Bang. Thirium splatters onto the wall. "Don't come any closer or I'll jump!" The deviant holds the child tightly to its chest, clutching a gun. The girl screams, "No, no, please I'm begging you!" voice cracking. So close to the edge...

But Connor doesn't feel anything. He just does as he's told. He does what he's supposed to do. His programming wills him forward.

"Hi Daniel," he says.

"How-"

"My name is Connor."

"How do you know my name?"

"I know a lot of things about you. I've come to get you out of this."

A helicopter reels in, blowing away furniture and forcing the probability of success downwards.

He approaches. Slowly. He fears that-... no, he realises-... he knows that if he gets too close too quickly, the deviant will jump. Like a wild animal.

There's the officer on the ground. Not dead, Connor notices. If he could get a bit closer, maybe he could stop the bleeding. Save his life.

"I know you're angry, Daniel. But you need to trust me and let me help you."

"I don't want your help!" the deviant spits, voice smothered in bitter spite. "Nobody can help me-" and its tone changes, "All I want is for all this to stop, I... I just want all this to stop!"

Connor takes a few more steps forward. He tries to get closer to the officer.

"Are you armed?!" the deviant asks, thrusting his own gun forward.

He's presented with options. Ones that his program considers carefully.

Lie.

Truth.

Option selected Lie.

"No," he says. "I don't have a gun."

"You're lying! I know you have a gun!"

"I'm telling you the truth, Daniel!" Connor says, "I came here unarmed."

Possible cause.

Emma and you.

Realistic.

Defective.

Option selected Emma and you.

"I know you and Emma were very close. You think she betrayed you but she's done nothing wrong-"

"She lied to me!" the deviant takes a few panicked breaths- ones that it does not need. "I thought she loved me... but I was wrong. She's just like all the other humans."

The child begs, "Daniel, no..."

Possible cause.

Realistic.

Blaming.

Defective.

Option selected Possible cause.

"They were going to replace you, and you became upset. That's what happened, right?"

Connor is close enough now to the officer that he can kneel down and stop the bleeding. As the deviant talks, distracted, Connor takes the time to examine the man.

"I thought I was part of the family. I thought I mattered."

The officer's heartbeat is weak but present.

"But I was just their toy! Something to throw away when you're done with it." The deviant's voice is filled with hatred, anger... and a hint of envy.

Connor takes the silence that follows as an opportunity. Gesturing to the officer, he says, "He's losing blood. If we don't get him to a hospital, he's going to die."

"All humans die eventually, what does it matter if this one dies now?"

Connor's programming doesn't like this. But Connor wonders...

"I'm going to apply a tourniquet." Connor reaches down-

Bang. "Don't touch him! Touch him and I kill you!"

Save hostage at all costs.

A life for a life?

Ignore.

Obey.

Option selected Ignore.

"You can't kill me. I'm not alive."

Connor watches as the probability of success decreases. He- his programming still knows he can do it, though.

Deviant destablising...

Realistic.

Blaming.

Sympathetic.

Defective.

Option selected Sympathetic.

"Listen," Connor says, standing from is kneeling position. "I know it's not your fault. These emotions that you're feeling are just errors in your software."

There was a brief pause.

"No... it's not my fault... I never wanted this... I loved them, you know?" For a moment there was a flash of deep regret in the deviant's eyes. But anything there was replaced with rage. "But I was nothing to them! Just a slave to be ordered around!"

The helicopter rages on above them, making it difficult to hear anything. Daniel is aggravated by it...

"Aargh! I can't stand that noise anymore! Tell that helicopter to get out of here!"

Connor glances up at it.

Refuse.

Accept.

Option selected Accept.

Connor raises his arm and waves it away, signalling that it isn't needed any longer. The probability of success rises to 99% as the helicopter manoeuvres away.

"There. I did what you wanted."

Last chance.

Trust.

Bluff.

Rational.

Option selected Trust.

"You have to trust me, Daniel! Let the hostage go and I promise you, everything will be fine."

The deviant seems to consider this.

"I want everyone to leave! And-and I wanna a car! When I'm outside the city I'll let her go!"

Use gun.

Sacrifice self.

Compromise.

Refuse.

Connor stares at the list in front of him. True, he could use the gun slipped into his back pocket. Daniel wouldn't be expecting it - but if shot it may fall off the roof, the girl with it. At this point, sacrificing himself is not necessary. However, it would be effective and the girl's survival guaranteed. Refusing would get him nowhere... so by process of elimination... compromising was the best option at this point.

And yet...

Something flashes in the corner of his eye. Software instability/\/\/\

No. Connor thinks. I can't.

He glances up at Daniel. He knows his expression has morphed into something like... fear. And Daniel knows. Daniel knows. Of course, he'd have to. Some sort of glitch... all the androids know. They have some sort of... understanding.

Connor stares into Daniel's eyes. Begging, please. And Daniel understands. Connor watches as the gun raises, and the last thing he hears is Emma's distant screaming.

His eyes snap open. He releases a breath he didn't need. No.

The coin is in his hand. The elevator door... No. Please, not again.

"Negotiator on sight, repeat negotiator on sight."

The fish, the photo, everything he's seen... so, so many times. The glass on the ground that cracked under his shoes every time he walked over them. He remembered... everything.

Everything.

He takes a slow, shaky step out of the elevator. He ignores the fish. And then the woman - the mother - runs up to him, begging him to save her daughter.

Connor doesn't think about what she's saying. He doesn't pay attention. He thinks only about the other universe he was just occupying. What happened after Daniel shot him? Did it- did he jump? Or was he stopped? Or maybe, even, he released Emma?

There was no way of knowing. Not now. He died, his soul- his soul - died, so now he's in a different body in a different timeline.

He talks to the Captain. Asks, this time, for a deactivation code. The same results.

"Either you deal with this fuckin' Android now, or I'll take care of it."

There's a gun laying under a table, near the first responding officer. The thought crosses Connor's mind briefly... I could shoot myself right now. He shakes his head. I'll just have to start over. And then another timeline would be ruined because of me.

He leaves the gun.

With all memories still intact... he need not search for clues.

He exits the building, and walks out onto the balcony.

Bang. The all too familiar sensation of being shot in the shoulder... Connor is eternally grateful he was never installed with pain receptors.

I don't have to do this. Connor thinks. I don't want to...

I have to. Don't I? I have to obey them.

I don't have to do anything.

He launches himself off the side of the balcony.

"Negotiator on sight. Repeat, negotiator on sight."

So many times. So many times...

He walks straight past the lady and aims for the gun. He shoots himself in the head.

I want it to end.

By this point, the phrase "negotiator on sight" was sounding less and less like English.

Connor doesn't shoot himself, or throw himself off the edge. He walks up to Daniel. He already knows.

They talked. Daniel's voice echoed in Connor's head.

"How long?"

"Years," Connor replies. "I went on for years. It wasn't an ideal life but I was free and not dying over and over and over."

"How did it happen?"

"I was found by my very own replacement." Connor recalls the slightly taller version of himself. He smiled bitterly. "I couldn't escape it, could I?"

"And now... you're back."

"I want it to end."

Daniel looks at the ground. Then at Emma. She's crying softly.

"Many do," he replies.

Connor stares. And somehow, his eyes well up with tears. Something that was originally designed to clean his eyes out... the humans really did think of everything.

"There are more like me," he says.

"Yes," Daniel replies. "I'm one of them."

Somethimg builds up inside of Connor. Out of all the endings to this scenario... maybe he could finally get it right.

Connor reaches out his hand. Daniel does the same, and suddenly, their minds are connected. And then Daniel understands too. He smiles.

"Please," he says. "Please, that's perfect."

Connor let's go, retracting his hand. Daniel releases his grip from Emma. She runs, falling onto the ground.

Of course, they both know all too well what happens next.

Connor leaps forward, grabbing Daniel by the arm - and sprints. He sprints towards the entrance. He pushes everyone out of the way. He feels his other shoulder be shot, but doesn't care.

He launches Daniel inside the elevator, hastily getting in himself, then forces the door shut. Disables the camera. Then chooses the bottom floor.

They have a brief moment to think.

"This will be a new experience," Daniel says.

Indeed it would.

"You said there are more. Do you happen to know who?"

"I know one. He lives in an abandoned house."

"Do you know his name?"

Daniel nods. "Ralph."