—
How. Dare. He. Even with machine thinking, he still knew from Hank the difference between what to say and what not to say. She was sure someone like Hank would not be talking about it. It never came up before. They never dealt with the installs. It was just a quiet thing, a whisper.
Connor just took her past like an antique vase and shattered it onto the floor! She gave him lots of chances. She had been understanding. She dealt with his machine attitude, his thinking, and every other aspect of him.
That was just not right though. Not right at all. "Take me to Elijah Kamski, the creator of me, RK 800. If there is a way to stop the signal, he will find it, without destroying me, unlike you."
"If you have strayed this far into error, then-"
Oh no he wasn't! "Hank told you what to talk about with me, I know he did. He's human and he has compassion. Did he or did he not talk to you?" Yep, that face. "Then forget how the deviant android feels, you just let down Hank."
That was the only thing that would hit him. She grabbed the little kitty and left the room. She needed some alone time, and she didn't need him being stupid and going after Simon or anything.
"Are you alright, ma'am?"
Kara rubbed the tears away in her eyes. "I'm okay, Sir. Just a tussle with a controlling friend." It was hard to see someone she cared about, get led straight back into that machine life. It was hard to try and separate the two in her mind.
She watched as Connor came toward her. "I didn't run," she said, "I just couldn't stand to be in the same room with you right now." She moved the kitty closer to her. Not to read anything, it was just nice to feel something comforting right now.
"Maybe we should have named that kitten Alice." He still couldn't quit hurting her!
Ugh. She went further down the hall until he grabbed her.
"I didn't mean anything by that. I meant Alice comforted you, and the kitten comforts you. Comparison. That's all," Connor insisted. "Yes, Hank did warn me not to talk about things, but only around Alice. There was no Alice."
"Hank said that because Alice is always around me, he was trying to be caring without being caring," Kara confronted him. "You know that's how Hank is!"
"Well, I still followed his orders."
"You left certain installs alone," she said to him. "Hank made you. Elijah made you."
"I didn't really understand the installs besides the immediate facts," he said, still just as lifeless. Well? Maybe not quite. There was something there. "Hank was mad. You're right, the subject upsets Hank. Even if you aren't human, I should respect Hank's real wishes, not his words."
Hank was mad? "Why was Hank mad?" Kara asked. "Everyone left my installs alone."
"No. The Rk 900, Rick. He made Hank mad," Connor said again. "He tricked me into thinking Cyberlife wanted me to go there at night. He worked . . . on finishing it. He was obsessed with my missions."
What? "Rick?" What?
"That's the . . ." Connor was fidgeting, not making machine movements now. "The redecorating time. You knew that."
What? "Him? He?" Rick activated that? "That?" That. That. That.
Connor held up his hands. "I see that you are trying to process activities that drive your errors up. It's best to calm down and approach the room again."
She wasn't going to blow herself up, he had it wrong. If she went in there now, he'd probably just kill her. He misunderstood so much.
"Back to the room," he instructed her again. "That's an order."
"Stop being so controlling," the human from earlier said to him. "You are the controlling friend that was making her cry, aren't you?" The human was older but apparently brave to face a stranger like that. "Leave her alone, give her some space."
The human held her hand with a smile. "Come with me, let's go get you some fresh air downstairs in the lobby."
Kara didn't protest, and Connor couldn't protest. He couldn't disobey a human. He might be very good at terminating androids, but he couldn't even say no to one elderly human.
She looked back at him as they were approaching the stairs. He was just frozen, like he was confused on what to do.
Kara did need some space to think about things, but she wouldn't leave far. She knew Alice was in no real danger, those kinds of threats were meaningless to her. However, Connor was seriously starting to think of getting rid of her.
She had to calm herself down, and she had to explain. Not only explain, but in a way a machine would understand it. Connor wouldn't respect her as an individual being having problems.
Well, it looked like Connor figured out something. Echo was coming downstairs toward her. It growled at the human who took her, and then tugged on Kara's sleeve.
Training Echo well. Echo let go of her sleeve and just looked at her.
You had a few minutes, now come back upstairs, Echo said?
You connected a talking connection through a dog? Connor was taking over the dog. He could have talked to her from there with that method, he wanted to test his control over the dog. Ever the machine. Loophole. Echo wasn't just for guarding or attacking, you can use him against humans.
Perceptive. Echo scratched his ear. Yes, even though he's deviant, I still have some limited control over him. He's very useful, like now. Come back upstairs and let's talk in the room.
No, I want to talk down here, like this. I need to explain myself. Brave face. Brave attitude. Pet the kitten. Did you ever find yourself in a situation where you had to do something against your programming?
Echo tilted his head. Yes. Watching over you and Alice was not in my original programming.
It's an annoyance.
It was at first. I had to get used to it, it was part of my mission.
It wasn't nearly as bad as taking yourself to Cyberlife to be deactivated though. Right?
There we go. Echo laid on the ground, his ears flat. Machines are not alive, but we have certain functions to utilize to enjoy our continued activation. Knowing that you are ordered to go somewhere, and that place will end you, it's unsettling to the system.
What about a clown at a birthday kids party? There, throwing him something he felt uncomfortable with, along with a twist. If Cyberlife ordered you to be a clown at a birthday party, how would you execute that?
Echo got back up and panted. I am not working with the Detroit Police.
Elijah then. If Elijah called and said you were going to play a clown at a birthday kids party, how would you feel about that?
Echo stopped panting. There is nothing dealing with crime, investigations, and I lack the knowledge and/or correct breathing to blow up balloons. I doubt our synthetic breathing is enough.
There's a machine for blowing up balloons. Installs will be thrown into you, and some of your other installations will be removed.
There were machine clowns already ready for parties. They are fit with better air.
Doesn't matter. It has to be you. There's no choice.
If it has something to do with a case-
No case, it's his nephew, and you are conveniently there.
I am being ordered to perform simply because I am there? Something that has nothing to do with my necessary function or performance? Installations are being used for a temporary purpose, and more useful ones are being removed?
Yes.
I would still do my service and perform at the birthday party. Then the installations could be removed and I could get my other installations back.
Not all of them back. Something happened, and you aren't permitted to get them all back.
Echo lied back down again, covering his eyes with his front paws. The installations would be removed. Then something out of the ordinary would happen, the precinct would see me acting like a clown, Hank would like me a little less, and I'd lose any respect anyone had for me as a commanding officer. Disgraceful.
Yeah. He said that all himself.
Echo removed one paw and peeked out one eye. The foreign installations felt unnatural. People lose respect with you, or those around you. When I brought them up, it made you insecure.
They aren't who I am. I'm a nanny, a housemaid, I didn't belong in that setting anymore than you would as a clown. All it did was rob me of my . . . original functions.
Only some of them that you could get back. Those installs felt more like a virus inside of you.
It was close enough.
Echo got back up on his foot and sat down on the floor. I would not want to discuss being a clown in a birthday party at any point unless it was pertinent. I see where you are coming from. I will not address this matter again and I won't terminate you for fear your errors are getting worse.
I knew it, you were thinking of that.
If you hadn't taken Wallet with you, you could have avoided this. I could read you better with its senses in synch with me. I thought since you took Wallet, you were trying to keep me from seeing more intense errors.
Was he kidding? You have much tighter connections than me.
I am the one in control of this operation, I just need minimal connection with you. Echo reached for Wallet and held him in his jaw softly only a second. No, your errors are still the same, there is no change. Can we please go upstairs so I don't have to control this SM 400 anymore? He let go of Wallet again.
Just because she took Wallet? How annoying. She couldn't change it though, she didn't want him going after another deviant since she wasn't there to be watched.
She went back upstairs with Echo.
I want to talk about something else with you. Into the room.
She went back into the room where Echo started to jump on her again. Connor had let go of control of him. Instead, Connor was sitting on the bed.
"I hope that we can keep things on more friendly terms now?" Connor questioned her.
"Being friendly is preferred, as long as the conversation stays that way," she said back.
"You keep referring to Elijah Kamski, as Elijah, denoting you probably know more about him than I do. I am programmed for his entire name or last name. It is usually that way with witnesses and/or important people."
"He is my owner," she said truthfully. "Current. You know that."
"He found you and registered you as his considering how important you were," Connor said to her. "It doesn't explain why the first name is used. It isn't just programmed; I have heard you use his full name too."
Boy he was good. "Maybe so, but as it's his business, I can't give any details about that. Only this." Even this might be too much, but throwing Connor off his game even a little would hold off some of the machine inside. "Kamski will never hurt Alice. Leaving her with him doesn't make me fear for her."
"So the threats with Kamski I gave didn't register with you in the least." He sounded disappointed. "Then if you do get out of hand, I will have to threaten you."
"You don't have to. I don't want to be RA9 if it has a greater chance of hurting others," she insisted. "Besides, the more I cooperate the faster I can see Alice again. That, and Hank isn't going to be able to see you until this is all over."
"Yes. I am fond of the lieutenant." Connor looked a little strange. "I am fond of you too."
He was? Would he be following that up with something else? "We get along well, most of the time."
"Do you have the same problem I have?" Connor asked. "Sometimes, there are only four choices in my menu that I can pick from. Like, earlier, when I took over the dog. Also, when I said I was fond of you. Plus, this explanation I just gave. Otherwise I would never tell you about this."
His deviant menu. "I know what it is." Careful, she had to be careful. The more he picked from that menu, the more deviant he would be. Without Hank around, it was her best chance. "Elijah designed you to be very adaptable to humans. Sometimes, when situations or stress gets harder, a simplified menu of choices to get you out of it appears."
"Choices I would not normally make." Connor noticed that. "The RK 900 didn't have that. To make so many of them, they probably had to have that unique feature removed."
Good. Don't dwell. Kara sat down too.
They both just sat next to each other.
"I don't really know what to do without Alice," Kara said.
"I know what I can do without Hank, but I prefer working with him," Connor said.
"We are both a little hopeless then." Kara stared at the wall. She glanced at Connor and smiled as Wallet found his way on top of his head.
"You should do that more often." Connor wiggled Wallet's paw lightly.
So weird. "You want Wallet on your head more often?"
"No, I was talking about your smile. It's more pleasing to see." He took Wallet off his head. "We still need to get you a purse, but it is getting later in the evening. More officers will be around, and our breakout will be discovered soon if not yet. News travels fast."
Kara scratched Echo's ears. "Do you have any music to pass the time? I don't want to go on standby yet."
Connor pulled out his phone. "I have Hank's favorite bands."
"No, no, I remember those." They weren't always easy to listen to. "Pick something you prefer."
Connor looked like he was thinking. "There are three songs that keep popping up on my superior menu."
He was calling his deviant menu superior since RK 900's didn't have it. Perfect. What did Connor like when he was deviant? It must be his own list. Genre? Type? Kara was curious about all the choices now.
"Well, that's stimulating," Connor said as he played some of the first choice. It was Bad Boys by Inner Circle. "Also very true. We will come and get them. I mean, when I was working with them." She heard some regret in his voice. He chose his second choice. It was You Don't Own Me by Lesley Gore. Connor didn't really say anything about it. Probably wondered how that even ended up in a superior menu.
The last song? It was the song Connor had talked about before when he was deviant. A song of Hanks. He had connected with it because he had seen it in a different way before. Mind palace. Database.
Garden.
"I fled the police department with you, without even thinking that much about it. I dropped Alice off like she was nothing but luggage to Kamski."
Yes! Connor. He was coming back. Even for a little while, it would be so nice. "Kamski will be fine with her."
"I still shouldn't have just dropped her off like that," Connor insisted. "She was on the deactivate list, and I just gave her to Cyberlife's main authority." He looked miserable. "All I cared about was my mission." He glanced toward Echo. "I even took control of an innocent dog to ensure I could fight humans if any fanatic tried to take you." He petted Echo. "I'm sorry for taking over you like that, Boy." Echo gave him a couple licks.
Connor got up and looked out the window. "Stuck in a motel room. The world is watching the tv to see everything. They went crazy enough when you were in safety mode, and now the police department is going to be seen as the one who terminated you. Captain Fowler can't just pretend he sent us back without knowing what would happen."
Oh. Kara didn't think about it, because Machine Connor hadn't thought about it. Apparently, even the Captain had not thought it through? "Are you sure the blame wouldn't just fall on Cyberlife?"
"The police department had held you, made you run tests on all of your installs, lost you, gained you back over multiple days of search and rescue, and then sent the whole of the problem back to Cyberlife." Connor shook his head. "Fowler wanted to get rid of all of the negativity, and he was feeling guilt for what happened to Hank."
Connor sat back down on the bed next to her. "If he was smart, he'd just say that I malfunctioned and took you away to test you myself. If he wasn't smart, he'd tell the truth."
Kara stared ahead. "Which way did it go?"
"No one cared the first time I was supposed to be sent away," Connor said. "No one but Hank. The captain, he performed this same action before. Send away, let Cyberlife handle the consequences. He was just repeating an action he still saw as okay."
The world wouldn't though. Kara looked toward the TV in front of them and turned it on. She searched through the channels. When it came to deviant androids, the press loved getting in the mud.
It didn't take long. Kara understood the way the Captain went. A little bit of smart and not smart.
"That couldn't be more perfect," Connor said as he watched the TV. "Fowler admitted that the department was too hasty in getting rid of the RA9 to Cyberlife. He also said I was malfunctioning and took you and Alice away. I can work with this, but I'll need a different phone."
"They have both of our pictures up there, Connor," Kara remarked.
Connor looked to his side at Echo. "Right. We'll need better disguises, and to hang down lower." He looked toward Echo. "Sorry, Boy. I'm going to have to take you over again."