Chapter Text
In a not so distant future, in a city not unlike your own, society has divided itself in two.
The Deviants above The Line,
the Souls, below.
The Deviants consisted of citizens liberated by technology and advanced living, while the ones who chose the old, traditional way of living became the Souls.
Connor grew up below The Line, but once his mother remarried to a Deviant man, he needed to adjust to living above The Line. Which is why...
"Markus!" Connor called out once he spotted his friend in the smorgasbord of digital displays roaming around his eyesight. He rummaged past the crowd, out of breath. "I'm sorry, I'm late. Again."
"At least you showed up this time." A warm banter from Markus, who sat beside a blonde man with the warmest grin Connor had ever seen. "Connor, Simon. Simon, Connor."
One look and Connor knew, Simon's smile was the perfect match for Markus' furrowed eyebrows.
"Finally, I meet The Man of The Man." Connor shook Simon's hand firmly as he settled on his seat. "I really wished I was there on your wedding. Witnessing it in a reconstruction isn't the same. It was the biggest wedding in ages and I can't believe I missed it."
"Don't worry about it. Your work can get pretty demanding." Simon offered his sympathies, "And you're still getting used to everything up here."
"Correct." Connor sighed, "Markus' inventions really changed everything... A few years ago he was just my laidback college dorm mate, now he's the leader of The Deviants. The founder of Jericho."
Markus' face wrinkled at the title, "But I'm still Markus after all that, so..." In one wave of his hand, a hologram list of drinks hovered in front of them, "Get a drink and don't mention the responsibility I'm currently forgetting."
The three of them chuckled.
After a few seconds of staring through the list, Connor swiped away the viewfinder with a sigh. "On second thought, I think I'm good. Drinking as an act itself reminds me so much of my last disaster date. The girl drank too much and I had to take care of the puking she did at the bar."
Markus stiffled his laughter while Simon tilted his head.
"Date? You're still dating?" Simon asked, but took it back right away, "Oh I forgot, you grew up below The Line."
Connor nodded solemnly, "When you grow up below The Line, you have to date. If Markus hasn't told you yet, I got here because my mother was the soulmate of a Deviant man, and he found her when I was going into college." He paused briefly before continuing, "I always wished they found each other earlier, would've saved my mother from heartbreaks."
"It must've been hard." Simon muttered. "Meeting a new parent and moving to a different place, a different society."
Connor nodded, "Though I understand that some things must simply... happen, you know? Besides, if my mother didn't meet my father, I wouldn't be alive." His self depricating joke managed to make the group laugh, "But I didn't come here to mope. We came here to celebrate the two of you."
Connor swore he could see the blushing of the two men in front of him.
"We took you by surprise, didn't we?" A soft smirk grew on Markus' face. He leaned his arm on the table, while his wedding ring gleamed in the low light of the bar.
"I don't know." Connor shrugged, "Ever since I met you Markus, you've been fully dedicated to your soulmate. Turning down everybody, even refusing to getting platonically touched. I wasn't surprised that the both of you got on together fast, but perhaps the following wedding after a few days gave me whiplash."
"Uh huh." Simon hid his flustered face with his two hands, his golden ring gleamed the same way Markus' ring did. "We've been told."
"But I believe that's great. That you wasted no time." Connor added, "Since you're both assigned by birth, it's nothing regrettable. If you lived below The Line, it's a different story."
Markus nodded, "Yeah, we had it easy."
Connor tapped his fingers on the table, "Maybe I'll have an easier dating life too if a certain someone didn't put me in charge of his police force."
"Hey, you said you weren't here to mope." Markus reached to flick Connor away but was held back by Simon, "And you have no choice. You're the best person for the position. If you asked me, you should get a higher position — you can even replace me."
Connor shook his head right away, already at the edge of his seat, "Thanks, but no."
"That's what I thought." Markus' arm fell on Simon's shoulder.
"If you'd like, we can introduce you to North." Simon hopped in as his fingers intertwined with his soulmate's.
Connor shook his head again, even faster this time, "Jericho's shark of a lawyer? No way." He hissed, "I think I'll just stick to my murder cases."
"Touché." Markus chuckled, "How about the Foreign Ambassador?"
"Foreign Ambassador? You mean Josh?" Connor deadpanned. "Markus, for the last time, I'm not gay."
And just then, like an ad in a web browser, a man in a pristine suit came up to their table with a pearly white grin, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I was eavesdropping. Have you tried The One That's The One?"
The three of them stared at each other, "No? No. We uh, we don't." Connor answered hesitantly, "What's that?"
"It's a dating service that finds you The One Thats The One because it guarantees you a hundred percent to send you The One Thats The One. Your perfect match. Your soulmate." The man might actually be a real life advertisement given his way of talking. "Have you seen the advertisement?"
Before the three of them could even reply, the man already brought up a holographic video.
In the video stood Chloe, the default android used by Deviant companies, in an orange dress in an orange backdrop.
"Grew up below The Line? Tired of the dating scene? Well you should try, The One That's The One! Here in CyberLife, we use a specific set of questions combined with DNA testing to assure you get your perfect match! The CyberLife Founder Elijah Kamski has developed an algorithm that promises to send you not just anyone, but The One That's The One!" The video concluded with, "Come down to CyberLife to find your The One That's The One!"
And with that, Connor found himself in the white halls of CyberLife watching the same advertisement again and again.
"Connor?" Finally, a Chloe called out his name, "Please follow me."
In a few minutes, he found himself on a couch, with a helmet full of wires and machines leading straight into his veins. "I've been on dates before and we never seem to click. It's kind of... confusing. I've always been successful in making accomplices. Or solving issues. It's my job, I work with detectives and the police. The leader of The Deviants himself assigned me on leading the force, getting to the bottom of things and what not—"
"I can tell you're nervous." The Chloe cut him off softly as she settled on a stool beside him, "But don't worry. We can assure you that CyberLife will give you your perfect One. You just have to answer these questions honestly, okay?"
Connor stared idly at her for a moment, "Um," He gulped, "Got it."
"Great! First question," The Chloe waved her hand and a hologram swiveled into her view, "What's your favorite number?"
"800." Connor answered.
"Ah! A classic number. Favorite color?" A question followed from Chloe.
Connor paused before answering again, "Blue."
"Say that you are an android who is tasked to hunt down other androids that are planning an uprising against their masters. You are deemed as the last chance of humanity to keep these androids from having their own state of mind, but the androids are being enslaved by humans. You are to find these androids, extract information, and then kill them in order to get rid of their hopes and dreams. Why?"
Chloe stared at Connor.
Connor stared at Chloe.
He shifted on his seat with his mouth open.
"Uh, I don't...." Connor mumbled, "I don't think... I'll do that. I don't think I'll kill them... I mean, if they wanna be free, why would I..."
Chloe looked down at him, not breaking eye contact. The smile that welcomed him was long gone. Connor looked for the nearest exit.
The silence continued for a few seconds, "I don't think I can follow through a mission like that..." Connor managed to answer.
Chloe tilted her head, "...Interesting." A pause. "Next question!"
The smile grew back on her face.
Connor was unsure whether his money was worth the nerve wrecking stare down he just encountered.
After a couple more questions, Connor found himself being hoisted out of the test room with the reassurance of receiving an address in the following hours. On the way home, he couldn't stop messing with the chip where he'd get the said address. Right there on his fingertips was the answer to his dating woes, and it seemed so surreal to him along with all the technological advancements he was already trying to get used to. He flicked the chip up into the air like a coin, throwing it on one hand into the other, as the elevator brought him to his apartment floor.
He spent his hours laying out his clothes, what body spray to use, and messing with his hair to find his best look. Connor swore he looked like a lovesick highschooler now and not the lead detective of The Deviants, but he figured that he had worked himself too much anyways, and he needed this moment for himself. If today really was the day he'd meet his soulmate, then he can be as himself as he wanted to be.
In the end, he settled with his usual side swept hair and a dual tone suit. After all that, Connor even thought of going out to buy flowers, but he figured the gesture wasn't something he'd normally do, and his One That's The One should feel the same way.
His pondering halted when the chip in his pocket buzzed, and his viewfinder opened the map with a marked location right in front of his very eyes.
On that red blinking marker... was the girl he had waited for his whole life.
Connor wasted no time to run for her.
In the dead of the night, he called the fastest android taxi available and hopped right in, fiddling with the location chip restlessly. The taxi stopped and he rushed for the building's entrance, following the direction of the chip into the elevator and to the floor it told him to go. Until he found himself in front of a dark wooden door in the sea of white metallic apartments.
Connor tightened his necktie, and at exactly 11:21 PM, he rang the door without a drop of hesitation.
The door opened almost instantly.