Fantasy Flashes

The Deviant Android

I really thought that by the year 2087, there would be no need for a human police force. At least, I thought my job would be taken by one of those machines. After all, they have been replacing humans for years. And even in the industrial Revolution, people rioted about job loss and such. I'm surprised it didn't happen further along the line. I suppose I'm the only one that cares anymore. The human race has become dependant and lazy. They now only survive on the very machines built to aid them.

I hate androids. I think the big organisation, Cyber-Tech, had no right creating them! All they've done is cause chaos when they succumb to technical faults. I suppose that is why I still have my job. I haven't seen a human commit a crime in twenty years. I just police androids now. And when they do malfunction, they deviate from the very programming that brought them to life.

But when I heard that an Android had committed murder? Well let's just say I jumped to be put on that case. And that's what led me to being in work on my day off. I should note that I never do this normally, but I'm intrigued. I've never seen an Android capable of committing such a crime. To be blunt, I didn't think they were could do it. After all, Cyber-Tech don't half boast about their technological successes, and you never hear about any malfunctions in the news broadcasts. Though I'm half inclined to wonder whether that is intentional, maybe Cyber-Tech control more than just the products they create. All these conspiracy theories I have won't get me anywhere.

I walk into the interrogation room with this, machine sat at one side of the table. They're cold things Android's, scary too. The way they have all the worlds knowledge tucked up in their metal skulls. The way they can identify you with just the scan of an eye. Cyber-Tech did do wonders of course, but not every product is perfect. And that's all I'm dealing with really, a defunctive robot. At least, that's what I think as I take my seat at the interrogation table.

I look at the piece of metal in front of me. Their eyes stare right through me, and every now and then, I'd catch an iris twitching, calculating my next move. I know they murdered him. They had to. I couldn't find a single finger print at the crime scene, and the security sensors detected no movement outside the building within the time of death. The Android was already in the house after all, but I needed a confession. It's funny really, an Android is supposed to be a man made obedient servant, yet that was not what was sat before me. I took a moment to take it all in. I had to admit, the developers did a phenomenal job on the autonomy of this machine. You could hardly tell it was a machine, its dark skin looked very realistic. If it wasn't for the microchip at the side of its forehead that continued flashing blue, I would mistake it for a human. But I know better than that. I knew it wasn't human. In our police training, they teach us how to identify an Android from a human. Whether it be through speech, physical movement or the small technical identifiers they have, we know them off by heart. It was because of this training, I could identify the red glint in the eyes of the machine. I knew exactly what was going through it's programming. It's wondering why it's here. Scanning the environment, looking for answers. It won't help.

'Do you know why I brought you here?'

The machine made eye contact with me, turning its head to the side, almost like an animal.

'No Lieutenant Smith.'

'Don't you dare call me by that name!'

My hands instinctively slam against the table, making the droid flinch. An amazing programme really, trying to reciprocate human emotions. No machine could ever do that though, I know deep inside it feels nothing. It shows in its crime too.

'A criminal droid like you has no right to address me!'

'But sir, you've got it all wrong. I'm far from a droid.'