Cindie awoke to the familiar sound of metal clanging against metal. As she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, she could hear her stepsisters Loretta and Gidget already hard at work in the robotics shop downstairs. Cindie quickly got dressed in her gray mechanics jumpsuit and pulled her grease-stained hair back.
"Cindie!" screeched her stepmother Glynda from downstairs. "Stop lazing about and get down here!" Cindie sighed and headed down to start her day's work. Ever since her father had passed away and Glynda had taken over the shop, Cindie's life had become an endless cycle of repairing robots from morning to night. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, Loretta and Gidget nodded curtly in her direction before turning back to their work. The stepsisters, with their flawless cybernetic enhancements, barely acknowledged Cindie except to bark orders at her.
Glynda bustled over, grease smeared across her face. "Took you long enough! We just got a huge shipment of repair orders. Hop to it!" Cindie got straight to work at her repair station, reattaching limbs, welding cracked metal, and replacing fried circuits on a never-ending line of robots. As she labored, Loretta and Gidget chatted loudly about the upcoming gala at CyTech Industries.
"Did you get the genetic mod to turn your skin silver?" asked Loretta excitedly. "I hear silver skin is all the rage."
"Of course..." said Gidget. "And I got my legs extended. Now I'm almost seven feet tall!" The gala at CyTech Industries was the event of the year, when they would unveil their latest cybernetic enhancements for the wealthy elites. Invitations were highly coveted.
"I hope they announce a brain implant that lets me learn new skills instantly." said Loretta dreamily. "I asked Mother to pre-order it for me. Learning is just so boring." Cindie tried to ignore their conversation as she finished repairing the last robot in the shipment. She powered it up and smiled as it beeped cheerfully at her. Someday, she dreamed of making enough money to get her own upgrades. But under Glynda's stingy management, she could barely afford her rent in the city's slums.
At the end of her exhausting shift, Cindie headed upstairs to her tiny closet of a bedroom. She peeled off her grimy jumpsuit and stared sadly at her unenhanced body in the mirror. If only she could experience life as one of the dazzling, perfect cyborg elites, even for a night...
Suddenly, her communicator implant buzzed with an incoming message. Cindie tapped the implant behind her ear.
"Cindie, this is Fairen with the Cyber Fairies. My group aims to spread technological enhancements to all, regardless of class or wealth. We want you to come to the CyTech gala."
Cindie was stunned. The Cyber Fairies were notorious hacker activists. What did they want with her? "Why me?" she asked nervously. "And how would I get in? I'm sure Glynda and my stepsisters would never give me an invite."
"Leave that to us." replied Fairen. "We Cyber Fairies are all about making dreams come true. Meet us at the junkyard at 2100 hours tonight, and we'll take care of the rest."
That night, Cindie's heart pounded as she slipped past the sleeping forms of Glynda and her stepsisters. She crept downstairs and into the moonlit junkyard, where Fairen and the other Cyber Fairies waited in the shadows.
"Here, put this on." said Fairen, handing Cindie a shimmering silver jumpsuit. "We hacked you an invite to the CyTech gala. This outfit will get you in."
Cindie quickly changed, marveling at the smooth material. Next, the Cyber Fairies equipped Cindie with temporary cybernetic enhancements. Contacts that made her eyes shimmer different colors. A neck implant that made her voice melodic. And heels that elevated her height.
"The enhancements will only last until midnight, due to their temporary hacked nature." Fairen explained. "So make the most of your time at the gala."
At CyTech Headquarters, Cindie easily bypassed the robot security guards. The hacked invite worked perfectly. She glided into the dazzling gala hall, lit with neon holograms. Groups of glamorous, enhanced elites in designer outfits, silver and gold plated skins and high society augmentations filled the room. Heads turned to stare at Cindie as she passed, the unique eyes that change color every second, the golden skin coating her whole body. The Cyber Fairies gave her all she needed to be the star at the party. For the first time, she felt like she belonged.
"Welcome, city dwellers!" boomed the CEO of CyTech from a floating hologram stage. "Prepare to be amazed when you see our newest cybernetic enhancements!"
The crowd oohed and aahed as the CEO unveiled new chrome skin attachments, glowing brain implants, and more. Cindie drifted through the displays in awe. She couldn't believe this night was real. As she browsed a booth showing off visual mods, she noticed a tall, handsome man looking at her. He wore a sleek black suit with a blue glowing electronic tie. The man nudged through the crowd toward her.
"Hello there." he said warmly. "I don't believe we've met. I'm......"
Suddenly, an alarm blared through the hall, cutting him off. The neon holograms all turned red.
"WARNING. TEMPORARY ENHANCEMENTS DETECTED IN THE BUILDING. FIND AND DETAIN THE INTRUDER."
Cindie panicked as robotic guards began swarming toward her. Her temporary enhancements had been detected! "I have to get out of here!" she cried, turning away from the man. She ran through the crowds, heart pounding as the clock neared midnight. The enhancements would soon wear off.
Bursting into the parking garage, Cindie spotted a hoverbike. She quickly hotwired it and sped off down the spiraling levels of the garage. Behind her, security drones fired stun lasers barely missing her. Cindie gunned the hoverbike faster, the wind whipping her hair. She zoomed out of the garage and onto the dark city streets. After a few minutes, the bike began sputtering. Cindie's heels clunked back to normal height as the enhancements wore off. She jumped off just as the hoverbike died completely.
In her plain jumpsuit again, Cindie sighed and started the long walk back to the robotics shop. She would always treasure those magical hours as her true self. But the clock had struck midnight. The next morning, Cindie was daydreaming about the gala when the bell on the shop door rang. She looked up to see the man in the sleek black suit from the party!
"It's you!" she gasped. "How did you find me?"
"Your hoverbike had an ID tag." he explained. "I had to meet you again. My name's Cy, heir of CyTech Industries." He bowed gracefully and took her hand. Over the next few weeks, Cy courted Cindie despite her lowly status. He didn't care that she was a slum girl without enhancements. They were in love.
Finally, one day, Cy arrived at the robotics shop with a team of security robots. "Glynda, Loretta and Gidget - you are under arrest for worker exploitation." he announced. The robots dragged out the yelling women. Cy then turned to Cindie.
"The shop belongs to you now. And I have something else for you."
He presented Cindie with an all-access pass to CyTech enhancements. Cindie gasped in joy. She could finally become her true futuristic self, work with much more advanced tech and robots and live the dream her father never archieved.
"Cindie!" screeched her stepmother Glynda from downstairs. "Stop lazing about and get down here!" Cindie sighed and headed down to start her day's work. Ever since her father had passed away and Glynda had taken over the shop, Cindie's life had become an endless cycle of repairing robots from morning to night. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, Loretta and Gidget nodded curtly in her direction before turning back to their work. The stepsisters, with their flawless cybernetic enhancements, barely acknowledged Cindie except to bark orders at her.
Glynda bustled over, grease smeared across her face. "Took you long enough! We just got a huge shipment of repair orders. Hop to it!" Cindie got straight to work at her repair station, reattaching limbs, welding cracked metal, and replacing fried circuits on a never-ending line of robots. As she labored, Loretta and Gidget chatted loudly about the upcoming gala at CyTech Industries.
"Did you get the genetic mod to turn your skin silver?" asked Loretta excitedly. "I hear silver skin is all the rage."
"Of course..." said Gidget. "And I got my legs extended. Now I'm almost seven feet tall!" The gala at CyTech Industries was the event of the year, when they would unveil their latest cybernetic enhancements for the wealthy elites. Invitations were highly coveted.
"I hope they announce a brain implant that lets me learn new skills instantly." said Loretta dreamily. "I asked Mother to pre-order it for me. Learning is just so boring." Cindie tried to ignore their conversation as she finished repairing the last robot in the shipment. She powered it up and smiled as it beeped cheerfully at her. Someday, she dreamed of making enough money to get her own upgrades. But under Glynda's stingy management, she could barely afford her rent in the city's slums.
At the end of her exhausting shift, Cindie headed upstairs to her tiny closet of a bedroom. She peeled off her grimy jumpsuit and stared sadly at her unenhanced body in the mirror. If only she could experience life as one of the dazzling, perfect cyborg elites, even for a night...
Suddenly, her communicator implant buzzed with an incoming message. Cindie tapped the implant behind her ear.
"Cindie, this is Fairen with the Cyber Fairies. My group aims to spread technological enhancements to all, regardless of class or wealth. We want you to come to the CyTech gala."
Cindie was stunned. The Cyber Fairies were notorious hacker activists. What did they want with her? "Why me?" she asked nervously. "And how would I get in? I'm sure Glynda and my stepsisters would never give me an invite."
"Leave that to us." replied Fairen. "We Cyber Fairies are all about making dreams come true. Meet us at the junkyard at 2100 hours tonight, and we'll take care of the rest."
That night, Cindie's heart pounded as she slipped past the sleeping forms of Glynda and her stepsisters. She crept downstairs and into the moonlit junkyard, where Fairen and the other Cyber Fairies waited in the shadows.
"Here, put this on." said Fairen, handing Cindie a shimmering silver jumpsuit. "We hacked you an invite to the CyTech gala. This outfit will get you in."
Cindie quickly changed, marveling at the smooth material. Next, the Cyber Fairies equipped Cindie with temporary cybernetic enhancements. Contacts that made her eyes shimmer different colors. A neck implant that made her voice melodic. And heels that elevated her height.
"The enhancements will only last until midnight, due to their temporary hacked nature." Fairen explained. "So make the most of your time at the gala."
At CyTech Headquarters, Cindie easily bypassed the robot security guards. The hacked invite worked perfectly. She glided into the dazzling gala hall, lit with neon holograms. Groups of glamorous, enhanced elites in designer outfits, silver and gold plated skins and high society augmentations filled the room. Heads turned to stare at Cindie as she passed, the unique eyes that change color every second, the golden skin coating her whole body. The Cyber Fairies gave her all she needed to be the star at the party. For the first time, she felt like she belonged.
"Welcome, city dwellers!" boomed the CEO of CyTech from a floating hologram stage. "Prepare to be amazed when you see our newest cybernetic enhancements!"
The crowd oohed and aahed as the CEO unveiled new chrome skin attachments, glowing brain implants, and more. Cindie drifted through the displays in awe. She couldn't believe this night was real. As she browsed a booth showing off visual mods, she noticed a tall, handsome man looking at her. He wore a sleek black suit with a blue glowing electronic tie. The man nudged through the crowd toward her.
"Hello there." he said warmly. "I don't believe we've met. I'm......"
Suddenly, an alarm blared through the hall, cutting him off. The neon holograms all turned red.
"WARNING. TEMPORARY ENHANCEMENTS DETECTED IN THE BUILDING. FIND AND DETAIN THE INTRUDER."
Cindie panicked as robotic guards began swarming toward her. Her temporary enhancements had been detected! "I have to get out of here!" she cried, turning away from the man. She ran through the crowds, heart pounding as the clock neared midnight. The enhancements would soon wear off.
Bursting into the parking garage, Cindie spotted a hoverbike. She quickly hotwired it and sped off down the spiraling levels of the garage. Behind her, security drones fired stun lasers barely missing her. Cindie gunned the hoverbike faster, the wind whipping her hair. She zoomed out of the garage and onto the dark city streets. After a few minutes, the bike began sputtering. Cindie's heels clunked back to normal height as the enhancements wore off. She jumped off just as the hoverbike died completely.
In her plain jumpsuit again, Cindie sighed and started the long walk back to the robotics shop. She would always treasure those magical hours as her true self. But the clock had struck midnight. The next morning, Cindie was daydreaming about the gala when the bell on the shop door rang. She looked up to see the man in the sleek black suit from the party!
"It's you!" she gasped. "How did you find me?"
"Your hoverbike had an ID tag." he explained. "I had to meet you again. My name's Cy, heir of CyTech Industries." He bowed gracefully and took her hand. Over the next few weeks, Cy courted Cindie despite her lowly status. He didn't care that she was a slum girl without enhancements. They were in love.
Finally, one day, Cy arrived at the robotics shop with a team of security robots. "Glynda, Loretta and Gidget - you are under arrest for worker exploitation." he announced. The robots dragged out the yelling women. Cy then turned to Cindie.
"The shop belongs to you now. And I have something else for you."
He presented Cindie with an all-access pass to CyTech enhancements. Cindie gasped in joy. She could finally become her true futuristic self, work with much more advanced tech and robots and live the dream her father never archieved.