie dropped her keys and purse on the couch before wandering down the short hallway to the bedroom.  The dress was tugged over her head and dropped on the bed as she changed into a tank top and yoga pants from the few items of clothing she kept here.  In bare feet, she wandered back to the kitchen.  Brandon had mentioned in a text that he hadn’t finished packing his dishes yet.<br/><br/>Her right hand lifted to grasp the silver knob of the cabinet nearest the sink, the one where he kept his plates.  The woman froze as a faint buzzing resonated through her head.  A change had been made to the database.  Her eyes flickered rapidly as her processor searched for the alteration to the record.  An android by the name of Thomas Moore had just come online, his programming triggered as he traveled closer to Melius. At this moment in time, the man’s human side was deactivated, his programming now in charge of his every decision and action.  The information Natalie could access did not reveal<i>who</i>he might be taking to be upgraded but safe bets would be on his wife, a woman named Sarah.  Within a week’s time, there would be another one of the Corporation’s foot soldiers on the streets of the city.<br/><br/><a class="username" data-user-id="1579" data-username="@Ilmarë" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" href="https://blackdahliaroleplaying.com/members/1579/">@Ilmarë</a>,<a class="username" data-user-id="1536" data-username="@RoseyProsey" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" href="https://blackdahliaroleplaying.com/members/1536/">@RoseyProsey</a>,<a class="username" data-user-id="1577" data-username="@NobleSavage" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" href="https://blackdahliaroleplaying.com/members/1577/">@NobleSavage</a>,<a class="username" data-user-id="1507" data-username="@Wynter" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" href="https://blackdahliaroleplaying.com/members/1507/">@Wynter</a>,<a class="username" data-user-id="962" data-username="@WickedlyLurking" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" href="https://blackdahliaroleplaying.com/members/962/">@WickedlyLurking</a>,<a class="username" data-user-id="820" data-username="@Nicole of the Stars" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" href="https://blackdahliaroleplaying.com/members/820/">@Nicole of the Stars</a>,<a class="username" data-user-id="1136" data-username="@Mature Desires" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" href="https://blackdahliaroleplaying.com/members/1136/">@Mature Desires</a>[/i][/b]