Creating RK800

Chapter 7*

"Hello, is this Chief Fowler?" I said into the phone.

"This is he. May I ask who is calling?"

"This is Silva King, the head designer and programmer for Cyberlife. I've been given special permission to tell you that I'm currently building an android to assist in police work."

"We already have police androids, Ms. King."

"This android will be vastly different from the other models. It will actively participate in detective work, hostage situations, and more. I just need to shadow a detective, and get a feel for what a detective needs to know and understand out in the field so that I-"

"I am not allowing an inexperienced computer nerd in my crime scenes, and I especially will not allow it because cyberlife wants to replace me and all of my hard-working policemen and women. I will not allow it!"

"Sir, with all due respect, the numbers of your forces are shrinking with each passing month. Being on the line of duty is becoming more and more dangerous by the year, and this can help reduce those numbers. The android can handle more dangerous situations without the cost of human life."

"Absolutely not."

"Sir, I don't think that you understand the gravity of the situation. There are people higher on the food chain pulling the strings. I have my orders, and if this doesn't happen with your willing cooperation it will go over both of our heads and it will be against your will. Just a couple of cases is all I'm asking."

"I guess I'll find out who is pulling the strings then." Captain Fowler hung up.

"Dammit!" I didn't want to go to Amanda and tell her that he refused. It was hard enough that I was already weeks behind schedule due to the hostage situation. I was constantly going in and out of the police station to answer questions, take evidence, etc.

"Is everything alright, Dr. King?" Chloe asked looking up from her book. She had become a quiet presence in my living quarters. I almost forgot she existed. Ever since she became deviant, she didn't bother to do as many of the chores nor did I ask her to.

"It's just a little hiccup. It'll be cleared eventually though. I'm sure Amanda will take care of it," I said opening my computer and typing her a short email explaining what just happened. It didn't take her long to reply saying just as I expected.

I'll handle it. That's all it read.

I sighed and looked at Chloe. She had returned to her book. It was interesting because even though she had Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet committed to her memory it was almost as if she was fully understanding the words for the first time. I was breaking the rules in keeping her, but I couldn't possibly let her get destroyed. She was the key to helping me understand deviants.

"Dr. King, can I ask you something?" Chloe said looking up from the pages. Her LED was yellow indicating that she was conflicted or confused about something.

"Yes, Chloe."

"Why does Romeo kill himself?"

"I guess it's because he loved Juliet so much that the thought of living without her was worse than death."

"So love drives people to kill themselves?"

"No, or at least not often. It's rare for that to happen nowadays. Romeo and Juliet are more like hyperbole for how it feels to be in love and lose that loved one. If you love someone enough it can feel like you're dying without them in your life."

"You don't seem to feel that way for Mr. Myers. You seem just fine."

I hesitated to respond. Indeed, I didn't outwardly show how hurt I was, but it was because of me that he left. I didn't have a right to be angry at him. "Some people are just better at hiding their feelings than others," I responded looking away from the android.