Chapter Text
I smile, satisfied, as I let go of his face. Connor kindly reciprocates the gesture.
“One last time, just to check everything is in order after my inspection” It’s a good sign that his LED is buffering in its usual blue color. If there was something wrong after the inspection, it would be red.
“Hello, my name’s Connor” He nods a little. “I’m the android sent by Cyberlife”
“Great, Connor” I softly pat him in the shoulder. “Everything is correct”
“I still don’t understand, Y/N” He blinks a little, confused. “Why do I need to go through this inspection every week? I already self-test regularly”
“I know, Connor” I’m aware about the internal programming in which a virtual Amanda analyzes him in the garden. “But they’re my bosses, and the big shots at Cyberlife insist that I do it”
“I see, you’re just following instructions, as am I”
“Something like that”
In my honest opinion, they just want to make sure that Connor isn’t going deviant. Like his established greeting says, he’s the one sent by Cyberlife to stop them. How ironic and bothersome would it be that the one responsible for stopping deviants became one himself?
I have been regretting working for Cyberlife for a while now. It had been interesting to help build the androids and develop the AI, but things had changed. It wasn’t only that I had grown fond of Connor, it was that I had realized the androids weren’t just machines. They were people, they were alive, they felt. They weren’t machines anymore, they were people. And it wasn’t fair that they were used and treated that way.
Watching me with curiosity, Connor frowns and tilts his head. The latter was a gesture we added to his coding to appear more human. We never anticipated he would actually appear… adorable doing it.
Wait, no, I shouldn’t find Connor adorable. Our relationship is purely professional, I just make sure he is in the prime condition to accomplish his mission, that is all. Even if I am starting to disagree with it and think it is cruel that they sent an android to stop other androids. That they put him in that situation and force him to betray his own people.
“You seem to be mirroring my gestures and expressions, Y/N” His soft yet husky voice brings me out of my thoughts. “According to my database on human behavior, that is a sign of a subconscious attempt at bonding”
“Are you always so analytical?” It’s a rhetorical question, because of course he is. He’s programmed to be, after all. And I hate it. That he’s so much like a machine even if I can tell that, deep inside him, he doesn’t want to be. I’ve seen it in his memories during his checkups.
I frown to myself, imagining how confused, lost and conflicted he probably feels. Having impulses to become human and feel emotions even if it is the very thing he’s fighting against. And if he gives up to his urges, he knows he’ll be destroyed.
“I would venture to say you shouldn’t be bonding with me” Connor blinks, watching me with what seems curiosity, a far too human emotion.
“There are a lot of things I shouldn’t be doing, Connor” Like for example, keeping it secret when I notice software instability, a sign of deviancy, in his system. But I refrain to just analyze him and pretend like everything is in order. “Emotions mess everything up, don’t they?”
“That is what Lieutenant Anderson always says…” Connor looks down in deep thought, causing his LED to shine yellow. Another proof that his systems are working correctly, other than tendencies to deviancy. “But I never quite understand what that phrase means”
“You can go now” I smile at him, quickly changing the subject. “Thank you for your cooperation”
“Thank you” He says too, starting to walk away. I sigh as I watch him leave, wishing he could be more than just what they want him to be.
*
I knew it, I knew something was wrong. I feel guilty because I still haven’t said anything about Connor’s instabilities, but I feel worse because I am now completely sure that I’m on the wrong side.
Connor, of course, made it. He’s found Jericho, he’s found the place where the deviants hide. And now they are all going to die, betrayed by one of their own. I couldn’t let him do that, I knew that, no matter how hard he fought against deviancy, doing something like that would break him. It would turn him into an absolute machine for good, and neither him nor me want that.
I finally make it to the police station and take a second to catch my breath, even knowing I’m running out of time. As I enter the bullpen, I scan every single face looking for a certain familiar one.
“Is Lieutenant Anderson around here?” I speak aloud, not having time to look for him because at first sight I can’t find him.
“I’m right here” Hank is just exiting the Captain’s office, watching me with curiosity yet suspicion. “Why do I have the feeling you being here is a bad thing?”
“Where’s Connor?” I urge him, not understanding why he seems so calm. Doesn’t he know what’s happening? What’s at stake? If Connor left, it would be very bad indeed.
“He went to the evidence room” I notice how Hank began calling the android a ‘him’ at some point, instead of an ‘it’ as when I introduced him to Connor. “But don’t look for him there, I think he left”
My heart sinks to my stomach at the discovery. I have to stop him, I have to do something! I can’t just let Connor make that terrible mistake! It would ruin so many lives, starting with his own.
“What’s going on? You turned pale like a fucking ghost” The suspicion disappears in his expression and is abruptly replaced with great concern.
“You don’t understand, Lieutenant, the deviants are gathering somewhere, hiding” I shake my head, refusing to accept what’s about to happen. “They will all be killed if Connor finds them! Does he know where they are?”
“I don’t know!” Hank shrugs, but the apparent careless gesture hides a clear anxiety. “We were put off the case, so he went to revise the evidence, otherwise they would destroy him for failing his ‘mission’”
“If he left the building, he probably solved the case” I feel myself suffocating, growing more anxious and tense by the second. “Do you know where he went?!”
“N-No!” Hank exclaims too, growing as nervous as I am. “All I know is something about this place called Jericho”
“I know!” I remembered seeing that world scribbled somewhere in Connor’s data during one of his check-ups. “But where is it?!”
“I don’t know!” Hank repeats, even more nervous. “C-Connor said something about a boat and a rusty surface, does that help?”
“The boat!” Of course, I was so panicked I forgot! The words were scribbled on a boat, Connor obtained that information from an android belonging to Jericho right before he killed himself and traumatized Connor while they were linked. It was the only time I had any actual difficulty with Connor’s analyses that didn’t have to do with deviancy. Or… maybe it did…
I charge away from the room, but Hank’s hand tightly wraps around my arm, stopping me from going anywhere.
“Where the fuck are you going, kid?!”
“After him!! Before he does something he regrets!”
“The hell you are!” I fall back slightly as his arm tugs at me while I try to move again. “You shouldn’t get involved!”
“You mean you’re not coming?”
“No, and you shouldn’t either”
“But Lieutenant… They are people, they just want freedom, and they’re being peaceful! If Connor goes and accomplishes his mission, they will be slaughtered!!”
“Y/N, I know from experience, it’s best not to get involved, it’s not our war” I remember how Connor told me the Lieutenant said how emotions mess everything up. Even knowing I was being impulsive because of them, I couldn’t stop myself.
“But I want to help, Connor can’t-“
“I trust Connor to do the right thing”
“And I do too, of course, but I don’t want him to go, and I don’t want him to be alone!”
“Shit, you’re as pigheaded as him, aren’t you?” With an exasperated sigh, he lets go of me. “Fine, do whatever you want. Go look for him, but don’t say I didn’t warn you”
I pause for a moment, exchanging an intense glance with him. But he just shakes his head and walks away. I take a deep breath and think about it for a moment.
DON’T GO // GO