Recollection of My World

Xavier sat in his metal box. He wondered how he came to be in this metal box, even if he could clearly remember the answer. How could it have been true?

Anguish wracked his body and he wept uncontrollably into his hands, sitting in this metal box.

This morning had drastically changed his life and he didn't know what to make of it. His whole life had been summed up to be worth nothing more than a tin can that lied on the street, empty and alone. This morning had indeed been different than others.

The beginning of this drastic change had started out as a dream. No, a nightmare. A nightmare where scalpels pierced his skin, his guts were twisted with miniature drills that still rung in his ears till this very moment. Blood drained. Flesh pulled apart and then put back together. Images of organs and a blinding light that burned bright behind his eyelids.

However, this nightmarish haze was ignored. Xavier did not let this tarnish his day, just yet. He tamed his unruly dark curls and splashed water on his chiseled face. He shaved the prickly hairs on his chin, all whilst staring in the mirror, with emerald eyes staring back at him. After all, the images were just an illusion. Something that his overactive imagination had conjured up for him to obsess over. He would not have that.

Leaving his apartment was the second mistake that he made this day. Although, how could he know? It was quite normal for him to venture down into the kitchen that sat on the forty-eighth floor; which was four floors down from where he lived. He had always complained about the kitchen being too far away, but really, jogging down eight flights of stairs everyday was one of the only reasons that he was as muscled as he was.

'SAVIOUR', a white, grey and dark blue skyscraper that belonged to his father was full of life, as always. He would always get scolded by Mira, his personal assistant; she insisted that he came to breakfast much too late and he should make an effort to wake up earlier in the morning.

He never listened. Only nodded occasionally and granted her minimal 'hm's'.

However, today was different and it was the first time that he noticed a change. Instead of the thirty-seven year old scolding him senseless and reminding him that his father expects more, she said nothing when he sat down in the giant cafeteria and the droids that were marked '3037, EVOLVE' brought over his food . She only greeted him quickly and then scurried away. It was strange indeed. And yet, he still ignored the signs of an all-around terrible day and went on stuffing his face with eggs, toast, bacon and a side of fries.

Oh! And how ignorant he was when he attempted to call his father who was on the very top floor of 'SAVIOUR'. Xavier's father almost always answered him when he wanted to greet him in the morning; it was a system that they had agreed upon ever since the last of civilization had been moved into this tiny lot of land on the Earth.

After humans ruined the Earth with pollution and the evoking of climate change, his father had used his immense power and smarts to preserve the last of humanity. Darias Trevino was another sort of genius and Xavier knew not to bother him, what with all of his excessive meetings and plans for the future.

The man had single-handedly saved the human race from the fatal radiation that existed outside of 'SAVIOUR'. A master plan indeed. And all that was asked of Xavier was to train regularly with the smaller group of soldiers that also dwelled in the establishment, as well as to keep healthy and make sure that everything was okay with the rest of their civilization.

It proved to be a very difficult task in the beginning, when Xavier was only nineteen years old. People were scared, lost. Nobody felt in control of their lives anymore. Although, after four long years in their safe haven, living had become a lot easier for everyone.

And so after a bit of rest and socializing with the ordinary people of 'SAVIOUR', Xavier spent the rest of his morning and a bit of the afternoon on the bottom floor. This was where the soldiers trained and it branched off to the massive greenhouse that mostly provided for everyone in the building, if you excluded the farmlands that branched off to the other side. When he entered, Xavier had felt unwilling to train, but it was still one of the only things that was asked of him.

The soldiers in the training station always welcomed him kindly, but they never spoke for very long. Xavier had a suspicion that his father was the only reason they even acknowledged him.

He had trained for two and a half hours and by then, he was drenched in sweat. There were lockers that were reserved for the superior soldiers in the branch, however, Xavier's father was sure to get him his very own. He didn't complain, nor did he dislike his father for favouring him over others. If he didn't need to bring clothes to training, then that was fine.

***

Then came the change that most definitely ruined his whole life. Xavier blacked out in the middle of packing away his soaking clothes. It came as a shock to him, but what was more unexpected is what he had seen whilst lying practically lifeless on the ground.

More grotesque images. This time, Xavier saw his own face. He was the body. The one being deconstructed and then reconstructed over and over again. He caught glimpses of faces that he was certain he'd never seen before. He had never been more terrified in his entire life.

The final image of his father flashed behind his eyelids and this image remained with him, like a song that was stuck in his head.

Once he opened his eyes, Xavier had to refrain from cursing aloud when he saw the soldiers hovering over him like bad omens. He was still, but the ground moved beneath him. He lied on a gurney.

He hadn't even known where he was, or where they were going. His limbs were like cinder blocks; there was no way that he could move. Whenever he questioned one of the soldiers, they would ignore him and rather looked straight ahead.

He was not sure how his accident had been a deciding mistake, since he didn't cause it, but nevertheless, he was still punished. He would still suffer.

And as the soldiers took him up to his father's floor, he didn't know whether to feel relieved or dreadful. Since, whilst Darius was a genius, he was not a doctor.

Once they reached the top floor, Xavier soon realized just how drastic him and his life would change. Scientists stood around in white labcoats, indignant looks on their faces. He called out to them in hopes of assistance, or any reaction, but he got none.

He was pushed into a large operating room. Their were machines like heart monitors and drip stations all over the place, but other than that, it was a plain white room that Xavier had never seen before.

Once he saw his father standing right at the end of the room, he tried reaching out to him, but his pleadings and desperation were all ignored and Xavier had not felt more heart broken in his life than he did then.

His father suddenly held a scalpel before his face and Xavier tried protesting, but Darius ignored him saying:

"Android 14, failed. Showed signs of post repair trauma. Might be faulty programming. "

Xavier could not believe what he was hearing, but his father continued.

"Begin prepping Android 15. Let's try and get it right this time. "

Xavier remembers getting picked up and dumped into a dark space.

And now he lied in a metal box.