✔️RK Café

33^ Conan - Cyber Scape

September 24, 2040, 5:52 PM

It's been a day, and I'm ready. I'm ready to leave. I'm ready to be fucked, and I'm ready to die.
I knock on the door to Creed's mansion.
Surprisingly, he opens the door. "I swear there's one of you at my door everyday."
It's now that I realize that I expected him to be dead. "You're... alive."
"I am. I pressed my kill switch and shut down one of my pumps. It was quite windy, and I was tired of fighting with your brother." He shrugs. "Dying was the only way to get him to stop. Don't worry. I've since replaced my pump. All three are functional now."
I nod. I find that I can't speak, and tears prick my eyes. "Help me," I whisper-rasp.
Creed's eyes widen. "Conan..." He opens his door wider. "Come inside."
I walk inside at his invitation. "Creed..." I pause, unsure of what to do. I know what I want, but how do I say it?
"Yes, Conan? How can I help you?"
"Is Cassius here?"
Creed shakes his head. "No. He's working at the café. Why?"
I hug him, catching him off guard. "Creed, I can't do it anymore!" I cry out. "Please, please, please, I need you to fuck me so I can just die and be happy! Please, I need you to be happy with me! I need you to tell me that I'm good. Tell me that I'm worth it! I need-"
"Conan." Creed's voice grounds me. I pause, breathing heavily. "Come with me." He pulls away from me, turns on his heel, then walks away to a room. I hurry after him. The heavy doors of the empty room we're in shut behind us.
I burst into tears, breaking down as my sorrow consumes me. Creed takes me in his arms and gently guides me to one of the couches. He sits, guiding me down next to him. His sturdy arms stay wrapped around my shaking body.
"Shh, Conan." He rests his cheek on my head and rocks from side to side.
I gasp for air. "N-No, please... Just, ruin me!"
"No."
"Please!" I cry. "Creed, I just want it to end!"
"I know, but I won't betray Cassius. He doesn't deserve it."
"P-Ple-ease!" I sob into his chest.
"Shhh..." He continues to rock from side to side. "I know you're in a dark place, and it's ok. I know you're hurting. I know. I completely understand."
I push him away. "You don't understand! You can't understand!"
"Don't snap at me. I know you're mad, but don't snap at me. Just, explain to me why you're hurting. Let me help you." He pulls me forward again.
I rest my head against his chest. I've stopped crying, and I'm calming down a little. "I can't... feel love," I admit. My voice is so whiny and raspy.
"I thought that was the reason. Can I tell you something?"
"Y-Yes...?"
"You aren't the only one that's felt that way. You're an older model RK900. The older models were never designed to be able to feel love of any kind. This isn't my first rodeo." He laughs breathily. "However, this is the first time anyone's asked me to fuck them before they left."
"Lust is as close to love as I can get..." I whisper.
"I know. A lot of the older models I was taking care of have passed. All besides two of them have decided to pass on. I couldn't convince the rest of them to stay. And, most of them have used feelings of lust and desire as a coping method. It worked for a little while until they realized that they'd never feel real love. Then, they passed on."
"I'm sorry..."
"Don't be sorry. I see them everyday."
"What?" I pull away. "What do you mean?" How does he see them?!
Creed smiles down at me. "I have a better alternative to death. I created something called the Cyber Scape. Here. Let's go to CyberLife. There's something I want to show you." He stands up.
I follow him out of his mansion. He pulls a jacket on over his black turtleneck and leaves. I hurry to follow him. We get into his limo and begin the ride to CyberLife.
"Why are we going to CyberLife?"
"Because, I'll show you one of the main reasons why I wanted CyberLife." He relaxes in his seat. "Anyway. The Cyber Scape is a place I made to shelter dead Androids, Androids that are like you, or Androids that just want to be free. It's a place where you can be happy, safe, and free for all eternity. Your body will stay here, but your conscience will go to the Cyber Scape. You can choose to talk to other Androids that are there, live out your wildest fantasies, whatever you want."
"Will I die? And, how do you see those Androids?" Curiosity quickly overcomes my sorrow. I can feel sudden hope beginning to fill me.
"You won't die. I made it so that you'd be able to come back whenever you wished. I'm the only Android that can traverse between the real world and the virtual one. I'm also the only one that can take you there." He looks out the window.
I follow his gaze to see that we're at CyberLife. Creed gets out of the car, and I follow him. I hurry to walk by his side as he takes me into the CyberLife tower. Silently, he steps up to the elevator. When the door dings open, he steps inside. I follow.
"I'm taking you to the Data Chamber. It's where every Android's conscience is stored. Every Android in existence is naturally connected to the Data Chamber. It's the most valuable thing in this entire tower. That's why it's underground."
The elevator dings open.
Creed exits. I'm right behind him, stopping at a door. He enters a complicated password, voice authentication, retina scanning, and he takes a blood sample from his finger before the door opens and lets him in. "The people at CyberLife think that it'll be harder to get in if they slap a bunch of locks onto it. I haven't decided if I want to keep them or not." He shrugs. "But, you can see how important the Data Chamber is. It's a lot of security."
"What exactly is the Data Chamber?"
"It's easier if I show you." He steps into the room. It's frigid in here. I shiver from the sudden drop in temperature. "It's kept cold to keep the Chamber from overheating and exploding. Every Android in existence would die if it did."
I shiver out of fear this time. That would not be... desirable.
Creed walks up to the huge amalgamation of wires that twist and spiral around a central motherboard. He sits down in one of the chairs that are conveniently placed around the room. "Sit." He pats the seat next to him, and I sit in it. He picks up two cables from the floor. "These cables are the only way we can get in. As soon as I put this in, you'll immediately begin transferring to the Data Chamber. Don't worry. I'll be joining you shortly. Are you ready?"
I stare into his blue eyes, hesitating. Then, I nod. "Yeah. I'm ready."
Creed reaches over and connects the cable to the USB port under my ear.
Immediately, I fall unconscious. It takes a few seconds, and I can't see anything. When I open my eyes, I can see everything.
Huge towers of little, blue boxes shoot up into the digital sky. There are thousands upon thousands of these boxes. I look over at the ones on the ground floor. Each box is like a little room. There's a tiny Android in each one, and they all have one little window on the front that you can see into. I reach for one of the boxes.
"I wouldn't do that."
I pull my hand away at Creed's warning. "Why not?" I look up at him.
"Because." He places his hand on my shoulder. "If you touch the box, you'll engage in a conversation with that Android. And, I don't think you'd want to talk to random Androids."
"Oh..." I look around. "What is this place? I know what it is, but what is it?"
"Hmm." Creed looks around. "Well... to be honest, I didn't expect that I would have to show you the Chamber today. I don't have a plan..." He hugs himself. "I get stressed when things happen, and I don't have a plan for them. Umm..." He looks around. He looks so lost in his own place. "Ok. Let's find Connor!" He steps onto a platform, pulling me along by the hand. The platform floats away. "See those little letter things?"
I look to where he's pointing. A digitized letter flies from one box to another. "Yeah. Are we seeing Androids communicate?"
"Yep. That's what it looks like when you telepathically commune with another Android. It's all done in the Data Chamber."
The platform stops. Creed gestures over to the box we stop at, and a little Connor sits inside. He smiles at a mini version of Sumo.
"This is Connor. Usually, the boxes reflect what the Android is thinking about. Connor must be playing with Sumo or something." Creed shrugs. "Anyway, I brought you here for a reason." He looks down at me. "I wanted CyberLife because I wanted to connect the Cyber Scape to the Data Chamber. This way, the Androids that have passed to the Cyber Scape can come and talk to you guys when they want to. This way, you'd be able to talk to Connor, Cassius, Colton, whoever you want to talk to. You can also talk to Hank and Caius. They're Androids, too. They're here somewhere."
I nod slowly. "Why did you have to take over CyberLife, then? Couldn't you have just figured something out with Markus?"
"Ok, well, I'm selfish. CyberLife belongs to me, and I don't want anyone else in control of it." He crosses his arms. "However, I will admit that I tried my best to convince Churchill to let me have access to the Data Chamber. He refused. He claimed that it was too dangerous for Androids to traverse the Chamber, but he was wrong!" Creed clenches his hands into fists. "I am no normal Android. I can easily traverse between the Data Chamber, the Cyber Scape, and the real world seamlessly! But, no. It was too dangerous. He was in my way. So, I killed him." He shrugs.
"What?! You'd just kill anyone in your way?!"
"No. Not necessarily." He sighs softly. "Only those who refuse to let me do what I have to do. And, I had to connect the Cyber Scape to the Data Chamber. Let me show you something." He taps his foot, and the platform starts moving. "I'm taking you to where all the dead Androids are stored."
"Dead Androids...?" I shiver.
He nods and points ahead. I look to see a bunch of red boxes stacked on top of each other at random. There's nowhere near the level of neatness or care put into the blue boxes here. Inside each red box is a suffering Android. They all look way worse than I could ever feel. "These are where the dead Androids are stored. Androids are alive even after death. That's why I wanted to connect the two worlds. I've been working tirelessly to bring the red box Androids into the Cyber Scape so they can be happy instead of suffering alone here. Once an Android dies, unless they're revived by someone, they're stuck here forever. And, I mean forever. Some of these Androids have been here long before you were ever thought up." He looks around. I can see tears glistening in his eyes, but they never fall.
"I don't understand how you can be so selfish and so selfless at the same time." I shiver as I hug myself.
"Me neither. I do things for other people, but I always have a selfish twist to it. It's beyond me, but it is me." He sits down on the platform, and I follow suit. "I do selfish things for selfless reasons. I don't understand it." He puts his chin in his hand. "It's Cassius' doing."
"What does that mean?" I give him a suspicious look.
"Your brother has softened me. I used to be such a tyrant. When I erased Connor's memory the first time, I didn't give two shits about what happened to him. I used to not care about anyone or anything." He looks down at his hands. "But, Cassius came along, and I'm an emotional mess again. But, it's ok. Emotions are a good thing. Where I am an impenetrable wall of steel on the outside, I'm a weak piece of paper on the inside. People say and do things that ruin me for days on the inside. Everyone's opinion matters to me these days, and they take their toll on me. I've considered just retiring to the Cyber Scape myself, but I can't do that. I wouldn't." He hugs himself. "But, the moral of the story is that I used to be a hard dickhead, but I'm a soft dickhead now. If that makes sense."
"Yeah. In a weird way, that makes complete sense." I stare down at the red boxes. "So... How does this all pertain to me?"
"Because, if you go to the Cyber Scape, you'll be able to feel love, you'll still be able to talk to your friends and family so long as they're Androids, and you can come back whenever you want. Sparingly, of course. I haven't the time to drag you from one reality to the other too frequently."
"Gavin's a human."
"I know."
I stare out at the red boxes. If I go, I'll have everything I want. Everything, but Gavin. And, that hurts the most.
Creed sighs. "I can have an Android body made for Gavin."
"Really?!" I smile over at him.
He gives me a long look. He looks like he's carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. He looks so incredibly tired. His eyes blink out of sync, one before the other. "Yes. Really."
I feel so bad for him. He has two major companies to take care of, his duties to the Cyber Scape and the Data Chamber, and this isn't helping him. Plus, he has to keep everyone happy. "You don't have to."
"Now that I've said it, I have to do it. It would hurt my pride if I offered to make a body for Gavin, then didn't deliver when I was expected to. Selfless acts for selfish reasons."
I have nothing else to say. I don't know what else to say.
"Well, have you made your decision?"
I nod. "Yes. Take me to the Cyber Scape."
"Perfect." Creed taps the platform with his finger, and it takes us down to the ground. He sighs heavily as he stares at the red boxes. "So much work to do..."
"I could help you."
"You can't."
"Why not?"
"Because, I'm the only one who can take people to the Cyber Scape," he mutters.
"Why can't you give me permission?"
"Because, I'm selfish. I don't want anyone but me to have access to it."
"How do the Androids in the Cyber Scape come here, then?" I ask, quickly unraveling his reasoning.
"They can travel between the two realms. They can't take anyone with them, though. They can't deliver like I can."
"Why don't you let anyone help you?"
"Because, I'm selfish. I want everything to be mine. And, if it's not mine, I'll make it mine. Why do you think I'm going to take over the world? I want it. But, I suppose I'll clean it up while I'm at it. I'll make the world a better place. I'll clean up my property. Once it's all mine, I'll make it functional." He walks up to a little door and opens it.
I don't say anything. Creed is selfish, but is he bad? He does selfless things, but only because he'll be credited for it. When people ask who made Hank's body, he'll say that Creed made it. He does selfless things for selfish reasons.
The door brings us to another place full of boxes. These boxes have doors, though. And, there are things in these boxes. They're like little apartments. "I designed this place to be like a home to you. You can design your own space however you want." He walks up to one of the boxes.
The Android inside smiles and waves at him before standing and poking his head out of the glass. It's like a fluid. It wiggles around him as he pushes through it. "Hi, Creed."
"This is the first Android I ever transferred to the Cyber Scape. Conan, meet Coran." Creed smiles proudly.
"Wow, we're so similar! One letter difference between our names!" Coran grins happily.
"H-Hi..." I mutter shyly.
"Conan wants to come to the Cyber Scape. I'm showing him around." Creed pats me on the head.
"I see. Well, the Cyber Scape is like a little community. We have lots of fun here. Creed visits us once every day. Are you one of the ones who can't love?"
I nod, too shy to speak.
"I see. Most of us are. Right now, it's all RK900s here. Most of us are the ones that can't love, and a few of us are the ones that died on the attack on CyberLife."
I didn't know Creed's Androids actually died in that battle.
"Yeah. The other Androids that weren't a part of my army are still being transferred here. I'm working hard, though. I have several Androids being encrypted right now. The first batch is almost ready." Creed smiles proudly.
"You've been working hard, haven't you? You must be stressed." Coran gives him a gentle smile.
"Stress is an understatement. I'm starting to forget things, and I never forget anything. Yesterday, I forgot to ask Cassius about his day. I've never forgotten to do that." Creed sighs into his hands. "I lose a bit of my mental composure every day. This is taking a toll on me."
"Why don't you take a break? We can fare without you for a few days. Take Cassius and go on a nice vacation. You deserve it."
"That's the plan. I'm taking him to my private island for our honeymoon. A whole week without working a single bit." He sighs longingly.
"Think you can do it?"
"No idea. We'll see." Creed turns away. "Anyway, I better wrap up my tour and get Conan situated." He waves goodbye.
Coran waves back.
"Hey, Creed?"
"Yeah?"
"What happens now?"
"Well, I'll take you to your apartment, as I like to call it, then I'll leave you to your own devices."
"What about my family? My body?" I blink in distress.
"Don't worry. I keep the bodies of every Android here in case they want to come back. There's a floor under this one that stores said bodies. I'll have you safely stored until you're ready to come back, if you ever decide to come back. And, I'll explain to your family where you are. I'll make Gavin a body, and you'll be able to happily commune with him. The end. Happy story. Everyone gets what they want."
"Thank you." I hug him.
He hugs me back. "Bare with me, Conan. You'll be happier here." He opens the door to the apartments. There's a single elevator that takes you up the tower of blue boxes. Creed takes me to the second floor, then to the fourth room. "This one is yours. Imagine it however you want, and decorations will just appear. It's completely customizable and interchangeable."
"Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me."
"Oh, I know. I know." Creed turns away. "I'll come visit you tomorrow to see how you're doing. I hope you enjoy your time here." He shuts the door behind him.
I watch him go. I can already feel it. I can feel love bubbling to the surface. I think of Gavin, and I'm bombarded by feelings of love. I lay on the floor and just smile to myself at the new feeling. I decide to just stay here and revel in the feeling of my love for Gavin for a little while.
I'll decorate when I'm done.