NOV 6TH, 2038
AM 12:41:04
AM 12:41:05
Detroit Police Department
Observation Room
The only sound was from the Lieutenant questioning the silent Deviant.
"Why d'you kill him?" Hank questioned, his voice being heard clearly despite of being in the other room. The Deviant remained silent, handcuffed at the table. Connor and Cora stood in the observation room alongside a police detective they scanned immediately as Reed, Gavin when they entered the room. "What happened before you took that knife?" The Androids were watching calmly while Hank faced the defective Android as he was more curious about them than he let on. Currently, the deviant wasn't any closer to confess. Hank looked toward the one way mirror briefly with a bit of a look before continuing the interrogation. "How long were ya in the attic?" the question didn't even make the deviant raise its head, still remaining utterly silent. Hank leaned forward, and despite his annoyance, his next question had a tinge of curiosity. "Why didn't you even try to run away?" Silence. Hank waved a hand in front of its face, clearly becoming aggravated at its silence, flickering his fingers in front of its face, not getting any sort of reaction, leaning back, sending to the one way mirror an annoyed look before slamming his hands on the table "Say something, goddamnit!" he waited momentarily to see if his violence would be threatening enough. It wasn't. With another aggravated sigh, he stood, "Fuck it, I'm outta here"
Hank walked out, almost slamming the interrogation door shut.
Cora's eyes remained in the deviant, still processing their interaction in the attic.
Why did it try to convince it to not say anything, to go against its programming?
Cora hadn't really shared with Connor that bit of information. It didn't know why, considering they were partners and they had to trust each other. Cora wasn't certain yet. It couldn't share when the information was inconclusive right?
It didn't know why the Deviant behaved that way and so without an actual deduction from Cora, it couldn't send the information to Connor either.
It's musings were interrupted by Detective Reed, causing a brief whirl of yellow in its LED, blinking slightly to focus.
Connor, at its side sent Cora a questionable look, glancing at the now blue LED on its partner.
Cora wasn't receptive of the glance, confused itself about the trail of thought it wasn't supposed to have.
"'Could always try roughing it up a little" Reed spoke, dismissively "After all, it's not human"
Ah, correcting humans. What a way to focus back on the investigation, "Androids don't feel pain" Cora politely said to the detective. "You would only damage it and that wouldn't make it talk"
Reed sent its way a scowl to which Connor began to talk, getting the detective's attention to itself instead of its partner.
"Deviants also have a tendency to self-destruct when they're in stressful situations" Connor said.
/\ Software instability
It's partner had dealt before with humans petty tempers for sure, why did Connor had to redirect their spiteful glares from its way to itself?
Cora had also blinked slightly as if surprised, a small arrow with both, Connor's status breach and the rare software instability label appeared in a text box just in the corner of Cora's eye.
Reed scoffed, "Okay, smartasses" he began approaching the Androids, a mocking annoyed and curious expression in his face. "What should we do then?"
"We could try questioning it" Cora replied, lowering its eyes to the floor as if shyly suggesting that.
Connor watched curiously, the corner of its lips twitching slightly.
/\ Cora
It seemed Cora's suggestion was amusing enough for the detective who let out a bark of a laugh but the Androids didn't pay attention to him, instead looking toward Hank.
Hank glanced between the two of them and the freaky similarities between the two.
"What do we have to lose?" Hank waved a lazy hand. The least he could do after the Androids found the killer. Give them a chance "Go ahead, suspect's all yours"
With a victorious little smile - or as much as they could smile, anyway -, Connor and Cora made their way outside the observation room.
Connor stopped before the door, glancing at its partner. "You should go in first" Cora lifted slightly it's eyebrows. "You had contact with the Deviant first. It may feel at ease with a familiar face"
The way Connor remarked the word feel was obviously how skeptical it was about Androids being able to experience emotions.
With a slight nod, Cora fixed the lapels of its jacket before pressing a hand in the door scanner, skin peeling away briefly to hack the door to open it.
Immediately, Cora walked in, followed by Connor walking behind it but stopping at the wall, hands behind its back as Cora approached the Deviant, now able to scan properly as it didn't have the opportunity to do so in the attic.
./EXTRACT CONFESSION
Despite of already knowing everything it was there to know about the case, Cora still opened the file in front of the deviant in the metal table it was cuffed to, sliding off the crime photographs, keeping an eye on its reactions through the corner of its eye.
The Deviant didn't even look at the photographs.
Cora untucked the chair in front of the deviant, taking a seat, staring at it. Cora had two options, start interrogating or analyze the Android first.
It needed to know everything about the deviant to know what exactly caused the software errors. After all that was the reason it was designed for in the first place.
[Scan] Processing LED...
Signs of software instability
Probability of self-destruction: Low
It's LED had turned yellow the moment Cora and Connor walked into the room as if more comfortable with Androids than humans, despite of these two androids being on their side and one of them turned it in.
[Scan] MODEL HK400 - HOUSEKEEPER
Manufacture Date: 05/29/2030
Property of: Carlos Ortiz
[Scan] BURN MARKS
Repeated marking over 16 months
Caused by cigarettes
[Scan] DRIED BLOOD
DNA analysis: ORTIZ, Carlos
Sample date: 19 days
[Scan] HIT MARKS
Non critical damage Level 2
Caused by baseball bat
INTERROGATE
./REACH OPTIMAL STRESS FOR CONFESSION
Stress levels: 35%
Now, having more data from the deviant to detect what caused the software errors, Cora had to decide the type of approach to get a confession.
Due to the fact its stimulation of fear was high, Cora decided being harsh right away would simply get its stress to reach critical levels enough to self destruct. It had to find a different approach. It had to start slow.
"I detect an instability in your program" Cora broke the silent so suddenly. It tried to find its gaze, even leaning down its head to catch the deviant's gaze "It can trigger an unpleasant feeling, like fear in humans" unsuccessful, it straightened up, tapping the table in a slow rhythmical sense. It noticed the action made it flinch, stopping briefly in curiosity. It picked up the tapping seeing the stress level increase 2%. Cora stopped the action, instead using that hand to slid the file closer to the deviant, turning it to the Deviant. "You recognize him? It's Carlos Ortiz" Cora didn't wait for a response, continuing the question considering the Deviant hadn't communicated with anyone in the DPD after being apprehended in the attic. It lifted a photo from the victim in front of the deviant's face "Stabbed, 28 times" it put it down, sliding it away before picking another photo from the stack, showing another photo with the bloody writing of the wall, "That was written on the wall in his blood"
It expected the Android would have at least made a comment but still it got nothing.
/\ stress levels: 40%
Too low
Cora lowered the image, resting its back on the chair, processing what other approach to take, feeling Connor walk closer, tilting it's head aside, one of the strands framing aesthetically the sides of its face brushing past its cheek. LED settling on blue again.
"You're damaged" Cora noted quietly. /\ 43% "Did your owner do that? Did he beat you?" Nothing. There was a slight twitch on Cora's eyebrows but smoothed it right after, as if there wasn't any sign of frustration the interrogation was going nowhere. "My name is Cora. This is my partner Connor. What about you, what's your name?"
Silence.
Connor settled a hand in Cora's shoulder as if reassuringly. Cora's LED flickered slightly at the action as Connor leaned forward, one hand resting on the metal table, head tilting aside as if to meet the deviant's face.
"You're accused of murder" Connor reminded, voice soft but scolding. "You know you're not allowed to endanger human life under any circumstances. Do you have anything to say in your defense?"
There was a glare in Connor's face, all the opposite of its partner. Clearly they were about to take a good cop/bad cop tactic.
/\ Stress levels: 47%
Too low
"You don't seem to understand the situation" Connor again spoke, straightening up, dropping its hands to its sides as it began to pace while Cora remained sitting, blankly staring at the Deviant. "You killed a human. They'll tear you apart if you don't say something"
Even after the small threat, the deviant didn't say anything else, the only reaction they were getting was its stress levels raising another few percentage.
Cora let out a soft sigh, catching Connor's attention, letting it continue. "We are here to help you" voice coming out soft, eyebrows furrowing together in what humans may classify a sympathetic expression, using its hand to gesture at Connor then at itself as if that would help the deviant understand better "But you've got to trust us" It paused momentarily, "All we want is to get you out of here"
\/ Stress levels: 43%
Too Low
With that, the Deviant finally snapped its head up but it didn't make Cora nor Connor flinch as the deviant first glanced at the one way mirror before at Cora, practically ignoring Connor. It only made Cora straighten on the chair.
"What..." It began breathlessly, despite the fact Androids didn't need to actually breathe. Voice shaky. Probably a malfunction on its voice regulator. "What are they gonna do to me?" it gave them both a moment to answer, first staring at Cora with utter and genuine fear before up at Connor. The Androids briefly hesitated in answering, their predictability module running to find a response. The Deviant looked back at Cora, staring into its brown eyes intently "They're gonna destroy me, aren't they?"
"They're going to disassemble you to look for problems in your biocomponents" Connor answered, sounding matter of fact, making the Deviant shake its head, still its eyes locked on Cora. /\ 51% "They have no choice if they want to understand what happened"
The breathing pattern began to raise, staring at the detective Android in front of it, the expression on its face was one of pure fear. "Why did you tell them you found me?" There was grief on its voice as if it couldn't understand why Cora wasn't on its side "Why couldn't you just have left me there?"
Again with that. Cora's LED cycled yellow momentarily because it seemed the Deviant was betrayed Cora did that to it.
It's not like Cora had another choice, right?
"I was programmed to hunt deviants like you" Cora replied, LED going back to cycle blue. There was no more doubt. Cora was a machine with a designed purpose. "I just accomplished my mission"
The cold truth was laid on the table. The Deviant turned its eyes downcast.
Cora felt discomfort throughout the biocomponents in its stomach, running through a scan, biocomponents functioning at 100%. There was nothing wrong, yet Cora indeed had a moment of something functioning incorrectly.
"I don't wanna die" the deviant murmured, scared.
"Then talk to us" Connor said, leaning down to the deviant.
"I..." The deviant shook slightly, voice dragged and it's breathing pattern messed up. Why was it breathing that way? To prevent its system from overheating by cooling off? "...I can't"
Cora and Connor exchanged another look.
They weren't getting anywhere else. They had to be bad cop and bad cop.
Connor's lips almost lifted on a smirk as Cora dragged its chair back abruptly, standing up, slamming it's hand in front of the deviant making it jump as Cora leaned down, invading the deviant's personal space. "28 stab wounds!" the warmth no longer in its voice, the change could give someone whiplash. Connor simply lift the corner of its lips as if... Proud of Cora. Stress levels, /\ 60%. They were getting there "You didn't want to leave him a chance, huh? Did you feel anger?" Cora walked around the table, getting closer and closer to the know shrinking deviant. "Hate? He was bleeding, begging you for mercy, but you stabbed him, again and again and again!"
/\ Stress levels: 70%
The Deviant cowered down, as if Cora was going to strike at any point. "Please, please leave me alone..."
Connor leaned on the other side of the deviant, both him and its partner caging the deviant, voice coming out cold and hard, a hand resting on the back of the deviant's chair. "We know you killed him. Why don't you say it?"
The stress levels were now passing the optimal stress, going up 80%. "Please, please stop"
"Just say 'I killed him!'." Cora insisted, coldly, "Is it that hard to say?!"
Cora was a bit taken back by the fluid starting to run down its cheeks, /\ 90% "Stop it, stop!"
Connor didn't notice, raising its voice, "JUST SAY YOU KILLED HIM! JUST SAY IT!"
"Please" the deviant begged, shaking and crying. LED a bright red, "Please, leave me alone"
Stress levels: 98%
Probability of self destruction:
TOO HIGH
Cora stood, leaning back, raising its hands, as if apologetically. Connor followed its partners' lead, turning away. Their actions seemingly so human that if it weren't for their LEDs and their uniforms, they could pass as actual humans by the way they acted.
"All right" Cora conceded some relief. The distance between them and the deviant seemed to lower its stress. \/ 80%, still too high "Alright. Everything is going to be okay"
Connor seemed to sigh as well, now taking the chair its partner occupied while Cora kept its back on them as if frustrated, but Cora was simply staring at the wall, LED cycling blue twice.
"I understand how you felt" Connor began softly, now its turn to be the good cop. "You were overcome by anger and frustration. No one can blame you for what happened"
\/ Stress levels: 58%
Optimal
"Okay, then, don't talk" Connor leaned back on the chair, raising its hands to its shoulders level, letting them fall to its sides, feeling Cora walk closer to its side, looking down at them "Why do we care, after all?" it looked up at Cora, gesturing at the deviant to Cora as if they were communicating something between the two of them. Cora simply shrugged its shoulders, carelessly. "I mean, we're not the ones accused of murder"
It was still odd the way the way they were acting, as if they were actual humans.
It made the deviant slowly glance up. /\ 62%.
Cora nudged Connor slightly.
Connor's LED flickered in acknowledgment.
You go.
Connor sent wirelessly to its partner.
"Confess and we'll protect you" Cora said, a tinge of actual sincerity there in its voice. For a moment, Cora thought lying this way was unpleasant. Here the deviant was all scared and defenseless and they were taking advantage of it. Immediately, the thoughts were discarded by its software, reminding it of its mission. Right. The mission. It didn't matter the way they got it. It only mattered they accomplished it. "I promise we won't let anyone hurt you"
There was a moment of silence.
Cora turned around as if to leave, Connor starting to stand up when something surprising stopped them.
"He tortured me every day..." it was the deviant, starting to talk, it's voice so low that their audio processors barely picked upon it, raising the sensitivity of them to a 15%. Connor sat back down, and once Cora was back next to Connor, the deviant continued. "I did whatever he told me, but there was always something wrong... Then one day... He took a bat and started hitting me... For the first time, I felt-" the deviant stopped for a long moment causing both Connor and Cora lean forward with what humans called anticipation. "Scared"
Scared?
Impossible. Androids weren't capable of feeling that way. Or feeling at all, period.
The detectives' LEDs cycled slightly in thought.
Androids don't feel at all.
But why does it seem like this one do?
It's defective, Cora. It's not human... Despite how much it's acting like one.
So, Connor was also confused and curious about this deviant. It was just not Cora.
"Scared he might destroy me, scared I might die..." The deviant continued its confession, unaware of their wireless communication, because there was no indication they were communicating, simply looking at him relaxed and calm. "So I... grabbed the knife and I stabbed him in the stomach... I felt better... so I stabbed him again and again!.. until he collapsed" there was a long pause, a shuddering breath passing through the deviant's lips, finishing its confession with a low pained murmur before going silent, "There was blood everywhere"
"Why did you write 'I AM ALIVE' on the wall?" Connor asked, genuinely curious. It didn't look like the bad cop from earlier, the curiosity seemed a better look on him, the deviant thought briefly.
"He used to tell me I was nothing" It lifted its head to Connor to meet its brown eyes, so similar to the Android girl it had to wonder if they were created as siblings. "That I was just a piece of plastic... I had to write it... To tell him he was wrong"
"The sculpture in the bathroom, you made it, right?" Cora spoke next, catching the Deviant's attention. Yes. In fact the curiosity seemed a better look on them. It's stress levels weren't as high anymore. "What does it represent?"
They had to get as many questions as possible while the deviant was in a chatty mood.
They had to know what they could about deviants.
"It's an offering" the deviant answered, lifting its head, as if they'd understand. "An offering so I'll be saved"
Cora narrowed its eyes, "An offering to whom?"
The deviant locked its eyes on the androids in front of it. "To rA9..." It's voice lowered slightly "Only rA9 can save us"
rA9.
The non Deviants scrunched their noses in confusion. They didn't understand what that meant, in fact nothing of what the deviant was saying made sense to them.
"rA9" Connor repeated. "What does it mean?"
"The day shall come when we will no longer be slaves" the Deviant spoke as if rA9 was a savior, someone to help them "No more threats, no more humiliation... We will... be... the masters"
A God, maybe? Cora glanced down at Connor.
Connor frowned, LED cycling yellow. It makes sense.
But, Androids aren't able to feel, let alone believe in a superior being like a 'God'. How is it possible it does?
The deviant looked between them, now being able to pick on their confusion.
"Who is rA9?" Cora asked. They had to know. The curiosity guided Cora to pick the approach. It was simply curiosity.
The deviant had been cooperating with their questions so far so it was a bit surprising and disappointing when it didn't answer this one. It simply kept its lips closed.
Okay then. Back to the case.
"Why did you hide in the attic instead of running away?" Cora asked.
The Deviant sighed, eyes downcast, "I didn't know what to do... " It looked up at them "For the first time, there was no one there to tell me... I was scared... So I hid"
"When did you start feeling emotion?" Connor asked.
The deviant lowered its eyes momentarily, "Before, he used to beat me and I never said anything..." it seemed to chock slightly, Cora tilting it's head aside before the deviant continued, as if stabilizing itself "But one day I realized it wasn't ...fair" the detective androids exchanged a brief look. Fairness? Now deviants were able to feel that? "I felt anger ... Hatred. And then I knew what I had to do"
./CONFESSION OBTAINED
Connor stood, looking toward the mirror. "We're done"
Cora kept its eyes on the deviant who was now shaking in its seat again, noticing they were going to leave it alone with the humans.
"Let's go" Connor murmured at its partner when it passed next to it, noticing Cora wasn't moving.
The next objective flashed in front of Cora, hiding the deviant from view.
./LEAVE INTERROGATION ROOM
Cora gave the deviant a slight smile, unsure as to why but seeing it made the shaking decrease slightly alongside 2% of its stress levels made it worth it.
/\ Software instability
Immediately, at the label, Cora turned around to leave, seeing Connor already opening the door, Detective Reed and another officer walking in.
"Chris, lock it up" Reed commanded.
The officer, Chris walked further into the room, walking past Cora who went to Connor's side, reaching the deviant to do as he was told.
Chris unlocked the handcuffs, "All right, let's go" he murmured to the android, reaching out to its arm.
The deviant suddenly jerked away, fearful again, "Leave me alone!" it's eyes were locked in table, voice shaky and full of fear, LED flickering red, /\ Stress levels, 68%. "Don't touch me!"
Connor and Cora watched the scene, now noticing the Lieutenant stand at their side, noticing the Android's stress levels increasing while Chris tried to grab its arm.
"The fuck are you doing?" Reed snapped toward a now shaken up Chris, stalking closer to the table "Move it!"
Chris didn't seem to want to hurt the android, having heard as well its confession but he needed to do his job, "Okay, come now" he glanced down at the Android whose LED was flickering a dangerously red color, getting a bit desperate "Don't be difficult, it'll only make things harder!"
Cora's lips pursed, immediately approaches appeared in its sight.
- GIVE UP
- INTERVIENE
Cora promised the deviant it wouldn't let anyone hurt it, seeing Chris and Reed yell over it while it's stress levels reached critical levels made something stir within Cora.
It promised.
It had been a lie at first to get its trust. It had done it before with that deviant at the mall. It shouldn't make its systems to stir up by the way the deviant begged and cried. Cora shouldn't want to help it.
However...
"You shouldn't touch it" Cora stepped forward slightly, voice breaking through the arguing. Connor snapped its eyes toward Cora. What was it doing? "It'll self-destruct if it feels threatened"
Reed sneered at Cora. /\ Stress levels 73% "Stay outta this, got it? No fuckin' android is gonna tell me what to do"
No.
Connor's LED flickered, picking up easily the new approach that appeared in its sight, prompted when Cora intervened. "You don't understand" Connor now walked forward, unknowingly stepping a bit in front of Cora, "If it self-destructs, we won't get anything out of it!"
/\ Cora
Cora was a bit surprised Connor took its side in intervening. It made a small turn up of its lips subconsciously, something Hank noticed.
Reed scoffed pointing at Connor now, "Shut your fuckin' mouth" he turned to the officer. "Chris, gonna move this asshole or what?"
Chris looked panicked, glancing at the shrank and shaking Android "I'm trying!"
Cora lifted its chin, walking closer, around the deviant, pulling Chris away harshly from the deviant, standing in front of it, protecting the deviant. "I can't let you do that" Cora sent a determined but calm look at Chris, unmoving from its place "Please back away, Officer"
Cora noticed the slight increase on its status with the Lieutenant but didn't dare looking his way, staring at the officers trying to grab the cowering Android behind itself.
Reed pulled out its gun, pointing at Cora. "I warned you, motherfucker!"
Connor didn't realize it's LED turned red, watching its partner be held at gunpoint, but remained calm and unbothered, despite the discomfort it felt through some of its biocomponents. Cora's LED cycled yellow at the sight of the gun, but didn't move away.
"That's enough" Hank called out, annoyed.
"Mind your own business, Hank" Reed didn't take his eyes from the android being ballsy enough to defy him, hating its calmness and how at ease it seemed at being threatened.
Annoyed, Hank pulled out his own gun to Reed, "I said "That's enough"."
Reed looked taken back Hank was defending a stupid tin can. He hesitated as if about to shoot anyway, but put down his gun, pointing at Hank angrily. "Phck, you're not gonna get away with it this time..." with that, he walked out of the room, annoyed "Phck!"
Danger diverted, the detective androids' LED cycled back to blue.
Connor walked closer to its partner as Cora slowly turned to the deviant who was lying on the floor, having cowered while everyone yelled, meeting its eyes.
"Everything is all right" Cora said softly, kneeling at its side, watching the deviant's stress levels lowering. \/ stress levels: 53% "It's over now. Nobody is gonna hurt you" Cora looked at Chris, politely, standing up "Please, don't touch it"
Connor watched its partner curiously for a moment before looking toward Chris, politely "Let it follow you out of the room and it won't cause any trouble"
The Deviant slowly stood, seeing the human following the other androids' instructions, seeing him gesture at it to walk while stepping back. It looked at the non deviants who jumped at its defense.
It's only thought was that they weren't as gone as it initially believed.
The Deviant followed the officer, but not before murmuring something to the androids that hopefully may help them become free in the future, on purpose walking through the middle of them. "The truth is inside"
Their LED's flickered at the cryptic sentence, watching it walk away, LED's stabilizing again.
/\ Software Instability