systolicarray | ://i have no heart

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://i have no heart

[ it's dark. his internal chronometer reads 9:45pm. it had taken less than an hour to wrap up the hostage situation, and he'd left almost immediately after to catch a cab back to the cyberlife tower.

the reason why he's currently standing on a curb, under the harsh glare of a street lamp, is obvious without words: the cab parked nearby, smoking under the hood, is the culprit. he had called a second cab fifteen minutes ago, but had been warned that it might arrive late. there was currently high traffic congestion in this part of the city, and several cabs were stuck in the backup of vehicles. this was partially due to the streets around the phillips' apartment building being blocked off for several hours.

a moth had broken free from the allure of the street lamp to orbit around his head— it bumped into his LED twice, attracted by the glow. connor stepped sideways, and it followed him.

he waited for his cab to arrive. he didn't didn't think about daniel, or emma. he waited. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ connor quirks his head at the sudden change in subject, but the answer is simple: ]

No.

I've never been outside of Detroit. I was manufactured here.

( It was small talk, and Hank's not surprised he's back to square one. He doesn't know what else to say or how to get his thoughts back on track. Connor was behaving like the least sexually aware person he'd ever met. He found that a bit frustrating, and it makes him think about the night before, on the couch.

What he wanted was for Connor to want him, to feed into Hank's attraction with reciprocation. It's not like a few hours would change Connor from where he was on the couch to now. Hank's nostrils flare with a deep breath. How did this happen to him? Why did this happen to him? )

Yeah. Okay. ( He glances over to Connor, his eyes linger where Connor's suckling away on the blue liquid. It makes his gut turn upside down with another flare of desire. )

Er.. ( He struggles to say anything, though he has a few things that cross his mind that would be another stab at some small talk. He's less interested in talking and more interested in shamefully watching Connor's mouth, and the muscles of his throat suck down that liquid. )

[ connor watches hank, waiting for him to continue speaking. when he doesn't, he doesn't know what to say himself. he isn't incapable of small-talk, but he can sense hank's discomfort, and he isn't certain the source, which makes it a little difficult to know which direction he should take the conversation in.

but honestly, he's not so sure that it matters. this is an unorthodox situation. ]

I've only been in operation for a month.

[ as though that's an explanation for why he's never left the state. ]

Oh, ... well. ( Hank nods as if that explains everything about why Connor hasn't been out of the state. Who leaves the state after only being born? Hank's mouth twists, his eyes slide up to Connor's brown ones. ) I think I'd like to take you out of Michigan, we'll go somewhere else. Maybe a long fucking trip, actually.

( He had this image of going cross-country in an RV with Connor. It seemed like a nice idea, going off on their own and experiencing these different landmarks first hand. )

Where would we go?

[ it's difficult for him to imagine getting in a car and just going away. he was made with a specific task in mind. leaving detroit, leaving michigan, would be antithetical to that task. but does it matter now that he's all but been discarded? he needs to find out, somehow, what cyberlife plans to do, and whether or not he's safe.

or if he's really been abandoned.

he stares down at the bag he's holding in his hand, the wrinkled, metallic material returning his reflection to him distorted. whatever he thinks, if hank wants to leave the state and take him, he doesn't have much choice in the matter. ]

( He regrets the answer on the tip of his tongue before he even says it. The idea was ridiculous but also, in some form or manner, predictable, and Hank feels some self-compassion as he regards his instincts to go home. Detroit was home, but his parents had packed up and gone to a warmer state, Florida. Hank wanted to run away, to run back to his parents and get a sense of safety from snuggling right back into the nest.

How would he explain Connor? Well, for one thing, his parents wouldn't know any of what was going on in Detroit with Connor, so he didn't have to come up with too much of an elaborate lie. This.... is.... Connor, from work. He was satisfied with that until another inquiry sprouts from his mind: why the fuck are you bringing a young man--android home? Well, fuck, it wasn't a perfect plan, but it was something. )

Florida. It'll be warmer there...

Florida...

[ connor brings his hand to his mouth, the knuckle of his first finger resting against his chin. his voice is thoughtful, as though he's seriously considering it; he's curious, that's all. it's hank's job to do the considering, now that he no longer has the authority to make his own decisions. it's somewhat strange to be relegated to the same position as other androids, no longer with any preferential treatment, but that's his lot in life.

insomuch as he has a life, anyway. ]

It might be nice to see the rest of the country.

You want to go further than Florida?

( Hank pulls in a breath through flared nostrils. He looks from Connor to his feet and then twists his mouth. Anyway, it was a thought to give up Detroit and spend a few years on the road. Where no one knew their name. Fuck, that has to be a line from some emo song. Hank bites at his bottom lip as the suspect lyrical phrase bothers him. It'll bother him all fucking night now. )

Well, logically speaking, we would have a better likelihood of avoiding CyberLife if we left the country altogether. That's assuming they're going to look for me, though.

[ it would be difficult to avoid them otherwise, if they do decide to chase him down. but they might only do it if they realize he hasn't been destroyed in the first place, and how will they find him if they aren't looking for him? the RK800 series hasn't yet been publicly revealed, so as long as nobody happens to notice what he is... ]

There's also one other issue.

( Hank's brow lifts as he throws Connor an inquisitive glance. For a few reasons. One, didn't CyberLife have some sort of better management for their androids, like a tracking device? Second, what other issue? They've got a lot already on their plate. )

What, you're wanted in forty states?

No. But deviancy cases have been rising at an unprecedented rate, and there's no reason they won't continue to do so. Having an android, especially one that wasn't legally acquired, could put you in a dangerous position.

[ connor clearly doesn't get the joke. or maybe he's just decided there's more pressing matters? no, he probably just didn't get the joke. still, it's a reasonable concern to have. ]

( Hank just doesn't have the ability, the information, the experience to put two and two together. So, that expression of confusion and longing for an explanation remains on his face. )

How does that put me in a dangerous position?

If it can't be stopped, it could mean an uprising. There are millions of androids in circulation.

[ do the numbers, and the problem becomes clear. connor considers for a moment, his gaze distant, and then continues. ]

I was eventually going to be released to the DPD to investigate the issue, but now I suppose my successor will be the one to do it.

Hm.

( Hank's following along with the implications that he would be traveling with a potential deviant outlaw - or at least that's what he thought that's what Connor was talking about. The comment about an uprising became more of immediate concern for Hank, in that such an organized event could mean a lot of people getting hurt. Deviants, right, those were considered androids that killed their owners? Or was it... was it just that they refused an order? )

What exactly are you concerned about, Connor? You think you'll kill me?

Me? No, It's extremely unlikely I'm capable of deviancy.

[ still, there's a change in the tone of his voice, a thread of insecurity that he perhaps can't even identify himself— the way someone says something they're completely convinced of only because they have to be convinced of it, otherwise their entire worldview falls apart. ]

But I would be a liability to you in that situation. Once the root of deviancy is found, I assume CyberLife will release a firmware update to patch the issue. But if the problem is hardware side, there may be mass recalls.

Of course, I'm only making conjecture. The situation could resolve itself. Or things could get worse in ways I haven't predicted.

( Hank had a hard time believing androids who deviated would allow for a patch update or to return themselves to get "fixed." If it was between this deviancy and a return to factory settings, why would an android reset? Of course, what the fuck did he know? Hank eyes Connor with a thin mouth, his contemplation heavy on his brow. I would be a liability to you in that situation. So, did that mean Connor would kill him in that situation?

Maybe he shouldn't bring him around his parents. What a fucking asshole that'd make him if he put his parents in danger. )

I don't understand any of that.

Why do you think it's not likely you'd deviate?

To put it simply: Whatever happens, the media attention and CyberLife's investigation into deviancy will make it more difficult to hide me.

[ his programming tells him that there's likely to be an upheaval in the current social structure, although there's no way of knowing what kind of upheaval, or what things will look like after it's over. the infrastructure of society revolves almost entirely around androids now, at least in the states.

but the question hank asks is, at least, easy to answer. connor's eyebrow twitches. ]

I'm CyberLife's most advanced prototype.

Edited 2020-12-31 03:41 (UTC)

( The last remark makes Hank give Connor a side glance before he rolls his eyes. This was coming from an android that willingly and knowingly walked himself into a fucking trap because some asshole told him to. )

Yeah.

( He then thinks about Connor being dickless, as if that small neglect in anatomy would make Connor's comment even more disputable. Hank pushes aside his thoughts, he can't get caught up in unhelpful narratives that wander unchecked within his mind. )

Okay. Well, the only thing we need to hide is that fucking thing on your head. Otherwise... you pass as human.

[ connor watches hank roll his eyes like he's waiting for him to say something— when he doesn't make any further comment on his statement, he lets it pass. or maybe he doesn't understand his exasperation?

he blinks when hank mentions the LED, and it flickers as though it's acknowledging its own presence. ]

I'm sure you know it's illegal to remove an android's LED for the sake of passing it as human.

[ connor gives a pause before raising his fingers to his temple. ]

Not that I can stop you, of course.

( Honestly, no, he had no fucking clue the LED thing could be removed and that it was illegal to remove it. He was thinking more of Connor wearing a hat. Or a bandaid. Maybe a bandana-no, not that. His confusion dissipates to amusement as his mind works through various visuals of Connor wearing headgear to hide the LED. )

Uh, I don't think so. I'm not trying to take any more off you ... especially after getting you put back together.

It's not necessary to my functioning. But it's at your discretion.

[ that is to say, he has no opinion. he lowers his hand, considering the situation. but there are too many variables. there's no way to know what situations they might find themselves in, if the lieutenant is even seriously considering leaving the state. ]

Anyway, it might be better to register me under a different model number instead of trying to pass me off as human. Temperature scanners can be used to detect androids from humans, and if we leave the state, or the country, there's a much higher chance that they'll check.

( Temperature scanners? Hank had no fucking ... clue, but now that he thinks about it, there were a few stores that had face recognition software to connect to customers quickly. He figures it has something to do with that, or maybe it doesn't have anything to do with that. He lost touch with technology a long damned time ago. )

Uh. Okay, so, where do you get a fucking model number from?

All androids have a designated model number. The information is stored in the android's software. I'm not capable of changing my own, but I could forge a record of purchase any any other documents that would be necessary.

[ for him, it wouldn't even be that difficult. it's almost a shame he can't edit his own software; but in order to make that kind of change, he would need outside help, and even then it would be an extensive cover-up. ]

What kind of android do you think you would own? There are a number of popular housekeeper models that I could pose as.

Uh.

( He can't help but think he wouldn't own an android. His resistance makes it difficult for Hank to consider what would be more likely. However, without having to think too much about it, he considers Connor's suggestion. )

Housekeeper... ( He doesn't really know what other kinds there are, outside business types like landscapers and retail models. ) I don't know the difference between the models.

There are a lot, so I don't think you'd thank me for listing them all. But if there's something you want done around the house, there's probably an android for the task.

[ he considers a moment what hank might find useful, halfheartedly wondering a moment what it is that hank wants with him, an android now barred from its proper function. it's undeniable: he isn't very useful this way.

except as a stand-in. ]

There are androids for home security, pet care, yard work... The housekeeper models are some of the most popular, but maybe for a police Lieutenant, a security android would be more fitting?

://i have no heart

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