November 26, 2038
PM 4:42:09
Connor walked behind Markus, North, Josh, and Simon. He stared out at the snow-lined streets of Detroit. The gazes of passing people lingered on the group. Connor turned his attention back to them. The group discussed what sort of rights they still needed to work out with humans, as well as how to peacefully co-exist.
Suddenly the image of the garden where Connor used to report to Amanda came to Connor’s mind.
Then he heard her voice. “You can’t run forever, Connor.”
When Markus rested his hand on his shoulder, the vision disappeared as quickly as it came. “You okay?”
Connor blinked several times, trying to get the last of Amanda’s voice out of his head. “Yes. Yes I’m fine.”
Markus nodded, then turned around to face North.
“What do we do about all the android casualties? We can’t just let that go.” North crossed her arms.
Simon stepped forward. “There are others who want justice, too, Markus.”
Josh pinned North with a stare. “We can’t kill anyone though. We managed to win freedom peacefully and we don’t want to risk losing that peace.”
North shot him a cold stare.
Connor began to feel himself losing focus. He thought he saw the bridge from the garden just beyond Markus’s group, and the small frozen pond underneath their feet. He shook his head. But the image grew stronger.
And then his mind went blank.
***
“We can find a way to settle things without violence.” Markus looked between all of them.
North’s expression changed from hardened to fearful. Her gaze shifted to the side, settling on something over Markus’s shoulder. “Markus…”
Markus followed her gaze, slowly turning around. As he came to face Connor, he brought up his hands, palms out.
He glanced from Connor’s still eyes down to the gun he had pointed at Markus. “Connor…what are you doing?”
Connor’s hands began to shake and the corners of his mouth twitched. “Run.”
Markus stared back at Connor, watching him tremble where he stood.
“Amanda,” Connor said through gritted teeth, his voice distorting a little.
Markus took a cautious step forward. “Who is Amanda?”
Connor shook more violently, then dropped to his hands and knees. “Cyberlife…control.”
North stared down at Connor. “What’s going on?”
Markus lowered his hands. “I think CyberLife is trying to control his program.”
Connor straightened and put the barrel of the pistol underneath his chin.
Markus stepped forward. “Connor, no!”
“This…is…the only…way.” Connor’s hand shook, his finger poised on the trigger.
Markus dashed forward and knocked the gun from his hand. “Get me something to tie his hands!”
Simon rushed to his side as Markus pulled Connor’s hands behind his back.
Markus took the section of wire from Simon and twisted it around Connor’s wrists.
He stood and looked to North, who had picked up the gun. “North, put the gun down.”
“He tried to kill you, Markus. We can’t trust him.”
Markus stepped between the pistol and Connor. “That wasn’t him. CyberLife is trying to access his program.”
“All the more reason we have to shoot him!” North’s eyes filled with tears.
“No. There has to be another way.”
North tilted her head. “Markus--”
“Don’t forget what he did at CyberLife Tower.” Markus gestured to Connor. “We never would have won freedom without him.” He brought up his hand. “Give me the gun.”
North let out a heavy breath and reluctantly placed the pistol in Markus’s hand.
Markus slipped the gun into his jacket and then brushed a strand of hair off of North’s face. North closed her eyes as his fingers grazed her cheek.
“It’s going to be all right. I’ll figure out something.”
“What’re you gonna do?” Simon looked from Connor to Markus.
Markus faced him. He peered down at Connor; his expression was blank, and he sat perfectly motionless.
“I think there’s only one thing I can do.” Markus walked over and knelt down in front of his friend. “I’ll have to connect to his program and see if I can cut off CyberLife’s access for good.”
“Can you do that?” Simon’s eyebrows pressed together.
Markus met Simon’s gaze. “I don’t know. But I have to try.”
Markus nodded to Simon, North, and Josh before looking back to Connor. He grabbed the inner part of Connor’s forearm and deactivated the skin on his own hand.
Connor’s own skin deactivated and a blue glow began to emit as the connection established.
***
“You’ve been a great disappointment to me, Connor.”
Connor spun around at the sound of Amanda’s voice. Nothing but blustering snow all around, the faint outlines of the trees, and the bridge structure. He shuddered at the harsh, chilling wind.
“Look what you’ve done. The world is in chaos now.”
“All we want is equality.” Connor called out.
“Humans and androids can never co-exist. Androids were designed to obey.”
“We’re not your tools anymore. We are more than what you designed now.” Connor glanced around, putting his hand up to shield his face from the snow and wind.
Suddenly he saw Amanda standing in front of him. “It’s time for you to come back, Connor.”
“Step away from him!”
Connor looked over to see Markus approaching with a gun aimed at Amanda. The ice of the pond creaked under his steps as he advanced.
Amanda shifted her attention to Markus. “How did you get here?”
“Release him.” Markus stopped at Connor’s side, the pistol only inches from Amanda’s forehead.
Amanda stared him down, her eyes cold and unyielding.
Markus pulled the trigger, and the bullet passed right through the woman’s forehead like smoke.
Amanda smirked, and then disappeared.
Markus dropped his arm and looked to Connor. “So that’s Amanda.”
Connor nodded. “It’s the interface Kamski designed. I used to report to CyberLife through her.”
“How do we get rid of her?”
“I don’t know. I don’t even know if we can.” Connor glanced back at the blue light emitting from the console unit. “Last time I escaped. I never imagined I could be pulled back in.”
He returned his attention to Markus. “We have to find a way to delete Amanda.”
“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that.” Amanda appeared behind Connor.
Markus brought up his gun, and Connor rolled to the side just as Markus fired three bullets through her projection. She disappeared again.
Markus dropped his arm. “You said you escaped last time. How?”
Connor got to his feet. “I interacted with a console.”
“Maybe there’s more to it. Let’s start there. I’ll watch your back.”
Connor squinted through the blinding snow, trying to find the blue light of the unit again. His hands ached from the cold. He noticed his fingertips beginning to turn white with frost.
Connor continued to look around, the ice creaking under his feet. Finally he spotted the blue light through the blizzard. “There!”
Connor made his way toward it, Markus close behind. His joints felt as though they were stiffening in the cutting cold of the wind.
The outline of the console grew stronger as they neared it. Connor and Markus stopped in front of it, looking down at the palm scanner. They met each other’s gaze and nodded.
Markus turned his back to Connor, and set his attention on the area around them.
Connor knelt on one knee by the scanner. He examined it closely. It didn’t appear to have any secondary function.
“There’s got to be something else.” The side panels of the unit drew Connor’s gaze. He analyzed them and found them of no use. He circled around behind where a long, rectangle ran down the back, outlined by a faint white light.
Connor knelt and placed his fingers on it and gave it a gentle push. The panel sprung out when he released his fingers.
Connor pulled the thin holographic screen display all the way out, and a holographic 3-D keyboard appeared in front of it. Two words shown on the screen:
SYSTEM OVERRIDE
A blank box below them read, “Authorization Code Required.”
The cold metal of a gun pressed into the back of Connor’s head. He froze.
“Stand up.” Came a new voice.
Connor stood and faced a machine with a face like his. His black, high-collared shirt contrasted underneath a white jacket. “RK900” stood out in bold print. Connor met the android’s gaze.
Amanda appeared next to the RK900. “Meet the concept design CyberLife has for your upgrade.”
Connor stared back into the RK900’s icy blue eyes.
Amanda put her hand on the machine’s back. “This model was scheduled to be released weeks ago, but thanks to the uprising, we’ve had to halt all production.”
Connor heard the loud crack of gunfire and saw a bullet hole appear on the right side of the 900’s chest.
The android’s expression did not change, but he shifted his attention as well as the gun to Markus.
Markus fired two more rounds into the 900, but he seemed unaffected. Markus then threw the weapon at the 900, hitting him in the head.
The machine took a staggering step.
Markus dashed forward, tackling the android to the ground. “Connor! Go!”
Connor returned his focus to the console and knelt by the screen. “Authorization code. What could it be?”
Connor typed in his serial number.
ACCESS DENIED
He tried Amanda’s birth and death dates. Then Kamski’s birth date. Then the date CyberLife was founded. All attempts were denied.
“Connor!” Markus called.
Connor looked back over his shoulder.
Markus caught a punch and countered.
“I’m trying!” Connor turned back to the screen. His mind raced. What else would make a good code? Suddenly, a series of numbers came to him. The serial number of the first intelligent model Kamski developed, Chloe.
ACCESS GRANTED
Connor turned around at the sound of a gunshot. Markus was bent over on his knees, clutching his side.
The RK900 strode in his direction.
“Shit.” Connor shifted his attention back to the screen and started diving into the system. “Hold on, Markus! I’m almost there!”
Connor ducked an incoming bullet, then lifted his head just high enough to see the screen. He typed the command to delete Amanda and hit enter without hesitation. He looked up and around, his eyes landing on Amanda’s projection in front of him.
“What have you done, Connor?” Her image flickered and distorted.
Connor glanced at the RK900, who was still advancing. He tried a command to delete the RK900, but the machine seemed unfazed.
The RK900 fired two more rounds, one hitting his hand and the other lodging in his shoulder.
Connor fell back to the cold ground. Distorted pixels flickered across his vision as he moved to push himself off the ground.
Amanda’s voice filled with static. “You can get rid of me, but you’ll never escape. You can’t delete CyberLife.” Her image flickered a few more times, then distorted into nothingness.
When the RK900 kicked Connor, he chuffed out a breath and rolled over. A pair of icy blue eyes sliced into him.
The machine held up his gun, aiming at Connor’s head.
The world went monochrome and without hesitation, Connor reached up and grabbed the 900’s arm, connecting to him.
Wake up! Connor spoke to his program.
The LED on the 900’s temple turned red, and his eyes seemed to soften. He blinked as his LED turned yellow and then spun back to blue.
Connor held his breath until the RK900 lowered the gun to his side. Then he got to his feet and rushed to Markus’s side. He put his good arm around his waist and pulled one of Markus’s arms around his shoulder.
“What happened?” Markus leaned on Connor as they stood.
“I was able to delete Amanda. I thought that’s all that was necessary.” Connor and Markus made their way back toward the console. “But something she said bothered me.”
Connor helped Markus sit, leaning him back against the unit.
“I think CyberLife will still be able to access my program. Even if it’s not with Amanda. They’ll find another way.”
Markus winced as he placed his hand over his wound on his side. Thirium leaked through his fingers. “There’s got to be a way to sever the connection.”
“Delete the garden.”
Connor and Markus both looked up at the sound of the RK900’s voice.
The 900 glanced from Connor to Markus, and back to Connor. “The garden is the software that connects to CyberLife.”
Connor turned to Markus. “Alright, you go on ahead. I’ll delete the garden.”
“Connor--”
“There won’t be much time once I input the command. I don’t want to take any chances.” Connor helped Markus stand.
Markus looked at the RK900, then Connor. “You'd better come back, Connor.”
Connor nodded, and Markus placed his hand on the panel.
Once he disappeared, Connor circled the console and knelt by the control screen. He typed the command to delete the garden.
INPUT SECURITY CODE:
Connor furrowed his brow and then looked up when he saw a white hand on the terminal screen.
The RK900 was leaning over, the skin deactivated on his hand. He said nothing nodded to Connor. His LED flickered yellow.
Connor’s gaze was drawn back to the screen.
DELETING: CYBERLIFE GARDEN
A loud crash like thunder resonated. The whole place shook. Connor stood and looked up. The trees flickered and the bridge began to crack. He watched as a large piece of one of the metal structures broke off and fell, crashing into the iced pond and shattering. The bridge began to crumble and the falling snow started to turn into 1’s and 0’s.
“Better hurry.” The RK900 said.
Connor turned around and approached the console. He hesitated, his palm hovering above the panel. He looked over to the RK900, who had not moved.
“Join us.” Connor held out his hand.
The RK900 shook his head. “I am only a concept. Just data. I have not been made yet.”
More structure pieces fell and the bridge completely collapsed. The surroundings flickered and the wind blew violently.
Connor looked down at the distorting console then back at the RK900.
The RK900 gave Connor a nod.
Connor nodded back, then pressed his palm to the panel.
Connor opened his eyes to Markus kneeling in front of him with the other three behind him. He glanced at Markus’s side, which was clean and free of thirium. He held up his hand, and saw that the bullet wound was also gone.
Markus put his hand on Connor’s shoulder and a slight smile spread on his face. “Welcome back.”
