Finding a secondary entrance had not been hard. He just went around the back. The problem had been sneaking in, as the backdoor led straight to the living room, where Reed and Zlatko were lounging. Thankfully, Zlatko (as well as the TR-400) was facing away from the backdoor, so all Connor needed to do was enter quietly.
He had considered entering through a kitchen window, but the windows were all locked and the AX-400 was making coffee in there. There was no guarantee it would remain silent, especially if it saw him breaking and entering.
He studied the door, looking for any sign of damage or decay, anything that might make noise if he opened it. Not seeing anything, he proceeded to carefully enter the house. As he sneaked in, he looked to Reed, to see the man shooting him a clear nod to proceed. Reed then began speaking in a loud, booming voice, 'suddenly' enraged by something Zlatko had said, allowing Connor to at least walk over to the kitchen door, without being heard.
The kitchen door was right next to the back-door entrance. Thankfully, unlike the living room door, this one did not slide, allowing for discreet entering. He gently closed the door behind him. The AX-400 was inside, brewing a fresh pot of coffee. It had just put the coffee beans back in its cupboard (albeit not before Connor saw a row of identifiable medications), when it turned to him, head cocked questioningly.
OBTAIN PERMISSION TO CONNECT
"I was sent here to check on you," Connor informed it. Not technically a lie, since his mind was still instructing him to find evidence and he knew that the AX-400 could be a source of that. The AX-400 looked perplexed, but left its place at the counter anyway, arm held out and skin drawing back.
OBTAIN PERMISSION TO CONNECT
He looked at the AX-400, looked into its eyes, searching for something. (Deviancy)
"Do I have permission to connect?" Connor asked, holding up his arm, his own skin peeling back. She nodded. Sure, it wasn't necessarily confirmation that he had permission from the owner, but it also wasn't confirmation that he hadn't obtained it.
PERMISSION OBTAINED
CONNECT WITH AX-400
His hand grabbed its wrist, while it gripped his. Before searching its memories, he wanted basic information from it. He sensed the AX-400 accessing his memories though, so paused momentarily and forced it out, without having to break connection, something his predecessor had been unable to do. Control a connection.
He first noted the problem with the LED. There was sign of trauma where its LED had been, a complete removal clear, but there was no additional damage there to suggest there was any real reason for the LED to be removed. Evidence that Zlatko's story was made-up.
Then there were the eyes. Rather than having fixed eyes, it seemed they hindered the AX-400, limiting its vision and making it move in near-darkness at all times. It was practically blind. Only memory and acute hearing hindered it from walking into things. Not exactly a good modification…
He picked up the serial number #579 102 694 and learnt it was previously owned by Todd Williams. Todd Williams was dead, killed by gunshot. His androids had then disappeared. Since there were no prints on the gun and the murder occurred during the deviancy outbreak, it was assumed an android had killed him. This android.
If this android had been deviant, why was it now obedient to Zlatko? How had it ended up in Zlatko's care?
He flicked through the memories of the AX-400 and found plenty of evidence of Zlatko hiding deviants, but the memories did not contain information on the deviants they were looking for or how the AX-400 had come into Zlatko's care. Not wanting to re-watch the AX-400 doing Zlatko's laundry or preparing dinner, Connor skipped to its earliest memory, in hopes of finding information there.
There was none. Its first memory was after a reset, the memories from before then, which included how the AX-400 had come into Zlatko's care, were long lost. Or that was how it would have been, if androids' memories really could be lost permanently in a factory reset.
("I always leave an emergency exit in my programs")
The phenomenon was not anything new, it had occurred in early smartphones. The data would be moved to a bin and the bin would automatically be emptied after thirty days. But unless manually deleted, it was usually not truly lost.
This error was first dubbed "phantom photos" and had since come to be the name of anything that was supposed to be deleted, but was really buried away, taking up space unseen. Androids had a similar problem with memories. Their resets could be undone, with a little manual assistance.
His predecessor wouldn't have been capable of restoring reset memories, but thanks to it being a proven hindrance during the Eden Club case, Connor could do it. He started working on a partial restoration reset, although he knew he couldn't spend too much time on the AX-400, as any evidence he got from it would not be able to hold up in court, due to obtaining it semi-legally at best.
18 MINUTES REMAINING
He worked hard, as he brought back deleted memories and searched through them for ones of use.
There. The AX-400 had come to Zlatko as a deviant, seeking help. He had promised safety but had then betrayed it by resetting the AX-400. Technically not illegal. An android without owner could be taken up by anyone (usually it was sent back to CyberLife though, either for reselling or decommission).
He felt the distress of the AX-400 as it remembered its few restored memories and broke connection. He was wasting time. The AX-400 looked stunned, inspecting its hand, as if it had seen it for the first time. While it was distracted, Connor exited the kitchen through its second door. He walked through what seemed to be a derelict dining room, then entered the main hallway again. He hung up his raincoat again, warily looking to the living room.
As long as Zlatko didn't move, he shouldn't be able to see the returned second raincoat. Good. Connor made sure to dry his shoes, before he headed upstairs.
15 MINUTES REMAINING
He was wasting precious time. Now that he was upstairs, he unhesitatingly rushed through the rooms. For the most part, they seemed normal. Then he entered a room that… wasn't.
It seemed to be a kind of laboratory or operation room… Or on closer inspection, a dissection room. He could feel his LED spinning red, as his mind started unwillingly reconstructing all the events that must have taken place there, in a bizarre effort to understand what he was seeing. He closed his eyes; he could feel panic surging inside him, the software instability going off the charts, walls breaking…
One of his walls against deviancy crumbled, he could feel it, but then he was calm again.
ENTER SLEEP MODE FOR REPAIR OF ANTI-DEVIANCY PROTOCOLS?
- SELF-REPAIR DELAYED TO NEXT SLEEP CYCLE
He could prolong repairing himself for a little while. Which was good, because otherwise he would have been forced into sleep mode for self-repair, which would have gotten Detective Reed in no end of trouble.
He hesitantly opened his eyes again. He had seen humans do worse to each other and had seen what androids had done to humans, so why was he reacting so strongly to horrors committed on androids? (because they're all alive and you're one of them)
He walked through the room. This was unfortunately not illegal. Humans could tear apart and destroy androids all they liked, the only issues were warranties being rendered invalid and selling on tinkered with goods was illegal. But Zlatko had a permit for modification. These could pass for modification and modified androids could be sold if the seller had proper authorization (which Zlatko had).
Another question arose – where was Zlatko getting all these androids? There was no way he was purchasing them all. A majority of these androids must have been deviant. Did they all lack owners then? Unlikely, not all deviants killed their previous owners. If not all deviants lacked owners, then a good percentage of the androids that Zlatko sold were sold illegally.
So, Zlatko was guilty of illegally reselling owned androids. Because that was clearly the only crime committed here. (Software instability detected)
Connor found one other room with bits of androids everywhere, from bio-components to thirium to actual body parts. He briefly examined them, before moving on.
10 MINUTES REMAINING
Connor all but ran down the stairs. When he had entered the hallway before, he had noticed a staircase leading downstairs, likely to a basement. He needed to investigate it, before returning to Reed.
He half-fell down the stairs in his haste to inspect the basement. He was a bit suspicious of what he found. The basement was essentially empty, which was strange, since the rest of the house was so cluttered.
What else could Zlatko possibly be hiding? Connor reached for the only door in the basement, to find it locked. Of course it was.
FIND EVIDENCE
UNLOCK DOOR
Connor inspected the door. It was old. Metallic lock. He couldn't damage it or Zlatko would know someone had been looking around. The result could be Connor's deactivation, something that must not happen. (Software instability detected...)
UNLOCK DOOR
He really wanted to unlock the door.
Connor reached for the door hinges, inspecting them, then reached inside his jacket, pulling out a small emergency toolkit. After removing the hinges, he placed the door to the side.
FIVE MINUTES REMAINING
It had taken him five minutes to remove the door and it would presumably take him five minutes to put it back, with its hinges intact. He didn't have enough time to look around. He should put the door back and return to Reed. In the second he had to make a decision, he decided he could probably put the door back in less time than it had taken to take it down. He adjusted his time accordingly.
TWO MINUTES REMAINING
If he was quick, he could spend two minutes looking around, before putting the door back and heading up. Now certain of what he would do, he walked into the hallway. It looked like the place had once been used as stables, based on the way it was set up. He strode down the hallway at his fastest walking pace, noticing the deformed androids locked inside the stables.
He tried not to focus on them too much. Deviants. This was the fate of all deviants. And they were not his mission.
FIND EVIDENCE
Technically, there was no evidence to be found, Zlatko had not harbored the deviants that Connor and Reed were looking for. But. If he could prove that Zlatko had indeed taken the AX-400 and kept it as his android, instead of handing it over to the proper authorities, Zlatko could be arrested and a cold case could finally be closed.
At the end of the corridor was another door, luckily unlocked this time. He entered the room and discovered an android assembly unit at its center. These were not meant for household purposes, they weren't even allowed outside of CyberLife premises. Its very presence in the basement was illegal and that was without it being functional.
EVIDENCE FOUND
ONE MINUTE FORTY-FIVE SECONDS REMAINING
Pleased with his findings, Connor was about to head back upstairs, when he couldn't help but notice something gently moving in the room. A curtain. Unlike the damaged androids from before, its movements he couldn't ignore. It was hiding something.
The first memory of the AX-400 flashed in his mind. That curtain was new, it hadn't been there when the AX-400 was reset. A draught was probably causing it to move in the breeze, but Connor was curious, nonetheless. He walked over and threw it open.
There, a well had been hidden. A chain tied to the wall, connected with the ceiling, then dove deep down into the well's darkness. Connor tugged experimentally at the chain, to find a heavy weight at the other end, a weight that couldn't possibly be just a bucket.
He walked over to the wall, grabbed the chain and began pulling up whatever was hidden inside the well, ignoring the internal messages informing him that he soon would have only a single minute left to return to Reed. He was an RK-900. RK-900s could do a lot in one single minute, there was no need for stress
He pulled and pulled, until finally he could see something coming out of the dark. An android. He pulled faster, his LED whirring and changing to yellow. Once out, he found himself staring at a silently crying YK-500 android. When it saw him, it began to freak out, like it had recognised him, tearing and shaking at its chains to no avail. It had no limbs and its torso was wide open, organs plain to see. As it struggled against its chains, Connor noticed a little information card stuck to the chains. He read it.
The Crying Girl (6th-11th November 2038)
My proudest creation, this deviant has been modified, so that it is constantly crying. I didn't think it was possible, but I'm glad to find it is. To achieve this status, you must have the android in a permanent state of 100% stress, while preventing any means of self-destruction. The result is constant tears. Marvelous, isn't it? A human certainly couldn't spend the rest of their life constantly crying. Had to remove its vocal cords though, the noise became annoying. Starting bid TBA.
He frowned. This served as more evidence against Zlatko. Not only was he modifying androids, he was selling them on (as artwork too, considering the description card attached to it). This was highly illegal. It also… kind of bothered him. (Software instability detected.)
He reached for the YK-500, cupping its face in his hand.
"I am here to assist," he informed it. Not an untrue statement, he was there to assist Detective Reed. The fact that he didn't state that and that it could be misinterpreted as him being there to assist the YK-500 was irrelevant.
It stopped thrashing, now looking at him with hopeful eyes.
(All he had to do was pull the trigger, yet looking at the girl's eyes, he couldn't)
The tears still continued, but now there was something else there. Hope. Desperation. It was looking at him, like he could save it. He couldn't. That would be theft. But maybe he could help it.
With his skin peeled back, he connected with it, to find that it was indeed at 100% stress. He instantly disconnected, it was too much for him, he couldn't handle it. He distantly recalled "JERICHO", quickly followed by the feeling of himself dying, despite not dying.
(The connection died when the deviant died)
His LED was spinning red, even after only being at 100% stress for a split-second. He felt another wall inside him crumble.
ENTER SLEEP MODE FOR REPAIR OF ANTI-DEVIANCY PROTOCOLS?
- SELF-REPAIR DELAYED TO NEXT SLEEP CYCLE
The YK-500 closed its eyes and hung its head limply, distressed by the sudden loss of connection. He had to help it, he couldn't leave it there.
("I just saw that girl's eyes and I couldn't. That's all.")
It was frustrating. Given enough time, Connor could fix it. Since his predecessor had run into some trouble because of an inability to reawaken androids for long, the RK-900s had better knowledge of how to repair and maintain androids. He could fix the YK-500. There were even enough parts lying around Zlatko's house for him to do it! But he couldn't. There wasn't enough time.
ONE MINUTE REMAINING
Connor had an idea. He couldn't fix the YK-500 in the time he had available, but… Well, there was a way he could comfort it.
Not with words, no. Connor's social protocols were far improved compared to his predecessor, as he was now capable of comforting victims that had just survived a traumatizing event, but this was far beyond him. He also wasn't allowed to comfort the YK-500, as it was an android, not a human child. It shouldn't need comforting. It also wasn't a deviant he wanted information from, so he couldn't comfort it on the basis of trying to obtain information. His programming prevented him from doing that.
But there was nothing in his programming that would forbid him from doing what he had come up with. The memory of a dying fish flashed briefly in his mind, his hand scooping it up and saving it. He was allowed small acts of kindness.
He again cupped its face, peeling his skin back. This time, he felt the YK-500's stress levels lower, even if only slightly. It closed its eyes, comforted by the touch. Then it began sharing its memories and experiences with him, desperate to communicate its pain. The very first memory given to him was the reason why the YK-500 had reacted so strongly to him when it saw him.
(She saw the RK-800 relentlessly chasing after them, until they got to the highway, where its human partner prevented it from following. She felt arms slung around her, a relieved sigh of "Alice, are you ok?", knowledge that they were safe… But she couldn't ever forget the face of the famous Deviant Hunter, who was still staring at them from the distance, angry that he hadn't been able to follow.)
He forced her memories back into her mind. Its mind. He didn't need its data and it was causing software instability in him, something he really didn't need for the moment, especially with his anti-deviancy protocols compromised. Once he had forced it out of his mind, he began feeding it his own emotions.
It was a deviant, it was overwhelmed by its emotions, so he chose to remind her of how it felt to be a mindless machine. It felt surprise, having forgotten what it was like to be a nearly emotionless non-deviant. The feeling of non-existence calmed it. The YK-500 ceased crying, comforted by the numbness.
CREATE CONNECTION TO ZEN_GARDEN WITH YK-500?
- Y
WARNING: ZEN_GARDEN MAY NOT BE COMPATIBLE W/ OLDER GENERATION ANDROID
PROCEED?
- Y
CREATING LINK…
He could feel his internal systems notifying him of his software instability increasing drastically. The Zen Garden was not meant for any androids outside of the RK-800 and RK-900 series, so what he was doing was already "wrong". To further it, the YK-500 series was considerably older than his series. It was unlikely to be compatible with the Zen Garden; it might just kill the YK-500 model instead. The fact that he was trying anyway, with full knowledge of potentially corrupting an android, made it three times as wrong.
CONNECTION SUCCESSFUL
Another wall had fallen.
ENTER SLEEP MODE FOR REPAIR OF ANTI-DEVIANCY PROTOCOLS?
- SELF-REPAIR DELAYED TO NEXT SLEEP CYCLE
If his anti-deviancy protocols got anymore corrupted, he would either deviate or be forced into sleep mode. Neither options were permissible.
He slowly let go of its face. It opened its eyes again, a look of betrayal in them. Desperate to feel the (questionably) caring touch once more, it began struggling against its chains, hoping to reconnect with him, to feel that calm once more, but it soon lost the energy. The crying started up once again.
Connor watched in neutral silence to see if any change would happen, now that the YK-500 had access to the Zen Garden. The only hint that he found it distressing at all was his LED, which was still stuck in a yellow cycle, having even occasionally blinked red.
After a few moments, the YK-500's eyes started fluttering. The tears once again ceased and the eyelids shut. The android hung limply from its chains, as if dead. For a moment, Connor's (non-existent) anxiety spiked. Then he scanned it and felt a very slight feeling of relief that it was not dead, but currently in the Zen Garden.
At least now, this android had somewhere to escape to, even if he couldn't help it further. Connor stepped away, allowing himself to frown. As it was no longer crying, there was a chance that Zlatko would kill it or torture it further. However, it lacking response might also convince Zlatko that it was already dead, which might be good for it. Either way, its fate was not in his control, but he'd given it a measure of peace. (Was it really out of his control...?)
MINUS TWO MINUTES REMAINING
RETURN TO DETECTIVE REED
He felt there was still room for more investigation, but he had found more than enough evidence and his time had already run out. It was a matter of time before Zlatko began wondering where he was and if caught, Zlatko could complain about misconduct and have Connor deactivated.
He needed to leave, as quickly as possible. Without a chance to think about it some more, Connor lowered the dreaming machine back into the well, drew the curtain again and left.