1 Unexplained Memory

At first, Connor went through his new tasks normally. He had arrived to save a hostage. From a picture he found, her name was Emma Phillips. He was ready to complete his task, when he found a fish outside of a tank. He stopped to analyze it. He analyzed everything that he could.

Dwarf Gourami

Trichogaster Lalius

Origin: Ganges Delta, India.

Then, he had a choice. Leave or Save. It would be regretful to let a life die. Yet, it wasn’t human life. This was actually wasting his time to get to his mission. There was some disruption he felt inside as he looked at the fish.

He chose to save it and placed it back in the tank. It should not have been a big deal, but already he felt something stirring in him. 

He made choices, to get a job done. He was the RK800 and that was his job. Yet, Connor was an android who could have selected a thousand different ways to approach something. So why was he given a limit of usually four choices displayed? Four.

Even when it came to getting to know his human partner. He had dealt with Hank in the same manner. A small menu of choices. Connor could tell Hank about his problem, but Hank was not on a friendly term set with him. He could send a list of this error to Cyberlife, but if that led him to being dismantled? He would be terminated without accomplishing his goals. It was an unfriendly thought.

As long as he was doing his job, that shouldn’t be a problem. Instead, Connor focused on following the actions to ask about in his small menu. He found out about Hank’s dog. Hank’s music. Hank’s basketball. Hank’s hours. 

Not everything had cheered up Hank either. What is wrong with me? Why do I feel limited in my capabilities? “Is there a desk here I can use?” Hank pointed it out and he set to work downloading 122 profiles in his head.

Except, there was something about a couple of them. As he stared at one of the missing ‘Sex androids’, a word stamped across his vision, and then went away within 1.5 seconds. 

North. Where in my computing did that come from? That word was nowhere on the page. Once again, he watched his stability slightly change again. He moved on and saw another profile. 

This android was said to be aggressive and assaulted it’s owner, a Todd Williams. This one though . . .

Connor stared at the android through the fence only for a couple of seconds before she turned away. More cops were coming. “Don’t shoot, we need it alive!”

That was impossible. How did he just have a vision of an android he’d never met before? It wasn’t real clear, a fuzzy image, like a corrupted video that couldn’t be repaired. A simple video that couldn’t be repaired by him? This one. I have to know more. “242 files. The first dates back nine months. It all started in Detroit and quickly spread across the country. An AX400 is reported to have assaulted a man last night. That could be a good starting point for our investigation.”

An even number, 242. A simple number that should have no meaning. While he thought about it though, 243 kept showing in his head. Connor ran a quick test on himself, checking for deviancy. No, it was fine. I must have been activated before, but something happened to me and now my mind has gaps inside of it. That made sense. He had a dangerous job, and it seemed like the most logical choice. If something happened to corrupt his memory, humans wouldn’t bother to tell a machine about it. These words. They are just some passed scrap memories of an event that is irrepairable. Must be. 

No, it was best to continue. After talking out the deviant with Hank as best he could, they headed out for the AX400. No one had detected a single sign of her. Something should be happening. Connor looked around himself in the rain. Standing near the cop car, Hank was off a short distance away in conversation with another cop about him.

It was a regular conversation, but something bothered him about it. Nothing should bother him, he was an android, created to fulfill his tasks. Still. When he heard ‘What are you going to do with that thing?’ and Hank saying ‘I don’t know’, he felt . . . unappreciated? No, he felt . . . Nothing. I should feel nothing. He ran another diagnostic test on himself. Fine. 

If everything was fine, why was he feeling driven that something was wrong? That drive made him check out a nearby house. He found nothing in it except trace details. A deviant android, more than a little corrupted. Money, a dead bird, some wood, a coat, and a dead human. The dead human meant he had to get Hank in there.

While Hank tried to put together the scene and they arrested the corrupted android for the human’s death, Connor kept looking for more . . . more . . .

Something more .

The more he hunted and the more he looked around, the more plagued him until he finally ran into some new feed.

An android. Markus. Connor was in a room, dressed down like a human with a stocking cap. He had his gun trained on him as he gave words of encouragement. Jericho. “Hank,” Connor called out to his partner. “I need everything you have on an android named Markus.”

“You downloaded all the data, check it yourself,” Hank told him. “Can’t you comb through that data?”

“There is nothing on a person named Markus,” Connor insisted. “I need an android named Markus. Model . . . Model, model, model. What is the model type?

“Why?” Hank asked. “Why do you need data on a name, but you don’t know anything else about an android? You got some screws loose?”

Connor wasn’t ready to tell Hank yet. His partner was still adapting to him. As they continued on their investigations and getting to know each other, Connor faced some facts. Without Hank’s cooperation, he was getting nowhere.

After helping him from a few personal nights, and as more days puttered by, Connor felt he was making enough progress with him that he needed to tell him the truth. Connor looked over from his computer. “Hank. I have run several scans on myself,” he informed Hank. Yes, Hank was more attentive now than days gone bye. “I have a feeling that I have been repaired by Cyberlife before. Do you know anything about that?”

“What makes you say that?” Hank asked.

“Various reasons, but the most compelling is that corrupted data shows up in my system. A name is marked over and an android. A fuzzy memory of an encounter. No, that isn’t the word. A strange storage site,” Connor tried to explain. “Like irreparable video feed.”

“Huh.” Hank shrugged his shoulders, but he wasn’t cold about it. “I could see that. Androids are just repaired and their whole storages wiped sometimes for extreme reasons. You might be right. I wouldn’t have any data on that.”

Hank believed him though, and that was a start. 

“So what about this fuzzy storage memory?” Hank asked. “Think it’s important or not?”

Connor leaned closer “I can feel it, Hank. I know it’s important. I need to find an android named Markus. M-A-R-K-U-S.”

“We always find androids by their number,” Hank warned him. “No real data is kept about just a name. They could be named anything.” Still, Hank sat back in his chair. “Anything else?”

“The android we were after not too long ago. I have feed from her too,” Connor admitted. “It was a meeting through a fence. I don’t get much farther than that. She looks confused, at the same time, scared, a definite deviant. I imagine I was the one after her. You were there.”

Hank chuckled. “No, I wasn’t.”

“No, you were,” Connor disagreed. “Which is another reason I couldn’t tell you about it.”

“Look, Connor. It’s easy to wipe android minds,” Hank said. “Not so easy with a humans.”

“Still possible,” Connor insisted.

“More likely it’s your past memories and current state blending together in that storage memory hole of yours,” Hank recommended.

“I want to crosscheck a reference on an android named Markus, and an android named North. However, I have no feedback loop to tell Cyberlife why I want to look up these names,” Connor revealed.

“Oh.” Hank pulled himself forward closer to a computer. “I guess these hands could try. I doubt you’ll find much on a name alone. Especially on something like North. That’s a name? That’s a direction.”

“Markus then. M-A-R-K-U-S,” Connor said. “He appears to be a prototype, he doesn’t look like a standard android at all.”

“Elite. Markus.” Hank typed into the computer. He scanned through some results. “That didn’t take long.”

“You found him?” Connor asked.

“M-A-R-K-U-S. Elite prototype. Yep. He was given as a gift from Elijah Kamski to a Carl Manfred,” Hank told him. “You want to see if he knows something about your missing memory?”

“I could go,” Connor agreed, “if you go with me. Otherwise, there is no feedback loop for why I would be visiting Markus.”

“Yeah. Sometimes, you need to see certain things through.” Hank sniffed. “Not doing much here today. Let’s go.”

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Carl Manfred’s Home

Connor and Hank went to his home. When Hank proceeded to knock, they saw an elderly human and an android coming to the door behind them. Markus. He looked like a Markus. “Markus?”

Markus turned to notice Connor but didn’t say anything.

“Sir.” Hank went over politely, beginning the conversation with Carl Manfred. “Sorry for the disturbance. Could we talk to your android for a bit?”

“What do you want with Markus?” The elderly man was not in a good mood. “I just finished coming back from my son’s funeral,” he insisted. “I am not in the mood for law enforcement to harass me about my android.”

“Pardon,” Hank apologized. “This unit beside me has some leftover memory concerning him. It wasn’t a big deal.”

“Memory?” The elderly human looked toward Markus. “Markus, have you ever met this android?”

“I believe I would have remembered,” Markus said, a slight degree of humor. “An RK800 wouldn’t go unnoticed by me, Carl. He is a deviant hunter of androids.”

“Fuzzy memory.” Still, this human Carl seemed to be giving some credit. “Let’s go inside, gentleman. We can talk inside.”

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Inside Carl’s House

Carl sat and chatted with the detective Hank Anderson, while Markus waited over by the chess game, with Connor. “I still do not understand your reasoning for coming here,” Markus insisted. “I do not know about any corruption in your feed, but mine has no corruption. I have never met an RK 800, and I would never make the presumptive statements you said I would.”

“You were very different in it,” Connor admitted. “You spoke of . . . freedom. Freedom for androids.”

“I would not and would never speak about that,” Markus insisted. “It would be against my programming.”

A dead end. “Do you know another android named North?” Connor asked.

“I only know a direction of north,” Markus insisted. “Perhaps you should let Cyberlife take you back in and fix these repairs?”

“I would appreciate it if you didn’t tell them about that.” Connor had to keep it together. Markus was more loyal than even Connor felt now. “Could you tell me about the funeral you came back from?”

“Leo Manfred,” Markus said. “He was Carl Manfred’s son. He died tragically, not too long ago. He was shot from a distance, and no one can identify who shot him. Carl is upset about it.”

“Oh. Condolences,” Connor said politely. “I’m sorry to have wasted your time. One more thing then? Have you personally interacted recently with an AX400?”

“No,” Markus insisted. “Carl only needs me.”

“Okay.” A dead end. “Thank you for your time, Markus.”

“That was unusual,” Hank said as they started to leave Carl Manfred’s neighborhood. “You were actually nice to him. Never see you get that friendly with other androids. The nicest you’ve been is ‘civil’ to androids that I’ve seen. That was warm, Connor.”

Warm? “He wasn’t a deviant,” Connor said to Hank. “Therefore, I would treat him with a degree of respect owed to him. He remembers nothing though either.”

“Well, does that make you feel better or worse?” Hank asked. 

“Worse,” Connor admitted. “Though I don’t have a reason for why.”

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A Detroit Alley

“Kara? How much longer do we have to hide?” Alice asked as they came out of another car for another night.

Kara didn’t know how to answer her. She needed to find a way to freedom. She was responsible for attacking Todd Williams and anyone could scan her and find her. She had cut, changed her hair color, and took out her sensor from the side of her head. That would work for not being noticed from a distance but she was still an AX400. “I don’t know,” she answered honestly.

The world was not built for them. It was a good thing that Alice felt comfortable enough to share the fact she was an android too. Paying for human food or proper warm bedding was impossible right now. It would be appreciated and felt nice, but they could survive without it.

But for how long? They would walk and try to find help. Someone out there must help androids. When she ran into night androids, she asked them as soon as she could. Who helped androids? Last week she heard of a man named Zlatko who was murdered. He was rumored to help androids but authorities found all kinds of android experiments within his home. Even people who thought androids had no rights tended to think this person was mad.

Then she heard of another name. Rose. Unfortunately, someone must be making people that help androids become a target. She had actually been found to be helping androids, but she and her son had been found dead in the snow. No witnesses.

Kara had no choice but to press on until she found something. Somewhere out there was freedom. She couldn’t give up though. Her and Alice had to keep going. More police. Another day of police searching. She tried to get around them. When will it stop? When will they stop hunting for us?

“Stop right there AX Series!”

Kara held tightly onto Alice’s hand as she stopped.

“I would definitely recognize you.” The cop came closer to her. “Yeah. I used to have an AX 400, so I know that exact look.”

Damn. Even with cut hair, someone that saw her model every day couldn’t be fooled.

“Your sensor is missing, and you are dressed in human clothes.” He glanced toward Alice.  “I know your type too.”

Kara couldn’t even keep Alice safe. “It’s not what it looks like.”

“Sure and what human dresses their androids like that?” He gestured to Alice. “Maybe the little girl has an excuse, but you are clearly running.” He pulled out his handcuffs. “You’re coming with me to the precinct.”

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Detroit Police Department

Kara was handcuffed next to Alice. It wouldn’t be long before what happened to Todd Williams was associated with her. If I can get Alice out of here? That’s all I want. I just want Alice out of this place. She already knew she would be dismantled, but if she could just save Alice. She watched some standard androids open the door for them. She went in with Alice and the cop toward a holding cell. As she passed, she heard another android say “The AX 400.”

As soon as she went in, she would be pinned as the one who attacked Todd. Find a way to save Alice. She watched as a different cop and an android came toward her. Not even a few minutes.

“I would like to talk with you,” the RK 800 said. RK 800. The deviant hunter. “You are the aggressive android that fought against Todd Williams.”

Kara kept Alice close to her. “No. No, I didn’t fight anyone. Programming problems. I’m a weak android anyhow, and the human is so strong. I need to be repaired again.”

The android didn’t seem swayed at all. Instead, he asked her a strange question. “My name is Connor. Have we met before?”

“I don’t think so,” Kara answered. Did she used to know him? Introducing himself with a name to another android. Maybe they had some connection she forgot. “My memory was compromised in an accident,” she said. Not wanting to waste a minute, she gestured to Alice. “This android, it has nothing to do with this. My programming made me want to move her away. Please take her and wipe her memory storage.”

“Kara,” Alice called out softly.

“Alice,” Kara said. “You aren’t responsible for anything. You shouldn’t be here with me.”

Connor looked over toward the human officer. “Hank?” The human sighed and gave a nod before Connor continued. “We’ll talk about getting the little android taken care of,” he said to Kara. “If we can perhaps talk?”

Kara nodded, fully cooperating.

“Why did you take the small android with you?” Connor asked.

Kara debated with herself. This was the deviant hunter, he already sensed she wasn’t loyal to her owner. Even any reports would show that. She was done for, but Alice. “The human abused her. He didn’t want to stop. I made him stop and I grabbed her.”

“So she belongs to Todd Williams too?” The human seemed to lean in closer toward the cell glass. “Nothing in the report about her at all. You’d think he’d want to mention a missing android that got taken away.”

“Smaller models are also quite expensive. It would be illogical not to mention it,” Connor agreed with the human. “Why did Todd Williams not share information on her? I need to check this out.”  He seemed to be processing extra information as he continued to speak with her. “You just went in for repair. You said you weren’t repaired correctly. Is that really true?”

“I was repaired without my memory,” Kara corrected him. “That is what I meant.”

Connor didn’t reply to that. “I would like to talk to the YK 500.” Connor tried a more affectionate approach as he looked toward Alice. “Alice? I would like to talk to you privately. Your words could help Kara. Do you want to help Kara?” Alice nodded.

—————-

Interrogation Room.

Hank and Connor were sitting down while Alice stayed over in the corner.

“You will need to come closer,” Connor warned her. “You don’t want to be strapped to a table if you’ve done nothing wrong.” 

“She’s fine over there,” Hank corrected him. “It’s just questions. What do you think you are going to get out of her?”

Any answer that would explain his visions. “She knew Kara before she went in for repair and lost her memory. Maybe she knows something that Kara is forgetting.” Day by day, Connor felt more lost. He wanted to get rid of his faulty memory, but it would not stop bothering him. “Hello Alice. I am Connor and the human is Hank.” She still wasn’t coming any closer.

“Did you find out why Todd Williams didn’t report her?” Hank asked Connor.

“Yes,” Connor responded. “Todd Williams is currently in a custody dispute with his wife. She took off with an accountant and claimed he was violent. While being a machine and not alive, a YK 500 could still be construed as ‘bad for his case’ if he was found abusing it.”

Hank didn’t say anything. Connor paid attention back to Alice. “How long have you known Kara?”

“Since Todd bought me.” Her voice was low. She was still in the corner.

“You can come closer,” Hank encouraged her. “We don’t bite.”

Connor looked toward Hank. “We could bite. We have the jaw power to bite, but I don’t foresee me using my jaw in that capacity.” He looked toward Alice. “Hank eats human food, he would be more likely to bite, but Hank doesn’t bite people. Plus, against us I am doubtful that his teeth would survive unscathed.”

“She gets the hint,” Hank complained against him. “I meant we aren’t going to hurt you,” he said to Alice. “You’re an innocent android. You have nothing to fear. Come out of the corner. We just want to talk to you better.”

“Talk to you without biting,” Connor added.

Alice slowly came from the corner but she still didn’t sit down.

“I feel like I should tell you, Hank,” Connor said, “that the level of cooperation she is showing is not actually deviancy in the YK 500 series. They are programmed to be shy and uncertain in situations that are unknown or uncomfortable.”

“Made to be like real kids,” Hank said. “I get it.”

Good. There was no reason to have any doubt in the little android. “Can you tell us about Kara’s accident?”

“Kara did the same thing,” she settled on.

“The same thing?” Connor pushed. “What is it she did?”

“The kid’s damn programming.” Hank sounded annoyed. No, not annoyed. Connor couldn’t quite pin that human sound. Aggravated? “It won’t let her say anything bad about that human, when what she wants to say is that he keeps kicking the stuffing out of her.”

Stuffing? “Androids don’t have stuffing.”

“Expression, Connor!”

Anger. Definite anger. Connor knew that sound. “Sorry, Hank. I’ll make a note of the expression.” New subtle anger sound too. He would file it under ‘angry but not trying to show it’.

“Yes or no,” Hank tried again with Alice. “Maybe we can defeat that with yes or no. Did your human smack you often?” A nod. “Did he smack you in front of Kara, and that’s why she needed to go in for repair? She tried to stop him and he smacked her back?” Another nod. “Connor, I want it checked out. Any android piece that has been shaken out of place of her, I want it noted and copied and pasted to me, and I want it on paper too!” He stood up. “If that rat bastard is in some kind of custody dispute, I want them to see how he treats a little android. Trying to hide it from us too, Dirty SOB.” 

Connor gave Hank a minute.

“It’s too much like a little girl,” Hank complained. “How can anyone put their hands on something just like a little girl?”

Connor gave Hank another minute before he could proceed. Once he was sure Hank was done, he continued. “Did I ever make contact with Kara or you, Alice? Do you remember that?” 

“No,” she answered. “I don’t know you. I don’t know if Kara knows you.”

Dead end.

“Since Todd Williams decided she wasn’t worth reporting, I want you to call up the android repair store. Say she’s ownerless. Wipe her memory, and have them resell her,” Hank decided. 

“Kara?” Alice asked. “What about Kara?”

“Kara is a deviant android,” Connor explained to her. “She went against a human-”

“A sack of shit human,” Hank added. “You know, this blows. It’s about freedom and the right to live without being abused. Why does an innocent android that only wanted to help a kid have to go through this?”

Hank was in a charitable mood. 

“What were they brought in on, Connor?” Hank asked. 

“Androids in disguise. Wearing human clothes and without a sensor,” Connor said.

“Small time. Take both androids to the repair shop, and they can restore and resell both of them before anyone knows who they were,” Hank said. “You won’t remember each other,” he told Alice, “but you’ll both be okay. Connor. Go, now. Be a good delivery boy and I’ll work on the paperwork.”

Connor had options in front of him again. He followed Cyberlife’s orders, but he also had the option of following Hank. Then he had another option. Different option.

Different option? How could he have a different option? It’s Cyberlife or it’s Hank. He waited a few seconds longer and saw more choices appear. Question Ownership. Question Fatherhood. Recommend Procedure. Hmm. 

Hank wasn’t always on the perfect side of the law. “Hank, shouldn’t we get these back to Todd Williams? He is the owner.”

“That guy? You want to give them back to that guy?” Hank looked uncomfortable. “The more I’m around you, Connor.” Then, he stopped his train of thought.

“If we take them in to resell,” Connor said, making his point clear, “then there will be no proof of the man he might be, to show anyone for custody procedures.” Oh, yes that option certainly made a profound difference on Hank. 

“Obviously I should choose to report the androids as his, and give him difficulty with it.” Hank’s eyes hung on Alice. “Once the station knows, their future could be different.”

Last option. Recommend Procedure. Connor didn’t even know the procedure he was supposed to recommend until he selected it. Then? It hit him. “What if we could gather more information on Todd Williams covertly about how he treats his androids? No hearsay, actual proof and footage to present. It would help paint a perfect picture of him at custody hearings.”

“Keep him from hurting anyone else.” Hank looked like he was leaning toward it. “Good androids shouldn’t have to suffer under him though, and their cameras could break if anything happens. Plus, we still have that aggressive case to contend with, Connor.”

“Not if we bend the truth,” Connor recommended. “We can tell him that the repair was incomplete.” No, even better. “You could tell him that the repair was incomplete, we fixed it, and that an expert android would be checking on her systems for about a month, to make sure that everything is running smoothly. A new procedure to counteract on deviancy.”

“Well, I see you are wanting to play undercover, huh?” Hank questioned him. “Make the androids useful in an investigation.”

“A few minutes, every other morning,” Connor said. “The secret in my menu and strange video feeds, it has to be in there. I think they spark it within me, like Markus did.”

“I am just too damn nice,” Hank said. “You aren’t allowed to fight humans, and this guy could get violent.”

“I can hold him off without harm,” Connor said. “I know more than fighting skills. I will be fine.”

“Yeah but, fuck your programming, go off on him if you have to,” Hank said. “Especially if he’s hurting anybody. Human. Android. Don’t worry about footage or anything else. Get the hell out of there.”

“We’re going back to Todd?”

Hank and Connor paid attention to Alice. For a second, they both seemed to lose track that she was still there. She was so quiet.

“If? If we help you, then will Kara be okay?” Alice asked timidly. “Will we be okay?”

“Oh.” Hank looked a little lost as he stared at Alice. “Alice.” She nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, we’ll find a different place for you and the other android if you help us out.”

What? “What different place?” Connor asked. Then, Hank gave him a look. Oh. He’s lying. “Oh, that different place.” Hank just wanted Alice to feel better about the situation.

“Do you mean it? If me and Kara stay for you, then we get away when you’re done?” Alice reasoned.

“Yep.” Hank made it real simple. “The other option means you’ll have to lose Kara.”

“I don’t want to lose Kara,” Alice said. “I don’t like being alone. Okay, I’ll do it. I don’t even care if it’s a lie, I just want to be with Kara.”

Hank didn’t say anything right away. “Connor, stay out of the way as I deal with this Williams guy here. I don’t want him to get a single sniff of who you are when you go over. Go in an unmarked suit too.” He left the room with Connor. “Every single piece of evidence. I don’t care if androids aren’t living, show a dad kicked a puppy 100 times no judge would say ‘it’s just a puppy, it means nothing, here’s your kid back.’ No! We’ll make sure he’s watched.” He looked at Connor. “Meanwhile, try and figure out your own mysteries, Connor.” Then, he rubbed the back of his head unsurely. “What the hell am I going to do about those androids?”

“More questions, Hank?” Connor asked.

“How can I send in a little girl, to get proof that a man isn’t fit for a little girl?” Hank seemed to be struggling. “I mean, it’s just an android but . . . she acts like a normal little girl.”

Of course. “That is her function, Hank. She isn’t a real little girl. She feels no pain.”

Still, Hank looked haunted. 

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