Dorian looked out across the city from the roof of the police station. All the small lights glowed against the darkness. He could adjust his vision to look down at the street below, or all the way across town. He was greeted with pleasantly normal scenes: couples walking hand in hand, commuters on their way home to their families, shoppers and sightseers. It was his highest priority to protect those people. And he had doubts.
The encounters with Nigel Vaughn and Danica had thrown Dorian into confusion. A few floors below, John and the others were discussing search plans to locate the mad scientist. Nobody was questioning Dorian's ability to aid them...yet. But it wouldn't be long before someone pointed out that Dorian was just as capable of destruction as Danica had been. His existence was a threat.
It was likely that every DRN would be destroyed. After Danica, who could trust a robot with exactly the same potential for insanity? Dorian was angry at her. He wanted to grind the last pieces of her metal skull into powder. And wasn't that how it started? When a DRN began to have irrational, unproductive, and very, very negative thoughts? He could go crazy right this second, or maybe tomorrow, or maybe a month from now.
Or not. He could construct safeguards, and set up a carefully constructed internal alarm system that would prompt his basic programming to take over at the first sign of insanity. He could create limitations on limitations, and hope that they would hold him back. It was still risky. But Dorian had learned to weigh the risk against the potential good he could do. The police department needed his help on the Vaughn case. That was the priority for now, Dorian decided. And after it was over, if his usefulness wore out, there was still an off switch.
"Dorian?" John Kennex squinted against the glare of the city lights, unable to see his partner's dark silhouette.
"Here, John," Dorian called out. The detective joined him in observing the city.
"Captain Maldonado wants your input on a couple of issues with the search," John said unhurriedly. "Personally, I guess I wanted to see if you're holding up alright."
"I'm not going to go crazy quite yet," Dorian said tensely, "If that's what you're wondering."
"It isn't," John said mildly. "That's not what I meant."
"It should be. I want you to be aware of the risk-"
John laughed. "Dorian, would you stop taking yourself so seriously?"
"What?"
"People, Dorian, go crazy all the time. Hell, according to the psychologists, I'm at least as likely to go bonkers as you are. Probably a little bit more."
"It's not the same-"
"Well it is to me. Danica may have caused a lot of damage, but there have been countless human criminals who have done much worse to us."
"John…"
"Yes?"
"What you said just now isn't exactly reassuring, but I just wanted to say thank you for the faith you have in me."
"Oh god, you're not going to cry, are you?"
Dorian just shook his head and made his way back into the building. He'd never tell John, but he probably would have cried if he was capable of it.
END