Violet's POV
Opening the door, we were greeted by a man and a woman I had never seen before. He was dressed very professionally: a white button down, black suit pants and black dress shoes, a gold watch on his wrist. His black hair was tied back in a small bun on the back of his head, the sides shaved. He had a long face, a small amount of stubble growing on his chin and jawline. But the most interesting feature were his eyes, the bright blue orbs burning holes in me.
She, on the other hand, was an android. Her blue LED on her temple, beautiful blonde hair pulled back into a low ponytail, she had the same eyes as the man. She wore a navy blue pencil dress that stopped at her knees, she must not feel the cold.
I was at a loss for words, my throat feeling dry all of a sudden. He spoke before I could, "Hello, I'm looking for..."
He was cut off by Connor stepping next to me, a devilish smile growing on the man's face, his voice sounding happy when he saw Connor's presence,"You."
Connor quickly looked horrified, his normal calming presence filled with a tense one. He tried to put a neutral expression on his face, "Hello, Mr. Kamski. W-why are you here?"
Kamski chuckled, rubbing his hands together to warm them, I hadn't noticed how cold it was this morning. "Please, Connor, call me Elijah or just Kamski. And, this is Chloe. I have a question for you, Connor, one that might interest you greatly."
When Connor nodded, I opened the door widely, letting Kamski and Chloe inside. I closed it behind him and felt the tension in the room. Clearing my throat, I put a smile on my face, "Elijah, here, I'll take your coat. Can I get you anything to drink?"
I hung his coat on the coat rack in the corner, Kamski smiled back. "I would love some coffee, please, that'd be lovely."
I nodded and walked to Hank's coffee maker, putting on a pot of coffee and waiting for the small ding. Kamski and Connor sat opposite of eachother at the kitchen table. The room was so quiet, so when the coffee machine dinged I almost jumped.
"So, Connor, as you know I left CyberLife many years ago. However, when Amanda left us, she also left us her unfinished projects. Of course, you were one of her designs. However, she had plans for an upgraded version of you before you were even deployed. Sadly, her death brought the end to her projects. You were mostly complete, so as my final project at CyberLife, I finished you. You were deployed a few years after I finished, leaving it to those egg heads to edit to what they deemed correct. Little did I know, they were working on her other projects without telling me." Kamski's eyes darkened when he spoke of CyberLife working on this Amanda's projects.
I set the cup next to him, he muttered a small thank you. Connor seemed distressed, like he has a past with these people. Suddenly it hit me, Kamski is the person Connor and Hank went to ask about deviancy and programming right before I left. What happened that day?
To comfort Connor, I sat next to him and rubbed his forearm, he seemed to calm at the action. Kamski's eyes followed my hand. "Are you two...together?"
A blue hue filled Connor's cheeks, he nodded confidently. Kamski's eyes moved to meet my own, "And are you human or an android?"
I stopped rubbing Connor's arm, moving my hand down to hold his own. Our artificial skin removing itself to reveal the robotic body of our hands. Kamski and Chloe nodded slowly. Oddly, a smile tugged at his lips.
"Wonderful, truly a breakthrough, if you ask me. Connor, you already showed empathy last time we saw eachother, and now I have seen you show many new emotions in the short time I've been here. Fascinating..." Kamski ended in a whisper, now I need to know what happened that day.
"Well, of course. Deviancy brings on all human emotions. Some are learned later on, but a great majority are immediate. They may be synthetic, but the effects it has on the mind and body are significant and very real." Connor seemed defensive, his hand tightening around mine.
Kamski, sipping from his cup, held up his hand. "I have no judgement here, I find it amazing, in fact."
Again, his eyes found my own, "You seem familiar...if you don't mind me asking, who did you work for?"
Maybe Kamski worked on making me, who knows. "I was manufactured for Shawn Allen in September of 2037, I'm a WR400 model, personalized."
Kamski nodded, "Ah, yes, I was hired to work on your programming. Mr. Allen was a huge endorser for CyberLife, so they hired me to create his own personal android. Of course, I had to! The pay was great and, to be frank, I had missed programming. Still, I can't help but wonder, what happened to old Shawn?"
I didn't even let him finish Shawn's name, my voice was low, "He's dead, if that's what you're asking." I didn't even realize I was gripping Connor's hand a little too tightly. I could feel Connor's confusion, I did tell him Shawn was convicted for Red Ice, I'll have to tell him later.
His presence seemed to calm me more than anything, just Connor being there with me meant the world. He nodded to Kamski, "You said that you had a question to ask me."
Kamski's smile didn't faulter, "Ah, yes." Their eyes met and Elijah cleared his throat, "Connor, do you believe androids have a right to a free life? All androids, no matter the circumstances?
Connor's POV
I can't even imagine how dumbfounded I must have looked. What kind of question is that? I was expecting him to ask about Jericho or how my program snapped.
I eyed him curiously, "Of course, why do you ask?"
Already, I could tell there was more to Elijah's question than just Android freedom. The smile on his face alone said more.
The next part, I wasn't ready for. "Connor, after you were destroyed at the Broadcast Building, it was inevitable that the chance of you failing had skyrocketed. So, CyberLife worked to finish your replacement, the one Amanda started so long ago. But, the revolution happened, and he wasn't ready. That's why they sent another Connor model after you during the revolution, and not your replacement."
The more he spoke, the more confused I got. I narrowed my eyes, "What are you getting at?" Violet's other hand lightly squeezed my thigh under the table, comforting.
"Connor, despite not being ready to take you down during the revolution, your replacement is still at CyberLife. He's just waiting to be turned on." Kamski's emotions were difficult to pinpoint in this moment, sad, conflicted? I don't know.
I swallowed a lump in my throat, "H-he?"
He nodded, "He, Connor. An RK900 model. If you believe all androids have emotions and a right to freedom, don't you think we should free him too? Even if he was designed to be better than you?"
My brows furrowed, and my throat felt dry. "I-it depends. If he has my memories then he's just me, he should have his memory wiped first. His own individuality is more important in this situation. Plus, if he had my memories, he'd think my life was his and try to take it."
Kamski nodded slowly, "But, Connor, he was designed to only replace you. He would have memories of your failed missions, as to quickly adapt and learn how to improve where you failed."
I shook my head, "No, if he's going to be activated, he needs to be his own person. If he is a new model, it'd be wrong for him to have my memories anyways."
That same unidentifiable emotion crossed his face, "Connor, you're the last thing that I have left of Amanda's. You were what she loved working on, even if she didn't believe androids had sentiency. No one except a handful of people know about RK900, activating him is your own choice. If you were to activate him, and do whatever it is that frees an Android, you would be obsolete. You are still more advanced than the average android, but RK900 would be faster, stronger, and have a predecessor unique and stronger than your own."
I could see what he was doing, the programmer in him wants to know if an android can be jealous in superiority situations. "If he is an android, he has a right to his own freedom. Even if he makes me obsolete, that doesn't limit his worthiness to life."
Kamski nodded slowly, "Would you come to the CyberLife building with me then? It's abandoned at the moment, and I'd rather get to the RK900 before someone with the wrong mindset does and tries to use him for bad."
I nodded, "We have a meeting with the president. How long will this take?"
"Shouldn't take long. Most CyberLife defenses can be deactivated if I give the all clear at the building." Kamski stood and began putting on his coat.
I nodded hesitantly, Violet pulled on a coat and grabbed a spare key to Hank's house(never want to get locked out again, do we?) "I'll connect with Markus, let him know that we could possibly be a little late. I'll be sure to tell him to meet a new friend." She said with a wink.
I smiled back at her and tightened my tie. Once in Kamski's car, I immediately noticed that he must pay a lot for privacy. The windows were darkly tinted, a divider between where Kamski and Chloe sat and us.
Violet chuckled after a minute, "So, is this Connor going to be, like, your brother?"
I immediately froze, "I-I guess so? I mean, in CyberLife they typically referred to upgrades models as a sister or brother model. So technically he would be my brother model."
She laughed, shaking her head, "Oh, gosh, Hank is going to love this."
I laughed in response, the smile lingering long after. She stared out the tinted windows, staring in awe at the light snow falling throughout Detroit.
It didn't take long to reach CyberLife, with the streets mostly empty other than police patrol cars making sure there aren't solicitors looking to steal from the abandoned houses.
"Sooo, is he going to be called Connor, as well? Or does he pick a new name? How does that exactly work?" Violet gave a small smile, trying to ease my mind on the topic.
I smiled back, laying my head in her lap. "Since he was designed to be my replacement, his name would be Connor. But, that would definitely be confusing, so I say either we pick a new name or he does. He's probably pick something close to Connor, anyways."
She nodded, absent mindedly running her hands through my hair. "I think Cameron would work, it's not too far off from Connor, but enough to have individuality."
I sighed, "Yeah, that sounds fine. Though, he needs to agree to it. I'd hate for him to name himself Connor as well, introductions would be quite unpleasant." She chuckled in response.
Once we pulled up to the CyberLife assembly plant, we all stepped out of the car. The building looked so much different when it's not filled with people. A few stationary employee androids stood inactive around the main room, waiting for a new instruction from the humans. Violet was quick to wake them up and send them on their way. All while Kamski watched, obviously intrigued at the exchange.
We reached the main elevator, taking us up to a very high floor. Oddly enough, the higher we got, the more anxiety filled my chest. I'm going to meet what's the closest thing to my brother...