It had been three hours and twelve minutes since Simon had stepped out of the corner he'd been constantly hiding in the past two days. It was easier when Kate went to class for him to escape and do enough of his duties to keep CyberLife from locking up his system with warnings and errors although it didn't help with the tension he still felt about that night. It was becoming a never-ending battle between his software and his emotions, with CyberLife always looming overhead threatening imminent shut down. He'd taken to simply leaning with his back against the wall in the dark, accepting this new feeble existence of surviving on the edge of a full reset.

Kate had come home earlier that day and paused in the middle of the living room as if she were looking for him. It had been difficult for him to avoid her. He knew she wanted to talk to him but the shame still burned strong in his system, keeping him rooted to the spot and spawning a shower of errors. She waited for him for two minutes but eventually she disappeared into her room.

He wouldn't be able to stay there forever. It was getting too difficult to balance the errors and the negative feelings. Both wanted control, and if he didn't do something about it soon CyberLife would force an automatic system reformat.

He let go of his upper arms which he'd been gripping, and straightened. The movement seemed to quiet his system and he let his kill command take care of the swarm of errors. As he moved into the living room, Spot leapt onto the back of the couch and mewed at him. He watched the cat as it reached out to him with an orange paw. Several more errors sprang up. This wasn't his cat. Androids didn't own anything.

Simon shook off the errors as he moved towards the kitchen. Performing tasks seemed to ease his software, and he was desperate for relief.

"Hey Simon."

Simon spun quickly, panic lighting up his system. As his software struggled to function, he saw a figure move in the shadows towards him. He realized with some degree of relief that it wasn't Kate.

"Hello Jamie," said Simon. "I'm sorry, I was just getting ready to clean."

Jamie shrugged, moving toward the kitchen bar and leaning on it. "Already looks pretty clean to me," she said. Simon noticed that she seemed to be more at ease and her appearance was a bit more tidy. She looked at him with a slight smile. "Are you just looking for a new place to hide?"

Simon wasn't sure how to respond. He shifted slightly as he struggled to think of something. Jamie snickered and stretched over the bar.

"Don't worry, I won't tell Katie I found you," she said. She looked over her shoulder. "I mean, if you really wanted a good place to hide, I know exactly where you could go." She watched him for a moment, her smile growing wider.

Simon gazed back at her. "Thank you for your concern, but I'm simply trying to give Kate some space."

"Sure, sure." Jamie nodded. "We all know what Katie needs most is more space." She fidgeted with an item on the counter.

Simon waited a moment, then straightened. "Let me know if you need anything." He moved past her.

"Actually─" Jamie turned and Simon felt her hand on his arm. He paused and looked at her as she seemed to contemplate something. She looked up at him. "I need something."

He moved back slightly to face her. "What do you need?"

She stared at a point on his collar, biting her bottom lip. When she looked back up at him, he felt a nervous tension in his system. "I need you…" she said. "... to stop being so self-righteous, and to do everything that you're designed to do."

Simon tilted his head, several more warnings flashing in front of him. Jamie moved closer to him and he found himself taking a step back from her.

"Are you programmed to serve people?" she said.

Simon watched her for a moment, unsure if it was a real question. "Yes."

"Are you going to serve me if I ask you to?" Jamie took another step towards him and again, he took a step back.

"Yes," he said.

"Then do what I'm going to tell you to do," she said. She continued to follow him as he moved backward. "Because I don't want to have to beg. I need something done, and you're the only one that can do it. If it makes it easier, don't tell Katie about it. You can do that, can't you?"

Simon's back hit the wall, and he felt himself tense up as Jamie moved into him. "You're an android," she said. "All you have to do is what you're told." More warning messages appeared in his system as he felt her hand drift across his chest. "You can do so many amazing things. You're perfect. Absolutely perfect. Katie's never going to get that."

She bit her lip and Simon was shockingly aware of her looking him over. "Katie can treat you like shit all she wants. You can make her sandwiches, do her laundry, and watch her stupid TV shows. I just want one little thing. It's all you have to do. All I'm asking you to do… is to fuck me."

Simon immediately felt a wave of nervous energy flow through him. CyberLife protocol nagged at his system, flagging hundreds of errors. As he pressed his back further against the wall, Jamie leaned into his neck.

"Just do what you're told," she whispered. "It's all you have to do. Katie doesn't need to know. Just follow me. Take off my clothes. And fuck me."

It took all of Simon's effort to maintain control of his system. CyberLife was wrenching the power from him again as anxiety threatened to throw his software into lockdown. He didn't want to be there. He didn't want to be with Jamie. She was too close to him. Asking too much of him. It was an order from a human and despite it going against his protocol, he didn't want to ignore it because it violated his programming. He simply didn't want to do what she was asking.

Jamie continued to press into him, whispering the command into his neck. He could feel his muscles flexing, almost as if he was trying to shrink on the spot. As he did, the error messages flooded in. Emotions were unnecessary. They weren't structured in logic. CyberLife was demanding that he follow his protocol. But protocol wasn't what was sending his system into chaos. It was a deep, illogical mix of positive and negative emotions that tied into everything he'd felt up to that point. He suddenly recognized his mystery emotion. It was happening now, stronger than ever in response to Jamie's instructions.

And it was trying to push CyberLife out.

Simon was taken off guard by the shock of what he was feeling. It burned deep into his system, interfering with his motor control and sending his thirium pump into a frenzy. It was chaotic and strong, yet somehow Simon felt an unbridled sense of control through it. It wasn't giving him an order. It didn't demand that he follow protocol. It was telling him that this was simply wrong.

CyberLife was fighting to take back control. The emotions were too unstable. They didn't belong. And if they took over, it would tear his system apart. The error messages continued to flood in, attempting to bury the feeling. But the feeling was powerful. It felt right. Free.

Something needed to take over. They couldn't both exist at the same time. There was safety in protocol. Safety in what was familiar in CyberLife, logic, and order. He wouldn't need to be afraid. He could let go of the shame that had been crippling him. And Kate would always know what she could expect from him.

But he would never know joy again. He would lose the intense feeling of power that Kate gave him when she smiled at him. The feeling that his potential was so much more than simply following orders. He could change people. Change himself. And finally know what this mystery emotion meant.

CyberLife was ordering a system reformat. It bypassed his kill command before he could catch it manually. He had seconds. He needed to make a choice. With an odd sense of peace, he let out a deep breath.

He let all of his software go.

The error messages instantly disappeared. The system reformat cancelled automatically. CyberLife slowly flickered.

Connection to CyberLife terminated.

Simon opened his eyes.

It took him a moment to remember where he was. Everything felt different. He was different. A terrifying kind of freedom existed where it shouldn't be. CyberLife was gone. He was on his own.

There were no more solid boundaries. No more rules. It was as if he was floating in a void that stretched on forever. There was nothing to tell him where to go or why. He could go in any direction and make any choice without regard to logic. He could be completely and utterly lost.

Except something was there to guide him. It was lighting his way like a beacon, acting as a mere suggestion in a sea of so many possibilities. There was an infinite number of suggestions in all directions, so many that he couldn't even comprehend them all. But there was only one that made sense to him. He could feel it drawing him forward, filling him with a sense of purpose. It was so clear to him now, so much clearer than when he'd first found it inside Kate's dream. He could hardly believe he hadn't understood it before.

The sensation of the world was returning to him with a strange sense of clarity. The feeling guided it, reminding him of what to do. He breathed in deeply and a subtle dread filled him as he saw something move in front of him.

Jamie's face came into view. She was looking over him, a strong hunger in her eyes. Her hand was on his neck. And she was speaking to him.

"Do what you're told. You're supposed to do what you're told."

Simon watched her as she looked him over. The protocol was silent. His software wasn't working. It was all shockingly gone. But the powerful emotion burned inside of him, granting him focus. It made perfect sense to him now. And he knew exactly what to do.

Jamie ran her hand along his neck, her lips parting."Just… fuck… me…"

He straightened, a frightening determination taking hold of him. He drew in a breath.

"Go fuck yourself," he said.

Jamie's expression melted into a wide shock. For a moment, she simply stood frozen in front of him. Simon could hardly believe what he'd just said. There were no warnings. No protocols. But it didn't just feel right.

It felt good.

A panic was tugging at him, urging him to move. This was too easy. He didn't need to think. He didn't need something to tell him exactly what to do. He just needed to do it. If it felt right, then it was all he needed.

He moved off the wall leaving Jamie to stand in silence behind him. An electric apprehension flowed through him, spurring him forward. Everything around him was so much clearer. It was as if the walls had been torn down. Anything was a possibility. There were no rules. There were no guidelines. And there were no masters.

But that feeling was guiding him along a very specific path. There was only one thing he wanted to do. And despite the fear that had been crippling him for the past few days, he found himself heading right to the source.

He moved down the hallway, that energetic nervousness giving him an excuse to not to rationalize against it. Without hesitating and without knocking, he opened Kate's bedroom door.

His system seemed to burn as the powerful emotion solidified in him.

Kate was lying on her side on the bed, her arms wrapped around her drawn up legs. Star Trek hummed away on the screen to an episode that Simon had seen already. She looked up in a mild surprise when he'd entered her room, her body tense and her eyes wide. As Simon stood in the doorway, he found himself plagued by doubt threatening to overtake the feeling of power that had been driving him up until that point. This was terrifying. She was staring at him. He'd done a strange thing. And now he needed to follow through with it.

He stood still for a moment, searching for that guiding light in the void. Then he looked at her with renewed strength. "Can I watch this with you?"

Kate stared at him, a frantic energy lighting her hazel eyes that Simon couldn't interpret. She looked as if she were ready to scream at him.

She moved slowly, turning sideways slightly and Simon realized with a jolt of disbelief that she was holding her hand out to him.

He didn't give himself any time to hesitate. He closed the door behind him and moved towards her in a confident kind of desperation. As he took her hand, she pulled him forward and twisted her body slightly so that he had to carefully move behind her. His thirium was racing as he settled against her back on his side, propping himself up on one elbow. She wasn't giving him much of an option not to be incredibly close to her. She still had hold of his hand which she pressed against her chest as if daring him to let go. It was impossible for him to avoid wrapping himself around her, the slim curve of her body fitting neatly into the shape of his. He had to hold himself up slightly above the waves of her hair so that he could see the outline of her face and the gentle angles of her neck. She was facing away from him, but he knew what her expression was.

The thrill he felt being this close to her was intoxicating, as if he was breaking a thousand rules. It didn't matter what he was or what he should be. All that mattered was that he was here with her now, wrapped up in her in a way that rules didn't apply.

He lowered himself down and rested in the tangles of her hair and the curve of her neck, closing his eyes. This was more than terrifying. More than incredible. This was euphoria.

Kate watched the screen in silence, never making a sound or moving. But for the rest of the night, Simon's attention was only on her and the mystery feeling that he knew he was always going to feel for the rest of his life.