The zen garden.

A beautiful place designed solely for Connor to exchange information with Cyberlife, and to keep tabs on his deviancy.

Off in the distance, an intricately designed arch of metal and rock hung over a pedestal with a hand printed on it. Connor didn't bother walking over and examining it again for he'd done that twice before and twice was good enough for an android to confirm that it wouldn't do anything the third time.

Somehow, the zen garden had changed.

Connor never understood exactly why the zen garden even remotely changes every time he enters it, because he was not programmed to understand these things. He was programmed to accomplish whatever mission he was given, and he was going to do exactly that.

So why did he stop and watch the snow fall, when his only mission was to find Amanda?

It was an integral part of his analysis, Connor decided. By taking note of his surroundings, particularly the gorgeous snowfall, Connor could adjust himself to the mood and make the exchange much more efficient.

Amanda was waiting for him in the middle of the lake, rock still. Her unmoving stance told Connor that she was not happy. Ice cracked under the RK800.

"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."

For the first time since Connor's first system check, he had nothing to say to Amanda but a question and an apology.

If she wasn't a human, how could she know all this?

"I thought Kamski knew something," Connor replied instead, "I was wrong." Something about the way that Amanda was looking at him told him to look at the frozen lake below him.

"Maybe he did… But you chose not to ask."

AMANDA V

Connor stayed silent. His social system seemed to be bugged, for no response was produced. He made a note to run a diagnostic on it later.

More questions queued up in Connor's mind. They were waiting - each one pushing for priority - to be asked and answered. "I'm not a unique model, am I? How many Connors are there?"

Amanda's tone changed from passive-aggressive to dismissive. "I don't see how that question pertains to your investigation."

"Why did Kamski leave Cyberlife? What happened?" Connor pushed on. Something in his system was grinding down his control over what he was thinking and saying. It was almost like an itch, like a block of ice freezing all his biocomponents and rendering them cold and useless.

"It doesn't pertain to your investigation," Amanda deadpanned. Connor could tell she was getting impatient; or rather, frustrated. Yet, he continued to prompt her.

AMANDA V

"I saw a photo of Amanda at Kamski's place. She was his teacher-"

"I expect you to find answers, Connor. Not ask questions." Amanda stepped forwards. Connor took a step back. "You're the only one who can prevent civil war. Find the deviants, or there will be chaos." The RK800 willed himself to stay in place; his systems were now more difficult to control. Several error messages flashed, but eventually disappeared as Connor's guiding system started to run.

| MISSION ACQUIRED |

| GENERATING OBJECTIVES… |

FIND NORTH

"This is your last chance, Connor."