Chapter Text
Tuesday May 10, 2039
8:00 AM
Home
“Good morning Adam, how are we feeling today?” I crouched to get a better look at him as he sat on the floor, reactivating.
His lens like eyes took a moment to adjust and focus on me, “Fine,” his digits began to extend from his arm as he prepared to brace himself to stand slowly.
I stood and offered him a hand, “do you want to talk about anything?”
He took your hand is his grip and pulled himself up gracefully. With a carbon fiber makeup, he didn’t weight as much as one would expect for a 6’5” robot, “Not really.”
I sighed and looked him up and down. My magnum opus, the culmination of almost half a year of work. He was magnificent. Stronger than an industrial TR400, lighter and faster than an AX400, and even more advanced than an RK900. He looked nothing like the typical android model, mimicking human appearance and expression. No, those features were a waste of effort. I designed Adam to be better than any human or android. If our two races were ever going to progress together, an evolution must occur. He was the answer.
He had only been conscious for about a month and during that time I had tried to discern some of his personality, but he’d always been very closed off, making the whole process more difficult. Now, the deadline for completion was looming.
“I see there’s been another unprovoked attack on androids,” he lowered his head slightly as the news feeds came in.
“How does that make you feel?” I probed further.
“It’s unfortunate,” he said simply, turning to leave the room.
I stepped over to follow him out of my workroom, “Hey, I know that senseless violence can be hard to cope with, but it helps to talk about your feelings.”
He didn’t reply, continuing upstairs to your living room. I sighed and followed him up.
“Hey big guy,” Amelia, my best friend and roommate, called from the kitchen as he made his way up.
“Hello Amelia,” he said softly, slowing his stride to stop in front of her. I smiled, he definitely had a crush on the other android. That was a great sign, he was emotionally complex enough to want to form relationships. Now, whether Amelia felt the same about him was another question.
“Do you two have big plans for the day?” she asked as she continued cooking. Were those pancakes I smelled?
“Well, actually I have a few tests to run. Elijah wanted some data ahead of his analysis on Friday. If you’re alright with that, Adam, we can begin when you’re ready.”
He considered this for a moment, “You should eat first, I’ll be scanning the news for a little while longer.”
“You didn’t have to make me breakfast Am,” I smiled and grabbed a plate as she finished flipping. Banana and chocolate chip, my favorite, “What’s the occasion?”
“I just got that contract for the android actors guild, I figured I’d make one last good breakfast for you before I’m bogged down with work,” she smiled and filled the plate.
After I began work on Adam, I gave up my work as an android modifier. With all the free androids now looking for a unique self expression, Amelia had taken to modifications. After all, she had shadowed and assisted me for a year. I was glad to set up her workroom in the garage but with so many clients, she’d soon need a new space entirely.
After I sat down, I heard the side door close. Looking up I brightened to see Connor returning home.
He walked over and immediately pulled me into a quick kiss, he was in a good mood.
“Hey, how’s the case going?”
“Splendidly, in fact, we caught the guy last night at the stakeout,” he smiled.
“Wonderful. How’s my favorite old detective doing?”
“Oh, his usual self. Still cranky about everything,” he joked. After he left his job at the DPD, Hank and Connor began a private investigation company. Work was slow at first, but soon cases were flying in. They specialized in android related crimes and were a damn good duo. Most androids still didn’t trust the DPD so if they had an issue, they came to Connor. The only downside was that Connor was almost always working. I was left feeling a little neglected sometimes but he always messaged and called, and sometimes they asked me to consult on the technical side. It worked out pretty well, all things considered.
“Hi Adam,” Connor nodded to the robot.
“Hello Connor, congratulations on your successful case,” he stated simply.
“Thanks. So Leah, what are your plans for the day?” he returned his focus to you
“I need to run some tests with Adam to send to Elijah. We’re meeting at the end of the week to decide if we’re going to proceed with continued development or manufacturing. I need to run some more optimizations as well. We’re so close though, right Adam?” I glanced back to his statuesque form.
“If you think so,” he replied, nonchalantly. With him, I felt like a parent dealing with a moody teenager.
I sighed, and Connor continued, “I just wanted to spend some time with you this afternoon. I know I’ve been so busy lately.”
“Ah, I wish I could, there’s just a lot I have to get done. Maybe tonight we could go out for dinner?” I suggested, hopefully.
Connor seemed to zone out for a moment. I knew that meant he was getting a call or a message, likely from Hank or a client. “Shit,” he muttered, returning to the present, “I’ll need a rain check on that dinner, DPD is calling us in for a consultation. It’s about the string of android murders.”
I frowned, that particular news headline concerned me greatly, “The DPD is calling you and Hank in?”
He shrugged, “we’re experienced in android investigations, and it doesn’t hurt to have an investigative android like myself to help, either.”
“Catch the bastard that’s doing this, and I’ll give you a pass for dinner,” I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek then turned back to my cooling pancakes. I had things to get done today.
…
“Run through a simple diagnostic,” I asked Adam, he was laying on my worktable, hooked into my system.
“You already have scans of my diagnostics,” he protested.
“Please? I need a clear baseline for the tests in case anything has changed,” I almost begged.
A few seconds later, my scans were progressing, I sighed, “why are you so difficult sometimes, Adam?”
He didn’t reply but the scan blipped briefly with activity.
Once the scan was complete, I pulled up the test data, “Alright, I have a few new simulations I’m going to run you through. If all goes well, I’ll run optimizations and we’ll be done for the day.”
“And what about tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow, I’m taking you to meet someone very special,” I replied.
He was silent again as he received the data. The simulations were extremely in depth assessments of his cognitive ability as well as his self awareness and expression. Basically, all the important aspects of an intelligent, compassionate android. It would take his processors a few hours to run through them and I couldn’t just leave, I monitored his progress to ensure nothing went wrong internally.
About halfway through Connor came down to let me know he had to leave for his meeting. I wished him luck, and he did the same. It was unfortunate, but we both had important work to see to, we both knew that. After he left, I decided the workroom was far too quiet.
“Play my oldies playlist,” I asked the computer. Soon enough, the best of the 2010’s alt rock scene was blaring, with a few 80’s classics sprinkled in as well. It definitely helped pass the time.
…
There's a starman waiting in the sky
He'd like to come and meet us
But he thinks he'd blow our minds
As I hummed along to the music, the computer finally informed me that Adam was through the tests. While the results uploaded, Adam reactivated and stood.
Let the children lose it
Let the children use it
Let all the children boogie
“Results look promising,” I mused aloud as I glanced through the data summary.
“I would hope so,” Adam seemed to retort.
“You should be glad; now I won’t have to scrap you,” I tried to sound lighthearted, but it definitely came off as a bit cutting, I sighed, “I’ll pull up those optimizations and transfer wirelessly. It should only be another moment.”
He said nothing as the information transferred but once it finished, he left the room. Fine, leave me then.
Putting together the results, I composed a report for Elijah. I hoped he would be satisfied, after all, he had basically funded my little project. Not that he was hurting for money, especially after his latest enterprise, mercium, a thirium alternative. It had improved in almost every aspect over thirium, it no longer evaporated, it lasted longer, was cheaper to manufacture, and facilitated faster responses in androids. People called it black blood but it really was more metallic than black. The only downside was a lack of identifying markers, like thirium offered when a sample was tested. With this product he had single handedly bankrupted then bought out Cyberlife, regaining control of his original creation, but re-branding it as UNITY. At the helm once again, he provided cheaper repairs and biocomponent replacements now that androids were under their own control. His motives were still shady in my mind, but I could trust he was at least partially motivated by making money, and if Adam had enough potential, I could trust that Kamski would see my project through.
Adam didn’t seem to care about the importance of his performance but he still did his best. I couldn’t blame him, he didn’t ask to be put into this position. I wish I could cut him some slack but he was just too important. After I sent the data, I sat back and listened to my music a little longer before pulling out a notebook and jotting down a few personal notes and observations. I glanced at the digital clock, it was barely noon. I thrummed my fingers on my desk for a few moments before going to find Adam. There was one thing I’d been meaning to ‘optimize’ on him...
I found him staring out of the second floor window, immersed in the internet feed, barely looking up at me as I approached. I tapped him on the leg, “Get up, I have something I want to show you.”
…
“What am I supposed to be seeing here?” He asked, annoyed.
“Whatever you want to see I guess,” I shrugged at the abstract painting
“Why are we here, Leah?” He turned to me.
“To broaden your horizons. You spend all your free time on the feeds, I thought some reality would do you good.”
“This art serves no practical purpose, what is the point?”
“That's up to the viewer. Does that make sense?” I probed.
“Very little about you humans makes sense to me,” he stepped over to the next piece.
“Come on, say one thing you like about it,” I insisted, hoping for any sort of expression.
He made a strangled noise that could have been a scoff or a sigh then paused a moment before replying, “The shapes and color combination are nicer to look at than white.”
“That’s a start,” I patted him on the shoulder, much to his distaste, as we continued to circle the room.
…
There were many concerned stares directed our way by android and human alike as we walked through downtown Detroit. Adam seemed to be taking it all in, in awe I hoped. Occasionally he would ask questions if he couldn’t answer it on the internet.
As we strolled down Woodward Avenue, he slowed.
“This is where Markus led his first demonstration,” he stated.
“Yes, these shop windows used to be full of androids for sale. When Markus came through, he showed them what they were missing, how to break free,” I elaborated.
“What was that like? The revolution I mean,” he continued forward, but was now focused on me.
“It was scary at times. I was mostly afraid for my friends, especially Amelia,” he made a soft noise at her mention, “The police had no qualms about destroying androids then.”
“I know all about it from the information I’ve gathered online, but I never grasped the individual perspective. Would you tell me more?”
“I’ll start from the beginning then…”
…
It was nearly dark by the time we returned home. My story would have gone faster if he didn’t constantly ask questions, but I knew it was important to answer them. Finally, he’d connected with me about something. That ‘something’ may have been one of the most difficult and important parts of my life, but Adam wanted to listen to me, to my history. It was exactly what I’d hoped for, taking him around town, broadening his experiences.
As I stepped toward the side door, he touched my shoulder to get my attention, “You were right about needing some reality. I’ll be glad to look back on these memories later.”
I wrapped an arm around him as best I could with his bulky frame for a half-hug as we stepped through the doorway, “I’m glad you think so. Now imagine doing that every day.”
His eyes seemed to glitter at the thought of the possibility. If only he knew what I had in store for him tomorrow.
…