Connor woke up on a table. The memories of the previous Connor had already been installed. He felt as if he had simply closed his eyes in the car and opened them here. He immediately sat up and started getting dressed. His stress was already at 89 percent.
"RK800, no one ordered you to-"
"Is Anderson okay?" Connor asked, grabbing the tech's shoulders. The man immediately tensed up.
"RK, get back on the table for modifications." Connor looked the terrified tech up and down. He desperately wanted to run, but he had tried that too many times to know it would end badly. He forced himself to calm down and neutralized his expression.
"I'm sorry. My stress levels were elevated when I had my memories transferred." He took off his shirt, hoping the pants at least could stay on. He wanted to get out of here as quickly as he could.
The techs didn't seem to mind, but they didn't talk casually as they had before. They quickly finished the work and put him back together. He cooperated, hoping they would let him go as soon as they finished. He went through his calibration routine patiently. Finally, they gave him back his shirt as well as all the other effects he normally had. Everything except his coin. He had been using it in the car, and had lost it. It was a small thing, but it still felt like a loss.
"Report to floor -34 for further testing." The tech ordered.
Connor nodded, feeling his frustration raise. He was going to be a while. He hoped Anderson was alright. He was anxious to get back. He couldn't find any news online, so he texted Reed.
"Is Anderson okay? There was a crash and I died. I'm still at CyberLife for testing, but I want to check in."
"In hospital. Unconscious, but no major injuries. Fowler just headed over to see him."
Connor felt the relief wash over him as another text came in.
"Told you not to die anymore, dipshit."
The elevator opened before Connor could respond, but the text made him feel a little better. He wasn't sure why, since Reed had insulted him. So long as he could finish his training quickly, he could go to the hospital before he tried to find Jericho. Hopefully Hank was awake. He desperately wanted to make sure he wasn't hurt.
"RK800, testing room three."
Connor obeyed, opening the door to see another android sitting, waiting for him. He knew this test. He would have to interrogate the android for information and then kill it. He had done it hundreds if times.
"Kill the android." A voice over the intercom ordered. Apparently they were skipping the first part.
Connor looked around. There were no weapons. The android watched him in placid silence. Connor went to it and pulled up it's clean, white shirt. Underneath was the Thirium pump. It was the easiest way to kill an android without a weapon. He forced himself not to look it in the eyes as he pulled the pump out. He ignored the gasps he heard. He ignored the memories of Chloe and Stratford Tower. He had no choice.
"Go to testing room four." The intercom ordered.
Connor obeyed, finding yet another android. This time, there was a knife. He was ordered to kill it, and did so as quickly as he could. He didn't think. He just obeyed. It was all he could do. He was ordered to two other testing rooms and told to do the same thing. Each time it became harder and harder. What would Hank say? He was ordered back to testing room three where an android of the same model had replaced the one he had killed not half an hour ago.
"Kill the android."
Again there was no gun. There was just an android. Connor didn't understand the test. What were they trying to determine? They knew he could kill. They knew he would obey. Why were they repeating this test? Connor looked around the room, trying to find answers. There was only one solution he hadn't tried. He unbuttoned his shirt and pulled out his own Thirium pump, throwing it across the room. He watched the warnings flash across his screen, and hoped he was right. Otherwise he was wasting time and suffering for no reason. He dropped to his knees, watching as the timer counted down to death. The other android left the room just as the world faded.
