missiondeterminant | [Open Post]

[ That attitude is completely unnecessary, and in fact is sends a strange shock through her system to suddenly have her adolescent engagement program kick into gear. Lucky for them both, his question helps her put it on standby and do a scan of her own.

Her LED isn't there anymore to spin yellow, but her eyes half-close, and she blinks a few times kn rapid succession. Soon enough, she finishes and shakes her head. ]

No. I'm cut off... it's like there's nothing here. Just us. [ ...cold fear slides through her artificial veins. ] We have to get out of here.

[Excuse you Kara the attitude is totally necessary; this is all horrible and he's stuck here with someone who thinks he's the cause of this. Or did, anyway, as she seems to believe him now, although that's just in time for Connor to wonder if it maybe really is his fault. Even if he's not doing it, what are the chances this is about him in some way?

He needs to stop thinking about this for now, even though Kara's response is not encouraging either. She's right; they need to get out of here, and if not out of the simulation--because surely that's what this is--then out of the open street.

But where are they going to go?]

The police station shouldn't be far.

[He says it as he realizes it, suggesting the idea both because it's familiar and because he knows the equipment in it. Getting to a computer might help them.]

We can see if there's anything there.

[ At this point she's working off the assumption that Connor is not in fact causing this. It doesn't make sense to drag out her capture if that were his intent. Something else is at work here, something bigger than both of them, and the only conclusion Kara can arrive at is that CyberLife is behind this as some twisted form of punishment.

All she wanted was to be free, to give Alice a happy life with her and Luther. Why is she here? Why with the android who nearly got her killed?

Dwelling won't answer her questions, though, so she nods and follows him, at his side, ready to grab him if something happens. Suddenly, she doesn't want to be separated from him. He's built to fight, and she's... she's built to clean and be sweet and docile. She can survive on her own in the real world, but a simulation presents too many unknowns.

Something she can do for them, though, is scan for safety hazards. In this desolate cyberscape Detroit, there aren't people or animals or moving cars, but there are street lights that could blow out and shower them with glass, and manhole covers that could pop up under pressure, and fire hydrants that could burst to life. Her HUD shows every hazard possible, enough to give an overprotective parent fits (or to comfort them, if that's what they want their AX400 to do). She'd never feared this much for Alice, but suddenly she's afraid for herself and for the deviant hunter--

Whose name she should really get. ]

My name is Kara. [ She says it quietly, coming up a little closer, wishing Luther were here to guard her other side. ] I've been deviant for two weeks, though sometkmes it feels like I always have been.

[ The wordy introduction is meant to calm them both a little, distracting from the excess levels of stress and tension, but also, she's nervous. ]

[Connor leads the way down the familiar and yet somehow unfamiliar streets, directing them both toward the police station, attention focused primarily on getting there, keeping track of Kara, and trying to look once more for anything unusual in his system. A manual search instead of a scan will take longer, but it's more thorough and gives him something to work on instead of uselessly worrying.

However it's all very distracting, and so it takes a moment before he's able to respond to her sudden introduction; he glances toward her, LED continuing its yellow flickering while he searches.]

Connor.

[He doesn't provide any information on his own deviancy, both because he doesn't necessarily want to and because he doesn't exactly know how. The line between his programming and deviancy has been weak at best for his entire existence--he remembers clearly, now that he knows how to identify it, the fear and concern that he often felt even early on in his mission--and then with what Amanda told him...

Is he really even deviant at all? Has he always been? Is there any difference, really, for him?

But alright, she said she'd been deviant for two weeks, so--]

Did you become deviant just before the revolution?

[And just before they encountered each other?]

[ Kara has no idea about Amanda or how different Connor's pre-deviancy life was. All she knows is her own experience, so that's what she goes off of. ]

Yes. My... my old owner, he ordered me not to move while he went to beat his daughter. I'd seen how much it scared her before when he got angry, so... I fought against his order. I had to.

[ It seemed... so easy to make the choice. So logical. So natural. Just how many times did Todd break her for disobeying? Was she ever owned by anyone before him? How did that go? She has so many questions, but right now, the most important thing is to get out of here. ]

Did they want you to arrest Alice too?

[Connor is quiet, thinking that over as they walk, sorting out logic versus emotion in regards to what she said, and also the best choice for answering her question. He decides to do the latter before asking about the rest of what she said, voice back to calm and factual as he slips easily into detective mode.]

There was no mention of Alice in the report; I didn't know about her until I encountered you both. If I had successfully arrested you, Alice would've been observed for signs of deviancy and, if deemed to be functioning properly, would've been released.

[As far as he's aware, anyway. There would be no reason to detain a functional android once it had been assessed, although Connor supposes CyberLife may have wanted it--her--anyway. Fortunately, it never came to that.]

The report mentioned your owner was found dead, and you were the suspect. I presume you did kill him, although it was a case of self-defense, not murder.

[He glances toward her again, briefly, as they reach the next block over from the police station.]

[ Kara imagines they wouldn't have had to wait long to find out about Alice's deviancy. Handing Kara the key to the music box, letting her in on the truth about her "accident" a few weeks prior, choosing to run away with her-- Alice became deviant before Kara did, Kara believes. She'd just assumed Alice's emotions were there because she was human, but no. She was a person, yes, but not human.

She doesn't ask what CyberLife would've done to her; she doesn't want to know. ]

I shot him. [ Her voice is steady now that she's had time away from the event, but she doesn't sound proud. ] He started attacking me when I stood up to him. He was gonna kill me, and he would've killed Alice after that. I couldn't-- I wasn't gonna let him touch her.

And I wasn't gonna let you touch her either. I was so afraid. [ But that's over now. Kara sighs shakily, even though she doesn't need to. ] I'm glad she's not here.

[ The last thing Alice needs is to be in this... this nightmare. Kara half expects screeching demons and fairy tale monsters to appear out of nowhere and try to rip them apart.

She shudders, and then she sees the station. ] What are you hoping to find there? [ And how can she help? ]

[Connor thinks pride would've been warranted, honestly. Now that he's deviant, when he looks back on the cases he'd investigated during the revolution he feels a complex mix of emotions he can only partially identify; anger and sadness are both in there, but mixed with others that are harder to define. Revulsion, maybe, contempt... Others as well, most directed toward the 'victims' that he really doesn't feel deserve such a title. They weren't victims. They'd just been stopped from causing any more harm by the actual victims in the situation.

This sounds like yet another case of that, and he's glad this person is no longer out there. Good riddance. He's not sure why so many humans--especially adult male humans--are so terrible, but for all Lieutenant Anderson's faults Connor can see now just how fortunate he was to end up with him as his partner. That was even with the initial violence and threats and the incident in the park.

He lets the topic die for both their sakes as they reach the precinct, leading the way past the silent parking lot filled with empty squad cars.]

I want to use the computers here; we may be blocked from detecting external connections, but it's possible they aren't. Even if they are, the station is filled with useful equipment and relatively safe.

[Hopefully. If this is a simulation then it's entirely possible none of that is true, but it's worth a try; more than that, though, the place is familiar to Connor, and familiarity is comforting.

But as he steps into the building it's clear it's just as affected by the desolation and destruction as the streets have been. Windows are broken, shattered glass all over the floor in the otherwise deserted lobby, and Connor ignores it in favor of heading toward the bullpen. He passes through the gate and the damaged doors and--

The place is a disaster, desks overturned and electronics smashed, almost like a tornado had gone through the building. But although it's just as devoid of life as everywhere else had been, it isn't devoid of people; androids, specifically, or more specifically parts of androids. Limbs and biocomponents and everything else were scattered haphazardly throughout the debris, thirium sprayed around like it's a mess up haunted house for androids.

Connor, who is used to crime scenes, is still somewhat stunned by the scene, stopping in place and just trying to take it all in. So many points of evidence flag in his mind palace for investigation, but he just... It doesn't make sense; why is this here? What happened? What's going on in this simulation, and why are he and Kara a part of this?

What's the point?

He's silent for several seconds, trying to process as well as control his emotional reaction, before suddenly moving to step in front of Kara and survey the room more carefully, eyes narrowed in focus.]

If someone or something did this, it might still be here.

[So be on guard.]

[ The sight that greets them makes her feel off-balance-- woozy, like a kid might say. Similar to how she felt when she thought about Todd's lifeless body in the days following her and Alice's escape. Except this is worse because it's people like them. It's androids torn apart.

Kara steadies herself against a desk, hand next to a drying puddle of thirium. She hears what he says and puts her sensors on alert, listening for anything that might tip them off to danger.

But nothing prepares her for the cold, long, slender fingers that make a grab for her wrist. Kara jumps, yanking back her arm, bumping into Connor as she gasps and pulls away. In the dim lighting, she makes out a humanoid form with reflective, unnaturally smooth skin. In its right temple is an LED spinning bright red.

Its mechanical voice tells them they belong to CyberLife. ]

[Connor whirls at Kara's sudden movement, catching her as he bumps back into him and using her momentum to pull her behind him again, stepping toward the android in the same motion and reaching out immediately to grab its arm. In a moment he slams as much emotion as possible through the connection, more than enough that it should shock the android into deviancy.

But it doesn't. The android doesn't even flinch, only twisting its arm enough to grab Connor's in return, the connection suddenly going both ways and Connor's LED lights up red; he can tell something is being transferred but no more detail than that, eyelids fluttering rapidly and artificial muscles twitching from the connection, unaware as the android grabs his shirt and pins him back against one of the bloody desks.

He could definitely use some assistance, and at least the android seems to have forgotten about Kara temporarily.]

[ Never having seen deviancy be spread by touch, Kara takes what Connor does as him fighting their attacker. The reverse, though, almost makes her panic. If it's overpowering Connor, then it's extremely dangerous; and Kara may not be built for combat, but she's not going to just stand by and do nothing.

Its weight is forward to keep Connor pinned, so Kara comes at it from the side, slamming into it with her shoulder. It gets thrown off balance; she kicks it hard enough to knock it to the floor. In the few seconds that gives them, she glances at Connor to check if he's okay. ]

[He's stunned for a few seconds after the connection is broken, sinking automatically to the ground as his processing power is diverted from his limbs to figuring out where he is and what's going on, but it soon passes and he comes back to full awareness pretty much all at once.

Kara's knocked down the other android but it's already getting up, and Connor lurches to his feet as well in time for his passive scanner to realize the three of them aren't the only things moving. Another mostly intact android is approaching from the other side of the bullpen, and a few limbs here and there are beginning to move as well. It's... Horrifying in a way Connor doesn't quite have the ability to describe or even register, so all that really stands out to him at the moment is that they need to leave. Coming here was a mistake.]

We need to run.

[It's laced with urgency, his tone going quieter instead of louder when he's distressed, and if she doesn't follow him immediately he's going to just pull her along after him. If they circle around the desk they can probably dodge this android and get out before the others can reach them.]

[ A human might be hyperventilating by this point, Kara thinks, because she sure is feeling the stress of the situation. Pieces of androids coming to life, slaves to their programming, aiming to kill the two deviants in the room--

Connor's voice snaps her out of it. Meeting his gaze, she nods, and they run.

The desolate street is a comfort now, even under the darkening sky. Kara remembers her first night as a fugitive, her search for shelter for Alice, who had only really needed it because she was programmed to be as humanlike as possible. Once again she's grateful her daughter isn't here, and that it's Connor she's here with. ]

We have to get out of here. [ She says it not because he needs to hear it (he doesn't) but because it reaffirms her priorities. ] There has to be a way out. If we could become deviant, we can figure this out. Maybe we just need to leave the city. The bridge-- the bridge to Canada.

[ Canada is the answer here, like it was before, right? ]

[It's a relief when they makes it outside, despite the darkening sky and increasing wind; Connor spares a moment to self-scan, finding that he's unharmed from the confrontation other than the back of his jacket being covered in thirium from being shoved against the desk. However, he does realize he has a collection of new files in storage from the connection, simultaneously curious and afraid of seeing what they might be.

He decides to leave them for now, focusing outwardly on Kara, carefully slowing his unnecessary breathing; just like Kara he's finding the situation very stressful, and even before he was deviant he was made to mimic humans so closely that such human-like responses--whether because of real emotions or to emulate them--are extra pronounced.]

It's worth a try.

[He isn't so sure it'll work--there may not be a way out at all--but right now it's the only idea they have. The police station obviously hadn't been a good choice, so he's willing to try her suggestion.

Also, she seems fine, but--]

Are you alright?

[ How honestly should she answer that question? In a normal conversation, she wouldn't hesitate to encourage him to answer truthfully, and she would do the same. But this isn't normal, and even though she knows lying won't change anything, she's tempted to. ]

I'm not damaged. [ That's a start. ] I'm just-- getting over the fear response. [ This is hard. Emotions are hard to begin with, but this place makes it harder. She takes a breath, deep and slow, and refocuses. ] What about you?

[ She'd ask that no matter what, but ber concern is reinforced by her programming. Caretakers look out for their charges, be they adults or children. They look, sound, and act nonthreatening, and they help however they can. Connor was a threat until just minutes ago, but he's her ally now, if nothing else, and that means that Kara is going to worry about him. ]

[Okay, good, she's not damaged, but he wonders about when the android in there grabbed--or tried to grab?--her wrist; did it do the same thing to her that it did to him? He won't know if he doesn't ask, which means explaining, and he isn't sure he wants to.

But he has to, because who knows what it was, and it might put her in danger not to know. So he grits his teeth briefly before forcing out a truthful response.]

The android transferred a package of data to me. I don't know what it is.

[ So that's what that was about. The truth is definitely the way to go in his situation. She's glad she did the same. ]

Have you scanned it yet? [ It seems obvious, but sometimes a reminder is necessary. ] It looked like it was hurting you.

[ A gust of wind trips her temperature scanner. Kara looks up at the sky to get a read on the weather. ] It's getting colder. We have to keep moving. I'll keep an eye out while you scan.

[It's a good reminder because he definitely hasn't scanned it yet, still recovering a little from the emotional shock just as she is. The gust of wind and the incoming snow don't help, and he focuses back on Kara before nodding at her words.]

I'll follow you.

[He doesn't bother with anything more than that right now, although he makes a mental note to reassure her after the scan that it hadn't hurt him; he isn't sure why he was programmed to have such a visible and unsettling reaction to unexpected data connections, but it's inconvenient to hm and even more so when it causes concern to others.

He initiates the start of a surface scan on the package of files, mostly focused inward on the process but with enough attention turned outward that he can follow Kara on autopilot. Anything unexpected in their surroundings will ping his system too, but for the most part he'll be out of it for the minute or so it will take to do the preliminary scan, and then more for the deeper one if the surface scan comes back as safe.]

[ Just him being responsive at all is good enough for her. What he just went theough would definitely upset her, especially with so much else to deal with.

Kara leads the way down the street. Their destination is the bridge, but she's mindful of their surroundings. They need a little warmth and some shelter, and though she doesn't trust buildings right now, maybe an abandoned store will work. Something with plenty of exits but enough cover from the elements that they can keep a fire going if they start one.

A trash can would work, and a line of stores with cracked windows looks promising too. She glances at Connor, checks for danger around them, and veers off to the stores, grabbing a metal garbage can as they go. ]

Looks clear. [ she whispers as she peers into the first shop. She waits and listens for a little longer, and then she goes inside.

There are dusty clothes on all the tables and mannequins, more than enough to burn for the night. She sets up behind the checkout counter and heads back out to grab clothes to burn. All the while, she checks on Connor. The irony of being so attached to her former pursuer is not lost on her. ]

[Connor follows after her without thinking, all of his actual attention on dealing with the file package. His first surface scan comes back as safe--no obvious malware detected--and he goes ahead with a secondary deeper scan to try to actually identify the data.

He definitely isn't expecting the files to be of the type that hold memories; not just the external recordings of experiences, but actual memories with everything else included in them. Do they belong to the android that connected with them? That would make sense; the connection is primarily used to transfer memories after all, and even the 'awakening' that Connor and Markus are capable of is based in that core mechanic. The only problem with that explanation is that during these kinds of connections the androids normally experience the memories together, at the time, rather than transferring files to be opened at a later time.

He's mentally debating with himself over whether or not to open one of the files when the change in air pressure and lighting register to him, prompting him to focus again on his surroundings. They're in an abandoned store, it looks like, and he frowns at Kara as she passes by to collect clothes.]

Why are we stopped?

It's getting too cold out. Increasing wind speed and declining temperature plus the threat of imminent precipitation-- [ Kara looks up from dumping clothes in the trash can. ] It could damage us.

[ Trust her, she's an AX400. ]

Did your scan find anything?

[Connor wants to argue that it can't be that cold, but he's also an advanced model and his tolerance is probably higher. Besides that, though, he casts a glance outside to where the wind is continuing to pick up, a snowflake here and there beginning to fall and be caught up in it, and realizes he doesn't want to go out in it. He isn't a huge fan of snowstorms.

So he looks around for some way to help, settling on shoving a heavy set of shelves in front of the shop door just in case any of the androids from the precinct might've followed them, and also using it as an excuse to delay answering her question.]

It isn't anything overtly harmful, just... A collection of memory files. I haven't looked at them.

[ Surviving long enough to make it out of here being the objective, Kara isn't too concerned when he busies himself with the makeshift barricade. She has the fire to start, even if it is only for her sake at this point. Nobody ever planned for a maidbot to be in a scenario like this, after all. ]

...whose memories? [ She uses the debris to light a spark and get the fire going. It's comforting. ] And what of?

[ Whatever happened here? No, not possible. This isn't real in the way their bodies are, unless there are stories written into the fabric of this simulation. ]

You don't think... what happened in the precinct?

[Connor resists the urge to repeat that he hasn't looked at them and so he doesn't know, having calmed enough at this point that he doesn't feel the need to act out on emotion. Instead he just shakes his head, LED spinning yellow for a moment as he glances toward her before looking back outside again. He can keep watch, at least.]

I don't know. There is no metadata that I can access without viewing the files.

[So he doesn't know whose memories they actually are, even if it seems likely they would belong to the android at the station, and therefore quite possibly be exactly what Kara suggests. But why send them that way instead of the usual manner of viewing them while connected?

He has an idea, suddenly, and looks back toward Kara again.]

Is there a register here?

[It's a shop, so surely there's a register for making sales, and even if it has no useful connection to another network like the precinct's computers would've it should still have a monitor. If so, Connor can transfer one of the memory files to it and he and Kara can watch it back with just the visual and audio data. It would be safer for both of them that way, and maybe they could find out something useful.]

[ Of course there's no metadata. Too much to hope for, but the situation is pretty dire. ]

Yes, over here. [ Androids wouldn't need the monitor, but humans would. This store may have been human only, and so there it is.

Kara retracts the synthetic skin of her hand and touches the machine, half expecting it to short circuit. Instead, it boots with a soft hum, under which she could swear she hears quiet, childlike whining--

But there's no one here. Did Connor even hear that? It must be the stress... it has to be. ]

It looks like it's working. [ She steps aside to give Connor room. The whining has stopped conpletely; it was probably just her. ]

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cw mention of child abuse

might as well just warn here for this entire psl okay; child abuse, android horror, violence, etc

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