The voucher had been sitting on his coffee table for the past three days, though, Tyler was too busy editing on the photos he took. He had already received the payment for his services, finally paying off Mr. Abassi of his rent. All he had to wait for now was the second payment after he finished the pictures.
When he was close to getting everything done, he finally opened that pesky voucher. It had the gold and white colors of SynTech painted on its surface along with its pure geometrically-shaped diamond as their logo in the middle. The words ten thousand dollars popped in next to a barcode, and next to that was the stamp date of the voucher's expiration.
Unfortunately, Eileen and Harry had already told him that the voucher didn't come with a refund and that its contents could only be used to purchase an Android.
Thinking that he might as well get over it, he walked over to the nearest SynTech retail store five blocks away from his apartment, which was situated next to an Apple store. He remembered that they had enough excellent selection of androids.
Right before he came in through the glass doors, a plastered LED banner on the front that read: Android Models IN FULL STOCK! New AD-Class 700 models, as low as 5999.99!
Tyler immediately was drawn to the latter. He scoffed at the absurd price, though he realized that with the ten thousand dollars the voucher had, he was at a loss what to spend for the extra four thousand. AD-Class 700 models were supposed to be the model his coupon was good for, but when he met a bubbly attendant inside, she refused to accept the voucher.
"I'm sorry, Mr. North, but this voucher calls for a personalized model ADC-700. Our models here are factory set, which means they only come with their basic settings and built-in parts. It would be a shame to waste a custom-built AD-Class on a basic build," said the salesclerk.
Sometimes, Tyler was at a loss on the different types of androids were. He never physically bought one for his own except when he was in elementary school. His parents bought an android for the house, though, it cost a fortune, it was helpful around. But it got hit by a car a few months later, and his father didn't repurchase one because of how expensive they were. At least for this android, he'd buy it for free.
"Is there a difference? Why can't I personalized what you guys have?" Tyler asked.
"We can change certain limited things to accommodate our customers' needs, but unfortunately, not the full package. Personalized Androids is a premium package. You can customize your chosen android online, and we will ship it to your nearest SynTech retail stores for pick-up like this one."
Online? He was already dreading having to sift through the web for all this hassle. "How long is that going to take?"
"Online orders usually take about a couple hours to a few days, depending on how much things you wanted to change. Then, they could ship you your Android right on your doorstep within the next two weeks!"
Tyler didn't like the sound of that. He wondered why they couldn't just hand one of the androids displayed behind her, a petite Android-woman, in particular, standing on a lowered, boxed-shaped pedestal looking placid and emotionless, scanning the crowd with her emotionless eyes.
"To be honest, I don't have the time to wait that long. And why does it even take that long? I mean, days? Really? and a two-week delivery?"
"I can assure you, Mr. North, that the product will be beyond your imagination. Here at SynTech, we value the accommodations of our customers. I do apologize if this tussle any of your schedule."
YOU ARE READING
Mechanical Gods (lgbtq+)
Science FictionTHE YEAR IS 2050. Human-like androids have become integrated into society and every household, becoming part of our daily lives. They look exactly like us from the pigment of their artificial skin to every follicle of their hair. They protect. They...
