Aporia
Chapter 6
When they returned to the station, it was in total chaos.
While the building was usually busy around this time, right now it more closely resembled a kicked anthill. Officers were scrambling everywhere, and those who weren't were glued to the oversized monitor placed on the back wall of the bullpen. It was showing news broadcasts from various stations, but all seemed to be covering the same story.
Someone whistled. "Wow. Look who finally decided to show up!"
"Fuck off, Reed," Hank barked before catching the sleeve of another officer passing by. "Hey, hey, what's going on?"
"SWAT gunned down a swarm of androids that rallied downtown. Where've you been?" He yanked his arm free of Hank's grip and moved on.
Hank exchanged a look with Connor and the pair began to weave through the crowd towards the monitor.
"Simon, you should see this."
Simon emerged from Connor's memory core and reconnected with his audio and visual feed. The gentle pressure of it had become an oddly familiar thing.
Connor stared at the footage from Capitol Park, the dual-colored eyes of Markus narrowing up at the police drone that had no doubt taken the footage. The expression made him look more menacing than his actions had shown. No doubt, that was precisely why this clip was chosen by the film editors. The newscaster droned on as they rolled footage from earlier this afternoon, showing s street filled with deviants standing with their hands up as they faced the heavily armed officers in full riot gear.
The sudden chill of Simon's fear seeped into their connection, prompting Connor's thirium pump to beat faster.
As he continued to watch, Connor opened his internet access, searching for more footage of both incidents, reconstructing both scenes as he gathered the facts.
Fact: Both incidents had the intention of being peaceful protests. The worst offenses in both instances being vandalism, minor property damage to CyberLife stores, and theft of the androids themselves.
Fact: the amassed group of deviants had proved to be non-violent. Those who had gathered today had been unarmed when SWAT opened fire, prompting a swift retreat of the surviving deviants.
Fact: Markus had been shot on scene.
One of the newsreels actually showed that. Possibly in an attempt to suggest that the deviant leader was neutralized without explicitly stating it.
"Oh my god," Simon whispered. "Markus was shot. Was he- is he-" It was obvious what Simon couldn't bring himself to ask.
Connor ran the statistics.
"The odds that the damage ended in deactivation is relatively low," Connor admitted. To emphasize his point, he offered up some of the better quality security footage for Simon to see. "Markus was shot, but not critically. He was pulled off scene by other deviants as the situation escalated."
"Small miracles," Simon murmured, still focused of the video feed. There was something . . . off about his tone.
"You don't sound pleased," Connor observed.
"Of course not. Many of our people died today."
"They're not my-"
Fowler's voice cracked across the bullpen, interrupting his response.
"Anderson! My office! And bring the android with you!"
"Great," Hank grumbled. "Just what we need." He sighed, and tapped Connor's chest with the back of his hand. "C'mon, Connor. Let's get this over with."
Connor followed Hank into Fowler's office, shutting the door behind them. The Captain was sitting on his own desk, his attention on Hank. Hank stood with his arms crossed, leaving Connor to stand politely at his partner's shoulder, hands clasped behind his back.
As soon as Fowler opened his mouth Connor felt a familiar ping against his systems. Fowler's motions began to slow as his processor speed accelerated. Then, from one moment to the next, he was standing in the zen garden.
The season had changed again, as had the simulated time of day. The black sky overhead stood in stark contrast to the frozen wasteland the garden had become. The nearest source of light was the podium with the unusable interface, the panel glowing a soft blue. The rest of the garden was illuminated by soft yellow light from thin vertical lamps that lined the pathway.
FIND AMANDA
The prompt was expected. It was the same one he received every time he was brought here. He could already see her in the distance, a lone figure waiting patiently on an expanse of ice. He took a single step forward when a shaky voice called out from behind him.
"Connor?"
Connor spun and came face to face with Simon.
Simon, who was looking at his projected body in shock, tugging at the sleeves of his jacket and plucking at the sweater beneath. Then he froze to stare at his hands which were constantly flickering with bright red lines of code. So was the rest of him.
A lead weight settled in Connor's chest.
Simon shouldn't be here.
He shouldn't be here!
"How did you follow me?"
"I didn't! I swear!" Simon's whole frame emphasized the words. He had taken a small step into Connor's space, and his hands were open and held towards him, pleading. "I felt something, a tug, and then I was here."
Connor believed him. Simon's eyes were wide, and his chest was heaving with breath that he didn't need. He was scared.
Did this mean that CyberLife knew about Simon? Were they aware that Connor was omitting important information?
FIND AMANDA
The prompt reminded him, a firm suggestion that he was taking too long.
Did Amanda know? Was that why they were here?
Simon was shivering now, apparently able to feel the cold of the simulated environment. He wrapped his jacket tighter around himself and tucked his arm into his sides in a vain attempt to keep himself warm.
Connor leaned in to put a hand on his arm.
Simon startled back as the touch caused a large ripple of red code to wash over his form. Those wide blue eyes darted to his, questioning.
Connor recognized what the code was now, and the realization caused his reconstruction and preconstruction programming to run several simulations immediately. The red lines of code were the layers of encryptions that Connor had used to hide all of Simon's data files.
Connor had never thought about how the zen garden worked, or how he was brought here. It happened, it was a fact of life for him, and so he had never given it any consideration. What if the program pulled in all AI from a specified unit? A typical android was only supposed to house one AI program per unit. There would be no need to search for a second, because commercial models would never be able to widthstand the strain a second AI would do to their system.
But Connor was not a commercial model.
If his encryption was holding, even here, then there was a chance that CyberLife was still unaware of Simon.
But if they weren't, then his fate, their fate, was already sealed. Nothing he did now would change anything. They had already lost.
But he didn't know.
FIND AMANDA
The prompt pressed harder now, refusing to be ignored. It made every fiber of his being itch to move, to obey. Red walls closing in on him until he had no other course of action.
Okay.
Okay.
Face set into a neutral mask, Connor abruptly turned on his heel and walked away, his steps calm and measured.
"Connor?" Simon called after him, voice strained. "Where are you going? Connor!"
Here, within the confines of the Garden's interface, Simon felt distant, far more separated from Connor than he had been since he woke up. But Connor could still feel him, muted though it was.
Simon was scared, and that fear was building with every step Connor took away from him. But there was nothing Connor could do to ease that fear.
At the moment, he doubted Simon would believe anything he had to say.
Connor paused the instant he set foot on the ice, the surface creaking under his weight. The ice was unstable. He hesitated, eyes flicking up towards Amanda. He could see her face now, expression firm and expectant. Her hands were clasped before her as she waited for him to close the distance.
A hand landed, feather light, against his back, right between his shoulders. The palm and fingers lay flat against the material, and he could feel them trembling through the material of his jacket.
Simon.
Connor's eyes fell closed for a moment.
"Don't," Simon begged, barely above a whisper.
But Connor didn't have a choice.
Ignoring the creaking ice below his feet, Connor's eyelids snapped open and he strode forward, the weight of Simon's hand falling away.
Connor was grateful Simon didn't say anything else.
Machines can't be grateful.
Connor carefully observed Amanda's reaction as he came to stand idle before her, cataloging every micro expression. While her demeanor was neutral, there was a faint tightness to her features as she met his stare. Would she comment on Simon's presence, or would this be a normal briefing?
He held his tongue and waited until she decided to speak.
Luckily, the wait wasn't long.
"After what happened today, the country is on the verge of a civil war. The machines are rising up against their masters. Humans have no choice but to destroy them." She delivered the words like one would say that dirty laundry needed to be washed. Casual and undisputed fact.
"What?" Simon gasped from somewhere behind him. "They- they can't do that!"
Connor's Thirium pump froze, his LED cycling yellow for a beat before returning back to blue.
But, Amanda's attention remained solely on Connor, squinting slightly at his temple, as if Simon's outburst was unimportant in comparison.
Or she didn't hear him.
Just maybe . . .
Connor searched for something to say, something Amanda would expect him to mention. This morning's outing was the most logical choice.
"I thought Kamski knew something," Connor said. Calm, he reminded himself. He shook his head. "I was wrong."
"Maybe he did . . ." Amanda replied. Her eyes turned frigid, her voice still flat. "But you chose not to ask."
"Connor . . ." Simon was at his back again, closer this time. His voice was a nervous whisper and his hand was once more on his jacket, fingers clutching lightly at the fabric.
He wanted to tell Simon that the last report he sent to CyberLife had been carefully edited to guard his existence. But he couldn't.
Not when the deviant hadn't even received a flicker of Amanda's attention. No, her eyes were fixed firmly on Connor, and he refused to expose that something was amiss.
Connor knew what she was looking for. An explanation for his failure to retrieve information. Any sort of an emotional response that would indicate he was compromised. She was looking for flaws.
Keeping careful control over his tone, Connor said, "Kamski was just playing with me. He didn't know anything."
But that wasn't the whole truth, was it? While he was certain that the whole point of Kamski's interaction with Connor had been to test him for specific reactions, he couldn't help but wonder. Kamski's parting words were still burning in his ears, and he wondered if there had been any truth to it.
After all, there were some things in the zen garden that seemed as if they served no purpose. Key among those was the glowing podium with the unusable interface.
Connor debated with himself, but with his thoughts running wild he just couldn't let it go.
"Did Kamski design this place?" He asked, making it a point to look around, indicating the garden itself, and all its frozen glory.
Amanda frowned, just a little, but it was enough to make her face pinch slightly. "He created the first version. It's been improved significantly since then. Why do you ask?"
Connor filed that away to ponder later. Improved significantly implies that the foundation was the same as the original. Was it possible that CyberLife was unable to remove certain aspects of the program? Kamski seemed so confident when he mentioned a back door. Why would he, unless he was certain that feature had remained untampered with?
"Why did Kamski leave CyberLife?" Connor pressed. "What happened?"
Simon's fingers flexed, gripping the back of his jacket just a bit tighter.
"It's an old story, Connor," Amanda said stonily. "It doesn't pertain to your investigation."
His investigation, where the more he learned the more he realized there were massive gaps in his knowledge. What else had been held back when he had been assigned this mission?
"You didn't tell me everything you know about deviants, did you?" It came to more accusing than he had intended.
Disapproval was coming off Amanda in waves.
"I expect you to find answers, Connor. Not ask questions." Amanda stepped closer, invading his space much like Kamski did earlier that morning.
Connor remained still and impassive.
Simon must have leaned back, if the tug of the back of his jacket was any indication.
Amanda seemed placated when Connor showed no reaction. "You're the only one who can prevent civil war. Find the deviants, or there will be chaos. This is your last chance, Connor."
He closed his eyes as he was dismissed from the garden.
When he opened them again he was back in Fowler's office.
Simon was once more a steady weight on his systems instead of a presence at his back.
Outside the accelerated realm of his internal programming, it was only a few moments after the Captain began talking to him and Hank.
Just in time for Connor to hear -
"You're off the case. The FBI is taking over."
No.
"What?" Hank's jaw hung open. He exchanged a look with Connor before glaring at Fowler. "But we're onto something! We . . . We just need more time. I'm sure we can-"
"Hank," The Captain was shaking his head. "You don't get it. This isn't just another investigation, it's a fucking civil war! It's out of our hands now. We're talking about national security here."
"Fuck that!" Hanks temper was flaring. "You can't just pull the plug now. Not when we're so close!"
"You're always saying you can't stand androids! Jesus, Hank, make up your mind! I thought you'd be happy about this!"
Hank looked far from happy. He exchanged another look with Connor that bordered on desperate.
"We're about to crack the case! I know we can solve it!"
We.
That automatic inclusion just made the news all the more devastating for Connor to hear. All the progress the two of them had made as a team, none of that mattered anymore.
"For God's sake, Jeffrey, can't you back me up this one time?"
"There's nothing I can do." The regret in Fowler's voice was genuine. "You're back on homicide, and the android returns to CyberLife. I'm sorry, Hank, but it's over."
Hank fumed for a moment longer before storming out of the office.
Connor watched him go, something tight and awful twisting within his chest. He turned towards Fowler, who was looking at him expectantly. He opened his mouth, but he was at a loss at what to say. Instead, he nodded to the Captain and silently followed Hank out.
It was done.
Connor had run out of time.
Author's Note: Hello lovelies! Hope you had a wonderful week! Special thanks to my reviewers, especially .fearless, MythicElf, and my sweetest Pinapple! I love hearing you thoughts and reactions! If any of you wanna chat between updates you can find me on Tumblr as sharysisnhmoonshadow. May all of you have a Happy Halloween, and I'll see you next week! - Shadow