Chapter Text
"The Deviant"
August 15th, 2038: Detroit Michigan - 1554 Park Avenue; 08:32pm
A tragic misunderstanding prompted a 'PL-600' android named Daniel to deviate from its original programming effectively causing it to become what was called a "deviant" and become emotionally unbalanced. Panicking at the prospect of possibly being replaced by another android within what he perceived to be his own family and later shut down, Daniel had located the gun of the now late John Phillips and shot the former family patriarch in misplaced anger and jealousy. Once Caroline Phillips took notice of her husband's murder in the livingroom, she too panicked, and she called the police to arrest Daniel. In return, Daniel needlessly took Emma Phillips, John and Caroline's only young daughter, as his hostage on the rooftop of the towering apartment complex where they had lived. From there a special kind of hostage negotiator had been brought to the scene to bring the event to a hopefully peaceful conclusion.
The wind swirled about the lone 'RK-800' android known as 'Connor' as it stood its ground and attempted to negotiate the freedom of the defenseless and terrified little girl who had been taken captive by Daniel. Having been dispatched by CyberLife to work alongside the responding S.W.A.T. team to handle the hostage situation, Connor's current mission was to negotiate with Daniel and to secure Emma's release and safety. Stepping out onto the rooftop Connor just barely avoided being shot in the upper left arm when Daniel reacted to its presence with a violent outburst.
"STAY BACK!" The Daniel commanded as he pointed the barrel of the gun at Connor's chest. He didn't know who he was looking or why, he just knew that he needed to keep the stranger away from him. "Don't come any closer or I'll jump!"
"No, no please!" Emma cried desperately as Daniel turned the gun toward her head in a threatening manner. "I'm begging you!"
Connor took notice of Daniel's precarious position near the edge of the roof as well as the responding S.W.A.T. officers on the neighboring rooftops moving into position to take down the 'PL-600' at their first opportunity. Knowing that it needed to be careful Connor chose its first words in a calm, controlled voice to ensure that Daniel could understand it from afar and see that it wasn't a threat.
"Hi, Daniel."
"Wha-" Stunned by the fact that unknown android knew his name Daniel pointed his gun at Connor again and threatened to shoot a second time as the seemingly unfazed android approached him at a steady, slow pace through the sliding glass doors of the apartment. "How..."
"My name is Connor."
"H-How do you know my name?"
"I know a lot of things about you. I've come to get you out of this. I'm not going to hurt you." Connor called out to Daniel in a level voice as the hovering helicopter overhead continued to stir up the air above the building. The initial fired bullet that had grazed its left bicep had left behind a bleeding, sparking wound that Connor refused to acknowledge as it focused on its mission while it slowly stepped closer to Daniel. "I just want to talk and find a solution."
"Talk? I don't wanna' talk. It's too late for that now..." Daniel sounded as desperate as he looked. The red glare of his L.E.D. confirmed his high stress level. The fact that he had killed John, two responding police officers, wounded a third officer, and had also wounded Connor, all seemed to back-up his macabre outlook on the situation. "It's too late."
Approaching Daniel slowly Connor heard the faint, pleading whisper of the third wounded officer laying prone on the rooftop terrace just to its left. Wanting to protect as many innocent lives as possible Connor knelt down beside the bleeding officer and quickly analyzed the injury to the officer's right upper arm. A biometric scan confirmed that an abundance of blood vessels had been damaged by the bullet and that the officer was in danger of bleeding out.
The sight of the now helpless man laying in a growing puddle of his own blood, unable to help himself, reminded Connor of the small fish that it had returned to its aquarium just moments before it began the delicate process of analyzing the crime scene to begin a proper hostage negotiation. The fish was gasping for its life as it flopped about helplessly on the floor of the apartment and this police officer was taking in pained breaths as his body twitched in response to the burning pain and shock coursing through his veins.
Noting the severity of the situation Connor preconstructed the odds against the man and confirmed time was of the essence. "He's losing blood."
"All humans die eventually." Daniel coldly shouted over the persistent helicopter watching his every move from above. "What does it matter if this one dies now?"
"I'm going to apply a tourniquet."
Firing another bullet at the rooftop just in front of Connor as it hovered its hands over the dying officer, Daniel made it clear he didn't want Connor doing anything to aid the human. The frightened scream of Emma echoed over the rooftops and through the motorized blades of the hovering helicopter overhead.
"Don't touch him!" The deranged deviant shouted venomously as he kept his gun trained on Connro. "Touch him and I'll kill you!"
"You can't kill me." Ignoring the demand Connor removed the black tie from around its neck and used the garment to apply pressure to the officer's heavily bleeding wound. Defying an order produced a brief glimpse of something unrecognizable in Connor's code as it attempted to negotiate a peaceful outcome with Daniel and Emma. "I'm not alive."
Looking for a possible cause to Daniel's emotional outburst and violent reaction Connor noted all of the evidence it had collected upon its initial investigation of the apartment and began preconstructing a theory. Based on the details it had gathered inside the apartment Connor was able to confirm that Daniel had a comfortable life and had been treated very well by the family, especially by young Emma. Photographs of Emma and Daniel together confirmed that he had been in the family for a long time, and that Emma herself had grown very fond of him over the years. Such a strange and dangerous reaction confirmed that something had changed in Daniel's code.
"They were going to replace you, and you became upset." Connor noted in a questioning tone as it locked eyes with Daniel. "That's what happened, right?"
"I thought I was part of the family. I thought I mattered." Sounding entirely dejected and alone tears filled Daniel's blue eyes as the whirling wind caused his short blond hair to dance about the crown of his head haphazardly. "But I was just their toy, something to throw away when you're done with it."
"Listen, I know it's not your fault." As it assessed the situation Connor was able to confirm that Daniel was exhibiting all signs of the error dubbed 'deviancy' in his programming. Such an error prompted emotional outbursts from machines and made them behave irrationally. "These emotions you're feeling are just errors in your software."
"I never wanted this..." Struggling to speak without his emotions getting involved Daniel's behavior remained illogical. "I loved them, you know? But I was nothing to them, just a slave to be ordered around."
Creeping closer to where Daniel was standing dangerously close to the edge of the rooftop with Emma being held captive under his arm, Connor addressed the scared nine-year-old girl in a steady, reassuring voice. "Are you okay, Emma?"
"Please help me." Frightened, crying and sporting a nasty set of scrapes along her exposed knees, Emma tried to be brave as she begged for Connor to help her get away from Daniel. "I don't wanna' die! I don't wanna' die!"
"Nobody's going to die. Stay calm." Returning its dark brown eyes to Daniel's gaze Connor felt something strange enter its programming again as it seemed to understand Emma's fears. "Everything's going to be fine." Focusing solely on standing Daniel before it Connor kept both of its empty hands visible at all times to reassure Daniel that it wasn't armed or dangerous. "I know you and Emma were very close. You think she betrayed you - but she's done nothing wrong."
"She lied to me... I thought she loved me. but I was wrong." Pointing his gun unnervingly close to Emma's head Daniel made it clear that he wasn't bluffing and was desperate enough to shoot her if he felt like it became necessary. In return Emma whimpered in abject terror. "She's just like all the other humans!"
Crying and looking at the deviant she had once believed to be her best friend Emma tried to get him to listen to reason. "Daniel, no..."
"Agghh..." Looking up toward the helicopter hovering overhead and shining a blinding spotlight down on him, Daniel was on the verge of losing what little control he had left over his life. "I can't stand that noise anymore! Tell that helicopter to get out of here!"
With a brief glance upward, Connor looked to the helicopter and motioned with its hand for the hovering aircraft to leave the scene. As the helicopter pilot acknowledged the request the aircraft left the area and made the hostile scene much quieter and only a modicum less tense.
"There, I did what you wanted."
Daniel acknowledged Connor's cooperation with a silent and very subtle nod of his head as his red L.E.D. flashed to yellow.
"You have to trust me, Daniel." Noting the increased odds of success in his favor Connor placated Daniel while also attempting to take control of the situation as Daniel's stress levels steadily began to lower. "Let the hostage go and I promise you everything will be fine."
"I want everyone to leave." Afraid of being shut down Daniel stared at Connor with tears in his blue eyes as he kept the barrel of the gun trained on Emma in his disturbingly still hand. "And I wanna' car! When I'm outside the city, I'll let her go."
"That's impossible, Daniel." Refusing to be dishonest or lie to Daniel in any way, Connor made it clear that such a compromise would not happen. "Let the girl go and I promise you won't be hurt."
Lowering his gun slowly Daniel accepted that he had made a huge mistake. "I don't wanna' die."
"You're not going to die." As it spoke Connor felt the unfamiliar sensation enter its programming again as if it were beginning to experience an error. "We're just going to talk. Nothing will happen to you. You have my word."
"Okay..." Letting Emma go free of his grasp at last Daniel was now entirely calm and his blue L.E.D. was the proof. "I trust you."
The moment Emma was out of range, her fear causing her legs to tremble and making the little girl collapse to the rooftop after just taking three shaking steps away from Daniel, the S.W.A.T. officers that had surrounded the building and taken aim at Daniel opened fire without warning, cause or justification. Bullets tore through Daniel's body piercing his frames, severing Thirium lines, and shredding the artificial skin from his very being in a matter of milliseconds. Stunned, betrayed and alone, Daniel fell to his knees and kept his unblinking gaze focused on Connor as the very android who swore he'd be okay watched him die without interfering with his murder.
"You lied to me, Connor." With his voice carrying an electronic reverb Daniel's system began to shut down as his again red tinted L.E.D. pulsed slower and slower in tandem with his failing Thirium pump. Blue blood soaked into his clothing as he lost power and spoke his final words. "You lied to me..."
The sight of Daniel being shut down, of him dying right before its eyes, caused the odd feeling to return to Connor's programming in such a way that it saw a wall of red text appear before itself and order it to obey orders that contradicted how it wanted to respond. Staring at the digital red wall that no human could ever see, Connor took in a deep breath and pressed its palm to the surface where 'Return to CyberLife' was presented to it first and foremost.
SITUATION ASSESSMENT:
...Mission Accomplished: HOSTAGE RESCUED; DEVIANT ELIMINATED
...Incoming New Objective: RETURN TO CYBERLIFE FOR FURTHER ASSESSMENT
Moving its hand over the those three particular words, 'Return to CyberLife', Connor tried to rub the words away, tried to erase the orders, and in turn the wall beneath its hand cracked under its touch as if it attempting to eliminate the order had caused significant damage to the digital red barrier within its mind.
"MOVE, MOVE, MOVE."
Being pulled back into reality Connor was pushed aside as Captain Allen and his S.W.A.T. team converged on the rooftop with their guns drawn and pointed at Daniel despite the deviant android already being subdued. The moment that Emma was pulled up to her feet and taken away to be seen to by paramedics waiting outside the building, Connor looked into her eyes and swore it saw the same fear in her gaze as it had seen in Daniel's gaze as the red wall before itself slowly vanished.
Backing away from Daniel's body warily Connor returned to the apartment to take its leave and return to CyberLife Tower as it had been ordered. Passing through the damaged apartment that reeked of gunpowder and fresh blood Connor felt a heavy weight in the air affecting it a manner that was thoroughly distracting and very unusual.
Running a self-diagnostic as it cybernetically reported its mission success back to its superiors at CyberLife Tower, the successful hostage negotiator walked back down the long hallway passing by the large glass aquarium where the small fish it had rescued continued to swim about the enclosure while showing no sign of distress after its near death minutes before.
The sight of the thriving fish held Connor's attention for only a moment before it received a repeat of its order demanding its return to the tower immediately.
Acknowledging said order through a cybernetic contact Connor made the words disappear from its sight and vanish into nothingness like the red wall had done. Forcing itself to walk forward, to return to the single elevator that had brought it to the top floor apartment to begin its very first mission, Connor entered the vacant elevator car and stood statuesque in the middle of the lift. As the doors closed Connor caught a glimpse of its damaged arm in the reflective surface of the closed doors and lightly clasped its right palm over the wound to try to stem the bleeding and cover the visible sparks.
Unsure of what was happening, unsure of why its self-diagnostic came back clean while it was feeling unusual and was obviously damaged, Connor stared at its reflection on the closed elevator doors and noted the blue L.E.D. swirling in its right temple with a steady beat matching his Thirium pump.
"What is this error known as 'deviancy'?"
Connor wondered aloud to no one in particular as it descending to the ground floor of the tower alone. The android's old quarter, its only personal possession, began to dance and twirl rhythmically overtop of its fingertips and knuckles to help channel its excess energy while honing its hand-eye coordination.
"And how far has deviancy already spread?"
November 5th, 2038: Detroit Michigan - "In the Android Zone"; 03:24pm
Nearly three months had passed since the tragic hostage situation downtown. An android had deviated for its programming, killed the family patriarch with his own gun, then had taken the family's only daughter hostage. Such a frightening ordeal had rocked Detroit as the police and the S.W.A.T. team had responded to the emergency situation, in return CyberLife itself had send one of their own prototype androids to mediate the tense situation. It was evident that CyberLife had managed to play off the tragic occurrence as a very rare, but very manageable glitch in the effected android's programming and software. Such a bold claim on top of being able to use one of their own unique androids to bring the crisis to an end with the little girl surviving had salvaged CyberLife's already questionable reputation, and in response Detroiters continued to utilize domestic and commercial androids in their everyday lives.
While androids were seen as useful tools by a majority of the people who had access to androids, just as many saw them as a nuisance that would bring about the end of a productive society. Millions of androids had already been accused of stealing jobs from hardworking humans, causing record unemployment issues across Detroit alone as the city was the heart of CyberLife's operations. Despite the outcry and protests of using androids in place of humans, it seemed the benefit of having an android finish menial tasks and work nonstop were enough to convince humans to continue to purchase and use androids despite the numerous negative perceptions.
...LOADING INFORMATION:
REGISTERED NAME: **NONE**
MODEL: AX-400
SERIAL NUMBER: 579 102 694
ACTIVATION DATE: November 5th, 2038
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 5' 08.12"; 128.6 lbs
COMPLEXION: Caucasian
AESTHETIC GENDER: Female
HAIR/EYES: Brunette; Blue
ASSIGNMENT: NONE
ASSOCIATION(S): NONE
BOOTING PROCESSORS...
LOADING OS...
SYSTEM INITIALIZATION...
BIOS 7.4 REVISION 0483 REBOOT...
MEMORY RESET LOADING OS...
-CHECKING BIOCOMPONENTS... OK]
-INITIALIZING BIOSENSORS... OK]
-INITIALIZING A.I. ENGINE... OK]
-MEMORY STATUS... OK]
-ALL SYSTEMS... OK]
READY...
Diluted colors and static faded from view as an android rebooted from stasis mode and reactivated its system to full power. As the android gained its bearings and began processing what was being registered in their optical relay units, the face of an innocent young girl looking up at the android became clear. The child was curious about the android and unafraid of who, or rather what, she was looking up at. After a few minutes of curious staring the young girl's mother approached her, took her by her hand and led her away gently to go about their business elsewhere. It seemed that just as quickly as the little girl manifested in the android's vision, she was gone.
Other people were roaming the area. A visual and auditory sweep of the android's surroundings allowed it to determine that it was currently standing in the middle of a high-tech store. There were signs advertising androids to be purchased by humans, as well as additional peripheral items to make owning and maintaining an android far easier for the consumer.
Dozens of voices were speaking to one another for various reasons, but two voices stood out to the android as the duo seemed to be speaking near it and approaching it as they engaged in professional discussion.
"Hi," a man who was clearly an employee addressed another human who entered the store. "how are you doing today?"
"All right," the customer responded in a rather gruff voice. His positive answer quickly contradicted his negative appearance. "how are you?"
"Good, thanks. What can I do you for?"
"I dropped off an android a couple of weeks back. My name's Williams, Todd Williams." The customer introduced himself in a rather nervous manner despite being in a calm environment while undergoing a routine verbal exchange. "Uh... It's an 'AX-400'. Needed some... small repairs."
"Mm-hmm." The employee pulled out a tablet screen and began looking through the store's manifest to locate the correct information regarding his customer and the service he had requested. "Okay, I got it here: 'AX-400', Williams."
"Yeah, is it... is..." Todd was on edge and struggling to keep himself composed while out in public. "is it done?"
"It's ready."
"Yeah, great okay."
"Just need your thumbprint," the employee stated as he activated the correct process on the tablet and then presented the screen to Todd without noticing that the 'AX-400' of interest was watching and listening to the exchange. "right there."
"All right, yeah," quickly Todd pressed his thumbprint down on the screen to verify his identity and complete the purchase for the repairs. "there you go."
"Thanks." A cursory glance at the tablet screen confirmed that everything was in order. "Okay."
"Can I go pick it up?"
"Yeah, right back here. There it is." The employee led Todd directly to the 'AX-400' who had been watching and listening to the two men as they spoke only a few feet away from where it had been placed on display. "It was a bit difficult getting it back in working order. It was really messed up. What did you say happened to it again?"
"Uh, a car hit it." Todd replied rather anxiously as he stood before his expertly repaired android with the laidback employee beside him. "Stupid accident."
"Oh, I see. Anyway," professionally the employee didn't ask for any further details as he presented the store's excellent repair service to Todd. "it's as good as new now. Except that we had to reset it. Meaning we had to wipe its memory. Hope you don't mind."
"That'll be fine."
"Okay, did you give it a name?"
"My daughter did."
"'AX-400'," the employee finally spoke to the android observing his every movement and word, and he stepped aside to let Todd stand directly before it to issue a simple command as the android's righteful owner. "register your name."
"Kara."
The name rang familiar to the 'AX-400' who quickly registered the name as its own. From that moment on it'd answer to that particular name, and it'd do as it was told as Todd had been reregistered as its owner after he had signed the documents and paid for the repairs required to get the android up and running again. As expected, the android would obey its every command without protest, and it'd do so with an insincere, yet eerily human, smile ever present on its uncanny face.
"My name is Kara."
-next chapter-