It was early in the morning and Connor was at the scene of a reported deviant found shutdown in his own apartment under mysterious circumstances. The deviant victim in question had been reported missing by his human friend after failing to arrive for his shift at his designated facility that same morning, and a wellness check by the landlord had resulted in finding the missing deviant dead and alone in the middle of his livingroom. The initial investigation concluded that the shutdown was the end result of an apparent suicide as there was no sign of a break-in or a struggle. However, the deviant had also shown no previous signs of self destructive tendencies in the past and made the notion of suicide very implausible.
Expertly Connor examined the victim laying on his back on the livingroom floor via cybernetic scan. The apartment itself was rather bare compared to most apartments in the city; only one couch in the livingroom, one table in the kitchen with one chair tucked underneath, the bedroom had a single small bed and the bathroom had only a hand towel on the rack on the wall.
"I think it's safe to say this guy lived alone." Chris noted as he crossed his arms over his chest and checked each room for himself. He had been the one who had initially arrived at the scene and decided to request some backup. Since it was Hank's day off it was Connor who agreed to work the case for a modest consultant's fee. "I get some pretty strong bachelor vibes from him. Did you find anything?"
"The deviant's name is registered as 'Raymond'; model 'XP-700'. He was employed at the Android Emergency Care Facility on West Avenue, the 'Omega Facility'." Connor confirmed the details as he scanned the deviant's face and successfully identified him. "No history of violent or erratic behavior. Impeccable record of attendance at the facility where he had been employed. No known enemies, no known technical anomalies and he was not in a romantic relationship."
"He must not have had guests over all that much." Chris observed as he rejoined Connor in the livingroom after touring the small apartment. "Or at least not human guests. Can't say that I blame him."
"Androids don't require the usual human necessities of furnishings or hygienic products." Connor stated logically as he pressed his fingertips to the dead deviant's right temple where the L.E.D. had once resided. The blank right temple was common in most deviants post Revolution. "This is quite common accommodations for deviants living outside of New Jericho Tower."
Crouching down beside Connor on the floor Chris carefully watched as Connor attempted to access the dead deviant's system. "Did that help you learn anything?"
"Negative. I could not access his memory." Sounding distraught Connor replied honestly and retracted his hand. "But I did faintly detect an abnormality in his software."
"Like a glitch, software error or some kind of computer virus?"
"Correct. It will require further analysis to determine if this is the cause of-" Connor's suddenly shot to his feet as he closed his eyes as he winced in pain. "I... I..."
Taking immediate notice of Connor's discomfort Chris studied the deviant's body language very closely. "Are you all right, Detective?"
"Y-Yes." Forcing his eyes to open Connor steadied his voice as his system recalibrated. "My firewall overreacted to the anomaly detected in the deviant's software. I'm fine, Detective Miller."
"Are you sure about that?" After reading up on android and deviant behavior Chris was suddenly more worried about any potential problems that weren't immediately visible in deviants. "You look like you took a pretty serious shock or something."
"I'm all right."
Needing peace of mind Chris asked for simple request while keeping his voice low around the other officers at the scene. "Can you run a self diagnostic?"
Without any resistance Connor humored the question and closed his eyes again as he performed the diagnostic. "...All systems are operating at full capacity. I assure you, that I'm fine."
"Okay." Chris accepted the answer and looked down at the dead deviant on the floor. "What shoulder we do with the body? There was no sign of foul play or a suicide, and we can't just chalk it up as a murder unless we have some evidence to back it up."
"I recommend having the body transported to the Omega Facility in which he had been employed. The technicians will have full access to his systems on record and can perform an apportionment to determine the cause of his shutdown."
"All right, I'll call it in. And thanks for coming out here, man." Pulling his phone from his pocket Chris gave Connor a casual shrug of his shoulders. "The Lieutenant has the day off and Tina called off with a nasty migraine, so..."
"It's all right, I don't mind." Connor responded humbly as he decided it was time to head back to the brownstone. He had done all that he could at the crime scene and had no reason to linger since he wasn't an official member of the precinct's roster. "I'm glad I was able to help in some capacity."
As he turned to head toward the apartment door Connor visibly flinched in pain again, his right hand reaching up to his temple in process. As if anticipating great pain Connor resisted the urge to press his fingertips against the site of the pain to avoid any further questions. Unfortunately, Chris was proving that his skills as a detective were as sharp as any other more experienced detective, and he saw what Connor was doing.
"Are you sure that you're okay?" Chris noticed the pain that Connor was trying to deny and dared to press him on the matter. "You seem like you have a headache or something." It was then he remembered why Tina had called off sick that day and empathized with Connor's plight. "Do androids get migraines?"
Lowering his hand Connor tried to reassure Chris that he hadn't suffered any form of malfunction. "No damage or errors had been detected in my self diagnostic. I'm entirely okay."
Chris wasn't convinced by the deviant's words as Connor's body language told him an opposite story. Knowing his doubt was visible in his own body language Chris silently gave Connor a skeptical glance.
"I'm going to return to the brownstone." Connor stated as he continued toward the door that had been lined with holographic police tape. "Please call me if you need any additional assistance."
"Yeah, sure, man." Pressing his phone to his ear Chris waved Connor off as the deviant exited the apartment. "I'll let you know how the case ends."
As per usual when the weather was particularly foul, Connor used an autonomous taxi to take him back the brownstone. Soon Connor sat bored at the traffic light waiting for it to turn from red to green and contemplated telling Lucas about the case while his brother was at the tower. While waiting for the light to shift in color Connor began to twitch a little in his seat as if becoming restless or was very uncomfortable for an unseen reason. In response, Connor pressed his fingertips to his right temple where he had felt pain earlier. It was then Connor closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat as if compelled to relax. Soon his eyes began rolling back and forth under his eyelids rapidly like a human in the depths of an intense R.E.M. sleep cycle.
Connor's soulful brown eyes suddenly snapped open as quickly as they closed, and he took in deep, quick breaths. He was unsure of what had just happened, and he ran another self diagnostic to try to identify what kind of episode he had just experienced. Everything was dark for a moment until an incoming call pulled him back into the waking world.
...Incoming Call: Henry "Hank" Lucas Anderson]
...Accept Call? [Y/N]
Focusing on the cybernetic call Connor accepted it and tried to sound entirely stable despite what he had just experienced. "H-Hello, Lieutenant."
'Uh, hey, son.' It was evident that Hank had picked up on Connor's distressed tone and needed to ask about it despite the nature of the call revolving around the case that he and Chris had worked on at the apartment. 'Chris told me about you helping him with a weird deviant death. I thought you'd like an update, but it sounds like you're dealing with something else right now.'
"S-Self healing program kicked in unexpectedly." The trembling in the young deviant's voice was almost as unsettling as the previous twitching. The taxi began moving forward again as Connor's second self diagnostic came back and gave him some form of explanation for what he had just experienced. "I-It was trying to repair non-existent damage and my system became temporarily overwhelmed."
'Are you sick again?'
"N-No. It's fine." Taking in a deep breath Connor managed to calm himself back down and recovery from the odd glitch. "I'm already recovering. What do you know of the case? Detective Miller claimed that today was your day off."
'It is, but I told Chris that if ever needs some help with deviant cases he can turn to me. He was worried that since the deviant at the scene died from unknown reasons that you may have been affected by some kind of bug that could hurt you, too.'
"I appreciate his concern, but my self diagnostic hasn't detected any anomaly in my system. What of the case?"
'Oh, uh, the lead technician at that other facility is going to be running every test he can on your victim's system. They also said that they agree that it's unlikely that the victim self destructed or anything like that.'
"Interesting..."
'Can I ask what made your self healing thing suddenly kick on?'
"It was most likely the result of my firewall responding to the code of the shutdown deviant after I connected to him."
'"Most likely", huh?' Hank hated that non-answer and gently pushed for more details. 'But nothing definite?'
"I will continue to run self diagnostics hourly to ensure there isn't an underlying condition that my system can't otherwise detect."
'I still think you need to see a technician or at least let Lucas check you over.'
"I'll be fine." The notion of being examined and prodded over by technicians, even his own brother, wasn't something Connor was eager to experience again. "If I experience any further issues, I'll inform Lucas or report to the Zeta Facility. You don't have to worry about me."
'All right...' Still unconvinced Hank decided to let the matter drop for the moment as Connor's stubbornness always outlasted his own persistence. 'If you say so, son. I'll let Chris know you're still involved with the case, and I'll make sure Fowler knows to keep paying you your usual hourly rate.'
"Right, thanks."
As the call ended Connor slumped back in his seat and rubbed the heels of his palms against his suddenly sensitive and tired eyes. The notion of experiencing yet another issue, whether it be a glitch, error or virus, was enough to frustrate Connor on a level he hadn't anticipated. It was like his body was beginning to breakdown on him over time, and even the upgrades to his system weren't enough to remove the complications that came from being a prototype.
Ignoring the lingering and chronic pain in his head to the best of his ability, Connor exited the cab to step into the merciless heat for a moment, and then entered his brownstone all while feeling terrible. Awaiting a report on the cause of shutdown for the deviant in the apartment wasn't helping his headache since it meant he couldn't stop thinking about the case. The mysterious cause of the deviant's shutdown was more alluring to Connor than his own system going haywire at the moment.
It didn't take long for Bruno to take notice of his guardian's unusual behavior once the deviant detective set foot inside the study. The attentive and loyal K-9 unit picked up on Connor's distress and sat down at Connor's feet once Connor finished locking the door and hanging his gray blazer on the hook by the front door.
Quickly Bruno set up a cybernetic link with Connor to communicate with him. 'Connor is sick.'
"I'm not sick." Rubbing Bruno's ears Connor denied his discomfort as he walked around the dog and proceeded to lay down over the nearest sofa. Being still made him feel better and Connor attributed the lack of motion as a major contributing factor for the pain in his head mercifully lessening. "I believe I am suffering from a simple headache. That's all."
Bruno walked over to the sofa and pressed his chin down on Connor's outstretched arm. 'Can Bruno help?'
"No, my headache will pass over time."
'Did Connor solve the case?'
"Not quite." Draping his arm over his eyes Connor tried to block out as much natural sunlight as possible to keep his headache to a minimum. "The deviant victim needs to undergo an apportionment at a facility before we'll know what happened to him. Until then, I'll stay here and wait for an update from Detective Miller."
'Does Lucas know Connor has a headache?'
"It's not a serious issue." Patting the sofa cushion alongside himself, Connor invited Bruno up to lay down with him. "I just need to enter rest mode and allow my system to properly recalibrate."
Whimpering a little Bruno hopped up and laid down on his stomach and rested his chin down on his outstretched front paws as he laid beside Connor. 'Bruno will watch over Connor.'
Placing his hand on Bruno's back Connor patted the loyal dog and settled in for a short rest mode to try to ease his headache. "Thanks, boy."
It was seemingly business as usual at the Central Precinct on that summer day, but every seasoned detective and officer knew to never assume that everything would remain typical from start to finish. It was getting hotter as July neared August, and soon people would start getting into fists fights in public due to the frustration of being too hot and being too close to a random stranger in a small space. As the years went on the random outbursts became less and less frequent, but even so, every first responder knew to remain on alert in the event one person threw a punch at the wrong target. All it took was one bad day to turn a peaceful moment into a riot in the streets as impatience often brought out the worst in even the best people.
The deviant found dead in his apartment was seemingly the most interesting case of the day, as everyone was asking Chris if he had any updates yet. The young detective attributed the apparent suicide without it actually being a suicide was akin to the intrigue of the famous "locked room" mysteries from classic novels. Happy to have some help Chris was willing to let anyone who wanted to help out chip in with their own theories on the matter at hand.
"Do androids have life insurance policies?" Gavin asked as he rubbed an icy cold water bottle along the back of his neck. He had just finished his patrol that ended with him helping a little old lady locate her missing cat and pulling it out of a tree. Being out in the sun and climbing through the overgrown property had left him thoroughly exhausted and in need of a little break. "Maybe the guy had a secret lover who needed some quick cash, so he took himself out to give them a big payday once the company accepts the claim."
"Androids don't have to worry about insurance premiums just yet. They just barely got the rights to rent or own property."
"All right, there goes theory one."
"What about theory number two?"
"The guy was a spy."
"Whaaat?" Chris stared incredulously at Gavin as he sipped his water and took in a deep breath to cool down faster. "You think that one random deviant was a spy? Like a secret agent?"
"Yeah. Perfect cover!"
"Spy for who and why would they even be spying on?"
"I dunno'. Maybe he was spying on the humans and reporting back to that New Jericho place."
"You know, I would expect to hear such a fantastic theory from Tina, but you?"
"Surprised I have an imagination?"
"No, it's more like I'm disappointed you'd suggest something without any evidence. Especially since it sounds a little big idiotic or even bigoted."
Scoffing at the remark Gavin finished his water and tossed the empty bottle in the recycling bin under his desk. "You've been a detective for how many months, and I've been a detective for how many years? Don't get a big head over there."
"I'm not getting an ego; I'm just pointing out the obvious."
"Ever hear of Occam's razor?" Gavin countered with a snide tone. "Sometimes the most obvious solution is the correct solution."
"Yeah, and I know that if I hear hoofbeats to look for horses not zebras." Chris gave Gavin a knowing look as he refused to indulge on the secret spy theory and continued to look at the little details that had been gathered while waiting for the apportionment report from the Omega Facility. "And I think you and Tina watched too many old spy movies when you two were roommates."
"Like that's a bad thing." Interlacing his fingers together Gavin pressed his hands to the back of his somewhat sweaty hair and sighed tiredly as he kicked back in his chair with his feet propped up on his desk. "What about internal sabotage? The vic' worked at the same facility where they're doing their autopsy on him, and maybe you're not getting any update is because the killer is-"
Ben patted his hand on Gavin's shoulder as he joined in on the conversation. "The butler was the killer the whole time. And he used the kitchen knife to stab the victim in the back and left the body in the library to be discovered by the maid, because the victim was the secret bastard son of the King of England and was going to ascend to the throne before his secret evil twin could poison the kingdom's water supply."
Chris started chuckling as he opened a newly delivered e-mail on his terminal. "At least that idea doesn't involve and spy or secret missions." Reading over the e-mail from the Omega Facility, Chris let out a sigh through his nose as he shook his head somberly. "The apportionment has been finished. The victim died from being infected by malware that scrambled his intracranial processor."
"Boring." Gavin remarked as he leaned forward again and rose to his feet. "I'm gonna' go take a quick shower and change into less sweaty clothes. If anything interesting happens let me know."
"Yeah, sure." Taking Gavin's now vacated seat Ben sat down and craned his neck a little to peer over the desk to look at Chris's terminal screen. "Have any other cases you need to take care of? My team's processing a murder-suicide downtown and I'm not exactly eager to sift through the details."
"Right now, I just have this case to deal with, but I might need a little help with the report."
"How's that?"
"I've been brushing up on my android terminology and everything, but I'm still not sure how to file a report about malware killing a deviant."
"Can't help ya' there." Despite his years of experience as an investigator Ben was still able to admit that he didn't always have all the answers. "I pay my nephews to keep my own laptop from crapping out on me, so I'm useless with android jargon."
"Does the Lieutenant know anything about it?"
"He'll know more than me, but not by much."
"Damn." Reaching for his phone Chris dialed Connor's number and gave Ben a somewhat sheepish look. "Guess we'll have to let Captain Fowler know that Connor's getting bonus consulting hours today."
The dark abyss of rest mode had been disturbed by odd dreams revolving around errors, scrambled red code and strange sounds of static that forced the deviant detective to wake up sooner than he had planned. As he made a move to press his palm to the side of his still aching head Connor felt Bruno's paw on his shoulder and heard the dog letting out a worried and excited whimper. Opening his eyes slowly Connor immediately winced as even the low lighting in the study was enough to make his sensitive vision momentarily blank out with a flash of blinding whiteness mixed with gray and red static. Using his hand to protect his eyes, Connor sat upright slowly and tried to understand what was happening.
Blindly Connor reached for Bruno and soon realized something was different. The loyal K-9 unit was right beside him and yet Connor could hear the little 'ticks' of Bruno's nails nervously pawing at the hardwood floor. Lowering his opposite hand Connor pressed down expecting to feel the soft leather of the sofa beneath himself, but instead he felt the same hardwood floor that was under Bruno's paws.
"B-Bruno?" Opening his eyes again Connor forced himself to remove his palm and glance about the study. Sure enough, the deviant detective found himself on the floor between the sofa and coffee table with no knowledge of how he managed to get off the furniture and onto the floor in his sleep. "What... happened?"
'Connor fell.'
"But... how?"
'Error.'
"An error?" Connor struggled to figure out what was going on and tried to initiate another self diagnostic. The program refused to engage properly and in return Connor's head amplified to an agonizing level. "Agh... Fuck. That hurts."
Bruno pressed his cold nose against Connor's neck and whimpered again. 'Connor needs help.'
"Y-You may be correct."
...Incoming Call: Detective Chris Edwin Miller]
...Accept Call? [Y/N]
Grateful for the distraction from his headache Connor quickly answered the incoming call after forcing his voice to stabilize. "...Hello, Detective Miller."
'Hey, man.' Polite as always Chris addressed Connor in an upbeat tone. 'I hate to ask for your help again, but I'm a little stumped here.'
"...H-How can I help you?" Hating that even inside his own head that his voice was shaking, Connor took in a deep breath and pushed through his pain as he pushed himself upright from the floor to sit down on the sofa again. "Has there been an update on the victim's cause of shutdown?"
'There was, and that's what has me stumped. I have the report from the facility right on my screen, but I'm struggling with figuring out exactly what happened to the victim. Think you can help me understand this message so I don't make any mistakes with the report?'
"...Yes." As much as Connor wanted to stay at the brownstone and suffer in dark silence, he couldn't turn his back on a detective in need. "I'll be there soon."
'Thanks, Connor. I owe you one!'
Ending the call Connor lifted his head and regretted the motion instantly. Everything was making his head hurt and the inability to run a self diagnostic was making him feel even worse. The undue strain on his processor was enough to cause pain to repeatedly flare up like a red hot burn right behind his eyes.
"I'm... I'm going to take a cab to the precinct."
Bruno whimpered again and pressed both of his paws on Connor's legs as if to hold him down. 'Connor is sick.'
"I'll be okay..."
'Bruno doesn't think so.'
Rubbing Bruno's chin lightly, Connor sighed and slowly stood upright and gently pushed Bruno's paws off of his lap. He needed to finish the case, otherwise he'd end up enduring another restless sleep due to the burning curiosity of what had happened that day plaguing his mind all night long.
"I'll go to the precinct and return to the brownstone right after the case is properly closed so I can rest properly."
Whining in protest Bruno could only follow his guardian to the front door as Connor sluggishly made his way through the front door and out into the intense summer heat again. Through the nearby window Bruno was able to push aside the curtain with his nose and watch as Connor made his way over to the recently hailed autonomous cab and sat down in the backseat to ride out to the precinct.
The loyal K-9 unit had become very attuned to Connor's behavior and knew that something was very wrong.
It didn't take long for Gavin to finish his shower and feel much better after he rinsed off his sticky sweat and change into a clean uniform. As he slipped his clean dark purple t-shirt on over his head, he caught a glimpse of Abby's photo glowing brightly in the digital photo frame mounted on the inside of his locker door and the image made him immediately smile. Despite their hasty marriage and unexpected, but very welcome, surprise on the way, he had no regrets regarding everything that led to the big moment when he realized that he at long last had found the person who'd make his heart finally feel whole. All of the horrible past relationships that were abusive, manipulative, full of lies or tied to cheating, somehow seemed worth it now that he had a woman he truly loved in his life.
Sitting down on the bench in front of his opened locker Gavin pulled his phone from his pocket and used his fingertip to scroll through the other images saved on the digital frame one by one. The sight of Abby, her latest ultrasound, their wedding photo of just the two of them with Tina as Gavin's "best maid" and Barry as Abby's "man of honor" to act as their witnesses, were enough to make him laugh and then worry about Tina being sick that day.
Taking in a deep breath Gavin checked through his contacts and highlighted Tina's name before pressing 'dial'. Mentally preparing himself for any quips about developing a paternal instinct by checking in with his absentee partner, Gavin continued to eye the photos and tried to imagine how full the frame would get once his and Abby's baby had been born.
"Hey, Ti'." Speaking in a low voice to keep Tina's migraine from aching and to avoid any potential eavesdropping, Gavin chatted with his best friend and honorary kid sister for his own sense of comfort. "How's your head?"
'...Remember that I day I told you about when the Lieutenant found me puking my guts out in the locker room?'
"That bad, huh?"
'...I'm actually missing that day."
"Damn. Anything I can do to help you out?"
'If you can bring over a guillotine to separate my head from my neck, I'd be very grateful.'
"Too messy and too much paperwork. How about I drop off some medicine and an order of nachos from the 'Chorus Bar & Grill'? Will that make you feel better?"
'Believe it or not, this a problem that even nachos can't solve.'
"Maybe you should go to the hospital. It sounds like you could be dying."
'Now you sound like Lance.'
Recognizing the name as Tina's most recent beau, Gavin found a smooth way to ask her if he was treating her right without sounding like an overprotective big brother. "Is Lance worthy of your adoration?"
'He earned it when he came over to my apartment on that fateful, puke-filled day, and not only held my hair back when I puked again, but he made me some of the best vegetable soup I've ever had, and he made it all from scratch. Anyone who can still kiss you after seeing how much you can puke is someone worth sticking with. I think I may have found my other half at long last.'
"That's great to hear, but take my advice: You should never try to write poetry for a living."
'Funny. How's the precinct holding up without me?'
"We're fine. Don't worry about feeling shitty about missing work when you're already feeling shitty from a migraine." Closing his locker door quietly Gavin went on his way toward the locker room door to head back to the bullpen. He didn't want to be away from his desk for too long. "The day's slow and nothing interesting is happening. Feel better and come to work tomorrow."
'I'll do my best. And be sure to bring those nachos to Abby so she can taste the cheesy magic on my behalf.'
"That's a deal. See ya' later, Ti'."
Ending the call Gavin moved his contact list to the name of Abby, his beloved new wife, and called her next as he slowly made his way back to the brownstone. He loved having someone to call every day and being able to hear their voice knowing it'd make his heart flutter with excitement.
"Hey, babe." Stopping outside the locker room door, Gavin loitered in the corridor and turned to keep his back presented to over people so he could hide his smile from anyone who might pass him by. "How's work?"
'Boring.' Abby's voice conveyed her mood perfectly. 'Want to hear about my swollen ankles?'
"Later. Need me to draw you a nice hot bath tonight?"
'You are a smooth-talker, don't ever stop. Anything happening at the precinct?'
"Just a little old lady losing her cat, and a deviant being taken down by some malware thing. Hey, uh," now curious about that particular cause of death Gavin decided to ask his wife about her technical knowledge regarding malware and deviant androids. "do you know anything about that? Malware, I mean."
'I know a few things, but it's all a case by case basis. No infected deviants were brough to my facility today, so do you know where the victim is by chance?'
"Off the record..." Gavin began walking toward the bullpen again as he spoke with Abby. He couldn't help but feel as if Chris's case wasn't over just yet. "The victim didn't make it. He was examined at one of the other facilities and they sent a report here to the precinct."
'Were any androids in close contact to the victim who isn't immediately working at that particular facility?'
"No, we don't have any- Wait a minute..." As he set foot inside the bullpen Gavin saw Connor hovering around Chris's desk and suddenly felt his mouth go dry with a sense of dread. "Connor helped out at the scene. I'm pretty sure Chris said something about Connor checking the victim's system himself."
'Okay, listen to me carefully. Find Connor and-'
"He's here right now."
'All right, then hang up, contact your precinct technician and have them check Connor's system, NOW. Call me back later.'
"You got it, babe. I'm on it!"
Hanging up his phone Gavin pocketed the device as he hastily approached Chris's desk and eyed Connor warily as he reached for the precinct phone sitting idle next to Chris's hand. As he dialed for help from the second floor dispensary, Gavin ignored the odd glances from both Chris and Connor as he focused on what he had been told by Abby over the phone.
Connor was standing upright with his eyes still glassy with pain and watching Gavin frantically dialing for help from the tech department. The deviant was unsure of the precinct's protocol but didn't have time to question anything as a dark red error message graced his visual processors and static filled his ears. As Connor felt the throbbing of his headache suddenly intensify, his body began to twitch violently causing him to lose his balance and slowly fall backward.
"Uh, Gavin?" Chris pulled his hands back from his keyboard and tried to figure out what the other detective was up to. "What's going on?"
"I was talking to Abby, and-" Mid sentence Gavin noticed that the very deviant he was trying to help was beginning to show signs of a problem he was doing his best to prevent. "Shit!"
Chris followed Gavin's wide-eyed gaze over to Connor standing to his right and reacted quickly when he saw Connor suddenly falling backward in a limp heap. Getting his palm under Connor's head before the deviant hit the ground, Chris laid Connor flat on the ground then quickly put his palms on Connor's shoulders as the deviant's body suddenly began to violently spasm against Connor's will.
"Just get down here, now!" Gavin nearly shouted into the phone as he relayed the situation to the dispensary. "We got a deviant in the bullpen having a seizure or some shit!"
The commotion had caught Captain Fowler's attention and prompted the commanding officer to exit his office and oversee the situation himself. Moving swiftly, he directed Gavin to help him move back Chris's desk to give the seizing deviant more room to flail about in order to keep Connor from accidentally breaking a limb while in the throes of his convulsions.
Supporting the deviant under his hands without causing any harm to Connor's neck or his head, Chris just waited for the fit to pass. The violent tremors throughout Connor's body began to lessen and then slow. Mercifully after two minutes the seizing finally stopped, and Connor became unnervingly still on the floor under Chris's grip.
"Connor?" Gavin called the deviant's name as he tilted Connor's head back and to the side as he repositioned the deviant's arms and his legs into that of the recovery position on the floor. It was an instinctive reaction and one that Gavin had no idea if it be of any benefit to the deviant. "Can you hear me? Open your eyes."
The glitching deviant didn't respond to Chris or Gavin's voices.
"Come on, 'Tinman'. Wake up!"
Lightly Gavin turned Connor's head slightly and leaned his ear down so he could listen for any breaths to ensure that Connor's airway wasn't constricted, then looped his fingertips around Connor's wrist to check his pulse. By all account Connor was able to breathe normally and his pulse was stable which were both a good sign, and Gavin was very glad he started paying attention to android anatomy - specifically the two androids who were now consultants at the precinct - and had an idea of what to do until real help arrived.
"Just open your eyes for a second, that's all we ask."
Slowly Connor's soulful brown eyes opened into half lidded slits and stared blankly ahead as they failed to focus on anything. The deviant's body was entirely limp as his system remained plagued with an unknown error that prevented him from moving, speaking or even breathing.
"That's good, keep your eyes open for us. Help's on the way."
A few more tense minutes passed before Joel arrived in the bullpen to aid the downed deviant. Chris and Gavin had been kneeling beside Connor during that entire waiting period to keep an eye on him, while Captain Fowler kept other personnel back and used his personal phone to report the incident to the higher-ups. Connor was barely conscious and responsive during the wait, but his eyes never fully closed. As soon as Joel crossed the bullpen the three detectives watched as the dedicated technician with his emergency repair satchel slung over his shoulder set to work.
"How long did the seizure last?" Joel asked as he knelt on the other side of Connor beside his chest and opened his satchel as he dropped it on the floor beside his leg. Opening the top of the gray denim bag he fished out his audioscope and waited for an answer. "Or at least give me a rough idea how long it lasted."
Gavin's eyes widened again as he backed off a little more to give Joel plenty of room to work. "So, it was a seizure?"
"Sort of." He admitted as he set up his laptop next and powered it up. It acted as both a diagnostic modem and a portable Thirial activity monitor in the event of emergencies. "How long?"
Chris found his voice as he finally took his hands off Connor's shoulders since the deviant was no longer seizing. "About two minutes."
"Good, that means the malware hasn't caused any permanent damage."
"Permanent?" That word immediately put Chris on his guard. He was the one who asked for Connor's help that day and felt fully responsible for what was happening to the deviant. "What the hell is going on?"
"That deviant case from earlier is still going on." Calmly Joel placed the earbuds of the audioscope in place before he pressed the bell against Connor's chest to listen to the deviant's thundering heart. After a quick listen he answered Chris's question with full honesty. "That deviant who had been found dead this morning had died from the same malware infection that's now rampaging through Connor's system." Setting aside the audioscope he motioned for Chris or Gavin to roll Connor from his side and onto his back. "It was passed on to Connor when he made contact with the dead deviant's programming this morning."
"Son of-" The revelation made Gavin tense as the full gravity of the situation just hit him, while Chris stood up and stepped back with needless guilt. "Where did the malware come from?"
"Unknown." Joel admitted as he connected a cable to his laptop and the opposite end of the same cable to Connor's right temple producing an image of Connor's vital signs on the laptop's screen. The vital signs were followed by a second window showing massive lines of impressive code. "We're still trying to figure out where it came from, but at least we know how to remove it before any other androids fall victim. At least the more advance models that is. Any model above 'AX-600' is currently at risk. Connor is the most advanced prototype ever created, so he was just a walking bullseye for this type of infection."
Connor's soulful brown eyes managed to blink slowly while Joel set about removing the malware from his system with a hastily programmed patch. Too tired and in too much pain, Connor didn't dare to try to move or even speak.
"Why didn't his system let him know about the infection?" Gavin asked as he watched Joel isolate the contaminated code for proper isolation and repair. "Don't androids have ways to check their own systems and have their own healing programs?"
"They do." Joel confirmed as he assessed Connor's vital signs and watched as his patch isolated the malware and began removing it from Connor's system without affecting his other programs or functions. "The issue is malware can be pretty damn hard to detect once it slips through a firewall. And if the self diagnostic doesn't detect anything passing through the firewall then it won't be able to isolate the infection, and subsequently the self healing program won't be able to remove it. Besides, further inspection has determined that the malware is designed specifically to disrupt the self healing program, which means it can't be removed by the affected androids without secondary intervention."
"But your little upload there can fix it?"
"That's the plan." The laidback technician confirmed as he watched Connor's chest slowly rise and then fall as he finally took in a deep breath. "Looks like it's working. Fortunately, the malware's existence was made known through all facilities and precincts in the city, so technicians could work on the patch and get it functional as quickly as possible."
"Yeah, good timing on that one."
Captain Fowler was satisfied that everything was under control and decided to let Joel take care of the scene. "Dr. Forrest, is he going to all right?"
"So far so good, sir."
"And is this thing, whatever it is, contagious or a threat to the precinct?"
"No, sir. The malware is only transferable by direct contact from one deviant to another, or one deviant to a computer." As he spoke Joel pressed his palm Since Connor doesn't have any clearance within the precinct, he couldn't have possibly transferred the malware to any modems or databanks."
"Do a check of everything in the precinct anyway as a precaution," he ordered as he walked back to his private office. "then give me a report."
"Will do." Joel looked away from Captain Fowler and pressed his hand down against Connor's chest and typed a few commands into the laptop with the other hand. Keeping his voice level the kind technician addressed the infected deviant under his care. "Connor, you're going to enter rest mode for a moment and your system is going to fully reboot. It'll only take a few seconds to complete."
Chris held his breath as he watched Connor's eyes fully close slowly and his ventilation slow back as he entered rest mode quickly. "Joel?"
"That's to be expected." Checking his laptop for confirmation on the successful elimination of the malware, Joel nodded at Chris and kept his hand on Connor's chest to monitor his heartbeat and breathing under his palm. "Try talking to him to wake him up."
"Uh, Connor?" Almost timidly Chris called the deviant's name as he stared at the sight of the deviant's chest finally moving again. "Hey, can you hear us?"
...SELF DIAGNOTIC: [Engaged]
...LOADING INFORMATION:
REGISTERED NAME: "Connor Wolf"
MODEL: RK-800
SERIAL NUMBER: 313 248 317 - 51
ACTIVATION DATE: August 15th, 2039
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6' 00.24"; 162.2 lbs
COMPLEXION: Caucasian
AESTHETIC GENDER: Male
HAIR/EYES: Brunette; Brown
ASSIGNMENT: *Assist Detective Miller at Detroit Central Precinct
ASSOCIATION(S): *Private Detective; Consultant with New Jericho Tower; Consultant with Henry "Hank" Anderson of Detroit Central Precinct
BOOTING PROCESSORS...
LOADING OS...
SYSTEM INITIALIZATION...
-CHECKING BIOCOMPONENTS... OK]
-INITIALIZING BIOSENSORS... OK]
-INITIALIZING AI ENGINE... OK]
-MEMORY STATUS... ERROR]
[...Data corruption detected]
-INITIATING DATA RECOVERY MODE
READY...
[...Thirium Volume - 93.1%]
[...Thirium Pressure - 120/80]
[...Thirium Pump Rate - 62 B.P.M.]
[...Ventilation Rate - 12 V.P.M.]
[...Core Temperature - 100.1 Degrees Fahrenheit]
-STRESS LEVELS: ^30%
-SYSTEM READY... OK]
Brown irises finally returned as Connor regained consciousness, his system rebooting fully and correctly. "...I'm okay." Connor tried to sit upright on the floor, but Gavin reached out and put his hand down against Connor's shoulder to hold him in place. "I-I can move." His voice was shaking but otherwise sounded normal. "I am unharmed."
"Yeah, well," Gavin nodded at Joel as he pulled his hand back. "just wait for the technician to make that official be you go anywhere."
"He's good." Joel carefully unclipped the cable from Connor's right temple and turned off the laptop. Pulling a penlight from the satchel he clicked it on and moved his hand from Connor's chest to Connor's eyelids. "How do you feel?" Shining the light in Connor's pupils one at a time Joel checked him for any further distress or injury after being afflicted by the seizure. "Any pain or dizziness?"
"I f-feel... normal." It was still a struggle to speak clearly but it was not impossible. "My h-headache has lessened considerably as well."
"Do you remember what happened?"
"I remember... arriving at the precinct to assist Detective Miller with his report," Connor recounted correctly as he looked up at Chris and saw that the young detective looked thoroughly shaken a few feet away. "I do not remember how I ended up on the floor."
Joel gave Connor an uneasy grin as he packed up his laptop and audioscope into his satchel. "You were affected by some malware that caused your system to react with violent physical tremors when rudimentary programs connected to your self healing program activated."
"That explains the headache every time I ran a self diagnostic, and why I woke up on the floor of my study after entering rest mode on my sofa. I had a seizure and fell to the floor."
Gavin just shook his head with a sense of confusion. "Glad you understood what he just said." Politely Gavin offered the deviant his hand and pulled him up from the floor steadily to get back onto his feet. "Need a ride to your place? I don't mind."
"No." Pressing his hand to the side of his head Connor blinked a few times as if he needed to clear his vision when in reality his gyroscope was just recalibrating and made him feel a little dizzy now that he was back on his feet. The dizzy spell quickly faded and Connor regained his composure within seconds. "...The entirety of the malware had been successfully deleted from my system. "
"Good. One task done and just one more to go before I can clock-out this evening." Joel slung his satchel back over his shoulder and got to his feet casually. "I'll be in touch up in the dispensary just in case we learn anything new about the malware. I've been discussing the case with the Omega Facility and other technicians, and right now we suspect the first victim suffered from a misplaced update corrupting his system."
"Noted." Connor looked down at himself and smoothed out his vest to remove any sign of dust or dirt from his clothing. "Thank you for your assistance, Dr. Forrest."
"No problem, always glad to help."
Gavin took in a deep breath to calm himself back down and pulled his phone from his pocket again. "I gotta' go make a phone call. Glad you're not dead, 'Tinman'."
"...Likewise." Unsure of Gavin's unusually empathetic comment toward his own existence Connor decided it'd be best to not ask too many questions as Gavin walked away, and to focus on why he was in the precinct to begin with. Glancing over at Chris who was still looking nervous Connor addressed the young detective in a warm voice. "Detective Miller, are you all right?"
"Y-Yeah, I... I was just thinking." Admitting that he was a little distracted Chris looked over at Connor and gave him a somber glance. "I asked for your help because I didn't have the confidence to handle the case on my own, and you being a good guy and helping me out almost got you killed. I'm sorry. This never should've happened."
"Don't blame yourself for what happened to me. The malware couldn't be detected until it was too late, and you had no idea that anything malicious would happen to me in any capacity." Making a move to comfort the young detective Connor lightly put his palm to Chris's shoulder, a kind gesture that Connor himself often appreciated when he was distressed, and he offered Chris words of comfort. "You did everything right. It was the person who created the malware who is in the wrong."
"That doesn't change the fact that you still got hurt."
"That is true, no words can undo time or facts." That was a face that Connor struggled to accept himself. "But it also doesn't mean you have to feel guilty for what had happened. It wasn't in your control, and therefore it isn't your fault."
Feeling better by the kind words Chris finally managed to relax and gave Connor a small nod. "...Thanks."
"We'll finish your report and I'll be sure to rest at my brownstone to ensure any and all traces of the malware and its behavior has been thoroughly removed from my operating system."
"Yeah, okay." Working with Connor beside him Chris was able to slide his desk back into place so they could finally get back to work. "I can only imagine how worried your brother will be when he finds out what happened to you today."
"'Worried' is a fact I cannot even attempt to deny." Joining Chris at his terminal Connor proceeded to help the young detective decipher the more technical jargon for android terminology and schematics. He trusted that Chris will be a skilled detective and a fantastic lead for the deviant division, but he did need a little more experience under his belt in order to reach such an accomplishment. "I suspect that Lucas is going to want to know everything that happened with our victim to ensure that other deviants and ourselves do not become infected."
"Then let's make sure we get all of our facts straight and have all the evidence we need to close this case properly." Chris replied in a professional manner as he hovered his hands over his keyboard again. "This poor Raymond guy deserves to have a proper service after he was shut down, too."
The impressive amount of respect that Chris was showing toward the deviant victim gave Connor the confidence he needed to know that his faith in Chris wasn't misplaced. There was officially one more good, honest and dedicated detective looking out for the deviant community that could be thoroughly trusted.
"New Jericho will be sure to take care of Raymond and show him the proper respect he deserves." Connor promised as he cybernetically began relaying the case and information over to his colleagues at the tower. "That's the least anyone can do for anyone who's tragically lost their life under any circumstances."
-next chapter-
