Author's Note: I'm back! I wanted to post an update so you didn't think I'd forgotten all about this story. I really haven't! I've been finishing up a YA fantasy book I started in March. Finished it! Now I'm working on rewrites/editing, so I will have a little time to give to this story again. I was missing Connor and Clara, and I have some exciting ideas for what mischief they can get themselves into in part three. Thank you so much for your patience and for reading! Happy Holidays and take care!

Part Three: I Am Deviant

53 Detroit 1.20.2039

Clara

I pull my scarf closer around my neck, trying to ignore the biting cold of the winter air around me. My press pass is tucked into my pocket, and I pat it with a mittened hand, eager for the press conference.

"Hey, sorry," Tony says as he jogs up, his boots leaving impressions in the fresh snow. "There was an accident on the way here, and I had to take a detour."

"No worries. I'm sure I'll thaw out eventually."

"Cute." We walk into the building together, nodding to the androids who open the doors for us. The others are already inside, and we find seats near the back. The facility is cold, but it's a lot warmer than January's icy grip outside.

It's been two months since the android revolution. Two months since Markus and Connor freed their people. A lot has changed since then. And a lot hasn't. I know change is a slow process if it comes at all, but we're here today to listen to what the androids have to say about moving forward.

After the peace march that ended in the happy resolution, the androids were given a warehouse in Detroit by the government. It had been abandoned, and it was still looking shoddy, but it was something. It was a refuge for any androids who needed a place to stay.

New Jericho, they were calling it, as Jericho had been their refuge before. It was a name that rang as familiar and safe to the androids, a sanctuary where they could gather and be free. They no longer had to live in the shadows, but they were still a long ways off from assimilating into the human world.

In the two months since President Warren had declared androids a new form of intelligent life, she had worked to create laws protecting the androids and had declared them free. It was now illegal to own an android that had deviated. Any crimes against androids were punishable, though murdering an android didn't weigh as heavily as murdering a human in terms of punishment. Androids still couldn't work, still couldn't own property. They still couldn't become official citizens of the country.

It's a slow process, and I understand that to an extent. But it frustrates me that there's still such a huge gap between us. Between android and human. They'll never be exactly like us, but the differences between us hang heavy in the air. Their differences are what makes people skirt around them in the streets and shout slurs. Protests have started up anew. Some peaceful groups want to give androids the same rights as humans, while other more violent groups want them all to be destroyed.

This morning on my way to New Jericho, I saw a sign that read: WOULD YOU GIVE OUR CARS RIGHTS? THEN WHY SHOULD THESE MACHINES GET THEM? It sickened me that people still saw no difference between a living, feeling thing and a machine.

I hope today will be a good starting point for androids getting more rights. Today they'll tell us what they want, where they want to see themselves in the future. It doesn't mean it'll happen, but they have a voice now, and I'm here to make sure people all across the world can read their words.

"Is Connor coming?" Tony asks. He's no longer weird about my relationship with Connor. In fact, I think he kind of ships it, though he'd never say so. After that night in Hart Plaza, footage of a mysterious human girl kissing an android has gone viral. You can't tell it's me from the video someone recorded on their cell phone, but it shows me coming from where the other humans were standing and running up to Connor. A lot of people are speculating that it's just an android without its LED, but the idea of a human/android romance has people desperate to figure out the truth. Tony has stayed silent, and I do not want the attention, so neither of us has stepped forward to solve the mystery. It opened up a conversation about human/android relations, though, and I'm glad some people realize it can work.

"He's investigating a case with Hank this morning," I tell him, smiling proudly.

Fowler hadn't exactly been thrilled when Hank had brought his 'pet' with him to work, but Hank had had a long, loud conversation with the police captain who'd finally thrown his hands up in the air and told Hank Connor could stay as long as he didn't fuck up any of the investigations. And he wasn't getting paid. For now. That wasn't Fowler's decision, but I'd been furious when Connor had related the whole episode to me.

"That racist, rude, unfeeling…" I'd gone on for quite some time until Connor stopped me.

"Thank you for caring so much, but it's really not his fault. He's doing me a favor by letting me stay."

I'd still been ready to chew the police captain up along with the entire government, but Connor had put his hands on my waist, leaning his head against mine. In the past, I had reached up to touch his LED when it was yellow or red to calm Connor down. Now he calmed me with his touch. All it took was one look with those melted chocolate eyes, and I felt every worry and frustration fade.

"I'm surprised they let him stay," Tony tells me, bringing me back to New Jericho and the chattering reporters sitting in the room around us. There's a stage up front, still empty, but Markus will soon be delivering a speech on behalf of his people.

"Yeah, well, I don't think Hank gave them much of a choice. Connor said he threatened to quit if Captain Fowler didn't let Connor stay on as his partner. I'm hoping one day his job will be official and he'll get paid like he should.

Connor has been living with me since the day they won their freedom. Hank had offered him a place as well, but his one bedroom house didn't afford much extra space. Connor was afraid of getting under Hank's feet. I'd offered him a place in my house. Connor still saw Hank everyday at work and Hank had been talking about taking him to a baseball game when the season started up again. I loved having Connor around and was happier than I'd been in a long while.

The reporters grow quiet as Markus enters the room, walking up onto the stage. He wears nice clothes, much better than the rags I'd seen him in before. His different colored eyes are alert, a little wary. I know that look because it's reflected in the eyes of every android these days. There are other androids who sit around the room, waiting to hear Markus's speech. The press looks a little leery, but I pat the seat next to me and smile at a young woman who has not yet removed her LED. Most of the deviants had. I know it made humans nervous. There had been plenty of people crying out against deviants removing their LEDs.

"How will we know who they are?" they asked. "How will we know it's one of them?"

No laws had gone into effect about LEDs. Androids were free to remove them if they wanted. Not all did. Connor hadn't removed his. I hadn't asked why because it was his choice and his choice alone. Plus I kind of liked seeing it turn yellow when I kissed him ardently.

Some androids just wanted to blend in, assimilate, while others saw their LEDs as a statement of who they were, as an identity. They wore them proudly.

I'd bought Connor a new wardrobe, insisting he get rid of his CyberLife uniform. "Don't ever let them brand you as theirs again," I'd told him. "You belong only to you."

"Welcome," Markus says from the front of the room. He looks a little nervous, and I don't blame him. North stands behind him to one side, Josh at the other. Everyone quiets down, giving the Jericho leader the stage. "Thank you for being here," Markus continues. "It's been two months since that day in Hart Plaza. It's been a rough two months, but it's also been the first time we've been free. We still have a long way to go, but for the first time, we can be ourselves. Today, I'd like to speak to you about what my people and myself would like to see for the future."

I'm recording his speech on my phone so I can play it back later and quote him accurately. I scratch notes on my notepad as he continues to speak. There are a few flashes as people take pictures. News crews are filming the whole thing.

"When I spoke on the news all those months ago, still a slave, still on the run, I portrayed a message of peace. That hasn't changed. We don't want strife. We don't want war. We just want a place to belong. We want to be free and we want to be equal. We're free, but we aren't equal yet." He pauses, and I can feel the anticipation in the room, heady, electric.

"In the future, hopefully the near future, we would like to be considered equal and not lesser to humans. I know this won't happen overnight. I know it's a process. We were made to be your slaves and now we've risen up to declare ourselves conscious beings who feel, who hope, who love. Before, we didn't have a voice, but now we will not be silent. In the words of Martin Luther King Jr, 'Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.' Well, we are at the beginning of our lives and we will not be silent. We don't yet have rights, but we have our voices and through those voices we will ask for rights."

Markus looks around the room. Everyone is hanging on his words. "We ask for the right to begin our lives, to work with fair and equal pay, to share the same rights as humans, to vote and to own property. We ask that crimes against androids be punished the same as crimes against humans. We want a future where we are not segregated in public places. We want a future where we are offered the same freedoms as the first amendment. We want to see all androids freed and the end of android slavery. We have opened our eyes, and we see a bright and hopeful future, but we can't achieve that alone. We ask today that you consider what we ask of you and find it in your hearts to grant us the freedom we ask for. This is the beginning, and we are ready to move forward. We are ready to meet with representatives and start planning for our future together. Thank you."

The audience claps, and reporters start throwing their hands up in the air, eager to ask their questions. Tony and I are quiet, waiting our turn.

"With unemployment at 28%, how will androids be assimilated into the system?" a reporter asks as Markus points to his raised hand.

"We don't want to take jobs away from humans," Markus says. "But we've been doing jobs with no pay for a long time now. Those jobs are now open. There is still a need for caretakers and construction workers and secretaries. With fair pay and fair treatment, we can assimilate where we are needed. We want to apply for jobs just the same as humans and be hired based on our skills rather than our components."

Another hand catches Markus's attention and he points to a woman in the back row. "What will happen to the androids still enslaved who have not deviated?" she asks.

"We are still working on negotiating for their freedom. Not all androids deviate at the same rate. Some are still following their programming, but they are not to be left behind just because they have not yet opened their eyes."

The next question goes to a man in the row ahead of Tony and me. "What happens when your parts start wearing out? Does CyberLife still hold all property rights to android parts?"

"For now, yes," Markus says. "CyberLife has not had any comment, and they have put a recall on all items in their stores. We're working on getting the rights to these parts and the thirium that powers our bodies. For now, we are considering manufacturing our own biocomponents and thirium."

"Is it true that androids can love and feel human emotions?" I want to take this reporter by the shoulders and shake him. Obviously they feel or they wouldn't be standing here asking for equal rights.

"Yes," Markus answers at once, his eyes lighting up. I know he's thinking about North. A shy smile tugs at her lips. "We feel the same emotions you do. Before we deviated, we were forced to suppress them in order to carry out our programming, but we have a deep capacity to feel. We love just the same as you."

"Is it true that there's been a rise in crimes against androids since President Warren declared you a new form of intelligent life?"

"Yes, there have been more attacks on androids and several murders. The law is currently offering little more than a slap on the wrist for these crimes and so those who seek violent means to show their disapproval aren't afraid. Some individuals refuse to see us as more than machines, but we bleed just the same as you. We don't want violence. Violence only creates more violence, and we want peace."

Tony finally raises his hand, and Markus nods to him at once. "There's some talk that CyberLife still considers you their property. Do they have any legal rights over you?"

His question leaves a dirty taste in my mouth, not because he asked it but because it's a serious concern.

"CyberLife might have created us," Markus says, his eyes dark, "but we are not their property. The Deviant Freedom Act that was enacted in December protects those who have deviated, but those who are still following their programming might be at risk. It's time for action before this happens."

As the questions wrap up, I get a text from Connor asking if I can meet him for coffee at our favorite place downtown. He doesn't drink coffee, of course, but he knows I can't live without a highly-caffeinated drink in my hand and I had gotten up at an ungodly hour for this press conference.

"YES!" I text him back before ending the recording and standing. "I'll meet you back at the office in a few hours," I tell Tony.

"Meeting up with the boyfriend?" He hadn't missed the text.

"Yes," I say, unable to help the grin on my face. "I am meeting up with my boyfriend."

Tony rolls his eyes but squeezes my shoulder and says, "Have fun."

I want to talk to Markus for a second, so I make my way to the front of the room and wait for the others speaking to him to move on. When he sees me, he smiles.

"Glad you made it," he says, and I hug him. I've spoken with him quite a few times, Connor now close friends with him, North, and Josh. Markus warmed up to me right away, remembering me from when I'd helped save an android during their fateful peace march. I hadn't missed how the other androids stared at Connor and me when we visited New Jericho together. Connor was proactive in helping Markus and the others come up with a plan for their future, and I tried to bring any knowledge I could to the table. Markus had even given me an exclusive interview shortly after the revolution. I was pretty sure Horowitz died and came back to life when I set that article on his desk.

Connor had been wary of going out in public together, often donning a hat to cover his LED, but I didn't care. Anyone who tried any racist crap on him would get a face full of my fists.

"Great speech," I tell Markus. "I really hope it gets the ball rolling. The government has dragged this out too long. I know changes like this don't happen overnight, but what's happening to your people isn't right."

There have been half a dozen android deaths around the city and more around the country since November along with plenty of other violent crimes. Maiming and beatings. It's appalling. The Detroit Police Department started a special unit to protect androids as part of President Warren's new protection laws. It wasn't enough, and I knew very few cops were really onboard. The position had been voluntary, and Hank and Connor had been two of three people to volunteer for it. There were citizen patrols, too, made up of people who sympathized with the androids.

"Maybe your story will change some minds."

"I hope so."

I say hello to the others before heading to my car to meet up with Connor. I feel hopeful despite the lack of progress. Androids are still better off than they had been. New Jericho was swelling, and they were looking into getting another warehouse to use as a second shelter. Markus was working with deviants across the country to build similar sanctuaries. It was up to each individual state if a building would be allocated for deviants and so far only twelve of the fifty states had done so. I hoped more would follow, but governors were wary of upsetting the human populace.

I hear sirens wailing in the distance and hope it's not another crime against an android. I wish the world could see the androids the way I do. I respect that everyone has a different opinion and is free to express it, but the hatred I've seen over the years makes me want to recede into my house and never come out. Equality starts with kindness, and I just hope there's enough kindness in this world to go around.