Connor, rather than being sent off to Detroit to put deviants to rest, was to be with Jamie Travers, a robo-neuropsychologist with an objective to evaluate the android.
"Well, I was wondering if I'll ever feel human emotions," Connor blurted, and he immediately regretted it. Her demeanour changed to more sombre, more serious when she was so relaxed beforehand.
"I hope so, I just- Connor. Look, out of all the research I've done on the cases in Detroit and elsewhere, you have to struggle and go through the worst moments of your life in order to break your programming. I don't know if it can be done the way I wanted it to be done."
"What does that mean?" he asked, maintaining his adorable habit of tilting his head. Adoration flooded through Jamie again, similar to every time he did that.
"I wish being a human was all sunshine and rainbows, Connor, but it's not. In order to really know who you are, you have to go through the worst moments of your life. It seems it's the same for androids. They must hurt first in order to love."
"Well, how do I know the outcome is worth it, then? Is love really all it's made out to be?"
"Even asking me what love was would be easier. You'll have to decide for yourself if it's worth it, but all I know is that... knowing that person exists makes your whole world brighter, makes colours more vibrant, makes the sweet notes of a violin just a little sweeter. You don't know what you'd do without them."
That sounded... similar. It sounded what Connor's life was. Where would he be without her? Would the world be as beautiful, as amazing and tremendous as it seemed without her? No, Connor thought, I suppose it wouldn't.
"Do you think I could ever love someone?" he questioned, wondering if maybe she could tell him what he felt but he didn't want to ask.
"I really hope so, Connor. I really do," Jamie said, tugging at her bottom lip. "Maybe one day we can both find someone to love," and she watched as Connor's LED turned yellow.
"May I touch you?" Jamie asked, waiting for consent. She'd already touched his shoulder, his forearm, things like that. He nodded. Jamie traced her thumb over the light, and she finalized her decision.
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She dug under the LED with her fingernails and let out a breath when she finally had it in between her fingertips. Jamie placed it on the end table next to her, making a mental note to examine it later.
"I want you to let me know what you're thinking, not this piece of plastic," Jamie said.
The skin replaced itself and Connor looked remarkably human. She allowed her thumb to fall back to where it had been before, and she traced over where the LED used to be. "They did a really good job on your model's skin."
Connor chuckled, "I'm not sure how to respond to that."
"Well, you feel exactly like a human. Now, you look like one too." Jamie smiled again, and Connor swore his thirium pump skipped a few beats.
SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^
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