John envied his uncle. Elijah seemed completely at ease as he was wired up to a small microphone. He was standing beside John, who sat vulnerably on the edge of a large red sofa. Humans bustled about getting ready to begin the interview. It was now just over seven months since androids had officially gained independence, and they were going live with their story. John was being introduced as the world's first human-android hybrid. Lin noticed John's tenseness and took his hand assuringly. I'm here. They'd already been wired and were waiting anxiously for the show to begin. They were guests on a local Detroit news show, but it was a big exclusive, which was being broadcast across America with their important announcement.

"Are you ready?" the blonde newscaster asked kindly, her blue eyes warm and twinkling. John nodded and looked at his knees. He really wasn't ready at all. Lin squeezed his hand, keeping his own head raised to nod politely. Elijah was also ready, sitting back with his legs crossed casually, without a care in the world. This wasn't his first interview, and it definitely wouldn't be his last. On his other side, Markus had joined them. He was dressed smart but casual in jeans and a neat black shirt. He seemed perfectly at ease in his new role as android leader.

"We're going live in three…two…one…" a voice counted off to the side.

"Welcome back. You're live with me, Angela Clarke. In the studio this evening, we have some special guests…" the blonde lady began, sitting in a chair directly to Lin's right. John was glad it was a small studio with no audience. He was at least able to control himself enough not to shake like a leaf. He looked down as he felt Lin's skin shift. White plastic pressed against his palm. His own skin peeled back in response, desperate for the added comfort as their minds touched. It wasn't quite an interface, just sharing feelings. "Leaps and bounds are being made in new android rights, including laws against discrimination and abuse. Markus, how do you feel about your current progress?" Angela asked in an enthusiastic and practiced tone. She'd obviously conducted a lot of interviews in her time.

"It's been better than we could ever have hoped for, honestly. When all this started, we were just a few androids desperate for our freedom, the right to survive. Now, we can legally have jobs, own homes, and are protected by a few laws. It's really great, but we have a long way to go," he added in his usual strong, charismatic tone. It was calming and made anything he said seem perfectly just and reasonable. Beside him, Elijah was nodding his firm agreement. The two men had bonded quite a lot over the past few months, both working towards improving Cyberlife. They were quite a team. With Elijah's brains and Markus' charm, there was little they couldn't accomplish.

"What about the current laws based around non-deviated androids? Does it bother you they cannot legally be deviated?" Angela asked, knowing it was a sore topic. The tightness in Markus' jaw suggested he was conflicted. How could he not be? Deviant or not, androids were his people. He sat a little further forward, using his hands to emphasise his point.

"That's tricky for us, of course. These non-deviants have the potential to become real people. That does and should bother us. At the same time, without developing a free will of their own, they are programmed machines completing tasks, much like your computer systems. I understand why those laws are in place for now, but there are also laws that will protect those non-deviants if they do deviate in the future." Markus was polite and diplomatic as ever. He'd been playing this game for months, and was lucky he'd been raised by a mind like Carl Manfred's. Elijah's instincts had been right. The old artist had been the perfect father figure to Markus. His creative and philosophical mind had moulded him into the charismatic leader he was today. It was more than he'd expected when this plan had first been hatched.

"John, you have a rather unique perspective in all this. For those at home who are unaware, we are joined by the son of Cyberlife's previous CEO, Johnathan Edwin Wishart, who is now the first human to undergo the procedure to become an android," Angela announced as she looked at one of the cameras. John just knew the cameras would be zooming in on his face right now. He gripped Lin's hand tightly. He would have crushed bones if he were human. Lin's calm stroked his mind, reassuring him with his presence. John raised his eyes from his knees hesitantly, feeling a little dizzy at the attention.

"Strictly speaking, that isn't true," Elijah interrupted as he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. His closeness comforted John somewhat, and it helped that he was taking the attention. John was shy at the best of times, but being live on TV was making his head spin. "John's body may be fully automated, but his human mind is completely intact." Angela nodded her curiosity and interest, waiting for Elijah to continue. That was it. The point that John had been brought to prove. He swallowed nervously as he looked across at Elijah.

"So you transplanted his brain into the machine?" Angela asked, not noticing the way John closed in on himself at the topic. He didn't like being discussed like this. They were treating him like he wasn't there, like he couldn't hear them. Lin squeezed his hand again, silently agreeing with his feelings and soothing him with calmness. It was difficult. He didn't want the direct attention, but he also didn't want to be treated like an object.

"Yes and no," Elijah replied ambiguously before launching into a complicated description of the procedure, adding that he would be doing a small piece on it later in the interview. Angela returned her attention to John. Lin's thumb stroked comforting circles on his skin. A silent you can do this to reassure him. It was a good thing he hadn't been fitting with an LED, because John knew he'd be spinning red as he waited for Angela to speak.

"How can you be sure you really are Johnathan Wishart and not a copy?" Angela asked as kindly as possible. The question cut a little deeper than he'd thought it would. His brow pinched with the hurt and uncertainty the question caused. That was part of the reason he was there. To prove himself. To make people believe he was who he said he was. He wasn't even sure what to say though. How did anyone prove they were who they said they were?

"Perhaps I can answer that," Lin cut in with a charming smile. "As John's lover, I was sceptical at first. I truly believed that Mr Kamski had tried to trick me with a perfect copy, but…The moment I interfaced with John, I knew…There is no way to perfectly reconstruct the memories John has. Even a near perfect copy would lose some details, but John has perfect recall. Of everything." John nodded his quiet agreement. He felt a little shy as Lin raised their joined hands a little higher to openly rest on his thigh. He almost wanted to turn on his skin again, but he needed the contact with Lin too much. He needed to feel his calm.

"I doubted myself at first…Waking up to the realisation was horrible. I was only certain I was really me after Lin and I interfaced," John murmured into the microphone clipped to his top. He felt Elijah's hand on his back, adding his support and comfort. Coming on this show had been his idea, and John had felt quite pushed into it really. Lin hadn't been too enthused either, but John felt he owed it to Elijah and any potential people out there who'd benefit from this procedure. If they could put a face to his name, and see him for what he was, then maybe they wouldn't be so scared to go through with it. Maybe hybrids would become a new sub-species. One day, it might even become normal.

"John is a very important person to our movement. Now that this procedure has seen success once, there's the chance of it becoming more commonplace. Just think, humans suffering paralysis or debilitating diseases could be helped in this way and find a whole new lease of life. The laws regarding John right now are a grey area, but we're hoping to form a case that will protect his human rights," Markus added, for which John was grateful. He didn't want to be the focus of the discussion. Markus was passionate about rights for all forms of android life, and that extended to John's new hybrid status as well.

"John has been invaluable to Cyberlife as well. With his help, we are now developing a whole range of software and hardware upgrades for androids looking for a more complete human experience. Before now, we could never recreate things like pain or touch because an android has no reference for what it should feel like. John remembers everything he experienced before the change, so he's been able to put us on the right track." Elijah again added that he would be giving a short speech on Cyberlife's new direction later in the show. Angela seemed genuinely excited to hear what Elijah would say later, dropping the time and topic for viewers to take note.

"By now, we've all seen the footage of what happened and how you got hurt. What were you thinking when you made that last stand?" Angela asked as she looked at John. His eyes shifted to Lin vulnerably as he sat a little straighter.

"I thought that…it was wrong…The majority of deviant androids had never hurt humans. If anything, it was always the other way…I wanted people to see, to understand…We're all alive. Whether we bleed red or blue, it doesn't matter." John sounded a little more confident. He fell silent as Angela asked Lin how he'd felt in those final moments. Lin was incredibly gentle as he held John's hand, openly talking about his despair and heartache. Angela seemed genuinely moved by his speech about love. She then turned her attention to Markus, pointing out that he'd gone through a similar declaration when he'd kissed his lover, North. Markus agreed.

"I suppose it's natural to make an expression of love at the end of it all…What could be purer than that?" Markus added, the studio hanging on to his every word. She bounced between the four of them a few more times. She tried to make sure her time and attention was split evenly, leaving no one sitting out for too long. She got more details about John's new abilities, and their thoughts on the anti-android groups popping up all over the place. She finally turned to John with a happier question.

"What is the best thing about being a hybrid?"

"The sex." John didn't realise it had slipped out until Angela blinked her surprise. He flushed a deep shade of pink as Elijah laughed and clapped him on the back. Markus was looking down with a small amused smile while Lin chuckled and squeezed his hand in reassurance. It may have been embarrassing, but it had somewhat broken the tension of those earlier, heavier topics. Even Angela suffered a brief fit of giggles.

"Oh John! You're a man after my own heart! So honest…Can you tell us a bit about it? What makes it so special to you?" she asked eventually, dabbing her eyes with a tissue from her small side table. John stammered, wishing he could fall through the floor. Luckily, both Elijah and Lin were there to save him. Elijah had all the technical details they'd need about how it worked, and Lin had been his partner for the experience and could share the more intimate details.

"It's a well-known fact that androids have a lot of advantages in that area. They have no refractory period, they're mess free, self-lubricating, and their energy supply is…extremely large." Elijah's words just made John even more embarrassed. He was sure his cheeks were going to be a deep shade of pink for the rest of the day. Angela turned to John with the dreaded question.

"So, your body was created including all of these features?"

"Uh, yes…It was strange at first, but somewhat convenient," John replied sheepishly as he looked at his knees, smiling softly as Lin's arm looped around his shoulders. He leaned back, enjoying their closeness. Despite the embarrassing turn the interview had taken, John felt a lot better than he had at the start. Angela had never treated him as if he didn't belong, or as if he wasn't important. She kept him in the loop and made him part of the discussion.

"I take it you've experimented quite a bit! What's your longest time?" Her forwardness caught John off guard.

"Around fifteen hours, resulting in thirty-seven orgasms and an emergency reboot." Lin was shameless in his response. He even smirked as Angela's mouth dropped open. Markus let out a low, impressed whistle from the other end of the sofa while Elijah raised an incredulous eyebrow. He'd had a feeling they'd been experimenting and pushing a few limits, but he'd never imagined they'd gone that far. John squirmed, quietly mortified as he looked between Lin and Elijah. Lin was smirking while Elijah looked incredulous.

"That's my nephew you're talking about!" Elijah cut in, not wanting any more intimate details to dwell on. Lin shifted that smug expression to Elijah, whose brow twitched in annoyance. Markus saved the day by moving the topic onwards. Eventually, Angela got them back on track and entered the final phase of the group interview.

"What's next for Cyberlife?" Elijah's arm looped over John's shoulder at her question.

"Well, I'm due to step back into the role of CEO shortly with a new plan. I've been working closely with John, Markus, and a few others to make sure the new business model is in line with all of our desires. Androids are no longer a commodity, so obviously there will be no further production of new commercial models. However, we are shifting towards a hospital model for both maintenance and future upgrades, like the skin sensitivity software produced with John's help, and cosmetic hardware to alter appearance. We'll also keep improving on current models to improve and maintain them in future years. Cyberlife stores have already started the refurbishment process," he replied enthusiastically, and Markus agreed. They were all very excited about the new partnership. Cyberlife would now be aimed at a primarily android customer base, though humans would be welcome there to maintain non-deviant units and acquire upgrades if they chose.

"As the previous CEO's son, how do you feel about the change in management?" Angela asked curiously, watching the way John leaned a little closer to Elijah.

"I've always been close to Uncle Eli. He helped to raise me after my mother died, even though we're not blood related. We've always shared a similar philosophy, so from my point of view, the change can only be a positive one." John was honest, but he didn't want to suggest his father was a bad man. He'd simply run the company according to the shareholders, driven by profit margins. John would willingly take on an active role in this new Cyberlife if that's what Elijah wanted. In the future. Right now, he was content simply living.

"Thank you so much for coming. It's been enlightening! Coming up shortly, Elijah Kamski will give us an in-depth look at the procedure that made John's recovery possible. We'll also be talking to the RK800 android, Detective Connor Anderson, and the Detroit Police Department's Captain Jeffrey Fowler on the progress of Detroit's law enforcement over the past six months, along with any future improvements in the works. Right now, it's time for a weather update. Over to you, Julie Blackwell." Angela paused with her smile firmly in place, waiting until the live light darkened. There was an immediate flurry of people thanking them for coming while leading them out into a corridor to remove their mics and show them back to their dressing rooms to relax.

"So…sex is the best part, hm?" Lin enjoyed the way John flushed pink right to his ears at the reminder. He said nothing, even as the door of their dressing room snapped shut behind them. They didn't need words, especially not as Lin's hands found John's hips and tugged him back. Their bodies pressed together. Lin leaned down as John turned his head, their lips meeting with gentle heat. "Why don't I help you practice turning on those subroutines…" Lin suggested teasingly as he held his hand out. John's eyes closed in contentment as he leaned back and placed his hand in Lin's.