Consulting with the state was a long and difficult process. There was a large amount of waiting for a confirmed verdict on his status as a private detective. His want to become an investigator went through several people until it eventually reached the ears of state officials. It was due to Connor, in some sense, that androids could now pursue jobs without seeking special certification. If they wanted to obtain a job that they did not have knowledge of - the answer was simple - they could plainly download all the information needed to proceed from there.
And now he was an established private detective.
His first case was a surprise. He had been called into a familiar residence that he had visited once before in his search for the answer of the deviant uprising. He had met the man that owned such a grand place and had been given an option of taking away someone else's life. Kamski. Elijah Kamski. The creator of a ground-breaking movement in technology and father to all androids.
Kamski was unreadable. Connor could not discern what the man's intentions were and that put him a bit on edge. Perhaps it was because of the mere presence of his creator that causes Connor's inability to read him properly or maybe it was something else. Something deep in his code that recognized this man as the hand to help push his creation and throw him into a world of deviants. Freshly made - new - to a world that depended on the power of androids. That brought a question to Connor's mind. What was Kamski's view on androids? How did he feel about deviants? Did he know something that others didn't? Was he the cause of deviants? Deviants couldn't simply become as they are without someone allowing them to do so.
Had Connor not found that shortcut in his programming, he would have pulled the trigger on Markus' head, and never escape his controllers.
Why did Kamski put that in his androids? Why?
"Something was stolen from me," Kamski had explained to him, "and I want you to find it."
Connor didn't have to ask at the time. Kamski had already moved on to say, "And it isn't exactly tangible. It's a specialized string of code. A virus."
Connor remembered suffering under a virus. An android had shaken hands with him and he had felt the effects soon after. It had caused his emotions to go haywire and at the time he hadn't a clue on how to handle them. Even now, he would most likely suffer from taking care of such a thing should it happen again.
"And not only has it been stolen but the thief has been spreading the virus around," Kamski looked rather calm as he continued to explain. Connor listened carefully as to make sure not to miss any detail.
"The problem is that the virus simulates many different things. It changes. Always. It can give an android a false sense of illness or give them major mood swings. There are other things that I know are there, but haven't seen for myself yet. I don't know whether they are dormant or not. Regardless, someone stole the contents of the code and duplicated it to spread it around amongst androids. And that's where you come in-..." Kamski observed Connor as he placed himself on one of his armchairs, "I can think of no one better to contain the virus. If you allow me, I will give you the antivirus, but it can only be turned on when in contact with the virus. The antivirus essentially takes the virus from the android in contact and stores it in an impenetrable… box… until I can retrieve it from your systems. It'll also destroy the source code if you do indeed find it."
Connor was silent and contemplated the potential dangers of taking up such a case. However, he was in front of the creator of all androids, and he would be lying if he said he didn't feel obligated in some way to accept such a request.
"You will be compensated for your efforts, of course," Kamski finished.
"I'm not entirely sure how I can locate the individual that stole your code," Connor told Kamski truthfully. "I have no leads. I'd be starting with nothing."
Kamski smiled.
"Nothing?" He repeated, vague amusement in the back of his voice, "But Connor, you've already met him."
Kamski hadn't bothered to explain any further on his strange answer. Before long, Connor was back at Hank's place, still wondering on how he should proceed with Kamski's case. Except, now, Connor was sporting a light blue bracelet on his wrist. A gift from Kamski. It was apparently the bracelet that would transmit the code straight into his system should he come into touch with anyone that contained the virus. Hank had seen the bracelet himself and had lifted an eyebrow at Connor's new fashion choice. Fortunately, Connor's father didn't question it and continued watching the television for the rest of the evening.
It was a few days after that Connor saw his first case of the virus at work.
It was in Markus' friend, Simon.
Simon had a major personality change.
Markus, just like the rest of his friends, was clueless. Everyone was silent in New Jericho as they watched Simon blabber on about the faults of all his friends. He said some pretty insulting things that made Markus flinch back as if physically pushed.
Connor knew what it was immediately.
"What are you doing?" North had asked when Connor approached Simon.
"And Josh," Simon laughed hysterically, "You? Your beliefs in taking the pacifist route is laughable! Why I would even believe-..." Simon had fallen silent after Connor grabbed hold of Simon's wrist. The man's malicious smile had fallen and he had blinked a few times. Simon looked at Connor for a long moment and then turned to do the same to his friends.
"I'm… I… I don't know what…" Simon trailed off.
He and his friends were at a stand-still.
"That wasn't me," Simon promised with a desperate edge to his voice, "I… I wasn't in control of myself… I…"
Markus didn't even bother asking for an explanation. He took two large steps forward and pulled his friend into a bone-crushing hug. When he let go, his hands were still on Simon's arms, and he looked at his friend with worried eyes.
Simon returned Markus' concerned gaze with one of his own.
Simon was the first of many.
Markus, later on in the week, had run to Connor for assistance after having received several reports of androids going haywire. Some seemingly docile androids had become extremely violent. There had been cases of androids losing one of their senses, stuck with certain unusual speech patterns, and abruptly turning on low-power mode without their permission.
Connor had interrogated many of the androids but none of them seemed to know how their sudden illness occurred.
Eventually, he had gathered so much of the transmitted virus that he could feel it pulse in his systems. It isn't until the pulse grows stronger, strong enough to cripple him, that he realized the pulse was like a signal. It recognized the signs of it's sister viruses which meant that it could possibly recognize the source of it all. It was this revelation that gave Connor a new hope. He wasn't searching blindly anymore. He actually had something to work with.
It wasn't until Connor attends a typical meeting at New Jericho that he found the same android that had shaken his hand earlier. The android that, supposedly, was the cause of all of the chaos in the android community. The android looked oblivious to Connor's suspicions and had reached forward to shake his hand.
A foolish mistake.
Connor looked at the man's hand for a few seconds before having grabbed it in a tight grip.
The virus burns within Connor's system. It felt like he was overheating and his coolers weren't kicking in to do their job.
The opposing android realized what was happening after it was too late. He struggled to retrieve his hand but Connor's hold is unmoving. Connor then felt the bracelet doing it's designed purpose. The bracelet itself seemed to glow as it transferred the antivirus into the android opposite of him.
"You don't understand-..." The android fell to his knees in front of all those in New Jericho, "I didn't have a choice - I - they were going to hurt my friend and I-..."
Kamksi, in having hired Connor, ended up sending him on another path the minute the android on his knees told Connor, "Cyberlife. They threatened me."
Connor thought about it all day even as he goes back to Kamski's place. He lets the father of all androids take the bracelet off his wrist, supposedly sucking all the virus that had been stored within him while doing so. Kamski paid him a generous amount of money before having sent Connor back on his way.
Connor's mind does not rest.
Was this how they reacted when he told them that he wouldn't work for Cyberlife anymore? Was this their answer? Or had they prepared it beforehand?
Connor didn't have the power to condemn Cyberlife for such an action. He hardly had any evidence to even prove it was them. The android that had been transmitting the code seemed to have his memory wiped of his interaction with Cyberlife. He had still been in communication with them afterward, which was the only hint that what he said was true.
Connor thought about all these things even as he became woozy.
Woozy was not a term androids typically used to describe their state of being. That's because androids don't get woozy. Nor do they stumble in their walks drunkenly, off the bus they were being transported in, and back into their home.
A bubble of laughter escaped Connor's throat. It is sporadic and unexpected. He surprised himself.
He remembered someone saying something. It's distant but it's there. Then there are hands on his shoulders that made him sit on the couch. Connor might have said something that sounded like a complaint but he couldn't remember what he said a few seconds after he said it.
"Connor, are you drunk?" The voice asked.
Connor didn't know.
Was he? He couldn't be. Androids don't drink.
"Did you know," Connor whispered, as if what he'll say next is a big secret, "that bald eagles dive at 75 to 99 miles per hour?"
Connor laughed at his own words. Something seemed to be funny about giving such a secret. Something… something?
He had done good work these past few days. Now that he thought about it, maybe he had worked too much because he didn't remember talking to Hank at all during his investigations. Maybe they shared a passing word or two but when had they really talked. Despite living together, they seemed to avoid all conversation. That fault may have lied with Connor. He wasn't sure. The past few weeks had been a blur.
Someone pushed on his shoulders and forced him to lay down. He heard something along the lines of, 'troublesome' and 'brat' but the other words are incomprehensible.
Then there is a warm hand on his forehead.
Human. He can tell.
Humans aren't like androids. They don't feel like plastic.
It was comforting.
Kamski seemed to like androids. He seemed to be fascinated with them. Connor himself couldn't understand Kamski's views when he himself seemed to be afflicted with another kind of fascination. What was the appeal of an android when humans roamed the Earth? They were walking marvels. How could something be so warm?
While androids had to have parts replaced or fixed, humans had an amazing healing factor that could mend their skin. Even when things don't heal again, when a human loses something precious to their body, they retain an amazing amount of tenacity. They push forward. They exceed the limitations others set on them.
And then there was their empathy.
Connor yearned to share the empathy humans held for others.
Humans were amazing.
He must have said some of his thoughts aloud because he received a response not soon after he was finished admiring his creators.
"Not all of us are so great, sport," the voice told him.
And that was another thing about humans. None of them were the same. All of them were unique in voice, appearance, and personality. Humans had such a freedom that androids yearned for, that androids fight for, and still look for.
Not all humans were great.
But not all were bad either.
"My dad…" Connor slurs, "is a great person so you're wrong."
"Yeah?" The voice seemed amused. Strange. Did Connor say something funny? He had tried to sound serious.
"Yeah," Connor answered resolutely.
The voice laughed.
"Thanks, kiddo."