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Author's Notes: Thank you so much to everyone who has read thus far. This chapter gets into more of the world-building aspect. I wanted to feel out the android nerd culture that would no doubt exist if there were androids in the real world.

Also, to Al, who reviewed without an account (which is completely okay, I just can't contact you back privately), this one is keeping my attention. I won't be dropping it anytime soon. Especially since I am WAY ahead of what's posted on here. All my dear readers, you are guaranteed at LEAST 12 chapters and around 80k+ words. This fic will be updating regularly for a while. Enjoy!

Chicago: Become Human

Chapter Three: Parson's Law

Samantha did not remember falling asleep, but she awoke to the bright sun coming in through the parlor windows. She opened her eyes, the rest of her body unmoving. The parlor was chilly, but she was strangely cozy. It was the body beneath her, he on his back and she on her stomach, that was keeping her so pleasantly warm. She wondered if he was raising his body heat on purpose again, or if this was Connor's regular temperature. Either way, it was heavenly.

With her ear pressed to his chest, she heard the low thrum of his inner workings. His thirium pump nearly purred in its sound. Samantha closed her eyes again and pretended to be asleep. She wanted to milk this moment for as long as she could. The second Connor knew she was awake, it would be all over. It might even be awkward and she wasn't ready for that yet.

She thought about drifting back to sleep when a motion from the android below her caused her to open an eye. She hadn't noticed before, but Connor had a finger on the dip of her spine. Every now and then he would slide it down a few inches, leave it there, and then slide back up a few moments later. It was such a human motion. But Connor did these from time to time. These brief, tiny acts that were so human in a way. In his idle moments, he fiddled, he touched things. Computers didn't fiddle.

Computers didn't run their fingers up a woman's back as if they enjoyed the feel of it.

"Samantha."

Busted.

She remained still at his voice and didn't say anything.

"You are awake," Connor's voice neutrally accused.

"How did you know?" she asked, still not moving.

"Your heart and breath sped up just now."

Samantha felt her cheeks grow warm, though she did not remove her face from where it rested on his chest. "You can tell that? Though your skin?"

"I have sensors that give me information about your physical state. I monitored you all night in case you had trouble sleeping again."

She had no trouble sleeping. In fact, it had been the best sleep she could remember for quite some time. For a moment, she considered if she could stay where she was a while longer. Connor would probably say yes. She wasn't sure if he had the ability to say no. Either way, it felt a weird thing to ask so she forced herself to sit up.

His suit jacket had been placed over her in the night and it hung largely on her shoulders as she sat back to let him up. Looking down at him as he stretched out on the ornate fainting couch, Connor was the most unkempt she had ever seen. Not so much tousled, but... wrinkled. That was a good word to describe it. His white dress shirt was all askew and his tie had been discarded for the night. His pants were no longer neatly pressed either. It was... cute. For an android that was always so primly put together.

Samantha stood and was about to go to her room to get dressed for the day when she paused and turned around.

"Hey, Connor?"

"Hm?" he asked as he was, of course, recovering his tie to put it back in order.

"Thank you for... last night."

"I am here to be of use to you, that is my purpose."

"Connor," Samantha then asked as a sudden question came to her. "If I tell you to do something, do you have the capacity to tell me no?"

"There are certain circumstances, yes. There are laws I cannot break, including if you asked me to harm another person for any other reason other than to protect yourself or someone else."

"I wasn't necessarily talking about something like that. If I asked you to do some menial task, let's say, and you didn't want to. Could you say no to me?"

Connor frowned minutely, his LED flickering. "Why would I tell you no? I am here to assist you."

"You just didn't like what I told you do."

"I'm an android. I can't like or dislike anything. If you ask me to do something, I will do it."

Samantha wasn't quite satisfied with the answer, but she didn't know what else to say so she let it go and left the room.

.

As per his usual, Connor disappeared for about an hour to check the house and then patrol around the building. Samantha had just finished breakfast when he returned to the kitchen. As she brushed past him, she caught a familiar scent from earlier that she hadn't given much thought to before.

"Connor, you smell like the lake. Are you wearing the same clothes from yesterday?"

"Yes."

"They need to be cleaned. Take those off and give them to me, I'll put them in the wash."

"Yes, Samantha."

She had just finished putting her dishes into the dishwasher and when she turned around, Connor was standing before her, completely nude and holding out a handful of clothes in her direction.

"Connor! What the—why aren't you wearing anything?"

"These are the only clothes I have. You told me to give them to you."

Samantha stared at him, sucking in air through her nose. This was not the kind of experience she ever thought she would have owning an android. Even though Connor without clothes was about as articulated in certain places as a Ken doll, it was still weird. It took her a moment to decide exactly how she was going to react. She could have been greatly offended or embarrassed, but this was an android, doing what he was told. She settled on practicality.

"Okay. I guess... go sit down and stay there until your clothes are clean."

"Yes, Samantha."

He turned to comply and she received a generous full view of the backside as well. Samantha couldn't help but stare. What were those clowns over at Cyberlife doing, making androids that were Ken dolls in the front, but with absolutely grabable, perfectly sculpted asses in the back?

"I cannot believe I just thought that," Samantha muttered.

"Thought what?" Connor asked as he sat himself at the table. A rather inappropriate place for one to sit naked, if one were to sit naked at all. But he was there now.

"Nothing important," Samantha informed him with a sigh. "Just sit and stay there."

She returned a moment later with a small throw blanket and draped it over the android's lap.

"That is not necessary," Connor informed her.

"No, it is," she insisted. "You will sit like that until your clothes are ready."

"Alright."

A half hour later, Garrett, summoned by Samantha, walked into the house without announcing himself. As he stepped into the dining area, he paused with a "What the hell is this?" when he saw Connor still obediently at the table.

"I told you," Samantha said as she walked in. "He only has the one suit and I'm washing it."

"Why are you washing it? You haven't even had him two weeks. How dirty could he possibly get?"

Samantha ignored the questions. "He needs a second set of clothes to wear, at the very least."

"Fine. I'll swing by town and pick up another pair of pants for this nudist."

"I'd actually like to go to town and get them myself."

Garrett paused. He had begun to leave when Samantha spoke. "You? You haven't left the property in six months. Now you want to go to town? Just because of the robot?"

She breathed in a long breath. "Yes."

"And I suppose I gotta take ya."

"Please. Don't do me any favors, Garrett," she replied in a huff. "I'll have Connor with me. I'll be just fine."

"Now, just because I got you the android-"

"That's what you got him for, isn't it?" Samantha interrupted. "I'm supposed to be safe with him, right?"

"Staying in the house does offer a far safer environment," Connor offered helpfully from the table. "But my programming is prepared for many situations should a danger appear in public. Even without my suit or weapons, I am confident I could fight off any attacker."

Garrett and Samantha looked at each other, trying not to laugh at the idea of a nude android fighting bad guys.

"Oh boy. Yes, thank you, Connor," Samantha said, failing to keep the humor out of her voice.

"Fine," Garrett said with good nature. "Tell me when his clothes are done and we'll go into town."

.

Connor sat in the back seat of the car and it was already better than any ride he had ever been on working with the Detroit police. There was no cage separating him from the humans. The doors were not locked on the inside. He easily let himself out of the back seat after they pulled into the parking lot of a large mall.

Garrett remained in the driver's seat, the car engine still running. "Hey, I've gotta run a few errands and I'll pick you up later, okay?"

Samantha immediately looked concerned. "You're just going to leave me here?"

"Hey, as you said, you've got Connor. You'll be fine." When Samantha still seemed unsure he added, "Look, no one is going to try anything in a busy mall with security patrol and cameras. You're perfectly safe. When you're finished, just wait for me by the front doors until I come back. Okay?"

She let out a long breath to steel herself. She had been the one to suggest this. "Okay."

"You're brave, kiddo," Garrett said with a wink before pulling out of the parking space and driving away.

"I'm brave," Samantha muttered to herself. "I'm brave. I'm brave."

"I have to agree," Connor said conversationally. "Out here is not very safe. Despite the increased possibility of damage to your person, you went anyway."

She frowned. "Brave, but stupid. Thanks, Connor."

"I meant no comments about your intelligence, just stating the facts," Connor insisted as he followed her into the building.

"Well, we'll just make it quick so we can lower that possibility of physical harm," Samantha said primly. She led the way into the first store they came across that stocked a sharp collection of men's clothing. Once there, she realized just how little she knew about correctly sizing clothes on men.

"This is why I wanted Garrett to come," she muttered with irritation. "I'm not good at this. You wouldn't happen to know what size you are, would you?"

"That is surprisingly not in my data banks. But I will store the information as soon as we figure it out."

"I guess Cyberlife doesn't think of everything," Samantha muttered. "We'll just have to grab some different sizes and go from there."

After dithering about with a few shirts, Samantha finally took her selections toward the dressing room. She was cut off by a female clerk who appeared to be in her mid 50's. She eyed Samantha and Connor with an odd distaste that Samantha had never experienced before.

"Excuse me, miss, but this is a clothing store for people. We don't sell these clothes for... your type of androids."

A few different protests about the ridiculousness of that statement immediately flooded Samantha's brain. But instead of any of those arguments, her mouth said, "Oh, they're not for the android. My husband is the same body type. It's just easier when I buy him clothes. If they fit the android, I know they'll fit my husband."

The clerk's entire demeanor immediately changed. "Oh, your husband. Yes, that's fine. Please let me know if you need anything."

Samantha forced a smile and a nod, internally thinking that was quite an odd interaction as the clerk went about her business. It was only a few more paces until they made it to the dressing room and Samantha motioned Connor into one of the stalls.

"Try on each one of those, then come out and show me the one that fits the best."

"Yes, Samantha."

Stationed at the dressing room was another clerk, this one in her early 20's. She had been subtly fiddling with her phone behind the counter before the senior clerk had come by. Now, Samantha seemed to hold her interest.

"Nice android. He's cute," the girl said. Her name tag said 'Regina'. "The clothes are for your husband, you said?"

The smile on her face said she knew the truth and Samantha smiled back at their shared secret.

"I've never seen that model before. What is he?" Regina then asked.

"Um... oh gosh... the RK... 800, I believe it's called?"

"I've never heard of it. Is it new?"

"As best I understand, he's a prototype. There's not a whole lot of them around. This one we bought damaged and fixed him up."

Regina perked up. "Oh, cool! Do you buy a lot of androids and modify them? Are you into that sort of thing?"

"I'm not sure what that means," Samantha said. "We only have the one android and we use him for extra security."

"Oh, I guess not then. I only have one android, too. I've been using her to practice my mods. I really like doing the custom face designs. Here, I'll show you."

Samantha hadn't asked, but she was in it now and politely allowed Regina to bring up some pictures on her phone.

"I've got a MX400. This is what they normally look like." She showed Samantha a stock photo of the model: a female android with very generic facial features. "MX's are a little old, but they're the best for female mods. Their skeletons make a good starting base for nearly any design you're looking for. Here's my Trixie. We're besties."

The photo pushed toward her showed Regina with a female android at what looked to be some kind of party. Both were dressed for a flashy night on the town. The android's face was a stark difference to the stock photo Samantha was shown earlier. This android had a sharper chin and cheek bones. The eyes had been enlarged and stylized in shape. She looked something between an anime character and an elven princess.

"Wow, you changed her to look like that?" Samantha asked, grabbing the phone for a better look. "How do you do that?"

"Oh, the android faces are made of a soft, silicon-based material that you can just peel right off if you know how to do it. It's what lets their expressions look so natural. Then underneath is the skull of the android. You can shave it down or build on it. For the eyes, I purchased some custom sockets. And when you're all done with the skull, the skin forms to the new shape pretty well—unless you do something super drastic to the face."

"And your android... she doesn't mind that you did this?" Samantha wondered. She thought about Connor and if androids had the capacity to mind about their physical appearance.

"Nah, she likes the attention it gives her. She's got almost 500,000 followers online. People tell her she's beautiful every day." Regina then added. "There are online groups for android modding if you're interested in seeing what other people have done. It's not just the face they change. Some people will replace the arms and legs with different things."

"That's... kind of morbid, don't you think?" Samantha said. Just the mention of doing such a thing made her feel queasy.

"Yeah, it's weird what some people do to them," Regina said. "I saw one guy who turned one's torso into a fish tank. Usually this kind of modding they do with old models they find in the dump. Their synthetic skins don't work anymore so it's not like they look like people just out of a torture movie."

Samantha still didn't like the idea of it and suddenly wished the conversation would end. "I didn't realize this was something people do."

"There's actually lots of different types of communities that evolve around androids," Regina continued to talk. "You can find all sorts of chats and boards out there. There's the modders, like me. There's the collectors. There's the programming geeks. There's the..." She paused and glanced around for other ears that might pick up the conversation. "You know... the android lovers."

"Android lovers? So people who just love their androids?"

"More like LOVE their androids."

Samantha raised her brow, wondering if she was understanding correctly.

"Well, there's the pervs who have their sex bots," Regina clarified. "And then there's those people who date or even marry their androids."

Samantha blinked at this new information. She did not know this was a thing people did either.

"I think my boss thought you were one of them," Regina then said in an even lower voice. "That's why she was being such a bitch to you at first. There's totally a large community of the android lovers around here. We see them all the time hanging out, going on 'dates.'" She made air quotations with her fingers. "You can usually tell them because the androids are dressed real nice in custom attire instead of uniforms."

"Like Connor is," Samantha said in a distant voice. She was still trying to wrap her head around all this new information. "Though we use him in a very professional capacity. That's why we like him to look nice."

Regina raised her hands in casual surrender. "Hey, I am not here to judge anybody. As long as you're not hurting anyone, I say you can do whatever you want with your android if it makes you happy."

At this point, Connor stepped out of the dressing room and Samantha was happy to have a reason to end the conversation with Regina. She had him stand in front of the full-body mirror in the back while she inspected him.

"How does it fit? Not too tight?"

"It's very satisfactory. Not as tight as my last shirt. This fit is better."

Samantha was a little skeptical about how well an android could tell clothing fit on them. She had Connor raise his arms for her so she could see the kind of give it had. After inspecting the shoulders and back, she moved around and straightened his collar, checking the fit around the neck.

"Samantha," Connor said to her, low and close. "Earlier, you lied to that clerk."

She smirked a little. "I guess I did."

"I barely registered any telltale signs in your heartbeat that you were lying."

"My villain superpower," she joked back. "I didn't hear you correcting me, either."

Now Connor matched her look of shared secrecy. Some of his expressions were just so endearing. Samantha suddenly thought about what people did to androids as a mere hobby. Mutilate them. It sent a weird feeling up her spine. Not to Connor. She would never let anyone do that to Connor.

"If you like this one, we'll get a couple in this size. Just white? Or do you want to get creative with some colors?"

His blue LED flickered for a while as he thought. "White is preferable. It's clean."

"Clean," Samantha repeated, amused by his choice of word. "White it is. Go change." As she turned to leave him to it, she noticed a sweater hanging on the rack, waiting to be returned to its rightful place. "Wait Connor, hold on."

The android turned curiously as she fetched the sweater and held it up to his frame. It looked like his size. "Will you try this on for me?"

Connor emerged a few minutes later in a deep wine-colored sweater with a wide neck. The material was very soft and pleasant to touch. Samantha liked running her finger over the textile as she traced the neckline. Not loose at all. It fit him perfectly. He was attractive in it with his neck and part of the clavicle exposed. Samantha always thought men's clavicles were sexy. Putting such a thing on an android who was there specifically to do an important job seemed a little self-indulgent. Was it a weird thing to buy?

"Do you like it, Connor?"

"I do not know where I would wear it. But..." He turned to look at his reflection in the mirror and touched the open wide collar himself. "It's... nice?"

Samantha purchased the sweater as well. As Regina was ringing them up, Samantha asked, "Do you know of a place where I can get another suit for him? One similar to this?"

"There's a place here at the mall that's specifically to clothe androids. You can even bring in clothes to have the android reflectors added."

"Really? There's places like that?"

"I told you, people really like their androids out here. They blow all sorts of cash on them. The store's called Silicon Valley. You'll find it on the south end of the mall."

Following Regina's directions, the store was easy to find and exactly as she said. Everything from casual day wear to expensive evening wear sported the reflective indicators of an arm band and a triangle on the front and back.

So this is what androids had to wear. "I wonder why they all have to look like this," Samantha said out loud. To her it just seemed like a reason to charge more for clothes.

"It's because of Parson's Law, an addendum to the American Androids Act of 2029," Connor recited from his memory banks as he followed casually behind her. "In 2032, Tom Parson of California jumped off a bridge to save what he thought was a human from drowning. The person he was trying to save was, in fact, an android and Parson drowned during his rescue attempt. Parson's Law states that all androids must be clearly identifiable from a distance when in public. A human life should never be mistakenly put in jeopardy to save an android."

"Interesting," Samantha said as she thumbed through the racks of clothes. "I can see the logic in that."

"What most of the public is not aware of," Connor continued, "is that Tom Parson was high out of his mind on a drug called Red Ice that night. The assumed victim was the remains of a deactivated android shell that never would have been mistaken for human to one who was sober."

Samantha closed her eyes, laughing silently to herself. "Right idea for the wrong reason?" she joked.

When she looked up, Connor was in her space, his wide shoulders looming over her. "This is the first time I've seen you look happy."

"Is it?" she wondered.

"It's good to see it. I thought after last night, after you were so sad, it would get worse. But you're better today. Brighter."

Samantha looked down self-consciously. "Sometimes a good cry is what a person needs. It's cathartic. It gets all emotional garbage out."

"Interesting," Connor repeated her earlier statement.

She grinned openly at him and he found it to be beautiful.

The back of the store had the more high-end merchandise and tailors on staff who could put together anything a customer could think up. They were quite impressed with Connor's snappy dress and were happy to create two identical suits to the one Connor was wearing and in fact promised theirs would look even better on him.

Connor had balked when he heard the price of the custom suits, but Samantha didn't bat an eye as she held out her card for a down payment. The suits were promised within two weeks.

On the way out, Samantha caught Connor looking at a rack of ties. He seemed fixed on one that was bright red. Samantha had already purchased a few more black ties for him in the previous store and hurried him on. They had spent quite a bit of time at the mall and Garrett was no doubt waiting for them in the parking lot.

.

When they returned home, Connor noted that Samantha continued to display a lighter, happier mood as she moved about the rest of her day. Her emotional break the night before had been good for her. This day, going into town, doing normal activities around her own kind, had also been good for her. Despite the increased danger of being in public, she needed to live like a normal person. The dangers, Connor decided, were worth the risk.

That night, Connor noticed Samantha did not make dinner. It was now after eight and she still hadn't eaten. When he commented on this, she told him it was a 'fasting day'.

"Got to have blood work in the morning," she said casually. "After I do that, then I'll eat."

Connor wanted to ask questions, but he knew he would get no answers. He knew this was related to the curious laboratory adjacent to the house and he knew he was not allowed to go in there or have any knowledge of what went on inside. All he could do was note that Samantha didn't seem worried about it, so he decided he also was not worried about it.

It snowed again that night and before bed, the two went to the parlor and sat in the dark, watching the fat flakes fall on the pale, blue-tinted world. The snow still made it plenty easy to see in the parlor. Samantha sat sideways on the couch, watching Connor in the gentle blue glow of his LED. He had been quiet and still for a while. No questions, no fidgeting. Just silently watching nature's show.

She touched his calf with the toe of her shoe and he looked in her direction.

"Connor, what do you think about that Parson's Law? Do you think it's necessary?"

"It is in place for human safety."

"But how do you feel about being singled out as an android?"

"It's not incorrect. I am an android. I should have no qualms about being labeled as such."

"Well, if you want to wear anything different while you're in the house, you're welcome to. We can get you other clothes if you want."

Connor looked down at himself. "The suit is preferable."

Her mouth ticked up a little. "Alright. If that's what you like. I just thought I'd ask."

"That is very thoughtful of you, Samantha, but I have no opinion of it. I will wear what you want me to wear."

"What about..." She touched him with her toe again. "Me touching you? You're not allowed to initiate touch, are you?"

"Not unless it is required to protect you."

"Does it bother you that people can touch you whenever they want?"

"Androids are personal property. Humans are allowed to touch their property."

"But do you like it?"

"I don't have the ability to like something or have any opinion about that."

"So, if you can't like it, that means you don't like it when I touch you," Samantha concluded shrewdly.

Connor frowned a little, his look of consternation quite adorable. "Not liking and disliking are two different things."

"Are they?"

"You are very concerned with this topic."

"Moral quandaries help me pass the time."

Connor turned in his seat so he could face her better. "I have no issues with you touching me. Anywhere for any reason."

"Anywhere for any reason?" Samantha repeated. "That is some suggestive word usage."

"I want to make myself as clear as possible," Connor responded frankly.

Eyes glued on him, Samantha pushed herself up on her knees and moved close. Connor didn't so much as flinch when she cupped his face in her hands. Her eyes roved over his features in the dim light, familiarizing herself with his face. She noticed for the first time all his cute random freckles. Why would Cyberlife bother with such a thing? Her thumbs caressed his cheek bones and the android closed his eyes. Too human. Sometimes, he did things that were just too human.

Connor didn't open his eyes until she let him go and stood up.

"I'm going to bed. Got a big day tomorrow," she said before quietly padding out of the room.

Connor remained where he was, watching her go and then returning his gaze back to the snowfall, the shadow of a smile on his face.