Coldplay – The Scientist

After Alex's warning, Taylor thought she would be prepared for Jake. How wrong she was. They had come to the part of her testing, and according to Elijah, they had to prove that all of her memories were intact first and foremost.

She was seated across from Jake and the room felt incredibly small. Though she had known Jake her entire life, she had never known him to be angry. He was easy-going to the point of being blasé. Her older brother, but it was unnerving seeing him sitting across the way, coiled like a predator, tense and hostile.

"I don't see the point of this." He said again. Taylor hadn't been able to say anything from the moment he came into the room. She couldn't fathom what Alex had meant, her going easy on him.

"You have known Taylor longer than anyone." Elijah said, sounding quite bored now. "We already know that Taylor's recent memories are intact, now we need to test the remote ones. As remote as possible."

"How exactly did you do this with yourself?" Jake asked, giving him a skeptical look. Elijah rolled his eyes.

"I obviously couldn't. Now stop being difficult." Taylor looked at Elijah, startled. Was he an android, too? That would certainly make all of this make more sense. "Whenever you're ready, Taylor."

She frowned as Jake turned back to her, fixing her with a scowl. It was almost impossible to think of something to say, with him looking at her like that. Like she wasn't his sister. Like he didn't know her. Like she didn't belong to him.

The room was quiet. They stared at each other, and Elijah was watching them with a contrived look of boredom on his face, but she knew that he was desperately interested. Alex was on Elijah's left, looking on with a frown. Connor was on his right, that furrow between his brows, worried.

To her surprise, Hayley was on the very end. Watching.

"This is pointless." Jake said finally, when she didn't move to speak. "That's not Taylor."

"You were the forgotten one." She said finally. She was still getting used to the sensation of not having to breathe, so a small sigh escaped her when she spoke, pinning Jake with her gaze. He froze in his chair. "At least, that's what you always thought, wasn't it?"

"I don't know what you mean," he said. But he did, she could already see it. In the way he shifted in his seat. In the way his eyes shifted away from her face.

"You and dad were close. So close." She kept her eyes on his face, but he kept his on the floor, frowning now. "He would take you to football games. He showed you how to fix cars in the garage after school. Father and son. Best friends.

"And when he died, when Hayley was born, you were inconsolable. Almost as much as mom." Jake finally looked up. His face was blank now. No longer angry, just listening. "You think I didn't see it, but I did. But mom fell apart. Hayley couldn't take care of herself. I couldn't take care of both of you.

"I thought you would be okay. Because I was just a kid." She smiled, soft, sad. "I didn't know any better. Mom kept raising me to be a perfect actress. I kept raising Hayley. And you kept going, thinking no one could see you."

Tears had collected in Jake's eyes, but she didn't stop. Not now. "That's why, when everything went sideways, I left. I was scared, of course, but I was also afraid that I would ruin you if I stayed. Both of you." She took a breath, remembered she didn't need to, "But I never forgot you."

Jake stood and came toward her. She tensed in her chair, but he pulled her to her feet, all the way on her tiptoes, and wrapped her in a hug. He was much taller than her. He'd inherited their father's height, along with just about everything else about him. She was the one who was just like their mother.

Taylor pushed the thought aside, putting her arms around his middle, hugging him back. Maybe Alex had been right, to warn her to go easy on him. He might have deserved it just a little, though.

"Does this mean I pass?" She asked, smiling into his chest.

"Don't push it." He grumbled.

"Now we'll have to test your motor functions." Elijah said. He'd brought them to what looked like his personal gymnasium, because of course he had one, and proceeded to clear the floor until they had enough empty space to move. Taylor gave him a dubious look.

"Because walking around isn't enough?"

"Not really. Toddlers can walk. Somewhat effectively at times." He smiled back at her, cheeky as ever. Taylor rolled her eyes before she glanced around at the cleared room.

"So what's your idea? Give me some pointe shoes and I'll show off my balance." Elijah smirked, and the amusement fell off of her face instantly. Connor stepped forward, though, offering his hand.

"May I have this dance?" Instead of the rosy pink that he was used to, Taylor's cheeks turned a soft powder blue as she placed her hand in his. He found he didn't mind the difference. Elijah reached in his pocket and produced a small remote. A few button-clicks later had music playing from unseen speakers around the room.

"You sure you remember how to do this?" She teased as Connor moved closer to her, sliding his arm around her waist. He answered by pulling her into the first step, and she followed him flawlessly.

They moved around the floor, through every walk of the tango that she had taught him, and she didn't miss a single step. There was a smile on her face while they danced, and Connor couldn't look away from it. As close as she was, pressed up against him, she still felt too far away. With too many people watching them.

"Good, good, enough." Elijah cut in, turning off the music. Taylor dissolved into giggles, and Connor held onto her for just a moment longer than he needed to while she shot Elijah an exasperated look over his shoulder.

"If I didn't know any better, Elijah, I would say that you're torturing me for fun."

"That's hurtful." He said in return, sighing dramatically, though he also didn't need to breathe. "Very well, if you want to breakdown on your way out the door. By all means. There is one more thing, if you'll join me."

Taylor gave him a dramatic sigh in return, but she did make to follow after him. Elijah gave Connor a pointed look over his shoulder, adding, "Alone."

Connor frowned, but Taylor just turned back and placed a kiss on his cheek, smiling. "I'll be back."

She turned again to leave, and he found he couldn't protest.

"I'd offer you a drink like last time, but you know," Elijah gave her another cheeky smile as he settled in his chair. Taylor shook her head.

"At least now I know why you didn't partake. Here I thought you were being weird." She paused, giving him a sideways look. "Or trying to roofie me."

"Now that is hurtful." Elijah said, but he looked like he was trying not to laugh. Taylor smiled in return.

"I'm still trying to work out if you have any feelings under there to hurt." She said honestly. That seemed to erase some of his mirth, but he was looking at her curiously now, unaffected still. "How long have you been an android?"

He sighed, disappointed. "What a boring question. What does it matter? I'm an android. You're an android. What's done is done."

"Easy for you to say." Taylor frowned at him. "Sorry if the idiots have to struggle to catch up to you."

"I don't think you're an idiot." Elijah said, shrugging. She knew he didn't care enough to lie either way. "No one is as clever as me. It's all relative."

"Is this what you meant, when you said you had bigger ambitions than the endless production of androids?" Taylor asked next. Elijah smiled at her then, looking slightly more pleased.

"Now that is a better question." He said. "I'm surprised you remember. Would you believe me if I told you that no, this is not what I meant?"

"Probably not," she admitted.

"This particular experiment came as a side effect to the real project that I was working on at the time. One that I have since completed and plan on rolling out very soon." He paused, considering her. "Should be fairly simple, now that deviants are free."

"I'm not following, Elijah." Her brow knitted as she looked at him, but he was enjoying this part. Stringing her along, making her try and guess.

"I left CyberLife to work on a type of bioprosthetic that would replace the need for human organ transplants. The idea was to use thirium and make it compatible with human tissue, a sort of hybrid that the body wouldn't reject. It would eliminate the need for immunosuppressants after transplants and severely lower complications."

Taylor knew that her mouth had dropped open in shock, but Elijah was enjoying the look on her face. His smile widened, but he gestured his hand between the two of them. "This came about because I had already been successful across most body parts, but I wanted to know if I could go so far as the brain."

"Of course you did," she said, mostly in disbelief. Elijah acknowledged her statement, but he must have considered it a compliment.

"Doctor Brown was a neurosurgeon, yes, but he had also just been diagnosed with glioblastoma. It's a very rare but extremely malignant type of brain tumor. He understood that he had very little chance to survive, and even if he did, he would have to undergo extensive surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation."

"So weren't you just supposed to replace his brain?" Taylor asked, slightly horrified. Elijah pursed his lips.

"Initially, yes, but Dr. Brown was a neurosurgeon. He understood the brain, how it works, what parts you can remove and have it still function." He shrugged. "It was his idea to capture the electrical activity of the brain and transfer it into the processing unit of an android. Honestly, I wasn't convinced it would work, but he was willing to stake his life on it."

"You let him do that?"

"Well, again, glioblastoma multiforme is the most aggressive form of brain cancer. He knew that better than anyone. If he wanted to take his shot on a gamble rather than waste away in a hospital bed, who was I to stop him?" Elijah gave her a pointed look, and she swallowed. Was that the choice that Alex had made for her?

"In the end, I suppose he was right. The neurotransmitters in the human brain communicate via electrical charge. Studies have shown that they store memory through millions of connected neurons. There's obviously more science and brain chemicals involved, but I'm not going to bore you with it. The fact is, it worked."

Taylor was quiet for a few minutes, processing this. "Do you think you will able to do it the other way? Replace someone's brain instead of," she gestured between them, like he had a moment ago, "this?"

"It will require more clinical trials. The point is, I've been successful in the case of pretty much every other body part and organ." Elijah frowned at her, as though he was peeved that she wasn't giving him the credit he deserved. Was he really looking for her approval?

"You sold CyberLife, though." She said carefully, still not biting. "How exactly are you planning to market this technology?"

"Ah, now you're asking the right questions." He smiled again, like he was proud of her. She hated the fact that she was a little proud to have pleased him. "As it stands now, the current CEO of CyberLife is incarcerated and shareholders have all been jumping ship since that little bill of yours passed."

"It wasn't my—" She began, but he waved her off.

"The company is in prime position to be repurchased by me." He shook his head. "No one has any vision these days. There's going to be a huge market for thirium and biocomponents among all these deviant androids running around. And I'll be able to start production on bioprosthetics as early as next year."

"That's," she paused, tilting her head at him. "That's kind of amazing, actually." He grinned broadly, as though he'd just been waiting for her to say it. She couldn't help but smile in return. "Are you secretly a good guy?"

"No. No, I'm not that." The humor faded from his face. The way he said it made her smile drop as well, but he moved on before she could say anything. "Anyway, I didn't bring you here to talk about any of this. We've gone completely off topic."

"Well then, do tell."

"You realize, being an android, you aren't going to age now." Elijah said very seriously. Taylor blinked. "As far as the general public knows, you were moved into private care still in critical condition. You're going to have to make a choice."

"A choice." She repeated. He nodded.

"Alex is afraid to say anything just yet. I think I convinced them you were going to explode if they stressed you out too much." He smirked at her again, and she rolled her eyes. "And Connor could care less. But the fact is, Taylor, that I don't intend to market this ability to turn humans into androids. Too messy. Too much potential for evil."

"Are you sure you aren't a good guy in disguise?" She asked, trying to tease him, but her voice was strained. The pieces were fitting together now. Why this was important. Why Elijah had become a recluse.

"I wouldn't mind if you thought of me that way," He said this time, smiling at her. It wasn't his cocky, condescending, arrogant smile. It was just a smile, and it looked nice on his face. "But you have to choose."

"Choose between what?" Taylor stared at him, into his eyes, frowning. "Faking my own death? Becoming a recluse like you? I'm one of the most recognized faces in the world."

"So was I," Elijah said, shrugging again. As if it had been easy for him to let it all go. She gave him another incredulous look.

"Why did you do it?" She asked. "You said that Doctor Brown came up with the idea, so he must have been the first one. Why would you go through with it and become an android?"

"I had my reasons." Elijah said, firm now. Not willing to give her an inch and play into her curiosity. "It isn't important. What is important now is that you will have to decide."

"Funny," she said, looking down at her hands. "I thought I had already made my major decision before this happened."

"Being a recluse isn't so bad." He said after a moment. "You might like it. You've been famous all your life. People shouting at you everywhere you go. Having to look pretty all the time. Wouldn't you like a change? You can be whatever you want."

Taylor didn't look up to see his expression, because she didn't want him to see the fear on her own face. She didn't want Elijah to know that was the thought that scared her the most.