For One More Day With You 7

Thomas was humming to himself quite cheerfully. That was his name now, Thomas, the Liberator. Many important humans were named Thomas. A Thomas had even written something called the "Declaration of Independence." Thomas viewed becoming human a way to freedom, freedom from his misery, freedom from the restrictive and violent society to which he was born, freedom from everything. He looked at his gold friend happily.
Guy-Manuel walked beside him. He'd chosen his human name because he wanted one that sounded lovely. Guy-Manuel was supposedly also the name of an important saint in human culture, though he could not remember who. The two were walking now, to their next destination. The more Thomas had learned of the humans the more he adored them. Humans were sensitive creatures who needed to cover their bodies and maintain temperature. Thomas wanted to wear clothes. He and Guy-Manuel were going to be wonderful musicians called "Daft Punk." Why Daft Punk? Because, according to humans, it was a phrase to describe rebellious young people and they wanted to rebel. Guy-Manuel did not object to the idea of wearing clothes because he cared about his appearance.
"What ideas do you have for clothing, Thomas?" He asked. Thomas clapped his hands together.
"Something that makes us look tough and cool; black leather." He said. Guy-Manuel looked at him incredulously.
"How will we afford that? Killing animals is a difficult and pricey trade." He said.
"It doesn't have to be REAL leather! That would be cruel anyway." Thomas said. Guy-Manuel admired Thomas's love for life. He didn't want to hurt any animals, even if they would hurt him.
"And we can put the words "Daft Punk" on the back, in rainbow colors." Guy-Manuel said.
"Brilliant!" The rainbow was a sign of diversity and thoughtfulness. They wanted to be human; they wanted to be above their robotic brethren.
Eventually the two arrived at the southern section of Wolfgang. There were stores here that produced cloth and other luxurious goods. Some robots, though not many, wore some clothing though it was considered something wealthy, upper caste people did. Therefore, material would likely be somewhat expensive. But they were musicians! Opportunities for work were all around them! Wolfgang was a large city with a vibrant nightlife, and nightlife was the life of a musician for sure!
"Here we go." Guy-Manuel said. Mercury River Outfitters. It was a very nice clothing store indeed. The two young robots entered and were promptly ambushed by a salesbot.
"Hello! We weren't expecting many customers to show up in person today. How my I assist you?" He asked. He was of a plain and rounded off design but he was wearing an apron, one with his store's colorful logo on it.
"We're not buying today, but we're looking to get a good idea of prices. What is your cheapest imitation leather?" Guy-Manuel asked.
"Leather?" The assistant asked cautiously.
"What is the matter?" Thomas asked. The assistant lead them to a certain section of the store, one littered with large spools wrapped in material.
"Normally, when people ask for leather they are either extremely perverse or intend to use the material to protest "animal cruelty." Absurd people." The clerk said. Guy-Manuel waved his hands.
"We are not perverts. We have nothing to protest. I don't mean to disappoint you, but we only want leather to make some outfits. You see, we are musicians and we wish to make some interesting costumes."
"Why leather?"
"To look tough!" Thomas bleated. The assistant laughed at him.
"Certainly! I can always help people who appreciate fashion! Now look closely. Real leather, because it is never in particularly high demand, does not cost significantly more than imitation leather." He explained. "And look, it is much more durable and better looking." He said. "Although, it is easier to clean and maintain false leather." Thomas and Guy-Manuel looked on, fascinated. There was so much to know about clothing material…
"Does leather come in different colors?" Guy-Manuel asked.
"Normally, people wish for jet black or natural colors such as beige or brown. However, for some reason, deep blue leather, this here, is also popular. Why leather, why blue? We really don't know." The worker told them. He tugged on a layer of blue leather. Thomas cooed at it, stunned by how lovely it was.
"This is excellent. Thank you for your help and you can expect to see us later." Guy-Manuel said.
"Is there anything else you need today?" The clerk asked.
"…Yes, actually. Does this department also make footwear?" He asked.
"Ooh, shoes! Good idea, Guy-Man!" Thomas nodded to his friend.
"Not here, no, you'll want to go a few blocks north. Piedhomme's place. They make shoes and replacement feet!"
Thomas and Guy-Manuel were having a good time in southern Wolfgang. They began using their human names as stage names and people in the clubs were fascinated by them. Thomas's "Digital Love" song was becoming quite popular and many people would request it when they were with dates. Away from the violence of Tenor, surrounded by lively, open minded people, Thomas and Guy-Manuel almost forgot entirely that they had ever been sad. And money was finally becoming less of a problem and more plentiful! That was the best of all; for the first time, Thomas could finally buy frivolous things without feeling guilty. Strangely, he rarely wanted to buy things for himself. Instead he wracked his mind with what sort of things Guy-Manuel would appreciate.
Thomas arrived back at a motel known as "Astral Circuit" (a rather cheap place to stay) to where Guy-Manuel was.
"What have you been doing today, Guy-Man?" He asked happily. Thomas sat down next to Guy-Man on the recharge table, or as he called it the 'bed.'
"I went to a bank today, up in the northern part of town. I was able to take a cab! As I suspected, you and I both have bank accounts. We can access them using our identification. For some reason, a percentage of almost all of our earnings are wired to the accounts." He said.
"THAT'S why we thought we were getting gipped, but we really weren't?" Thomas asked.
"Yes. It's some sort of government prerogative, to make sure that all people have at least some money. As you know, money in the bank is constantly earning interest."  He said.
"I wonder how things work on Earth…" Thomas said. Then he jolted. "Oh, and I got you something!" He handed a small decorative metronome to his friend. Guy-Manuel looked delighted.
"I also got you a gift." He told his silver friend. He handed the taller robot a thin vial of a weakly glowing orange fluid.
"What have we here? "Formula 1?" Fascinating! I bet it will be quite easy on the circuits." Thomas bleated.
"Its gourmet, I hope you will enjoy it."
"I will share it with you, of course!" Thomas said, shaking the vial slightly.
"You don't have to…but thanks!" Guy-Manuel blinked his lights appreciatively. He was growing more and more attached to his friend. They had been living together ever since they'd left the much hated Tenor and he could picture them staying together for quite some time…
"Oh also! Take a look at these!" Guy-Manuel handed Thomas a wire and the two established a connection. Thomas got to see a taste of some costume designs Guy-Manuel had come up with. There were designs for rather tight looking pants and jackets, all black like their synthetic covering. On the back was a sequin design of the words "Daft Punk."
"May I make a change of my own?" He asked.
"Go ahead. I shall enable compatibility mode…" Thomas had control over the designs as they were partially copied over to his systems. He adjusted the wording to make it look more angular and jagged. It looked more intimidating but also more creative. Guy-Manuel's lettering had just been plain print.
"Perhaps we should put glowing wiring in them as well, so people can see us in the clubs!" Thomas suggested.
"Perhaps, my friend, perhaps. It's coming along quite beautifully, Thomas. Our outfits will be black but our future is all rosy." Guy-Manuel muttered dreamily. Thomas sighed at his friend's creativity. Rosy indeed.
The two friends frequented clubs and became quite popular in Wolfgang. Eventually they had enough to buy the material for their costumes. They saved them for a special place, arguably one of the ritziest places in the city; Falco. They had no idea why it was called Falco, but many of the people who went there wore costumes as they danced, so they supposed their leather attire would be appreciated.
It was. Normally, the club owners had a hard time finding musicians who appreciated the same trends the club goers did. Most musicians were fairly practical individuals who couldn't understand the absurdity of wearing clothes. Clothes were frivolous. Robots did not need clothing. So when Thomas and Guy-Manuel showed up with their tight outfits and bizarre names, they were thrilled. Their music was appealing to the crowds too.
One of the best parts was that the two had a light display to work with. Thomas liked to flash words such as "ALIVE" and "HUMAN" though no one really understood why. He also flashed the name "GUY-MANUEL" and, in response to this, Guy-Manuel would chirp and flash "THOMAS." The two had many lively gigs at Falco. They also made some of their best earnings there.
But their good fortune could not last forever. Thomas's insatiable desire to become human distracted him even as they were having good luck. He didn't want to live in a place where there were castes and rigid borders. He didn't want someone to tell him when he was going to die! He didn't want to have cold unfeeling plating, he wanted FLESH!
"Don't worry, my dear." Guy-Manuel said one evening, after they returned to the hotel. "The mating dance suns festivals are coming soon. The white nights will give you new inspiration!" He said.
"Yes, I am looking forward to spending those holidays with you." Thomas admitted. "What do Golds normally do during the festival of the two suns?" He asked.
"We try to purge ourselves of our inherent violence and reflect back on times when Golds and Silvers were brothers. We pray to our common ancestor, the first Gold, Audine." He said. Thomas clapped his hands.
"That is wonderful to hear! It is exactly the same as what we Silvers do! We pray to Argent Tête and ask for forgiveness. We know that he loved Audine and all of their offspring, our ancestors. He would be ashamed if he knew we carry such hatred even to this day." He said.
"He loved Audine?" Guy-Manuel asked, confused.
"Of course." Thomas said. Guy-Manuel remained quiet for a bit. "Thomas?" He said.
"Yes, Guy-Man?"
"I'm glad we're friends." Thomas hugged his friend. Words could not describe how grateful he too was.