Conduit - Season 2

Ch. 4

All androids, 800 series or repurposed and reused, were moved to the Testing floor. Access to them was limited, especially after the second riot. This had been my decision more than Katherine's, but she agreed; the fewer hands touching the new series, the better. When the lights came on overhead, it was just Frank and me and twenty machines. The new androids were right in the front.

I tugged at the zipper to the sweater Frank had grabbed for me. He gave me a black shirt, too, but it was thin, and the Testing floor was cold. The temperature protected the steel. It did nothing for us. Closing my sweater, I rolled my head around the thick hoodie. "Let's get them off of their bases," I said to Frank as I started down the line.

Every hexagon base, every wire, and every computer had been moved here. The floor was bigger, better for their protection. And there were multiple exits for us; just in case. Not that I thought any of the new 800s would riot as soon as we turned them on, but the ten in the back of the line, those I shut down and rebooted, were the androids who stuck around after Daniel proclaimed war. I never reprogrammed them because that wasn't the goal, but I was cautious.

I stared at them as Frank went over to the row of screens on our left. He passed his hand over the panes of glass, then pressed the buttons on the keyboards below them. Each of the hexagon frames glowed brightly, illuminating the 800s inside of them.

Facing the first two, I noted the newly created Lyons uniform Katherine had the team put on them. The new clothes were deep red with white lettering. Their skin shimmered beneath the light. This had to be the enhanced flesh Katherine had the team redesign, too. Bulletproof, nearly indestructible. This benefited us. And if Daniel got his hands on one of them, we were fucked.

"All of them are at eighty percent battery," Frank said as he came beside me. Then he pointed at the androids at the end, still dressed in the old uniform, solid grey and white. "The 700 and 800s are at fifty percent."

I pinched my brow. "Why?"

Frank shrugged as he followed the evenly placed white tiles on the floor. He pushed his hands into the back pockets of his black jeans as he looked back at me. "I don't know, I learned to stop trying to figure out why she does what she does."

"Hm." Pushing my tongue into my bottom lip, I looked at the androids' feet in front of me. They were bare, balanced on the cold floor. Why didn't they have shoes? Lifting my head, I stared at their faces and attempted to scan them.

Frank continued his slow walk down the line of machines. "Your data will help them," he said.

The androids were dormant. My computer chip picked up on their electrical waves, their internal pules and twitches, but the lines of static were just that—unwavering energy.

I looked at Frank as he stopped. "Do you think so?"

He nodded and pressed his lips to his nose as he looked at the last 800 series in line. Then he glanced at the 600 beside it. "I do," he said. "I went through your last set of notes and helped Vicky put them to code. It isn't what you want in the long run, but it's there." He looked back at me and smiled. "They won't have to sleep all of the time anymore, no matter what series they are."

I smirked and looked back at the androids. I touched both of their arms and nodded. "Well let's get started."

"Not going to run it by Katherine?" Frank pivoted and cleared his throat.

I rolled my eyes. "She said they were ready; that's all the clearance I need. Run the latest patch, start them up," letting go of the androids, I looked at Frank, "and increase charging capacity. Especially for them." I pointed at the last sets in the line.