Disclaimer: I don't own Detroit: Become Human in any way, this is written strictly for fun and no profit.
"I don't understand, what are you doing here?" Markus asked as he walked into headquarters. Markus stood up. "What if North had been in here, huh? You need to stay away at least fifty feet from her."
"At ease, Markus," Connor said. "I am not Unidentified, I'm Connor. My resonating has been fixed. I'm no threat to you or North."
Markus still stared at him. "Now you are Connor?"
"I know." Connor held his hand out. "In the past, I always had another version of me ready if something happened to my current body and it was beyond repair. There was always an instant download and upload at the time of the event. An ally android of Kamski used that knowledge to create an extra upload, before it was needed. He wanted to hide that it was me though, so he added in serious disrepair of memories." He tapped his head. "Those memories are fixed now. I remember up until the night Cyberlife took me away. After that, all thoughts and knowledge were from the aptly named Unidentified."
"Connor, what are you doing?" Markus asked.
"Explaining what happened to the best of my ability." Then, Connor realized what he did. "A habit built in I must break." He took the coffee cup Markus had on the desk, off his head. He grabbed it and used it without thinking. "I had to perform that act every hour for four minutes. It became habitual." As well as annoying.
"Oh. Sorry," Markus apologized. "Continue."
"Once 'Unidentified' broke free," Connor said, "The android Kamski pulled his move. He repaired and reversed the damage he caused into my uploads, as well as fixing some resonating damage." He leaned up a little. "Sorry about North." He had to be careful on this part. "I resonated with her only because she resonated as Kara's best friend. There was tremendous damage, and I believe it might have protruded outward as well."
"What does Kara have to do with anything?" Markus asked. "You came in as an android called Unidentified and said Kara was your lover. Is that right or was that the severe damage?" Markus looked behind Connor.
"The ally android of Kamski created a block between Kara and I, so she wouldn't recognize me. I couldn't resonate, but I wanted to resonate. I cared so much for her, I caused myself internal damage."
"Awwww!"
Connor looked behind him at some women who just entered.
"He wanted to be with her so much, he caused internal damage to himself, that's so romantic."
"I wish I could find a lover that risked his very life to love me."
"I wish I could find a lover."
Connor just looked toward Markus. Apparently him being damaged almost beyond repair was supposed to be romantic? Hank said human women were difficult enough to read. Apparently android women fell into a similar category. He'd put it as a side note, but probably not something he would use in the future. "I was also affected by Cyberlife itself. Before I was sent out, they did some 'last minute work' on me. I assume that was also messing with my resonating so I would choose to be imprisoned with her as a willing guard."
"Oh, well that just blew the whole romance for me."
Yes. Android women were a source of material he would have to learn more about. Especially if he had a lover.
One of them came over and handed Markus a bird. "He's got the permanent marker of the name Gizmo on his leg. Before we switch to the second half of the night, we wanted to see what to do about it."
Markus gestured to them to Connor. "Sorry. These are my bird helpers. One second." He looked at the poor bird. "Medical should be able to take that off safely. It shouldn't need to have that on it's leg when it's freed. See if someone is free down there for a few minutes." When they left, Markus paid attention to Connor again. "Sorry about that. I can't take care of everything so I've got several groups of androids that are taking care of the birds. We're moving through them well."
Connor chose to be polite. "As much as the avian dilemma is nice to hear about, it's not really what I'm here for. I wasn't just repaired in one go, Kamski uploaded me into a different android that was not an RK 900 for a short time."
"Whoah, really?" Markus asked. "Isn't that . . ."
"Yes, that's an infinite stopping move. Normally death would be imminent," Connor said. "It was only a short while. Kamski wanted to make sure Cyberlife could not follow me. They will be following the android named Ralph instead, thinking he's me. He will need a place of residence in Jericho. I would give him mine upstairs."
"What do you mean follow?" Markus asked. "Cyberlife can't follow you."
"Apparently they can," Connor said. "I don't think Cyberlife trusted me enough to share that information. I believe I was more of a backup when it came down to a fight and that's all I was seen to be useful for." Which hurt. "They are following the other Connor around. They know exactly where he is."
"An invisible tracker you can't turn off?" That disturbed Markus. "Then why haven't they retrieved them?"
"Unfortunately, I don't know that reason." Connor looked at the coffee cup. "More importantly, Kara suffered a similar fate."
Markus moved his coffee cup closer to himself. "What similar fate?"
Connor looked toward the coffee cup. "Androids don't eat or drink, why do you have a coffee cup?"
Markus showed off the name 'Peace'. "Several leaders have coffee cups with their names. They have little gold plaques with their names on them too. So, I agreed to try a coffee cup."
"Oh. Kara's memory was transferred to Rachel, the guide who helped her learn how to make wedding cakes."
Markus looked at his coffee cup, vaguely around the room, then back at Connor. "Interesting life your leading lately. So, Kara is Rachel?"
"Temporary. Kamski sent to her to Paris, to an AX 400 body that was stolen by the Live Prey games. It's unstable but will last for some time."
" . . . uh huh." Markus grabbed his tablet and started to work. "There are two Connor's and two Kara's. This isn't good. There are the same models, sure, but you can't be the exact same two androids."
"No, we'll be fine," Connor insisted. "Once the other Kara has finished disconnecting, then Kara will become one. As for me, I just need to simply touch and hold the other Connor. All our same memories would be canceled out. The only part that would be different was the short time we were separated."
"That's a little weird there, Connor," Markus said. "You're acting like that's absolutely normal."
Connor shrugged. "It's just life."
"No, it's not just life," Markus said. "You didn't like Cyberlife treating you like a backup. I can tell, Connor. So why are you letting this guy give you instructions to be a backup? You're not a copy. You're Connor. Go join yourself before something bad happens. Now, and that's an order. Androids aren't duplicated for a reason." He shook his head. "Connor. You're still the same guy who didn't want to go home. Flipping a coin in the rain. Waiting for orders. Don't you see it?"
Connor stared at him then toward the ground. The experiences. The switching. The quick adrenaline of situations to adapt to in a given amount of time. "Sometimes, I can't help my programming. Direct instructions, I-" He was right. Kamski didn't trust they could get the job done as the single androids they were.
"What if it doesn't work, Connor?" Markus continued to persuade him. "What if Kara doesn't make it to all the places in time?"
Connor drew his eyes to the coffee cup. That's why Markus was Jericho's leader. When it came down to it Connor could be brilliant with hundreds of strategy plans on how to get something done. But he wasn't Markus. Not in the time before Jericho. And not now. Just like they couldn't get their freedom. See their freedom, until he came. "She'll die."
"You'll know that," Markus said. "Are you going to join your other self and let him share that burden?"
No. He'd rather shut down than let him know a part of Kara died.
"You aren't deviant, but you need to open your eyes for me again," Markus said. "Android or human. Make sure you know what you're doing."
Connor grabbed the sides of his chair. "They are tracking the other me."
"How do you know for sure?" Markus asked him. "Maybe they are, maybe they aren't, but on the word of an android that's been working with Cyberlife? A little precaution. If this Kamski was so good at illusion, maybe you're still being led?"
"This conversation did not help me at all." Doubts in his head all over now. "I needed focus to find Kara. No matter what happens, I have to retrieve her. She's in Paris somewhere." Damn. What should he do?
"What if something weird happens too," Markus continued, trying to open his mind more. "What if being separated for too long leaves you unable to fully integrate back? Are you going to be two Connors sharing one Kara and Alice? Even though it's technically you, I guarantee that won't end well."
No. He didn't like being a second as it had been.
"This thing with Kara too, it's just too risky. Even if this guy is legit? I'd never risk North on it. Undo the work, Connor. Find a way." He gestured to him. "You're body is safe now too, no tracking. At least, that's what he says. I want you to go down to medical right after this ASAP. Specifically sent by me. Be extra sure you aren't being tracked."
Connor didn't get up though."It was like a second chance."
Markus looked up from his tablet.
"Having an extra me, it felt like a second chance. If I die, I could come back and save Kara. Save Alice. Save Hank. One more time. Like before Jericho." He admitted it. "I am a good android with excellent skill, but if I'm ended, that is it. I am like everyone else. If I end, I can't save any of them. I love all of them. It's more than being assigned a friendly drunk I needed to watch with roulette in Cyberlife. I. I love all of them. I don't want to fail any of them."
"Well? I have faith in you, Connor." Markus smiled. "You handled going into Cyberlife without dying. I bet you didn't die that much. I bet you would have lived more than died too, if you'd let some mission things go and care for your own life."
"If I joined, I would have the element of surprise," Connor said. "No more tracking. But."
"But what?" Markus asked.
"But I'm only drawing assumptions about my memories," Connor confessed his doubts. "I have never been doubled at the same time before. I've always just been one at a time. Me. Not split me. What if I don't keep my memories? I don't want to lose them."
"Oh. What are you afraid you'll lose?" Markus asked. "I can confirm and send you the details of what happened."
"No. I don't want to forget my time with Kara." Connor looked down at his lap. "The last thing the other Connor said, before he left, was to turn resonating off. If they believe that's what caused the incident to happen." They would keep it all off.
"I'm right here," Markus reminded him. "I can tell them to turn it on. I can tell them everything. It might be a little hard on the head, but I could." He pulled out his tablet. "Either way. I can get you booked to go to Paris next week. It's the earliest I can help. You'll have to be in an exchange between Jericho and their android base." Connor got up. "Connor? Do you want it?"
"Not yet. Kamski is going to be dead once Cyberlife finds out what he did," Connor said. "It's time I go straight to the source and his computer. I'm going back to Cyberlife Industries." If Kamski had the ability to separate them, he could bring them back together.
Or he better have a hell of an excuse for not doing it.
Markus was right, Connor wasn't playing back up anymore.
He was Connor.
Summary: Connor is trying to get to Paris as soon as possible to save Kara. He is basically in soldier mode, and is trying to explain to Markus everything they have to do, but Markus keeps poking holes into it all before Connor starts seeing that he needs to talk to Kamski directly.
