Just a Machine
//Prologue//
8/17/2038
Detroit had odd weather, that was for sure. It was cold one day, then boiling hot the next very day afterward. Rain might come one day, then none the next, and the same was true with snow. Beth loved that about Detroit, as it was all she knew. She had lived in Detroit her whole life, not bothering to venture to other places.
Although as much as she loved Detroit's weather, she really, really should've brought an umbrella. The weather forecast had said that it would rain, but Beth had the weather not be what she was told too many times, that at this point she took what they said with a grain of salt.
Even if she was sceptical about it, bringing an umbrella would've been a really good good idea. She was soaked to the bone, raindrops dripping down her freckled face. Her dad wouldn't be happy about her walking out in the rain, as she could've took a taxi, or just brought an umbrella.
"Shit.. dad's gonna kill me..."She muttered quietly, as she spotted her father's house. Although she had her own place, Beth felt the need to check on her dad, in order to ensure he was okay. Beth unlocked the door with her key, walking in quickly to get out of the rain.
A bundle of fur barreled into her, Beth crying out as the Saint Bernard plopped himself onto her stomach, after knocking her onto the floor. Sumo licked her face, and simply wagged his tail in response to being told to 'Get off!'."C'mon, Sumo! You just saw me yesterday..! Get off!"
Sumo finally complied, choosing to lie down in front of the couch and curl up. Beth sighed, looking down at the passed out form of her father, before her eyes fell to the bottle on the ground. She quickly walked over, making sure that her father had a pulse.
Although she should've known he had a pulse, judging by the fact that Sumo wasn't acting abnormally. Which was a sad reality: that Sumo had gotten so used to Hank's tendencies, that the dog just acted like it was completely normal.
She took her attention away from Hank for a moment, to look at the bottle. Beth picked the bottle up, disappointment clear in her eyes."Damn it, Dad..." Beth suddenly felt the urge to cry, barely managing to contain her tears as her phone buzzed."Why, Daddy..?" Beth whispered, knowing he couldn't hear her.
Beth finally checked her phone, giving a slight smile as she realized who it was. It was her best friend from high school, Allison.'Hey, Bethy.. how's it going?'Beth sighed at the nickname.
'Dad's passed out again...'
'Drinking..?'Allison knew about Hank's late night drinking habits. Beth took a glance at her father, before texting back,'Yeah...'
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•
8/18/2038
Beth leaned her head against her free hand, scribbling down notes on the notepad she used for work. Her eyes went from the terminal, to the notepad, for a few minutes, until she suddenly sneezed."Damn..."She muttered quietly, wiping her nose with a tissue from her purse.
She managed to get back to her notes, now sneezing occasionally. Her occasional sneeze hardly interrupted her focus, but a sudden presence did. Beth glanced up through her lashes, spotting a man-- no an android, standing by her desk.
He-- no it was looking down at her, its LED whirring yellow."Detective Anderson?" It inquired, the LED going back to a calm blue. Beth felt a hint of annoyance, but turned her chair to face it."That's me."
She inspected its features, noticing that it was rather tall. Its voice was almost impressively human like.. but it was just a machine, nothing more. She did subconsciously think about handsome the android was, but at the front of her mind she simply thought of him-- no it as a machine.
"My name is Connor. I'm the android sent by Cyberlife."Beth felt a sudden compulsion to roll her eyes."Okay.. and why are you talking to me..?" She gave the android a annoyed, yet slightly curious look.
"I've been assigned to work with your father and you on all cases involving androids.. deviants specifically."Beth raised a brow at the android, honestly hoping that it was joking.. even though she was pretty sure androids didn't or rather couldn't joke.
"You're joking, right..?" She tried anyway, even though she was pretty sure what the answer was going to be."I'm afraid not, Detective."Beth rolled her eyes again, before she let out another sneeze. She wiped her nose, before looking back up at the android.
Its deep brown eyes were already looking down at her, meeting with her baby blue orbs as she looked up. Beth could've sworn that it looked a little annoyed, but also a little concerned. That little bit of emotion went away as quickly as it had come, and the android looked emotionless once again.
"Where's Lieutenant Anderson?"Connor suddenly asked, its LED flashing yellow. Beth let out a sigh, "Probably still sleepin'.. although, if we see him before noon, that'd definitely be a damn miracle."Beth reached a hand up to tighten her ponytail, something she knew she would regret later.
Beth honestly wanted this android to go the hell away, but knew she would need to talk to Fowler, so there would even be a chance of that happening."It's approximately 10:30 a.m., so he is very late for work.. is this normal for Lieutenant Anderson?"
Beth sighed, sadness washing over her. She knew that most of the time, her father came in late because of hangovers. Occasionally, he had just slept in.. but it was mostly because of his late night drinking sessions.
"Unfortunately.. yes it is..."Beth honestly wanted to just ignore the android, turning back around to face her desk in her chair."There is no case currently to investigate.. is there anywhere I could sit?"Beth glanced up at him, looking annoyed.
She knew her father was going to grill her for this later, but she pointed at the empty desk that was connected to her father's own very cluttered desk. The android, to Beth's relief, didn't say anything more, walking over to the desk she had pointed to.
Beth once again took to leaning her head against her hand, resuming her previous task of note taking. She honestly felt like shit, and knew that she had definitely caught a cold. It was her own damn fault for going out into the rain, and getting soaked to the bone because she hadn't brought an umbrella.
"Beth, in my office..!"She dropped her pen, flinching in response to Fowler's yell. She sighed, letting out another sneeze and wiping her nose. Beth walked into the Captain's office, holding her head in one hand. She already had a pounding headache, but his loud tone made it even worse.
"Detective, I assume you've already met the android?" He motioned towards Connor, which gave her a fright, because she hadn't even realized that he-- it had followed into the office, and was now standing behind her."I have, actually..."She glared at it, obvious annoyance and slight hatred evident in her expression.
"Save your hatred for outside your job, Detective." Jeffrey Fowler didn't look to be in the mood for her complaints. Luckily for him, she wasn't her father, so she quickly shut her mouth, preventing all the complaints from coming out.
Hank definitely wouldn't have bit his tongue.. he'd be vocal about his complaints and even actively do things that, if another officer did them, would get him fired."Sorry, Captain..." Beth looked apologetic, realizing that taking out her anger on her Captain wasn't a wise idea.
The Captain simply sighed in response,"I understand your feelings, Beth.. I really do, but you can't let them get in the way of your job... Your father and you are two of my best officers, I'd hate to see either of you lose your job over this."Beth nodded in understanding.
"Is that all, Jeffrey..?" Beth decided to drop the professionalism for a second, since the Captain had as well. Jeffrey nodded in response, and Beth took that as an indicator to leave his office."One more thing." Beth turned back, confusion flickering in her eyes.
"Please prevent your father from destroying the android.. it's a very expensive model."Beth sighed at that but nodded in acceptance,"I will do my best, Captain." She glanced over to Connor, meeting its eyes for a moment. It was standing there motionlessly, its LED glowing yellow.
"C'mon.. let's introduce you to Dad..." Beth said to it, as she spotted her father's form through the clear, glass walls of Jeffrey's office. He looked as disheveled as he always did, honestly not looking even remotely ready for work.
"Mornin' Daddy."Beth greeted her father, who smiled at her tiredly, in response. Even as grumpy as he usually was, he always had a soft spot for his only daughter. His expression softened at seeing his daughter, until his eyes fell on Connor's form standing still, behind her.. which made his features immediately harden, his eyes steeling.
"What the f*ck is this?!"Beth winced, knowing that she would have a hell of a headache later. She knew this would be hell.. her father wasn't fond of androids, although unlike her simple negativity towards them, her father was downright hostile when it came to androids.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•
This wasn't too different from the original, except for the timeline. I decided to change it, because I agree with other people, that the android revolution, peaceful or not, wouldn't have started and finished in one week, or even two weeks; which was the timeline I had chosen for my story. I debated against adding in Connor's first mission, and didn't add it, but I'll write it if you guys want me to.
I'd honestly like some feedback about this, as well as any suggestions for the rest of the rewrite. I won't be deleting the chapters, rather; I'll be simply unpublishing them then uploading the rewritten part in its place. I've also heard about this fictional disease known as Hanahaki disease, which I have decided to add into the story.
Do you guys wanna see the gap in between now and November.. or would you rather I just skip to November..?
Thanks for reading,
Talleybear.
*Warning to new readers: this rewritten chapter is slightly different, so keep that in mind when you read the next chapters before they are rewritten.*