The girl's sobbing somehow continued to haunt the crime scene long after she had been pulled out of the apartment. She had been hurried past the bodies of the people she loved – both human and android. They were lying still while she stumbled on, every footstep staining the floor with blue and red blood. Those footprints remained on the floor now, yet another piece of evidence to be marked with a tiny yellow flag.
The sounds of crying and screams and angry demands eventually faded into broken memories as a new kind chaos took over. Emergency services poured inside. Paramedics attended the officer on the balcony, tightening the tourniquet that Connor had placed. He would be alright, they said, thanks to the android's actions. The other one wouldn't be so lucky; The body floating in the pool. They looked at him and discussed ideas on how to pull him out while more practical men reached out with poles and nets. And then there was the deviant. Officers stepped past the broken sunbeds, evidence and android detective to take in the sight of the artificial criminal. His therium trailed thick blue rivers through the cracks in the paving stones. They gave long, low whistles and shook their heads. No one really knew what to do. No one had ever had to tag a piece of evidence the size and shape of a human body before, and they absently discussed the ways of transporting the broken shell.
No one bothered Connor.
They walked around him like he was a piece of furniture. In turn, he walked through the crime scene as a ghost, refusing to touch anything and disturb the fragile place. He sidestepped over the broken glass and bodies, the bullet holes and splinters, the therium and the blood, taking in everything that had happened. His first mission had been a success. With every glance he took pictures. He analysed what he had missed the first time around. Everything had been against the clock, he had no choice but to rush his investigation. But he'd been successful none-the-less. He'd saved the girl, and that was all that had mattered.
As Connor finalised the reports, he received his instructions. A data stream told him that the doorway was unlocked. There would be a car waiting downstairs, and he would be shipped off again. It was time for him to return but to where he did not know. Cyberlife would seem the logical destination, or the police station to make his report official. Perhaps he would even shut down, since he had served his purpose, but that seemed like a waste. Even if he was just a prototype. That wasn't his decision to make, though. The mission was all that mattered.
He adjusted his tie in the lift as he stared at the little numbers blinking. Finally, it was quiet. It was calm. It was only then that he remembered to analyse himself. His hand was fully functional, but the gunshot wound against his arm was spreading and thick therium was seeping into his sleeve. He imagined if he was human, he would be experiencing some excruciating pain right now. He could feel, but pain was unnecessary.
He wondered if deviants could emulate pain. If Daniel could feel pain as the gunshots split through his chassis. The look on his face resembled pain, but Connor wondered if that was closer to the human emotion of betrayal…
An android was outside. His programming told him this was his contact, and this was his car. He walked up to her, the quick scan informing him that this was an AX400 model registered by the name of 'Natalie'. A common model, mostly used for household chores, but this one was registered by CyberLife as an escort. Not an 'escort' in the way of those sex clubs that had become so increasingly popular, although by human standards she was certainly pretty enough to be a part of that world.
"Welcome back, Connor," Natalie said, gesturing to the open doorway of the car. "Please, step inside."
The way she greeted him made him think they must have met before, but logic told him she had probably just received the same instructions as he had. He nodded to her, not needing to give the human greeting of a polite smile but offering one anyway.
"You're damaged," she observed as she followed him into the car.
It was a standard human car, where he was forced to sit. Instead of keeping to the far side, his new companion sat close to him in the middle seat. She gestured at him to look at the damaged shoulder. "The deviant was hostile. He shot several humans before I even entered the scene," he explained directly.
She stared at the blue blood, her eyes flickering as she made her analysis. The LED dial twisted in a bright orange before returning to a calming blue. "I've been informed we will take you to CyberLife for a full repair."
"Thank you," he gave her another nod, looking forward.
You lied to me, Connor.
He blinked. That was… unexpected. The words came back into his mind like a high-pitched squeal, irritating and unavoidable. It was as if his memory core was suffering from some kind of echo, or a 'flashback' as was commonly called in human terms. He couldn't understand why that would happen now. Why those words would ring in his mind, and the image of Daniel's head being split open by sniper bullets would not return to his memory uncalled for.
"Did you receive any further injury?" The escort android asked him.
Something in her voice made him flinch. He'd been shaken. His light was blazing a ruby red. His stress levels were reaching 75%. For no reason, he told himself. His mission was successful. That was all that mattered. He was expertly designed to be calming to other androids, when needed. All he had to do was focus these techniques on himself.
She was still expecting a reply, but he was struggling to think of an answer. He was certain he hadn't been directly injured aside from the gunshot. But that voice, the memory, Daniel's screaming and demands and pushing the gun against the young girl's head.… for some reason felt like it was already corrupting in his data.
"No, I'm fine," he said eventually. "But I'll be sure to run a full diagnosis."
She smiled. It was another unnecessary smile, but one that made him feel more stable. Stability was good. The blinking warning that something was growing more unstable had been…. Worrying? There must have been a less emotional word for it. That may require more research.
"It was very brave, you know."
Connor paused.
He didn't respond, didn't even look back at the android. But he could feel something in the car was changing. Like a change in air pressure, a shift in application, a flip of a switch…
"I saw the news. It was very brave how you spoke to that android," she continued, her eyes kept straight ahead. "I'm not sure I could have done it. With that little girl…"
Connor felt himself stiffen. He was thinking. Processing. This was an android, telling another android what bravery meant….
"I am not programmed to feel fear…" he answered eventually.
"Self-preservation is built into all androids," Natalie said, curiously tilting her head towards him. "Isn't that… fear?"
She looked almost desperate for an agreement. That she was not alone. That she was not… different.
They stared at one another. Android to android. The human programs from human coding replicating human emotions within their plastic eyes. As Connor stared at the AX400, he saw the emulation of the fear she described. The android's desperate clinging to the preservation of its own life. He saw a shake in her gaze, an unblinking determination almost like bravery. But her lips pursed, her hands clasped and unclasped.
It wasn't like the concern he had for the life of the officer he saved. Her determination wasn't the same programming he felt staring at the deviant and demanding him to let the girl go. Her hands did not clasp together the way they did when Connor moved, or processed, or talked.
The prototype was staring at a deviant.
It looked into her eyes and saw the crossed wiring, the over stimulation of algorithms all in the interpretation of 'humanity'. He saw what she believed was her fear. He saw her severe malfunction.
The car pulled to a stop. The huge perfectly curved lines of the word 'CyberLife' dominated high above them.
She glanced back at the billboard. Her stress levels spiralled under the blue logo, and she turned suddenly back to Connor. There was desperation. Scanning him with a spiral of orange in her LED for that one fragment inside of him that she could see in herself. That she had been certain she'd seen on the news: The way he'd spoken to that deviant, the way he'd promised him that he would protect him. She wanted very much to believe his words had been true, even after they had been met with bullets and death.
"Please don't… say anything…" Natalie begged him in a whisper.
Say nothing – Chapter 2 [Coming Soon]
Talk to the deviant – Chapter 3 [Coming Soon]