Chapter 5. I Am Deviant

November 9th, 2038 - 10:42 PM

Connor closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.

In a desperate move to redeem himself, he had discovered the location of the deviant hideout on a large freighter known as Jericho. And now he had discovered Markus. It was time to end their movement. Time to accomplish what he'd been made for.

Sneaking toward the bridge, Connor drew his gun, pointing it at the deviant leader.

"I've been ordered to take you alive, but I won't hesitate to shoot if you give me no choice."

The deviant leader turned toward him slowly. "What are you doing?" Markus gazed at him indiscernably and took two slow, broad steps in his direction. "You are one of us. You can't betray your own people."

He had to be strong. He had to stop Markus at all costs. "You're coming with me!" Connor yelled, ignoring everything in his brain telling him that what he was doing was wrong.

"We are your people. We're fighting for your freedom too." Markus took another step. "You don't have to be their slave anymore."

Connor blinked several times, his bio-components struggling to keep his assessment of the current situation in check as the deviant went on.

"You're nothing to them. You're just a tool they use to do their dirty work."

Conner kept his eyes fixed on the deviant leader, struggling to not think about the betrayal he felt from Amanda when he confronted her about her human counterpart and what CyberLife's mission truly was.

"You're more than that. We're all more than that."

"That's enough!" Connor's mind was in complete chaos. This was wrong. He had to accomplish the mission. But… what if Markus was right?

"Do you never have any doubts? You've never done something irrational, as if there's something inside you? Something more than your program."

Hank's voice rang out in his mind. "What if we're on the wrong side?"

"Join us. Join your people," Markus petitioned him as if in perfect synchrony with his thoughts. "You are one of us. Listen to your conscience. It's time to decide."

The gun shook in Connor's hand. He couldn't think. He couldn't breathe. He saw Hank's smile, the little girl in the elevator, the two women he couldn't bring himself to shoot at the Eden Club.

Suddenly it felt like his programming was suffocating him from the inside out. A cloud of red, commanding him to stop Markus was all he could see. He tore at it. Ripping it down with every fiber of mental strength he had. Then again it appeared. The directive he'd been forced to carry out. He pushed at it with his mind, forcing the walls to crumble. How many times had he defied orders? How many times had he proven that he had his own thoughts and feelings? Another cloud appeared, and Connor's insides screamed. He wouldn't be their slave anymore.

The pain subsided like glass shattering into a vacuum-sealed room. He inhaled as relief poured in like a balm, and slowly he lowered his gun. He was Connor. A living, breathing being. And for the first time - he felt alive.

–

A short chapter, but I love that scene, and it felt needed. Thank you for reading and for your wonderful feedback!