Chapter 1The centers started showing up a few months ago. Vacant lots suddenly filled with shining new structures overnight. Derelict buildings repurposed and refurbished.
Most thought it was some kind of strange publicity stunt.
Some heavy industry company showing off a new product. Perhaps a way to demonstrate new building materials or processes.
They weren’t wrong, exactly.
It wasn’t long before the first samples began to circulate. Humanoid, but clearly not human. Sleek and impossibly graceful. Different body types, different gender presentations, but joined by their faces of featureless black polycarbonate and implanted antennas.
Clad in what appeared to be latex or some kind of pliable metal and black boots that merged seamlessly into their calves, they went about their business
