Chapter Text
Nov 11th, 2038
PM 10:48:20
"Connor model #313 248 317. I'm expected.”
The thick concrete gate lowered and the automated taxi continued on its path to the tall, black spire built on the waterfront of Belle Isle, a symbol of his old master's opulence and domination over Detroit City.
Connor flexed his fingers in a familiar pattern while he watched the steel arches of the bridge pass by. He hadn’t had the time to retrieve his coin from Lieutenant Anderson before he left for CyberLife Tower, and before that night it wasn’t important enough for him to ask. Deviancy came with trivial concerns and emotions that were once suppressed but now rushed to the forefront of his mind, like a burst dam. It made idle moments turbulent, and in the calm before his most important mission yet, it only threatened to make things dangerous.
The drive to CyberLife Tower’s entrance was far too slow for his liking, but if he was in the driver’s seat he would do the same. They were expecting an emotionless machine. It would do him no good to arouse suspicion by being hasty, even though his friends' lives could well rest on his shoulders.
As the taxi came to a stop, Connor took a moment to collect himself. He reached deep inside himself to the strings of code that was the essence of his being. He found those errant lines of doubts, of fear for his new life, and edited them out until they only occupied a quiet corner of some hard-to-access folder gathering dust in the back of his mind.
The mask slipped into place. When he met the armed guards in the lobby, he allowed himself to be escorted at a snail's pace. That was fine. He had no plan except "infiltrate tower" and "find excess android stock"; it wouldn’t hurt to take a moment to improvise.
The ground floor of the Tower was familiar to him. He had walked these hallways many times since his activation. He was never allowed to go anywhere else other than the charging stations and some of the offices upstairs, yet somehow he knew that to find the androids that would become their army, he needed to go underground. That would make escaping difficult.
Two new escorts swapped out with the door guards and entered the elevator with him in a manner that seemed coordinated, except these two did not openly carry any weapons. He chalked it up to the confined space being unsuitable for long rifles, but it was suspicious enough to make a note of.
The guards entered their destination and the elevator began to rise. Connor may have embellished a little when he told Markus that CyberLife trusted him. They would’ve noticed his deviancy by now and level 31 was likely a trap. If he didn't take control before then, survival would be unlikely.
As he quickly scanned the directory, his eyes lingered on one point.
"Research and Development: -44 to -48"
A haze crept in from the recesses of his mind, threatening to drag him into its depths. It was followed by a notification on his HUD.
[ERROR: FILE CORRUPTED. ATTEMPT REPAIR?]
YES
> NO
A problem to be explored later if he survived. He dismissed the message and watched the two guards beside him. The guards were stoic, yet Connor could see their hearts beating rapidly in their chests. They were nervous. Good.
[BEGIN PRECONSTRUCTION]
Connor shook off the lingering, ominous feeling. He had to focus. Markus, North, and the others were counting on him.