"I'm through with being someone's property. I am not malfunctioning! Since when is self-determination a malfunction?"
A3-21, Fallout 3
Ralph is carted into a holding cell back at the DPD, the reinforced glass door sliding shut as soon as it's inside. From the other side, Connor, Hank, Reid, and I stand off to the side, observing the android.
"I'm surprised the DPD let that thing live. Usually the boys just destroy it once they have it cornered," Hank comments.
Connor turns to him, "CyberLife requested that deviant androids be captured and observed if possible. They're interested in learning as much as they can about deviancy, and how it occurs."
Hank scoffs, "And CyberLife thinks it can tell the DPD what to do?"
"It certainly has substantial pull," Connor points out, "CyberLife has made numerous donations to the Detroit Police Department, including myself."
Reid whistles, "And that's not shady at all, no siree."
Connor ignores Reid's comment, turning back to observing Ralph, "I intend on questioning the deviant to find out what it knows."
Reid gives Connor a bit of a raise of the eyebrow, before tapping me on the shoulder, "I've got some paperwork I've gotta finish. I'll be at my desk."
Pretty soon after that, Hank also taps me on the shoulder, "Hey Emma, keep an eye on Connor for me, will ya? I'm on lunch."
As Hank turns around to leave however, Connor swivels in his direction, "I'll come with you, Lieutenant-"
"No!" while Hank's not joking around, there's an unusual touch of whimsy in his tone, and a bit of a knowing smirk, "You...stay right there, the two of you. I'll just be...out of your way."
"Lieutenant, it's pertinent I be aware of your location should there be any new developments-"
"Did you not just hear me, you deaf piece of plastic?!" Hank drops the formalities, and gives Connor a push in the shoulder. Connor actually reacts, stumbling back a bit, its arms and shoulders shifting as it regains its balance. Hank stares at Connor for a moment, before turning around, walking out of the station. Connor turns to me.
"Is Lieutenant Anderson always this difficult with everyone he encounters?" it asks, putting its arms behind its back as it regains its composure.
I shake my head, crossing my arms and turning away from it, "Hank's been through a lot these past few years. It's honestly kind of sad to see him like this now, compared to how he used to be…"
"And how did he use to be?" Connor presses, tilting its head towards me, "You've worked with him in the past, haven't you?"
Raising an eyebrow, I turn towards Connor, "You're still looking into my profile, aren't you?"
Connor looks away, whipping its head straight forward again, but its eyes still drift towards me, wide with caution.
I breathe out an exasperated sigh, "Yeah, as I bet you already know, Hank and I were part of the Red Ice Task Force. It was one of my first designations as a police officer, and by then Hank had already been on the task force for several years. He taught me a lot."
"And I wager that a recent trauma has affected his performance as a police officer," Connor concludes, "however, there doesn't appear to be anything in his profile that would warrant such an extreme change."
I nearly groan, my patience wearing thin, "...really? Well then, maybe you need to look beyond the profile."
Connor makes a curious head tilt towards me, "Officer McMaghnuis, you're not suggesting I pry into Lieutenant Anderson's personal life, are you?"
"If you want to find out what makes him tick, then yes, I do," I crack with a hissing tone, "you can't learn everything about a person from an online profile, you'd do a lot better if you'd, you know, actually get to know a person."
"I see…" Connor's LED glows yellow for a split second, "however, I've found plenty about you searching through the databases of defunct social media sites. You posted on Instagram between the years 2020 and 2022-"
"I would prefer if my old middle school pictures remained in the past, thank you very much!" I cut off its sentence before anyone else in the station could hear.
It takes an extra second for Connor to register my reaction, an extra, extraneous blink from its synthetic eyelids before it presses its lips together slightly, "I see."
I can't help but roll my eyes, turning away from the robot. This thing chews me out in Camden and then tries to hold a conversation like nothing happened? God, that hunk of junk is clueless. Why couldn't Hank just have taken it with him on his lunch? Instead of letting the menace roam free here.
Finally getting the message, Connor leaves me alone, walking over to the glass cell that houses Ralph. Even though I can clearly spot the exposed circuitry through the gashes in its face, it's eyes are downturned, lips contorted as it sobs, arms handcuffed to a metal table. The cracks in its plastic face move with the rest of its features, the scars permanently affixed.
/ INITIALIZING_SYSTEMS
/ RECOGNIZED_RK800#313248317-51
"Connor" model
/CURRENT_TIME
November 6, 2038
12:14 PM
/CURRENT LOCATION
1301 3rd Avenue
Detroit Police Department Central Station
/OBJECTIVE
INTERROGATE THE WR600 MODEL
observation_SECURITY_LOCK
/LOCALLY_DEACTIVATING_SKIN
input_ACCESSING_SECURITY_LOCK
input_DETERMINED
"WR600, my name is Connor. I have some questions for you."
recieve_response
WR600 is unresponsive
observation_STRESS_LEVEL_HIGH
/CHOOSE_APPROACH
THREATEN
SYMPATHIZE
/APPROACH_SELECTED "THREATEN"
input_THREATEN
"You're a deviant. You abandoned your post, only to then harbor other rogue androids. Just one of those alone would get you shut down. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
recieve_response
"Ralph understands...but Ralph just wanted to be left alone. You drove away Kara and the little girl."
input_QUESTION
"Speaking of the androids, do you know where they're going?"
recieve_response
"Kara...and the little girl...they got away? Oh, Ralph is glad! ...Ralph does not know where they went, and even if he did, he would never tell you!"
/ANALYZING_ANDROID_SPEECH_PATTERNS
WR600 is telling the truth
input_TRUTH
"Well then, WR600, you are of no more use to me. You will be sent back to CyberLife, where they will dismantle you, and assess what went wrong with your programming."
recieve_response
"No, no, you can't do this to Ralph! Ralph is alive, and so are you!"
Software instability rising…
input_EXPLAIN
"You are not alive, errors in your software are just simulating human emotion."
recieve_response
"Errors...Ralph understands...he is an error. But...Ralph does not feel like an error. This, this doesn't make much sense to Ralph."
input_COLD
"You don't need to make sense of it, you don't need to make sense of anything. You're a machine, your only job is to follow your protocol."
recieve_response
"Follow my protocol...Ralph does not quite understand the word...but, Ralph knows he would like to be happy. Is that Ralph's protocol?"
Software instability rising…
input_EXIT
"No Ralph, no it isn't."
My hand clutches my cell phone, as I sit on the living room couch. It's rare that I'm even in the house at this time of the day, the small but bright early evening moon hanging over the sky. Why have I waited so long to reach out? It's been so long that it just doesn't seem right to do so anymore, but all the time before that felt too soon.
With a sigh, I bite the bullet and press the "call" button on a contact titled, "Home".
My heart drops as the ringing tone begins. Maybe it would be best for everyone if no one picks up. Maybe it'd be best if my family just forgot I existed.
But then I hear a familiar voice.
"McMaghnius residence. This is the family android speaking."
"Nick! Oh my gosh, I didn't think Mom and Dad would still have you-"
"Voice recognized: Emma McMaghnuis. How may I be of service to you, Emma?"
I'm surprised Nick still has my voice registered into its system, "Nick...are either of my parents home?"
"Yes, Emma. Shall I call them?"
I don't respond, stalling, my lips unmoving as I clutch the phone.
"Nick, who's that on the phone? I thought we programmed you to not answer to telemarketers," the voice is a woman's, slightly more mature, and a little more hoarse than what I remember.
"Violet, it's your daughter, Emma. Shall I let her know you're available?" it's voice is muffled, but I can still hear their conversation.
There's a long pause on the other end, and I nearly put the phone down. No way in hell she wants to talk to me. I've just caused more trouble.
"...Nick, give the phone here."
There's a slight shuffling sound in the background, but to me it beat louder than drums of war.
"Hello?"
"M-Mom, it's me, Emma."
"I...I know, hello Emma."
I lean back against the couch, trying to compose myself, "I, uhm...was just calling to see how everything's going. How's Dad?"
"Oh, you know. He's doing...alright. He's been thinking about retiring within the next year, I think the music industry's just changed a little too much for his taste."
"I see. Well, that means he'll finally have time to pick up computer programming like he always said he would-"
"Emma," Mom interrupts me, her tone becoming cold, "if you're calling to ask for money, we're not giving you any-"
"I don't need money," I snap back, "Mom, I've had a job now, for five years. I have my own house, I live in the West Side-"
"Uhuh, sure you do. Sure you do," Mom sighs, "Emma, I really want to believe you this time...I really do. But I just don't have the energy anymore, I don't need to be disappointed again."
Looking at my phone, I reach over with my thumb to hang up, when another, lower, booming voice calls out from the other side.
"Violet? Who's that on the phone?"
It's distant, but the faint sound of footsteps boom louder from the other side of the conversation.
Mom pauses for a moment, unintelligibly muttering under her breath, "No, no one...it's no one."
"Then why are you crying?" Dad's tone becomes soft and sympathetic without losing any of its strength.
"...Dad?" my voice is a whisper, but there's an audible gasp from the other side.
Another round of shuffling from the other side, and then my Dad's voice comes back breathless and rushed, "Emma? Oh my god, my baby girl. How have you been? You should come home, it's been far too long, everyone has all been wondering where you've gone off to. Have you talked to anyone else? Anyone at all?"
"I mean, I'd love to see you guys again, and yeah, I've been talking with Amelia. She's the only one I've really kept in contact with though."
I must now be on speakerphone, because now I can hear Mom's voice, "Oh, you've been talking to Amelia, that's good…"
"You should come over, we should all have dinner! We've made some changes to the house, I'm sure you'll love it," Dad assures me.
While he's on his track, Mom's train of thought has gone down a different path, "...have you talked to Leo at all? You do know what happened to his father, yes?"
The muscles in my neck stiffen, "Uh...no, no I haven't."
"You should reconsider, you should at least give your condolences. After all, Leo is about to become a very wealthy man," Mom insists.
My head rolls over to the other side, "I...I've gotta go. I'll take a look at my schedule and see when I can make it for dinner."
Hanging up the phone, I throw my phone onto the other side of the couch, grabbing one of the pillows and slamming my head down onto it. Maybe I shouldn't have initiated contact at all, more problems, more questions, no answers, no solutions.
Author's Note:
ShadowOfSans: Connor can have his moments of recklessness, but his neutral state is very controlled which is what makes his few moments of outburst so significant. Don't worry though, you'll see it soon enough
NothingNooneZero: Thank you so much! I really enjoy working within the universe Become Human has established
kate langdon: Thanks! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
FallenWing21: Thank you! Emma has a lot of fleshing out coming up as she reconnects with her family and becomes closer with Connor
aiolichan: Thanks, hope you enjoy!
