SYNTHETIC [Connor/RK800]

A Display Of Empathy

Connor watched Hank stand outside in the snow, his phone up to his ear. Deciding to join him, he stepped out of the car. He approached slowly.

"Is everything okay, Lieutenant?"

"Chris was on patrol last night. He was attacked by a bunch of deviants. He said he was saved by Markus himself."

"Is Chris okay?" Connor found himself asking. Why should he care?

"Yeah, he's in shock but, he's alive. What the hell..." He muttered. 

They both walked inside. "Kamski left CyberLife ten years ago. Why did you wanna meet him?" 

"This guy created the first android to pass the Turing test, and he's the founder of CyberLife. Anybody can tell us about deviants, it's him." 

Hank rang the doorbell, which played an upbeat jingle. A pretty android answered the door. She was short, with long, blond hair. Her button nose and freckles gave her appearance genuine character. 

"Hi, uh... I'm, uh, Lieutenant Hank Anderson, Detroit Police Department. I'm here to see Mr. Elijah Kamski."

Connor examined her appearance. Her hair was pulled in a knotted ponytail, the blue dress she wore accentuated her curves. Her feet were bare, which was strange. Most androids wore their shoes because they never left the house. She looked very casual. Although she was beautiful, she didn't compare to the redhead that had kissed him so sweetly. The blond android motioned them inside with a smile. 

"Please, come in."

"Okay." Hank said awkwardly, walking in and leading Connor.

"I'll let Elijiah know you're here. But please, make yourself comfortable." 

Connor glanced around the room. It was decorated very moderly, with many natural colors and muted blues. At the back of the room was a floor-to-ceiling photo of Elijah Kamski. He didn't quite understand why this photo was here. Surely everyone knew Elijah Kamski. Why would he need such a large photo of himself?

Next, he inspected a smaller picture on the wall next to it. It showed a young Elijah with a woman he recognized immediately. Amanda. It made his heart drop. To him, Amanda had always been his self-test mechanism and virtual interface. He'd never realized that she was based on a real person.

"Amanda..." He whispered to himself, scanning her face.

Amanda Stern, AI Professor at University of Colbridge. She died in February of 2027. This whole time, she was a real person. What else were they hiding right in front of him?

"Nice girl..." Hank said, attempting to pass the time by making conversation.

"You're right. She's really pretty." Connor replied.

He figured that Hank had caught on to his deviancy by now, or at least suspected it. He'd grown comfortable in these small moments of true humanity. Beauty was a human concept he'd allowed himself to understand and express appreciation for.

"Nice place. Guess androids haven't been a bad thing for everybody. So, you're about to meet your maker, Connor. How does it feel?"

"Kamski is one of the great geniuses of the 21st century. It'll be interesting to meet him in person."

"Sometimes I wish I could meet my creator face to face... I'd have a couple of things I'd wanna tell him."

Connor was sure he would. And they wouldn't be kind things either. He stood up as he heard footsteps. 

"Elijah will see you now." The blond android said. 

As they walked into the next room, they were met with a massive pool full of red water. Connor scanned it, concerned, only to find out it was red algae, which has many anti-aging and anti-inflammatory properties.