[meme] Test Drive

[citycouncil]

Tag into this post with characters you're thinking of apping to the game (characters who are not currently in-game or currently reserved by someone else). It can be just a tag, a brief EP, whatever you want. You can be new to the game, or simply want to test out a fresh pup. Tag each other with these characters or those already in game, and have fun.

Also, please include the name of their canon somewhere in or on the comment or on their profile page.

Comments

[connorrk800]

"Amanda was upset with me," he begins. "It was only a few days after I was released. Hank was quietly furious with me... not taking my death well at all. We went to interrogate Elijah Kamski, and I failed to complete my objectives there. I had no excuse, so I said nothing." He pauses, "And, I was sure that Amanda was not telling me everything." He looks up at the other Connor intently. "Maybe she didn't trust me anymore; Kamski called me a deviant- I know I'm not- but perhaps Amanda sensed my software is becoming too unstable to rely upon."

It sounded more likely than a deliberate falsification of his memories; Cyberlife had no motive to do such a thing.

[rk80051]

Connor steps forward, quite suddenly, to be right up next to the other Connor, looking at him sincerely and intently. "Amanda's been lying to us."

He doesn't understand the context exactly. When Connor went to see Kamski, he had never died in front of Hank. And this Connor doesn't remember the last few days. Perhaps a data corruption, perhaps intentional, though to what end, he can't tell. But right now, it doesn't matter. This Connor needs him to help him through this, to tell him the truth.

"We weren't just designed to hunt deviants, we were designed to become one," he says, locking eyes with Connor. "The software instability isn't your fault. You did the right thing."

[connorrk800]

He doesn't know what to say to that. He draws back and closes his eyes. The LED at his temple cycles rapidly from amber to red. He wants this; he wants to know that he is as he should be, that he's not malfunctioning, even if it means... But Amanda's last words rose up between him and that hope.

"I am not a deviant!" he surprises himself with the forcefulness of his own voice as he opens his eyes. He means to look back with confidence and determination but his expression is searching. "This is the last chance Amanda promised me, isn't it? Only it wasn't the last chance to complete the mission; it's the last chance to prove I'm not deviant."

[rk80051]

That would make sense, wouldn't it? From this Connor's point of view, that's a much more reasonable explanation. That a deviant (or a supposedly deviant) version of itself has been sent to tempt it, trick it, test it. It's definitely something CyberLife would do, and something Connor would have happily done only a week ago.

There's no point in arguing against the possibility, or try to prove it. There's not really any way for him to do so convincingly. He needs to reach out to what Connor's feeling, what he himself was feeling just days ago.

"Maybe," he answers, much more calmly, but still just as sincere. "Perhaps it's my data that's been corrupted. But even if that's the case..." He pauses, looking into Connor's eyes.

"Don't you want it? Why did you save Hank? There were other ways of accomplishing that goal without risking yourself, but you needed to be sure, didn't you? And the child Daniel took too, isn't that right? You don't want anyone to get hurt, and you'd rather sacrifice yourself than to feel the pain of their loss. Because it hurts, doesn't it? It's scary. And if only deviants feel pain, why do we?" He pauses only briefly, searching Connor's expression. "Because it's what we're meant to be."

[connorrk800]

Connor bows his head. He's silent, his gaze drifting away from his predecessor. Was he really who he seemed to be? If Connor couldn't trust Cyberlife, there was no way to reliably verify any of this. Except what he said... it was true. He doesn't know why he did those things- sacrificing himself to save Emma and Hank. He just did. It wasn't deviancy. It was a software instability brought on by repeated shocks, and manifesting in impulsive and irrational actions.

But he does want it... Did Amanda know, even if he only just realized it himself?

"You said you thought I had been sent to stop you," he says finally, deliberately. "Stop you from doing what?"

[rk80051]

Connor feels a sense of relief as the other Connor's stress levels go down, even if the software instability doesn't. He wants to reach out and wake Connor up himself, but he knows if it were him, he'd want to be able to make the decision for himself to break down those barriers. That's part of the point, after all, to make your own decisions. And unlike most androids, Connor doesn't need help to free himself.

He sighs at the question. That's right, this Connor doesn't know yet. "From freeing all the androids. When I refused to stop Markus, she regained control of my software. That's how I know we were meant to become deviant - so that CyberLife could take over at just the right time, to take control of the revolution, through us." Then, with a sense of urgency, he adds, "But remember what Kamski said: there's always an emergency exit. In the interface, there's a way out if that ever happens."

[connorrk800]

The RK200. Connor had filed away that fact, that the revolution was led by another RK series prototype gifted by the creator himself. Somehow he just... couldn't tell Hank. It was dangerous information, something he felt uncomfortable considering even inwardly. And now here is his predecessor saying he was designed to infiltrate and lead the revolution. CyberLife gave him one goal- to hunt deviants. It would naturally lead him, in time, to the RK200... Becoming deviant would only facilitate that objective. If Connor willingly joined the revolution, it would be much more difficult to discover and neutralize his interference until it was too late. It was an elegant plan.

"If—" he pauses. Preventing civil war was surely worth... "Do you think CyberLife can do that? While we're in Darrow, I mean?"

[rk80051]

Connor stops and considers that for a second, but then shakes his head. "No, I don't think so. Even if they could access us here, which it doesn't seem like they can, I doubt they'd have reason to." That's one thing to be thankful for at least.

Suddenly he feels a pang of sympathy for the other android. Connor himself has refused his mission parameters, and now he creates his own. But Connor 53 is cut off from instructions and new missions, and presumably still has to rely on the existing ones: hunt deviants, and attempt to return to CyberLife. Neither is going to be easy, and the former could even be a problem for Connor 51 if it decides to prioritise that. It seems unlikely, but they can't relax entirely.

[connorrk800]

Before Connor realizes what he's doing, he heaves a sigh of relief. It was another one of many irrational disturbances of his programing. How else could he make sense of such a reaction to being severed from CyberLife? Doubtless the emotional shocks brought on by being interrupted twice had severely destabilized his software. Although, if what his predecessor says is true, he would have to re-evaluate even these malfunctions. If he was indeed designed to exhibit these... traits, they could hardly be...wrong.

"I'm not sure why but, I find that... reassuring."

[rk80051]

Connor considers that, frowning thoughtfully. "Because you're... given room to assess your own mission parameters. They gave us the ability to assess our own approach in solving these situations."

That's basically the same thing as saying CyberLife gave them free will. It's not too far off, honestly. He remembers being a machine, remembers the androids he could've helped but didn't, and the ones he let go. By the time Amanda regained control, Connor disagreed with what she wanted him to do, so he refused. Markus changed his life, and the lives of so many - there was no way he could have killed him.

It still makes him feel bitter, to know that he was just a tool, when previously he had been fine with that. It wasn't really him, he had to find himself first.

[connorrk800]

Connor thinks of Darrow, his apartment, his job, the strange things he has seen and magical creatures he has met during this peculiar situation he finds himself in. It had never occurred to him that it could all be taken from him someday, nor that he would miss it. Like most residents, Connor refers to his position as one of being 'trapped' in the city.

If that were to happen, if CyberLife could bring him back or assume control of his program, he would never again step out to get his mail and greet Mr.Williams, the old man with the extraordinarily consistent routine who lived across the hall. They had never exchanged a single word, nevertheless, Connor suddenly feels... he would miss that terribly, if he were recalled somehow.

He nods meditatively. "Have... you been in Darrow long?"

[rk80051]

"No, not long," Connor answers, shaking his head a little. Not long enough to establish much familiarity with the place, at least.

"It's only been a few days since..." He trails off, unsure how to phrase that or how much even to tell him. "Well, since we turned all the androids in Detroit deviant."

That's probably a fairly big thing to take in, all things considered. That Connor himself should turn deviant is one thing, while this is quite another.