OOF, it's been almost 3 weeks since i've updated, aiya, I hope i didn't lose some of you guys. It's mostly because I've kinda prolonged it and thennnn the pandemic hit and drowning in online college classes, currently my city is in the worst position in the USA, BUT! Governor Cuomo is doing his best so imma do my best here!
I also know right now mental health is something that is especially needed to be taken care of right now for those quarantining alongside me, and if times r tough rn for you because of the quarantine + covid 19 just please know that i believe in you and getting through these times.
We're all in this together
But for now, i also hope that this family fluff new chapter will help you guys out ʕ•́ᴥ•̀ʔっ
Also i hope you guys like the detective aspect of this story that is intertwined with the family fluff, researching a lot of engineering stuff took a huge toll especially since its through Connor's POV and he's the latest android from CyberLife (.~)/ Also to any engineers here, I apologize if some things r inaccurate, i tried to research as much as possible 3
It is a huge chapter update to help make up for all that lost time, hope you guys like it!
Also look forward to another Q&A Session!
-Tuesday Dec 14th 2038-9:45am-Detroit Central Police Station-
In all honesty, Connor half expected that they wouldn't be able to get to the station in time because of how laggy he knew Hank was in the morning. Sometimes Hank would take 30 minutes alone in choosing what to wear and sluggily put it on. With Connor's high speed processing, time felt slower to him, so sometimes it felt much longer than just 30 minutes.
He was grateful that Alina was so much more time efficient and how she quickly prepared herself in the morning compared to Hank. While waiting for Hank to rise up, he received a basic report from Captain Fowler on the case.
The human victim was a 23 year old female named Eris Smith. She lived with a PF500 android in a small one story house. So the female version of Josh's model. According to the Captain, the two were dating and girlfriends based on their social media pictures and were still on good terms at the time of the incident. At 3:08am the paramedics arrived, but apparently their carbon monoxide detectors went off as soon as they stepped into the house, so they had the android bring the victim outside for treatment.
At 3:12am, the paramedics declared Eris Smith dead at the scene. The android had been unresponsive to the police team that arrived there, and simply holed herself up in the couple's bedroom after the news of the death. The Captain was hoping that as a fellow android, she would be more responsive to Connor and that they could bring her to the station to ask more questions.
When they got to the station, they quickly dropped Alina off at their desk post and he handed over the home tablet he had prepped ahead of time, along with a set of earbuds to keep her preoccupied.
"If you need anything, Tina should be here soon, probably just at the restroom." Hank gestured to Tina's desk with the 'PO Chen' name plate. She simply nodded back, gleefully putting in the earbuds in and tapping into the device.
Connor took a quick glance at Tina's desk, noting how it was directly across from Gavin's and an unsettling feeling fell over him as he imagined Alina potentially having to be near Gavin, if the girl ever needed something from Tina. He quickly dismissed it as they approached the Captain's office though. We're in the DPD, nothing too unruly would occur here. He deemed the discomfort as illogical before opening the Captain's door and greeted the older man.
"Good morning, Captain Fowler."
"Connor," The Captain gave him a small smile and gestured for the two to sit. "Always glad to have you drag Hank here on time to the precinct." Hank took the left seat, while Connor went for the right.
"Well," Hank let out a sigh as the chair creaked from his weight. "It's one thing Connor is good at. I wish I had gotten more fucking sleep though."
The Captain chuckled back at Hank's comment and then pointed to the area behind them.
"How's the girl? Give you any trouble?"
Hank momentarily scrunched up his face before taking a look back to Alina. To Connor's delight, Alina was still at their desk and engrossed with the mechanics of the tablet and not near Gavin.
"She's good. She's a good girl." Hank paused for a moment, staring at the desk. "Got some history with a bad father apparently, so I'm a bit concerned about that. But like you said, she's pretty independent."
Alina had a bad father? I don't recall any of that in their previous night's conversation. He quickly tilted his head to Hank for more answers, but Hank's glazed look indicated that the man's mind seemed to be elsewhere still. I'm guessing it happened while I was in stasis.
"I'm glad to hear that you've made some progress on finding out more about her. Tina updated me a bit earlier saying that you three were doing well, but it's nice to hear it directly from you." The soft and gentle look the Captain had suddenly turned serious as he cupped his hands together.
"The reason I bought you two here today was to initially help question an android witness. The human homicide incident happened around 3am tonight. The human woman died due to carbon monoxide poisoning, just like in the report I sent you earlier Connor. We had hoped that by the time you guys arrived at the station, we would have coaxed the android out of the house by now to question." The Captain rubbed his face and eyes before continuing. "But unfortunately we were unsuccessful so we decided that maybe Connor can help ease her out of the crime scene as a fellow android."
Connor simply nodded back in response.
"Of course, Captain."
"Alright, alright, hold up." Hank held up his hands. "Let me settle in a bit. So we got a human killed by carbon monoxide and an android witness. Any other third parties involved? And how do we know that the android witness didn't set up any of this? I need details, Jeffrey."
"Forensics team already investigated the majority of the house and found the garage door and gas furnace flue pipe tampered with, indicating an intruder that deliberately set up the situation. As for the android and human, according to their social media the two are on good terms based on their relationship status. And the android is currently still in shock at the crime scene." The Captain then looked directly to Connor. "I've tried to preserve the carbon monoxide levels as it originally was so that you can piece together things for the investigation. Androids are not as affected by carbon monoxide, am I correct?"
"You are correct, Captain. Androids mostly used artificial respiration to help us initially integrate with humans. Thank you for preserving the crime scene with the carbon monoxide, I will make sure to put it to good use."
Connor sees that out of the corner of his eye Hank smirking to his comment.
"You and your fancy gimmicks."
"You can look more into the details that I've sent to your computer console." The Captain then waved them away. "You are dismissed."
They return to their desk, to which Hank complains about the coming headache he'll get from this new case.
As they get settled down, Connor hears bits and pieces of music leaking from Alina's earbuds. She was humming along to the tune and occasionally went a pitch higher or lower than the original song singers whenever she mumbled out slightly incorrect lyrics. Her singing wasn't too bad, if anything she was skipping over a lot of lyrics in addition to her slight mispronunciations.
"You know I'm not scared, Of the dark...I'm not running, running, running. No, I'm not afraid of the fall...Why would a start, a start ever be afraid of the dark?...I'm not scared, even from the scar~''
Connor chuckled some more as she slurred through the various lines of the 2018 song, "Scared of the Dark" by Lil Wayne and Ty Dolla Sign. It was strange how she knew the lyrics of a song and tune of a song so well even though it was made a couple years before she was born. Perhaps her parents listened to the tune often?
He turned his attention back to the computer console and hissed a bit at how the DPD chair screeched at his action. They really should have gotten better chairs here since sometimes they had to be in them for hours straight. He then interfaced with the console to open up the new case details.
[Case Number: #58901]
[Case Reference: Carbon Monoxide Homicide & Intrusion]
[Victim: Eris Smith]
[Reporting Officer: Chris Miller]
[Case Assigned to : Lt Anderson & Detective Anderson]
[Case Status: Open]
[Involving Android: Yes]
[Paramedics arrived at 3:08AM to the call of a PF500, Serendipity, about her human companion's face being grey-blue and not knowing what to do. The PF500 also told paramedics that her partner was experiencing dizziness, headache, fatigue, went to sleep and then was unresponsive. Upon arrival at the scene, the Paramedics' personal carbon monoxide detectors went off, prompting them to treat the victim outside of the house. They found that the victim did not have a pulse and performed CPR, but failed to revive the victim. The victim's body is currently being analyzed at the Forensics Department. PF500 currently still at the scene.]
[Police at the scene also found the flue pipe, garage lock, and gas furnace were damaged. Ventilation vents were also mostly sealed off in the household that allowed little air flow. Carbon Monoxide reading at time of police arrival: Living Room and Kitchen(4567 ppm), Bedroom (4550 ppm), Garage (6678 ppm).]
There was other information available too as well, such as the social media accounts of the android and human involved and other background information that he was able to quickly scan over. When he took a glance over to Hank, he found the older man still only a fourth of the way through the report details. Connor estimated that it would take about 10-15 minutes more before Hank would be done reading and they could move out to the scene.
He decided to quickly review the materials of the past android cases that were minor but still open. Some of them were about theft or robbery. Other cases that were still being resolved were about targeted assaults from humans. With androids' abilities to record in real time, finding assailants were much easier. The big problem was that with the shortage of android prosecutors compared to the past, it was hard to technically count cases as 'closed' and have victims fully press charges in court. With the integration of androids, the number of cases seem to rise everyday, even if they weren't alway big like homicides.
In a matter of seconds, Connor was able to transfer into his system all the android cases they had at hand and now he had nothing else to do. It was good that as an android he was able to have high processing speeds. But it also meant that time seemed to stretch between breaks. He liked being productive so that it fulfilled a sense of satisfaction.
He began to tap rhythmically on his table as he decided on his next move while his internal clock ticked at each passing second. He swept a quick glance around the DPD as he impatiently waited for Hank to finish up. That's when he noticed that Alina was still humming to the song he heard prior, 'Scared of the Dark'.
That's right, didn't Alina want to make some food for Hank? I could compile the grocery list right now.
Using his internal communications, he sent a text over to the tablet. He made sure to label the sender identification as him to not startle the young girl.
Connor: Hello!
The tablet buzzes and he sees Alina tapping her earbuds to pause the music before going to the messaging application icon. Upon reading the message, she looked up from her tablet and gave Connor a puzzled look.
Alina: Why are we texting when you are right next to me? (?-?)
Connor: You said you wanted to surprise Hank with dinner. So I figured we could compile a grocery list right now.
Alina: Ahhh, that makes sense. I'm planning to make fried rice. I figured it was a nice first time homemade Asian dish especially since there are a lot of Western Chinese Restaurants that serve it. What does Hank eat normally?
Connor: Hmmm. He used to stop by the Chicken Feed truck for lunch everyday for a hamburger. Though I managed to reduce it to two times a week.
Connor: Now he gets ham sandwiches and beef filled burritos in between hamburger days.
Alina: I guess I can make it beef fried rice, was considering the classic chicken at first.
Connor: I'm sure he'll enjoy it.
Alina: As for vegetables: garlic, cabbage, frozen corn, broccoli, and carrots
Connor: Hank doesn't like vegetables.
Alina: I'm well aware.（っ＾▿＾）
Connor: How so?
Alina: Because you mostly mentioned meat products.
Alina: Also, I can't imagine anyone continuously eating hamburgers everyday without that reason.
Alina: I'll make sure to put lots of beef and chop the vegetables to be super tiny and add in egg too! :D
Alina: Hmmm as for sauces + seasoning, soy sauce, fish sauce. All seasoning spice. And oil of course.
Alina: Do you have a big frying pan?
Connor: I believe so.
Alina: Well, that's all I can think of for now.
Alina: Ahh, but I'll need to go to an Asian supermarket if that is alright. Is there any open nearby?
Connor quickly searches up some Asian supermarkets and comes across "Park to Shop Supermarket and Wholesale" being the closest matching to Alina's expectations. He expects a 90% chance that its the kind that she's looking for.
Connor: Yes, I have one in mind that we can go to.
Alina: Nice! I didn't think Detroit would have a Chinatown
Alina: I was worried we wouldn't be able to find one
Connor: I was surprised myself.
Connor paused as he reflected on the conversation that just ended. It was nice talking to someone other than Hank. It was on a light topic too, such as food. Unlike talking to his coworkers, he didn't have to be professional. Hmmm, should I try those emojis too? But how should I continue this conversation? Should I continue with the food topic?
Connor: You seem to be well informed about food dishes off the top of your head. Do you know any other recipes?
Alina: Yup! Lots, I cooked for myself and mother all the time! :)
Huh, she left out her father in that mention. Should he press on and ask about her father? Or was it too soon? They only met her for a day, it's probably too sensitive of a topic to breach upon right now.
Connor: I look forward to your dish. Even though I can't eat, I'm sure it'll taste good. (*＾▽＾)／
Alina: :o :D I didn't know you used emojis too!
Connor: I'm experimenting after seeing you use them.
Alina: \ (•◡•) /
Connor: (๐॔˃̶ᗜ˂̶๐॓)
Connor: It's an interesting way of expression. Although I'm not actually crying with tears, it seemed appropriate of a response.
Alina:(๐॔˃̶ᗜ˂̶๐॓)
Alina: I know that, silly. I'm right next to you :p
He glanced up from his console and found Alina smiling with a little wave before he got another notification.
Alina: You're so funny Connor
Connor: I didn't instead for that to be a joke, but I'm glad you liked it. :)
Alina: lol
Alina: Oh yeah, if you want, I can cook for Hank on the other days too to set him to a healthier food plan other than hamburgers. I can say I'm quite proud of my expertise cooking when it comes to a healthier diet. ー( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ
Connor: That is very considerate of you. If that is no bother. I'm sure Hank won't mind.
They ended up continuously chattering about food and necessary ingredients for a while. His foreign language program also became useful when sometimes Alina couldn't think of the English word for an ingredient and typed the ingredient in Chinese instead. He wasn't sure for how long they were texting because the conversation just managed to carry him along and flowed very easily. They were midway talking about potential desserts when he heard Hank call out to him with a slightly annoyed voice but it was also laced with a bit of worry.
"Connor! Con!"
Connor quickly stepped out of his internal communication and faced Hank with a professional business smile.
"Is there something of concern, Hank?" He leaned forward and tilted his head to the side, wondering if something set off the older gruff man.
"You were blinking a lot and your LED kept spinning yellow, so I thought something was up." Hank replied back with his eyebrows furrowed together.
"I apologize if that was concerning to you." Connor used his hand to gesture to Alina. "I was texting with Alina while I was waiting for you and the conversation lasted much longer than I expected."
Hank crossed his arms and his eyes flicked between the two for a bit.
"Why didn't you guys speak out loud then?"
"It seemed unprofessional to talk about food while still in a work setting." Connor explained. "Furthermore, I've discovered the fun of expressing emotions through Emojis."
"Umm," Hank's jaw slacked a bit while his gaze was fixated on Connor. "Well, I'm glad you learned something new?" He then rubbed his hands together while getting up. "But I'm ready to go now for the crime scene." He then walked across the room over to Tina, who was now back at her desk.
"Hey Tina. Is it alright if i leave her to your care?"
The young officer grinned and eagerly nodded her head back.
"Of course, Lieutenant. And I'll have Pearson take over looking over her during my lunch break, if needed." Tina then waved her hands in the air, signaling for Alina to come over to her side. Alina promptly skidded over with the rolling DPD chair and settled in a spot next to Tina that didn't block the hallway.
Strangely, Gavin said nothing about the new adjustment. He simply grunted, kept his face down and kept his gaze to the other side of his desk that didn't have the young girl. The man also adjusted his arm, propping it up to further block a view of Alina.
Connor: If anything with Gavin happens, let me know.
Alina instantly looked up from her tablet and sent him a thumbs up sign with a gleaming smile.
Alina: Aye aye Captain
Connor: ?
Alina: :p
He simply shook his head in confusion after seeing her catchphrase and left the precinct with Hank.
When they arrived at the scene to a one story suburban-like house, Chris was there to greet them.
"Hello, Lieutenant." Chris tipped his cap and then turned to Connor with a wide smile. "And you too Connor!"
As they walked to the house doorway, Chris gave them a run down of the situation.
"Forensics mapped out some places for you two already. As the Captain told you, we tried to maintain the original Carbon Monoxide levels for Connor to analyze by leaving the door and windows shut." Chris explained. "Hank, if you want to go in, you'll have to put on this suit with a mini-oxygen tank." He pulled out the familiar yellow forensics outfit from a large black bag and placed it into Hank's care.
Chris then pointed to the house, "The Android witness is still in the bedroom. But you are free to take a look at the rest of the house while you are here." The younger officer then left to guard the holographic police line tape as there were a couple onlookers from across the street.
Upon inspecting the suit, Hank's forehead creased and his nose crinkled at the flimsy material before him.
"Hank, I'm going to have a look around first if that's alright."
"Go for it," Hank absentmindedly responded, he then lifted the suit up and glared at it. "I'll try to figure out how to put on this weird ass suit."
Connor rubbed his hands together as he felt his thirium pump beat faster at the prospect of being productive again. The first place he went to was the garage as based on the DPD report, the intruder supposedly came in through there. When he arrived at the location, he found that the wooden garage door was the sectional kind that could slide up and over. Located at the bottom middle of the garage door was a simple twist and turn handle that used a keyhole lock.
Connor bent down to the keyhole's level and laid down to get a closer lock when he noted that there were several scratches around it, most likely a human as androids are much more advanced and would be able to avoid scratching any exterior material in tampering with the lock. Furthermore, he could see millimeter small scraps of metal around the edges of the inside key mechanisms. The intruder most likely got in with the conventional picking of the lock method, if he could analyze the metal later it would be possible that they could track the manufacturing owner and go down a list of third party buyers.
What was also peculiar was that the door handle didn't have any fingerprints within the last 24 hours. He gently rested his hand on his chin while admiring the work. Not bad, limiting their traces a bit.
Connor heaves himself back up and scans around to see if there are any potential security cameras. He doesn't see any cameras, but what he does notice is that the house is fairly run down. Just like the wooden garage door, paint is chipping off the edges and some rooftop shingles seem to be nearly falling off too. Wait, something wasn't right.
He squinted and activated his more advanced eyesight abilities, zooming in on a couple of rooftop shingles that were slanted in awkward angles compared to others. There were peculiar spots on the rooftop that seemed as if too much pressure were put onto them and caused them to barely hinge on. Did the intruder also attempt to come in through the chimney? He'll need to ask for permission to later go have a look at the rooftop.
He would like to enter through the garage directly through here, but that would risk the carbon monoxide leaking out. He ends up walking back to the front door and to Connor's delight, Hank finished putting on the suit and oxygen tank. They quickly filed through the door and shut the door behind them.
He takes a quick look at Hank and a smirk escapes his lips when he sees Hank in the amusing getup. Hank was fully covered in the yellow rubbery suit, you could only see his face behind the square plastic cover. He honestly looked like a flubbery cartoon by only being in yellow, it reminded him of that old cartoon Hank talked about, 'Spongebob Squarepants'. Like starfish Patrick, only yellow.
Hank noticed Connor's reaction and huffed back, "What are you laughing about?"
"Nothing." Connor cheerfully murmured back and he turned back to the crime scene. The layout of the house seemed to be very similar to Hank's house, with the kitchen and living room connected and to the far left he can see the bathroom illuminating its blue tiled wall.
In the living room, there were a couple of main furniture pieces such as the green couch, a round coffee table, and a small flat screen TV. Littered around the walls were school pride items from Oakland Community College such as the green banners, a T-shirt, and a little teddy bear sitting on the cabinet with a tiny Oakland flag in hand.
On one of the side walls hung a framed picture of Eris and Serendipity with one of their community college buildings in the background. As per his usual protocol, his facial recognition system kicked in and automatically linked to the DPD database system.
[Eris Smith-Born 1/27/2015, Lives at 10531 Wayburn St]
[Serendipity Smith-Activated 2/03/2037, Lives at 10531 Wayburn St]
According to the files, Eris was a 2nd year student getting her Associate in Business Administration and did poorly in her first year. Serendipity was bought by Eris's family to tutor her and apparently the two fell in love around March after a month of being together. On Eris' social media page, she tagged herself as 'in a relationship' and photos flooded her page on their couple life. As far as the DPD knows, the two were still on good terms. Connor silently wondered if Eris' family and friends approved of it.
Connor took another swept around the living room. It was only when he saw Hank's suit a second time, nearly burst out in laughter and had to choke them back, did he remember that he should have taken a Carbon Monoxide reading earlier for this room.
[Initializing Carbon Monoxide Detector …]
[Living Room: 4550ppm]
"4550ppm of carbon monoxide, slightly lower than the report. Then again a couple of hours have passed." He announced out loud to Hank and then quickly stepped into the kitchen for another reading. "4548ppm for the kitchen. With this high of readings, a human could suffocate and die in about 15-20 minutes of exposure."
"4000 parts per million? I know that at 100 that shit deadly already. How the hell did so much get in here?" Hank grumbled before going to the kitchen as well and examined the spotless dinner table.
Connor checked out the rest of the kitchen, finding that all the dishes were properly washed and in their drying rack. No kitchen equipment such as bowls or pans were left out either, suggesting that the couple were settling in for the night when the incident occured. He then approached the oven and cooking stove top just as a precaution even if the report said it was a garage flue pipe link. The gas line was properly screwed on and his detectors didn't sense any increase in carbon monoxide levels from the area, so he cleared that possibility out.
"Sheesh, is it me or is it pretty hot in here?"
Connor turned back to Hank and found the older man attempting to air himself by flapping the yellow suit around his chest.
[Internal Temperature Reading: 60 Degrees Fahrenheit]
[External Body Temperature Reading: 85 Degrees Fahrenheit]
"They had the heat turned up to 85, Hank. That's probably what you are feeling."
"What the fuck, that's fucking hot." He exasperates back. "How the hell did forensics work in this condition?!"
Connor didn't say anything back to Hank's comment and simply made his way to the bathroom when out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the thermostat reading was at 70 degrees Fahrenheit. That's strange, usually thermostats would only be a few degrees off. He quickly rushed over to the spot and opened up the panel, finding that some of the wires had been tampered with and logged it into the DPD report database.
"Hank!" He called out. "The thermostat has been tampered with, I added it to the database just now. Do you want to take a look?" Connor watched as Hank begrudgingly trudge over in the yellow suit.
"You sure this ain't an android doing? Maybe the intruder was an android or had an accomplice."
"Not sure about the android accomplice part, but I know that whoever unlocked the garage door was most likely human judging by the handiwork. They also seem to have some knowledge on engineering as they chose to tamper the wires that specifically dealt with the display panel."
"Alright alright, spare me the jargon." Hank said while waving his arms. "Just check out the other rooms and let me out. I'm dying in this damn suit."
[Bathroom: 4548ppm]
Slightly lower reading than the kitchen and living room, but that was probably because of the side ventilation vent installed in the bathroom. Though, it was unusual for the ppm to still be this high if the ventilation system was working properly in normal circumstances, he'll have to investigate that too.
He then stepped into the garage with Hank right behind him. As soon as he stepped in, his carbon monoxide detector spiked up to 6634ppm. THIS was definitely deadly, a human could die within 5 minutes if they were exposed to this much.
Much like the report, the flue pipe that exhausted the carbon monoxide from the gas furnace was severely damaged, like someone smashed it from all directions. The pipe was hit in 5 random spots.
[Analyzing… ]
[6-INCH Diameter Steel Flue Pipe]
Huh, there are streaks near the bent parts though that were of a metal composite.
[2 mm Streak-Carbon Steel Composite]
So the intruder most likely knew what kind of material the flue pipe was to be able to make a dent in it. This was most likely a pre-planned attack based on everything, but for how long were they planning this and why? Why this specific method if they wanted to kill someone?
Connor then stepped over to the gas furnace, finding that some of the screws were roughly put back on, as if they were put back in a hurry. He then opened up the panel of the gas furnace to see the interior and found that the heat exchanger was cracked. Normally this occurs accidentally through stress cracks, causing clean air to mix with polluted carbon monoxide air, but these were intentional and had the same streaks with carbon-steel composition.
He also noted that the flame supervision device was tinkered as well. The device normally shuts off the gas valve to prevent carbon monoxide leaks. But whoever tinkered with the mechanics made small minor adjustments to the mechanics to cause some carbon monoxide to leak.
The 3 main components to this device were the thermocouple, electric magnetic coil within the valve, and the gas valve itself. The pilot light flame, which turned on the flame supervision device, was devilishly flickering. It confirmed that the supposed exhaust carbon monoxide air was mixing into the combustion air space and contamining the clean air that went into the heater system. The fact that the pilot light flame was still burning meant that the heat system believes it didn't hit the right temperature number, which explains the thermostat and real temperature discrepancy.
Since the pilot light flame kept going, it kept opening the thermocouple and magnetic coil, which left the gas valve open and continuously exposing the house occupants to carbon monoxide. The magnetic coil in place was also a bit bent, and using his reconstruction he could see that even if the gas furnace were to reach the desired thermostat number, the gas valve would remain partially open from the tampered magnetic coil.
He felt a chill go down his spine at all the handiwork, whoever did this meticulously planned every element so that carbon monoxide would build up in the household and set aside precautions. Perhaps even the ventilation system was compromised and that's why the rooftop shingles were left in awkward positions. But getting up to the rooftop evidence would have to be a problem for another time to properly preserve the crime scene, the DPD don't normally hold equipment for scaling up houses.
He should probably check up on Serendipity at this point and measure the ppm in their bedroom as well. When he comes back to the main house, Hank is still checking out the garage.
After identifying the bedroom, Connor gently knocks before entering and finds the woman android sitting on the ground next to a grey queen size bed. The blue haired girl had her knees up to her chest, hands tightly wound around herself. Her head was buried into her knees with her curly hair covering any possible facial expression.
He slowly approached the girl until he was about 1 feet away and knelt down to one knee.
"Hello, my name is Connor. I'm with the Detroit Police Department." He used a soft and light tone while introducing himself to not startle the girl. She simply looked up, revealing a human-like face that resembled someone in their twenties. She then quickly backed up upon seeing him, only to bang into the brown dressing drawer behind her.
Connor decided to back up a bit to give her some room before speaking again, "What's your name?"
This should be a good start to interact, should he have started with her name she might have been frightened even further.
"Serendipity." The girl responded back, almost like a whisper.
"Serendipity," He repeated back softly, trying to think of how to continue the conversation. "It's a beautiful name."
"It was," She replied back before tears started pouring down her face. "She said that I was the best thing that happened to her, so that's why she named me that."
Connor quickly became alarmed, not sure how to console her as the girl's cries and sniffles became louder. Her entire body was shaking, and while she attempted to wipe away the tears, her arms were shuddering that they just smeared her tears around her face.
"I-I loved her so much," She choked out in between her onslaught of sobs. "I-I didn't know what to do when she didn't respond."
All Connor could do was listen, he wasn't sure of the right way to approach this. Hank would be better at this. He simply sat there, panicking as her stress levels hung dangerously around 95% when he first spoke to her. However, as time passed and the crying continued, strangely her stress levels slowly decreased so he simply said nothing as he watched for any changes in developing.
"I am … sorry for your loss." He finally muttered out after about 3 minutes of silence.
She merely nodded back while her bottom lip quivered and her shoulders drooped down some more.
"I'm not sure how to comfort you," He disclosed softly with a pause. "But what I can tell you is that I'll do everything in my power to find the perpetrator."
His thirium pump beat rapidly and rammed in his chest as he awaited her reaction, hoping that it was the right thing to say.
She gave him a tight-lipped smile back and nodded solemnly at his comment, "Thank you."
She then trained her eyes on the wooden floor as the hiccups started to subside and her flushed face steadily returned to normal.
"Are you feeling much better now?" Connor asked, going a little closer now that she seemed to have trusted him.
She nodded a 'yes' back to him, "Y-Yes, I'm sorry you had to see me like that. I-I'm just…" She briefly let her head hang down as she fumbled out the next set of words. "I still can't believe Eris is gone."
"Can you tell me what happened?" He inquired.
"I can show you," Serendipity retracted her skin showing the white behind. "Though everything feels a bit fuzzy right now."
Connor quickly retracted his skin and interfaced, immediately lurching backing and nearly losing his balance as he was faced was a wave of emotions. Sadness, grief, pain … SO much PAIN, as if the emotions were originally embedded in his own coding. He swallowed deeply and sucked in a deep breath as the memories transferred over and all the feelings Serendipity had in the experiences washed over him.
Ṯ̷̤̹̲̲̎́́͋̐h̵̢̧͚͈̫͇͇̭̮̊́͑͝ě̸̞̩̼̙̦̌͋̆̚ͅ ̵̣͇̩̖̺̗̘̖̀̍̌̋̀͗̓͝ͅn̵̝̲̖̘͍̭̤͕̠̍̆̋̉̂̓̆̓̐ȧ̷̼͚̟̫̥̾͆̾̈̿́̋̌ͅm̵̧͙̖̅͑ȩ̵͉̳̠̙̣̞͉̍́͗ ̸̩̹͉͉̝͕̰͛̓͒̄i̴̥͛͌́ş̵͇̖͍͈͑̊̿͘ͅͅ ̵̢̖̿̏̋̇̑̈́̚E̷͔̣͈̚ͅr̶̗͈̙̬̲̣̭̮̟̾̽͒̇̍̕͝ͅí̵̛̟s̶̨̺͚̣̪͚͌̽͒̀̀͘͘͜͝.̸̨̳̦͉̜̪̜̖̹̄̂̎̈́̚ ̵̠̻̠̲̠̟̾͘ͅͅJ̸̢͉̯̳̘̤͍̯͕̱͂u̴̜̻̗̗̙͙͋s̸̢̪͇̬͕̓̇͐̐̒͑̌̚ͅt̸̲͕̓̀͊̂̂̅͠͠ ̸̛̗͍͛̒̈́d̴̹̜̩̲̺̻̤̍͋̑̃͜͠o̸̝̬͕͉͉͂͋́̊ṋ̴̡͇̘͌́̓͌̾̿͘͝'̶̞̩͋̉͑͝t̶̗̲̎̔̆͋̀͛̊̔ ̵͓̩̠̣̄͒̄́̕̚f̶͔̠̰̯̦̖̦͛ű̴͚͕̱̫͈̠̘̹̮͐ç̴͍̣͎̋̎̔͋̓̽̓͘̚͠k̸̻̰̹͉̒̎̾̓ì̶͈̒͌̋́̃͛̏͆͝ñ̴͚̬̕g̸̙̟̜̽ ̴̡̙͑̒͊́͛̑͠͝͝m̶̢͚͓̭̪̬̗̭̞̤̔͐̅̈̿͝é̸̱͉̔̆̿̐̕̚͜͠ͅs̷̨͉̦̞̻̳̣̦̺̍́͊̆̈́͗s̷̛̞͇͔̦̖̲̎̅̓̅̇͠ ̵̧̨̻̦̮͈͋w̵͇̲̩͊̈́i̷͍͔̩̣̭̰̟͙̚t̸͖̮̍́̏͠ḩ̶̟̙͎͍̉̇̏͘͝ ̸̥̲̗̖̈́̈̏̎̚m̴̨̳͙̱̟̼͓̪̥̻͒͝ȇ̷̢̨̥̖͚̮̞̲̮̑͑̉.̶͇̳̻͇̼͖̋̔̐̅̏̌̓̉
Their first meet. N-No, Eris and Serendipity's first time meeting.
Į̷͔͖̲̙̝̳́͆͛̈́̽̄̽̈́̂ ̴̨̨̳͔̦̣̹̰̝̋̒͐̃͗̓͠ļ̴̫͉͓̟̺̹͚̮̒͆͋́̈́̓̇͛̔ȏ̷̝̩̀ͅͅv̶̩̟̫̪̚ê̸̥͋̓͗̏͑̇͘͠ ̴̞͓̙͎̳̱̮̙̗́̌͊̒͛̾̾͘͘ͅẙ̶̹̩̆́͑̇̿͐̆̕̚͜o̴̖͔͇̠̳̤͇̼͑͒̐͑͒̇̚ų̸͇̾͛̓̏̑̐̓͗̇͆.̸̨̡͇̱̹̤͈̄̐́̍͊͛͛͑̚͜͝
Flashes of their love confession.
E̶̡̹̲͇͎͎͙͚̳̎͠ȑ̸͔̭̀̅̈́͜ͅi̶͕͎͛͛̃̎̌̌̎̚s̶̨͋̍!̶̹̒͂̂͛̀̃́ͅ ̵̙͊͂͆̅W̶̨̙̝̩̗̺̬̭̑̾̓͛̚h̵̨̯̩̀a̷̩̲̽͒̆͋̉ṫ̷̟̣̮̪͕̘̙̰̓̿̈́͌́͌͝ͅ'̸̛͓̈́́̈̽̈́̀͛́s̸̡̧̯̗̟͇̺͂̿͛͑ ̷̨̡̛̤̮͘w̸͕̓͌͗͒͑͂͐r̸̛̗̭̮͙̝̭͕̗̅͑̊̎̉o̴̡̧̞͉̤̽͒̑̚ņ̵͙͗̎̉̾̎̊̀̕͜͠͠g̶̳̒͜?̸̡̲̹̩̮͝!̶̡͓̳͚͍̳̫̺͝ͅͅ ̴̨̳̲̗̯͔͚̋͒̕Ẻ̵̝̮͉͔̒͊̉͘R̷̡̘̣͎͚͖͋̀͂̏̈́̀̂͝Ḭ̵̺͍̇̒̋͜Ş̴̣͉͚̯̤̞̰̟͐̂́̿̅̕̚̚͠͝
And then it's finally the memory from yesterday night. It was a normal day, they had stayed at a friend's house party until about 2am. They had taken a taxi home and Eris was really tired from the party, but still starving apparently so Serendipity made some dinner for her. While making late night food, Eris complained of feeling dizzy and getting a headache. Serendipity thought it was because they had a long day out outing with their friends. She simply advised Eris to eat some of dinner and then get some rest. But by the time Serendipity finished cooking, Eris ate one bite of dinner and said that her head hurt too much so she was just going to call it a night.
At 2:48am, Serendipity had finished washing the dishes and watching Netflix and decided to go into stasis as well. But when she went into bed she found that Eris' face was grey-blue like and tried to wake her up but Eris was unresponsive so Serendipity called paramedics. Only to find out that Eris had died in her sleep and paramedics failed to revive her girlfriend.
Once he finished the interface and skin returned to normal, Connor staggered back and felt Hank's familiar grip catch him from behind.
"Woah there, son. You alright?" Hank gave him a concerned look and didn't let go till Connor reassured him.
"Y-Yes, interfacing is just overwhelming sometimes," He said, taking in several breaths as he processed everything that just happened. He let his mind settle down some, his LED taking a couple of seconds to go from red back to blue. He still had a question in mind that he wanted to ask.
"Did you not notice that the temperature was unnaturally high? Most deviants have temperature sensors I believe."
"No," She stammered back, wide eyed. "Eris usually puts the temperature up really high so I turn off my temperature sensors and readings so that I don't complain to her about the heat. My sensors only go off if the temperature goes dangerously low or too high. At most Eris usually has it around 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and it's a bit uncomfortable but not alarming."
"I see," He thought about what they could do next. "Would it be alright if you come to the station with us? That way we can ask more about Eris' relationship history and perhaps find a perpetrator."
Serendipity nervously shuffled her feet and hands, "How well does the DPD deal with android witnesses?"
Connor understood that feeling all too well when he was integrated back into the force. The fear clouding your mind and sending your biocomponents into overdrive wondering if humans would accept you. He was lucky though, for the most part a majority of his co-workers welcomed and appreciated his arrival.
"There is no need to worry. I'll be overseeing the questioning process if that helps to alleviate your fears. Furthermore, Markus also has gained the cooperation of the DPD and actively works to help out in some cases." He said, trying to dispel any fears.
Serendipity then finally got up from the ground, accidentally knocking over something on the corner of the dresser top. She bent over to the ground to pick up a tiny black box, and curiously looked at it.
"That's strange, I don't recall something like this before." She opened it up, gasping with her hand clasped over a mouth as tears started coming down her face once more. She took something out of the box, revealing a small but gleaming ring. There was a gentle, serene green jewel on it.
Serene green, also known as the color 'Serendipity'.
"It looks like an engagement ring." Hank said out loud in awe as they all stared at the glimmering gem.
Serendipity whimpered out as gut-wrenching sobs escaped from her once more while she examined the ring. Her legs gave out from under her and she trembled before whispering, "I love you too." She held the ring firmly to her chest as if trying to hug it and press the memory of Eris to herself.
"We'll be outside whenever you're ready." He told the girl and the two Andersons left the scene quietly after he took a quick carbon monoxide measurement.
Once they were out of the house they informed Chris of the new status of the situation, Hank took off the suit and they patiently waited in the car for Serendipity.
While in the car seat, he heard Hank let out a big sigh.
"I know that I asked you this already, but are you sure you're alright son?"
Connor tilted his head in confusion to Hank's question, "Why do you ask that? And yes I am doing fine."
"Because your arm is shaking." Following Hank's eyeline, he found that his left arm was indeed shaking without his notice and he quickly stopped it with his right hand. Only it continued and that only increased his stress levels from 15% to 33%.
"I, I don't know why it's shaking Hank." He said back, the panic raising in his voice.
[Stress Levels . . . 55%]
Hank flashed a concerned look to Connor and took off his coat, gingerly wrapping it around Connor's figure.
Much to Connor's bewilderment, his stress levels decreased at the gesture and he pulled the coat tightly around him. He felt much warmer, safer, and secure under Hank's coat even if it did smell a little like booze. It felt . . . comforting.
"Sometimes cases can be emotionally taxing and you said it before, that when you interface you feel everything that of other androids." Hank wrapped an arm around Connor's right arm and pulled Connor to him. "I can't imagine having to feel the full brunt of emotions in mere seconds. Especially from someone who just lost a loved one. Just take it easy, alright?"
The older man patted Connor on the back some more and Connor watched as his stress levels went down to 10%.
"Hank?
"Hm?"
"Thank you."
"Ahhh, Connor. Don't you go to puppy eyes mode."
So! That concludes this chapter! I hope you liked the the detective aspect, as I am looking at my pages count rn, damnnn I'm at page 15, and word count says 7k (0-0) Also has a weird format compared to ao3 with emojis, so somethigs turned out a bit weird and i had to compromise with emoticons, not sure how they look here
Welp, I apologize if any grammar happened or the quality went down a bit. Swamped with college online classes but i hopeed to still get a chapter up
Also detroit evolution came out! Please check tht out on utube, its a 75 minute Reed900 fan made film that im going to try to watch this weekend
Stay safe u guys and here is this week's q & a!
Hmmm, I guess the question is have you tried out the 3 ingredient dolgano coffee that has been spicying the internet around? I have yet to try it, but i'm working on learning new dishes to make while im stuck at home. How are you guys with cooking? XD i'm still an amateur home cook. And what is your favorite homemade dish? whether its by you or a family member