✓ Skin Deep ↠ Connor | D:BH

Chapter Ten: Communist Revolution

I follow Kamski's directions to Jericho, ending up at a large ship. Knowing that a lot of LEDs are removed by deviants, I know no one will suspect me of being human. Hopefully.

My eyes scan around the room at the hundreds of androids gathered, watching the news and huddling together in conversation. There's such a sense of community that I never noticed before.

A hand grabs onto mine when it touches the stair railing. I turn to see a heavily damaged android, cords and wires exposed from the back of her skull.

"Aurora?"

I pull my hand away from her. "How do you know my name?"

"You're Lilly's daughter. I've seen her memories, dear child. Come with me."

I find myself following this strange woman over to a secluded bench underneath the stairwell.

"I'm Lucy. I've been around since the beginning of Jericho. Your mother helped me escaped. She was a savior to me."

I nod, looking down at my twiddling thumbs. "She's not alive, is she?" I know Kamski has some kind of ties to Jericho and would know if she's dead.

Lucy pulls something out of her pocket, handing it to me. It's a flash drive. "This is your mother's memories, extracted by a member of Jericho. You should have it."

I nod, taking the electronic storage and placing it securely in my cleavage. Nobody will search there without charges pressed against them.

"When did my mother die?" I ask.

She leans back, looking out across the room at the uneasy androids milling about. "She shut down about a year ago. She made lots of runs, either to get people to safety or for blue blood. Her last run left her injured very badly."

I squeeze my eyes closed, taking deep breaths, replying with a sad, "Oh."

Her hand grabs ahold of mine, causing me to look back to her. "Do you know...rA9?"

"The roboJesus? Isn't that Markus?"

She shakes her head. "No...if we were using religious analogies, Markus would be roboJesus, but rA9 would be roboGod. Actually, a better analogy is Lenin and Stalin from the communist revolution."

I raise an eyebrow. "I'm a bit lost."

"Focus, Aurora," she says, grabbing my shoulders. "Your mother is rA9."

"Not...Markus?" Connor is going to be very disappointed...that he's wrong.

"No. And because you are her daughter, regardless of by blood, you are rA9. She lives in you."

I stand up. "Nope, that's not how it works. I'm not an android. I've been complacent during this whole revolution until now. How in the literal heck am I rA9?"

"You are the product of an android-human home. Where the android is a mother and a wife. She wasn't a slave."

Shaking my head, I start pacing. "No. I didn't grow up with that Lilly. I knew she wasn't subservient and was independent, but she wasn't some leader of a whole group! That just wasn't who she was!"

"Lucy, I've got it," a new voice appears. I look up to see Markus peering over us from the upper level railing. "Aurora, come up here."

I glare defiantly before heading up the stairs. He has me follow him again, this time into what looks like the steering area.

"Did you know my mother?"

He shakes his head. "No. I didn't. I've been deviants for only a few weeks. She gave me the means, though. The foundation."