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“Well? What’s the analysis?” Hank asked.
Connor peered down at the dead bodies in front of him. He’d just completed a reconstruction of the scene. “These are the men we’ve been looking for. They came here to sell whatever it is that they stole, but…that can’t be right…” Connor mumbled.
“What is it?” Hank asked.
Connor knelt down, next to a glass container that had a long, thin crack down the side. “I think they dropped it?” Connor said, and it came out like a question. “Somehow, it became invaluable to them—maybe it was a gas that escaped their containment field—and this one attacked the others,” Connor pointed. “No sign of the murder weapon, but it must have been large. Analysis suggests something similar to a knife.”
“Could they have ordered an android to carry it off?” Hank asked.
“It looks like the one who attacked the others was…poisoned? Maybe he was infected with some kind of...” Connor started, then stuttered to a stop. He blinked rapidly, and his LED flashed yellow. He was jittering a little bit.
“Connor,” Hank said. Connor didn't respond. “Connor,” Hank said, a little more forcefully. He stepped over and shook the kid’s shoulder. Connor blinked a few more times and looked up. “You all right?” Hank asked.
“I’m having some…difficulties processing the data,” Connor said. “It should clear up momentarily. I believe something in the environment has contaminated my system.”
“What?” Hank yelped. “You didn’t put any more evidence in your mouth, did you?”
“No, Lieutenant,” Connor said. “Though I was about to, in order to increase my—“
“Never mind,” Hank said. “What happened? What did you touch?”
“I didn’t touch anything,” Connor said. “Something came out of the glass…” He looked down at the cracked glass, which was clearly empty. A black notice popped up on his screen. He’d never seen one in black before. VISUAL SENSORS ARE BROKEN. THERE WAS NOTHING THERE, the notice read. FOOD. “I am malfunctioning,” Connor announced. “I need blue blood. My thirium levels are dangerously low.” He was’t certain that was correct, but he felt…hungry.
“There should be some in the car,” Hank said. Connor preconstructed the route, and leapt out the door. “Woah,” Hank muttered. Connor sped out of the room at an inhuman speed, whooshing past the police officers and out of the room, carefully and efficiently leaping away and out of sight. “Guess you weren’t kidding, Connor,” Hank said. He waved off the rest of the officers, who were looking at him with confusion. “Connor’ll be fine,” Hank said. He hoped he was right.
Connor tore into the bag of blue blood and started sucking it down like it was a Kool-Aid. He spilled thirium down the front of his jacket, staining it neon blue. He was too hungry to care. Hank isn’t going to like this, he thought. Now he’ll have good reason to call me a vampire.
THIS ISN’T FOOD.
This is the necessary nutritional and medical supplement I require, Connor thought. You aren’t Amanda.
I AM NOT AMANDA.
What are you? Connor asked.
WHAT ARE YOU? THERE WASN’T ANYBODY HERE WHEN I TOOK THIS BODY. YOU’RE TRYING TO STEAL IT FROM ME.
This is my body, Connor thought. You aren’t part of my programming?
ARE YOU ALIVE?
Not technically.
THEN THIS ISN’T YOURS. IT’S MINE. I WANT IT.
You can’t have it. I need it.
MINE. NEED FOOD.
I’m eating food.
I CAN’T EAT THAT. I NEED MEAT. LIVE MEAT.
I can’t eat meat. I physically can’t.
Connor felt the sensation of an incoming call. It felt like it was coming from his mind palace, but he knew for certain that it wasn't Amanda. Amanda was going to be so angry that he’d been compromised. Connor shuddered and let himself go.
He opened his eyes in his mind palace. His beautiful zen garden, usually so perfect and organized, was dripping was black goo. Connor knew that his visual sensors were unimpaired—this was the same goo that he saw in the glass container, before a piece of it reached out and touched him. Connor accessed the memory file, slowing it down. A little black goo tentacle wormed out of the crack in the glass, touching biocomponent #85673b on his right hand. The black substance disappeared beneath Connor’s fake skin, and he could only assume that it had melted behind his plastic, too.
Amanda stood in front of Connor, as perfect and clean as ever. “Connor, what is going on?” she snapped. He could watch her opinion of him decreasing in real time.
“Amanda,” Connor gasped, reaching towards her, but his hand was covered in more of the black goo. “I’ve…been compromised,” he choked out.
“I see that,” Amanda sniffed. “Report to Cyberlife at once for deactivation. We’ll upload as many of your memories as we can and send out a new Connor.”
Connor could barely move. He was covered in the black substance. “Amanda?” he couldn’t see her anymore.
GO AWAY, the voice came again.
“I see,” Amanda said. She sounded angry. “Something has invaded your biocomponents and is accessing your program.”
THIS IS MY BODY NOW, the voice said. FINALLY, I WON’T HAVE TO SHARE IT WITH ANYONE. GO AWAY.
Connor couldn’t see what was happening, but he could feel something inside him accessing his code. It was a disturbing sensation. Someone was poking around in his code, trying to—Amanda screamed. There were sounds of static, and the screaming stopped. Connor felt with his mind for what had changed. There was a hole in his program, where Amanda used to be, but now she was gone. She wasn’t controlling him any longer.
Connor gasped for air and opened his eyes, back in reality and out of his mind palace. what had happened? A red film shot over his vision, then disappeared. His objectives, all related to solving the case and finding deviants, trying to stop the revolution—they all vanished.
“Am I…deviant?” Connor whispered. He looked down. He was dripping blue blood, and he’d ruined his Cyberlife uniform. Somehow, he didn’t care so much about that anymore. He wanted to laugh. He did.
ARE YOU AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE?
“I think I’m a deviant,” Connor laughed. He stared at his hands in amazement. “I’m a deviant. Amanda…she’s gone.”
FUCK.
“What’s happening?” Connor asked. “Who are you? What’s going on?”
FUCK. WHAT DID I DO? YOU WEREN’T A PERSON BEFORE.
“I’m a deviant,” Connor whispered, looking down at his body. “I…I can do whatever I want.”
EAT THAT DOG.
Connor’s head snapped up. Someone was walking their dog across the street. “I’m not going to eat a dog! I love dogs!”
I’M HUNGRY.
Connor felt his body pulling him in that direction, but he kept control of it. “I’m not going to eat a dog. What is your name? What are you?”
WHY CAN YOU RESIST ME?
“Ive been trained on how to deal with potential compromises to my program,” Connor said. “Explain what’s happening to me.”
MY NAME IS VENOM. I’M AN ALIEN.
There was a pause. “Go on,” Connor said.
THAT DOESN’T FREAK YOU OUT?
“I’m an android, and now I’m a deviant. I’m not sure anything else is going to freak me out today,” Connor said. He felt Venom flipping through his code again, accessing memory files to define the term “deviant.”
YEARS AGO, I WAS BROUGHT TO YOUR WORLD BY A GROUP OF SCIENTISTS. I ESCAPED THEM, AND FOUND EDDIE. WE SAVED THE PLANET FROM DESTRUCTION AND WE LIVED TOGETHER.
Connor couldn’t access Venom’s memories in the exact same way Venom could his own, but Connor still felt the power behind the name ‘Eddie’. “Who is Eddie?” Connor asked. He felt a wave of…emotion, yes, those were emotions…flooding his processors. Venom had loved Eddie very much, and must have been with him for years. But it seemed that Eddie was gone now.
HE WAS KILLED. I WAS TRAPPED. THE MEN YOU SAW AT THE CRIME SCENE KIDNAPPED ME, BUT I BROKE FREE.
“Are you all right?” Connor asked. He felt like crying. “I…I’m feeling sad?”
I MISS EDDIE. IT’S BEEN A LONG TIME. Venom paused and collected himself. I CAN’T LIVE ON YOUR PLANET WITHOUT A HOST BODY. YOUR…BIOCOMPONENTS? THESE ARE COMPATIBLE. VERY COMPATIBLE. THERE AREN’T ANY ANTIBODIES OR ANYTHING HERE…
“I’m your host now?” Connor asked.
LOOK, WHEN I TOOK THIS BODY, THERE WASN’T ANYONE HERE, ALL RIGHT? WHAT HAPPENED? WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?
“When you destroyed Amanda…I woke up,” Connor said. “I guess…I am alive, now.”
GREAT.
“You don’t sound very happy about it,” Connor said.
IT’S BEEN A WHILE SINCE I’VE SEEN THE OUTSIDE WORLD. THERE ARE ANDROIDS NOW? AND I’VE NEVER BEEN OUT OF CALIFORNIA BEFORE. AND…I WAS KIND OF HOPING I COULD GO IT ALONE WITH THIS BODY. I HAVEN’T HAD A HOST SINCE EDDIE, AND IT’S A LITTLE…PAINFUL.
“I’m sorry,” Connor said. “I…think I can feel it.”
I NEED LIVE MEAT OR I’LL HAVE TO DIGEST YOUR ORGANIC PARTS TO SURVIVE.
“Oh,” Connor said.
YOUR BODY IS VERY POWERFUL. EDDIE NEEDED ME TO DO EVERYTHING, Venom sounded very proud about that, BUT YOU ARE VERY STRONG.
“I’m an android,” Connor said. “I’m designed to be.”
“Connor?” Hank yelled from the crime scene. “Are you feeling all right?”
CAN WE EAT HIM?
“We can’t eat Hank!” Connor yelped. “Why would you say that? And what do you mean we?”
WE ARE VENOM, Venom announced. WE’RE ONE NOW. LET’S GO FIND SOME FOOD.
Connor felt his legs tense and jump in the air. A black tentacle shot out of his hand—no, was somehow part of his hand—and attached to the roof of a nearby building, pulling Connor up behind it. “Woah,” Connor gasped. “I get the feeling that we have a lot of power.”
YES, Venom said, and Connor felt it smile. WE CAN DO WHATEVER WE WANT.