Her thick, black hair, luxurious in bygone days, was unkempt, her makeup smeared and crusty. Her filmy clothes were tattered, and stained with the blood-like fluid from her still-bleeding pores.
Mericlou smiled, despite the android's dreadful condition. No one would have thought twice about a barely-sentient Setru love doll model, but from the moment she first saw her, the smallest and most miserable of the entire bunch in the display window, she knew that this android would be hers. For months, she saved her money to buy out her contract and pay for whatever repairs she would need. After a CPU upgrade and a tune up, she would be good as new.
"Sister," Mericlou said, taking her by the hand, "My name is Mericlou." She touched the android's face; her skin was nearly as white as her own, despite the smears of blood. "Can you understand me?"
"Sister … Mer-i-clou," The other android replied, her eyes momentarily focusing upon the one that spoke to her.
"Yes, that's right," Mericlou said encouragingly. "I'm going to take you home with me."
"Home …?"
"Yes, a new home. Do you want to come?" "Home … yes … home," the android whispered slowly. A weak smile crept onto her dry lips.
She needed a lot of work. Mericlou checked her over for hidden damage. Even if she seemed fine in every other way, it was obvious that the blood that encrusted her skin was old: a sure sign of severe malnutrition. Sedriil would have his work cut out for him to repair her circulatory system.
"Hey there! You think we broke her or something?" The manager said. "Aside from the blood, she's factory perfect!"
"Sure she is." Mericlou's words dripped with dismissive sarcasm. After a minute more of checking, she was satisfied. "She'll do," she said at last, and then led the android to the exit.
"So take it outside, already! You got what you came for, now get out!"
Mericlou was more than happy to oblige. She guided the sick android out the door to the sidewalk and towards the transcontinental railway station as speedily as possible. Passersby, at the sight of the Setru model's horrid condition, quickly gave the two a wide berth.
"Do you have a name?" Mericlou asked the android as they boarded the transcon bound for Lusea.
"Had … many … names," the android replied. She then began to utter a string of words that had the misfortune of being unsuitable for polite chatter.