<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">"...-ind it questionable that despite recent shortages you're unable to sell your stores in a quantity great enough for me to-"</span><br/><br/>Mundina Nade, the next step. Celebration of mankind's resolve to always chase the horizon. Mahd Gadaan's gift to those with extraordinary and expensive tastes. It was hardly the only den of sin on the station, and perhaps not even the most lavish one. Mundina Nade had found it's own niche by discarding old conformists ideas of normalcy. In here, progress of any kind was celebrated, especially the lurid sort.<br/><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'"><br/>
"-Should you continue to dissappoint me with a complete lack of results I will find someone more competent that you to-"</span><br/><br/>The hardlight image of a middle-aged man flickered. A nervous hand wiping sweat of his brow. Many people had their own meetings here. A business meeting was hardly frowned upon (generally easier to clean too). The private booth and curtain provided enough privacy and safety for the black-haired woman lecturing the smuggler. Noting down the conversation was a woman in a simpler work outfit with curly red hair, fingers dancing over a portable tablet's input area.<br/><br/><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">"-is clear, I want to see the first proof of sale within 72 hours and the whole stock sold in two weeks or I'll find a different black market smuggler."</span><br/><br/>The shocked man managed a numb nod and a "Yes ma'am" before the hardlight image flickered out of existence, leaving Alice alone again (save for the presence of her personal assistance). Business could be such a chore, the black market was just as cuthroat and without scrupules as the AAA companies she dealt with in the past. The only difference was the level of dress of people hired to kill you. The cyberized woman smirked to herself, glancing to the red-haired girl at her side.<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">"Did you get everything? Let me see." </span>Alice connected wireless to the device, retrieving  the transcript the AI wrote down.<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">"You're improving, less errors this time, well done Kate."</span>She patted the girl on the head, causing the AI's antennae to perk up while colour flushed those freckled sheets.<i>"Thank you, Mistress." </i>it muttered.<br/><br/>Aaaah, Kate was the cutest. Alice had done a great job with the basic code structure and weeding permutations. While Kate lacked true self-awareness, she was very close to true human behaviour. It had a selection of behaviours it could follow in a simulation of independent though. Through interactions with Alicia it had grown it's own 'personality' from behaviours being assigned more weight. Alice chuckled a little, watching Kate's antennae twitch as she opened the drapes. A careful sip of wine was analyzed by Alice's artificial tastebuds while the woman looked over the bar for something interesting before her next business meeting.<br/><br/>Almost immediately a cybernetic tail caught Alice's eye. Oh, what a complex and delightful design. It could be a piece of art were it not for the cutthroat nature of this station. Alice bit her bottom lip, she made no secret of being a cyber-fetishist. Machines were reliable and Alice was a firm follower of the AI Cyberizationist way of thinking. To create life that could succeed humanity. Transcendents wasted their time on the perfection of self, failing to realize that nothing lasts forever and they'll never be the gods they desire to be, death's cold grip getting all of them in the end. Evolutionists had the right idea about creating life, but all they did was degenerate the human gene. You can't get anywhere with a flawed base.<br/><br/><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">"Kate, fetch me the owner of that lovely tail would you? The woman who is herding serving girls in her arms. Yes, that one. Oh, and bring a bottle of vorshka and an extra glass."</span><br/><br/>The artificial woman got up, walking to the bar. Her modest apparel a strong contrast to the Mundina Nade's other guests and workers. This wasn't a place for white-collar workers. After retrieving and paying for the drink Kate approached Beriama. The tips of Kate's antennae twitched as she consulted a recognasoft database.<br/><i><br/>
"Madame Rojeau?" </i>The AI asked shyly<i>"My mistress wishes to enjoy conversation and alcohol with you."</i><br/><br/>Kate pointed out Alice in her booth, the businesswoman offering a wave accompanied by a smirk.<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>