̷F̷O̷U̷R
"I think for the purposes of my mission that you and I should get to know one another."
It wasn't until ten minutes into the taxi ride that the android finally spoke again. Elodie almost jumped out of her skin when it finally did, the android shifting in the seat beside her to turn and look at her. Unnerved, she swallowed, turning her eyes to the world outside before replying.
"I don't think that's entirely necessary."
"I spent the beginning of our car ride doing some research on you in order to facilitate a beginning to our conversation." The android continued. "I can present you my findings if you would like or I can simply integrate them into future conversation."
Elodie swung her head around to look at the android, opening her mouth. She remained still as she searched it's face, before letting out a small bark of laughter.
"Well I definitely programmed you. Your language execution is incredibly rigid."
"I believe the more I associate with others around me, the more naturalistic I will grow. My personality takes into account my immediate audience after we have spent a degree of time with one another."
"Sounds about right." Elodie muttered to herself, leaning back in her seat with a shake of her head.
Just from the short conversation, she could already see that the android was far more sophisticated than anything else Cyberlife had created before. Most androids, though intelligent, deferred to their owners, especially when it came to their range of dialogue. It felt strange to have an android begin a conversation, let alone one that was attempting to set the pace.
"Elodie Renata Kamski, born 19th of September 2001 in San Jose, Califor—"
"I didn't tell you to present your research." She said.
"I was programmed to take initiative and mould my conversation style. I am taking into account that you have a reserved, introverted personality and filling the silence to best accommodate." The android replied, turning its body to further angle towards her. In response, Elodie found herself leaning closer to the car door.
"Well it's not very accommodating." Elodie replied, perhaps a little sharply. "I don't need my wiki page blurted out to me."
"I was choosing to field my information from your 2036 interview with Tech Magazine, entitled 'Meet Elijah Kamski's Scion Sister'. I will note that you do not wish for me to surmise information from Wikipedia when it applies t—"
Elodie shook her head. "I just don't want to be discussed. I would prefer it. Highly. Please note that, RK800."
"I have noted that you do not want to be discussed." It replied dutifully. "Would you like me to avoid mentioning you at all?"
"I mean no, that would be obtrusive to your investigations. Just ... Don't bring it up any of it to me. Not that article or a wiki or any of it." She muttered, smoothing a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Is there a particular reason? I would appreciate the feedback."
She could feel her cheeks heating at the directness of the question. She found herself shrugging awkwardly, unable to conjure an answer beyond 'I don't like it'. The android blinked at her as it waited, hands clasped in its lap.
Finally, she cleared her throat.
"Most people don't like hearing a bunch of things you've searched about them from the internet." She replied in a tone that implied she had learned this the hard way. Connor nodded.
"So people usually prefer to have their information acquired in real life. From observation."
Again, a pause. Elodie shrugged. "Yes, you could say that."
Connor smiled then, nodding. "I will do my best to learn about you naturally then, Miss Kamski."
"Sounds good." She replied, propping an arm against the window sill of the car. She thought for a moment about correcting the android away from addressing her by her surname, but figured better of it. There were worse things to make of her last name than tacking on the honorific.
Silence settled in the car once more. Elodie closed her eyes, listening for the mechanical whir of the automated car, finding the rhythm and allowing it to lull her nerves. When she had sufficiently calmed herself, she straightened upwards, tentatively glancing to her side. The Connor android had it's watch trained forwards, but slowly it turned its neck to meet her eye. After a beat, its lips pulled into an awkward smile, eyes crinkling.
"I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot." It said suddenly, thrusting a hand forward for her to shake. "I really should have introduced myself. My name is Connor."
Elodie, unsure of what else to do, shook its hand. The android's grip was firm but not painful, its palm surprisingly warm and soft. She cleared her throat as she retracted herself.
"Yeah, maybe. My name is Elodie."
"Elodie Renata Kamski." Connor said, with a nod.
"Yes." Elodie replied, her brow softly creasing. "I don't suppose I gave you a full name?"
"You did not." Connor said.
"A missed opportunity."
The car took a smooth left, drawing Elodie's attention for a brief moment. She knew they were headed into the city centre, but to where she wasn't privy. Elijah had told her that Connor's objective would determine their destination, but this had done enlighten her further and had sent her nerves into a frenzy.
"Where are we going?" She said, the question finally becoming too much to hold within.
"1301 3rd Avenue. DPD Central Station." Connor replied. "We are to report to the captain of the force for our first case. I believe a detective or police officer will be assigned to aid us in our investigation."
"A detective? A human one I assume." Elodie mused to herself.
Connor nodded. "One has not been assigned thus far."
"I see."
"May I ask a question?"
Elodie hesitated before replying. "Well ... Sure."
"You see," Connor's eyes were steady on her as the android continued to speak, "during my research phase on you, I found an article from 2020 about musical recital and I couldn't hel—"
Her eyes widened, raising a hand to halt the android's speech. "You know what? I think definitely no personal, past related questions. Let's just stick to that, alright?"
"Alright." Connor nodded. "May I ask other, non-past related questions? It will greatly aid in my integration."
Elodie was beginning to wonder why on earth she'd programmed an android to be so chatty. It seemed almost counterintuitive, but then again, the US army had probably never attempted to talk the ear off an insurgent. Why not add such a feature? With how off-kilter it was throwing her, maybe it would've made a splash.
"Yeah, sure. But maybe for this car ride, we keep things ... Silent. Is that alright?" She said.
"Got it. Silent."
Connor kept its word for the rest of their trip. After a few minutes Elodie found herself slightly more able to relax, leaning back against the side of the car and letting her eyes drift to the scenery outside. After a little while, their surroundings began to grow denser as the suburbs gave way to the city. Outside, the world bustled with people and their androids. Cyberlife's advertising was inescapable, plastered on every computerised billboard as far as the eye could see. Elodie couldn't remember the last time she had left her bubble, much less to the heart of Detroit. Foreboding gripped tightly in her chest. She hadn't prepared for the outside, least of all an unfamiliar environment.
As they began to near the police station, it dawned on her that she was walking into a hornet's nest. She cleared her throat, shifting herself to face towards Connor again. The android raised his head expectantly.
"There was an AX400, apparently. A couple of years ago." Elodie muttered, her eyes falling to her hands as she began to wrack her mind. "It was the kind of thing that only gets brought up with newer staff, people fresh from college who don't know better. A couple of the more anti-social programmers too. They'd joke about it, and sure some people took it seriously but they never lasted long because they tended to ... Tended to have the wrong idea about what we were doing at Cyberlife."
Connor remained silent, waiting for her to continue.
She took a deep breath, the cogs in her mind were turning now. "2032, that's when it happened. An AX400 was said to have gained consciousness as soon as it had been manufactured, right off the conveyor belt."
"What happened?"
Elodie shrugged. "Not much. Just ... it started talking as though it was going to walk out on its own. It thought it was alive. The quality assurance officer was said to have let her go, he'd been too stunned. But that was where the story stopped, and no one ever reported a sentient android, the QA officer was never named ... And that was six years ago. Six years without incident and all of the sudden ..."
It felt impossible to wrap her head around, something about the story made her brain feel like it was missing something. The very thought that an android could claim sentience was deeply unnerving to her. It ran in opposition to the very thing she had poured her life into.
"From the information I've gathered so far, it doesn't appear to be a manufacturing error, like the story you just described." Connor replied. "After analysing my memories from a previous iteration, a trigger point appeared to have led to the android breaking from its stated orders."
"What happened?"
"I was called to investigate a hostage situation. A PL600 named Daniel, owned by a family of three. The deviant had killed the patriarch and was holding the daughter, Emma, hostage on the rooftop."
Elodie felt her body chill at the thought. The car began to slow, stopping for a pedestrian crossing. As if to illustrate his story, a stream of children passed in front of the taxi. Elodie's eyes caught on a young girl, hand in hand with an android carer in its black and white uniform.
"I was able to identify that the PL600 had found evidence that the family planned on replacing it. This triggered a significant response in its software, akin to a traumatic episode or a psychotic break in a human. The artificial limbic system was sent into overdrive. The android believed itself to be alive, just like the AX400."
"What happened?" Elodie said, watching the girl finish crossing to the other side. The taxi started up again, though not before she saw the android stooping down for the girl to say something into its ear.
"The girl was saved and the android was decommissioned. I sacrificed myself in order to accomplish my mission."
For a long time Elodie remained silent, staring at the deadpan expression of the android. Though she knew she was imagining it, she saw a glimmer of something in it's dark brown eyes. A determination, ruthlessness, something besides the rigid placidity that she had seen in every other android she had dealt with in the past. She wondered about asking it what death had felt like, but the thought passed as quickly as it had appeared.
The car had come to a halt outside the police station, rousing her from her thoughts.
"I suppose we ought to report to ... Well, whoever we're meant to report to."
Five minutes later and they had passed through security, handed a pair of laminated passes to facilitate their regular entry into the station. Elodie hadn't ever needed to go to a police station, much less the one in Detroit, and she found herself marvelling at the sheer expansiveness of the building. Open plan, with high ceilings and cold light, wide aisles that passed between desks made from metal, uniformed and plain clothed officers scattered throughout. A female officer by the name of Chen led them to the captain's office, opening the glass door for them both and allowing them inside.
The captain sat behind his desk with a grimace, his brow heavily lined with stress as he looked down the stacks of paperwork in front of him. He threw the pair a cursory glance, his eyes flickering back down as he began to talk. At the front of his desk, tilted askew by the piles of folders, was a name plaque. Captain Jeffrey Fowler.
"You, ah, you must be the Kamski girl, yes?" He muttered. Despite the obvious address, Elodie was unsure if he was speaking directly to her or not. When she did not respond quickly enough, he barked out another 'yes?' and she nodded hurriedly. "Well don't just stand there, sit down."
Obediently, Elodie found herself in one of the seats in front of him, Connor hovering beside her right shoulder. An awkward silence settled in the room once more. Elodie found herself nervously bouncing her knee as she waited for the captain to finish with whatever he was doing. Finally, with a grimace, the man leaned back in his chair, surveying Elodie and Connor.
"And that's the android?"
"Oh, uh, yes." She muttered. "RK800. Connor."
The man made a noise that sounded like a scoff. He shook his head, running a hand against his bare scalp.
"An android cop, huh? You trying to automate me out of a job like they did with all the factory workers?"
"Oh, uh, no. No not at all. RK800 was meant for the military, originally I mean, and uh his ... His commands are for cases of deviancy alone, not cases of human on human crime and such." She let out an awkward chuckle, the volume of which was a little too loud. Captain Fowler stared at her blankly.
"So fuck the troops then, huh?" He said finally. Elodie opened her mouth to reply but the Captain waved a hand dismissively. "Whatever, I get it. This crap gets put on my desk and we've been out on our asses since the last version of that thing got itself killed. Was meant to be assigned to a SWAT guy, Allen, but he bitched out after that whole fuckfest. So now I'm stuck with this thing, which sounds like it isn't even meant to be hunting deviants, and I just have to deal with it."
Elodie was unsure if the rant was meant for her and Connor or if the captain's complaints were more rhetorical. After a time, he frowned at her, and she realised again that she had neglected to answer him. She opened her mouth and found herself once again cut off by the captain.
"Well you two are shit out of luck anyway. The officer you've been assigned is ... Out sick. And you need his clearance before I let you start digging around our database. Everything we have on deviants is petty so far anyway, not nearly as bad as the Phillips hostage case. So call it a day and wait until you get the call."
"Captain, if I may." Connor said, jolting Elodie. She'd almost forgotten it was even there.
Captain Fowler frowned at the android, narrowing his eyes.
"I'll bite."
"What is the name of the detective assigned to accompany us? I would like to make contact before we head out on our first assignment together."
"That won't be necessary ... Or wise." Captain Fowler replied. "Lieutenant Anderson likes to keep things professional. You'll receive his details when you get the call."
"Does this Lieutenant Anderson have any experience with deviants?"
"Oh, that's rich." The Captain nodded. "No, wise guy, do you?"
"In a previous iteration, I—"
"Ha! Yeah, you got yourself killed. Like I said, I assigned the right guy to this. Best of the best, on his good days at least. You're lucky I didn't just throw you a beat cop and call it a day." He paused as the computer on his desk made a soft chirp. "Now, scram you two. Out of my office. Now!"
Elodie blinked, long and hard, before she awkwardly rose from her chair. She nursed her whiplash from the conversation as she descended the short steps from the captain's office, running her forefinger over the nail of her thumb to soothe the nerves currently jangling inside of her.
Connor took the lead, turning to watch Elodie as she descended behind him. She folded her arms against her chest, sucking pensively on her bottom lip as she let her eyes scan the bullpen.
"I can't help feeling as though he was being evasive about the lieutenant." She muttered with a sigh. "I don't suppose you have any observations?"
"The captain seems to be resistant to Cyberlife involvement." Connor mused. "I detected a shift in speech pattern when he clarified that the Lieutenant was not in the office."
"I guess there isn't all that much we can do, regardless." Elodie said. "Maybe we should just call it a day until the first case comes in."
"If you wish to, Miss Kamski." Connor replied, casting it's gaze away from her and out around the office. "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to briefly investigate the area to see if there is any information I can acquire that might help our investigation."
"Sure." Elodie replied with a shrug. "I might get a coffee in that breakout area."
She gestured with her head. Connor nodded, before moving away from her and towards the rows of desks, its head swivelling around as it scanned the environment. Elodie watched the android for a beat, chewing her bottom lip. She didn't know exactly what she had managed to get herself into, but whatever it was, it was certainly above her paygrade. She didn't know the first thing about law enforcement, and she was learning about deviants on the fly. Worst of all, she was doing it in front of other people. In her gut, she felt a pang of longing for her quiet office and her pots of coffee. Yeah, she really did need a pick-me-up.
Elodie was leaning over the countertop, a jug of coffee in hand, fixed on her thoughts when the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Moments later and she felt a presence beside her, watching as she poured the steaming black liquid into a mug. She swallowed, turning her head tentatively.
The man had a narrow face, not unlike Elijah's, but where her brother possessed a natural refinement, the stranger did not. His steel eyes were set beneath low brows that gave his profile a distinct harshness, his angular jaw dotted with day old scruff and stiff with tension. A scar ran diagonal across his nose, which was aligned slightly off-centre, making it evident that it had been broken at least once. But the man's most defining trait was the arrogance that radiated off of him, and his stare seemed to say to Elodie 'you do not belong'.
"You the owner of the toy detective poking around people's desks?"
He cocked an eyebrow. Elodie inhaled sharply, feeling heat rising in her cheeks. She glanced to her side to look for Connor, who was indeed bent over one of the desks, it's eyes fixed on something in its hands. A snap of fingers brought Elodie's attention back to the man in front of her. He lowered his hand, chuckling harshly.
"You're an egghead, aren't you?"
"A what?"
"An egghead." He sounded the word out. "One of those Cyberlife engineers they cart out every time you lot release a new hunk of plastic. At the conferences. You gotta be, right? Captain said you're the Kamski guy's sister."
"I didn't know there was a disparaging term for us." Elodie replied.
"Dis—" The man stopped himself short, rolling his eyes. "You can't go flinging around your five dollar words in a precinct. Not if you want to make a good impression."
Elodie's eyes were drifting to Connor again. The android had straightened up, but now it was holding a set of headphones to the side of its head. Elodie frowned in confusion, her annoyance bucking. Why on earth was RK800 listening to music?
"Hey! Hey. Are you listening?"
"Yes." Elodie muttered impatiently. "Is there something specific you wanted?"
"Yeah, to introduce myself." The man said, thrusting his hand towards her. Elodie stared at it, clutching the mug of coffee closer to her body as if it were a means of protection. "Gavin Reed."
"You already know my name." Elodie replied with a thin smile, her eyes still fixed on his hand. A beat later and Gavin had lowered it. When she glanced upwards, she could see that he was now scowling.
"Is there somethin' wrong with you? Apparently all you eggheads are a bit fucked in the head. I've got a friend who goes to a bar near Cyberlife Tower. Bunch of fuckin' weirdos."
"I hope you've finished insulting me." Elodie said, her voice quivering slightly as she turned away from the man. "I'd like to get back to my toy detective, as you put it."
Gavin scoffed as Elodie began to walk away.
"Anderson's assigned to your case, right?" Gavin called out over her shoulder.
Elodie paused, unsure whether to bite. The man was abrasive, and certainly seemed to have little respect for either her or Connor. But the hint of information about the lieutenant made her glance stop short, glancing over her shoulder to acknowledge him with a small nod. Gavin smirked, his eyes flickering past her. She followed his gaze to where it had landed — on Connor.
"He fucking hates those things. He'd probably throw that plastic prick straight into a dumpster if he got the chance. So good luck, egghead. You're gonna need it."