SENTIENT

Atonement

a·tone·ment /əˈtōnmənt/ noun: reparation for a wrong or injury.

Ten years after U.S. President Warren signed the Androids Civil Rights of 2038 into law, an invisible line was drawn around the center of the world. Our beloved planet went from blue and green to blue and red. Countries cutting and forming new diplomacies based on their affiliations with the Android rights.

The Battle of 2038 marked Detroit as one of the most historic U.S. cities in the fight of Android Rights, but Detroit was not the only one with a bloody past in its memory. The city was in decay, not only in its physical sense, but in a way that further displays the segregation between the humans, the androids, and the humans who were with them.

As a new recognized intelligent life form, androids were given basic rights to life and liberty; freedom from slavery, torture and discrimination; rights to own things and properties; rights to work and to rest; rights to opinion and expression; and so many more.

Androids were no longer being produced and purchased, but the reality of living as a free man was for more complicated. The relationship between owner and slave was replaced with employer and hired labor. Many would think that once freed, the androids would run from the houses, stores, or institutions where they stationed, as fast as an android can.

In his auto-biography, Markus, the leader of the first-awakened deviants, mentioned that many of his people decided to stay. Although free, they make deals with their employers to work for pay based on wage rates established by the states.

Once the initial joy passed, many of the androids began to feel anxiety over what freedom would really mean. The great responsibility of being free, of having charge of themselves, of having to think and plan for themselves and their loved ones, seem to take possession of them.

With this law, the definition of 'deviancy' in law enforcement has repeatedly been argued and theorized, but never settled. Everyone – man or android – has thoughts of doing terrible things. Acting upon them labels them a 'criminal'.

In this case, 'deviants' is the term used to describe androids who have committed crimes. That is the contemporary concept commonly believed in the Police Departments.

Connor himself was specifically designed to understand the behavior of deviants, until he became a deviant himself that he realized deviancy was as much as a "loose wire" as it is in the human psyche after abuse, trauma, stress or even depression.

But, what if? Maybe there is something so much more than just faulty coding – and this kept him up all night for most nights.

There's a bar that opens late at the busiest block in downtown Detroit. From the outside, the place glows blue but the place was really warmer than it looks.

"Working late again, Connor?" The bartender greeted. The old man watches as he served another regular their drink.

Jimmy has run the joint for over fifteen years. Last year, the city motioned a tax increase which hit hard on small businesses. Most of Detroit had no choice but to open for both humans and androids.

Connor gave him a tight smile and said nothing.

"I heard. It's all over the news. Homicide? In Hubbarb Farms?" He clicked with his tongue. His greyed cornrows swayed with the shaking of his head.

Over the months, Jimmy found himself accustomed to the android. He wasn't just any other android. He told stories of the cases he solved and Jimmy was always glad to be front row for it – but not tonight.

Connor seemed to be more intrigued by the television. A dance competition show was tuned into the local station. A woman in red dress dominated the stage as the man in white suit followed her lead. They twisted and turned in a routine of a long-lost cultural dance from historic Southeast Asia.