Detroit: Staying Human

Chapter One: Stage Fright

"Carlos, where the fu-"

Ring.

"-androids."

Ring.

"Put that light over-"

Ring.

It was almost enough to push Markus over the edge. The constant hustle and bustle of the Stratford Tower's studio was an all-consuming chaos. Blinding lights, confused cameramen, that goddamn phone... It was pure madness. It was only fitting that Markus's mind palace was racing all the same.

Two months after the androids won their freedom, the relationship between humans and androids was still very tentative. Many humans kept their androids as slaves and even more continued to protest against the deviants. 

As it stood, the congressional approval of deviants declared androids a free and independent species and the public vote was a promising 70% for approval to a 30% disapproval. But it was that goddamn 30% that proved to be an issue. The government declared that the freedom for androids should a unanimous vote with a 4% margin of error. It could take years of public appeal to ever match those odds!

The fate of the deviants still remained undecided and many were barely earning enough money to afford even the cruddiest apartment on a block. Markus, with the help of the DPD and the survivors of Jericho, grouped the newest deviants into units of 5 per apartment/tenant. The space allotted for the androids was dwindling quickly as the city struggled to keep up with the growing demand for shelter and employment. 

It became abundantly clear to Markus that he needed to contact neighboring cities for a shelter and rights request. But every time he was denied. That damn 30%.

The deviant leader took a calming breath before scanning the area with his mismatched eyes. The interview for deviants was about to begin and it was imperative that the founders were present.

>> Analyzing...<<

...

...

... /found/ ...

/North/                                                                                                                                                                                    /Model # WR400/  

...

...

/Josh/                                                                                                                                                                                      /Model #PJ500/

...

...

...

>> Error... Simon /Model #PL600/ Not Found <<

The world around him slowly returned to chaos as he deactivated his scan. Markus grimaced slightly when that damn phone started ringing again. 

Well... new objective, I suppose. Find Simon and hopefully get back in time to introduce myself to the host.

Markus gritted his teeth slightly and muttered a quick 'I don't have time for this' before making his way over to North. Not that North was paranoid or anything, that title was reserved for Simon, but she was always good at keeping tabs on their 'allies'. The deviant leader always felt better when he knew that he could count on North for keeping stock.