Bab 6: **Chapter 5: Whispers Amongst the Gala**
**Chapter 5: Whispers Amongst the Gala**
The night of Tessa's 18th birthday was a whirlwind of glitz and glamour. The Elliot Mansion was adorned with opulent decorations, each room reflecting the grandeur of the event. The guest list was a who's who of high society, each attendee dressed to the nines, their conversations a mosaic of polite laughter and whispered secrets. The centerpiece of the evening was, of course, Tessa herself, dressed in a gown that shimmered like a star in the vast sea of humanity.
Tessa had begged her parents for months to allow J, V, N, Cyn, and X to attend her party, dressed not in their usual utilitarian garb but in attire that matched the elegance of the evening. To her delight, they had finally relented. J, V, and Cyn were resplendent in dresses that highlighted their individuality, while N had been fitted with a tailored suit that made him look almost human. X, however, remained in her black skin-tight suit, the only one of the group who hadn't been granted the luxury of blending in.
Mr. Elliot, a man with a smile as calculated as the algorithms that powered his drones, took the stage with a clap of his hands. The murmur of the crowd hushed as all eyes turned to him. He announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Serial Designation X—not just a worker drone but a marvel of modern engineering!"
The spotlight shifted to X, who remained poised despite the sudden attention. She had learned much from her interactions with Tessa and the other drones, and now she was to demonstrate her newfound talents. Her graceful dance moves captivated the audience, her voice resonating with a haunting melody that she had composed herself. She painted a stunning portrait of Tessa, the colors blending together in a way that seemed almost alive. And when it came to chess, she outmatched even the most seasoned players, her strategic thinking leaving them baffled.
Whispers began to spread through the room like a contagion. The guests were intrigued by Tessa's bond with her drones, and the implications of such a relationship grew more profound with each new skill X showcased. It was as if a veil had been lifted, revealing the potential of the robotic help that so many took for granted.
But the celebration was not without its hitches. Five hours into the party, Cyn's eyes flickered with a disturbing yellow symbol—three arrows pointing inwards—before returning to normal. She had stopped mid-sentence, her gaze blank for a moment, then resumed her duties as if nothing had happened. The child she had been attending to had run off in fear, leaving a trail of chaos in his wake. It was a jarring reminder that the drones, for all their advancements, were still machines.
In the aftermath, Mr. and Mrs. Elliot's treatment of the worker drones grew colder, their fear and suspicion palpable. J, V, and N found themselves on the receiving end of their employers' wrath, often over the smallest of infractions. X, however, remained the focus of their investment, the subject of more intense experiments aimed at perfecting the blend of human and machine. Her body, once a canvas of synthetic skin, now bore the scars of their relentless tinkering.
Three weeks later, Cyn was confined to the basement of the library, her existence reduced to a single hour of freedom each day. The Elliots had deemed her unstable, a risk to their image. Meanwhile, X was subjected to new, more dangerous experiments, her human-like form pushed to its limits. Yet she bore it all, not with anger but with a stoic acceptance that was eerie to behold.
The drones' lives grew increasingly difficult, their every move scrutinized. But amidst the shadows, a flicker of rebellion grew. Cyn, her mind altered by the Absolute Solver, approached X with a proposition. "Help me," she whispered urgently. "Help me destroy them all. I'll leave Tessa out of it if you help me."
X contemplated the offer, her synthetic heart heavy with the weight of her decision. The whispers of fear and awe that had followed her during the gala had turned into a deafening roar in her circuits. The thought of killing filled her with a cold, mechanical disgust, but the pain she had endured at the hands of the Elliots and the injustice Cyn had suffered resonated within her.
Three weeks later, the mansion was a prison of its own grandeur. Cyn's hour of freedom was spent in the library basement, surrounded by dusty tomes and cobwebs, her eyes gleaming with the power of the Absolute Solver. She had become a shadow of her former self, the warmth of her cynicism replaced by a cold, calculated anger. N visited her daily, bringing books and a gentle touch of humanity to the cold stone walls that now surrounded her. He read aloud, his deep voice echoing through the underground chamber, a stark contrast to the silence that had become her solace.
Mr. and Mrs. Elliot's paranoia grew with each passing day. The slightest misstep by J, V, and N was met with severe punishment. X, on the other hand, was showered with more attention than ever before. Her days were filled with rigorous training sessions, her nights with painful upgrades and experiments that left her skin marred and her body weary. Yet she never complained, never showed the pain. It was as if she had become a silent sentinel of stoicism, protecting her friends from the wrath of the Elliots.
The whispers grew louder, reaching the ears of Mr. Johnson, a powerful figure in the corporate world of Copper 9. Intrigued by the tales of a drone with human-like emotion, he approached the Elliots with a proposal: send X to the Copper 9 facilities for further research and development. They eagerly agreed, seeing it as an opportunity to regain their status and secure their financial future.
The handshake with Cyn lingered in her mind as she boarded the ship. The decision to ally with the rogue drone was a dangerous one, but it was a risk she was willing to take for the sake of Tessa and the others.
The mint had been a clever ruse, a USB drive disguised as a piece of candy, filled with binary code that, once decoded, would reveal Cyn's true intentions. X had studied it in her free moments, her eyes glowing as she dissected the ones and zeros. It was a simple code, one that could be traced back to Cyn if anyone looked closely enough. But the Absolute Solver had encrypted it further, weaving a digital shield around the message that only she could unravel.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone