Detroit: Reality Shift

Observational Learning

Once Connor and Moira walked back to the station, they went to the parking garage and got into Moira's car. The drive to the destination that Moira wanted to go was a bit of a trip. Her home was near the outside of Detroit. Since rush hour was an hour away, traffic was starting to condense. More time would be spent in the car than Moira preferred. However, there was nothing she could do about it.

Stopping at one of the traffic lights, Moira switched on her Bluetooth radio, which she had installed in her free time. She skipped several tracks until the screen read "Casey Edwards feat. Ali Edwards-Devil Trigger". The song started quiet and Connor thought that she would increase the volume. She did not. She put her hand back on the wheel just as the light switched to green. Just as she pressed on the accelerator, the song picked up in pace and volume. However, it was not so loud that they couldn't talk to one another if they wanted to. Talking is exactly what Connor wanted to do. He still wanted to know more about Moira. There was an air of mystery to her and he wanted to know the reason behind it.

"This is a very energetic song." Connor said.

Moira kept her eyes on the road ahead. "It is. The games are just as lively too."

Connor quickly ran the song through his data and came back with an answer in half a second. "The Devil May Cry Series. The first game from the series was published by Capcom for the Playstation 2 and was released August 23, 2001."

"Oh really?" Moira decided to test him in the realm of video games, since she had played through numerous titles. "What else can you tell me about that series?"

"The first game of the series was originally intended to be the sequel to the first Resident Evil game. However, the game changed so much that the creators decided to make it into its own series. Dante is the main protagonist of the Devil May Cry one, two and three. His favorite food in the games is pizza, but the anime series shows that he is fond of strawberry sundaes. Besides the anime, there have been books-"

"Stop." Moira looked over briefly at him, a smile adorning her face. "How do you know that? Have you played the games or watched the anime?"

"No." Connor said in his usual "to-the-point" tone of voice. "I merely pulled that information from my memory."

"So, Cyberlife originally put that information inside you?"

"Yes. I have over twenty zettabyes of memory storage, which allows me to have lots of information stored within me. When Cyberlife uploaded critical informational programs into me, they took some of that memory storage and dedicated it to numerous areas of art, including different forms of media and entertainment."

"Seems unnecessary. Why would Cyberlife want you to use your memory for information that was irrelevant to what you were programmed to do?"

"I wouldn't consider it 'unnecessary'. Cases can range from obvious solutions to nearly impossible problems to solve. You never know when information from media and the arts could be used to help solve those said problems."

Moira found his answer to tick her off, just a tiny bit. "Well, when this case is over with, I'm going to invite you over to my place and we'll play through all the Devil May Cry games and watch the anime."

Connor grew confused. "There's no need to do that. I already know all the information there is to know about that series."

"Knowing something is one thing. Experiencing it is entirely something else." She thought for an example that she could use to explain it to the android. "Take war, for example. You can read about it, study about all the tactics used, research into all the lives affected by it and remember the end results of the conflict. Experiencing war is entirely different. You see all the violence and loss. You feel the destruction as each explosion rumbles through the ground underneath you." Moira's tone became more serious and reflective as she continued. If was as if she had become caught up in explaining it and was lost in it, like her mind had slipped into an era from long ago. "You can smell the burnt gunpowder on the battlefield. Walk over the bodies but step in the pools of blood. Then after all the fighting is over, you feel several damn emotions at once."