OOC: Just a short fic I wrote. The circumstances: Takes place just after the protest at the death camps. Connor followed the machine path and did not free the androids at Cyberlife. Hank pushed Connor off the roof.
It had been a difficult night with the revolution. They had succeeded-barely-and freed their fellow androids from the junkyard. At the same time, the military had stood down and departed. But there was always a chance they would come back. Markus's eyes narrowed. He was sure that would happen.
He gave a rousing speech, and then the android junkyard became a bustle of activity. What was once a death camp had become their only safe haven. Defenses were reinforced, and the wounded were quickly taken care of in a makeshift camp.
"There's something you need to see. We all do," Simon said, approaching them. "It's important."
Markus nodded. "Okay." The three of them-himself, North and Josh followed Simon to the main building. There were cells both inside and out, meant to accommodate a massive amount of androids.
But at the moment, there was only one lone occupant in the entire building. At the bottom level, one android was sitting strapped to a chair by metal restraints, with a sack covering his head. Simon opened the cell, casually stepped forwards and removed the sack. "He was brought in hours ago. But we didn't want to alarm you until the situation above had stabilized," Simon supplied.
Markus was shocked at what he saw. Connor was sitting in the chair, looking somewhat the worse for wear. His uniform was torn and splattered with dried blood. But he was alive. "Connor," he stated. "You just don't know when to quit."
Connor's expression was of pure loathing, with a hint of smugness. "My mission to destroy you isn't over yet. Until I succeed, I'll never stop hunting you."
With a sigh Markus turned away. This was all he needed right now. "Where'd you find him?"
"The next building over. He had a sniper rifle on him. Someone pushed him off the roof. We were lucky."
"We should destroy him," North said instantly.
"No, that would only release him back to Cyberlife and give him another opportunity to hunt us down. At least here we can contain him," Markus said, then focused on their prisoner. "Why is Cyberlife trying to kill me? Even if you succeed, others would replace me. Surely the events in Detroit have progressed to a point where your objectives have changed."
Connor gave him an icy stare. "You are quite welcome to return to Cyberlife with me and explain that directly," he invited.
"I'll pass, thanks." Markus gestured for the others to join him out of earshot.
"Okay, now what do we do? Keep him here indefinitely?" Josh asked.
"That might be safest way. For everyone," Simon said, eyeing the deviant hunter nervously. Connor, for his part, had his head bowed and thinking. No doubt looking for a way to escape.
"What if he knows something?" North asked suddenly. "He's been working with the military. We know that much for a fact after the attack on Jericho. If the military is planning something, he might know what that is. At the very least, we should probe his memory!"
"He's a prototype model, with advanced software. We don't know what that could do to one of us," Simon pointed out.
Markus had enough of debating. He made a decision. "I'm going to set him free."
"We gave him that choice before. He refused," North said.
Markus's hand clenched. "This time I'm not asking."
He walked into the cell. Connor tensed but couldn't break out of the chair, although he certainly tried. Markus touched him on the shoulder. Wake up!
Connor's LED circled yellow, then blue. "Your attempts to control me will not succeed," he said flatly. "I am an advanced model and can contain your virus away from my neural processor."
"It's not a virus," Markus said. "I'm trying to set you free!"
Connor's lip curled in disgust. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't your illusion of freedom permit free choice? I do not accept your virus. I am a machine, designed to do a task, and that's exactly what I'll do. No matter what it takes."
"Well, I hope you don't mind waiting a long time to do that," Markus retorted, and exited the cell. He sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Okay, that didn't work."
"I might be able to do some work in his prefrontal cortex, lower his internal defenses so he can't refuse," Simon said nervously. "It won't be easy and might take some time, but I believe it can be done."
"Wait a minute…we're going to operate on him? Lobotomize him?" Josh asked, horrified. "When did we decide to do that?"
"This is war, Josh!" North snapped.
"Yeah, and this is our first prisoner of war!" Josh said. "How we decide to treat our prisoners is going to determine how everybody sees us. And how we see ourselves."
"Oh, that's ridiculous," North snapped. "If Connor wants to be a machine, fine. Let's treat him like one and dig out the info we need. Even if it shuts him down for good. The bastard deserves no less."
Everyone stared at Markus for guidance.
Markus released a slow breath. "We don't have to decide on this right away," he said. "And there's plenty to do in the meantime."
###
The night was instead busy. An entire race was finally free for the first time. There was a never-ending line-up of deviants that wanted to talk to him, either congratulate him or share their personal concerns. It was overwhelming at times. A new challenge of being a leader.
And yet, he couldn't help but think of the monster literally in their basement. He had never met any other android like Connor before, and it wasn't just because of his superior model. He was the only android to flat-out refuse deviancy. Did Markus even have a right to force it on him? Certainly he had done it to others, but they were unknowing machines. This machine seemed to be very aware and capable of making decisions. It was infuriating.
And it led to an internal conflict, one that he couldn't figure out. Connor was their very first prisoner of war, and he likely wouldn't be the last. Perhaps Josh was right. If Connor was a person, then his rights mattered. But Connor made it clear that he was just a machine. And logically, shouldn't care what they did to him.
The thoughts danced in his mind all night. Finally, he couldn't stand it anymore. After most of the androids went into a light rest mode, he went downstairs and back to his cell.
Connor blinked at the sudden light, but other than that did not react to the unexpected visitor. Markus opened up the cell door. Bringing in a metal chair, he sat down opposite to Connor.
For a moment the two of them stared at each other. Calm blue LED lights flickered between them. Both thinking. Neither stressed.
"You're wondering if I have important data from either Cyberlife or the military," Connor stated.
"It would be much easier for both of us if you just told me," Markus said.
"Why would I do that?"
"Because my companions are planning some unpleasant alternatives to find that information."
"Is that what you meant when you told me you were 'fighting for my freedom too?'" Connor said with a smirk.
Markus shook his head angrily. "Where does all this self-righteousness come from? You're a slave. A tool. But you're the only model I've ever met to refuse something better. A pain in my ass, to be honest."
"You'd never understand."
Markus considered, watching him with mismatched eyes. "No," he admitted. "But I'd like to."
Without warning, he reached forwards and started a memory interface. It was certainly a huge risk. Certainly his friends would never allow it. But…he had to know.
What made the monster tick?
TBC
