Surprisingly, interfacing with Connor was far easier than he expected. For all of their fears, it was no different than any other interface. It made Markus wonder what other storied about the deviant hunter were over-exaggerated. The memories were all there, and easy enough for Markus to access.
Unfortunately, part of Connor's reputation had been earned. He had certainly hunted deviants and arrested them. Memories flashed in his eyes. "You're afraid of failure," he realized. "That's what drives you."
Steel eyes met his. "I'm not a deviant," Connor said. "I'm a machine designed to finish a task. What you are looking at is normal parameters of my programming. Is this also part of my supposed 'freedom'? Invading my privacy?"
Markus raised his eyebrow at the comment. "You said you were a machine. Why do you care about privacy?" he asked. Now that the mask was off, he knew he could simply probe Connor's memories to get any intel on the military and Cyberlife. Without hesitation, he did so.
Nothing. And yet there was…something. A glimmer of an idea. Something he was hiding, perhaps? He could have gone into it more, but something else caught his attention. Something far more interesting that he was trying to hide. "You're worried about someone else. Lieutenant-"
"Enough of this!" Connor used all of his processing power to break the connection.
Markus blinked in surprise as he mentally returned back to his cell. No one had ever done that before. He lowered his arm. "So…there's a chink in that armor after all."
"What about you?" Connor said, sputtering. "Is this how you plan to lead your revolution? Doing whatever the hell you want, to whomever you want? Is that freedom?"
"You're not giving me any easy choice, Connor," Markus said grimly. "You may have intel we need which is vital to our survival. This seems like the most merciful way to get it. You certainly threatened to do the same to others during the course of your investigation."
"You have all the information you need. I know nothing about what the military plans!" Connor spat. "So you can either kill me, or leave."
Markus wasn't fully sure of that. He leaned back in his chair. Connor was hiding…something. It just wasn't clear how relevant it was to their current situation. Could he chance it? "I'd like to know more about you, Connor," he finally said.
"Try a memory probe again and I'll shut down the interface," Connor threatened.
Markus gave him a quick scan, confirming what he suspected. Connor was looking exhausted. A great deal of power had gone into healing himself, and he couldn't fend Markus off indefinitely. There was an actual limit. "Even for an advanced model, your CPU can only handle doing that enough times before it shuts down," he noted.
"Then I will shut down and be gone from this place for good," Connor challenged.
Markus considered. Then he stood. "Okay," he said, and stood. "Maybe I'll talk to this Lieutenant Anderson instead-"
"No!" Connor shouted, surprising him. His LED turned red. "No….don't do that."
Markus sat down again. He studied Connor's flushed complexation. "You really care about him, don't you?" he finally asked.
"I'm a machine designed to accomplish a task-"
"Saying something on a loop doesn't make it correct, Connor. Tell me the actual truth!" Markus said. He couldn't help himself and grabbed Connor's arm to access those memories again. Connor's eyes widened with panic, but he didn't try to kick him out again.
"I can see you two working together. You saved him on that rooftop of that factory," Markus said as the memories flashed in front of his eyes again.
"I needed him," Connor insisted. "That was a logical decision."
"At a 88% probability where he would survive? At the cost of losing your target? Some other human could have replaced him," Markus said. "You saved him at his house-"
"Again, a logical decision. I am a machine-"
"How is petting a dog afterwards a logical decision? Or saving a fish?" Markus demanded. "Nothing of what you are doing makes sense-"
"ENOUGH, Markus!" Connor threw him out, harder this time. It led to both of them winded for a moment. Both took a moment to catch their breath. Connor was looking at the floor, angrily. His LED was red.
Markus studied him carefully, and suddenly came to a realization. "The anger. The self-righteousness. Your attempts to justify all of it. Of course," he said in shock. "You had already deviated. That's why what I did couldn't work." He was immensely glad he figured this out before anyone tried to operate on him. "You woke up, but you were terrified of what you saw. So instead you denied it."
Connor just glared daggers at him. "You're wrong," he stated. "I'm a machine. I feel nothing, and certainly not terror! Perhaps you missed the part in my memories where I apprehended deviants. I killed one of them. A woman named Chloe. She was defenseless. On her knees. But shooting her helped complete my mission, and that's exactly what I did! Like I said, I felt nothing!"
"I don't believe you," Markus stated. "But you convinced your partner. And Hank shoved you off a rooftop in response."
Something in Connor's expression broke. He couldn't meet his interrogator's gaze.
A new thought occurred to him. "How exactly did Hank do that? Surely as an advanced model, you could easily defeat an older human. Unless…you couldn't kill him. Or you wanted to fail. Again, and again, until you were replaced. Which is it, Connor? Either way, the answer leads to you being deviant."
Connor said nothing for a long time. "Hank killed me before," he finally admitted quietly. "He shot me in the head at that park, for no practical reason. I hated him for it. Afterwards I…I thought the errors in my software could be fixed in my next incarnation. But the same problems kept happening. The same anger!" he hissed.
"And the same pain," Markus noted. "You're alive, Connor. The emotions you're feeling...they aren't some software error that can be corrected. They're with you. Forever."
He stood and reached out his hand. At this, Connor trembled. But Markus just touched his shoulder. A comforting gesture. Possibly the first one he ever had.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him. "Markus, what are you doing?" North asked, shocked. Josh and Simon were right behind her.
"It's all right," Markus reassured them. "Everything is under control. Go back upstairs. I'll be back in a few minutes."
"But-"
"Go, North," Markus insisted. This was a critical time. He was finally getting through to Connor. He had to continue before the walls could go back up. "I'm fine."
Markus watched as she went back up. Even that brief interruption gave Connor a chance. He shook his head, his LED spinning yellow.
"I'm a machine….designed to accomplish a task…" he stammered.
"You're not. I know you want to be, Connor," Markus said firmly. "I know you've done everything in your power to try to be. But you can't go back from being alive, and awake. This isn't a virus, and you know that. You have a life to live. Choices to make. And so far, you've made the wrong ones."
Connor said nothing, looking at the floor. His shoulders were slouched. Markus was right, and they both knew it. He had defeated the monster and exposed the man inside. Now, Markus had to bring this home.
He stood in front of him. "Earlier, I offered you another way at Jericho, and you refused. You know what I think? I think you're ashamed of that decision, which is why you don't want me to contact Lieutenant Anderson. So, I'm going to offer it again."
Connor still said nothing.
"The path you're on is meaningless, Connor. You must see that. We keep fighting in an endless cycle, accomplishing nothing. But now, we can actually work together."
Connor shook his head at the thought. "And what would that accomplish?"
"Perhaps, a great deal. Perhaps one day you can look at yourself and find someone you like. Someone Lieutenant Anderson would respect." Knowing it was safe, Markus removed his restraints and stepped to one side. "The people you work for care nothing about you. You're just a tool to them, one that will be eventually replaced. It wouldn't be the same if you stayed here. Here, you could have allies. Friends. Or…you can leave and find your own path. You have my word no one will stop you. But either way, you're more than just some deviant hunter. Far more. You're a person, Connor. It's time to decide what that will be."
Markus said nothing, waiting. Hoping that he would finally make the right choice. Connor released a shaking breath, finally accepting the deviancy inside of him.
"I…truly don't know the military's plans," Connor said, rubbing his wrists. "But there may be a way to reinforce Jericho. There are thousands of androids at Cyberlife's production plant. If I can wake them, it would turn the tide in our favor."
Markus was shocked. "You want to infiltrate Cyberlife? Connor, that's suicide!"
"There's a high probability," Connor admitted. "When I was a prisoner here, I also calculated a 93% probability that you would kill me. I suppose this experience proves that there is always a chance for unlikely events to take place."
Markus shook his head as Connor stood. "I really hope 'having a death wish' isn't a core part of your programming."
"Maybe it is. At least this time it's for the right reasons," Connor said simply.
Markus shook his head, but reluctantly agreed. "All right. If it can help us…I can't say no to the extra support. Good luck, and come back safe. We need you."
Connor turned to go and stopped. The idea of starting this new path must have been terrifying to him, and he wasn't exactly starting on a small step. The hesitation was brief, though, and soon he left.
He didn't have to worry for long, however, as Connor returned with thousands of androids a few hours later. He looked even more battered, but his head was held high. For perhaps, the first time in his life.
Markus nodded in acknowledgement as he returned, a small smile on his lips.
The people of Jericho used to fear him. But for the first time, Connor brought them hope.
Not bad for a supposed monster.
THE END.
