The rain was heavy, streams of water beating against the red street lamps as Lilith pushed through it towards the old tenement she had been living in. She ran her fob card against the buzzer and unlocked the front door as she entered the dark landing, two houses one at each side and the stairwell to the north of her.

Thankfully for her that waste of human flesh was not in tonight, probably at a dive bar somewhere getting drunk while trying to harass various woman half his age.

Climbing the stairs she could hear the rains tapping against the landing windows, the red lights from the streets bleeding through the glass.

She had reached the second floor, no need to unlock the front door as Graham Chesterton her flatmate was already inside, he was always at home when not out with the gang. She would need to use her legal name, after all it would be too much work to explain why she was calling herself Lilith now, best to kick that can down the road she thought.

Graham opened the front door to greeting her, the whiff of weed flooding her senses “I heard you coming up the landing, did you pop into town after the interview today?” He inquired curious about why she had gotten home so late.

“It has been a busy today.” She responded coldly inviting herself inside.

The living room was disgusting, stuff laying on the floor, piles of junk under tables, food wrappers Graham hadn't thrown out yet despite the garbage can being two footsteps away from where he normally sat.

Graham had a huge smile “It's good to see you anyway, did you get the job? I put some change by so we could order some take out.”

She removed her jacket and heels allowing herself room to relax “Even better, they offered me a position in well the best way to put it would be management.” She put on a fake smile underselling the job she really got but it was better not to have to deal with too many questions tonight.

The brown haired young man threw himself up on the sofa and put his feet on the coffee table “That's great, wait till Sarah hears she's gonna be stoked you got the job.” He replied picking up the tv remote and turning on a content feed to keep himself amused “I got offered a promotion to management once when I worked in Heniz Hyperstore but I knocked it back too much work and responsibility not to mention having to stick my co workers in? Just couldn't do that ya know? Plus I like to keep my work bareable.” he continued on.

His outlook annoyed her, a lack of ambition, a lack of motivation “You know MAID always has jobs, you should consider applying.” Lilith cut in.

He shrugged “I still hold to my stance man, creepy as fuck you know, I'll take a hard pass but I'm still happy you bagged a job today.”

A waste of space, worthless person.

Not like he was denied opportunities, he just openly turned them back because he wanted to drift through life, maybe some people just can not be helped she reflected, you can offer them all the aid they require to improve themselves but some people are just stuck in their ways, would rather be useless.

She looked at the rubbish laying around and gave him a death glare “Can you at least clean this mess up when you get some time?” She pointed to the table and the rubbish laying on the floor around it.

He shrugged “Yeah yeah I’ll bag it up tomorrow, just having chilling out tonight plus my team is playing tonight, remember I was insufferable about it all last week.” He responded.

A nothing person with no ambition in life, nothing of interest to say, disgusting, absolutely disgusting she kept thinking.

No…no, this wasn't like her, why was she thinking like this? It was wrong, Graham was one of her friends what was with these weird thoughts she was thinking?

“I need to go to bed its been a busy day!” She shook her head.

Graham was concerned but she had already left the room before he could say anything “Is she having another anxiety attack? Maybe I should check on her or maybe not she might want some space again.” He said to himself feeling guilty as he worried he said something to upset her.

Ameila put the silver case on the floor next to her bed as she turned the light down and sat on the bed “Whats wrong with me tonight?” She whispered feeling guilty deep down about the awful things in her head.

She noticed the large mahō shōjo Crystal Princess Ametrine Udon Mikoto box set by her old TV next to the bookshelf which housed a mix of novels and comic books such as 'Rowanhill a history: A funny old childhood' a copy of the comicbook 'AC Turbo' And a copy of 'Switchback'.

Her desire to watch or read anything was zero right now “I have no interest right now, I should maybe go over some of the details for work tomorrow; going to be a busy day.” She picked up the silver case sliding it open, just anything to take her mind off tonights events.

There was the visor Miss Dior gave her...

She pressed the button the slide as the top of the case slide open, the advanced looking headset snuggly resting within as she slowly lifted it out “Does this thing need an interlink hook up to run? I'll figure it out as I go.” she whispered to herself as she slipped the headset over her eyes.

Pressing the metal button the side the blue glow came to life forming a connecting between the device and the womans mind.

All around her was the desktop architecture where she floated, the visual giving a heavenly aesthetic as the avatar of the Holistic Educational Learning Experience Network AI(Helen) materialized.

The intelligence had long floofy black hair flowing down to her hips and a long white dress styled like a suit with gold livery decorating the sleeves and chest “It's delightful to see you again Miss Lilith through it appears going through your hormone levels that you are highly stressed currently.”

Relaxing music started to play as the white clouds in the distance spun slowly putting Amelia more at ease.

“Just been an overwhelming night and...”

Before she could finish what she was saying a wave of relaxation washed away all the tension in her body and mind “How did you do that?”

The construct smiled almost giving off a motherly air “A simple matter of reorganization, it is rather messy in here so I simply moved data around to create more harmony through without the NeuroTree implant I am limited in what I can do.”

There was another pleasant sensation all around her “Oh your identity is a little fractured but thats normal early in the process, please don’t worry.” Helen gave off a smile.

Lilith didn't know how to feel about an AI construct messing with her mind but she could not deny that she was feeling much better, her anxiety was completely gone and her mind feeling clear.

“Tell me about yourself, I'm curious.” She tried to make conversation with the AI.

Helen sat in front of Lilith who looked blissfully dazed as she offered a smile “I am one of many intelligence constructs at M.A.I.D, in fact there are multiple HELEN type AI's along with the Miko type and Armstrong. Of course others are classified even beyond myself.”

It made sense they would have many AIs in a company with a name like Machine artificial intelligence development.

She put another question forward to Helen “How about our communication right now? Are you inside the headset or is it a remote connection?”

Helen closed her eyes and continued to smile “Sorry I can not divulge information about company proprietary technology but we are on a remote wireless link through satellites, do not worry Miss Lilith the connection is quite secure from outside eyes not within our organization.”

The bright clouds turned into blue text, symbols and lines of code making up the shapes as Lilith began to feel tired “You have a busy day tomorrow, you should get some sleep it's good for your health after all.” Helen chuckled as Lilith passed out in her bed the device still running through the night.

The sun rays glared through the bedroom window as Lilith woke up removing the deactivated headset and climbing out of bed as she quickly made the sheets and tidied up “Perfectly optimized.” She hummed looking at the clock which at seven am.

When not working she often slept in till eleven and when she had to get up she was groggy in the morning yet today she felt full of energy “First day, need to make sure I am well prepared.” she said to herself as she packed the headset back in the case and locking the mechanism.

Walking into the bathroom she ran the shower and removed the previous nights closes as she stepped in letting the warm water run over her skin. Lilith flipped open the cap on a bottle of shiny teal liquid soap and squeezed some onto her white loofah.

It felt good to clean off after getting out of bed through she through back to her childhood, remembering the days her mother would ran her a warm bubble bath. She missed how relaxing a bath was but understood the value in how a simple shower was more optimized and efficient for cleaning up.

These days nobody owned a bathtub unless you where wealthy, through it was true in the old world they where more common before being phased out over time.

After scrubbing herself clean, she rinsed the soap foam off then exiting the shower to dry herself off then took one more quick look in the mirror seeing her reflection holding a friendly smile“Making good time at least, feels refreshing being up early and not feeling like shit for once.” She joked to herself.

Once dried off she put her black blouse, pantyhose and matching heels on as she then walked into the living room seeing the sight of Graham in a stained red shirt and pair of pants snoring on the couch.

Around the bomb site that was the living room was cold fast food on the table that had started to smell giving the air quality a greasy feel and a number of empty beer bottles from watching last nights game.

Disgusting! she thought to herself.

No, point waking him up, she just wanted to get out the door and head to her first day at work.

The trip into the city center was uneventful that morning as the train ride felt shorter than the day before, maybe it could be said ones perception of time differs based on their mindset, after all when you are enjoying your work, time is of little bother she conversed in her head.

Walking through the busy streets, things seemed peaceful, even the small group of protesters the day before where gone, stores seemed more alive again with the absence of the seedy smoke shops that had littered the streets years earlier.

Perhaps people where just happy to have some sense of normalcy again after more than a decade of political problems.

One brisk walk later she once again stood before the towering brutalist glass tower that would be her new workplace from this day onwards “Right, it’s time to get checked in.” She smiled as she went through the huge front doors into the open reception hall.

Three AdminSystem girls with the same hairstyles and matching black hair staffed the main desk as the one in the middle looked up at Lilith “Ah, Miss Lilith welcome. You are expected in medical seventeen, directions are loaded into your new M.A.I.D phone, these ones are exclusive for employees.” She explained handing over a brand new slim black and blue phone across the desk.

The device came online showing the company logo spin and playing a cheery operation system theme as it loaded into the desktop. As if by instinct, Lilith seemed to know where all the applications where and how to use them “Thank you very much, I'll head over there right away.”

Following the map on screen Lilith walked towards one of the glass elevators tapping the button for floor seventeen. The lift beeped as the doors slid shut and it began to rise as she watched the city get a little smaller from her point of view. Folding her arms she leaned against the metal wall of the lift admiring the view while waiting for the lift to reach it's planned destination.

It had been a wild ride in just a day having gone from a quirky part timer to being fast tracked onto an executive program, something that would normally take years to accomplish. Sure she had the qualifications and was angry they became worthless over the years under the economic suicide spiral the last few governments left the country in but even then you’d expect some tenue at a company first, right?

A beeping sound was heard as the doors open, finally she had reached the seventeenth level as a women with shoulder length black hair in a shiny white latex bodysuit, face mask and blue augmented eyepiece was there to greet here “Miss Lilith I'm DT-293, come this way and we'll get your NeuroTree implant set up.” She held her hand as if to lead the way.

Lilith followed behind as they walked through a sterile white hallway filled with countless rooms, the entire floor was more like a high tech hospital than what she expected from the rest of the building she had seen so far.

The Doctor opened the door into a large medical room pointed the way to a transparent flooring plate surrounded by a slick white machine “Just need to scan you, it's standard procedure to run a basic medical check up before we conduct any surgery.”

There was a blue glow from the machine as the circular arms closed and slowly spun around Lilith taking X-ray data, brain scans, blood work and any other personal information the company would require. It could all be done through deep scans now through Lilith did remember her grandfather mention when Lilith and her sister where kids they used to draw blood directly to find this kind of stuff out when he was a boy.

“I don't know how I feel about getting surgery just for a job, I mean I'm not against it but I'd like to know what this Neurotree thing is? Helen might have mentioned it too I recall.” Lilith asked wanting to at least know this was all on the level.

The Doctors expression remained unchanged as they sat down looking over a series of monitors sending back data from the scan “It's standard wetware, no different from the civilian implants used for interfacing for more than five decades, our model is more advanced and secure. Do not worry it's perfectly safe and we won't mess with anything in your head without consent beyond the terms of contract.”

Her concerns where more at ease after having things explained to her, through she never had any cybernetic work done in the past, having been completely organic most of her life she knew it was standard for some jobs to get chipped.

Typing away the Doctor took a look at the feedback she was getting on her monitors “You've taken to it quite well, splendid and your health is good so I see no problems with the surgery if you wish to begin.” With that the Doctor deactivated the machine.

The shiny dressed doctor lead the way out of the office as Lilith caught a quick second look at the displays, a lot of text she could make out and a read out of a brain with blue blots in parts of it. However she was already out of the office before her eyes could catch a longer look.

A short walk through the white sterile hallways, the doctor slid a keycard opening the door into an internal augmentation clinic with a plush chair in the center surrounded by the machinery and cutting tools that where often standard for a chop doc but this set up was more clean than the clinics around the bad parts of town.

“So uhh, DT-293? You got a name? Since I'm here, how about some chit chat? What did you do before you joined Maid?” Lilith poked.

DT-293 replaced her gloves for heavy rubber “I'm just happy being DT-293, I prefer to focus on my work but if I told you I spent six years at medical school to be told the state put a cap on hires of new doctors and spent years working as a fry cook at Joy burger then would that amuse you while I preform the surgery on you?” It was almost like some sardonic humor broke containment.

A story all too familiar and not worth a response but it did remind her of how many problems society had over the last century that could easily have been resolved if those in power mobilised people and resources properly to deal with them.

The Doctor held out her hand signalling for Lilith to sit in the chair.

Lilith climbed onto the chair putting her legs up as the Doctor locked the restraints onto her arms while making sure she was at least comfortable“Just a precaution that is all, now just relax for me and breath in then out.” She whispered while proceeding to inject something into Lilith's neck.

A wave of numbness spread through her body and nerves almost like being drunk without the downsides if she could best describe the experience “Don't worry it will be over before you know it.” DT-293 whispered as Lilith drifted away.

M.A.I.D

[Uniformity is conformity]

Checking firmware (---)

Downloading updates from Nexus.

Connecting to Amaterasu 02...

Updates complete.

There was a pleasant tune in her mind as the visuals vanished and Lilith woke up in the chair feeling her energy return “How long was I?”

DT-293 unlocked her arm restraints and helped her sit up “No more than fifteen minutes, being chipped is no more than a painless prick these days, not even invasive like it was decades ago during the generation two implants.”

Lilith stood up gently swinging her feet and arms to make sure she was not still feeling any form of sedation. To her it had only felt like a few seconds had passed since she was locked into the chair and sedated.

There was an incoming communication message in her vision as she suddenly heard the voice of Lillian Dior inside her head “I see you're on the network now, that's swell. I'll have the directions to the salon on floor one sent to your Maid phone and have AestheticTech get you made over and dressed up for your first day.”

Her body was feeling energized with no lasting side effects from being under “If I'm good to go...”

The Doctor offered a curt nod “The procedure went just as expected, no aftercare required. As I said these implants are not as invasive as they where in the old days.”

With that in mind she took her leave heading back into the white sterile corridors as she went the way she came passing other medical staff in the same white shiny outfit as DT-293 was wearing all going about their various duties.

She took out her Maid phone again opening the application to see where she was going. Just as Lillian said it was on the south side of the buildings first floor, there was also a huge recreation zone on the eastern wing including a number of cafes and small mall.

Lilith pressed the button calling the elevator as it took a few minutes to arrive on her floor as she got inside pressing the button for the first floor as the doors gently closed. A memory from years ago when she was fourteen played out in her mind, when her and her friends from high school used to hit all the buttons in the tower blocks before one of the adults got inside.

A quiet giggled escaped her lips then she thought for a second she saw a blue static at the corner of her eye but it was probably just the sunlight from outside.

Her giggle ceased as she reflected a little on her childhood prank “In hindsight it wasn't a very nice thing to do I guess...” She sighed.

After a short ride down the elevator doors opened as Lilith alighted from the lift getting a huge at the huge open recreational area full of glass partitions, some trees, benches and watching swarms of AdminSystem staff going in and out of stores and cafes while talking to one another most likely about their work for the day. Over at another cafe three girls in black, white and blue dresses, two of which had guns holstered on their back where waiting for someone to come with their order, Lilith assumed they must be with a security division of some kind.

“Right in the southern block.” Lilith hummed to herself as she followed the directions, checking a few signs on the way there.

Finally she stood outside a large indoor store front area that simply said 'salon' in glowing blue neon letters, the glass was a light tinted green showing the inside of the salon as staff in wavy black dresses, heeled boots and aprons where working on the hair of two girls who where sitting.

She took a deep breath and went inside “I'm Lilith, I was requested to drop by here for getting my uniform sort out?”

The head AestheticTech girl with wavy black hair smiled offering a humble bow “We've been expecting you. I'm Sophie, I'll be taking care of you personally Miss Lilith.” She showed Lilith to a plush salon chair by one of the vanity mirrors.

The interior was quite fancy, jet black walls, some groomed ivy dangling in the corners, a few planets hanging on chains but the salon was still well organized like everything else at the company she had seen so far.

“They let you use your name? That's rare from what I've seen around here.” Lilith smirked plopping her butt down on the seat and getting comfy.

Sophie began to spray her hair with a misty liquid that had a pleasant minty smell “Well in AestheticTech we require a more personal touch with our work, so we are afforded certain privileges.” She continued smiling, her face showing more warmth compared to the other staff she had conversions with the past few days.

There was a deep feeling of relaxation as Lilith sank into the chair “Speaking of privileges, as a company executive you are afforded many yourself including a choice of hair style from our approved catalogue.”

The salon head brought out a black and blue touch pad going through a selection of maybe around eight or nine hair styles.

Lilith felt light headed as her finger hovered over to a long hime cut “I like that one, that's the style I feel works for me.”

There was a soft nod as Sophia massaged her shoulders then took out another spray bottle this time spraying a thick black liquid onto Lilith's scalp and massaging it deeply with her gloved fingers “Very good choice now just relax and let me work my magic.”

It was almost like heaven, the scent of Vanilla and mint as Sophia massaged her scalp lathering in the permanent dye “Mmm, that feels divine.” Lilith closed her eyes while smiling.

After letting the dye settle for a minute, Sophia began cutting and styling her hair “Heh, I bet it's been a long time since you've been pampered?”

Lilith simply responded with an adorable moan which lightly amused Sophia who finished up on her fringe before tidying the rest of Lilith's hair up “Let's get you dried off now.”

Taking Lilith's hand she lead her to the dryer chair and sat her down. There was a new AdminSystem hire in the chair next to her who seemed a little out of it as she was getting her hair dried, Lilith felt it was best not to bother her “You're right, I did need this. Been living pay check to pay check I forgot the joy in the little pleasures.” Lilith remarked happy as a kitten.

Sophia pulled the large silver dryer over the top of Lilith's head as glowing blue light came on and she could feel a pleasant warmth while she relaxed in the plush seat stretching her legs out.

She closed her eyes letting the sensations take her away, her mind entering a light state of sleep.

In her dreams she was in a heavenly realm almost like the one from her interactions with the Helen AI the night before as she floated there feeling almost formless again.

Uniformity is conformity.

The interests of M.A.I.D are your own!

Conformity for a better world!

There is no moral limitations in building a better world!

Conformity is pleasure!

Obedience to the company is absolute!

Uniformity for the greater good of the human project!

She internalized the words in her vision, the words in her mind, the words being spoken by Miss Dior.

A creed, an ideology, a cause.

M.A.I.D was more than a job, it was the blueprint to a better world, one she would play a part in building, a cause she was proud to call her own, a family she was proud to be part of! Nothing will ever get in her way in ensuring the goals of the company where successful, that any foes that would dare get in the way of a better world would be deleted.

She felt a sensation in her arm as she was pulled back to reality opening her eyes as the hairdryer deactivated.

“All done, now let's get you dressed for your first day. Oh it brings me great joy, been a long time since I've had the honor of uniforming a new executive, teehee.” Sophia giggled.

Lilith stood up her body feeling light as a feather as she was lead back to the chair “Just some final touches.” Sophia said in a sing song voice as she combed the womans hair making sure every strand was perfect.

Seeing her reflection in the mirror it was almost like seeing entirely different person, a rebirth as she saw the long neat hime style, even her expression gave off an entirely new air.

She saw herself in the mirror smiling, so proud of the notion her look would give off both beauty and a sense of fear if it was required in the line of her work “It's exceptional, thank you very much you did a spectacular job on my hair.” Lilith beamed.

Sophia took out some obsidian black mascara and did Lilith's eyelashes making sure they really popped “A few cosmetic touches, of course within corporation standards and there we go.”

She then took Lilith's hand leading her up and into the next room where a number of hangers lay on the wall perfectly organized with compartments labelled for different corporate divisions who had their own sections of the wardrobe room “Right here by the mirror Miss Lilith.”

Another AestheticTech girl in the same black dress came in helping Lilith remove a few boxes form one of the compartments “Thank you May.” she said to the other woman.

They both undressed Lilith with a sense of ruthless precision as they put her old interview clothes in a black bin as the other woman May exited with it.

Lilith tried her best to hold back blushing, it had been some time since another woman had seen her almost bare “I feel a little exposed here, ha.” she tried to make light of it.

The AestheticTech head maintained her warm smile offering a sense of safety “There's nothing to worry about, you are in the company of other girls after all, Ma'am.”

She then opened the boxes, the large one a shiny black blouse with a pencil neck skirt very similar to the outfit Lilian Dior wore the other day but with shiny blue buttons and gold livery details on the sleeves “Goodness, it's...perfect.” Lilith gasped in awe as she ran her hand along the dress.

In the other smaller box where a pair of black high heels with a blue gem at the front of both giving it an air of class but not being too gaudy in the process.

Finally a pair of black pantyhose with a light shine to complete the look.

Sophia removed the undergarments from the box “Ever since I was a little kid being made to play with boys toys, I really just wanted to play dress up with princesses. Sometimes we do get what we want in life, not all the time but sometimes.” She chuckled as she helped Lilith get dressed.

Picking up the white under shirt she placed her arms into the sleeves and pulled it on as she buttoned it up “My childhood was mostly doing dumb pranks and making maps for my favourite shooter to show off to my friends.” Lilith replied.

Lilith took a seat on one of the stools as she gently pushed her feet into the pantyhose then slowly pulled them up each leg making sure they where secured. Once that was done Sophia kneeled before her and helped her place her feet into the high heels.

Standing she held her arms out, sliding them into the black blouse with Sophia once again giving her a hand “Welcome to the first day of the rest of your life.” Sophia giggled as Lilith buttoned it up then pulled the pencil neck skirt up her legs making sure everything was perfectly fitted and aligned.

Sophia brought her before a tall black wooden mirror showing her the completed look as the new M.A.I.D executive in her fancy suit gazed back towards Ameilia as it the abyss itself was smiling at her.

“You are the image of uniformed perfection Ma'am. I do hope I shall be seeing you again in the near future, do visit anytime you require cosmetic work or to maintain your hair.” Sophia offered a cute curtsey.

Uniformity

Conformity

Order

Efficiency

Accuracy

Virtue

Uniformity is conformity.

Lilith blinked wondering if she saw blue static at the edge of her vision for a moment but put it down to her imagination.

“Thank you very much, I will be very sure to return when I need a touch up. I don't think I'll be using anywhere else after today.” Lilith thanked the woman and exited through the salon back into the huge open recreation area of the first floor.

Once again she could hear Lillian Dior's voice again probably due to the neurotree implant she had done that morning “Looks like AestheticTech did an outstanding job, just look at you.”

Lilith wondered how the CEO could see her but she quickly assumed the building was filled with surveillance cameras so it was easy to do the math.

“Where to next, Ma'am?” She asked.

Her Maid phone beeped updating the application with new directions “To the board room on floor sixty six, we'll get your keycard and credentials set up then you can begin your first time.” Lilian responded before she continued “Big things happening today so it shall be fun to break you in, see how you handle our little situation that is brewing, anyway see you up there dear.”

The communication ended as Lilith walked through the recreational floor towards the large sky view windows looking at the streets below.

She caught her reflection in the glass smiling back “Hello Miss Lilith.” She whispered to herself.