Connor blinked. Several times. His brows furrowed in unabashed confusion. He opened his mouth, then closed it, LED flashing yellow. After a minute of processing, he composed himself. "You're not an android."

"Yes..." You spoke slowly, "That's what I said, detective."

"You have a CyberLife android profile. I scanned you and found several biocomponents."

"I assure you, I am human."

A silence settled over the two of you. You deemed it appropriate to speak again: "If I am not here for the reason you intended, I will return to the station."

Connor's puzzled expression morphed into one of seemingly genuine alarm. He reached for your arm as you turned to walk away, calling your name. "Please, wait. I-"

I am laying on a table. There is a white light above me. It is hard to see. There are voices. They are coming from the right.

I turn my head to find their source. A man and woman are talking.

There is a word on the glass wall behind them: CyberLife. I am in the CyberLife building.

Her: "We send you to recover Russian tech and you come back with a child."

Him: "This kid is Russian tech. They... did something to her. Lots of somethings. I promise, I didn't waste time."

Her: "That's for us to decide, Mr. Jacobs. You won't receive payment until we've confirmed its value. You're dismissed."

Him: "Confirm it soon, then."

He is walking away, but he pauses.

Him: "Be nice to her, yeah? Pet project or not, she's a kid."

Her: "I assure you, she will be well taken care of. Assuming she is worth the effort."

I cannot hear what the man says next. The door slides shut behind him. The woman is looking down at me. I can only see the silhouette of her head against the light. Strands of her hair feel soft on my face.

Her: "Welcome to CyberLife."

The memory left Connor reeling. When he opened his eyes, you were standing a few feet in front of him, holding your arm to your chest. He looked down and saw a black glove in his grip.

His eyes found your bare hand. It was white, that of an android whose skin projection was inactive. He took a cautionary step forward, but you didn't move. After your initial shock had faded, you didn't seem tense. A scan showed no signs of an elevated pulse or respiratory rate. Connor adjusted his tie, before extending his hand towards you, offering your glove back.

You took it. "If I may ask," you slipped it on. "Was probing my memories necessary?"

"You said you weren't an android."

"That's correct, I'm not."

"I'm unable to probe humans."

"As you said, I possess CyberLife-issued biocomponents. You probed #0003, my neurosensory log."

Connor felt the urge to touch you again- to learn more about you. As a detective, it was only natural for his programming to make him curious and inquisitive. He was following protocol to gather information. He was functioning as he should.

So why did he detect traces of software instability?

Connor called you. You were outside the house now, and he gazed at you through the doorway. His tone was hesitant: "If it isn't an inconvenience... I would like to... May I probe your memories again?"

There was no sign of discomfort in your stance. The concept of someone looking inside your head didn't seem to bother you, much to Connor's surprise. However, you were bothered by things you didn't understand. Connor could deduce that much from your insistence on replying to questions with more questions, so your next words were expected. "What for, detective?"

"A lesser investigation of mine."

You considered his request for a moment. "It wouldn't be an inconvenience at all. I only request a compromise."

"What would that be?"

"I want to continue following your investigation of deviancy."

"I will see if Lt. Anderson allows it, but why?"

"A lesser investigation of my own, detective."

Strangely, the lieutenant wasn't adamantly opposed to you joining them. He had gotten used to your ghost-like presence in the office and somewhat appreciated the quiet company. At first, he wasn't so tolerant of you, thinking you were an android, but Hank soon learned you were a human after asking Fowler why he brought you in one day. Once he'd mentioned 'injuries' and that an old military buddy asked him to pick you up from the hospital, Hank shrugged you off as a CyberLife agent with shitty people skills, and he wasn't that far off the mark.

You watched Connor exit the car to join the lieutenant outside a street vendor: Chicken Feed. You'd told them you'd be out shortly after making a call to Captain Fowler. He sounded surprised when he answered; you never actually called him before. "Is something wrong?"

"No, sir, I'm only calling to report the events of today's operation."

He made an irritated sound at your militant attitude. "And what of it? Anything important?"

"I am unsure of the importance, so I will let you judge. I am going to be following Lt. Anderson and Connor's progress with the deviant cases."

You practically heard his suspicious glare, "You want to help them?"

"Yes, sir. Will my present wishes conflict with any future orders?"

"No. There's nothing planned for you 'side from hours of typing, and I'm starting to think that transcribing might be a good way to discipline new officers."

"That concludes my report, Captain."

"Hmph," he hung up, and with that, you exited the car and joined Hank and Connor, who were standing and talking at a table.

"Is there anything you'd like to know about me?" Connor asked the lieutenant.

"Hell no," he said immediately, then stopped to think about it. "Well, yeah- Why did they make you look so goofy and give you that weird voice?"

"CyberLife androids are designed to work harmoniously with humans. Both my appearance and voice were specially designed to facilitate my integration."

Hank nodded thoughtfully, "Well, they fucked up."

That prompted you to examine Connor from your side of the table. You didn't understand what Hank meant by 'fucked up.' You were sure that if Connor was a human, many people would find him attractive. You tilted your head. He isn't a human, but even so, I find his appearance and voice... pleasing. I would like to be around him more.

Lost in thought, you realized you missed the past few exchanges in the conversation. You tuned back in to hear Connor. "Maybe I should tell you what we know about deviants." Hank seemed to like that.

"You read my mind... Proceed." He resumed eating as he listened.

"We believe a mutation occurs in the software of some androids, which can lead to them emulating a human emotion."

The lieutenant threw you a glance, "Translate?"

"Oh," you said, expecting to only listen. "They don't actually feel emotions. They're overwhelmed by irrational instructions, and since they struggle to decide priority, it leads to unpredictable behavior."

Nodding, Hank replied, "Emotions always screw everything up... Maybe androids aren't as different from us as we thought."

You retreated back into your mind to think this bit over. Lt. Commander Gilbert had last ordered you to mature and learn to feel. You intended to do just that. But Lt. Anderson had said emotions were... detrimental to performance. Here were the irrational instructions, like you'd said. You asked yourself again: Can a human be deviant?

Turning your attention back to the conversation, you observed as Hank asked, "So what's your conclusion?"

Worrying he was addressing you, you opened your mouth to ask him to repeat the past sentence of two, but Connor responded, "I think working with an officer with... personal issues is an added challenge, but adapting to human unpredictability is one of my features." He winked.

For some odd reason, you felt compelled to make an effort to commit that one moment to memory. Your biocomponent surely would've recorded it regardless, but this one time, you felt a conscious need to remember this. Strange.

Connor's LED flashed yellow in your periphery. "What was that?" you asked.

"A report of a suspected deviant. It's a few blocks away." He glanced in what you assumed was the direction of the deviant. "We should go have a look... I'll let you finish your meal. I'll be in the car if you need me." Connor looked to you and tilted his head the direction of the car, gesturing for you to follow suit.

Before you did, you turned to Hank. "Thank you, Lieutenant, for letting me accompany you." After getting a curt nod in reply, you turned and followed Connor.

You felt your phone vibrate in your pocket before you got in the back seat of the car. It was a text from the captain with an attached image. Time froze around you as a sense of urgency slammed into your chest. Instead, you opened the passenger door, where Connor was sitting.

"I'm afraid I won't be able to join you this time. I need to get back to the station."

He stole a glance at your phone screen, still in your hand, and read "J. Fowler" across the top of the screen. Nodding, he asked, "Is this matter that pressing?"

"Yes," you said immediately. You saw Hank approaching the car now. "Don't let me slow you down. Go on and see about the deviant. You can find me at the station tomorrow morning."

As you started walking the direction of the station, hoping to catch a taxi the rest of the way, Connor called to you, "Tomorrow then."