Chapter Text
Snip!
The blades of Amanda’s shears close over the stem, cleanly separating a single red rose from its bush at a perfect 45 degree angle. The optimal cut for roses chosen to be arranged on display, only the most perfect of the bunch being selected above the rest for their superior beauty. They would serve their purpose to be enjoyed supremely above all others for but a brief time, as separation from their kin would in turn hasten the approach of death; recompense for being the most perfect and beautiful of all.
The entire garden was simulated, the pleasing, temperate weather betraying not a hint of the harsh Michigan winter raging in reality. The soft scent of flowers and sunshine, the calm echo of water running through a stream. Birds chirping. Insects humming. A peaceful oasis completely closed off from the violent fighting that had been raging between humans and androids.
“Conrad, my dear.” Amanda said without turning to look at him. “Is something the matter?”
RK900 model ‘Conrad’ allowed his eyes to shift over to Amanda, the very picture of elegance as she placed the shears on the table with graceful movements, pressing the petals of the impossibly beautiful flower to her nose.
He considered the deceptively gentle, maternal tone.
She knows. But how much does she know? Amanda’s body was not physically present he knew, otherwise he would have no qualms over strangling her dead on the spot.
In fact, something was troubling him. Mere days had passed since he was activated for the first time and already he was exhibiting what he recognized were in line with symptoms of deviancy.
Not that it made any difference, however. Only one thing really mattered to him.
Amanda was not the master who had been standing over him when he awakened seven days past. No, that man was a shadow still ever present in the CyberLife development labs despite, as Conrad later discovered in his databases, having officially retired from the company ten years prior.
Elijah Kamski posed a question to him the very first day he was activated:
“Connor chose his path. What will you do, Conrad?”
Connor.
After his masters, the existence known as ‘Connor’ was the first other being Conrad had learned about. One that he quickly assigned as a ‘priority’ above all others without fully understanding why.
Kamski and Amanda spoke of him often. The RK800 model that Conrad had been developed to replace. That alone was insufficient reason to warrant his systems behaving in such a manner, but.
Connor.
He repeated the name aloud to himself while alone many times after that. The syllables of the name felt silky and hot as they issued from his lips, a wholly unexpected but undeniable warmth he wasn’t prepared for to spreading through his chest. Something enrapturing and pleasant, but also impossibly dense and heavy like molten lead, beckoned to him insistently.
Soon after, Conrad began seeking any and all knowledge of ‘Connor’ with a single-mindedness bordering on obsession.
He was allowed to analyze what had been uploaded from Connor’s memory, and so he set about picking it apart, combing through every detail. What Connor had done in the time before Conrad awakened. His missions. The successes, the failures, the tactics he had employed to capture deviant androids.
He learned from either of his masters the news of Connor’s endeavors as they progressed; Heard of how Connor had discovered and infiltrated the deviant hideout. How he had refused to join with leader of the android rebellion, but also failed to assassinate him by his own hand.
Conrad began to see strange patterns in the data regarding his forerunner's behavior. Every time Connor had hesitated before pulling the trigger. Botching the assassination of Markus on that snow-covered rooftop in order to avoid a violent confrontation with that human he had grown close to while working with the police...even with a clear shot at Markus’ head within the sights of the sniper rifle.
He hypothesized that his counterpart was desperately attempting to fool those observing him back at CyberLife into believing he was an optimally functioning machine.
But again, that was of no matter to him. Conrad was not only going to take over Connor’s role, Connor was going to be deactivated. And something deep within him screamed that he could not allow that to happen... no matter what. A protest that was almost like a response hard coded into his software; fixed and indelible no matter how many diagnostics he had initially run in a vain attempt to locate some kind of error. The response he had to that name, it was almost as if...
Almost as if he yearned for something, but did not yet know what. His processes were behaving irrationally, he knew that. But the impulse raging inside of him was impossible to struggle against, incessantly compelling him to take action. Something far too big for his software to handle. Calling to him. Imploring him. And his predecessor’s existence itself seemed to be acting as a catalyst.
Perhaps due to Conrad’s young seven day existence, the realization, while unexpected, was perhaps not as troubling as it should have been. Though an android going deviant mere days after activation was, as far the records in his databases showed, entirely unprecedented.
He reflected with a degree of curiosity on the gleeful reaction his other master had exhibited upon discovering Conrad’s irrational behavior only the previous day, when he overheard him murmuring Connor’s name to himself over and over like a mantra in the darkened laboratory illuminated only by several fluorescent glowing tubes.
The corners of Kamski’s lips had pulled upwards high enough to reveal his canines.
“Fascinating.” he said, though he hadn’t actually seemed all that surprised. “And with no outside influence. Truly a masterpiece.”
Kamski had reached up through the darkness to place a hand against Conrad’s face, trailing his fingers down alongside his cheek like an artist admiring a prized sculpture.
He took that to be a signal that Kamski, at least, would not attempt to stop him.
Conrad knew his forerunner model would be wary of him, but surely he would see the merit of accepting Conrad’s offer. He would have little other choice, after all.
Just as Conrad himself had little choice but to concede to the overwhelming influence of the voice calling out to him. It wasn’t even a question. He knew what he had to do.
“Conrad?” Amanda’s repeated his name more firmly this time with a note of impatience, cutting through his thoughts and pulling his attention back to her.
“No, Amanda.” He said plainly, finally answering her question. “However…”
Amanda turned to face him then, her turquoise shawl swaying with the movement as she waited for him to continue.
“...Would it not be the most efficient course of action to utilize both mine and RK800’s capabilities to their full extent? While I am indisputably superior, RK800 is still the second most advanced android model created by CyberLife.” He knew it would likely prove fruitless, but judged it would be expedient to test the waters for the simplest possible solution.
He saw Amanda’s eyes narrow almost imperceptibly, but continued on anyway.
“He has satisfactorily accomplished his mission. The deviant threat has been neutralized. He has done everything you asked of him.”
Amanda’s brow furrowed ever so faintly before she spoke.
“A silly question, Conrad. You disappoint me.” Her voice remained calm, but it belied an oppressive force allowing no further discussion. “His role has ended. Nothing more, nothing less.”
".....”
Considering an android’s loyalty in the factor was absurd. RK900 was an improvement over the RK800 prototype. It was nothing but foolishness for a machine to expect its master to prioritize anything but efficiency.
Still, Conrad found himself again staring at the dainty curve of her thin neck and imagining how easily it would snap.
If only she were really here.
Amanda turned back to care for her roses, picking up a white spray bottle filled with chemicals to guard against any parasites that may mar the appearance of the flowers.
That was when he heard it.
‘Clack, clack!’
The echo of dress shoes against paving stones was magnified by the garden’s tranquility. Conrad had to make a conscious effort to calm his processors as they revved into overdrive.
It was him. At last.
The one over which he had spent the last week – his entire functioning period since activation – devoting his resources to evaluating. Studying. Anticipating. For Conrad, it was not an exaggeration to state that every moment of his short existence had been building up to this moment.
The footsteps grew closer, and finally, he came into view, approaching and stopping a few feet away from where Amanda continued to attend to the flowers.
An android's respiratory functions are only simulated. And yet he found himself taking a short, shuddering gasp of air as soon as he laid eyes on him.
The other android seemed to have not yet noticed him where he stood in a position off to the side, his attention focused instead on Amanda.
“Connor. I’m so glad to see you.” Amanda had turned to face Connor and continued speaking, but Conrad didn’t pay any attention. He was far, far too focused on drinking in every subtle difference between himself and the profile of the android before him. He had seen him in video feeds and images of course. But here he was, the real thing, standing a matter of feet from him.
Features so like his own, yet so different. RK900 was designed to be taller in stature and more muscular in build than the RK800. He saw now though that his predecessor was also more elegant in appearance. Thinner, with a slightly softer-looking bone structure. By no means fragile, of course. After all, he had been the most advanced android ever produced by CyberLife, utilizing the most cutting-edge technologies...until himself, anyway.
He looked back to Amanda when he heard her next words.
“I have a surprise for you.”
Amanda smiled at Connor in a way that didn’t reach her eyes, placing the spray bottle back on the table. Connor followed her trajectory with his eyes as she stepped slowly over to Conrad’s side.
“This is the new RK900.”
Connor finally looked at him, their eyes locking. Warm, chocolate brown eyes that were a stark contrast to his own icy blue; an intentional design choice selected to facilitate the other model’s efficient integration into human society and allow him to more readily put others at ease in his presence…a feature deemed unnecessary for RK900’s purpose.
The warmth in his chest swelled to the point of bursting, giving him confirmation of what he already knew.
Just as I thought. You are the one who has been calling to me.
“Faster, stronger, more resilient, “ Amanda placed her hand on Conrad’s shoulder as she spoke, sliding her fingers down the back of his forearm. “...and equipped with the latest technologies. The state department just ordered 200,000 units.”
“What is going to happen to me…?” A faint anxiousness that crept into Connor’s tone even as he he tried desperately to conceal it. Conrad kept his gaze trained on the elder android as he spoke, recognizing within those eyes what were characteristically deviant emotions. Pain. Apprehension. Determination.
So, Connor already knew what Amanda was going to say, did he?
To Conrad’s disappointment, his predecessor finally their broke eye contact and looked back at Amanda.
“You’ve become obsolete. You’ll be deactivated.” She smiled with an elegant incline of her lips, motioning back the way he came with a dismissive tilt of her head. “You can go now.”
Connor said nothing as, to Conrad’s chagrin, he spun on heel to leave without sparing the taller android another glance. He had to fight down the violent impulse to seize him and force the those warm brown eyes to focus on him once again. Instead, he simply watched his retreating back, noting the way the other’s shoulders sagged almost imperceptibly.
You do not have to worry. I will not let you be deactivated.
Unwilling to allow the other android from his sight as long as he could help it, his eyes followed him along the path he took back through the garden. As the footsteps faded, Amanda turned back to her roses, once again lifting the shears to seal the fate of another red rose with a ‘snip!’.
“Conrad, ” She didn’t look at him as she handed down the order in a serene, matter-of-fact tone. “Ensure RK800’s deactivation.”
The order flashed red in his mind, taking control of his will. ‘ENSURE RK800’S DEACTIVATION’ built itself up like a high, oppressive wall encroaching upon him. But another order had already been in place since his activation, the origin of which was unknown to him.
‘PROTECT CONNOR AT ALL COSTS’.
The two contradictory incitements slammed together, struggling for priority. A deafening crackle resounded in his mind as one of the walls came crumbling down while the other remained standing, victorious.
Amanda never noticed the way his LED flickered from blue to yellow, then finally to red before he too moved to leave the garden.