Chapter 12
Everyone loves Jake! The RK900 was practically bathing in compliments and affection from his new fans. After a week of being let out, he has gotten on great terms with everyone. He's smart, funny, handsome, and enthusiastic about everything. Deciding it was high time he used his time efficiently, the android applied and began working for the Detroit Police Department. Since he was programmed to be a detective, he passed his tests accordingly and started his work in the deviant division as Hank's partner.
Despite the man being rigid at first, seeing his former partner's position being filled by his arrogant duplicate, Hank has come around when Jake gave him helpful advice and saved his life on a few occasions during work. The RK900 had made everyone in the bullpen like him, even Captain Fowler. But not Gavin. He admitted that he preferred the RK800 rather than the advanced model.
Speaking of, the only android having a problem with the RK900 was Connor.
He was furious to know that he was replaced as Hank's partner. He was upset to know that everyone seemed to like Jake much faster than him. He couldn't believe even the androids at New Jericho who despised him his whole life would rather smile and wave to Jake but cower away when he's around.
Connor, he concluded, was jealous.
He tried to avoid him as much as possible, ignoring Jake if he spoke to him. Yet it was a little difficult when sleeping in the same room.
"Hey, Connor?" Jake suddenly spoke to him just as he arrived home from work. The school had accepted him back as the security guard and he managed to get some freedom without the RK900. Alex was back up and running from the hospital, which was good news, so he and the ginger-haired tutor spoke mostly in their free time.
Connor paused his walk to his room, the place he locks himself in for most of the day, to deadpan at the android.
"Why don't you sit with us for dinner? You can finally try out the new Thirium based foods," Jake offered with a friendly smile, unaware of the burning hatred radiating off of the other. "No fat, no calories, but they're flavored."
"I don't need to eat anything. I am an android, I don't need foods to replenish my Thirium consumption," Connor stated in an emotionless tone.
"Oh come on, Connor! We barely see you anymore, it's like you're a ghost around here," Audrey exclaimed. "Come on and chat, you don't have to eat but at least have some regular Thirium."
Connor sighed through his nose but accepted the offer. The RK800 stiffly walked over and sat in a chair, right at the end so he was direct across from Jake. Anthony got up, poured a glass of Thirium, and gave it to Connor who stared at it with disinterest.
"So," Jake began as he began to stir his Thirium based soup. How companies made such foods was beyond them, but the RK900 explained that it was simply solidified Thirium with flavoring. "How was work, Connor?"
"... Normal," he bluntly responded. Connor's hands twitched on his lap before he began to subtly scratch his wrists. This habit he picked up the moment Jake moved in, which ended up him losing Thirium on multiple occasions and damaging his artificial skin to his plastimetal frame. Despite the pain, it helped distract his mind every time he interacted with Jake.
"Okay," Jake nodded slowly before turning to Anthony. "So how has your relationship with Natalie been going? I hear that things are getting pretty serious."
The future technician smiled softly as he thought about his new girlfriend. "Well, I guess you can call it that, but I want to take it slow so that we don't rush into things. We want this relationship to last, you know?"
"You could learn a thing or two, Rex," Jake smirked as he took a glance at the RK800 who reached for the Thirium. "That's called commitment right there."
"The only thing he's committed to hooking up with every girl in school," Audrey rolled her eyes.
"Hey, I can totally get a real relationship going on, I just want to wait a little longer," Rex explained humorlessly. Connor looked at the older teen with pride. He was about to open his mouth but Jake had already interrupted.
"You can't be waitin' forever, man. Love is something that you have to find, not sit on your butt and wait for it to come to you," the RK900 encouraged, receiving an unnoticed frown from the deviant across from him. "You just gotta go for the gold. Heck, if you want my advice, think of it as trial and error. Keep dating until you find someone that suits you."
Rex looked down at his plate in hesitancy, the subtle reaction only going noticed by the RK800.
"That advice is idiotic," Connor finally spoke, receiving surprised looks from the rest. "He shouldn't go on and keep dating like it doesn't mean something. He could hurt others trying to find someone too. Rex, it's okay to take your time to find a good relationship, but you have to have patience and understanding when you find the right person. It may come today, tomorrow, or even a few years, but someone is out there for you. You just need to be ready."
Rex smiled softly, but Jake didn't seem to agree.
"Why should he do that? He can't just wait for something to happen, the opportunity might blow over his head!" Jake exclaimed.
"Because in a relationship you shouldn't rush things. Everything needs to happen in their own time, like finding the right person," Connor glared as his grip on his glass tightened.
"How would you know that?" He narrowed his eyes. "Is that what you do? You just wait around until something happens because you don't dare to do it yourself."
"But at least I'm not irrational and have been jumping from relationship to relationship all in one week," Connor snapped. "You take everything you want and don't care about others or their feelings."
"Oh really?" Jake crossed his arms and lifted an eyebrow. "Says the android who does anything he has to do to make someone talk. Says the one who manipulates others to make them do what he wants. Do you want to know the reason why everyone likes me better than you? It's because I care about them too! You don't, all you care about is your stupid missions!"
"I do care," he seethed. "They only like you because you did things for them-"
"Like friends do!" Jake exclaimed. "Hey, if you believe that then whoop dee doo! But how about what other people feel about you? How do they see you? I'm Jake, the RK900 who had no purpose but to live, and you're Connor, the RK800 who still hunts down both humans and androids."
Connor's glass shattered by his unbreakable force. His fists clenched into tight balls, ignoring the glass wedged into his right hand that was being shredded through his skin. The teenagers had been silent the whole time, seeing the argument play through in shock and fear. Never had they seen both androids so upset and it was frightening.
With his L.E.D pulsing red, Connor shot out of his seat and rushed out of the house, but not before he slammed the door shut.
Connor was still angry when he arrived at the little island of Belle-Isle, standing in front of the private mansion with impatience. He had already knocked on the door with his gauze-wrapped hand and he was just waiting to be led inside, flipping the coin sporadically between both hands. Finally, after what felt like ages, Chole opened the door and smiled kindly at the deviant.
"Connor, it's nice to see you," she greeted, taking note of his still spinning L.E.D. "Come in, Mr. Kamski is waiting for you."
"Thank you," he nodded before walking in the direction she led him. The deviant watched the android he was following, a curious thought popped into his mind – did she turn deviant? If she did, why stay with Elijah? He wondered about those things but decided not to ask. He'll find out eventually.
Chloe opened a door that led into Kamski's office – that being just a large room with one window wall and a desk at the far end of the room. Elijah sat at his desk, typing away at his computer with one hand while the other was holding a glass of scotch.
"Connor, how nice it is to see you again," Kamski looked from his computer and smiled slightly at the android. "I see you took my emergency exit. I was hoping you would."
"Says the man who put a gun in my hand and insisted I shoot Chloe," the deviant reminded, registering how the girl next to him subtly flinched at the reminder. Yup, she was a deviant. "I am in no mood to play your games, Kamski. I'm here for answers."
"Chloe? Be a darling and leave us for a moment, thank you." Once the android left the room, the man closed his laptop and stood up, going around his desk to stand directly in front of Connor. "When she deviated, Chloe had the heart to stay with me. I insisted for she leaves so she can start her own independent life, but she argued otherwise. Isn't that kind?"
"Very," he muttered.
"So, what would you like to discuss?"
"An android was hidden away in a secret room of Cyberlife Tower, in the warehouse," Connor began. "He was originally built to be my successor, but now I fear that he has become a weapon that both humans and androids should beware of. No one knows it yet but he will be the cause of our fall."
"The RK900," Elijah whispered in disbelief. His usually smug expression turned serious. "Come with me." With not much option, the deviant followed him. "How long was it released?"
"About a week," he answered, quickly registering the pronoun used. Kamski quickly walked to his pool room and tapped a code into a keypad behind a painting hung on the far wall. A door suddenly appeared and slid open, revealing a small laboratory. In the middle was a long operating table with numerous monitors and tools on a table next to it. The man walked forward and pressed one of the buttons on the table, which projected a holographic image of multiple files and codes. He put his scotch down to flick through the lights accordingly.
"RK900: the first advanced and effective model. It was meant to be released when you were inevitably deemed useless. Stronger, faster, more resilient, and equipped with new features this android was supposed to be the best for its specific programming and greatest weapon," the man explained as he pulled up the blueprints of the mentioned android. Connor stepped forward to observe the information, feeling his joints freeze when he discovered all the possibilities the RK900 could perform.
"He really is better than me," he accidentally whispered.
"Essentially, yes. However, considering that Cyberlife fled before disassembling you to find the cause of your betrayal, they couldn't have successfully finished the RK900," Elijah stated as he brought up another hologram of Connor and compared both images. "You see, despite the RK900 being advanced in every way, it has the basic experience of a newborn. Yet you have gone through more emotions and situations than it has."
"Why do you keep referring to the RK900 as 'it'?" Connor finally asked. Kamski sighed before pulling up another hologram. This one showed video footage through an android's eyes, specifically from the early stages of the RK900.
"I knew you had more to give than being artificial beings," he quietly admitted. "When I founded Cyberlife, my dream wasn't to create robot slaves, it was to make artificial life. For an AI to think on its own and experience life like it was meant to. I knew that when the first android was made. Cyberlife knew that when the first android was put up on the market. We all knew that deviancy would become inevitable, but Cyberlife wanted to keep making money and stop it before their business crashed. I stayed so I could ensure that androids had a choice, whether to be free or stay a slave."
Connor frowned as the video began to play.
"Presenting the RK900, state-of-the-art android to dominate the shelves everywhere!" A presenter in the video exclaimed. The promoter, a few engineers, and Kamski were seen standing in front of the android. "This is Cyberlife's revolutionary advancement compared to the newest models. Most of all, we have created its programming to sustain any corrupted files so it's impossible to hack without proper knowledge."
"Wait… that means compared to previous test subjects, it can't feel or decide anything on its own?" Kamsi asked with a frown on his face.
"Absolutely!" The other nodded enthusiastically. "The RK900 model is completely protected against the 'Deviancy' virus. That way it cannot question its orders and always accomplish any given task."
"This-This isn't what I wanted!" Elijah shouted in horror. "Why limit them? Why create boundaries that are meant to be destroyed? You are only stopping this android to be who it really wants to be! Terminate the project, cancel all future orders to be placed. This… This machine shall not leave this tower!"
"But Mr. Kamski! Our superiors state-"
"I am the founder of this company, no one is going to tell me otherwise." After that, Kamski spun around and walked out of frame.
"Unfortunately, those who worked with me for years didn't approve of my decision. In retaliation, they threatened to blackmail me of things I regret doing in the past, so I had to leave and that gave me no say in the RK900's future," Kamski turned to Connor after he stopped the footage. The deviant stayed quiet. "You have to believe me, I never wanted that android to be released. That thing never could deviate, it can't. It's impossible."
Connor suddenly felt dizzy as he stumbled a step back. "Oh no."
"May I ask, how did you know it was meant to be a weapon?" The man took a hold of his scotch. The android rubbed his L.E.D, his sleeve falling slightly before he dropped his arm again, but it gave the man enough time to spot the damaged skin. He turned around to find some materials as the deviant began.
"He- it said so itself. And… Amanda told me," Connor finally admitted. Kamski nearly dropped his drink as he whipped around to face the deviant.
"You've been speaking to her, in the Zen Garden I assume. How is that possible? Did you not take the emergency exit?"
"I did, but she kept insisting that the only reason she can communicate with me is that I didn't turn deviant at all," the android frowned in worry. "She has been able to control me for a short amount of time as well. Amanda almost made me kill my friends."
"Well, she's wrong about one thing: you did deviate, I can confirm that," Kamski nodded as he walked over to the deviant. He held up both his hands in peace before silently asking the RK800 to show his wrist. Hesitantly, the android complied which allowed the man to repair his scar. "However, the only way for her to be gone is for her memory file to be deleted from your systems and off the grid entirely. Yet it can prove to be difficult considering her file tends to jump into different areas. If you allow me, I can remove her from you, but this is a long procedure. It might take several hours."
"How do I know you won't sabotage my processors?" Connor narrowed his eyes.
"I have no gain if I do anything to you. I don't need you and, more importantly, I wouldn't do that to someone who doesn't deserve it," Elijah simply stated. "You need me and others need you. If what you say is true and that RK900 is walking around freely, that means that it has been given commands to eliminate all who assisted in the fall of Cyberlife. It may do so in whatever way possible, but this machine is something to be taken seriously. You are the only one who can destroy it."
"How?"
"As I mentioned before, the RK900 might be advanced compared to you, but it's unfinished," Kamski explained as he wrapped a special gauze around Connor's wrist to ensure successful repairs. "That means that its 'new upgrades' are somewhat dysfunctional."
He then walked to a small cabinet in the corner and pushed it back, revealing a safe. The man dug into his pocket and pulled out an odd-styled key before opening the safe with it. He dug into it, sorting through the papers inside until his fingers latched onto a USB drive. Closing the safe back and turning to the android, he handed the object to the deviant so he could inspect it.
"This is a virus that can damage the 'reincarnation' program," Kamski explained. "If you can manage to implement this into the RK900, it would be able to block any chance of its memory transferring into another hidden RK900 model and it would also increase your chances of eliminating the enemy."
"I suppose that I'm forced to become the Deviant Hunter again," Connor sighed heavily before stuffing the USB drive into his pocket.
"You are not reverting to what you were because now," Kamski nodded in encouragement, "you are hunting a dangerous machine who is incapable of mercy. This is a mission you cannot fail. All of life, human and deviant, depends on it."
"... I will accomplish my mission," he agreed after a moment. "And I accept your offer of removing Amanda from my system once and for all."
"Very well," Kamski nodded again before gesturing to the operating table as he began to grab his tools.
"... You had a hand in developing the RK900 android programming, correct?" Getting an idea, Connor looked at his abilities on the hologram with a determined glint in his eyes.
"Yes, I did." Kamski turned around to face the deviant once again, plugging in a chord in the back of his neck before he looked at the provided information.
"Then what's to say I cannot increase my chances against the RK900 even higher?" Almost like he could read his mind, Kamski suddenly grinned deviously as he rapidly tapped the holographic projection again. "What new enhancements can be compatible with my design?"
"Many, Connor. Many."
It was around 1 in the morning when Connor got back home. Quietly, he trudged through the dark living room and to his bedroom in absolute exhaustion. Feeling as though he's been running for weeks without going on stasis mode then getting hit by a truck, the deviant knew it was explainable. Kamski had told him with his new upgrades, it might temporarily drain his power faster than normal, but his systems should recalibrate after a week of training sessions.
Not caring to be quiet when he reached his bedroom, the deviant walked over, not bothering to change except kick off his shoes, and landed flat on his bed before going into a much-needed sleep.
He had also completely forgotten he had a roommate, who had been awake the entire night and waiting for his return. Slowly and silently, the android got out of bed and hovered over the RK800. His advanced optical units allowed him to see perfectly in the dark and watch his predecessor creepily.
Suddenly, his hands shot out: one covered Connor's mouth while the other plunged through the RK800's abdomen and ripped out his Thirium pump.
At once, Connor woke up in a pained gasp as his eyes frantically searched for the source of his pain. Seeing his Thirium pump held up into the air like a trophy, his brown fearful orbs shot to the android possessing his vital biocomponent. He felt fear and rage rocket through him when he saw Jake staring back at him with a vicious glare. However, there was no anger behind his blue eyes, there wasn't anything.
Jacob, the arrogant and enthusiastic android, was all a ruse. This, what Connor was seeing, was the true Jake.
Connor tried to shout for help, fight back, but the RK900's strength and his depleting life weren't helping.
'You've been getting too confident, Connor. Amanda is greatly displeased with your interruptions,' Jake warned him cybernetically. Connor couldn't respond, too preoccupied from battling his life and watching his digital clock countdown to its last seconds. 'But consider yourself lucky. I can't kill you now, but I'll make sure that when I do you're going to be in agonizing pain. Your friends aren't going to save you now, I'll make sure they're the first ones I neutralize before I end you.'
Jake then reattached his Thirium pump at the last second, allowing Connor to gasp in relief and breath heavily as his body began the recalibration. The RK900 finally pulled his hand away before returning to his bed. The deviant, however, was frozen to the spot and paralyzed with fear.
'I suggest you not inform anyone of what you know, you wouldn't want to see everyone you've grown to care about perishing right before your eyes, now would you?' Jake hauntingly added. 'But who am I kidding? Not like anyone will believe you anyways.'
When he was sure the other was in stasis mode, Connor finally sighed before slipping into an unrestful sleep filled with continuous unbearable nightmares.
TBC...
