November 9th
10:00am- Luna Motel
Vera
The sunlight broke through the thin curtains, lighting up the spots in the fabric. The sheets were dripping off the mattress and onto the floor where Vera sat, staring at the ceiling. She rubbed her eyes; they were red and dry from being awake most of the night. She sighed, thinking over what happened yesterday…
Vera ran as fast as she could through the lobby of Stratford Tower and into the car park. She could see Hank stumbling around, trying to find his car.
"Hank, wait!" She yelled. He didn't turn around, but his shoulders tensed. Using her training, she scanned the best route to make sure she didn't burn out of energy before he got to his car. The lift had taken ages, so she was surprised he was still here.
The wind was biting, the evening clouds were rolling in making it colder. The snow made the concrete slippery, and she was sure she was sliding more than running. But she finally made it just as he was opening the door.
She slammed it shut causing him to drop his keys. He glared at her.
"Would you just fuckin' leave me alone?"
"No way! We need to talk about this!"
Hank tried to open the car door again. "No fuckin' way! There's nothing to talk about!"
Vera leant against the door. He scowled at her, waiting. Probably contemplating whether to move her or go around. He began stomping to the passenger side.
"Please Hank. Connor saved you, isn't that enough?"
He stopped. He stared at the ground for a long time before finally looking her in the eye. There were tears. Or was it the last glint of light?
"Vera. Connor was… Connor…" He shook his head. "Please just leave me alone…"
He got in the car, climbing over to the driver's side and drove off. Vera leapt backwards, moving her toes out of the way of Hank's screeching wheels.
That night, she sat in the motel room, drinking. Connor's dead body flashed in her mind. Hank's broken expression…
She pushed the half-empty bottle under the bed, blinking away the dizziness. The world spun as she tried to stand. So she gave up with a thump.
Leaning her head back against the end of the bed, she checked the clock:
4:03am…
Groaning, she pulled the sheet over her and closed her eyes to minimise the spinning.
An hour later, the nightmare started…
Vera found herself standing in an empty factory. There was absolutely no furniture or anything. It was just grey. But she recognised it.
This was where she failed.
A glow caught her eye and she turned. There it was—the piece of Eden. The one that she was meant to find last time. The one that was in her grasp, and she lost it.
Vera ran towards it, holding out her hand. But then suddenly, it was gone, and a man stood there.
She couldn't see his face. Only the Templar band on his right arm. But she knew him. His name was Frederick, and he had tricked her.
"Vera…" he whispered, although his lips didn't move. "Vera, darling. Why are you here? The Assassins are all gone because of you." He grinned, baring his teeth. "The Brotherhood has been dissolved, and I should thank you."
"No… No I know they're still around. We always will be…" Weak, Vera. Just weak…
He chuckled. It echoed through her. They were outside now, in an alleyway. The buildings were tall and cast dark shadows over them.
"Have you come to join us? I've always said you have what it takes. You did kill me, remember?! For the piece, and it almost killed you. Ambition will do that."
Her heart jumped. "Yes. I remember." Anger surged through her. "I will never join the Templars. I will die with the Assassins."
His face darkened. "Then that's what you're going to do!" He rushed at her, bringing the shadows with him…
Vera jumped awake, clutching the sheet tightly in her fists. The room was dark and pressing. More so than before she'd gone to sleep. She felt sick, feeling her head spin again. She held it still, closing her eyes for a brief moment.
And then she was sick for the next two hours.
Groaning again, she pulled herself back onto the bed. Her phone vibrated on the nightstand. Picking it up, she squinted at the screen. Hank…
She answered. "Hello?"
"Uh, yeah, hi… It's Hank Anderson…"
"Yeah, I know, Hank. What's up?"
"Uh, well, I've got a meeting with Elijah Kamski at his place. You coming along?"
"Yeah, of course. What time we going?"
"Where are you? I'll pick you up, and we can, uh, go together."
Vera chuckled to herself. "I'm at the Luna Motel..."
"I'll be there in half an hour."
11:17am- Kamski's House
Elijah Kamski's house was surrounded by rocky terrain, situated next to a frozen lake which made it seem like there was nothing for miles. Two cubed triangles sat in the snow before it. Beyond the railings, his house was flat-roofed and built with wide glass windows that spied on everything outside.
Hank drove round to the front of the house, coming to a stop before a figure in the snow. Vera pressed her lips together, afraid to look at the Lieutenant.
Connor stood a few feet away. Waiting for them. The wind brushed his hair and jacket, but he didn't seem to notice.
Hank waited for a moment, watching him. His knuckles turned white on the steering wheel.
"Hank? You don't have to…" Vera began, but Hank shook his head and swallowed. He took a deep breath and got out of the car. "Okay…" She opened the door, sucking in a sharp breath as the wind hit her.
"Jesus Christ…" Hank wheezed as he kept his distance from Connor.
"My predecessor was unfortunately destroyed," Connor said calmly, "but Cyberlife transferred its memory and sent me to replace it."
"Just like that?" Vera's eyes narrowed.
"You died in my arms!" Hank interrupted loudly. "And now you're back here as if nothing happened… Fuck you!" He stormed past him, aiming for the door.
Connor didn't even blink. Just stared straight ahead. Vera found that annoying.
"I just can't believe it… No warning, nothing…" she muttered as she followed Hank.
"I have a bad feeling," Connor continued as he followed them. "We shouldn't have come here."
"A bad feeling, huh?" Hank scoffed. "Should get your program checked. Might be a glitch." He knocked on the silver door. A female android with blonde hair and a blue dress opened the door. She smiled. "Hi, I'm er, Lieutenant Anderson, Detroit Police Department. I'm here to see, er, Mister Elijah Kamski."
Vera raised her eyebrows as he stammered all of a sudden. But then the android moved, opening her arm wide.
"Please, come in," she offered. They stumbled in and she closed the door behind them. "I'll let Elijah know you're here. Please make yourselves comfortable."
The first thing that Vera noticed was the large portrait of Kamski on the far wall. A shiver went down her spine. Rock lined the walls either side of the front door making it seem darker in the room. Two red chairs sat to the side, with a small tree planted in the middle. Hank sat down, resting his arms on his legs. But Connor went straight for a smaller photo hung on one of the walls of Kamski and a woman.
"Amanda…" Connor whispered harshly.
"Who's Amanda?" Vera asked, standing next to him. His expression has gone dark. Confused. Scared, even.
He shook his head quickly. "No one!"
"Nice girl…" Hank commented from across the room.
"You're right, she's really pretty," Connor agreed.
Vera smiled. "She seems really sweet."
"Nice place," Hank stated quietly. "Guess androids haven't been a bad thing for everybody…"
"Well he did create them…" Vera scoffed. Hank rolled his eyes and continued.
"So, you're about to meet your maker, Connor. How does it feel?"
Connor thought for a moment. "Kamski is one of the great geniuses of the twenty first century. It'll be interesting to meet him in person."
"Sometimes I wish I could meet my creator face to face. I'd have a couple of things I'd wanna tell him…"
The silence hung in the room until they heard a click of the door, and the android came back.
"Elijah will see you now."
They followed her into another room. This one had a crimson pool and overlooked the frozen lake. Two more androids just like the one who had greeted them, sat in the pool talking. Kamski continued to swim.
"Mr Kamski?" Hank called over.
"Just a moment, please," Kamski responded doing another lap in the pool.
They waited impatiently. Vera struggled not to pace. She looked out of the window at the bright snow and cracked ice.
A flop of water caught her attention as Kamski got out of the pool and into a robe he was helped into. He secured his hair into a bun.
"I'm Lieutenant Anderson. This is Connor and Vera."
"What can I do for you, Lieutenant?"
Hank cleared his throat. "Sir, we're investigating deviants. I know you left Cyberlife years ago, but I was hoping you could tell us something we don't know."
Kamski was quiet for a long moment. "Deviants… Fascinating aren't they? Perfect beings with infinite intelligence, and now they have free will…" He glanced at his own android standing a few feet away. "Machines are so superior to us, confrontation was inevitable. Humanity's greatest achievement threatens to be its downfall… Isn't it ironic?" He chuckled. No one else laughed.
"Something in the deviants' program seems to emulate emotion. We thought you might know something about how that occurs." Connor's eyes narrowed as he spoke.
Kamski spread his hands wide with a shrug.
"All ideas are viruses that spread like epidemics… Is the desire to be free a contagious disease?"
Cryptic bastard…
"But how is that passed on from android to android if they aren't always in connection with each other? It must be something that was there from the very beginning." Vera cut in. But Hank got there before Kamski could answer.
"Listen, I didn't come here to talk philosophy. The machines you created may be planning a revolution. Either you can tell us something that'll be helpful, or we'll be on our way."
But Kamski wasn't listening to Hank anymore. His eyes were fixed on Connor.
"What about you, Connor? Whose side are you on?"
Connor blinked, head shaking slightly.
"It's not about me, Mr Kamski. All I want is to solve this case."
Kamski wasn't fazed. "Well that's what you're programmed to say. But you… what do you really want?"
"What I want is… not important."
"What are you getting at, Mr Kamski?" Vera pressed.
Kamski turned his head. "Chloe?" His android wandered over and he placed his hands on her arms to stop her just across from him. "I'm sure you're familiar with the Turing test? Mere formality. A simple question of algorithms and computing capacity. What interests me is whether machines are capable of empathy. I call it 'the Kamski test', very simple, you'll see." He paused, turning Chloe around to face them. "But what is a machine, really? Piece of plastic imitating a human? Or a living being… with a soul? He turned to the red cabinet behind him, opened the drawer and pulled out a handgun.
Vera held her breath. Whatever was about to happen wasn't going to be good.
Kamski pushed Chloe's shoulder down gently, and she sat down onto her knees before them.
"It's up to you to answer that fascinating question, Connor." He came up beside Connor and placed the gun in his hand, aimed at Chloe's head. "Destroy this machine, and I'll tell you all I know. Or spare it if you feel it's alive."
Connor held the gun, glancing between Kamski and Chloe quickly. His LED flashed yellow.
"You don't have to do this, Connor. We'll find out another way…"
"Okay, I think we're done here. Come on. Let's go. Sorry to get you outta your pool—" Hank growled.
"What's more important to you, Connor?" Kamski hissed quickly in Connor's ear. "Your investigation, or the life of this android? Decide who you are. An obedient machine… Or a living being, endowed with free will…"
"That's enough! Connor, we're leaving!"
"Don't do it, Connor! It's not worth it!" Vera pleaded.
"Pull the trigger—" Kamski tried again.
"Connor, don't!" Hank's voice was rising.
"—and I'll tell you what you wanna know."
Connor's eyes widened as he stared down the gun and into Chloe's face. She seemed blissfully unaware, staring at the wall behind them.
Almost immediately, Connor handed Kamski the gun without looking at him. His LED flashed red now. Vera let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding. Kamski took the gun from him.
"Fascinating…" He breathed, staring at Connor brightly. "Cyberlife's last chance to save humanity… its itself a deviant."
Connor crinkled his nose, worriedly. "I'm… I'm not a deviant."
Kamski stood in front of him, smirking. He held his hand out to Chloe, helping her stand.
"You preferred to spare a machine rather than accomplish your mission. You saw a living being in this android. You showed empathy." He inched closer, lowering his voice. "A war is coming. You'll have to choose your side. Will you betray your own people or stand up against your creators? What could be worse than having to choose between two evils?"
Hank pushed himself in between them and pulled Connor away.
"Let's get outta here…" Hank stormed out and Vera almost struggled to keep up. She was baffled, still going over all that just happened. And how psycho Kamski is.
"By the way," she heard Kamski call as she was almost at the front door, "I always leave an emergency exit in my programs. You never know…"
Vera turned her head to see Connor stumble out of the pool room, shaking his head. Troubled. She pushed him gently in front of her as they went outside and closed the door firmly behind them.
Connor hurried down the ramp, eager to get away. But Hank tilted his head, walking slowly.
"Why didn't you shoot?" He asked. Vera's brow furrowed. Isn't that what they wanted?
Connor whipped around. "I just saw that girl's eyes, and I couldn't. That's all…"
Hank pushed on. "You're always saying you would do anything to accomplish your mission. That was our chance to learn something, and you let it go."
Connor scowled, raising his voice. "Yeah, I know what I should've done, I told you I couldn't. I'm sorry, okay?"
Vera almost laughed at the worried look on Connor's face. The panic in his voice. The frustration that was emulating from him. But Hank smiled.
"Well maybe you did the right thing…" He started wandering back to the car, leaving Connor staring after him.
Vera patted his arm with a grin as she followed back down the ramp. They climbed into the car, and she leaned over the seats.
"Can we get something to eat? I'm starving."
"Hell yeah!" Hank cheered, reversing out of Kamski's driveway and as far away from him as they could get.
A/N- Can you believe we're almost at Crossroads? It's been an exciting journey so far! After this next chapter, we'll be focusing more on the Assassins finding the piece, although they'll still be around our Detroit characters for a bit. Also, I'll be continuing on after the gameplay ends, so stick with me. It'll be fun...
