Chapter Text
The snow fell slow and silently onto the earth covering the tops of the houses and cars. Pure white surrounded Connor as he sat on the sidewalk outside of Hank's house. His mind felt numb at the memories that had just recently unfolded to him. The revolution was finally over and Androids had their freedom. He pulled his knees to his chest, letting his arms and chin rest on top as he stared into the gray sky. The last bit of sunlight saying it's farewell as it sunk beyond the horizon. He could have easily stopped the revolution by killing it's leader Markus, but he hesitated, he began to understand something beyond what could be programmed. Emotion. Empathy. Fear. Why in that moment did he break? Why did he so easily abandon his mission? Is it possible that somewhere within his program was the dormancy of a machine that wished to be free? He lowered his eyes towards the ground, taking a deep breath and allowing the cold air to slip past his lips. There were two paths to be followed, one was the mission, and the other he could only place as being destiny. Maybe it's the way things are supposed to be and maybe it's okay for Androids to feel. That in itself was something that was going to take a while to adjust to. His LED flashed yellow, then red for a split second as he squinted his eyes. He wasn't human, yet he was still alive, still capable of just about everything a human could do, in fact even more. Was Amanda still a part of him? He scanned through his programs as his eyes flickered back and forth, file after file passed in front of his eyes.
Open Mindscape?
Yes/No
He blinked rapidly and shook his head, clearing the window out of his vision. His heart rate began to rise as he stood. He imagined the garden in his mind's eye for a split second, then tried to focus elsewhere. He couldn't attempt to access the Mindscape without someone being by to make sure things don't get out of hand. He was the most advanced model made before Cyberlife was stalled, he had no one to learn from, no one to help him understand. As his mind became more human, more complicated, he knew that it would be near impossible for anyone to help him. He considered Kamski for a moment but decided it would just be best to talk to Hank. Whenever he decided to show up that is. Perhaps the advances in his programming would override Amanda's, maybe she just simply ceased to exist. The concept brought him some comfort, but until he was sure, he couldn't let his guard down.
Connor left the precinct earlier in an attempt to clear his head, knowing good and well it would be several hours before Hank returned home as well. All the cases were overwhelming as well. Even though Androids were given rights, there were so many people that were against them. Afraid of them. But why? He understood that in the past Androids did things when deviating, but they were confused and scared. In no way justifying the things they did, but humans could do unspeakable things as well, but they can't fear everyone.
The sunlight diminished and the streetlights flickered on, catching Connor's attention. He watched the snowfall and outstretched his hand, catching a snowflake and studying the intricacies of the fractals. Every single one of them different, unique, captivating. It melted into his palm and he simply reached for another one, analyzing what made the patterns different and what made them the same. He couldn't tell how long we stood there, admiring the snow for the first time, minutes, hours, he couldn't tell. Perhaps he'd gone into a standby mode without realizing it. He was soon brought out of his daydreaming by the sound of a car muffler revving, then a car door slamming.
"Holy shit, Connor, how long have you been out here?" Hank's voice boomed and Connor almost jumped.
"Sorry Lieutenant, I must have been distracted." He replied to the older man, then finally broke his eyes away from the sky to look at Hank. Connor's face was almost expressionless.
"You've got icicles hanging off of you!" Hank flicked off the small ice spear hanging off his nose. "You need to get inside before you freeze to death." He grumbled rustling in his pocket for the house keys, the Android following close behind. Connor's expression changed into a small smile as Sumo, the beautiful Saint Bernard trotted up to him, tail wagging and tongue flopping. Sumo soon returned to his bed by the tv, completely ignoring Hank. The door was shut with a small click and everything was suddenly still without the outside wind.
"You're a traitor, I hope you know that, Sumo." Hank gave a low laugh as he slipped off his large black jacket and hung it up on the rack by the front door. "Have you been out there since you got home, Connor?" He furrowed his brow in concern as he eyed the Android.
"I..." Connor started. "I believe I have. I don't quite know what overcame me. I was so deep in thought, it almost became like a dream. A daydream."
"You're telling me you were out there for five hours?"
"Yes." Connor gave a quick nod and Hank let out a gruff sigh.
"I'm surprised you're crazy android blood didn't freeze." Hank walked over to the fridge, grabbing a beer and popping it open before returning to the living room and plopping down on the couch.
"Thirium has an extremely low freezing point, combined with my temperature regulation, I'm able to tolerate much more than a light snow."
"Light snow, my ass." Hank snorted as he took a sip of his drink. "It's 15 degrees out there and the wind chill is pushing negative."
"By definition, the weather conditions-" Hank held up his hand to stop the android from saying anything else.
"It was more of an opinion anyway." The man brushed the snow out of his beard. "I'd hate to see what your definition of a heavy snow is." He shook his head. Connor sat down on the opposite end of the couch as they were surrounded by silence for a few minutes, then Hank turned on the TV.
Not long after, Connor spoke.
"Lieutenant." He paused. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Shoot." He raised his drink, eyes still locked on the television. However, that wasn't satisfactory enough for Connor. He turned towards the TV, LED flashing yellow then the TV's volume flicked to zero. The man turned towards Connor with his eyes squinted. "Did you just mute my TV with your damn head?"
"That's exactly what I did. You're very observant." He said in an almost teasing voice. Hank groaned.
"What is it?"
Connor looked down, hands resting on his knees in his rather stiff sitting position. "Since the Android revolution ended...I was wondering if Amanda was still built into my programming." He looked up at Hank. "I searched through my files, but I was unable to locate her there. I was considering accessing my Mindscape to see if she still resided in the garden, but I was afraid I would lose control." He paused. "I fear she might attempt to take over my body."
Hank pursed his lips as he let out a hmm. "Do you have, like, a recycling bin?"
"Pardon?"
"You know." He gestured vaguely. "It's a little bin computers have on their desktops to get rid of files they don't want." He shrugged. "Throw that bitch out."
"I'm afraid this bitch is not that easy to get rid of." Connor's matter of fact voice made Hank stifle a laugh then sighed.
"I know." He patted Connor's shoulder. "But you don't even know if she's in there, right? And if she wanted to control you, she could do that whether or not you were in your Mindscape, right?" The Android's LED rested in a solid red.
"You're right." He paused. "I-I could be a potential danger to my friends, perhaps deactivation would be the best choice before that happens."
"Connor!" Hank said loudly, placing his drink on the coffee table before turning towards him. "We are not going to deactivate you! Especially over something that you can't even confirm!" Connor's LED turned yellow and Hank placed his hands on his shoulders, the gesture bringing his LED back to a steady blue.
"I may have overreacted. I'm sorry."
"You don't have to apologize, Con." Hank sighed pulling his hands away and adjusting himself into his previous position on the couch. "I personally think you should access your brain garden-"
"Mindscape." Connor corrected and Hank frowned.
"I'm trying to give you advice here."
"My apologies. Proceed." He stated flatly.
Hank paused for a moment, considering his words before he spoke. "You won't know unless you try. You can either live in the fear that she's going to take you over, or you can face that fear and find out if she's really in there." His expression was soft and genuine as he spoke to the Android.
"Okay." Connor closed his eyes, LED spinning yellow as he tilted his head. "I'll hopefully be right back."
Open Mindscape?
Yes/No
(Yes)