Angels Aren’t Born…They are Built

Angels Aren't Born...They Are Built



Orochimaru closed Sakura’s stomach and chest cavities and left her standing blankly half naked for the world to observe. A small red light blinked behind each of her pupils. She became aware once more. She looked down at herself. She blushed scarlet and quickly tugged up her pants and pulled her shirt down. She jogged to catch up with the men. Sasuke was speaking in lowered tones to the older taller Orochimaru. Sakura recognized him as her father, as did all ANGELs. He was their creator and ultimately their final master. Her current master probably was not aware of this yet. She was unsure, but for some reason she greatly regretted that one day when would be returning to this place as all her brothers and sisters have.



She like all of her kind were resigned to a fate of eternal servitude, or worse reclamation. She shivered at the the thought of being recycled into parts, but as a factory model she had witnessed it many times some unwanted android pleading before being deactivated. They were often placated with kind, but false reassurances that they were merely going in for repairs but they always seemed to know when their time was up. It was frightening to be turned off even when only for repairs or inspection. She wondered if it was like dying, humans die their CPUs shut down permanently and everything is lost. There are no backups. This thought made her sad. Sakura really was hopeful that being out of the factory would allow her to interact with humans more, and in more pleasant, less frightening circumstances…



Sasuke stood waiting he was certain that the man before him was stalling for time it was strange as they waited for the elevator’s return. Sasuke resisted human nature to press the button to hurry the elevator car along (useless as that action might be). He was not known for his patents, brilliance yes, but he had done some stupid things in more rash moments. He was keeping himself in check as best as he could. That was why Shino was there. Shino was level headed and even better he did not annoy Sasuke like most people tended to. Sakura was turning out to be a small annoyance already, but he could tell that he could probably train it out of her.



He looked over his shoulder at the female as she rocked on her heels while nervously chewing her lip. He grunted quietly. ‘Gods she is so human. Too bad she’s so emotional, and clingy,” He observed as the girl thing edged her way into his personal space. ‘Oh well that’s what I get for acting on a whim. It must not have been too bad Shino gave in rather easily,’ Sasuke thought to himself. He recalled his attention forward when the elevator opened.



Orochimaru stepped aside and gestured for his guests to enter. Sasuke went first, followed by Shino and Sakura. Orochimaru entered and Kabuto at his heel like the good lap dog he was. He let the doors slide closed then he produced a key. He inserted it into the panel and turned. The elevator moved. The numbers did not change, but the sensation of his stomach rising told Sasuke they were traveling downward. They rode over a minute before the car stopped and the doors slid open. The entered a small corridor. It was stark white and sterile. There was a large set of double doors they were the same pristine white there was a sliding panel at the side of the doors he tapped it and placed his palm on a sensor then punched in a code. Then Kabuto stepped up and followed his superior’s actions. The doors hissed and then opened. They entered a clean room where there were special suits. Sasuke felt hair rising on the back of his neck. This sensation was shared by all that entered.



“Don’t be alarmed it is merely a particle sweep. Checking for foreign materials that might be harmful. All of you should be grounded now as well. We do not want any sparks disrupting…things. Please clear your pockets and leave any eletronics, or exposed metal objects in the basket over there. He pointed to a small white plastic container that resembled a basin from a hospital room. Pockets were emptied. Then shoes were removed in favor of plain white plastic slippers. The clean suits were loose enough to fit over normal clothing and were not cumbersome. They were all expected to wear a white elastic shower cap type of head covering. Sasuke and Shino both understood the need for this caution in a section of the factory that might deal with sensitive electronics, or delicate machinery. It was their business after all.



Once everybody was outfitted to Orochimaru’s satisfaction he keyed in a code on the panel next to the solid white doors. Then he leaned in and placed his face in front of a scanner. He held his eyes open as a light flashed in them. Then the panel made a beeping noise before the doors slid open. They entered a small open room. Here there were numerous doors lining the stark white hallway. They were all marked with small red characters. The snake like man lead them to the furthest door on the right and he opened it. The door made a hissing sound like a pressurized can upon opening. He stepped through and lead the group to a set of large tanks. There were men and women working quietly at bank of computer screens. They all wore the same white garb that the tour group had donned. None of them looked up from their work. Sasuke watched engrossed as inside one of the tanks a pair of titanium arms manipulated a mound of grayish red flesh.



“This is where we grow the living tissue,” The man smirked, “It is no trade secret how to grow tissue from samples, but our scientists are on the verge of harnessing protein to create tissue without the aid of a sample. It will be cleaner and less costly in the long run, eventually it would be nice to engineer human ova as well but that may be decades or even a century off for now we will take what steps we can.”



Sasuke had to admit this was fascinating stuff, as insane as it all sounded Orochimaru had a way of making you believe he could accomplish the impossible. Then Orochimaru turned and lead them to a door at the end of the hall. He punched in a code, and the door slid open. It seemed that that was protocol. Every door required a password to open. The next room were more tanks and more engeneers working in this room the tanks were smaller each housing one opaque sack much like the one inside of Sakura’s stomach cavity. There were growing the tissue to fill these sacks. Orochimaru walked over to a man who seemed to be overseeing the others. They spoke briefly. He nodded. Orochimaru beckoned them over.



“Good afternoon,” The pale man spoke softly. “My name is Kimimaru. Orochimaru asked me to show you about.” Sasuke decided that this man was quite good looking. He could see silky strands of white hair peeking out from under his plastic cap. He wore red eyeliner and eye make-up above his pale jade eyes. He hoisted himself up on a crutch and as he stood and Sasuke noticed for the first time that the man was wearing leg braces. Kimimaru smiled and nodded to Orochimaru. Sasuke noted the doe-eyed looks he sent the older man. What exactly was so appealing about a fifty something nerd with greasy stringy black hair. Sasuke wondered this but it really was not his concern.



The young man in leg braces maneuvered quite deftly throught the lab setting. He brought the group to a small corner table and asked them to sit. He brought up a hologram at the center of the table and began explaining what they were doing in this section of the factory.



“Here we grow artificial wombs for the angels. Each one is inspected. We discard about two percent of our out put as defective.” Sasuke nodded that was very impressive. “Our system is nor perfect by any means but one key to our success is minimized human contact with the product. Our people control those robot hands to manipulate the specimens. All are scanned daily for any possible imperfections that would hinder the quality of our products. Any flaws that slip by us now may cost the life of an innocent human fetus.” There were murmurs. The man gave a gentle smile, “We have not had any miscarriage reported in two years. The last ANGEL that miscarried was the result of a careless owner. He was being abusive to the ANGEL whom he had named Yasuko. Kimimaru shook his head and frowned. The man forced foreign objects into her body. She was damaged to the point that we could not repair her…it wasn’t her body so much as her programming. We were forced to dismantle her. The pale young man clenched his fists. She was reclaimed and recycled.



“What do you mean reclaimed?” Sasuke asked suddenly.



“Well all ANGELs and any other model of android ultimately belongs to Oto Corp. Essentially the contract all purchasers sign is a leaser’s agreement. If you break the rules, no longer want the ANGEL, or in the event of the owner’s death all rights revert back to Orochimaru. It is his way of ensuring his products are looked after properly. Kimimaru looked toward the man wistfully, “It’s his way to protect his children.”



Some how Sasuke doubted that. More likely it was to protect his trade secrets then anything else. Kimimaru returned his attention to the group blushing as he cleared his throat, “Ah, as-as I was saying. We produce the wombs here and the nutrient packs that are connected to them. These packs have a shelf life of ten years but are only intended to last the three years that the tissue needs nutrients to survive. If no pregnancy occurs in the two years time that the womb is allowed to stay in place they pack will only have used the first tenth of the pack. Ninety percent of the pack contains proteins and all the vitamins the child needs to grow at a normal healthy rate. Should a pregnancy not occur in two years time the womb is replaced and the old tissue is recycled.



“You recycle the tissue?” Sasuke raised a brow. The technician blushed, but then frowned, “It’s a trade secret what we do with the living tissue.” Sasuke nodded. Kimimaru relaxed visibly and smiled once more.



The group sat and listened to the man for a few more minutes before Orochimaru joined them. He sat next to Kimimaru who became flustered and began blushing furiously. Orochimaru smirked. He added a few points to the discussion before the group was asked to follow Orochimaru once more to another room. Sasuke waited less impatiently as he looked back at the man who had resumed his place directing the lower technicians. That man was bright and interesting he might make an nice addition to Sasuke’s company. He watched, with the rest, as the doors slid open…