Rick grumbled as he headed for his locker, Senior year was definitely not going like he imagined.
It all started several months ago when Rick and his friends made their way up to the Mishimura house. What was supposed to be a date night with drinks instead turned into humiliation and horror. Rick had been attacked by something he couldn't explain, something that had literally caused him to shit himself. Things had only gotten worse from there.
As summer football practice began, Rick was surprised to learn of an addition to the coaching staff. A Soul Dtive named Buck had been added, the gynoid bulldog designed to help in the analytical department for the team. Rick, at first, gave little thought to the Soul Drive. That changed though when Buck approached the coach with its analysis of the team.
According to Buck, the team would be better served if Ricks backup started instead of him. Buck had reviewed footage of practices and games, determining that the Junior that backed Rick up gave the team a better shot to win. Now Rick found himself riding the bench, his playing time cut in half in what should of been a year to remember.
Things only got progressively worse as his girlfriend Beth dumped him. Rick was taken aback by this news, his shock turning to anger as he watched his girlfriend begin dating a Soul Drive.
Rick couldn't wrap his mind around it, people were dating robots now. Over the past year more and more Soul Drives began attending school, the reasoning behind it was that Soul Drives needed to interact and learn from the education system in order to serve humanity better. Honestly it repulsed Rick, especially when the Soul Drives began infiltrating various cliques at school. Now you had Soul Drive jocks, Soul Drive theater geeks, Soul Drive student council members, even Soul Drive journalists. In Ricks mind it upset the social order of high school, especially because in each and every case the Soul Drives treated everyone with respect.
It wasn't how high school was supposed to work. Jocks didn't hangout with geeks, they used them to pass a class or stuff in a locker. Soul Drives though bridged the divide, bringing harmony to the school. It resulted in more than one girl wanting to date a Soul Drive, a trend that Rick was now the victim of.
Rock now glowered at Beth and her Soul Drive boyfriend Speedy, a gynoid rabbit. It drove him nuts how empathic it was towards Beth, showing her affection while also being supportive and protective. Slamming his locker he now stomped down the hall, pushing roughly past the couple.
"Hey watch it," Beth called. Rick paused frowning at the loving couple. Speedy raised a furry paw, calming Beths outrage as he now turned a sympathic eye towards Rick. "Rick I'm sorry Beth broke up with you," he said. "Its not in my nature to hurt someone physically or emotionally. Maybe we could talk, hash things out. I just want to be friends."
Rick fumed, this was the attitude that drive him nuts. Soul Drives were always so sensible, so kind, so foreign to the alpha male hierarchy of high school. If Speedy was human he would have fought Rick on the spot, maybe said something to get a rise out of Rick. Instead, the Soul Drive wanted to talk, to hash out their disagreements to help Rick become a better person and grow from his challenges. It was enough to drive Rick crazy. He wanted to fight, not talk about his feelings or grow as a person. Rick seethed, his face turning red as he glared at the Soul Drive.
"Oh fuck off you fucking Arty!"
A collective gasp now emanated throughout the hallway. The students shocked and appalled by Rick's utterance. Arty, it was a slang term that had only recently appeared. A term cooked up by hateful and bigoted people to disparage Soul Drives. Arty stood for Artificial. It was dehumanizing, a hateful term used to minimize Soul Drives, to lessen their value to society. Like all hate filled terms uttered by mankind it was used as a rallying cry to insult those different than the norm.
"You racist asshole," Beth screeched.
"Racist," Rick countered. "How am I racist? He's not even human! He's just a bucket of bolts. A fucking Arty, just like the rest of the Artys the dirty up this school!"
Speedys mechanical eyebrows drooped, his shoulders slumping at the derogatory term. Rick glowered, noting the disapproving looks on students faces. They were appalled, disgusted by his insensitive remarks. Rick didn't care though, they were all freaks if they actually cared about a machine with a soul. A heavy hand now thudded down on Rick's shoulder, the teen turning around and groaning as he beheld Silver, the ape Soul Drive in charge of discipline.
"My office now," Silver exclaimed, his silver monkey paw gesturing towards a door. Rick grunted, stomping towards the Soul Drives office.
Silver now closed the door, Rick sulking in a chair as the ape gynoid marched behind his desk. Rick now raised a weary eye, taking in the impressive looking Soul Drive unit. Silver was an impressively built Soul Drive built to look like an anthropomorphic silver back gorilla. A large squarish head rested on large shoulders with a broad chest, silver and black fur covering its torso. Silver, like all Soul Drives, was designed to help humanity but was also designed for discipline. "Care to explain yourself?"
"What I was angry," Rick replied bitterly. "I can't be angry in this school now?"
"Anger is one thing," Silver stated. "But hate filled comments are completely different. You know the schools policy on hate speech."
"How is what I said hate speech," Rick exclaimed. Silver simply shook his head, Rick groaning in annoyance as the gynoid gorilla now began to explain why what Rick had said was so wrong. It drove him nuts, he would rather just be yelled at and given detention, not lectured and tried to be educated. Soul Drives though always went back to their programming. Help humanity be better. Rick wished he could change that.
Glancing down at his hands as Silver continued to lecture,, he was surprised to see a ring on his finger. It hadn't been their before and he now wondered how it had gotten their. Glancing back up at Silver, he could see the gynoid was in the middle of explaining why hate speech was wrong in an educational setting complete with diagrams and visual aids. Rick, sighed, if Silver had been human he doubted he would have to go through this.
Ricks eyes now went wide, the teen oolong out of the corner of his eye the glow from his ring and the changes to Silver. The ape Soul Drive now paused, Rick noticing his body beginning to change.
The plastic sheen of Silvers body began to dull, taking on a flesh tone. As that happened he watched his head begin to reform, the ape gynoids ears shifting into human proportions while his face morphed, rounding and becoming less blocky in appearance. Soon the changes spread to the Soul Drives body, the fur spreading out, becoming a suit jacket and shirt. The gunoids hands twisting, becoming less simian and more human. In only seconds Silver had gone from a powerfully built ape gynoid to a rather large and intimidating middle aged man.
"Are you listening to me Rick," Mr. Silver exclaimed, his voice now tinged with rage. "You may not like Soul Drives but they're here to stay end of story."
Rick was dumbfounded. Gone was the firm yet understanding lecture of a Soul Drive trying to better Rick. Instead Rick now listened to an angry human disciplinarian who tolerated no non sense within the halls of his school. Mr. Silver wasn't a perfect helpful Soul Drive anymore. He was human.
"I'm..I'm sorry Mr. Silver," Rick stammered, still in utter disbelief at what he had observed.
Mr. Silver sighed, his eyes no longer warm and inviting. Now they were eyes of disappointment. "Look kid I'm not thrilled about all the changes either," he stated. "But you can't just go around screaming hateful comments at Soul Drives. You're catching a week of detention. Now knock off the bullshit and head to class."
Rick stammered okay, getting to his feet unsteadily as he exited Mr. Silvers office. He couldn't explain it but somehow he had changed the understanding but firm Silver into the intimidating and very large human Mr. Silver. Glancing at the ring, Rick now quickly made his way to his next class.
From the shadows, a figure now watched chuckling softly as the bitter teen ran off. Morgan had been searching for an apprentice of her own, someone to undo the works of the current Catalyst. Gazing at Rick she couldn't help but smile, he was the polar opposite of Darren. In time she would introduce herself, then the work could begin on dismantling everything the Catalyst had done.