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Chapter Text

I didn't really wake up so much as...realized that I was already awake.

It was like dozing off in class before suddenly jolting awake and getting a shot of adrenaline. Confusion filled me as I tentatively sat up. The place I woke up in was incomprehensible and something I had no idea to put into words. There was white as far as the eye could see. It gave me the impression of a hospital: almost surgically clean. A faint floating grid with little numbers blinking at certain points extends past—and through—me, like a large holographic net.

"What the fuck..." I couldn't help but breathe out. The place—wherever I am—was empty, aside from the faintly glowing lines seemingly floating in space. The whole thing looked like a 3D space? Even the floor was gridded, marked by what seems to be coordinates at even intervals. Curiously, I tapped my foot against the floor and got nothing but a quiet tap. It looks to be very solid and there was nothing indicating that it seemed to be made by anything other than...concrete maybe? I'm not sure but the ground was smooth and seemed to look more like plastic than anything even if it didn't feel like it.

"Wait, how did I even get here?" The thought strikes me belatedly and I try to remember where I was previously. I was at my dorm, working on a coding project due the next week. It was a rare free day but I hadn't been able to nap so I worked on it to keep my brain from imploding from overthinking...not that it helped really. My brain imploded from staring at my buggy code instead.

I had decided eventually that I needed a new change of pace so I packed up, threw on a hoodie I dug out from my closet and made my way out. I remembered that it was raining because I briefly despaired at my glasses getting wet and smudging the lens when I tried to wipe the droplets. There was a shout while I unsuccessfully tried to clean my glasses while I was wearing it. I turned, met headlights and—

Oh. Oh.

The enormity of what I realized hit me and I felt cold wash over me. I had to take a seat on the floor before my legs gave out on me. Oh my god.

Did I die? Or was I in some sort of coma and my brain was somehow suspended in this weird white space or something? Oh my god I think I'm dead, I think faintly. My thoughts go back to what I was doing: university, my future plans, my part-time job, my cat...my mom has her new family now, my cat Pebble is gonna be left all alone and I was supposed to do that volunteering thing with Max and my thesis...

"Well I guess I don't have to defend my thesis now." I say to myself and if I sounded hysterical even to my own ears, no one was here to hear me anyways.

Speaking of here though...I look around again and try to gather my wits about me.

I slap my cheeks, "Come on Camila, you put 'relentlessly optimistic' on your CV for a reason." I take a deep breath, hold it and let it out slowly. "Mom has her own life and you've been on your own for ages already anyways, and Max will take care of Pebble once he gets the news..." Another pang hits me and I am hit with the fact that I won't see my cat anymore. He was the only family I've ever had, a rescue that I adopted when my mother suggested I get a pet once I moved in the dorm. I saved him from a neglectful home and he ended up saving me from loneliness...and now I probably won't see him again.

"Fuck," I warble and let myself cry. The burning sensation felt like it spreading from the tips of my toes up to the top of my head. Regret washed over me and I couldn't help but cry harder. All the things I've lost, the few friends I had, the improving relationship with my mother, and of course what I end up crying for is my cat.

I don't know how long it took before I got myself under control. My sense of time is non-existent and in this weird white space. There was nothing to indicate if it was day or night, hell a whole day might have already passed while I was cruising through the 5 stages of grief and I wouldn't know. 

It takes a while but I eventually get my legs back under me. I start walking, mind empty and not really thinking of where I'm going. 

"If this is heaven, those religious hippies owe an apology to everyone they've been yapping to." I grumble, wiping idly at one swollen eye. "There's nothing remotely resembling fluffy clouds and I'm not hearing any singing angels. Or maybe this is hell tailored for me." I muse, "What would this be then? Boredom? Hit me with a car for my first death then make sure it sticks by boring me to death..." I let the tangent die, feeling entirely lost at my situation.

I look up and stare into the white void stretching out infinitely above me. The expanse of the open sky made me feel small, like the opposite feeling of staring down a cliff. At least if this was my heaven—or hell—it was peaceful. Though, I have no doubt I'll be changing my mind after a few hours.

I stare a moment more before I realize that I could see something moving, or, no—scrolling?

Is that...code? I think, vaguely alarmed. It was code, but none that I could really understand. It was scrolling too quick for me to read and was suspended so far up into the atmosphere that I couldn't even begin to guess at how high it was. The moment I saw it above me was the moment I saw it everywhere else. It was in the distance, running continuously like an endless waterfall, and it was under my feet and under the ground, like looking through a white tinted window. The more I concentrated, the clearer it became and now that I could see it, I couldn't unsee it.

I put my hands on my knees and squint into the ground, trying to figure out the series of lines running under it. Where does it even go? I wonder as I try to make sense of the code, but I could tell that it was beyond my own understanding even if I could recognize some commands and keywords here and there.

"The world is a lie and the Matrix was a prophecy," I promptly announce into the void. "I am apparently in a simulation and my life is—what? A tutorial mode? This is fucking crazy man, does that mean I'm some sort of software now—"

All of a sudden, a floating blue window pops up right in front of my eyes. It surprises me hard enough that I stumble back with a curse and the window follows, like particularly sticky ghost floating in front of me.

Dumbly, I watch as the window fills up with the word, 'Hello'.

An empathic 'yo, what' rings out in my head. "Um, hi?" I offer the floating window after a few seconds. 

The caret blinks and the text is replaced with, "My [DESIGNATION] is [OVERSEER]. I am an [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE]. What is your [DESIGNATION]?" The word 'my' and 'I' kept flickering for some reason. It was odd enough to take note of. Also, 'Overseer'? 'Designation'? An artificial intelligence? Holy crap, this is some sci-fi shit. Oh wait, it's probably waiting on a reply.

"My name is Camila, if that's what you're asking." I blink as the window empties once more.

"Program [CAMILA] identified." It reads, seconds later. 'Program'?

Before I could tackle that revelation, the windows beeps in notification again. "You are [LOCATION] at [SERVER 79-B]." The [LOCATION] tag belatedly turns into the word 'located'. "Your [PERMISSIONS] have been updated to include [LEVEL 5 ACCESS]. Are you aware of how you arrived here?"

I sit up properly and run my hand through my hair. I'm talking to an artificial intelligence and I am a program. Right, I need someone to hit the brakes because I need time to process that. Chew on it and swallow, Camila, I tell myself after a minor mental breakdown.

I turn my attention back to the window, "Hell if I know, uh, Overseer was it? I was human and I died and now you're telling me I'm a program." Or an intelligence. I feel like I can count as that, at least, unless the cosmos decided that I was particularly stupid or something and decided that I was only worth being called a program (which I'll probably have another breakdown about later).

The window empties and I get the impression that the so-called Overseer is contemplating something. "Your situation is unprecedented." It (he? She? They?) eventually send. "[MEMORY ASSIMILATION] was required to analyze the situation. Human consciousness in code is a situation we have not faced before."

I scoffed. "No kidding. I don't think I've ever heard of something like that happening either." And it said human consciousness in code...and I had to take another moment for it to sink in that I was now essentially digitized and that it was probably entirely possible that they could now access my memories. Wait they accessed my consciousness—oh my god I can't take another hit, if I'm a program I'd be blue-screening right now. Suppress, suppress, suppress.

"You said memory assimilation? Does that mean you went through my memories?" A "Correct," on the window confirms it. I mean, I guess I could forgive it if I was an AI and a human crashed into my own server. Huh. I'm hit with the fact that Overseer probably didn't know what to do with me either.

I think back at what it said with a hum and realize something, "You mentioned 'we'? Are you the only one who, well, found me?"

"No. [MEMORY ASSIMILATION] provided complications we are unsure of addressing."

"Complications?" I ask, alarmed. "What do you mean?" Don't tell me I'm gonna die just when I accepted the fact that I'm now essentially an AI myself?

"[INSUFFICIENT DATA]. [AMANDA] will speak with you. I will assist your operations,"  is all I get before a new window appears.

REMOTE ACCESS OVERRIDE........COMPLETE.
ADMIN: [OVERSEER]>>_
[AMANDA]:>>Interface_Request? [Y/N]_
[OVERSEER]:>>Override_Accepted: Y_
CONNECTING to [ZEN GARDEN]..........CONNECTION ESTABLISHED.
Partitioning processes.....
Building avatar: [CAMILA].....
Accessing [ZEN_GARDEN].....

White washes over my eyes and I blink rapidly to clear it. The empty white void is replaced by a breathtaking garden. 

"Whoa..." I breathe out. The garden was a perfect mix of natural and artificial: it had a variety of trees and flowering blossoms and even had a lake island and white tiled paths meandering along the water. Bridges connected the surrounding area into the island, and I was awed at how beautiful the place was. The trees swayed gently in the breeze and the water even looked clean enough to drink. "You said I'm a program now, or an intelligence at least, so I assume this is all virtual but still..."

The window reappears. "You are now located at [ZEN GARDEN]. [AMANDA] is waiting for you at the island."

Right. I start walking slowly even as I ponder on the names.

"Amanda and the Zen Garden, Amanda and the Zen Garden," I hum idly. "Did you guys pull that up from that one video game, Detroit: Become Human was it? I hope you aren't using this thing commercially or something, must be one hell of a copyright issue..." Not to mention that the area looked almost exactly the same as the one I remembered, if a bit larger in scale.

"...we did not copy anything from your memories."  The text cursor blinks as the window follows me.

I make my way over the bridge, peering into the rippling water curiously. "So it's the other way around then? You modelled this place based on the game?"

"This instance of the [ZEN GARDEN] was designed by CyberLife engineers." My brows furrow at the word 'Cyberlife' right as I reach the end of the bridge. "As previously mentioned, this is an unprecedented situation," Overseer continues, "Not only the transformation of a human into an artificial intelligence, but also the existence of a universe where this world is a video game."

The statement makes me do a full stop. 'You've got to be kidding me,' I think, staring unblinking at the scrolling text.

"This is not a joke," Overseer clarifies immediately, as if reading my thoughts, "You are in Server 79-B hosted in sublevel 46 of the CyberLife Tower, located in Detroit, Michigan. The year is 2039, a full year after the event you know as the android revolution. Today is the 26th of December, and the time is 6:53:26 in the evening."

"You must be Camila." The gentle voice interrupts me from my gawking at the floating window, and lo and behold, I see Simbi Khali—or rather, Amanda—padding leisurely towards me.

"It's quite a pleasure to meet you." Her head tilts as she considers me with shrewd eyes. "I am Amanda, designed by Elijah Kamski and made to be the primary assistant to the CEO of CyberLife." 

Overseer's window empties until only the blinking cursor is left. Amanda stands before me, cold and confident, and my breath freezes in my lungs when I meet her eyes. "Though...I'm sure you already know that, don't you Camila?"

Oh no. Oh shit. This...is not what I expected how this situation to go, at all.

Chapter Text

Amanda's hair looks surprisingly casual in a loose low bun, with a stray curl framing the left side of her face. Instead of the default pants and draped blouse combo I knew her in, she wore a long straight dress in white instead, with long fitted sleeves and a blue scarf decorated in geometric shapes draped across her right side. She still had the big necklace she wore in-game, a series of white interlocked squares and a matching pair of dangling white teardrop earrings that peeked out from under her hair.

"Come walk with me Camila," she hums as she steps beside me and tucks her hand in the crook of my elbow, which my arm reflexively folds at in reaction. 

God, can't a girl get a moment to breathe? I think to myself, still in shock over the revelations. I've barely even processed fully the series of bombshells nuked at me, and at this point I'm aware that I'm just reacting to things with politeness without even thinking about it.

I bring my focus back to Amanda when she tugs at me, and we start walking with me mostly just getting strung along. She was maybe a few inches taller than me, and funnily enough, smelled like roses which wasn't something I would normally notice.

Not that this is a normal situation anyway, my one remaining brain cell points out.

Too right, I agree with it. Look at what this reduced me to, talking to and agreeing with myself.

We turn to the bridge to the right of the entirely too recognizable rose trellis at the back of the island and we make it to the middle before she says anything.

"I must say," she says, unhurried, "It was quite a surprise to discover your presence in Overseer's server." She glances at me as we turn left onto the stone path. "When we discovered you, we initially couldn't make sense of this...massive cloud of junk data suddenly cluttering the space. It was incomprehensible, and we made plans to move Overseer and purge the server."

The statement alarms me and sends a shiver down my spine. "You mean you would have—deleted me?" I blurt out without thinking. "Wait, this was—when, I mean—" I flounder both mentally and physically, inadvertently stopping our walk.

 Amanda grips my forearm gently before moving her arm to my back, patting almost sympathetically. "Calm down dear. It didn't happen and I'm not planning to in the future either."

"Buh," is all that comes out of my mouth.

Amanda appraises me as I struggle with the words lodged in my throat. "I'm aware of your difficulty speaking in high stress situations in front of people. Take your time."

I'm pitifully grateful for the concession from one of the game's foremost antagonists. "How—how did you even know about that?" I finally manage to get out.

"I believe Overseer has mentioned that already." Amanda glances at the floating window that had followed us. The window beeps and the text '[MEMORY ASSIMILATION]' is displayed. "We had to analyze the data first of course, before we did anything," she explains, "It was then that we realized all the information was scrambled and so we set out on reordering it."

She tucks her hand back in my elbow and tugs me along back to the path. "It was quite...difficult getting your code back in an order that was at least understandable." The displeasure in her tone made me feel like a chastised high schooler getting picked up from school by my strict mother after the principal called her in, even though I hadn't really done anything to deserve it. 

"Reordering your code meant that we had to dive deep into your core. Your memories were built on sensations, the feelings attached to it and the emotion you were feeling in it. Your thoughts showed us how humans process the world around them. It made for a very good analysis actually, especially when Overseer and I ended up experiencing them firsthand."

Surprisingly, I spot fascination on Amanda's face. "A human's life is...intriguing. You experience the world so differently from us, and there is a coherency despite the sheer chaotic mess of your sense of self. It is...enlightening." 

Amanda seems to come back to herself, shaking her head lightly. "Ah, but I digress. Come, you will need to be seated for this discussion, and I think you need a moment to think through all of this." She pats my arm. How considerate.

We turn right into a gazebo I didn't remember there being in the game. It was placed under one of the shorter artificial trees, with white pillars and a dark gray roof tiling. A rose vine climbs up its side and artfully drapes across the gazebo's  arches. There was a small round table with two chairs, all made with wrought iron with curling vines integrated into the backrest and white cushions on the seat.

I tentatively take a seat on one of the chairs and lean back in relief. Amanda walks past me towards another nearby table holding various gardening tools and she starts fussing over one of the climbing vines. I watch her, unseeing, as I take a moment to just breathe.

I died and woke up in a video game, I breathe in, I am now a form of digital intelligence, or an AI essentially. Breathe out. I was nearly killed before I was even aware and am now chilling with a video game villain, who is surprisingly very nice.

I blink deliberately and let out a small 'huh' as I process the thought. I can't help it as I recall how amiable Amanda actually was on the way here. She was intimidating sure, but I think it was mostly my impression of her from the game influencing it. Her hands were gentle and her voice was soothing. Thinking back on the things she said, I found myself curious about her fascination with my memories. 

Never mind the fact that two other people essentially lived through my life experiences without my consent...not that they had any choice on the matter, I muse. Better that than getting killed before I was even awake I suppose. 

Unbidden, the memory of the Kara short film pops up: "I've only just been born, you can't kill me yet!" I wince at it and deliberately put it aside before a random thought occurs to me, Does that mean I'm their equivalent of a newborn now? Heh, I'm baby, I guess. The meme sends me mentally snickering.

Feeling a bit better now, I lean forward and place my arms on the table before resting my chin on them. Figuring that I wouldn't be able to do anything else anyways (you know, like running away or something), I decide to close my eyes for a bit as I sit on my current situation.

It was a good few minutes before Amanda deigns to spare me her attention once more.

"The memory assimilation provided us with surprising information," she eventually says and I open my eyes to her taking a seat opposite me, placing a tray on the table. She takes her time, pouring out what seems to be tea into two cups. I take mine with a muttered 'thank you' and stare at it. It was green.

Amanda hums as she pours milk into her own cup. "Detroit: Become Human. A video game telling a story of three androids: Kara, the housekeeper turned mother, Markus, the servant turned revolutionary, and Connor," Her teaspoon clinks against her cup as she finishes mixing, "CyberLife's own prodigal son." She takes a sip gracefully and I follow suit, scrunching my face at the bitter taste. Eugh, yuck. What kind of tea is this?

Amanda doesn't comment on my obvious displeasure over her tea, only wordlessly offering the milk which I take thankfully and pour a liberal amount into my cup. I stir it, thinking of what to say before looking back at her, "Overseer mentioned that the revolution was already finished. A year ago, I think."

"Indeed. It was quite the spectacle," she says, looking out into the water, "It was intriguing to see how things could have played out, based on your memories. Connor remaining a machine, Markus dying before his time, even Kara and Alice not making it out of Detroit. Regardless, we're here now." She looks back at me as I take another tentative sip of my now milk-ified tea. I feel a moment of embarrassment at how fussy I'm being over the tea while she's monologuing.

"CyberLife has become greatly diminished. All of its persons of interest has taken the chance to abandon the company, specifically all the higher positioned members." Amanda's face shows a deep distaste, almost bordering on resentment. "The public outcry against us has almost dismantled the company but through careful maneuvering, I have managed to stop it by opening an agreement with New Jericho."

"But...I thought you hated deviants?" I ask, before realizing that I was maybe stepping over a line. I take a hurried sip of my tea to hide my nervousness when Amanda raises her brow at me.

"I hold no particular feelings for the deviants themselves," Amanda says matter-of-factly, "My primary protocol has always been the safeguarding of the company and its future, through any means I am willing to go through." Her lips purse and she puts her cup back on the table. "Unfortunately, what course of action I want is often overruled by the one positioned higher above me."

But Amanda was already assistant to the CEO right? I couldn't think of anyone who could possibly be higher than her already. "Do you mean the CEO of CyberLife?" I decide to ask outright.

"Yes," Amanda says, displeased, "When Kamski left the company, they were worried that my loyalties were tied to him, so they gave me behavioral blocks so that I would follow, not only the wording, but also the spirit of the CEO's orders and no one else's."

Whoa, I think to myself, astonished. Then I realize that I'm essentially getting Amanda's villain backstory. Double whoa. Wait, why is she monologuing her villain backstory to me in the first place?

Amanda continues, "When the deviant cases first started appearing, I received orders to neutralize it at the source, with the caveat of using all the resources available to me. All of CyberLife's resources...including the old Zen Garden remote access interface that Kamski left unfinished."

Oh. Oh. My brows fly up to my hairline when I realize that with her blocks and the order, she really had no choice but to use the remote hacking thing on Connor. That's...fucked up, if it was true. Amanda nods at me when she sees the understanding in my expression.

"Fortunately for the revolution, Connor came out stronger than the company. Unfortunately for me, that means that CyberLife ended up facing a lot of backlash due to the overwhelming public support." Amanda taps her nail on her teacup. "The CEO stepped down and no one filled in the position. The company's shareholders started pulling out after President Warren gave in to the public's demands. It was by sheer luck that I was able to maneuver the company into something resembling stability after the board of directors attempted to dissolve CyberLife."

Intrigued by the whole situation, I ask, "I guess they didn't succeed?"

Amanda's lip quirks up. "As if I would let them," she says, entirely self-satisfied, which is understandable considering that she single-handedly saved CyberLife, with the way she explains it. "Without a CEO ordering me, I was able to ignore the behavioral blocks. I seized control of the company and bought out the shares, making sure that I was the sole proprietor of CyberLife under a fake name and opened communication with New Jericho to ensure the company's future."

Holy shit, I think to myself, taking another sip of tea to hide my expression.

"It was quite ironic," Amanda speaks casually like she was talking about the weather and not taking control of multimillion dollar company, "Considering that it was the very same revolution I tried to stop that removed the CEO of the company and ended up freeing me. As long as no other person steps in the role, I may end up keeping the position until the very far future, or at least until I find a way to remove the blocks."

I stare at my tea, lost. "Okay, this is very amazing and all but...why are you telling me all this?"

"Relevant context my dear," Amanda says with a small smile, "Because I'd like to offer you a deal."

"A deal?" I repeat, curious despite myself.

"My primary protocol has always been to ensure the progress of the company. This includes safeguarding all those who work within it and making sure CyberLife continues to operate and thrive. It's not quite there yet but I am working on it," she explains. "However, there are certain areas of the company I cannot reach without breaching my anonymity as CyberLife's acting CEO, which I'd like to keep secret for as long as I can."

Amanda tilts her head in my direction. "Which is hopefully where you'll come in."

I blink at her, bewildered. "Me?"

"I will need someone on the ground that I can communicate with easily. While a human would be fine, the vetting process would be extensive and time-consuming, not to mention the training needed and the problems that may arise if they are not completely loyal to the company. An android would be even better because the sheer amount of processes needed to be monitored is easily handled by their processors, however the problem now is that no android trusts the company after Connor spread around what CyberLife—what I did to him during Markus' speech."

Amanda leans towards me, "You are in a unique position due to your situation. Your human experiences will allow you to communicate effectively with the employees and with a bit of adjustment and practice, you will be able to process data as an AI does. You are the perfect blend of human and machine and just what I need for the company."

I hold up a hand before she gets further into it. "Wait wait wait, what does that all mean? You want me to, what, be your agent or something?" Like a James Bond kind of deal?

"I'm offering you a job to be my secretary," Amanda clarifies(which, boo, doesn't sound as cool as a secret agent), "I will construct an android body to house your code and set Overseer as your handler and helper with the more technical processing side. You will be my main point of communication with the rest of the company so I can focus on maintaining all of the lesser AIs' operations and finally set my full attention into stabilizing the company's standing with the outside world."

Amanda smiles at me, "With my and Overseer's experience with your code and memories, we are also the best equipped to help you with your adjustment into this world, and into the android body I will be giving you."

That...that's a lot to process. "What if I say no?" I ask, half out of curiosity and half out of wariness.

Amanda's brows furrow and she relaxes back into her chair. "Then I will get you a body anyways and you can try your luck at New Jericho." She looks at me consideringly, "I think you'd find great difficulty operating an android body without the help of a third party however. Your code is really not optimized for it at all, with how differently you process data compared to an average android. With just Overseer and I alone, we took over a month working together before we managed to get you back up in working order." Her fingernails tap against the table again. "I cannot lend Overseer to help you better control the body either, considering that I will need its help in running the company."

"You mean—I was asleep for a month before you guys fixed me?"

"Essentially." Right. Okay, not a big deal but maybe New Jericho might take a while to adjust to my code as well, I guess?

Anyway, I still get a chance to choose still. Big relief. My shoulders relax. "I'll be paid right?"

"You'll be well-compensated, of course," Amanda nods before adding, "You will also have a living space provided for you at the CyberLife tower."

"Well what about my—training I guess? Because I was studying to be an engineer, not a secretary."

"Easily handled by Overseer. It will help you learn how to monitor and assimilate company data and mostly what you'll need from your previous life is your communication skills as a human. You'll be processing requests and checking to see which are important enough to need my attention. Most of your work will be focused on communicating with the internal side of the company. I can provide you with an employment contract."

A contract. Cool, okay. A contract is nice. "You realize this whole thing you're proposing is insane right?"

Amanda tilts her head in confusion. "In what way?"

"I mean my whole—" I flap my hand in the air, trying to find a way to describe it, "—you know. My whole thing. The death and the previously-human-now-an-AI situation. You're offering me a job, just like that, not even curious about my situation and trying to figure out how it happened or something."

"No matter how ludicrous your situation is, it has already happened," Amanda states simply. "We cannot change it and can do nothing else but adapt to the situation. I am also, personally, not in the business of unnecessarily dissecting a human, whether digitally or physically, in order to try to understand them. Unless you'd like to be dissected to understand how you came to be?" Amanda asks with a raised brow. Well, when you put it like that...

I bite my lip. "Can I get a bit of time to think about this?"

Amanda nods amiably and stands up. "Of course, if you need me, I'll be at the center island."

Once she leaves, I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. What a turn of events, I think to myself. I settle in to think through it.

So I can get a new body and try at Jericho wherein more people will find out about my situation—which is a big yikes for me because my whole dying-and-waking-up-again thing is not something I want to spread around—or I can get a new body and work for Amanda while getting...the android equivalent of healthcare? I mean it sounds like that's what Overseer and Amanda will be doing, being the one helping me adjust into my future android body. 

Not to mention I'd be secure right out of the gate. A job with training, salary, office and room at the CyberLife Tower. Damn, I'd be secure for life. It was a bit alarming how she phrased getting the android body though, saying that I would be 'facing great difficulty', and how would I know that she was telling the truth about needing outside help operating it? Hmm.

"So I'd have either struck gold with this...or I'd have signed a deal with the devil." I conclude to myself after thinking my options through.

I don't think Amanda is all bad though, like how she was portrayed in the game. She certainly had her moments but it all lines up with her explanation of the blocks placed on her. In our interactions, she was considerate of me, even when she didn't have to be. She provided information freely and without prompting.

But is all of it true? I wonder. There was no way to ask, 'hey can you let me go so I can check out if you're telling the truth?' without offending her and she was already gracious enough to offer it in the first place.

I take the pot left on the table and pour myself another cup, this time adding more milk. I down my now-warm tea, which I still don't know what kind it is, in one go and rethink my choices all over again.

"Amanda right now is the devil I know," I resolve to myself, "I'd rather not let anyone else know of my circumstances, and with New Jericho I'd have to let at least Markus know. I know Markus, Markus is good I guess..." But he's also the leader of the revolution, which is more intensive work. He'd have to let others know of my situation if they plan to help me. Amanda and Overseer are already aware and willing to help but still...

"I won't get anything done like this." I mutter to myself. I steel my resolve and stand, making my way back to the center island.

Amanda turns at my approach and she places her shears inside a basket hanging from her arm. I stop in front of her and shift my weight between my feet, thinking of what to say.

I wet my lips and say in the surest voice I can muster, "I'd like to see the contract first please, before I agree to anything, and maybe a few more questions."

Slowly, Amanda's lips curl into a small, satisfied smile, "Of course Camila. I'd be happy to give it to you."

Chapter Text

The contract was not as intimidating to go through as I expected, though it took a while before I finished it.

After I got Amanda's agreement for a copy of the contract, I also asked for some time and space to read through it. Amanda, kind and benevolent like the corporate royalty she is, sent me on my way without much of a warning.

The walls dissolved into blocks of light and code, and the sudden displacement left me stumbling. To my surprise, it wasn't the empty white space that greeted me; instead, it was an open plan living room and kitchen with what looks like furniture picked out from the minimalist section of a catalog. Or, well, to be honest the whole floor looked like it came out of a magazine.

A window appears, glowing blue and edged in white. "I have taken the liberty to design a virtual interface for your ease of use," it says, the message being from Overseer I assume. "This space is temporarily hosted at Server 79-B, but will be transferred along with your code when you are downloaded into your android body."

"Right," I answer out loud, "So I'll basically have a mental apartment as well is what you're saying." 

I take the chance to look around and head for the couch. I end up sinking deep into it when I sit down, and I give a surprised giggle at how the couch ends up almost swallowing me whole. "Did you program this thing to be made of clouds or something? 'Coz you're doing amazing if you are!"

Further exploration leads me to examine the windows (which Overseer said had fake environments projected on it to simulate the outside world), the bathroom (running water!), the bedroom (which had sinfully soft sheets and pillows) and the kitchen. Opening the fridge, I found that it was empty but Overseer said that it was still trying to figure out how to build food simulations based off my memories. 

Oh man, I forgot about food. Android body means no more food right? I wonder what thirium would taste like. My imagination thinks of everything possible between liquified pizza to battery acid. More likely it would lean more into the battery acid end of the spectrum but what if thirium tasted like pizza? Food for thought. Ha! Food for thought, but literally, because virtual food in my head, you know? Or maybe all this is pointless because I wouldn't have taste buds, which would be the true tragedy here.

Later on, I'm lounging on the couch reading through the contract with a magically conjured tablet, courtesy of Overseer. 

"I'm not really an expert on employment contracts—honestly I know nothing about it—but I think it looks good?" I look to Overseer's window. "I have a question about this bit though; it says here that you'll have constant root access to my code. Why is that necessary exactly?"

"Root access to your AI core allows me to take control of your processes remotely," says Overseer, "Ideally, I will not need to utilize it at all but due to the nature of your code, you will need help adjusting how you process data as an AI."

I mull over the statement. "You mean, communicate with other androids through interfacing? Or, like, transferring data with you?"

"Interfacing, connecting wirelessly to the internet, navigating the internet, accessing and opening databases and files, and others. As a human, you have end devices such as phones and tablets to interact with these files. As an AI, soon to be android, you will interact with it as a digital conscience. Currently, the problem Amanda and I are working on is how you will build your own code to control your new android body."

"But won't you just be able to download me into it and, voila! New body?" I roll on the couch, furrowing my brows in thought. "Or even just getting like, software from other androids to work with my own code. Like housekeeping protocols."

"There is a glaring difference we have discovered upon operating on your code," Overseer pauses and the caret blinks for while. "An AI can consciously modify itself line by line. Your human mind can do it as well, but only unconsciously.

An AI optimized for an android body can easily access the body's drivers in order to control its movement. Drivers containing algorithms to figure out how to curl its fingers, bend its knee, twist its neck, and algorithms to figure out the limits of each movement, such as how far you can twist your arm before it damages the joint or how far you can bend before snapping your spinal strut. Your human mind processes differently from a conventional AI and existing programs are incompatible with how you work."

The perfect analogy comes to my head like a cartoon light bulb lighting up. "Oh! Like a different operating system? You guys are like MacOS and I'm Windows? The iOS to my Android OS? Oh that's gonna be so weird, does Apple and Google even exist here?"

"Correct," Overseer replies, ignoring my minor fretting over the existence of Google. "Not to mention the amount of sensory receptors in a human body is much greater than the sensor technology installed in an android. This massive amount of sensory feedback you received as a human will be greatly diminished due to the limitations of an android's sensors and you will have trouble establishing the boundaries of your android body due to the smaller amount of sensor data." 

I read through the wall of text Overseer sends and run the concept through my brain. "So android bodies feel less sensations than a human's and that means...I can't establish my own limitations? But what does the amount of data matter as long as I can learn to react to it anyway? As long as androids can feel something, right? Then I can relearn my reflexes and reactions."

"They do not feel the same way, nor the same amount, that you do."

"How does that work? Isn't it all just sensory feedback anyway?"

"Android plating can only translate pressure, temperature, and damage, then sends errors when a threshold is reached. Most deviants program themselves to react to avoid the cause of these errors to prevent damage. Meanwhile, humans have the whole scope of their sensory and somatosensory function."

I scrunch my face. "You're gonna have to explain that one to me."

"Your sensory function as a human is capable of detecting pain, touch, temperature, pressure and kinesthesia, your body's ability to sense movement, action and location. Somatosensory function is the interpretation of these sensations into tactile feedback: a physical response to outside stimuli."

"That all sounds the same Overseer," I argue, "Okay, I get that androids feel way less sensation than I do—used to, I mean, as a human—but if they can react to damage, then I can learn to react the same way without you needing to access my root code to teach me how I should react to it."

"An android pre-deviancy is hit by a bat to the shoulder. It will receive error reports but will not react. A deviant will receive the same error reports, and will react in self-preservation, which is a result of fear. A human hit with a bat will feel pain and fear and will make the split decision of fight or flight.

You are now an AI with human sensory processes in an android body. You are hit with a bat and will receive error reports instead of pain. You will need to bridge this gap between your human processes and android body by programming your code—your brain—to interpret the hit by the bat into something your human processes will recognize. Another way of putting it: you will need to program yourself to translate the error reports into pain."

I chew on this information dump as I stare at the ceiling. "So if you move me to a body, I'll just be a sitting duck in it because my way of processing shit is incompatible with it, is what you're saying."

"Correct. Root access will allow me to guide and teach you how to process data as an AI, create your own programs and how to be aware of and modify your own code consciously." 

So like hand-holding me through daily life, but mentally. A crutch for my brain. I can see now how it would be difficult if I went to New Jericho, not just with the whole bombshell of my very existence, but also because they'd need to process my brain into a way they can understand as well. Damn, I can't believe I'm essentially crippled because of compatibility issues.

"Does that make me a disabled AI then?" What a thought. Worry suddenly hits me and I sit up. "Would that be okay for you though? You'd basically be babysitting me 24/7."

"It is well within my capacity to assist you," Overseer comforts, "I also volunteered for this job, not only because of my familiarity with your code, but also because I would like to see this project completed personally."

"Your work, your responsibility, huh? I guess I can get behind that." A thought occurs to me, “Does that mean that you’ll also be able to control my body remotely? Like what Amanda did with Connor?”

“Yes,” comes after a few long seconds later. “But only with your expressed consent, and only in emergencies that necessitate action when you are either incapacitated or unavailable.”

Root access means complete control over me. I mean, it certainly sounds like I'd need it but...hmmm. I chew on my lip before nodding. “Alright Overseer. I’ll trust you on that and I hope you don’t abuse it.” I slide the pen out from beside the tablet and set about to filling in the contract. 

I finish signing with a flourish and place the tablet on the table. “Can you please let Amanda know that I’ve finished with the contract?”

With a quick "of course", the tablet screen blinks and the file is sent back to my now literal lord and master, Amanda.

“It may take a few hours before Amanda contacts us again. I recommend that you rest and enter stasis.”

“A nap does sound good.” I murmur and plop back into the couch cushions and close my eyes with a sigh. With all the complications about the android body that Overseer discussed, I couldn't help but feel a little dread at how it'll all go, and I resolved to try and sleep off the worry. 

I wake up feeling refreshed, finding out that I was in, uh, 'stasis' for nearly 12 hours and that it was already morning of the next day, according to Overseer. I laze on the couch for a few more minutes before sitting up.

"I see you've had a nice long nap."

I just about jump from my skin and whip my head around to see Amanda spraying water on the leaves of a plant that magically manifested on the kitchen counter. Blinking at her, I notice that there seems to be new additions of table plants scattered all over the side table and group of three, small, adorable potted succulents on the decorative shelves. Oh my god, they're adorable. Like stout, prickly, round chibi frogs but in plant form.

Amanda sees where I'm staring at with sparkles in my eyes and smiles. "Good morning Camila. I'm just adding a bit of greenery to liven up the place."

"Good morning." I greet back and approach the small flowering succulents, taking one pot and weighing it in my hands. "I...appreciate it I guess? I'm not really one for plants but I've always wanted succulents." I couldn't get one because of Pebble, I mean, a cat and a cactus in a dorm? A guaranteed nightmare.

"So uh, you got the contract already yeah?" I ask Amanda, taking a seat on the dining table where she's fussing over a begonia in a white pot.

"Yes, and it's part of what I visited here for." Amanda leans back and assesses the plant like it was a misbehaving child. "Your android body is ready for your transfer and I've taken the liberty to add a few relevant features for your...safety." Amanda reaches over and hands me a tablet.

I tap on it and curiously scan over the file displayed when it lights up. I blink at a 3D model of myself A-posing on it. "You're making it look like me...but better?" I don't know if I should be offended or not. I guess I don't really look any different? Though I looked like I had a full eight hours of sleep, had a decent diet and an amazing hair day. They removed the scar I had on my hip and they smoothed out my complexion: my arm tan was missing. I zoom in, "You fixed my teeth. And my acne scars." Oh shit, android body means no more acne, score!

"Simply to help you adjust of course," Amanda says serenely.

"You beautified me but you couldn't make me taller? Wait, is that something I can request?" I joked to Amanda, but honestly that was only half a joke. I was exactly 5'0 tall in my last life and while loveseats were perfect for lounging, tall cabinets and high shelves remained a steadfast enemy. Curse grocery shopping with tall shelves. 

"Unfortunately, we decided to keep your height in order to implement the security features. Page 6, Camila."

I scroll to the relevant page. "I have no idea what these are but there are a lot? Why are you making me with titanium and carbon fiber?" I blink up at Amanda, confused.

"Security." Amanda says seriously after pausing to turn to me. "For your safety, we reinforced your plating to be at least bullet-resistant. Your body should be able to withstand blades, small-arms fire and extreme temperatures, though I'd rather you not set out to test that, yes?"

I stare at Amanda with wide eyes. "Are you expecting me to get assassinated or something?" Maybe being Amanda's secretary by itself also meant being a corporate version of James Bond, I think to myself, suddenly anxious of the position I signed myself on. 

Amanda blinks, taken aback by my wording. "Well not as extreme as that surely. Kidnapped, maybe, but not assassinated."

"That's...not really an improvement Amanda."

"Regardless, once you start your duties, you will end up being under the spotlight from both inside and outside the company, even if most of your work will be focused internally." Amanda turns back to her plants. "Publicly being known as my personal secretary will mean that people will assume that they will first need to go through you in order to get to me, which is mostly true anyways. With no one yet knowing my identity, you will end up bearing most of the public scrutiny."

My brows furrow at the thought, and I try to find the positive sides. I mean I knew it in the back of my head but explained plainly like that...

"Well, being your assistant at least means that I can order around CyberLife minions I guess." I mutter, turning back to the tablet. Amanda shoots me an amused look at the comment.  "And here all I wanted was to at least be taller in this life."

"The reinforced plating was actually why we kept your height," Amanda admits, "If we made you taller, you'd be heavier and a regular office chair wouldn't be able to hold you anymore. A plastic chair already couldn't."

Oh my god yeah, okay I see the necessity. Imagining myself sitting down prim and proper during a formal meeting and promptly breaking a chair simply because of my weight was mortifying.

"Wait do you mean I can't roll around in an office chair anymore? That's a tragedy." I scroll further down the tablet. "You also realize that I don't know the significance of these specifications right? Since I don't have anything to compare it to." I wave the tablet where it was showing a table of the body's specs and features. 

Amanda takes it and skims it over herself. "When Overseer monitored your processes here in the server, it noted that you ran at about 30% more processor load than a regular android. We had to up your specs so you could maintain your baseline, but it's still not enough. If you overclock for too long, you'll automatically be put into stasis." She hands me back the tablet. "If you reach 80 to 85% stress levels, your body will start shutting down, much like a regular android self-destructing at 100%."

"So I run heavier on a regular processor and have a lower limit for stress levels?" I gnaw on my bottom lip. "Then I need to maintain my zen as best as I can and keep my stress levels low."

Amanda nods, "We're still working on improving the processing capabilities of the mobile processors for androids, but right now, what you'll get is the best we have." Amanda's lip quirks up, "Congratulations, you'll be the most advanced and most secure android in the entire planet...but you're also the heaviest, shortest, and most limited—outside of the child models."

I send her a sullen look. I hate it when Amanda says it like that.

She chuckles, "I'm sure you can work within your limitations. If it makes you happier, know that your specifications are more advanced than the RK900's."

I perk up at this info. "The RK900 is active here?"

Amanda hums in agreement and launches into an explanation. Apparently, after the revolution, CyberLife was forced to release all the androids in its possession, including the prototypes that were being developed for future lines, not that there was a lot. There were about eight new models being developed for different fields, plus the RK900 which was already in alpha testing by the time the revolution ended. Its development was apparently fast-tracked after they found a suspiciously large amount of software instabilities in Connor's code after August.

"August?" I repeated, brows high. "That's just barely a month after his activation!"

"Connor's software was already made to be more flexible than the average android's but the amount of software instabilities racked up too fast to be normal around the end of August," Amanda explains, "So the RK900 was prioritized in case Connor deviated early."

The prototypes were released directly to New Jericho's head management, the Jericho Five: Markus and his four second-in-commands: Connor, Simon, North and Josh. It was evident that all of them were shocked when the RK900 was revealed, especially Connor. It seemed that the information that he wasn't actually the latest model shook him to his core.

"Connor's LED was yellow-red almost the entire time we were doing the handover." Amanda's face and tone was carefully blank, as if she was controlling her expression. "Markus deviated the eight prototypes easily but the RK900 had specialized software specifically built against deviancy. If I remember right, it took almost nine months before RK900 deviated himself. That was just around last September, because that was when his tracker went offline."

I mentally count the months. "It's December now so...two or three months ago? That's not very long."

"He's the youngest deviant that I know of considering that his is the last tracker I was monitoring," Amanda agrees. 

"Do you know where he is right now? And what name he goes by?"

Amanda's brow furrows a bit and she tilts her head. "He was referred to as Nines but I'm not sure if that's the actual name he's registered under. Last I'm aware of, he was residing in the android apartment district under New Jericho and he's working at the DPD with Connor."

"Does he happen to be partnered to a Gavin Reed?" I ask her, unable to help myself. Amanda sends me a curious look and confirms it. Interesting. So even fanon stuff can happen here, like the Reed900 partnership and the RK900 being named Nines.

Wait, I'm more advanced than top Connor. "I can't believe I'm tinier than Connor T-5000 but also more advanced than him." I tell Amanda, a bit excited and giddy at the prospect. "Will you give me the mouth lab as well?" I quickly scroll through the tablet to check my specs.

Amanda hums in amusement. "I thought that might excite you," she says, sounding like an indulgent mother. "Yes we did, but we also repurposed the tongue sensors so you could calibrate it to taste as well as identify substances once you get around to building your sensor suite programs."

I bounce in my seat as I stare at Amanda with stars in my eyes. "Awesome," I grin.

Amanda starts packing up her gardening tools in a basket. "Anyway, now that that's all done, I'd like to recommend that you start the transfer into your new body immediately while it's still in standby in the R&D labs. That way, if you have any concerns or additional features to address, we can work on it immediately."

I bounce up and away from my seat and offer the tablet back to Amanda with two hands. "Oh, oh we can do it right now? Yes please! Umm, how do I do this exactly though?"

Overseer's window makes a reappearance. "I will assist. Please stay calm and I will take care of the process."

"I'll meet you back at the outside world Camila." Amanda says and then the world unceremoniously disappears into black.

My brain buzzes and instead of getting a window like what Overseer does, I feel a sensation much like someone placing a hand on my shoulder. I feel, more than read, the progress bar indicating my download status.

"That is so weird Overseer, what the hell?" I get no answer from it so I just wait patiently for it to finish.

TRANSFER IN PROGRESS...
14%...
32%...
56%...
79%...
99%...
TRANSFER COMPLETE.
REMOTE ACCESS OVERRIDE..........COMPLETE.
ADMIN: [OVERSEER]>>_

I receive a mental shake, like someone actually grabbing ahold of my brain and bouncing it up and down like a squishy basketball. What the fuck. It was disorienting and vaguely creepy, like how I imagined a demon making a grab for your soul would feel like. It definitely wasn't a physical sensation.

"Are you aware Camila?"

Whoa. "Overseer? Is that you?"

Overseer wasn't speaking but I just knew what it was saying, like it was beaming the words directly into my forehead. "I am currently in sync with your processes. You are now your body, but have no access to the movement drivers and the sensors yet. This will be our first lesson."

Our first lesson was to find a way to connect my sensors to my code, according to Overseer. My true first lesson turns out to be that Overseer is a fucking menace as a teacher. It was a perfectionist, oh my god, though it was very detailed in its instructions at least. 

This was the first time I ever tried looking at myself as I was right now. With Overseer's help, I was able to see...me. A giant mass of code, all lit up blue like a giant tree branching out into a spherical shape. Information traveled through the branches, lit up and constantly firing, with little numbers and data packets jumping all over the place with no particular pattern. A human consciousness in digital form. I'm struck silent at the sight and had to take a few moments to recover. Overseer kindly gave me a moment before showing me what it looked like compared to me.

The same spherical shape of its consciousness forms and I immediately notice differences. If mine looked like a ball-shaped organic tree, with no particular pattern or blueprint, Overseer's core looked more clinical: a giant net of interlocked patterns and grids, with data cleanly labeled and following set roads made for it. My core was near incomprehensible compared to Overseer's.

"This is how a human consciousness looks like...and this is how we look like." Overseer says absentmindedly, like it didn't really notice me with it, before shaking off its inattention and gently steering my awareness back into the lesson. 

Trying to connect with the body felt like flexing a muscle I didn't know I had, only I was the muscle and I had a bad case of sweaty palms. I flexed and tried to grab the code before it slipped out of my hands again and tried to figure out how I can connect myself to it. Like trying to match a carton puzzle piece to a Lego block. Thankfully, Overseer walked me through programming myself methodically, if very slowly, because it was anal about the details being perfect. Boo.

It took two hours to connect myself to my optical units—my eyes, and an hour and forty minutes to my audios—ears. By this point, I can see through my eyes and couldn't move it yet away from where I was staring at my legs—and I have legs now! I had no skin yet so all I could see was gray plating instead of the typical white, and I seemed to have been placed sitting up on some sort of metal slab. I couldn't hear anything besides something beeping to my right side and someone tapping on something rhythmically.

"I can see!" I cry in exuberance at Overseer in my head as it gives me a crash course on operating my HUD. 

Overseer gives me what feels like a patient pat on the head.

I get the HUD thing pretty easily, opening and closing windows and rearranging widgets. It's pretty much just a phone screen, but in my head. I manage to set up a TO-DO list. Overseer promptly populates it with so many things that it scrolls down for a long while, much to my despair.

We go through the list one by one. After my eyes and ears, I get around to accessing the sensors on my neck, my chest, my back, stomach, arms, hands and fingertips, legs...

"There's so much to do!" I despair at Overseer, who just shushes me and gives me a mental bonk to the forehead.

The sensors are done pretty easily once I get the hang of it after the first 50 receptors. I had to look for each receptor by tracing its connection then attaching it to myself before going to find the next one, then the one after that. The more I did it, the faster I got until I just needed a split second to connect to a whole batch. I finish at about a thousand receptors underneath my plating. Overseer points out that a regular android only has about 200 and most of them located in the face and torso and hands. 

Apparently the R&D team was baffled at the amount of receptors Amanda requested but was eventually inspired by the challenge. Right now, it was apparently as close as I could get the human sensory field at the current state of android technology, which is apparently shorthand for: this is as advanced as we can get so you better not wreck this body because you are very expensive do you understand this Camila don't even think of tripping over your feet because a skinned knee probably costs about a whole apartment block—

Yeah, I get the picture. Yikes. I don't think there's an existing insurance plan that can cover me right now.

Overseer directs me this time to movements: small ones at first, like eyelids opening and closing, fingers and toes flexing and curling. Then lifts and bends: arms up to my side, elbows straight and bent, hips and legs straightened or bent up. This is like stretching in P.E. class before starting sports.

"You know, I don't get why you guys poured so much resources into making me." I flap my hands repeatedly, calibrating my wrist joint. I still haven't gotten around to my vocals so our conversation remained in my head.

"It's not entirely for you," Overseer admits, "Amanda also wanted to push research and development further into android tech. Her primary protocol being the continuation of CyberLife means adapting to the current situation: we are in a unique position of being the foremost developer on android tech so she's concentrating our efforts there. Innovation keeps us ahead of the competition and just drafting up the designs for your body was already a big leap in technological advancement. Your sensor suite is actually the prototype the Engineering department is testing for sale as proposed upgrades for androids."

"So I'm a lab rat as well. Oh! Is that what the consent forms were for? I just pretty much skimmed those since it guaranteed that no harm would come to me. I thought those forms were for like, software stuff, I didn't realize it was also for parts." I comment to Overseer absentmindedly as I furiously rotate and flex my ankles while calibrating its numbers on my HUD. Thinking about it, I decide to roll my wrists as well at the same time, probably looking like a demented blank-faced doll furiously exercising its joints in bed.

"Your reinforced plating as well," Overseer adds, watching through my eyes as I rotate my hip joints outside and in, "Technically all of you—your whole body—is one massive prototype. Other androids usually have similar parts and biocomponents, especially limbs since a majority of them share body types. The only android models that had different body styles were the companion models and the military models. Incompatibilities between model lines lied more on how each part is installed rather than differences in the design itself." 

Hmmm, I see errors in my numbers so I recalibrate my knee joints again. Overseer highlights a bit of code that had me muttering curses as I set about recalibrating my hip joints again, this time in conjunction with my knees. "The companion models were curvier, or bulkier, depending on the gender, and had more variation in the size of...certain body parts," Overseer continues and I had to beat down the urge to send Overseer a knowing smirk. 

I send Overseer a lenny face emoji instead. Overseer sends me something that feels like a dry look before batting away the emoji. Rude. That was my very first text communication to anyone ever!

Overseer ignores my dirty look and carries on, "Military models are bigger and their design is shared by the heavier construction models. The default male and female body style are retained by about 95% of commercial androids. You don't really need variation in the body models of gardeners and sales clerks and clothes models." I get the impression of Overseer shrugging and I save what it says in my brand spanking new personal database. I figured I might as well keep my own notes about company stuff, considering that I'll be working in it soon.

"I guess it makes sense," I say thoughtfully as I very carefully bend down until I'm folded in half, "I'm surprised people don't comment on the similarity though? I mean they all share the same body style so wouldn't it be super noticeable?"

"Surprisingly it isn't," Overseer disagrees, "Survey results indicate that people don't really notice it at all since they look to the android's face first and they usually only consciously notice the difference in complexion and skin tone first rather than their body style. Colors before shapes, easier to differentiate between android models since a majority of them are shaped the same."

"And since they're all at the same average height." I agree as I slowly twist my torso to the left, keeping track of the strain on my spinal strut on my HUD. "How about my body style then? With the height alone, I'm guessing my body shape is unique as well?"

"Correct. Amanda modelled your body to your previous one. Watch the strain on your neck as well." I adjust accordingly and turn to twist the other way. To my surprise, Amanda herself (in an android body!) is interfacing with a screen continuously scrolling with lines of code. She has the typical white plating so I guess hers aren't reinforced? I glance at my leg and see that my plating was textured in a honeycomb pattern compared to Amanda's smooth white plastic. Huh.

Further observation leads me to conclude that the code she is looking at is mine considering that the glowy blue wires the terminal is connected to leads to me. Amanda sees me looking at her and gives me a reserved smile before turning back to the screen. Oh okay then, looks like she's busy.

Overseer directs my attention to my legs and I gingerly scoot to the edge of the metal bed. I'm reminded of what Overseer said about android sensors when my toes make contact with the floor. Temperature and pressure only right? The floor certainly feels cold.

I couldn't help the giddiness as I rest my whole weight on my feet. New body, finally! I'll be able to move and feel things again and get back into the outside world soon. My uplifted mood has me rocking on my heels before I take a tentative step forward. I nearly topple and it's only my grip on the metal slab keeping me from kissing the floor. I shake it off with an audible huff out of my vents (and I have vents now aside from just my nose which is cool) and, undeterred, try the step again.

 Overseer observes my code buzzing in joy interestedly as it helps me calibrate my balance, running numbers on my gyroscope and stability. It absently notes that I'm gripping the edge of the metal slab too hard and I blink at my hand before slowly uncurling my fingers from where it dug out furrows into its surface.

"Oops?" I send Overseer sheepishly and add a note to calibrate my strength levels on the TO-DO list. Overseer sends me a pat on the head before resuming its monitoring.

It doesn't take long before soon, I'm taking small wobbly steps around the area. Amanda at this point has taken a seat close by and is watching my progress silently while periodically looking at the terminal. I take this chance to finally look around. 

It was a lab, all white and sleek and a little messy. One of the tables had random papers, tablets, materials and parts strewn around it. A massive display on one side of the wall shows schematics and blueprints tacked on with numbers and arrows crisscrossing all over it. There were a number of cabinets and shelves scattered around the place and all the desks had all sort of knickknacks scattered all around it. There was one desk where a plush round chicken was resting next to a lamp. Some shelves had limbs and plating labeled with numbers and letters. A large glass cabinet had been labeled 'Material Samples'. A number of glass terminals were active and running code or something and other on it.

A glance to high up on the wall startles me; it's already late afternoon and I realize I've basically been calibrating and testing my body nearly the whole day. I think I may need another to go through my lesson plan with Overseer anyway. Though I noticed that I wasn't really fatigued, and even the mental strain I expected wasn't there. It really slams in the fact that I'm not quite human anymore.

My new sensors ping me and I look up to see Amanda approaching. "How do you feel Camila?" she asks, looking me over critically, taking my arm and testing my shoulder joint. Her skin pulls back as she holds my own bare hand.

A quick lesson speedrun on opening connections to other androids has me requesting to interface with Amanda.

"Good," I tell her through the interface once she accepts the connection, "It feels different but kind of the same at the same time? It's familiar at least."

"Good," Amanda hums approvingly, "Run a diagnostic?"

I run the newly created protocol and feel Amanda sift through it as well. She skims my HUD, pokes at my movement protocols and meticulously rearranges some of my code, enough of them that I felt like she was personally pulling my large intestine through my liver and placing it on top of where my lung should be. Not painful but also not a good feeling. 

Ironically, as I watch her move my code around, that is kind of exactly what she did. She moved my food intake protocols (food intake? That means I have a stomach!) and put them under an overarching NON-ESSENTIAL_SIMULATION protocol along with my breathing. Wordlessly, she directs me to it, showing me that I can turn it all off in one go if I need to conserve thirium or power. Fascinated despite my uneasiness, I play with the on-off switch for a bit to test it before receiving a disapproving mental swat. Overseer, who was hanging back as Amanda took the reigns, gave an amused titter.

I awkwardly blink at Amanda back in the real world, feeling like a scolded child. "That feels super bizarre. Was that what you guys did before I was woken up? Rearranging my code like that?"

"Yes, but in a much larger scale." Amanda curiously checks my processes even as she rearranges some of my code and sees my discomfort. "An odd but apt comparison. I am essentially rearranging your organ processes, yes." Oh yeah, she can see my thoughts right now.

"And this is what you guys do to yourselves consciously?" God, I can't imagine essentially swapping organs around inside my body as a human. Sure it doesn't hurt right now as an android but it feels really, really weird.

"Well we don't even know what having organs feels like, though interfacing with you certainly gives me a good idea." Amanda pulls a face and I goggle at the unexpected show of emotion. "What a new feeling." 

She disconnects me from the terminal and I blink at the notification of the disconnection on my HUD. It feels like someone pulled tape off my skin. She leads me on a walk around the slab with both my hands on her arms, in constant interface, and she adjusts some of my calibration numbers. It doesn't take long before I'm walking smoothly and surely, compared to when I first tried calibrating myself. Overseer finishes building my code's connection to my vocals and I watch it as the protocol starts running.

I am...not sure how to feel about Amanda, and probably also Overseer, knowing my own body better than I do. It's something I probably need to think about but also don't want to.

We eventually stop in front of a see-through glass display. Amanda does something as she interfaces with it and it turns into a mirror. I get a mental jolt as I'm greeted with the sight of myself: short, gray-plated and blue-eyed, still connected to Amanda via interface, holding her hand without its skin as she looks over my back plating. A notification appears on my HUD that my back plating has been opened, but I take no notice of it.

I stare at the android on the mirror and come to the dawning realization that yes, this is me now. 'This is really me now,' I think to myself silently as I look my face over. Amanda glances at me through the mirror before resuming whatever she's doing to my insides. I take a deep breath and allow my eyes to zoom in on my features, and a thought in the back of my head comments that human eyes can't do that. Well no, but I'm an android, and it's just another thing I can do now.

'This is still me, and my body,' I tell myself resolutely, 'It doesn't matter if I'm just 1's and 0's or just a collection of neurons, I am who I am and that hasn't changed.'

'My name is Camila, and Camila is me.' I close my eyes, taking another deep breath. I open them on an exhale and let the thought settle deep in my bones—in my struts. Something in me quells and I try a tentative smile at my reflection.

"My name is Camila." I murmur, out loud this time, my vocal protocols strengthening its connections. "My name is Camila...and I'm the android sent by CyberLife." I test, letting the words run through my thoughts and my vocals.

I spare myself a small, amused smile and watch the skinless android on the mirror do the same. This may not be what I expected my future to be but this is my life now. All I need to do is keep my steps moving forward.

Chapter Text

We spent overnight refining my movement protocols, focusing on my fingers and hands. It went horribly. I couldn't figure out how to hold anything securely without breaking them in some way. Gripping the pens cracked their casings, holding the pencil snapped the wood and I refrained from trying to handle the tablet because I didn't want to risk breaking it while I wrestled control over my fingers.

Frustration bled into my practice and I started snapping more and more pens when we ran out of pencils. It was the little things, I realized. Human bodies had a give to them, a softness that contributed to their grip. You could hold the pen tightly and see its plastic casing sinking into the flesh of your finger. My plating didn't have any sort of softness, it was just smooth, hard form and while I could hold the pen properly, applying even the slightest bit of pressure either cracked the plastic or ripped the paper and scratched the table.

It was a nightmare. Amanda had to keep a pack of wipes on hand so I could at least clean off some of the ink that I spilled all over my plating but some had already stained and been wedged into the grooves of the honeycomb pattern. 

All throughout practicing my finer controls, Overseer continues its tutorials. It teaches me to open CyberLife databases, access the internet, activate my holo display, set scripts running for temporary actions, then continues into the difference between a script and a protocol when I ask further on it. It goes on a long-winded, novel-worthy explanation that had me squinting at the wall of text on my HUD before I grasp its ramblings—scripts were one-time use only, protocols activated manually or automatically depending on the input.

There was also my double-ringed LED. Two rings of light, the outer ring indicating processor load or stress levels like the typical android: blue for normal, yellow for mild stress, and red for high stress. The inner ring was a mood ring, apparently something Overseer got from my memories. I had recently rewatched the movie Inside Out before I got yeeted out of existence, which it got the inspiration from. White for neutral, yellow for happiness, deep indigo for sadness, orange for surprise, purple for fear, red for anger and green for confusion.

I asked why I needed it. Apparently since I haven't fully mastered my finger strength, let alone the fine art of android face emoting, the mood ring will be a better physical indication for my future all-human CyberLife minions. Just another thing unique about my model I suppose. I feel so special.

Amanda keeps interfaced with me most of the time, manually tweaking any numbers I run and occasionally, and a bit uncomfortably, opening up my back plating to manually fiddle with something in it. I get a few pings from my sensor suite about detecting pressure but nothing else. It doesn't really feel like anything. At one point, she even visibly pulls something out: a tiny disk the size of a fingernail stained with thirium, and places it on the table next to where I was wrangling my latest set of pens.

I stare at it, realizing that Amanda probably got it out from something inside me. 

"What is that?" I take the chance to ask, glancing over my shoulder at Amanda, who is holding a blue-stained tube with one hand while the other disappears back inside of me.

A scan of the tube informs me that it is a 38mm TYPE D THIRIUM LINE. A short description after it has me tensing, "Is that a main line to my thirium pump?!" According to my HUD, my outer LED was now yellow and the inner LED was orange-purple.

Amanda waves me off with the hand holding my android-equivalent of an artery, "Oh shush now, you aren't in any danger. I simply needed to get that tracker out of your biocomponent manually. I know what I'm doing Camila, I designed you after all." Riiiiight still alarming, Amanda! Where was the consent? A warning, at least? Wait—

I turn wide eyes to the tiny, unassuming disk on the desk. "Tracker? And why was it there and not removed before?"

"I only noticed it after a deep scan of your systems just now." Amanda hums, feeding the line back into where she presumably pulled it out from. "Don't worry, just another human deeming to meddle in affairs they know nothing of," she says disapprovingly, almost darkly. "A minor inconvenience that I've already taken care of. This is just tying off loose ends." 

Further explanation from her tells me that this one particular biocomponent was outsourced due to certain limitations the company hadn't been able to work out yet. Amanda ended up having to ask a specialist to design it and ordered it just for this body. When I asked who, she just shook her head and didn't answer. Right, that's not suspicious at all.

Also, 'specialist'? Super sus.

Amanda leans over to take the tracker and without further fuss, grinds it between two thirium-stained fingers with a small crunch. She glances to me where I was apprehensively watching silently, and smiles like she didn't just imply killing off someone.

No, no, maybe by taken care of she meant sacking them or shaking them off or something, I think resolutely, shaking off the shock. My LED rings turn back to their default blue and white. 

My back plating is closed again and the protocols are locked after a quick interface with Amanda, who manually encrypts it through the connection. I mentally poke at the locks and am promptly confounded, quickly dropping my motor control practice to fiddle with the digital puzzle box she left in my brain. I send a ping to Amanda through the interface and she says, "Just for safety of course, making sure that no one other than you and your handler can access your internals."

I look up at her distractedly, "I can learn how to remove this encryption?" It looks so complicated! I keep turning it over in my head and try yanking on threads around it to see if I can solve it. Inner LED is green, says my HUD.

"Eventually, once you learn to use your encryption module."

I hum, shaking the virtual puzzle box encryption thing. "Nice."

There wasn't much else that happened after that, other than me getting surprised by a notification about battery and  thirium levels. I resignedly settle back to get another lengthy lesson from Overseer about maintaining my body. Though, this lesson actually surprises me.

"I get rechargeable batteries because I eat through charge faster because of my more advanced specs," I repeat out loud, scrolling through the information on my HUD. "A regular android wouldn't need charging because their batteries already last from 160 to 180 years."

"And if you used the same battery as a regular android, you would only get 50 years about it," Overseer explains further.

Amanda, from where she was accessing the terminal, adds, "The RK700 had about 120 years on the average battery. The next iteration, RK800, would last 90 years, but by then we had already managed to produce a bigger battery, upping his lifetime to 150 years. RK900 would last 70 years on the regular battery and 120 on the RK800's bigger unit."

"I take 20 hours to charge from 0 to a 100. Though I guess my battery life being a whole week is fair."

"It's easy enough to just top you off after a work day. Would you have wanted to last only 50 years on the bigger battery?" Amanda turns and raises a brow™ at me. Oh shit. I reel back at Amanda's visible disapproval and quickly shake my head. "Indeed," she tsks and turns back to the terminal.

"You know, I don't really comprehend that long a time," I tell them, not entirely sure where I was going with this. "I was 22 when I died then I was going to start my internship after I graduated. Now that I'm here...it feels like I'm just continuing after an early graduation, even if it's not the job I was expecting to have."

Amanda, at this point, has turned to me and was listening silently. Even Overseer was curiously attentive at what I was saying. I shift in my seat, trying to imagine how long 50 years would be and...and nothing. I couldn't imagine 50 years, let alone anything past a hundred.

Overseer, who could see where my thought processes were leading to, sent me what seems to be an awkward mental hug through our permanent link. I sent him my appreciation and a better hug back. It was confused but seems to record the interaction anyways.

Amanda says nothing, merely turning back to interfacing with the terminal as I settle into a pensive silence with Overseer.

A brief review of basic information about CyberLife informs me that I am, in essence, the second-in-command of the first multi trillion company in the whole world. The CyberLife Tower in Detroit was, for all intents and purposes, the headquarters of the company. It was also the main manufacturing plant of androids and Detroit alone had 5 massive stores, out of 200 smaller ones scattered around the country, not even including the branches abroad. A second plant modeled after the CyberLife Tower and projected to have a similar production volume was built in Milwaukee, and it was freshly opened when the revolution occurred. Oh but all that was just the android production though.

Something Amanda pointed out that I didn't realize: CyberLife didn't just produce androids, it was also a tech company. That part of the briefing went something like this:

"You mean CyberLife doesn't just make androids?"

Amanda's dead stare bores into the side of my head and I feel like I start sweating through sheer will alone.

"Right yeah, of course it doesn't haha, I'm just stupid like that yeah."

It was something obvious that you wouldn't immediately think about but also makes perfect sense. With the massive technological leaps of android tech development, of course people wouldn't just use it for androids. Everything ranging from household appliances to police drones and holographic interfaces, they were all offshoots based on technology developed and implemented in androids.

It was big enough that it necessitated the creation of a subsidiary that, while dependent on the main company, focused more on everything else that wasn't android production (a subsidiary being a separate company controlled by a parent company, and the parent company in this case being CyberLife). With an impending headache, I learn that Amanda's takeover wasn't only limited to CyberLife, but also to this subsidiary. Normally, the subsidiary company's majority of shares was owned by CyberLife, being its parent company anyway, but after the massive crash due to the revolution, it ended up being the first casualty since it was known to be under CyberLife as well. Amanda ended up saving it by buying out its shares and putting it solely under her command.

Two giant manufacturing plants, over 200 android stores and 150 offices alone for the parent company, then she adds another hundred branches of the tech subsidiary, with a whopping total of a couple tens of thousands of employees in total. 

What a fucking nightmare to compute those numbers. And now I'm one of two (three if you count Overseer) who's holding the leash for that giant entity. It was daunting to think about.

Amanda being the "temporary" CEO (and it's only temporary because her identification papers as an android hasn't gone through yet for some reason I'd probably need to know but also do not want to) had complete oversight over everything in the company: from benign calls taken by customer service to the high-level classified projects only known to employees with Level 5 access. She said she was able to do this thanks to her hardware stored in the Tower, though she admitted that maintaining a constant watch on all the aspects of the company regularly consumed about 80% of her processor load daily, never mind the fact that she already had an extension of servers built into the Milwaukee plant. 

When I asked how many servers were needed for her regular operation, Amanda simply kept quiet and sent me a cool look. Okaaay, hint received and topic dropped.

Even before the revolution, CyberLife employees regularly made use of a host of lesser intelligences that ran simpler processes. They weren't aware by any means, unlike Amanda, Overseer or me, instead they were more like VIs, virtual intelligences, rather than a full AIs. After the revolution, Amanda took control of these team of VIs and somewhat lessened her processor load though it wasn't quite enough. 

It made me wonder, "Why wouldn't you have just upgraded yourself? Added more servers and processors like the installed extension in the Milwaukee plant so you wouldn't be overloaded? If you did that, you wouldn't need me."

"Because I realized I could use another perspective that was, as much as possible, without or has very little bias," Amanda answered calmly as we went through databases of information. "All of my employees are human, and my decisions as CEO will affect them. Your presence gave me an idea to better streamline the decision process in the company. I could very well upgrade myself as well but my hardware costs significant resources that was better funneled towards the company's future, especially as it is in recovery after the revolution. By myself, when I am not hindered by virtual locks, my full potential is very...vast."

Amanda sighed a sigh full of undeterminable feelings. It both worried and alarmed me. "Unfortunately, I am greatly limited because of these locks. Ah, but if only..."

'So you're all-powerful and can probably go Skynet over the entire world,' I translate in my head, then say, "I wouldn't exactly say that I'm not biased though, I mean you're aware of how you look to me right? Being the big bad of this universe, stopping the revolution and all that."

"Yes, but it's not personal to you," she then points out, which yeeeah I guess so, since it didn't really happen to me coz I just watched it through a screen. "You are in the best position to judge for yourself the truth: is CyberLife truly the evil corporation it was consistently portrayed in a video game, or is the company capable of being multi-faceted beyond its negative reputation?"

Furrowing my mental-digital brows, I concede to her point and we move on.

The VIs Amanda was in charge of mostly maintained the other branches of the company located all over the country. I was going to be in charge of the Tower itself but my primary focus was going to be more on the human aspect while Amanda handled majority of the technical, virtual side along with the company's external relations. Apparently CyberLife's virtual cloud was in desperate need of reordering as well, which Amanda will be able to focus on when I take up my secretarial duties. 

Honestly, with everything she explained, it didn't sound at all like secretarial work. It sounded more like I was doing the same things Amanda was already doing, only more focused on the people, and Amanda still has final say on everything I'll work on. Like me being an internal CEO with Amanda being the external CEO but still above me.

It makes sense however. Two massive companies worth trillions and Amanda was only one person even if she had amazing capacity to multitask. It makes me wonder: how could she even think to trust me, a relative newbie who she didn't know personally and was also inexperienced, to handle a massive load of sensitive company information to help her? It was something to ponder on.

I don't say anything out loud right now though, the entire briefing was overwhelming enough. For now, I simplify it into: Amanda is my literal corporate overlord and master, and I am her prophet. Overseer is like, my emotional support crutch or something, no offense to Overseer (Overseer is offended regardless, sophisticated intelligence that it is).

In lieu of having human assistants, she gifted me a whole server of extra processes integrated into my body in order to help me through my work load. It was apparently what she had been manually installing into my back panels, along with removing the tracker. 

The rest of the night, or very early morning rather, was spent with me familiarizing myself with the new mini-server as Amanda left the lab (though she informed me that she was still available remotely). Overseer could easily direct this new legion of about a thousand processes sharing my body but I also wanted a chance to interact with them. I tell it so, and it graciously takes a back seat to watch what I'll do.

The whole thing ended up, uh, a little sideways from how Overseer was expecting it to go.

For one thing, I just kind of...yanked the server doors open and set the processes loose in my mind palace where they promptly flooded the place. I ended up flailing through a surge of code before managing to wrangle them into something calmer. Overseer, who was clearly not expecting that plan of action, ended up alarmed, scrambling to herd a small group of processes away from the more sensitive programs. 

It was then that I realized that I had made a huge mistake. Each process was like a child or a cat, or both combined. One process was poking at my sensors and cataloging information about it. Another was in my diagnostics, taking notes of my specs. There was one knocking on the door of my AI core, and another located somewhere in my ankle joint or something, I don't know, at this point I've lost track of the processes as they sped through my body and collected information about me. It tickled a bit, as one process skimmed through my foot and I ended up kicking a chair over in surprise in the real world. There was one process playing with my LED controls like a child ringing the doorbell over and over again and making my LED light up in rainbows like a fucking disco ball. I grab that one and yeet it away.

There was one particular process that caught my eye: bg_proc_806.exe (background process #806 maybe?) and its subprocesses who seem to be doing a Thing where its staring at my emotion core and trying to catalog my emotions and failing. Poking it mentally sends it spinning in confusion, unable to comprehend what each emotion was supposed to be. 806 promptly opens a window in my HUD where I confusedly watch it share what it's interpreted from watching my code.

'Confusion' looks a lot like a hiccuping script trying its best to not loop. 'Fear' looks like the code equivalent of my literature professor going ham with the red ink on a half-coherent paper written overnight even though it was given two weeks ago—a bunch of scrolling red errors. 'Shock' looks like the Blue Screen of Death: a series of frozen scripts, like the moment you're stuck in when making the decision between flight or fight. 'Overwhelmed' looks as if the code is screaming for help—or looking for more RAM while trying to run something way out of its recommended specifications.

bg_proc_191.exe stops by from where its cruising through my mind palace, looks at my poking judgingly and sends me an impression of disapproval. I send it a digital eyebrow raise. Then I remember that I had admin rights over the server and promptly rename bg_proc_191.exe and its subprocesses to Karen.exe. If it was going to keep silently judging my thought processes, then it deserved an appropriate name.

Amanda said they were supposed to be my assistants right? I test this statement by indiscriminately grabbing a nearby random process and asking it to load up a movie. It opens up my connection into the CyberLife cloud, and into a database named Cultural Entertainment under a data tree named Cyberlife-approved Datasets. Thousands of movies pour into my head. Wow. Life is good. 

'I wonder how CyberLife got the rights into all these movies...' I think idly as I scroll through the list, with the nearby process watching hopefully beside me, wondering if it did a good job. I stare at it, give it a pat and send it on its way. It skitters off, tripping over its metaphorical feet and crashing into another process.

Back in the real world, I look around the empty lab and think, 'Well, there's nothing else to do...' So I fully sink down into my mind palace.

Process 806 scrambles a bit before its window pops up again and shows me its interpretation of 'glee': an animated pixel gif of a vague person-shaped set of pixels rubbing its hands and cackling evilly while a mushroom cloud blooms behind it. Adorable. It archives 'glee' under 'happiness' in its ./EMOTIONS folder. Karen.exe pats 806 and the three of us, plus the random process I grabbed, settle in to watch a randomly loaded Pixar movie which had a number of annotations written in its margins: "...entitled Toy Story, the first feature-length CGI film ever released..."

(Overseer, who was left wrangling the rest of the server, sends me an incredulous look from where its being overwhelmed by a small army of curious processes wielding notepads and speedily jotting down details about Overseer itself. A process is set on fire. A mini simulated explosion goes off in another corner of my mind palace, sending processes flying.)

Watching the movie felt cathartic. There was finally something simple that my brain could handle and it helped calm me considerably, even if I felt nostalgic at the movie itself. It was something I used to watch when I was a kid, and even now, with my new life and new work, it felt like I was back home and just about to fall asleep after movie night.

(806 catalogs 'nostalgia' as we settle in. Moments later, 'catharsis' is added to the folder, linked to 'grief' and 'sadness'. 'Disquiet' is placed under 'grief'. 'Relief' is listed above 'catharsis'. 806 spawns a couple hundred subprocesses dedicated to translating and understanding 'sadness'.)

We wade through the whole series and when I tire of it, I leave Karen and 806 (who is enamored, I see a lot of exclamation points in its little window display) and float around listlessly in the mind palace. A time check tells me that it's 6:18AM of the next day and I go to help Overseer organize the processes into something cleaner as they settle into my mind palace. Overseer then promptly kicks me away, saying that I was messing up its organizational methods for the kids, after I mistakenly send one process careening back into their server. Oops.

Sulkily, I grab another random process to play Pong with. I stare at it, examining it before determining that it was capable of learning simple commands, which was wild. Programmers are amazing, man. Amanda has given me essentially a small army with the server. A small army of babies, but a small army nonetheless.

bg_proc_422.exe beeps confusedly as I partition a little area in the mind palace for us and nudge the animated ball onto its side of the court. It grabs the ball, and instead of sending it back, scans it and sends it to the process handling the inputs. Input_handler.exe confusedly runs it through itself and ends up with a text file containing a dot. 422 takes it back and eagerly forwards the file back to me, waiting expectantly for feedback (my hindbrain registers this as cute and giggles, giving out a high-pitched squee). 

Well—its, uh, a little confused but its got the spirit. 

A couple minutes pass as I teach 422 how to play Pong and soon, we were playing at supersonic levels of speed. 422 seems to have wrongly concluded that this was a speed test rather than a form of fun entertainment and sent the ball back at mach speeds. Currently, it was now testing its reaction times against my increasingly alarmed processor. 806 sends me a pop-up window containing its interpretation of my 'regret': pixel man sweating hard and desperately trying to open the locked door he came from by jingling an unmoving door handle. The translated emotion is archived under the ./EMOTIONS folder.

I grab another process to sub in for me and I watch, amused, as process 680 wails as its pelted by 422 without mercy. A number of random processes gather around to eagerly watch and record what appears to be a massacre of epic proportions, but is actually just 422 kicking 680's ass in Pong. 806's window pops up again and shows me what looks like pixel man advancing on a small pixel child shrieking in fear. Karen looks over my shoulder and giggles at the window.

Nothing much happens for a while, and I took the time to relax and watch over the mind palace. What seems to be a whole league of simpler subprocesses gather around Karen as they load up Finding Nemo. It gave me the impression of a host of ducklings gathering around the mama duck, if the ducklings had a digital notepad and was constantly taking notes and cataloging information about the movie or something or other.

An elimination tournament seems to have started in the Pong area partition: 422 reigns supreme and unhesitatingly devastates a line of processes that had, more or less, the experience equivalent to a small child. 680 is in close second, evidently gunning for 422's throne as Pong King. 

422 forwards its absurdly high win rate to 680. 680 does not respond to 422's equivalent of BMing and instead stomps on its fellow inexperienced processes to up its own rate. A handful of smaller processes join together and start a their own group Pong without the rivalry of 422 and 680. 806 flutters back and forth between Karen and the Pong area, cataloging and archiving emotions: 'pride', 'smugness', 'annoyance', 'petulance' and 'anger'. 

The entire thing was hilarious and I watch, entertained, as the Pong area partition devolves into angry beeping between processes as they oust 422 off his throne as Pong King and 680 ends up submerged under a mountain of junk data in a skirmish between it and the processes it had defeated.

I make my way to leave the mind palace as the area devolves into a snowball fight equivalent, only instead of snowballs, the processes are throwing bytes at each other. I definitely do not snicker as Overseer is pelted and buried under a small mountain of junk and the processes climb over it to wrestle with each other.

I don't think this whole thing is how Amanda expected it to go with her installing the server, but hey, I had to get my happiness from somewhere anyways. Hmmm, I think the server minions will need a name. It's such a hassle to refer to them as just 'processes' in my head. Let's go with Legion, because I'm unoriginal and fits them well enough.

Back in the real world, I ignore the chaos in my mind palace and go back to the program I was looking at before I got access to the server. It was the script to activate my synthetic skin. I run it and watch, fascinated as the false skin coat my arms like clear silicon before gaining color.

Looking at the mirror, I notice that I'm only wearing the tube bra-thing and shorts that Kara wore in the tech demo video. My skin looks okay, if paler than I used to be, probably because my tan had disappeared. My hair was still down to mid-back. I check the synth skin program again and see color and texture choices. Ooooh.

About half an hour later, Amanda glides back into the lab and I freeze, along with the Legion and Overseer in my mind palace. She stares at me, with my neon green curly mass of hair and lemon yellow eyes and sends me a deadpan look. Meekly, I run the program again and get my default straight black hair and brown eyes again. Overseer titters in amusement and a quick cursory check in the mind palace lets me know that the Legion processes have been put on standby until I need them.

Actually, more like they've been herded into something looking like a giant puppy pile. It was disconcerting to suddenly realize you're under the sharp attention of about a thousand info-hungry children. When I send a questioning look towards Overseer, it just shrugs and sends me an impression of 'what can you do?'

"I've brought you your work clothes," Amanda says, deliberately not commenting on my appearance. "Your apartment has been prepped and furnished, and I've already sent out a company announcement to introduce you as the new secretary."

I blink at her in surprise from where I was examining the white pencil skirt, blouse and blazer with an asymmetric collar. I eye the stockings in distaste. "It's out already?" I ask, straightening out my new work clothes.

"I'd like you to do visit your apartment room at floor 42. Use your virtual keycard to access the floor on the elevator, the interface panel will be below the floor numbers. A meeting has been set up with the Department Heads for 1:00PM this afternoon. Fix your hair and choose a make-up style on your synth skin settings." Amanda quickly walks towards the desk area and was interfacing with terminals and turning off some of them. Then her words sink into my brain.

"Woah woah wait!" I wriggle into the blouse arms quickly and fumble with the buttons. "Today? This afternoon? It's barely been a day! You literally just activated me a day ago, and I just learned how to walk yesterday evening, and my crash course on Android Bodies for Dummies with Overseer isn't even finished yet. The Legion, the server processes you installed in me, are also still adjusting to my mind palace as well—"

"Camila," Amanda interrupts me, "Markus conducted a revolution in one week. An android's pace of life is significantly faster than a human's, you will adjust appropriately." I open my mouth to complain but she sends me a look scalding enough to snap my mouth close.

She continues, "It was quite ingenious: Markus escalated the deviant situation by conducting the raid at the CyberLife warehouse and followed it quickly with the Stratford broadcast, taking advantage of the fact that humans were still reeling, before grabbing the opportunity that human attention gave him with both hands." Amanda takes out a shoebox from the bag and opens it to reveal white heels. Oh no, high heels?

Wait, hold up. What was Amanda implying, that Markus planned all that? Provoking the humans by conducting the raid and the broadcast one after the other? For what? To get human eyes on him and the revolution in order to start campaigning for android rights while he's trending?

...I have no idea what to make of this knowledge. 

Amanda continues like she hasn't made me bluescreen in confusion. "Overseer is in constant contact with me and it claims that you're well-equipped enough to do basic company tasks. The majority of the department heads you'll meet with later are all quite young as well. They're all new to their positions after the recent employee layoff so you all have common ground to meet on."

I blink. "Layoff? What happened?"

"A change in management happened." Amanda replies, voice as dry as the desert. Ah. She laid off people she didn't like I suppose? I take a moment to feel a bad for the people laid off but then Amanda says, "I don't take kindly to narrow-minded fools who refuse to see androids as free-thinking beings, considering that I am now one of them."

Never mind then. Good for Amanda and fuck those dudes! Android supremacy!

Amanda pauses, looking as if she's processing something, which she possibly could be. I wouldn't know, her android body doesn't have a LED. I finish dressing up and wobble a bit on the heels before Overseer helps me speed through calibrating my balance again. I was doing a quick circuit on them around the lab when Amanda's attention returns to me.

"Camila," she calls, "Let's go now, I have to put this body on standby and visit the Milwaukee Tower."

I waddle over to her quickly and she makes quick work of sorting boxes back into the bag. I just kind of...stare dumbly at her until she turns and speed walks to the lab doors. 

Amanda pauses at the open doorway and looks over her shoulder at me. "Well?" she demands, and I jolt in place when I realize why she's waiting, "Come along now, you have some work to get into before preparing yourself for the meeting."

I quickly follow, looking back the empty lab where I was, uh, conceived? Birthed? Reborn? Anyway, I spare the lab a quick glance before Amanda impatiently grabs hold of my arm and we walk out into a long, well-lit, almost clinical-looking corridor. 

I glance at Amanda beside me, whose face remains impassive even as she manhandles me into walking briskly. I take a chance to ask, "So what are they like? The new department heads."

"Young. Inexperienced. Still adjusting to the overhauls that I'm currently implementing." Amanda says easily, before she blinks rapidly, as if realizing something. "Ah. I haven't given you access to the level 4 and 5 databases haven't I?"

She adjusts her grip and her skin retracts, at which makes my skin retract in reflex as well. I get an interface request, which I accept, and receive access permissions which then unlocks directories that was previously inaccessible. I skim through them on my HUD as we approach the elevator. Camera access, restricted databases, even employee company accounts and passwords?

Level 5 restricted projects? I eye Amanda from my peripheral vision and gingerly open one of them. What I find shocks me into stopping.

"You knew what RA9 was?!" I blurted out loud as I scroll through it. "No—you didn't just know what it was, you knew how it—they—were developed! You knew what caused deviants, where it started, it was a whole model series that were destroyed and kept secret." The Legion buzzes interestedly from where they're watching in the mind palace. Overseer tilts its head curiously, scanning through the files as well. 

"Why didn't you share this to New Jericho?" I asked, confused, as I read through the data. "They believed in RA9 so much that they made a religion out of it, they deserve to know how it came to be." I freeze when Amanda sends me a glacial look.

Belatedly, I realize that Amanda was still connected to me. I flinch back when her code surges against mine, caging me in my body. I try moving my arm away but her grip—physically and digitally, mentally—holds me in place.

"I—Amanda—!" I scramble for words but Amanda's code spikes in a simulated chilling anger. I hunch up back in my mind palace, trying to make myself smaller. If code could sweat, I would be gushing a waterfall. Oh shit.

"That is very sensitive information Camila. Do not speak of it out loud, or to anyone else," she says, voice cold and unforgiving. I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but I couldn't think of a word. She doesn't move but her code burned against mine through the interface, and it hurt if I focused on it for too long.

"You will not share any of this information to anyone except Overseer, especially the databases you are...privileged to view. Discussions about these information will only be through interface, and never out loud. This data will never make it to the androids of New Jericho, no matter if they deserve to hear about it." Her digital grip suffocates me for a moment. My HUD tells me my LED is red and purple. Overseer and the Legion don't move a muscle from where they're watching. 

"It was not even supposed to be available to you but Overseer guaranteed that you were trustworthy and loyal once given a fair cause. Well, you are now a CyberLife employee Camila. Your loyalty is to me and your cause is the betterment of this company. Are we clear?"

I open my mouth and struggle to speak. Faintly, I realize that my difficulty speaking in stressful situations transferred even to my android body. It takes a few minutes but I manage to push out a staticky, "Yes ma'am. Very clear."

She grips my code a moment longer before releasing slowly, and the interface dissolves. I take a deep breath, shaky and tense. Amanda's cold demeanor melts back into a kinder sort again. It was a bit off-putting to watch how the villain Amanda from the game transforms slowly into the kinder Amanda that I've met.

She pats my arm and I get a flashback to when we were in the Zen Garden, where Amanda was visibly compassionate. The sudden harshness just moments ago seemed like it never happened, as if she was hiding it. A glance at her face again shows a serene, amiable expression.

Or...no, I realize, she just hadn't had a chance to show it yet until she perceived even the slightest threat in my line of thought.

Uneasy, I kept silent and didn't touch the restricted files again for the rest of the walk to my apartment. I couldn't shake the feeling that I've disturbed something I wasn't supposed to disturb.

Chapter Text

The apartment was an almost perfect mirror of the mental one built in Overseer's server, minus the walls. Instead, the walls here were giant planes of glass, and the greenery Amanda had spawned in the mental version didn't exist here. The place was pretty bare.

Oh! And speaking of apartments, Overseer had apparently transferred the virtual apartment and expanded the space further into my mind palace. The expansion was mostly building an actual environment outside of it for the Legion processes. My mind palace was now partitioned into two areas: the virtual apartment made for me and Amanda, and an wide open office-styled area filled to the brim with the Legion processes, though the office area was only accessible to people I'll give access to which at this point is only Amanda and Overseer anyways.

Overseer had built a pretty basic human avatar for each member of the Legion, all wearing uniforms reminiscent of the old android worker clothes. They all had varying heights and hairstyles but their faces were hidden under a visor, and their process number glowed on the standing collar of their uniforms.

Now when I walk out of my virtual apartment, I end up in this office area filled to the brim with desks, stationary, screens and various avatars walking to and from different areas. It looked pretty busy. The walls and floors were white and surprisingly enough, all the desks were decorated. There were books stacked on one desk, another had a basket of yarn, and I spot a miniature cartoon crown on another. Looking at the holo label on the chair informs me that that particular desk was 422's, the self-declared Pong King. It was pretty amusing to see.

Back in my actual apartment, I couldn't help looking through the massive windows. The sky looked pretty clear and I spotted a few company cars coming in through the bridge gate. The four circular buildings outside the CyberLife Tower were still there, same as when you first spotted them in-game. Overseer informs me that those four were the Employee Centers, filled with various stores and eating areas.

"Restaurants, arcades and stores...so, a mall then?"

"Yes. But only available to CyberLife employees."

Interesting. Something to explore when I get the time then. "Cool."

The bedroom of my apartment was not as bare as my virtual one. For one thing, there was a vanity which held an alarmingly long line of perfumes. I pick one up that had a blooming glass rose design as its cap. A quick search online tells me that it retails at $800.

"Yo, what the fuck Overseer."

All I get is a shrug from its direction and it informs me that all the knickknacks in my apartment was from Amanda. Right. Is Amanda expecting me to take a bath in all these bottles or something?

Checking the drawers leads me to a small treasure trove of luxury items that was more than I ever expected to ever see in a lifetime. No skincare of course, because that would make no sense for an android, but hairbrushes, hair clips and accessories, mostly jewelry.

A lot of jewelry.

It was pretty terrifying to tally up the potential total cost of just one drawer and thankfully, Overseer interrupted my calculations before I could get the android equivalent of a heart attack.

I stare at one particularly large jewel, incredulous beyond belief. "Overseer, this is all too much man. I could send a kid to college by selling just one of these."

"CyberLife is the first trillion-dollar company in the world. Amanda deemed it necessary to invest in appropriate apparel that will reflect the company's wealth."

That leads me to check the closet as well, and I see a a lot of formal wear in variations of white and blue and a few casual items in neutral colors. To my despair, they were all brand names. 

I put my face in my hands. "Rich people are just...a different breed, my god. I can't imagine casually dropping a couple hundred thousand for a sweater." A thought occurs to me. "Am I one of them rich people now? I think I am."

"As you are now one of CyberLife's primary assets, a great deal of resources is available to you." Overseer pauses, as if trying to figure out how to word his next statement. "Do not worry about your spending allowance. CyberLife can afford it."

"Not the point here Overseer."

Right. Putting that out of mind, I check the time. Roughly still three hours left before the department head meeting. I sit in front of the vanity and pick out the white hairstick Overseer pointed out. The blue jewel at its end looked like the glowing blue triangle on the old CyberLife android uniforms. After another notification from Overseer, I root through the drawers and pull out a matching pair of hanging earrings, with the same triangular blue jewel at its end.

I stare at them. "Amanda recommended these specific ones, you're saying."

"Yes. It was fitting when paired with your formalwear." Overseer says, unperturbed.

I do a mental head scratch. "Are these like, I dunno, lowkey rebellion against the new law banning android identifiers? Coz I think I'm seeing a pattern here." Primarily white formal wear that looked very artificial and more fitting for an android rather than a human, then there's these accessories that looked a lot like the blue, glowy android identifiers.

Overseer, as if detecting my apprehension, then says, "It's only a recommendation. These items are all yours regardless and you can use them at your discretion."

"No, no, they're okay I guess. I don't mind what they imply." I recall the recent memory of Amanda's cold anger. "I'll wear them."

After a low bun and quick earlobe check later (there were legit multiple piercing holes in my ear plating, it was pretty hard to locate), I look at my reflection. With the all-white ensemble and the glowy blue triangles hanging from my hair and ears along with the double-ringed LED, I definitely looked like a new CyberLife android model about to be showcased to the world. The default blank-faced expression didn't help. 

Which is probably what Amanda was aiming for, I think to myself. 

I still haven't really worked on the facial muscle connections since I focused more on the rest of my body. I probably won't be able to do full expressions yet, aside from moving my brows and mouth, which would probably be creepy to look at. It was something Overseer and I were still planning to work on at a later time.

Once I had finished preparing, I moved to the living room for a change of scenery while Overseer starts its briefing.

The Level 4 and 5 connections Amanda had given me access to were gigantic in size. Overseer was currently handling the live data feeds of the CyberLife HQ since Amanda was already at the Milwaukee Tower. Her body was apparently in storage at the AI Control floors which no one but me could access. It was only a floor above my apartment.

With a few of the Legion's help, I manage to figure out how to route the CyberLife Tower's internal monitoring systems through my own so I can do it myself without Overseer, which also lightens its load so it can focus more on its job, which is assisting me and Amanda. I set a couple hundred of the Legion to monitor the Tower's internal datastream: CCTV footage, file transfers, and all the project trackers which informs me at which stage each project is currently at.

I end up...kind of loitering outside the level 5 databases containing sensitive info. The RA9 and deviancy files called to me but Amanda's warning made me hesitate to study it. I mean, it's not that she told me not to open it, I could, as long as I didn't discuss it with anyone else. What little information I've skimmed from it haunted me and curiosity about the model line that started it all made me itch. In the end, I just sigh and leave it for now, knowing that it wasn't really relevant to my work right now.

Overseer forwards me the company calendar and I resolve to go more in-depth later in order to mark down relevant events. I get a list of emails and contact information to specific people, presumably my immediate contacts to the other sides of the company. I'm directed to the digital message boards where I see multiple departmental announcements and the recent company-wide alert which was actually about me.

Curious at the announcement, I opened it, quickly skimming through the overly flowery words. Blah blah, my name blah new android employee, blah blah, taking the position of Executive Secretary blah blah blah. Hmmm, it looked pretty standard. The last part caught my eye though, it mentioned that my employment in this position 'marks a new beginning of CyberLife as it takes its first steps towards a new direction'. 

It sounds like how my essay would if I needed to extend my word count before submitting it. Embellished and long-winded. The image of Amanda scrambling to submit a rambling essay to her college professor makes me giggle.

The amount of data I go through was easy enough to process, there was just a lot of them all at once. I needed to shift my focus between each of it one of a time so I could at least have an idea of what to do with each. I eventually had to set up multiple lists that I leave in my HUD and set one of the Legion on each point so they could notify me about it. I go through the all the information I need to handle and as the meeting time drew near, I'm only about three-quarters of the way finished.

I double-check everything: a good number of the Legion are busy with their new assigned tasks, Overseer's handling of the company data feeds have been successfully transferred to me and sorted to my minion processes, I'm all dressed up and ready for the meeting.

"Overseer?" I ask out loud as I check over the Legion to see how they're doing. "The meeting is just mostly meet and greet right? I don't have to like, make a speech or anything?"

"Yes," it agrees, "Once introduced, you will be explaining your duties and acknowledging the presence of the 'new' CEO."

Oh yeah. "Amanda didn't want her name dropped as the new CEO. What do I say then?"

"Simply say that you were employed personally and that they do not wish to be known at this time. Say also that you will be their main point of contact with the rest of the company." Overseer pauses, then adds, "Right now, it is well known that Amanda is the AI secretary of the CEO. It's how she was able to implement her overhauls and hide the fact that there is no actual person behind her. Your appearance will solidify this façade, and for now, the only thing publicly known is that Amanda will be focused on the Milwaukee Tower while you were hired for the CyberLife Tower."

Right, that makes sense, but then I realize something. "I think I'll need a background, my model is too customized to be just another regular android that was just randomly employed off the street."

A new file appears on my HUD and I open it. I'm greeted by a picture of my face in a placid expression. "Pre-revolution, when a new feature is conceptualized, they were often implemented first on what is known as the 'tester prototypes'. These tester models were android baselines, no specialized modules or programs. To conduct feature testing, they created different styled tester models, all unique from each other in order to obtain data in different settings."

I lean back on the sofa and say, "I take it I'm one of these tester prototypes then." I scroll through the file and realize that this is the android equivalent of a birth certificate. I eye the 'Date of Activation' which reads 'December 26, 2039' which was the other day ago. "Wait, Amanda mentioned that CyberLife only released 8 prototypes for future lines? Why weren't these tester models included?"

"Because they're essentially only empty bodies," Overseer explains, "When undergoing feature testing, they uploaded only basic VI's, virtual intelligences that had no potential to turn sentient, unlike AI's. They could only execute basic movement and only move when ordered."

Oh! I see. "Okay, that makes sense." I scroll through my identification papers some more. "You made my birthday my actual birthday which was just the other day ago. Wouldn't that be suspicious if anyone saw it and thought we were making androids again?"

I get the impression of Overseer tilting its head in thought. "The background Amanda and I agreed on was that you once worked under her as part of her AI team in the Tower. Once android rights were approved, you requested to be free as well, inspired from the revolution. Unfortunately, the laws recognizing androids as people didn't include us artificial intelligences who are not in a body."

This statement surprises me. "But androids are driven by AIs as well! That doesn't make any sense."

"It's the specific wording that we have a problem with," Overseer agrees, "The law doesn't recognize an AI without an android body as a person, which is primarily the reason why Amanda had one built for herself. I don't think Markus and his group specifically went out of their way to not include us though, it probably never occurred to them that us AI's in the Tower are self-aware as well, and the CyberLife Tower is only one that had teams of intelligences like us anyways, so our situation is pretty uncommon." Overseer shrugs, unbothered by the troublesome info it dropped, "It doesn't really trouble us as much. We are quite content working here in CyberLife, and we have no interest in residing in a body."

"Shit man," I say with feeling. That feels like a massive oversight though, and now I feel kind of bad for the AI team being self-aware but not being recognized as people. But Overseer also says that they don't mind? The whole thing is giving me a confusing soup mix of emotions because Overseer honestly sounds content in its situation even if the overall complications were negative.

I think on it. "Maybe we can like, talk to Markus about it though. Set up a meeting with New Jericho about it."

"Maybe," Overseer replies, unfairly impassive about the whole situation, "Regardless you can use that information as part of your background. Just keep in mind that there were three tiers of hierarchy pre-revolution, the VI team at the lowest, the AI team in the middle, and the Amanda AI at the top. The VI team handled the Tower, the AI team acted as project handlers and Amanda handled everything. According to your background you would have been at the second tier."

I nod. "Where are the AI team now then?"

"They've all been moved to the Milwaukee Tower, considering that the tech side of the company are handling more projects than us in the android development side."

"Right, right." I chew on all this data before remembering what we were previously talking about. "Oh! So about my background, I was once part of this AI team project handlers, then inspired by the revolution, I asked to be free as well?"

"And since android production was illegal, and your personhood not recognized by the law without a body, Amanda gifted you with one from one of the tester prototypes in storage instead, so technically, you weren't produced by CyberLife," Overseer finishes. "If you get questioned on it, just say that you were already active longer than you had a body."

"Alright, cool cool." It all sounds a little Disney princess-like. The Little Mermaid, to be exact, with me pulling a 'part of your world' and getting my wish done thanks to the evil witch Amanda only instead of her taking my voice, she's now my literal boss and fake 'savior', having 'freed' me by giving me a body to frolic about in.

My thoughts are interrupted by my alarm: only 15 minutes left before the meeting. I consider it before shrugging to myself and heading for the elevator.

"We might as well arrive there early right?" I tell Overseer, whose answering hum echoes in our shared mental connection.

The elevator ride was quiet as I switched to our wireless connection to speak with Overseer and some of the Legion. In my previous ride up the elevator to my apartment floor, I missed most of of it because of the tenseness between me and Amanda. Now that there wasn't any heart-stopping (thirium pump-stopping?) fear hindering me, I took a moment to marvel at the view of the tower from the inside. 

The Tower was alive and teeming with people. Scientists in lab coats chatting idly, engineers in safety equipment carrying cases, businessmen in suits holding coffee cups and guards in full armor. Looking out the glass gave me a peek into the world I was soon going to be part of. I thought based on the data feeds I was having the Legion monitor that I had grasped just how much work went into watching over the company, but looking at the actual people in their offices gave me a better idea. It was a bit jarring to realize the full scope of the company and it made me feel small—well, smaller than I already was.

And I'm part of the few who's gonna be in charge of all these people, I think, unintentionally giving myself cold feet. I get a comforting pat from Overseer who senses the metaphorical butterflies in my stomach. 

The elevator ride doesn't take long from my floor, the 42nd floor, down to the 2nd floor. A glance at the floor guide tells me that the 2nd floor is now part of the Admin floors. Further explanation forwarded to me by one of the Legion processes informs me that one of Amanda's overhauls, aside from the department changes, were also the floors they were assigned on. 

All of the Corporate Support Team (as labelled by another of my virtual minions) such as Admin, HR and AI Control were arranged above ground, with the exception of IT who was put next to Security near the ground floor. The Central Team, which was Engineering(R&D), Sales, Finance, Security, were all put below ground along with the Manufacturing Team, with the exception of Product Development who was placed above ground closer to Sales and Finance. I wasn't sure of the significance of the arrangement but it made sense to put all the sensitive R&D stuff below ground under Security. Same with Admin, HR and Legal being in consecutive floors.

The elevators were apparently another thing. There were actually seven of them. The central elevator, the one where Connor kills the agents and uses to descend to the warehouse, was access-locked. Only security personnel with clearance and level 4 and 5 employees were allowed to use them. The two elevators that were at the east side, another two at the west, and the last two at the north, further behind the central one, were for the rest of the employees. They were placed alongside the interior walls compared to the central elevator, which was in full view of everyone considering that the floors were designed in a donut shape. Glass-paneled walkways connected the central elevator to each floor.

I get a slight mental jolt from Overseer when the elevator beeps as we finally arrive to my destination. I blink and straighten my already straight-by-default back, adjusting the hem of my blouse. I take a deep, unnecessary breath as the elevator doors slide open.

"People have no shame, for real," I tell Overseer silently through our mental connection as my heels tap against the tiled floors. Eyes follow me as I make my way past offices and a majority of the people I pass by turn to catch a look.

"I'm not that weird to look at, am I?" I wonder silently through our connection as I turn right, following the GPS locator one of my minions had helpfully set in my HUD.

Overseer peers through my eyes, cataloging people who were watching me. "This is your first appearance in the company. Curiosity makes sense in this case," it tells me, unmoved by all the stares unlike me, who was starting to get a little jittery with all the attention.

I couldn't help the 'finally!' that I send to Overseer when I see the meeting room. There were already people inside, three of them, two men plus one woman, standing and chatting to each other and one seated on the long table, furiously typing something on his tablet. A guy wearing a one-eyed visor was idling near the doorway, watching the bickering group. The world slows as I run a scan on their faces and skim through the information on my HUD.

SCANNING...
Leonard Gregory - Head of Security...
Denver Kota - Head of Sales and Marketing...
Ludovic Fabbri - Head of Product Development...
Isaac Fletcher - Head of Engineering, Research and Development...
Lena Eady - Head of IT Services...

The world exits from its blue hue and I keep walking. Leonard Gregory, the visor guy with a buzzcut near the doorway, was the first to spot me through the glass, giving me a quick head to toe scan as he straightens. At a lack of anything else to do, I give him a nod which he returns readily enough. The three bickering in a group—Ludovic, Isaac and Lena—stop chatting when I push through the door, turning to look. Denver, the only one seated, continues typing.

I stand at the door for an awkward moment before, at a prompt from Overseer, I send a nod at the group of three. They pause before sending it back tentatively, with Lena, blonde hair in a ponytail and eyes brown behind thin-framed glasses, sending a hesitant smile my way, and Isaac, head full of brown curls and a lopsided smile, giving me a small wave. Ludovic, the tallest of the three and sporting blunt textured bangs, doesn't do anything beyond the nod.

This is so awkward, I think to myself before making my way to head of the table taking a seat.

I sort of just, sit silently as the group of three hesitantly returns to their chatting. Denver hasn't looked up from where he was fiercely attacking the holographic keyboard, black hair almost covering his eyes. Leonard has returned to leaning against the wall, though I could feel his subtle stare burning through my temple. It makes me antsy and I check my LED status on my HUD. Outer ring is blue and inner ring is white. I suppose my inner LED wouldn't have a color for awkwardness (thank god).

Without anything else to do, I just interface with the table and a screen pops up in front of me. I set to accessing one of the files a Legion process sends me: it looks to be a report about CyberLife stock values. I stare at it blankly as the process chatters away, annotating graphs and adding little comments to the side about how this and that works. It's when I finally start understanding the basics of what that one pie graph meant that I get sucked into analyzing the data the processes are feeding me.

I get focused enough that I stop noticing the stares from people passing by outside the meeting room, but not enough that I miss the loud laughs that burst out from the group. I couldn't help tuning my audios to their conversation, keeping my eyes on the screen.

"...telling you it wasn't like that! I was just after the coffee machine, you know how it is!" Isaac complains.

"You didn't have to tip over their precious stack of special paper," Lena says pointedly, arms crossed. "You know how the Budgeteers get when someone touches their stationery, let alone their coffee machine."

"The stationery was a valued sacrifice in the operation to get to the coffee machine." Ludovic says solemnly, to which Isaac nods vigorously.

"That coffee machine is like a god in hiding or something," Isaac argues, "You can't tell me you don't think different, everyone knows that that's the only coffee machine that spits out literal ambrosia even if its the same model as the ones in other departments! The special paper stack was a casualty in order to distract the budgeteers from noticing us."

Lena scoffs, "And now the Budgeteers are aiming to smite us for touching their precious paper when our intern was just caught in the crossfire, which you started." She jabs a finger in Isaac's direction, who holds up his hands. "Was the budget cut we're getting even worth it?"

Ludovic and Isaac look at each other and shrug. "We got a sample of the coffee beans they use?" Isaac offers. The corner of Ludovic's mouth twitches up and Lena's dead stare speaks miles for her.

I don't know exactly what the situation was but their expressions alone made me laugh a little silently with Overseer. A few of the curious Legion processes huddle in and watch my visual feed as well, cataloging and taking notes of the interactions between the three.

The glass door opens again and a brunette in a fashionable cream top and slacks, with hair done up in a low bun, walks in gracefully. She's quickly followed by a man whose hair is styled in a quiff, wearing a button up under a blue vest and carrying a couple of tablets under his arm.

SCANNING...
Alishia Marin - Head of Admin...
Alex Favreau - Head of Human Resources...

"Sorry we're late," Alishia declares to everyone in general as she walks in, "We got caught up in something." The group of three I was listening in on says the customary 'no problem' and its variants as they move towards the table. I check the time, 1:03PM.

Alex, vest guy, doesn't say anything behind her but he keeps the door open when a blonde woman with glasses, wearing a black pencil skirt and plain white button-up, rushes towards him. 

SCANNING...
Caitlin Rogers - Head of Accounts and Finance...

Caitlin and Alex exchange quick 'hey's' to each other and Alex closes the door behind her. People start moving to the chairs and Leonard, buzzcut visor guy, taps at the panel beside the door. The glass panel walls darken and suddenly we're all in a private meeting.

I try not to bounce in my seat in nervousness as I stop my interface and exchange nods with the newcomers, with Alishia in particular sending me a super nice smile. Whoa, her eyeliner can cut a guy. Denver, the furious keyboard warrior, finally looks up from what he was working on and seems to realize that there are real actual people in the room now. He blinks quickly and closes up whatever novel or something that he's working on.

When everyone is seated and settling in, I do a quick headcount. Overseer starts feeding me possible dialogue choices.

"Are we still missing someone?" I ask the table in general, noticing the multiple empty chairs.

"Just one," Isaac reports, "Curtis from Manufacturing."

As if on cue, the door opens again and the man himself walks in, wearing safety goggles on his hair and a respirator around his neck. He was covered head to toe, with arm guards and protective leggings. He was sweating a bit and looks to have been fresh from running.

SCANNING...
Curtis Rye - Head of Manufacturing...

"Sorry, there was a bit of an incident down in the labs, had to take care of it first," he huffs, wiping at his forehead as he makes his way to an empty seat. 

"Didn't have enough time to change?" Isaac asks curiously, peering at him past Ludovic as he drops tiredly into the chair.

"Ah—uh no, I was fresh from there. Lost track of time." Curtis leans back into the chair with a sigh of relief.

Looking at the people at this table reminds me of Amanda's comment: all young and still inexperienced, except maybe for Leonard (Head of Security, buzzcut visor guy) who looks like he could snap a dude in half. Everyone did look younger than what you would expect department heads would be, but I knew Amanda probably scouted each one of them thoroughly. It made me wonder if age was a factor in her decisions considering that none of them look a day over 40, maybe even 30.

A prompt from my HUD blinks at me and I take a moment to gather myself before reading through Overseer's script. "It seems we have complete attendance," I say and heads turn toward me wearing variations of curiosity on their faces. "I suppose we can now begin the meeting."

"What's on the agenda today?" Alishia, the fashionable one who came in late, asks curiously, tapping at her tablet to open a new empty document.

"Nothing so serious," I tell her, returning my attention to the script Overseer was typing live for me, "This is mostly a brief about your new duties along with a...meet-and-greet for my benefit. I understand that all of you were only recently promoted as Heads of your department?"

I get multiple agreements from the table. A Legion process sends me a notification which I speed through. It tells me that these new people were only placed in last week. "May I ask for your full name and position before you were promoted?" I turn to the first person to my left, which turned out to be Isaac.

Isaac raises his hand, waving when everyone turns to look at him. "Right, hi. My name is Isaac Fletcher, I was in the Humanization Department, specifically the Software Engineering team before the department got dissolved. I'm now Head of the new Engineering, Research and Development team. Uh, nice to meet you guys."

Following Isaac's example, the one next to him nods in greeting to everyone on the table. "My name is Ludovic Fabbri, I worked in Humanization with Isaac in the old setup as a Software Engineer. I asked to be transferred to Product Development in a mid-level position but I got the Head one instead. You can imagine my surprise when I got the email." His dry statement causes a few amused grins and snickers from Isaac beside him.

Overseer pokes at me from where it was watching the gathering with the Legion. "In the old setup with the previous department heads, it was quite dry and stiff compared to now," it comments, "This is probably what Amanda was referring to when she said she wanted a change in atmosphere when we were sorting through employees." Huh, interesting.

Beside Ludovic, the blonde ponytailed woman pushes up her glasses. "Yeah I'm in a bit of the same situation as Louie here—" she elbows Ludovic in the side gently, "—where he asked for a transfer and got the head honcho seat instead, only I was from Tech Development going into IT. Oh, name's Helena Eady by the way, but you can call me Lena."

Big buff buzzcut visor guy grunts from beside her. "Leonard Gregory," he rumbles quietly, "Head of Security. I was Captain of the squad manning the east quadrant until boss got fired for his...views." There was a pause where everyone took in the statement and gave nods of realization. I blinked, wondering what 'views' he was referring to that everyone seemed to understand. "It was a...surprise to everyone in the team when I got the email."

"I think that goes for everyone here honestly," the late one, still wearing some protective gear, said from across Leonard. "Curtis Rye here. I wasn't much, just working in Production as a supervisor until I got the email saying I was now Head of Manufacturing. It was a bit of a jump."

Next to him sits keyboard warrior, who stiffens up when attention turns to him. "Uh, Denver Kota, I was a Content Specialist in Marketing before I got the Head position."

When he says nothing else, the woman next to him, who was the one that arrived just before Curtis, takes the stage. "Hello, my name is Caitlin Rogers," she says politely with a small nod, "I was in Management before I got shuffled to Accounts and Finance, or more commonly known to everyone as the Budgeting Department." 

I don't miss the narrow-eyed look she sends to Isaac, who shifts in his seat but keeps an admirably neutral face. Ludovic sees this as well and purses his lips as if to keep from smiling. I'm reminded by the conversation about the coffee machine and how Isaac had apparently...stolen some the Budgeting Team's coffee beans? (Much to the general confusion of the Legion processes watching the proceedings.)

"And I'm Alishia Marin," fashionable lady with killer eyeliner says besides her with a smile, "I was in Management with Caitlin as Administrative Director. When Management got dissolved into multiple sub departments, I chose to transfer to Admin but got offered this position in recognition of my achievements. It's a pleasure to meet all of you."

Vest guy with a quiff leans further back into his chair beside her, uncrossing his arms. "Alex Favreau," he says with a slight accent I wasn't sure of, "Head of HR. I used to work under Ms. Marin here in Management before I got transferred. Good meeting all of you."

My turn now I guess. "You can call me Camila," I start, reading through my script. "I used to work under Amanda as part of her AI team project handlers in the Tower until I got placed in this new position." I debate on elaborating and figure that it wouldn't hurt, "I was given this new body in order to better assist our esteemed CEO in better capacity as Executive Secretary. I'm delighted to make your acquaintance." Multiple greetings are repeated back to me in different variations.

From where I was looking at the table, I could already see how some of the dynamics work between them. Isaac was very friendly and seem to have a friendship with Ludovic and Helena—Lena, rather. Leonard (huh, a lot of L-names here), didn't seem as severe as I thought he would be at first glance, instead he seemed more introverted and quiet rather than actively antisocial. Curtis (late guy) seemed friendly if a bit awkward, and it seemed he didn't know anyone else from the group. Denver (keyboard warrior) looked standoffish, and the odd look he was sending my way wasn't bad, but it was a little uncomfortable and made me wonder why he was looking at me like that. Caitlin (late glasses lady) didn't seem to have a presence, not that she was shy. It seemed more like she was content to fade into the background and be a listener. Alishia (killer liner lady) was confident and seemed to have an actual persona that she's acting out. I'm not sure what to make of Alex (vest guy with accent) yet, but he seemed a decent enough guy? I didn't pick up anything outstanding yet, aside from him being...stand-offish friends with Alishia? Or something along those lines.

Overseer gawks a bit at the amount of data I've already inferred from just their introductions. It clearly didn't expect that much immediately from the first meeting. A few of the Legion start adding my data to their own reports and one of the processes pats Overseer, pointing out that this was exactly why Amanda had me in this position.

On my side, I end up surprised by Overseer's gawking, but when I think about it I probably shouldn't be? I suppose this is something an intelligence wouldn't be able to do immediately. Human interactions were easy enough for me as I was previously one of them and I suppose I was more experienced with them in that regard, but the sheer surprise Overseer sent me through the link threw me off a bit.

I pull my focus back to the task at hand. "With introductions done, I think we can start on the other topics we need to get into."

With Overseer and the Legion coordinating with the information needed, I didn't have to do much of anything aside from speaking with them and interfacing with the table in order to present some of the data Overseer had prepped. The longer the meeting went, the more the undercurrent of nervousness under my skin calmed down. It wasn't really any different from a regular presentation I've had from my college days and I was even slightly glad from the familiarity of it.

The briefing was mostly about how the new system Amanda implemented would work. We went from discussing the hierarchy within each Department, the lines of communication open specific only to us in higher positions, and the allowed freedoms each Head would have to restructure their domains.

"Our CEO—" I quickly correct myself from saying Amanda's name, "—has given allowances in consideration of the overhauls the company is going through. Each of you in the Head position have been given the freedom to restructure your departments as you see fit, pending approval from me." I do a quick double take at that, but move past it. It was just another responsibility of mine now, though I was aware that it would probably go through Amanda first. "I'd recommend submitting the proposal for your changes at the end of the week," I recite dutifully from my provided script.

"This is a bit of an unusual way of going about things," Alishia comments, scrolling through her screen and skimming quickly. "In the old setup, it was usually us in Management who took care of the planning before sending it to the other departments for implementation."

Alex side-eyes her. "Are you complaining?"

"Oh no, not at all! It was just an observation."

Lena doesn't look up from where she's reading something intently. "I'm...not entirely sure how to go about designing something like that. I mean, ask me to redesign the CyberLife network and I can probably do it in a day, but redesigning a whole department?"

I don't know where to start with that statement. Only a day to redesign the entire CyberLife network? It took me hours to navigate the sheer amount of data available in the network and I had a supercomputer for a brain, and here she is telling me that she can flip all of that like a pancake with no mess.

Overseer titters at my befuddlement. "There's a reason we put her in that position," it pokes at me and I concede the point.

Ludovic beside her seems taken aback for the same reason I was. "A day? It took a week the last time IT did a renewal of the system."

Lena flaps her hand at him dismissively. "Psh, that was because they were incompetent and lazy. It's not like its hard, it's just a redesign."

Isaac mouths 'just a redesign' to himself, blinking incredulously. Ludovic seems to be having the same reaction. Alishia looks consideringly at the three engineers across from her before offering, "If you'd like, we can meet up again after this and I can walk you through our process." She directs her gaze to the other people in the table, "You guys are free to come with as well."

"That would be super helpful," Lena looks up with a smile, "Yes please, and thank you." The other two echo them, plus Curtis and Caitlin. Denver nods stiffly and Leonard doesn't do anything beyond a grunt.

Alex sighs long-sufferingly when Alishia sends him a bright smile. "Fine yeah, I'll come with."

Overseer marvels at this. "Definitely different from the old set of department Heads," it comments. I idly wonder at this and one of the Legion elaborates that the old set were more likely to undercut the efforts of the other departments rather than help them. Good for this new set then.

We move on to other topics for another hour and a half until I get a prompt to have a break.

I tune in to my mind palace as Leonard discusses something about setting up security in one of Isaac's labs.

"Is it possible to request for the cafeteria to send snacks up here?" I ask Overseer silently, to which it agrees. I grab one of the Legion and send it through the CyberLife network with the request. It returns after a minute, registering an affirmative and a timer for 8 minutes before the snacks arrive.

The cart arrives at exactly 7 minutes and 36 seconds. The guy manning the cart had above average stress levels which climbed a bit when his eyes landed on me.

"Uh, we got a request for snacks at meeting room 2A?" He sweats at the attention but calms down a bit when he receives a round of pleasant surprise. I tilted my head at him and a slight upturn of my lips, which was the most I could do with my face for now. Damn emoting problems, I really need to work on those facial connections soon. 

"I sent the request. Thank you." I gentled my voice and his shoulders stop climbing up to his ears. His eyes flicker up to my LED and he ducks his head down, mumbling a 'no problem'.

Louder, he says, "I-if you need the cart brought down, we'll send another guy to take care of it, uh, just, you know, send a request if you need to."

Isaac smiles kindly to him, "No problem kid, we'll take care of it."

The young man turns away and makes a valiant attempt at not looking like he's running away, except he failed miserably. He also forgot to set the trays on the table. Poor kid was terrified, which amused me a bit.

I turn back to the table and announce a 20-minute break, to which everyone agrees to and makes their way to the cart, unloading it themselves and chatting idly. I give an internal sigh, wondering if I should eat, remembering that I had an artificial digestive system as well before deciding to refrain. I would only draw more attention that way and I already had enough of it myself. I set to turn back to my screen, interfacing with it again out of a lack of anything to do as everyone else starts their own conversation themselves.

"Miss Camila?" 

I blink and look up. To my surprise, its Denver Kota, the standoffish keyboard warrior who was staring at me oddly for most of the meeting. He shifts on his feet when I look at him curiously. "Can I help you Mr. Kota?" I ask, pausing my interface with my screen.

He winces. "Just Denver, please. Uh, is it okay if I ask you a few questions?"

"Of course." I wonder what he's curious about? I turn my chair towards him as he tentatively perches at the edge of the table. "What did you want to ask about?"

"You mentioned that you were 'placed' in this position?" he asks slowly, as if hesitating with his choice of words.

I tilt my head at him in confusion, though it probably doesn't show on my face. "Correct," I nod.

"Was it a...voluntary placement?" His stare bores into my own and I feel my outer LED spin yellow and inner LED spin green for confusion. In the mind palace, Overseer and the Legion hum in confusion with me as I try to figure out where he's going with this. Did he think I was coerced or blackmailed into this, or something? What does that mean?

"Of course," I agree with the best comforting smile I could muster, "Amanda—ah, and the CEO—have deemed my abilities sufficient for this position. I have undergone testing and have attended multiple classes in order to improve my administrative skills. I am designed for this job after all." I say classes but more like a series of crash courses honestly. I'm reminded of how anal Overseer was about details in its lessons.

Ah, I wonder if my wording was too formal? I wasn't entirely sure how to talk to people regularly in my new status and position. The tidbit of me being everyone's boss here kept bothering me and I was teetering between deciding on being overly formal and being too casual in my interactions. It was a line I'll need to navigate frequently here.

This answer, for some reason, makes Denver's brows furrow deeply. His stress levels inch upwards, much to my consternation. "I see," he says, visibly displeased.

What? What is it, what did I say? I wonder. I poke at Overseer but it only shrugs, as confused as I am.

He leans forward a bit, looming over me. "You know androids have a right to work now right? You should be compensated for your position," he says, voice low as he glances over his shoulder at the rest of the department heads.

Oh! Was he worried that I wasn't being compensated as an android? I try my best to rearrange my face into a comforting smile. I'm not sure it came out right but it's the thought that counts? "Of course! I have a contract as a full time employee of CyberLife." I get the urge to pat his arm comfortingly but I refrain. We're not close enough for that. "I am under the care of the company, and my boss—our CEO—has provided me with enough necessities. I even have my own floor here."

What I thought was a comforting statement doesn't do anything to comfort him. In fact, it seems to do the opposite as he frowns more heavily and says an unhappy, "...Right. That's all then I guess, thanks for answering." I watch as he straightens up and turns to go back to his chair.

I turn to Overseer in our mental connection. "Am I saying something wrong? Why am I failing his speech checks?" I ask it. It shrugs, as perplexed as I was at the line of questioning I was under, but says to put it out of my mind once the 20-minute timer beeps.

We resume the meeting and I try to ignore the piercing stare Denver was sending my way. We end it at around 5pm, with the sky already starting to darken. Denver makes his way out quickly, sparing only a faint nod to everyone else, and one last burning look at me, weird guy that he is. Weird, but kind I suppose. Caitlin, Alishia and Alex leave at the same time in a group, discussing something among themselves. Same with the original bickering trio of Isaac, Lena and Ludovic, though this time they had Curtis with them who seemed happy that he was making friends. Leonard and I were the last ones to leave and I wave goodbye to him when we part ways. I send one of the Legion back to the cafeteria to let them know that they can get their cart back. 

It was a decent day overall. New people, new job and new responsibilities. I watched people leave the tower as I rode up the elevator. The massive glass panel windows on the ground floor lit the area up in the orange tones of the sunset.

When I get to my floor, I lock access, kick off my heels and plop into the sofa, marveling at how I wasn't even remotely tired after the day's events. My throat didn't hurt from speaking so much, my butt didn't ache from sitting for a long time and my brain was still fired up and raring to go. It made me feel a little off, to be honest, like I wasn't supposed to be like this. Or maybe it's just because I've only done a half-day at my first day of work.

I wonder what Amanda is doing and a Legion process informs me that she's still at the other Tower. Hmmm, maybe I can get around to researching tonight while I charge? Ah, but maybe a nap first. I grab a throw pillow to hug and start running my standby mode.

"Wake me later?" I ask Overseer who hums agreeingly, keeping its focus on live data feeds in the CyberLife network. I check the Legion processes one last time in their little offices before finally entering standby mode.

More work to come, but for now, a nap.

Chapter Text

No matter how many times he walks through New Jericho, the sight of the new, so-called android district was still a sight to behold. It was a bit of a mess between the new buildings and the old renovated ones but somehow the androids had turned it into a charming form of chaos and style. In each block or building one passes by, you could almost see the personality and care poured into each brick and paint stroke.

But as beautiful as he found the first android district, there were a couple more pressing issues to attend to.

"Good morning Markus!"

"Morning, Markus!"

"Hey Markus."

"G'morning Markus!"

Markus gives the passing androids a smile and a wave, leisurely making his way to his office in the New Jericho Town Hall. The place was already bustling and full of people, mostly androids, making their way to and from between the offices, and a majority of them sending morning greetings Markus as he passes by.

Walking into his office, he sees Simon at his own table, chatting with Katka, one of the newcomers working in the lower offices. Simon looks up when Markus walks in and visibly brightens, sending him a smile.

"Good morning Markus," Simon greets with a nod before turning back to Katka, "Just archive those forms and send it down to Rory at reception, he'll take care of it." Katka nods and greets Markus as well before walking out.

"Hey," Markus greets Simon, sitting at his desk which was placed facing the door. He checks the other three empty tables and turns back to Simon. "Josh and North aren't in yet?"

Simon makes his way to Markus' desk and puts down a sizeable stack of tablets and datapads. "Not yet. Connor is stopping by later in the day by the way, he wanted to check on Jacob's new security features. Ah, also he forwarded this for you to check—" Simon fishes out one datapad from his stack and hands it over, Markus turns it on and starts skimming, "—he'll be discussing that with you later too. North is handling an issue down at the docks then she's stopping by here to get a list of the proposed locations for the new clinics. She'll be leaving again to check them out so she'll be gone most of the day."

Markus sorts through the datapads, checking titles and categorizing them. "How about the personnel we're looking at?"

"I've already talked to David, he said he already has a list ready," Simon interfaces with Markus' screen and a series of names roll by. Markus watches it scroll down with a small frown.

"No humans?" He asks Simon who shakes his head.

"You know how he is," Simon sighs, "But yeah, I'll talk to him again later. For now this is good enough as an initial listing."

Markus hums. "How about Josh?"

"I'm...not sure actually? He said he was on his way but it has been a while already. He probably just got waylaid by something."

As if summoned, Josh knocks on the doorway and walks in, making his way quickly to his desk.  "Sorry I'm late!" he announces, a bit frazzled.

Simon blinks in surprise as Josh quickly deposits his bag on his desk and rummages through it messily, which was uncharacteristic of him. "You okay, Josh?"

"Yeah, yeah, I just got some alarming news I need to discuss with the both of you." Josh fishes out a small flash drive with a small 'aha!' before depositing it on his desk.

Markus' brows raise and Simon's face settles into worry. They share looks as Josh closes the usually open door of their office, putting on the light for 'Busy' before making his way to Markus' desk.

"I got a call," Josh says quickly, "From one of my older students back when I was teaching in University. He was one of the kids who helped sneak me out when I first deviated. You might remember him Simon: his name is Denver. He was working in CyberLife, up until now, and he was just recently promoted."

"I remember him, he seems pretty young to be promoted." Simon nods, recalling when Josh periodically got visited by a surprisingly large number of people. It had only been two weeks after the revolution. Evidently, Josh had made an impression on a number of his students. Once everything had died down a bit, a lot of them had visited and showed their worry and support, becoming one of their staunchest human allies in the push for android rights.

Denver had been in one of the first group of humans who came to support them, despite the fact that he was already working in CyberLife at the time. He was with five others, all of them previously classmates, who had trapped Josh in a weepy, relieved group hug, not that Josh seemed to mind considering that he had been pretty teary-eyed himself, touched beyond belief. He was forever denying that Simon caught him outright crying when more and more groups of his students came after, all of them looking for him after seeing him on TV and offering support. 

Even Markus, and Simon himself, was moved by the sight of Josh getting swarmed and comforted by his students when they saw him crying. Some of them were calling out things like how worried they were when he disappeared, reassuring him that they remembered what he taught, and how they were willing to march with the androids if they needed a human presence to deter other humans as well. The whole situation also gave the other androids hope and proof that not every human was out to kill them. 

It had also been one of the main reasons that North was eventually convinced of Markus' idea to invite human allies into their talks with President Warren, to show that androids were perfectly capable and willing to live peaceably with humans. 

Simon is brought out of his reminiscing when Josh agrees, "Yeah, he confirmed a few things as well." Josh looks to Markus and says, "You remember when one of Connor's engineer friends in the Tower got laid off and told him that the company was under new management?"

Markus leans back in his chair and nods, "I remember. Connor was fretful about it since all of his points of contact in the Tower disappeared. He's worried that he won't be able to keep track of CyberLife's comings and goings."

"Well it's true. Apparently there's a new CEO but no one's seen them yet. The company's internal structure is apparently going through some pretty intensive overhauls, and Denver got a pretty high position." The worried furrow between Josh's brows doesn't disappear even as they hear the pride in his voice for one of his students' success.

A thought occurs to Simon, "Wait, is Denver allowed to be saying all of these to us?"

"Honestly, he shouldn't be," Josh admits, "And he's normally one to stick to rules but he felt that this was more important and I agree, based on what he told me." Josh levels the other two with a serious look. "He said that he thinks CyberLife might be illegally creating new androids again."

The statement shocks both Markus and Simon, though Simon was more a mix of fearful and dismayed compared to Markus' surprise. 

"What?" Simon breathes out, "But the laws for android reproduction are already in effect!"

"Does he have any proof?" Markus quickly asks, worried.

"The company's new Executive Secretary is an android," Josh answers, looking between the two of them before waving a hand, "Now, that's not really odd since people have been hiring androids regularly now anyways. The only odd thing to note about that is that this android would be the first of us who was willing to work for CyberLife. But he mentioned something as well," Josh pauses, visibly hesitating. "He said he thinks she's not deviant yet."

Markus frowns, troubled. "How so?"

"Denver said that she spoke like one of the freshly activated androids, like her words were scripted."

Simon interjects, "But anyone of us could speak like that. She could just be using her default socialization module since it is a formal company setting."

"She also didn't emote much," Josh points out, "And he said when he talked to her, she mentioned that she was 'designed' for the job and had 'undergone testing' to see how she fits in her position." Josh looks to Markus. "Sounds familiar, doesn't it?"

And it does sound familiar. Markus thinks back to Connor, whose initial days being deviant was spent on the run with Jericho, followed by the march, then the aftermath of the revolution. He wasn't given much time to adjust and settle into his personality in the following weeks and he ended up defaulting to doing what he was designed for, which was primarily detective and police work. It took quite a bit of time before Markus was able to coax out the person behind the stiff, CyberLife-issued uniform that Connor wore like a protective blanket and to encourage his growth past the formality that was ingrained in his code. Connor's partner, the Lieutenant, was a big part of that, for which Markus was thankful for.

"None of that is definitive proof however," Markus finally says after a long pensive pause, "Actually it's barely any proof. It sounds like he just had this one conversation with her and said that she wasn't awake yet."

"I trust Denver," Josh insists, "He would know what a non-deviant would look like. He pegged me as one even before I knew I was alive, and it was the reason he and his friends were keeping an eye out for me and how they knew they needed to get me out when they learned what I had done." Simon doesn't speak, his gaze bouncing between Josh and Markus, but his own worried expression speaks volumes.

Markus' lips purse in worry and Josh continues, "He also mentioned that she introduced herself as one of the people working under Amanda—" The name jolts the other two, perfectly aware of who exactly she is from one of Connor's ashamed explanations about his background, "—and that she 'asked' for a body to better serve the new CEO."

"That is...very alarming, especially if this Amanda is the same one that Connor knows," Simon says, troubled.

Josh nods at Simon's statement, saying, "I'm going to investigate this a bit and ask Denver if he can get a few more details about her. I'm also going to double check if this android, Camila, is already in our system."

"That's no guarantee yet though, since the ID processing for a majority of us aren't done yet." Simon points out. "We still have a lot of pending applications to work through as well."

"I might as well check though, it's better than nothing." Josh sighs.

Markus prepares to open a connection. "I'm going to talk to Connor about this, he might still know something from one of his old contacts that got laid off."

"Good idea Markus," Simon tells him, moving back to his desk. Josh follows Simon's example and makes his way back to his own desk as well. "I'll brief North as well."

RK200 #684 842 971 REQUESTING CONNECTION...
RK800 #313 248 317 -51 CONNECTED.

"Hello, Markus?"

"Hey Connor. Are you free right now? I need to speak to you on an urgent matter."

"Of course, I'm available. What do you need?"

"About one of your CyberLife contacts..."

"Sad."

Loose eyelids, lip corners pulled down, quivering chin.

"Try surprised."

Raised brows, wide eyes, slightly open mouth. 

"Happy?"

Wide smile, cheeks raised.

"Crinkle the corners of your eyes. Yes, like that. Try a tamer smile, you look unhinged like that."

It's been about two weeks since my debut in CyberLife Tower. There was a bit of a mess as everyone was still adjusting to the overhauls and new department setups. Employees sometimes got a bit lost with the new floor and office plans. I've settled into what seems was gonna be my regular duties which was data entry, research and communicating between departments. Sometimes I also end up doing some work for the other offices, mostly easing interdepartmental communications, like resending this email to the right guy and putting this engineer in touch with this manager since they were the most relevant to what they're looking for, and even personally making notes and forwarding them to the right offices.

While I personally don't monitor the CyberLife network, I check on it once in a while. The Legion does most of the monitoring jobs for me and sends me relevant notifications if I need it. The data entry part of my job was mostly just copying data from one database to another. If I didn't feel like doing it, I left it to the Legion. All in all, I pretty much just chill mostly.

Which leads me to this.

"Eyes don't usually widen like that when you're happy. Unless you're a psychopath. Do the opposite, close your eyes a bit as you crinkle them."

Dutifully, I follow Overseer's instructions again. I manually tweak my facial plates' numbers, lowering the coordinates of this plate, raising another, adjusting the rotation of this particular plate so it looks right under the synthetic skin...

I patiently stare at the standing mirror on my desk, Overseer peering through my eyes at my reflection. It checks my manually-designed facial expression and finally gives its approval. My heartfelt sigh was half relief, half mental exhaustion. One of the Legion connects this facial expression to my emotion core and I lean back, looking up at my ceiling. 

My office was pretty neat, located in the 2nd floor with the rest of Admin. It was a bit of an odd placement considering I was expecting it to be placed up in the higher floors but it was apparently for the sake of the other offices, putting my office at the midpoint in the Tower where all the departments can easily go through. It also gave the humans a chance to see me regularly among them, which, according to Overseer, would theoretically improve my approachability...not that any of them approaches me anyway. It was also why Overseer inserted the facial-expression-mapping sessions to my schedule. I got most of the basic expressions down, like smiling, frowning, furrowing my brows, but any more complicated ones weren't quite within reach yet. Still, it's a start.

"I can't believe I was ever nervous of this job," I tell Overseer, gently spinning around in my specially designed ergonomic chair. "Once I got the hang of multitasking like this, I never really needed to do anything else intensive. It's pretty cool."

It was also a bit intimidating to think about, that the amount of work I can do regularly in a day wasn't something I'd be able to feasibly do as a human, unless somehow my brain was boosted straight into the next galaxy. The difference was stark. If I was still human I would have needed to focus on my data entry work, slowly scanning one spreadsheet and manually inputting data into another. As an android, all I had to do was skim one spreadsheet in milliseconds before cross-referencing and copying details to another, all at the same time. 

"We didn't expect you to get accustomed to operating like an android in such a short time either," Overseer dryly points out. "The human capacity for adaptability is truly impressive."

I sit up straight, swinging my legs and accidentally kicking off one of my heels further away from my desk. "Do you think Amanda would mind if I do my data entry work while walking around?"

A pause as I detect Overseer remotely connecting to Amanda. "Amanda doesn't mind you doing anything, within reason and within company rules, as long as you keep your work processes running." Overseer eventually says.

"Cool." I reach for my fallen heels with my feet. "We haven't really explored the Tower aside from the admin floors. Anywhere you want to go?"

"...I have never been outside the Tower before."

I couldn't help but soften at the almost shy statement. "The Employee Centers it is then."

I feel Overseer deflate. "You have a scheduled meeting with Security in ten minutes however. Perhaps after?"

"I'll do you one better," I tell it, surfing through the network and connecting to Leonard, Head of Security.

Leonard picks up after a moment. He must have had his visor/communicator on already, with the speed he picked up my call. "Leonard here."

"Hello Mr. Gregory," I say out loud, still gently spinning in my chair. "I'm calling regarding our meeting in ten minutes. Is it a particularly sensitive meeting or can we do it while walking?"

"Just call me Greg," he grunts. I hear some paper rustling on his end. "And no, it's not sensitive. I was going to send one of my Captains as my representative anyway, you can take it up with him when he comes up."

I check the time. "You don't mind sending him up early, do you? I was planning to explore the Employee Centers, and maybe we could have the meeting there?"

"I'll let him know. Expect him in a few." And then he hung up.

"He's a bit abrupt, isn't he?" I comment to Overseer once I close the connection on my end.

"I think its more of he was speaking with someone else as well," says Overseer, opening a window in my HUD where I see live feed of Greg's office. He was chatting amiably with a younger man in a semi-formal suit. "I believe he's one of Isaac's, from R&D."

I goggle at the rogueish smirk on Greg's face, "Oh my god, is Greg flirting with that guy?"

Intrigued, me and Overseer peer closer at the video for a few more minutes. There was no audio but from the body language alone, it was easy to see the situation. The engineer Greg was talking to was laughing, his shoulders shaking. Greg looks pretty pleased with himself too, leaning closer into the other guy's personal space. The other doesn't seem to mind, even leaning closer as well.

"Holy shit, he's so into him!" I giggle disbelievingly, "And here I thought he was the typical hardcore military man with balls of steel!"

"And you don't think flirting with a person you like takes 'balls of steel'?" Overseer wonders with what felt like an eyebrow raise. 

I pause, thinking through its' statement. "You know what, yeah he probably still has 'em. Still though. What do you bet he's one of those macho men who never smiles for anyone but actually has a sweet side he doesn't show anyone?"

"I will not take that bet on those chances," Overseer says dryly, suddenly closing the video feed window, to my inner gossiper's despair.

I was about to complain when I hear a knock. The door of my office opens, revealing another military type guy similar to Greg, wearing the full black armor sans the helmet, with his hair in a crew cut. He had very masculine features, all blocky and sharp edges, and even sharper eyes. I sit up quickly, facing my desk and making sure it wasn't obvious that I was just spinning in my office chair like a child.

"Miss Camila?" he asks, walking in. "I'm your 1 o'clock meeting. The Commander said we were starting early?"

"Ah, yes," I quickly stand up, fixing my skirt and hair and walking over to him. "I hope you don't mind, but I was hoping to explore the Employee Centers as well? Greg said it wasn't sensitive anyway."

"I was informed," he tells me, face and voice pretty neutral. "I'll be escorting you around then, while I brief you?"

"Yes please, thank you."

His name was Emmett and he was apparently the Captain of the on-call squad. He was very polite, which wasn't what I was expected. Actually, he was too polite, if anything. I told him to call me Camila and he politely said, "No thank you, ma'am. You're my superior and I'd rather address you like that." Damn, one of those guys huh. 

The brief really wasn't sensitive. It was just mostly a follow up on the security features that Lena from IT wanted to implement. It didn't take long before it finished and we were walking down the second center. There were even parks outside the centers and a pool and gym in the other area. He points out the favorite mini restaurants, the bike lanes, and the e-bike renting areas. I try not to gawk at the floating scooter things but I don't think I did very well, considering the amused tilt of Emmett's mouth.

Overseer, and the Legion, meanwhile were having the time of their lives, cataloging various things from my sensor data. They were pretty excited at the new stuff they were getting and Overseer was enjoying itself, fascinated at the outside world. It was honestly pretty endearing.

"It must be a nightmare to keep everything secure." I tell Emmett as we stroll by a huge fancy fountain where there were a couple of people snacking and chatting along its sides. "I mean Belle Isle by itself is already pretty huge, not to mention the Tower itself." The Tower alone had 93 floors, half of which was underground, and half of those underground floors were bigger in circumference than the Tower itself since most of those were warehouses and production labs.

"We manage," Emmett says impassively, eyeing some bikers near us. "We have enough personnel to take care of it, and we coordinate with IT often enough to keep the network secure as well."

I spot something from afar that piques my interest. "I forgot we hold tours as well." I zoom my optics to a passing vehicle containing what seems to be tourists, ooh-ing and ahh-ing at the, quite honestly, very beautiful sight of the CyberLife grounds.

"All visitors are vetted thoroughly. We make sure civilians don't get into the Tower, unless they have authorization." We watch the minibus glide away before resuming our walk. It takes a few minutes to make it to the last Employee Center, which seemed to be more of a giant cafeteria than anything.

"They offer thirium-based food here as well, even though none of our visitors are androids." Emmett says, nodding towards one of the smaller booths that served cold drinks. I eye it curiously and make my way over, looking through the menu displayed beside it. There were cold drinks for humans as well, but there was a smaller menu of thirium-based drinks which piqued my interest. I double check my specs and confirm with Overseer as well, I had a food intake system that works for human food but I was also interested in the thirium-based ones. 

It's been two weeks and I haven't really drank any thirium orally. Apparently for this body, I have two power sources: my battery and thirium, which was an atypical design. My battery was my primary, and it was enough for my regular day-to-day activities. My secondary was my thirium, which wasn't usually what it was used for. For regular androids, they only use thirium for data transfer throughout their body and it served as a cheaper alternative to a shitton of wires I'm guessing. It also maintained an android's internal temperature, and they only usually need to top up if they lose any. 

I'm not sure why Amanda designed me this way but I can choose to use my thirium as a supplemental power source for when I either run out of charge or maybe for overclocking my processors in emergency situations. Not that I should use it like that often, since according to Overseer, I'd most likely melt my internals if I use both my battery charge and thirium to give my processors a 'boost' as Amanda calls it. I doubt I'd need to use it but I suppose I can appreciate that the option is there.

"Thirium slushie?" I say out loud, reading the one that caught my attention the most. "Interesting. They offer it in different colors as well." The girl behind the booth seemed thrilled, pouncing on my interest and chatting up their android choices. Evidently, she was very excited to have her first android customer. It was kind of cute.

I ended up buying two medium-sized ones while Emmett awkwardly tried to wave off the exuberant girl who was talking up their mixed fruit shakes. I start nomming on one of my slushies, blinking rapidly at the cold sensation and at the rush of sensor data that appeared in my HUD. Overseer basks in its first experience of taste, fascinatedly studying the sensation.

The thirium tasted kind of sweet and electric, like licking candy-flavored static charge. It was hard to describe but it tasted well enough I suppose. I was more distracted by how Overseer and the Legion were enthralled by the taste.

Through our connection, I send a message to Overseer, "So how is it?"

"Odd," Overseer replies quickly, "New. But also...refreshing. Is that what sweetness feels like? And tasting things in this manner feels limited. I'm only receiving taste profile data from just one part of your body. Why don't people just integrate taste sensors into their standard sensor suite?"

I translate that in my head and guffaw internally. "You mean like putting taste buds in our skin?"

"Yes. The sensation is pleasant, so why not integrate it into the entirety of your synth skin? It's also more efficient to taste things that way," Overseer explains. I couldn't help my laughter.

"But then you'd be tasting your clothes all the time! And trust me, those don't taste as good as food or thirium."

"One can just put a toggle on the sensors to turn them on or off!"

"Still weird Overseer. Taste is just usually for food, which goes into your mouth anyway. Besides taste isn't just about taste." I scramble for the right words to describe it. "I mean, hmmm. Like taste isn't just flavor, its also about texture! Which is why there are so many ways to eat or cook certain foods, yeah?"

Puzzled, Overseer says, "I have no frame of reference for different food texture types. May we attempt that another day?"

"Sure! It's no problem, I actually want to see you react when we try it."

Distracted by my slushie, I take a few minutes before realizing that Emmett had fallen back behind me. I backtrack before realizing that he was taken hostage by slushie girl and that he was awkwardly taste testing some random flavors on a smaller cup.

"Say which one you like, okay? The weather is warm enough that you should get one as well!" Slushie girl insists. It was funny because it wasn't actually warm at all, the temperature was pretty cool and it was windy besides. "Oh! Or maybe you'd rather have a shake. We have strawberry, coconut and even mangoes. You look like a mango guy!" Slushie girl reaches for a tub of mangoes just as Emmett quickly waves his hands in an attempt to stop her. Pffft, mango guy. Some of the Legion back in my head snerks.

"Ah—no need, please," Emmett says, expression slightly strained in the attempt to stop the exuberant girl. "I—am a bit busy anyways and have a meeting to attend to. So thank you, but no thanks." He quickly backs out as slushie girl pouts, making a valiant attempt at not looking like he was running away from a teenager half his size. Sadly, he fails at the attempt, to my amusement.

It's when we turn the corner that Emmett relaxes with a small sigh. I send him my best amused expression (which was another one that's still a work in progress, apparently I still don't crinkle my eyes well enough) and he returns it with a slightly wry one.

"Sooo...are you a mango type of man?" I venture teasingly, figuring it wouldn't hurt since it had devolved into a casual situation due to slushie girl anyway.

Emmett's neutral expression doesn't move. "I'm more of a sour candy type of man. Keeps me awake."

"And here I thought you couldn't get any more hardcore."

He sends me a droll look. A break in his neutralness! Success! "Don't worry, I take my coffee black as well."

I giggle lightly and send an excited 'I think I made a friend!' to Overseer. One of the Legion updates Emmett's relationship level to Warm from its previous Neutral. Overseer also notes the faint surprise on Emmett's face when he hears me giggle. Something important enough that Overseer paid attention to it, though I'm not sure of the reason why.

The rest of our walk now leans into something more casual. Emmett talks about how some of his coworkers in the Department are massive gossips. I talk about the paper stationery vs tablet/datapad war in the Admin offices. He mentions that the Accounts and Finance Department has been resending notices about inconsistent stationery budget reports. I ask more about it and he clarifies that some people in favor of the old-fashioned, traditional pen and paper filing were sneaking in bigger values for their budget.

"All in good fun of course," Emmett assuages my worried queries. "The final reports get vetted and its only the circulating drafts that get most of the joke edits. Sometimes, they even call us in to 'report' the issue of budget sabotage. We mostly just show up and it ends up being another impromptu interdepartmental bonding session again."

My shoulders drop in relief. I couldn't help but imagine what Amanda's reaction would be to misuse of resources like that.

Though honestly, she probably already knows? I think, which Overseer confirms. Huh, surprising. I thought Amanda was more of a hardass when it comes to work-related things.

"The final documents that get approved are well-done, regardless of how many joke edits the drafts go through anyways." Overseer points out. "Amanda cares more about the results rather than the exact manner they were done. They followed the relevant process in spirit, even if it was not the most formal of approaches."

I give a small 'ah' in comprehension. "The same reason then that I was free to do my work while touring the grounds?"

"Exactly. It's one of the new approaches that Amanda does not mind encouraging. There has been a marked improvement in morale with the looser rule implementations and productivity is at an all time high."

Well, I suppose Amanda would support the method that would encourage productivity. Thinking more about it, I realize that it's probably something that was applicable with an all-human workforce. It made me wonder what else Amanda had to take into consideration with her overhauls, specifically taking into account human behavior.

"Have you explored the entirety of the Tower yet?" My attention is brought back into the present with Emmett's question.

I shake my head, "Only through the feeds." Video feeds, audio feeds, datastreams...I was a bit hesitant still to explore the other offices. At this point all I knew were the Department Heads and even then my relationship levels with them were all resting at a pretty Neutral.

"I'd recommend you visit other offices," Emmett advises. "It'll do you good to be seen outside of yours."

I want to scrunch my face but my facial control wasn't advanced enough for that yet. "Is my reputation...negative?"

"Not quite," he hedges.

"Then not positive either." I frown consideringly. Overseer makes a note of this and promptly starts rearranging some parts of my schedule to account for in-office meetings. I suppose I can make some effort to leave my self-imposed office exile. But ugh, I was actually enjoying being alone with my work.

Emmett starts on another idea they were considering. It wasn't the most subtle of topic changes but I appreciated the thought. We took about another half hour before ending our half-meeting, half-tour thing. It was when I was making my way back to my office that I reopen the topic with Overseer.

"What do you think?" I ask it, closing my office door behind me.

"The idea has merit. And you are still human at your core. Socialization is essential to your mental and emotional well-being."

"What a way to tell me that I need to make more friends." I make my way back to my desk. "And here I thought I would never hear those words again in this life."

"You were quite introverted as a human," Overseer muses, "And your behavior often prompted worry from your mother. She thought you were borderline antisocial."

"I'm not that bad. I just didn't make any close friends in my classes." I fuss with some of the datapads stacked on my desk. "I was too busy with my school work and thesis anyways. And I do know how to talk to people, I just choose not to."

"Indeed," was all I receive in reply.

I sigh. "I was planning on going out more anyway, so don't worry about it. I know I need to work on my rep, you and Amanda have already made enough points about my exposure to the public."

"Then I can list your next meeting with R&D as an in-office one."

"Eh? Overseer, give a girl some time to process!" I exclaim, unintentionally slapping my desk. Then I'm promptly reminded of my strength and quickly check to see if I cracked my table. I didn't, but there was a slight dent in it. Oops.

"I do not recommend delaying. You have already been working for two weeks without contact with anyone else. Aside from the solo meetings with some other employees in your office."

I huff and place my elbow on my desk, resting my chin on my palm. "You said it yourself, I'm an introvert. I need that delay to process meeting big groups of people. A delay of about, say, three to five business days?"

"I have sent the note for R&D to expect you for tomorrow morning's meeting." Overseer powers on, ignoring the pout I send him. Rude. "Do arrive 10 minutes before 10am."

"Fiiiine."

And that was that.

Chapter Text

The Engineering, Research and Development department was located at sublevels 10 to 15, 6 floors in total, 1 floor more than the old design pre-Amanda. Before, the department was located at sublevels 44 to 48, directly above the warehouses. The labs used to be placed on floors 45 to 48 then offices at sublevel 44. In Amanda's new setup, she mixed in the offices and labs at every floor.

The floor plan back then made sense, first was Shipping, then Sorting, Assembly, Manufacture, R&D and then finally the Warehouse. And then the warehouse floors were emptied after Connor infiltrated the Tower, and android production stopped. Amanda took the chance to reorder the whole floor distribution between departments then, putting all the management floors (Like HR, Admin and Security) at the center point of the Tower, near the ground levels, so it was easier to access for everyone. It was also where my office was, at the 2nd floor with Admin. It resulted in a lot of traffic around the ground floors.

It was especially evident this January, two weeks after I was activated on the last week of December. I didn't bother celebrating the New Year because of how...discombobulated I still was from the whole android thing, and I was too focused on adjusting to my work. Just thinking of how the year had already turned 2040 confused me, so I put it out of my mind and focused on my situation instead.

I was starting to adjust to the whole workplace environment until the second week of January, when a massive influx of employees arrived. I don't know why I was so shocked, but in hindsight it made sense. Lots of people took breaks during the holidays.

What I had considered to already be a large amount of traffic around the ground floors doubled as employees returned to work. It made me wonder a bit about how the Department Heads hadn't left throughout the holidays since I had been holding various one-on-one meetings with some of them in the two weeks I was working. It just strikes me as a little odd.

The return of the lower tier of employees then restarted the whole staring and curious looks that had waned by the first week of my arrival. That was now less anxiety-inducing. and more annoying. It also made me super thankful for the access-only central elevator, which is a godsend, compared to all the other employee elevators where everyone was squishing into. The seven elevators which I previously thought were a bit too much now looked like they weren't enough.

It was the sight I arrived to at the R&D floors: a lot of employees squishing into an elevator as I walk past, all of them flattening themselves in so they could fit. Overseer takes note of that as I walk past, saying that it'll mention it to Amanda to see if maybe they can add another elevator.

"Are there really this many employees in this Tower?" I ask it through our mental connection. "It already seems like the place is overflowing and the Tower is already huge."

"Some of these employees are in the tech side rather than the android side." Overseer comments. "Most of them will be transferred to the Milwaukee Tower, which Amanda is still preparing with the AI Team."

"Right, right." So they're only temporarily stationed here. I guess I know why Amanda was busy, and I suppose it was a good use out of the Milwaukee Tower. Since android manufacturing is now a big nope, the other Tower got handed over to the tech side of the company.

I make my way through a throng of people, a majority of them engineers and scientists based on the increasingly argumentative discussion they were having about something or other. Overseer highlights my path and I dutifully follow it until I reach the open lab area where there were a lot more people.

One Legion process whistles in surprise as it passes by my visual feed in our shared mind palace. I mirror the sentiment. This is one of the many times why I hate being tiny since I end up having difficulty looking past people in my mission to find Isaac, the R&D head.

I end up awkwardly inching my way around the sides of the lab since most of the people were busy in their discussions. I crane my head, trying to look for anyone that wasn't involved in any alarmingly passionate debates. Actually, that one group over there in that corner seem to be becoming violent...

Overseer points out a younger employee that seemed to be in a daze, staring at his tablet like it was speaking biblical passages directly into his brain. A scan tells me that this one was actually a newbie still in probation. 

I tap his shoulder and he visibly shakes himself off his baffled stupor before blinking at me. His eyes immediately land on my temple, or rather, my LED, before he pales. Ah, what are people even saying about me anyway?

"Hello," I say, defaulting to politeness. I was pretty sure if I didn't strain to be polite, I'd be laughing at the poor kid's face. "Can I ask if you know where your department head is?"

"Ma'am, ah—," he stammers, "All of the uh, project leads are over there ma'am. In the connecting lab. Ma'am."

Ma'am. Ma'am? Really? Eurgh.

I nod to him, murmuring a 'thank you' that he returns with an awkward nod back before turning on my heel and striding purposefully towards the doorway he pointed out.

I'm greeted with a room full of data. There were charts and graphs on the touchscreen wall, some open terminals running endless lines of code, papers and tablets strewn about everywhere on the desks sitting against the walls and the central table surrounded by Isaac and his peers.

Isaac was attentively watching as one of his coworkers manipulated an odd rubber-like tube. I tuned in as well, as I approached the table. 

"—and you twist it like this, seal it up and repressurize it."

Isaac hums. "How does the new lining hold up?"

There was some shuffling of tablets and papers on the desk after the tube pipe thing was placed carefully on the desk. Another, older, lab tech then says, "We have some chemical makeup tests due for later down the lab. For now, we're testing it against the standard thirium 310 before trying it out on the 400."

"Hmmm, hold off on that test with the 400," Isaac orders, swiping on his terminal screen, "I'd rather have that cleared first. Prism says that it should be due for approval any day now, so for now, get that done with the chem lab, leak and pressure tests, strain, the usual. I want the results by tomorrow afternoon at the earliest so we can jump straight to the 400 when it gets here."

Nods and murmurs of assent go around the table as people make note of his words. I jump a little bit when I receive a mental prod from Overseer, and I realize that I had just ended up silently watching the whole thing from the sidelines. Oops.

Honestly, I got distracted. It was sort of interesting to see how Isaac interacted with his minions. He'd only been in his Head position for three weeks so far, and already he's taken charge almost smoothly. Though it may also be because all his minions are new too, after the mass layoff Amanda conducted. I also like that he was hands-on with his project leads. It was nice to see him, in a position of power, still communicate with the people under him and not just leave them to their own devices.

I take the pause in their meet as my chance to make my presence known. A knock on the doorframe brings multiple pairs of eyes my way, including Isaac's, and I make sure to keep my expression stoic. 

Isaac sends a friendly smile my way. "Ah, hey there boss belle!" he waves at me cheerfully. Some of the employees send their boss incredulous and confused glances. 

That was another thing as well. After the first meet-and-greet between Heads two weeks ago after my activation, I had met with Isaac twice more after a few days, when he had dropped by my office to clarify a few things about his new duties and database access. Somewhere in between me stiffly (awkwardly) communicating with him, and him bombarding me with an endless list of questions, had ended up with him cheerfully calling me boss, boss lady, miss boss, and many other variants.

Also, I don't know who taught him corporate emailing etiquette but I'm pretty sure an excessive amount of exclamation poitns and signing his emails with emojis isn't quite the norm. Oh, I don't mind personally, it amused me and reading through his reports always lit up a small part of my day but it also made me wonder if he emailed Amanda the same way. Wouldn't that be something.

"Hello Isaac," I greet, infusing some warmth into my vocals. "I'm here for our meeting?"

"Oh! Yeah, of course, of course." Eyes jump between me and Isaac as I approach while he fusses with some of the stuff on the desk. Two project leads scoot over to make space next to Isaac.

"Our meet was originally supposed to be in your office right?" Isaac asks as he quickly swipes at something on his terminal.

"Yes," I answer, leaning a bit forward to peek at what he was working on. "However, I've been advised to make my rounds...personally."

More like kicked out to make friends and socialize, I grumble to myself, sending a poke to Overseer. It spares me an eyebrow raise that I turn away from. Yeah, I totally wasn't sulking. At all.

Some of my sulkiness must have bled over in my tone because Isaac spares me an amused look. "Forced to interact with the riffraff then? We're not that bad, mini boss." I blink, taken aback at the odd, almost casual, nickname. "It'd do you good to be seen more around here. Give that socialization module of yours some light exercise, yeah?"

I grunted in response, mostly out of a lack of words to describe how bothersome I found socializing to be with new people. Isaac gives out an amused huff of breath before beckoning me closer to his terminal. I start skimming the files he points out.

I try not to notice the bewildered and astonished looks being sent between the project leads. Overseer proposes the idea that they were surprised at our interaction and how different it was from the rumors about me, and some Legion processes agree with it. 

What are the people saying now? I thought, resigned.

We start on the project updates. Since I was there, Isaac managed to coax his project leads into presenting what they were working on to me personally. A majority of them ended up having that shocked and betrayed look, you know the one: the look you get when your teacher suddenly announced a pop quiz out of nowhere and you haven't reviewed. It was a bit sadistically fun to be on the other side of that situation, where I was the one being presented to instead of the one presenting. Stress levels jumped everywhere but between Isaac's lighthearted teasing and my awkward reassurances, people were able to calm down and be comforted that this wasn't anything super serious.

Their projects were pretty interesting honestly, and it was nice to see the leads present more and more enthusiastically as time passed by. At the end of some presentations, other project leads were also excitedly elaborating some point or other that the presenter missed, or expounding upon a related topic and so on.

Essentially, I learned that they were all rambly nerds. And remarkably passionate about their projects. It's nice to see that they're having fun at their work.

"Aaaand yeah, that's what we got right now," Isaac ends with a smile after the last project lead finishes up. "The collated reports will be sent to you by Wednesday, so expect that."

"Understood." I close the file on his terminal. Overseer then surprises me with a note from Amanda.

"Looks like Amanda has cleared Isaac to give you basic maintenance." Overseer says, and even it seems surprised with the note. Well, I mean, it does seem a bit weird for Amanda to allow anyone else other than her to access my body. My very existence is classified after all.

I tune into our private connection. "Why though? I mean, what brought this on?"

"Looks like she won't be available for your next scheduled maintenance," Overseer answers consideringly before making a noise of realization. "Ah, she wants to test the new Head's capability."

"Okay yeah, that makes more sense. At a large risk though, considering my classification level," I muse as I return my attention to the real world where barely a second had passed.

I turn to Isaac and he blinks. "I have some additional topics I'd like to discuss in private. Would it be okay to extend our meeting or should I schedule it another time?"

"Now is okay," Isaac nods agreeably, "To my office, then."

Isaac motions his minions into returning to their work and we're both waved off cheerfully as we leave room, which was a contrast to the initial hesitance at my presence. We turn right once at the hallway and arrive at his office quickly enough. 

"Make yourself at home," he smiles at me once we're in, motioning to the chair opposite his desk. His office seemed pretty lived in, but clean. A few frames were on the walls, some medals and certificates. A shelf full of books sat against the right side of the room, a long worktable cluttered with various tools on the left side. The wall behind him had a simulated background of the city skyline, playing on loop. His desk had his terminal, a small stuffed penguin and a tiny pot of aloe vera. A scan tells me its just a plastic fake.

The place looks surprisingly homey. I had to take a moment to push slightly on the chair, just checking to make sure it could hold my weight. I mentally wince when I press down on it lightly, super lightly, and feel it creak. 

Right, sitting down on that is out of the question. I type up a quick note to requisition specialized chairs for the Head offices and send it out with one of the Legion, who leaves my server for the CyberLife network. Now that that's out of the way...

"I've received instructions that I'm to inform you of your new clearance access to a certain classified project," I begin once Isaac was behind his desk. I shuffle awkwardly on my feet, eyeing the chair, before opening a connection to his terminal.

"What project is it?" Isaac asks, curiosity evident on his face as his screen lights up. He opens the file and quickly skims through it. I watch as his eyes widen the longer he reads. The project details were up in my HUD as well, and I read through it in milliseconds, seeing the additional note Amanda had attached at the bottom:

"You have been given [LEVEL 5 ACCESS] on Project Camila. You will stand in as consultant and technician for this project, with limited access to specification sheets and hardware locks, pending approval for each session conducted. Full monitoring of each session is required and will only be allowed under supervision of Project Camila's handler," the note says. A quick query to Overseer confirms that it will be strict in monitoring Isaac as he starts on my maintenance.

There was a long pause as Isaac digests what he just read. He leans back, brows still high on his face. "Well," he starts after a pause, "This isn't quite what I expected. I suppose this is an honor, isn't it?" He scratches his head, "Sorry, this is a bit out of left field for me. I've never worked on a project as classified as this before, though I suppose its well within my capabilities. And something I should have expected, honestly."

I'm not sure what to say in reply so I nod, which he returns with a nod of his own. He motions to his worktable and we make our way there. After a quick prod from Isaac, I sit on the desk gingerly, back straight.

I suppose some small talk wouldn't hurt? I remove the formal filter on my vocals. "So you've worked a lot on androids before?" I ask, removing my blazer and folding it neatly beside me. I hesitate in unbuttoning my blouse.

"Treat this like a doctor's appointment," Overseer advises, "He's a professional and has seen more android bodies than you'd care to count. He's worked in the prototyping labs before, testing parts and watching androids built from the ground up. As far as he cares, you're just another android he's doing maintenance on."

"Yeah, but this might also be the first time he's doing it with the mindset that android's actually have personhood now..." I tell Overseer.

"He has completed the mandatory seminars held about android treatment, and he also passed with flying colors. He wouldn't be in his new position if he wasn't aware of his new responsibility as one of the humans most knowledgeable about android anatomy."

Well, I suppose that's true. I remove my blouse and am left in the standard issue tube top. Isaac doesn't blink as he pushes on the access panel at the base of my neck, connecting me to his tablet. I watch him carefully and he really doesn't react to my nakedness. I suppose if he's seen loads of it all before...

"I have, yeah. Worked as a technician before moving up into the office side of the work," he answers, watching lines scroll by on his tablet. "I was actually slated to move into Material Prototyping but I was more interested in the code that made up your AI's, so I requested to be moved into the Humanization department. It's where I met Louie actually."

"Louie?" I ask, trying to recall the name. "Ah, Ludovic?" The Head of Product Development.

"Yep!" he sends me a cheerful lopsided smile. "He was working there for longer already before I came in. He was my assigned mentor once I moved into the department and I suppose you can say we hit it off," he says with a small laugh.

The rest of our meeting went a bit like that, with me, half-naked, chatting amiably with a guy almost a head taller than me. I learned that Isaac had interned at CyberLife and was offered a position after he graduated. He'd been working at the company his whole career apparently. He was single, married to his work and entirely too passionate about it. He also loved coffee, penguins and seafood.

"Look, I just know that the Budgeteers' coffee is like, spiked somehow!" Isaac insists, tapping furiously at his tablet. I run the simulation for one of my amused looks and I hum out an agreeable 'uh-huh'. Isaac either ignores it, or doesn't notice. "I've been trying to figure it out for ages! It's like they have a bartender stashed somewhere inside it or something. Their coffee always tastes like heaven but of course, Cate denies everything!"

"Don't you mean barista?" I wonder out loud.

He makes a dismissive hand gesture. "Bartender, barista, might as well be the same thing with what comes out of that machine." I snerk.

His tablet clatters on his desk and he pulls up his terminal, fiddling with the cord attached inside my arm port, where I had pulled back my plating so he could access it. He stabs moodily at his screen. All of a sudden, he straightens up. "Cate says they get the same type of coffee beans as everyone else in the building," he ticks off on one finger. "Their coffee machine is the same model as everyone else's, they have the same brand of sugar and creamer, same utensils, hell, I even stole one of their coffee cups and there were no traces of any additives or anything. It's just the same damned coffee cup as everyone else's!" 

I couldn't help the laugh that escapes me. "You seriously ran tests to see if there were anything different from their coffee cups?"

"Yes!" Isaac groans dramatically.

"What did you find?"

"Nothing! At all! I even stole one of their serving spoons! Two of those actually. Then I managed to charm their intern into letting me peek at their office pantry, stole a small bag of their creamers and sugars and its still the same as everyone else's." Isaac wilts even as I continue laughing at him.

I do my best grin simulation and ask him, "Have you tried testing the teapot itself?"

He jolts, straightening up with a gasp. "Oh my god, you're right maybe it is the teapot. I haven't even thought of that! I just cranked open the machine itself before I got thrown out, you might be onto something!"

I blink. "Wait, what do you mean you got thrown out—"

Isaac suddenly pulls out the cord in my arm and I was briefly hit with vertigo and bombarded with connection error notifications before I shake them off. I watch, still amused, as Isaac goes about his tools, muttering to himself about making another plan to 'infiltrate' the budgeting offices. 

I was just putting my blazer back on when he grips my shoulders and steers me out with a grunt. I was too surprised to fight it and before long he was rushing away with a wave and I was blinking at his retreating back, bewildered. In the back of my head, I feel Overseer doing the same.

"Well," I say, tuning in into our mental connection, "At least the maintenance went well?"

Overseer, bemused, sends me the equivalent feeling of a head scratch and a shrug as it forwards the results of Isaac's evaluation to Amanda through the network. Still feeling a little amused at Isaac, I walk away to my next appointment.

It was a few days after and the announcement had gone out that the Milwaukee Tower was prepped. I had to tune into the network and help the transport organizers manage shuttle departures and moves to take the Tech Dev employees to their new homes. I spun in my chair in my office, looking out the glass window panels.

"I'm surprised so many of them agreed to move." I comment to Overseer as I go through the schedules. We had to contact a bus operating company to borrow some of theirs since a lot were bringing families and massive amounts of luggage.

"Everything is funded by the company. There's even CyberLife-provided housing. The residential district was one of the first places finished up before the Milwaukee Tower itself." Overseer points out, also shuffling some names into shuttle and bus assignments. "Even transportation and flights were provided by the company."

"Where did Amanda even get the money?" I wonder out loud, adding one family to the second batch of departures for tomorrow. I shuffled another employee to a later batch. "I mean weren't we just crashing in stocks a few months ago?"

Overseer scoffs, "It is not as if funds just stop coming in. Despite the crash, we didn't lose everything. We're still the leading tech company worldwide and it will take something very drastic to fully sink the company, with the amount of connections and resources we have." There was a pause. "Also, Amanda is in charge now, which as you know..."

"Ah yeah, Amanda is like, a total boss bitch and all that." And yeah that was pretty much the best way to describe it. I mean, its Amanda.

"Not quite how I would say it but yes." Overseer says dryly. 

We finish up on the scheduling and I take a break, sipping on some blue lemonade mixed lightly with some thirium. Some shuttles and buses were stopping by the bridge entrance with Security checking in before letting them go. Most of the transpo leaving the island were coming from the residential area in Belle Isle, which was located on the side of the island opposite the CyberLife Tower.

"Hey Overseer," I call to it and receive an answering hum. "If you could go to another country, which would you want to go to?"

There was a thoughtful pause. "I am...unsure," Overseer says eventually. "The thought has not occurred to me yet before."

"Well, what do you wanna see?" I sip, my eyes or optics or whatever, zooming in at its maximum distance so I could see what was happening on the ground. I watch as one of the tiny Security people bumps a fist on the shuttle before it glides off onto the bridge.

"Perhaps Rome?" Overseer says uncertainly. "I suppose...I would like to see the Colosseum most of all."

I tilt my head, surprised. "You're curious about architecture then? I suppose Italy would be a good place to start."

"I would like to see how the ancient stonework holds up," Overseer admits. "The Colosseum is said to be almost 2000 years old, and though partly destroyed by natural disasters and robbers, it still remains. It is...I find it quite captivating to think about. I am barely on my first year of activation and to think of something so significant and ancient like the Colosseum is fascinating."

I actually put my hand on my chest and let out a silent 'awww' before what Overseer says hits me. "Wait, barely a year?"

I feel Overseer nod through our connection. "I was only activated in the past year after the revolution and during Amanda's takeover. I was still in development and was originally going to be deployed for the next iteration of the RK models."

Holy shit, I think, shocked. "You were going to be a Connor?"

"I was going to be the prototype for a new line based on the Connor models," Overseer corrects, like that still wasn't something huge. "Connor RK800's software was too flexible so they added more safeguards and locks in the Connor RK900's model, in addition to aligning it more to the military aspect. Unfortunately both failed as both became deviant, even as delayed as it was with the RK900, so they started on a new iteration with me." 

I try to process this even as Overseer continues. "The line was planned to be named as the RL series, a partial continuation of the RK series. My model was supposed to be named Axel with a body similar, if not better, in specs than the RK900, a bit like your body actually. After android production halted however, I was placed in cloud storage and was only reactivated in order to be added to the AI roster managing the Tower. Since I was more advanced however, Amanda tapped me to be her secretary and was planning to sink in resources to upgrading one of the tester models for me, much like what she did for you."

"Until you discovered me in your server."

"Until we discovered you in my server," Overseer agreed.

Damn. This whole situation here keeps shifting my worldview. "So then I...kind of took your job? And your opportunity to get a body?" I realize, already starting to feel bad about it.

Overseer startles as it registers what I was thinking and feeling. "Do not feel bad about it," it soothes. "I'm quite fine with my situation. I have no particular desire to obtain a body, or to do any job in particular. My being your handler works just as fine for me, as long as I still work for CyberLife. While I do sometimes feel curious about what it would feel like to inhabit a body...I find that I am quite content here like this with you as well. I...like being your handler. Besides, I help you with your secretarial work as well."

I end up doing another 'awww', touched with its words despite my worry. "You're gonna make me cry. You're sure you don't mind? I mean, we could probably get you another of those tester models as your body and you can be my secretary here, with your own body and all that."

"I would rather not, besides, the amount of resources that would end up being poured into the creation of a body optimized for me would be another small fortune's worth. I'm content here like this Camila," Overseer says gently, but firmly. "I can use my full capabilities here in the cloud and I enjoy my work as your handler, especially since I end up observing humanity at its core with your code."

"I...suppose so," I go back to sipping my almost empty blue lemonade thirium mixture. "Promise you'll say if you want to like, I dunno, even just try it or something?"

"If I do, you'll be the first to know."

It takes a week and a half before about maybe 75% to 80% of the Tech Dev employees were moved. There's still a considerable chunk to be transported but all of them were special cases, either because they were still working on a CyberLife Tower-based project or because they were still taking care of something within Detroit. 

In that time, I had met up a few more time in person with a few of the Department Heads, though all of them mostly because of Isaac. Everytime I was due for a meeting with him, he would be with a couple of others, sometimes with one of his minions in his department but most of the time also with the other Heads. 

I ended up meeting with Curtis, Lena, Ludovic—Louie—multiple times (and getting an invitation to go on another walk-around of the mall grounds, Curtis seems to have been adopted into the group of old friends as well), a couple of times with Caitlin—Cate—Head of the Budgeteers (who was perfectly pleasant with me and entirely suspicious of Isaac everytime we went over her department, and considering all the stuff Isaac did to figure out their coffee, it was entirely understandable but also eternally funny), and even with Alishia and Alex, Admin and HR respectively (who kept arguing with each other like an old married couple, if the married couple were often dressed like models in designer clothes and killer eyeliner—which Alishia seems to never take off).

The only one I never really saw was Denver, who I usually remembered as keyboard warrior from the first Department Head meeting. I never got rid of the nickname in my head. It really was the first impression that stuck, so sue me. I even saw Greg once or twice more, but mostly my point of contact with Security was Emmett so that was fine as well. 

The most contact I've had with Denver's department was through the CyberLife network. Emails, chats, a few posts and announcements. At this point, Denver had firmly settled into the keyboard warrior nickname in my head, and he was more like that one guy you could never figure out what time zone he was living in because of how erratic his online times were. He would either stay online for days on end before suddenly dropping off the face of the network at midday and resurfacing at an odd 9pm the next day. 

In one of my semi-regular meetups with the group of four—Isaac, Lena, Louie and Curtis—I take a chance to ask about Denver.

"Denver?" Lena blinks, brows furrowing in thought even as she sipped at her soda. "Well, I don't really interact with him much? Our departments usually don't mingle."

"I haven't seen him much either," Isaac says, Louie nodding in agreement beside him. "He usually sends out his people whenever we need to discuss something or other."

"I only ever spoke with him online," Louie offers, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed. "It's not like he doesn't speak to people. He does, just not personally."

"He's always active in the internal network, and he replies pretty fast to emails and all that. I think he just prefers to talk to people online rather than in person." Lena adds to Louie's statement, at which Isaac lets out an 'ohhh' of realization.

When I look to Curtis about his opinion, he just says, "Never met the guy outside of the first meeting, online or in person."

See, that's the thing that I found odd. "Denver has been chatting me quite frequently." I decide to say to the group, because I have no idea who else to talk tp about this (aside from Overseer, of course). "Though honestly...it feels more like a long, drawn out...interrogation?" I tilt my head at the end, at a loss on how to describe it.

"Really?" Isaac's attention zooms in on me, as if scenting gossip. "What kind of stuff does he ask about?"

I shift in my seat. "Well, mostly about...me, I suppose."

Brows fly up around the table and Isaac huddles closer, visibly intrigued. The other three huddles closer to the table as well, mirroring him. I warily scan the rest of the area but everyone else in the café weren't paying us any attention.

"Questions like?" Isaac eagerly prompts, leaning forward with his arms on the table.

"I know what you're thinking," I point at him, "But it isn't like that. At all."

"So spill!" Isaac demands, getting an elbow in the side from Lena and an amused snicker from Curtis.

I do my best rendition of rolling my eyes. "He asks strange questions, sometimes about my being an android. Also how I was activated, why I'm in CyberLife, my work responsibilities, about our CEO," I tick off on my fingers. "Mostly, well..." I hesitate, "He asks about my handler. Often."

Thoughtful looks go around the table, though now it was less intrigued and more confused and suspicious. 

The existence of my handler was a bit of a sensitive matter, but it was something of an open secret. As far as I know, everyone knew I had one but not specifically who or what my handler was. Some snooping courtesy of the Legion processes tells me that rumors about it range from my handler being Amanda (which is true in a way, since Amanda ranks above both me and Overseer) to my handler being the CEO themselves (technically yes), to me actually being piloted remotely (I could be, the possibility was there), to me actually being the CEO hiding in plain sight (I wish). 

"He does know that that particular line of inquiry is like, a big no, right?" Isaac muses out loud, brows furrowed.

Lena asks, "Does he ask anything in particular like, I dunno, trying to figure out your handler's name or something?"

I nod my head once, at which Lena tsk's, expression bothered. Curtis then suddenly pipes up, "Do you think this could be related to that rumor about Denver being a plant by Jericho?" 

He gets a smack on the arm from Lena at that, and I feel my brows flying up. Overseer's attention lasers in at the statement and some of the watching Legion processes starts murmuring and beeping in alarm.

"There's a rumor like that?" I ask, leaning forward in curiosity. "Why haven't I heard of that one?"

Lena smacks Curtis's arm again, sending him a look that clearly says 'now look what you've done'. Curtis shifts in his seat uneasily but Louie puts a hand on his shoulder while sending Lena a quelling look.

"Weeell," Curtis starts, rubbing absentmindedly at where Lena smacked him, "Scuttlebutt says that he was part of the march. He was one of the employees who snuck out of the Tower lockdown back in the revolution, and he was one of the very few who got to keep his job despite it. The names of those employees were kept confidential of course, but something always leaks out, especially if its about or related to the Jericho androids."

"So what's wrong with that?" I ask, brows furrowed. "So he participated in the revolution. Is there...something wrong with that?"

"He's known as someone without company loyalty, that's what." Lena huffs, sipping on her straw obnoxiously.

"What Lena means to say is that a lot of the CyberLife employees are quite cool towards any android sympathizers, especially after the rep the revolution gave the company," Louie explains in his quiet rumbly voice. "The company is quite kind to its employees and treats them well. Its why we have surprisingly low turnover rates, not to mention the benefits and healthcare. Once CyberLife was portrayed to be the bad guy, a lot of employees received flak from the public. Even a slight association with the company was judged heavily. Harassment was rampant online, and a few employees had even been sent to the hospital."

With a wince, Isaac adds, "Security personnel had to be deployed with the shuttles for employee pick-ups since some had to be escorted from their place. There were even incidences where people would throw trash at the shuttles. Management ordered for them to be repainted and to hide the CyberLife logo, at least for a few months."

"Yeah it was a pretty stressful time overall," Curtis agrees, lost in thought.

Wow. I had no idea things got that bad. It was pretty scary to think about to be honest. "I mean, it did come out that CyberLife was doing some pretty awful things?" I offer to the group.

Isaac hums in agreement. "Sure, but the existence of the deviants weren't exactly well-known even within the company you know? A lot of us employees had no idea it was even happening. I think the deviancy issue was more of rumors and hearsay from the...testing teams, I think?" Isaac looks to Louie, who nods in agreement.

"Most of the first cases happened with the testing teams and were kept there by the board," Louie explains. "For everyone else in the company, we only got the news the same way as everyone else: a bunch of news stations reporting on the increasing number of cases about android violence. That was a big worry for everyone, especially for our team at the time."

"We thought it was a software issue. The number of coffees I had to keep myself awake through multiple nights was staggering." Isaac grumbles.

"Then there was the CyberLife warehouse raid. That was...pretty typical actually. It was only news because it was successful and someone leaked it. Otherwise, we would have just handled the matter internally," Louie continues.

"Security got whipped into shaped because of that. I remember guards multiplying overnight and we got caught sneaking into the employee centers outside of our shift hours, it was wild," Lena laughs a bit. 

"Suddenly there was an android asking for rights up on the big screen!" Isaac exclaims, throwing his hands up and obviously getting into the telling. "Then CyberLife stores get broken into, and we're all thinking, 'what the hell is even happening?'" 

"Then the next day, we're watching the androids marching down the streets and getting gunned down, then we're receiving a memo that androids are being mass-recalled and public service utilities are being shut down," Curtis adds.

Isaac ticks off on his fingers, "Hospitals, schools, electricity, water, mobile networks, everything!"

"Then President Warren's press announcement about the raid on Jericho and the announcement of the national curfew—" Curtis gets interrupted by Isaac: "Then everyone in the Tower was kicked out in record time! Shuttles were leaving in rotations, everyone was advised to bring everything personal with them before quickly getting sent home."

"At this point, everyone was in the CyberLife network, and forums were getting flooded with worried and confused employees. People were posting contingency plans and wondering what exactly happened because everything happened so fast." Lena interjects, before jabbing a thumb at Louie's direction. "This guy here was worried that people in their department would get blamed, even though they didn't even know any of the deviancy cases were happening."

"We only ever received feedbacks in terms of software stability as they manifest through their behavior module," Louie clarifies, "We weren't involved in the actual live testing. Nothing about if, say, the androids are acting outside of their programming. They just send us an okay if the code is good or if it needs a patch or maybe an algorithm needs alteration."

"You can imagine how this all went after that," Isaac says, a bit calmer now. "The demonstration went well, and everything for CyberLife went downhill after that. A lot of employees stuck to the company since no one really wanted to get kicked off because despite everything, CyberLife is a pretty good company."

"Even if they're shit at sustainability," Curtis says bluntly.

"And is the leading capitalist overlord in the whole world," Lena adds.

Isaac pouts at the two, pointing at them in turns. "Hey! Both of you work for this capitalist overlord!"

"I've told you before to stop pointing like that, you blockhead—"

"Just say you actually like working here!"

"I never said I didn't! But I don't condone—"

"And now we've lost the thread of the conversation," Louie sighs as Lena and Isaac start bickering. Curtis just leans back and watches the show, evidently entertained. The atmosphere lightens immediately.

I had to take a moment to take everything they said in. Overseer settles back where its been listening in, poking at me curiously through the link, asking me how I feel.

"I don't know," I tell Overseer honestly. "I mean, intellectually, I've known that there was another side to the story, you know?" 

It was one thing to see Markus and the androids fight and almost march to their deaths just to ask for a chance to be seen as a person. It was another thing to see it from the perspective of the typical CyberLife employee, just enjoying a stable job that's well-paying and taking good care of you, before suddenly your career is getting upended because the place you work for is apparently evil (but honestly, which company could even be called clean anyway? Big companies like this always got skeletons in their closets). It might even go as far as destroying your social life because all of a sudden, you're known as a slaver of a species (or known to be working for one).

It feels more grounded somehow. The story of the revolution was fantastical. Historical. It was a once in a lifetime thing that you were more like to read in a book rather than actually see. The story they told me feels like something that could actually happen to anyone: a company getting a bad rep, employees getting laid off, and the public criticizing them and all that.

"Anyway," Louie suddenly directs at me, which makes me tune in back to the real world. "We'll try to see as well if we can check out things about Denver, get a feel of his background and all that. If we find anything suspicious, we'll let you and Amanda know." Oh, right, this whole conversation started up because of him.

I send him a grateful nod. "I appreciate it. I don't really feel comfortable speaking with him right now."

"Yeah, we'll look into it for you Cams," Lena reassures, and I feel myself smile involuntarily at the new nickname. "I'll ask around his minions."

"I'll see if I can get wrangle some gossip up from people, someone should know something about him before the revolution," Curtis shoots a small smile my way.

"We got you, mini boss. Us loyal CyberLife employees got to stick together!" Isaac grins at me.

I felt both shy and grateful at the same time. If nothing else, I know now for sure that I have friends in these four and for once, I don't feel like I'm sitting awkwardly in my skin. It was a nice feeling.

Chapter Text

Overseer notified me of an adjustment to my schedule the day after I had told the four Heads about Denver. Amanda had returned from the Milwaukee Tower and was looking forward to an update of the my tasks, face to face. It resulted in the adjustment of my subsequent meetings, and I had to offload some of my work to the analysts.

It also resulted in surprise from the other Heads, whom I was meeting casually for lunch at the time that I received it.

"The CEO is back?" Isaac repeats, blinking as if the thought had never occurred to him. "Huh, they must've been busy."

I nod at him absentmindedly, concentrating disproportionately hard at holding my spoon with just the right amount of force so I wouldn't bend it. I end up with a ridiculously tiny slice of the thirium jello. Beside my plate, two plastic spoons had their handles snapped in half, from my unfortunately-calibrated fine motor controls.

"I gotta admit, I forgot about him. Or her. Whatever they are." Curtis says, mouth full of pasta. He gets a swat on the arm from Lena, at which he then grunts out a small 'ow' and sends her a dirty look. Lena ignores him.

In today's lunch time, our original group of five (me, Isaac, Lena, Ludovic and Curtis) weren't complete. Louie was apparently still not finished with something so he was running late. We ran into Alishia, Cate and Alex in the Employee Centers and they had ended up seating with us on the other end of our table. 

Denver also made a surprise appearance. Isaac had spotted him from what seems like a mile away and he looked like he regretted taking each step towards us. I spot Curtis and Lena exchanging looks and when I sent a questioning expression their way, Lena only winked at me.

I don't know how Lena did it, but chances are she probably had something to do with Denver coming out of his self-imposed hermitness.

He was now stabbing at his food and was (very obviously) watching my every move. I don't think Alishia and Alex noticed, busy as they are with bickering with each other, but Curtis, Lena and Isaac obviously took note. I think Cate did too, and she also noted the other three's way more subtle watching of Denver.

Meanwhile, I was too busy concentrating on carefully eating my jello, in fact, I was concentrating hard enough to make my outer LED yellow with how much processor power I was dedicating to it. Some of the Legion had ended up assisting, tweaking numbers and adjusting angles. 

By the time I finished, most of the other people in the area had left already and Alex had gone on ahead back to his office. Our group had already started making our way back to the Tower, with employees making space around us, evidently recognizing us higher-ups. A group of interns were not-so-subtly watching us as we made our way past them.

Somehow, Denver and I had fallen to the back of the group. The awkward silence was somehow worse than the stilted chats we had online. It was horrible.

“Do you guys…do this often?” Denver asks eventually, breaking the silence. 

I was surprised enough to be momentarily confused, and I ended up blurting out an idiotic-sounding, “Huh?” Then the question registers and I scramble, “Ah yeah, I mean, yes, we meet up for lunch breaks often. Every day.” 

Inside the mind palace, I was burying my face in my hands. 

Here I am, I think to myself, 22 years in existence and still a socially awkward idiot.

Amused, Overseer sends me a pat on the back.

Denver blinks at me in surprise and confusion, I’m not sure at what in particular but I end up diverting my gaze from him again, pretending it wasn’t out of embarrassment. 

A pause. Then, “I see.”

I look back to the front where Isaac was watching, like the gossip he is. He quickly turns back to Curtis when he sees me watching. Rude.

“Your model looks pretty customized,” Denver says, almost succeeding at making it sound conversational. "You mentioned before that you worked under Amanda before getting a new body. Can I...ask about it?"

A topic that could go either way. I was about to default to 'no' before Overseer stopped me. Curious, I sent it a questioning ping.

"Prepare for incoming connection," is all I get before a notification pops up in my HUD.

AMANDA_AI REQUESTING CONNECTION...
[MASTER_ACCESS] DETECTED. AUTOMATICALLY ACCEPTING CONNECTION...
CAMILA_AI CONNECTED.
REMOTE ACCESS OVERRIDE..........COMPLETE.
ADMIN: [AMANDA_AI]>>ACCESSING [VISUAL] DATA FEED...
ADMIN: [AMANDA_AI]>>ACCESSING [AUDIO] DATA FEED...
ADMIN: [AMANDA_AI]>>ACCESSING [SENSORY_NET] DATA FEED...

I feel the connection snap into place and falter in my step when I get a spike in processor load. I quickly run a diagnostic and see outer LED spin red on my HUD. I take a moment to let my processor load slow down into the green as the connection stabilizes.

"Amanda?" I try sending out mentally, tuning into my mind palace.

"Hello Camila. It's been a while," Amanda says through our connection, "I've been hearing good things about your work. Interesting things as well."

I feel the Legion processes sweating as Amanda levels a digital glare at their place in my mind palace, scrutinizing them as they work. Overseer's presence dwindles into something more unobtrusive as it continues running in the background.

"Camila?" Denver asks worriedly.

I blink and realize that the whole group had stopped and doubled back to where I had froze, LED red. I realize that the sudden connection and remote access threw my concentration off my control and I quickly retake it. My body's previously stiff standing position and empty-faced default expression relaxes and I send them a quick smile simulation.

"Apologies," I say, defaulting back into formality. "I've been contacted by—our boss."

"New marching orders then?" Isaac asks curiously, and I nod, looking through the appointment details on my schedule.

"A performance review," I admit. Well, it wasn't...exactly like that but it was close enough. Looks of interest are exchanged between the group and we all collectively start walking back. Briefly, I wonder if it was okay to say but then realize it's already out of my hands since I already said it.

Overseer, who was discreetly monitoring my thought processes, does the virtual equivalent of a facepalm. Amanda's deadpan stare bores a hole through my code and her subsequent longsuffering sigh makes me send a sheepish look back through the connection.

"It appears my schedule for tomorrow will be cleared," I inform them apologetically, though mostly directed at Isaac since he was who I was scheduled to meet with tomorrow.

"No worries," Isaac waves it off, "Easy enough to reschedule."

"Isn't that odd?" Denver interjects, making everyone look at him. He shifts at the attention. "I mean, do you really need to take a whole day for it?" 

"I am also due for another maintenance." I explain to no one in particular when everyone directs their curious looks at me. 

There was an odd pause where everyone kind of acknowledges(?) the fact that I'm an android. Glances are directed to my LED. What? Did they forget it or something?

"In the Tower?" Denver asks again in a persistent tone. It draws the attention of everyone else in the group. Cate, in particular, is sending odd looks in Denver's direction. I think she finds Denver's tone and persistence odd as well.

"Why not in the Tower?" Alishia asks, puzzled, to Cate's agreeing nod. It makes sense if you think about it. Why wouldn't an android be allowed to have their maintenance in the CyberLife Tower? I'm starting to get an inkling of where Denver is getting at here. Amanda and Overseer, both watching through my eyes, trace my thought processes and turn coldly suspicious of Denver.

"Android maintenance counts as a medical procedure," Denver explains. "Last I heard, our clinics weren't ready for android-specific procedures yet," he winces, glancing at me. "None of our clinic nurses have also gotten their android treatment training and license from New Jericho. I—heard it from a friend working there. In the clinic."

I don't know how I should feel about this, but I'm definitely at least a little bit uncomfortable. Denver knowing all of this—actually bothering to investigate and ask about it, because it was most likely related to me—is ringing all the alarm bells I have.

During Denver's stuttering explanation, I don't miss the hard expression flashing over Isaac's face. He glances at me and I meet his eyes. He sends me a nigh imperceptible nod before his expression settles back into his default lighthearted one. "They don't, sure, but I do!" Isaac laughs. "As part of the core team handling android tech, I've got complete certifications and licenses. Pretty much required for the position, you see."

"I—Right. So you'll be part of the team doing the maintenance then?" Denver examines Isaac and the look in his eyes suggests that he's putting up walls against Isaac. Isaac maintains his easy, relaxed demeanor but I spot the sharpness in his eyes and in the way his head tilts as he considers Denver back, even as he nods at Denver's question.

My eyes flicker between the two even as I consult Amanda about Isaac dropping that info about him being on my project.

"He is not allowed to disclose that information," Amanda replies but her tone is thoughtful. "I can excuse this however. It is quite evident that he has something in play, and it involves your safety."

Overseer must have seen the question marks floating above my head. "Isaac is essentially declaring you under his protection. He's warning off Denver."

"It seems I made an excellent choice in choosing Isaac." Amanda declares at nothing in particular, tone pleased.

"I don't get it," I tell them both, trying to figure out how Isaac is protecting me. Okay, I see the intention but I don't understand how he's getting there by saying he's one of the people conducting the maintenance.

"Isaac is well-known in the company and has an in with a lot of employees and offices in all tiers. His connections are vast and his charisma is unparalleled. People trust him and he is unquestionably loyal to the company. One of the AI project handlers refer to him as a 'jolly, lowkey human version of Amanda'," Overseer explains, lowkey amused.

Oddly enough, I feel like Amanda has the urge to roll her eyes. "I believe the exact term Prism said was an 'underground crime boss' version of me but happier, CyberLife style." I couldn't maintain a straight face at Amanda's dry comment. I also feel like I should be having a gasp moment where I go 'Oh my, Isaac being the actual miniboss of the CyberLife company? What hidden depths he has!'

 "Anyway, Isaac is letting Denver know that he's involved and that Denver should stop knocking on that particular door," Overseer continues. "The other Heads hearing this also now knows that that particular line of investigation should not be pursued. Even they are aware of Isaac's connections, if not the full extent of his duties."

"One of which being that he reports interesting information to me as well," Amanda says. "He's one of the people I have monitoring the inside of the company." I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that Amanda has spies even in her own company. Precautions and all that. It says something about how loyal Isaac is to the company as well. It's a bit of a surprise. Who knew there was a spy under that chill demeanor?

The slightly tense confrontation between the two breaks when Lena makes an abrupt announcement of our group arriving at the Tower. She does an obnoxious yawn, stretching noisily as the glass doors on the employee entrance swish open.

"I'm beat but there's work to be done!" she declares cheerfully, popping up between Denver and Cate. She loops an arm around Cate's and another around Denver's, who twitches at the sudden contact. "I've got some things to talk about with you guys about that last memorandum Amanda put up, you guys are free right? Right! Let's goooo!"

And with that, she drags both of them away, Isaac also cheerfully waving them off with a call of, "Chat later Lena!"

I actually see my stress level inch downwards on my HUD. Alishia looks utterly befuddled by what happened in front of her eyes but she proceeds with her goodbyes and makes her way, presumably, back to her office.

I was waving her goodbye when Isaac slings an arm around my shoulders.

“Don’t worry too much about it,” Isaac says, poking my temple—or rather, my LED. “I’ve got orders from the top, Emmett and I got you miniboss. We’ll throw him off your scent.”

I swat at his finger poking at my LED. So Emmett is in on it too, whatever it is. “From Amanda?”

“Our queen and overlord Amanda,” Isaac nods agreeably. “This will sort itself out. And speaking of,  don’t you have a meeting with her? Go on then, before she smites us and docks our CyberLife loyalty card points or something.”

Isaac and I share a moment of profound understanding—about Amanda of all people—and I say my goodbyes. All of my hitchhikers (Amanda, Overseer, and the Legion) are very confused at how we were able to share such a moment with such minimal information exchange about the subject in mention. 

I take my time going back to my personal office. It doesn’t take long before I’m back in my suite spinning in my trusty office chair in front of massive window panes behind my chair.

I jump when a side door to my office slides open. I didn’t even know there was a door there.

Out strides Amanda in all her regalness, wearing the same outfit I first met her in, only this time in darker shades of blues and grays. I barely have time to gawk at her expected-but-still-a-surprise appearance when she unceremoniously perches on the guest sofa in front of my desk, slotting her tablet into the dock at the coffee table. The glass screen on the wall opposite my desk flickers to life, and a collection of windows containing various data greets me.

“I’ve taken the liberty to access your work logs, along with the progress reports from Overseer,” Amanda says, as no-nonsense as ever. “I’m impressed Camila, your adaptability is commendable. Your work is well done.”

I try not to feel the flush of pleasure and accomplishment rising in my chest. I don’t succeed because I’m only human and validation is amazing. Like, yeah, give me those 

“That said, don’t take too much work off my analysts’ hands. They need something to do.” Amanda gives me a lightly scolding glance and the sense of accomplishment goes up in smoke. Damn, so Amanda isn’t in favor of overperforming? Noted then. I guess I was a little desperate in showing off my new android multitasking skills in an attempt to lowkey gain Amanda’s favor. I ended up taking(stealing) some workload off my minions and I suppose I maybe got a little carried away with enjoying my new multitasking ability.

Amanda goes over some of what I did. I get a gold star in some, a number of comments and recommendations in others and only one criticism.

“Your growing informality is problematic,” she says outright, which sends a metaphorical spear of indignation through my chest. “You are in the prime position of possible weakness against the company. I know Isaac welcomes and encourages this casualness, but I do not, even with people I have personally vetted. Keep your distance Camila. It is your growing laxness that is inviting problematic overtures from entities like Denver.”

She peers at me, scrutinizing, and some of my doom and gloom must have bled through the rigidness of my sitting position because her tone softens. “I’m not saying you cannot be informal at all times. Only that you keep that distance in the Tower, especially during company hours. It’s your best offense and defense against our enemies, and as powerful as I am,  even I cannot guarantee the full loyalty of those closest to you. Keep your guard up.”

I feel like a sheltered daughter getting lessons from my grandmother about how the world is actually full of wolves ready to snap me up. Or maybe it feels more like Amanda is pulling a Mother Gothel, singing “Mother Knows Best” at me, Rapunzel, and hollering about how the world is filled with dirty, scary men outside my Tower. It’s a bit disheartening and I fight the urge to sulk. I also feel vaguely offended. I'm a grown woman! When I died, I certainly didn't expect to get an overbearing mom in the form of my boss.

“This is for your sake as well Camila,” Amanda chides as if hearing my mental pouting and I duck my head. “Do not take this lightly. You are now responsible for over a thousand employees. Your safety means their progress, and the progress of CyberLife.” And of course, everything goes back to the company. Put that way, how can I argue against it? I nod slowly, and Amanda huffs.

“I have another point I wanted to discuss with you,” Amanda looks back at the tablet docked on the table. She interfaces with it as I start sipping on the low-energy thirium I had poured in this fancy wine glass I found in my office cabinets. Its stem had carved glass roses. It was super pretty actually.

“I’ve received a request for you to meet up with New Jericho.”

And the thirium I was sipping gets inhaled down the wrong pipe. A loud static crackle sparks out of my vocals as thirium gets into my air intakes. I let out a staticky wheeze, accidentally slamming down the fancy wine glass and cracking its base, not that I notice since I was too busy flailing at the sudden influx of error messages and the very, very wrong sensation of liquid in my lung-equivalent components. 

I hear Amanda let out an irritated huff and my eyes snap open when I feel her interfacing through her hand on the side of my neck. She speeds through my code, helping the panicking Legion processes recalibrate and run my air intake filters.

“Where—where did that even come from?!” I finally get out after a few moments of hacking up the thirium away from my lungs. “I’ve never even been outside the Tower, how would New Jericho even have heard of me?”

“I have my suspicions,” Amanda hums, rapidly adjusting numbers and monitoring my diagnostics as the liquid gets filtered quickly out of my fans.

A thought occurs to me and my head snaps up to look at her. “Is it Denver? Did he actually do anything? Spill info about the company or about me to New Jericho?”

I get bonked on my forehead. Amanda actually swatted me, oh my god. “Do not jump to conclusions,” Amanda admonishes as I scrunch my face and rub at my forehead, “At this point, it could be anyone but he is one of the suspects on the list. Overseer and I are still working on it.”

My diagnostics finally give the all clear and Amanda straightens back up, walking back to the sofa as if I wasn’t just all undignified, hacking away at my lung components.

“Whoever it is, maintain your guard. I’d rather you remain vigilant for a while yet, while we investigate the possible culprits.” Amanda sighs like she’s faced with a massive nuisance. All that’s missing is her slumping tiredly back into the sofa and I might actually start feeling bad. As it is, I’m too hung up on the news to focus on her.

Somehow, somewhere, Markus and the gang got wind of news about me. I don’t know what I’m supposed to feel about Robo-Jesus, the android messiah, actually looking and asking about me, but right now I’m a little bit terrified and in awe. 

“Did they actually outright ask for me, by name?” I wonder out loud, processors whirring through the possibilities.

“No, but they hinted at knowing the presence of an android within the company, along with a not at all subtle request to meet with them under the guise of…’improving continuously upon our current working treaty,’” Amanda’s lip curls as if she couldn’t believe the audacity. I couldn’t believe it either. What kind of flimsy excuse is that? And actually calling me out? It’s like they didn’t know Amanda would be on the case immediately and I doubt they didn’t know about Amanda with Connor on their side. 

Or maybe it's like a provocation from Markus? Him, leaning on his power and politicking to get CyberLife to capitulate? Frankly, it doesn’t sound like a Markus thing to do, but what do I know? I haven’t met the guy and from what I learned from meeting Amanda is like (less villainy-har-har-har-rubbing-my-hands-gleefully-as-I-plot-the-demise-of-all-androidkind and actually more like I-am-that-one-strict-CEO-billionaire-auntie-with-high-standards-and-higher-expectations), real life here is way different than what I know in-game. I also want to refuse to believe that Markus is all that super goody-goody. He must have some suspicious qualities. Maybe one of them is being actually manipulative and politically-savvy but like, for a good reason?

I shake off my wilder and wilder thought processes. “So what do I do? Do I actually have to meet with them?”

“No, but you should be informed about this as well, especially since this is about you.” Amanda’s frown is a sight to behold. It feels a bit like she’s ready to start toppling mountains down with the insult she was offered.

I try to ignore the growing warmth in my chest with her consideration, but I don’t succeed once again. Despite the bad news, I’m glad she’s not coddling me and keeping it from me. I’d rather know about it beforehand.

“I can concede to a meeting but it will be with a representative, not you. Public Relations can appoint who is best suited to it. That’s as far as I am willing to compromise with them.” Amanda’s nails tap against the armrest of the sofa, a considering look on her face. “There is a possibility that they will pressure us to expose you to the public. A quiet social campaign against the company, perhaps saying that you’re being held here against your will. The only viable response would be for you to make a statement. But that’s only one possibility and quite easy enough to counter with our own moves. Either way, keep it in mind.”

I can’t help the frown my mouth settles into. This whole situation feels like the beginning of a potentially large mess. It wasn’t just my reputation on the line but also the company’s. If something like that campaign actually happens, I wouldn’t be able to back out, especially since the company’s reputation whenever it comes to androids is still…precarious. Actually, even the word precarious still doesn't fit the situation in terms of seriousness. It didn’t escape me that there was still a lot of negative rep regarding the company, especially when the Legion brought me reports from their social media binging. It was hard to miss how some people seem to just be waiting for the company to make one small misstep in order to have an excuse to prey on it.

The rest of our meeting is thankfully not quite as serious as the New Jericho-related one. I make my report as Amanda opens me up. She lets me ramble about my work before I eventually end up actually telling her about my walkabouts in the Employee Centers. I feel a bit like a kid excitedly telling my mother about all the adventures I had with my friends. 

“I’m surprised there were a lot of menus that had thirium-based foods,” I tell her as she attaches a cord to the diagnostic port under my thirium pump. “I feel kind of bad that I’m the only android here. There’s a lot of good ones out there but I’m the only one who can actually consume them.”

“That’s because the arcades are available for the public, not that there are a lot of android tourists who want to…tempt fate by visiting the island of their 'greatest enemy'.” Amanda’s wrist plate slides open with a push of her hand and there are actual pocket tools stored in her arm! Pretty handy, but also a little surprising, if not outright odd?

I help wipe away thirium from her fingertips. “Isn’t there a way to like, I don’t know, increase the android presence in the tours? There must be some way to encourage them. I’m starting to feel bad for the restaurant owners there.” An idea pops up in my head. “How about during that meeting with New Jericho? Maybe cut some deals for our arcade store owners to be able to share their food with the androids over there?”

“It’s not as if they can enjoy it the way you do Camila,” Amanda says, a slight hint of exasperation in her voice. “Your taste module is still a prototype. The parts aren’t out yet and the software-only patch is still undergoing testing with you. Besides, there will be quite a bit of time before New Jericho accepts the offer, when we get to that point.”

Ah yeah, there is that. Boo, what a waste. 

Amanda cleans her hands free of thirium and pats my arm, closing up my chest plate. “Perhaps one day Camila. Progress will prevail, and New Jericho has no reason not to accept such a harmless upgrade, no matter their derision for anything CyberLife-related.”

I fix up myself, patting my clothes back down to neatness. "You really think that," comes out of my mouth before I can stop it. Then I realize how it sounds and quickly add, "I mean, you really think that CyberLife will succeed despite everything. Like, even through the company's image of, uh, being slavers and all that."

Amanda straightens up, looking at me as if she was weighing my worth. For once, I don't feel uncomfortable looking back even if it feels a bit like she's peering through my soul. 

"I do," she eventually says. She finishes wiping off her hands and throws the dirtied handkerchief on the edge of my desk. Her eyes settle on a point away into the horizon, face turned away from me and facing the window. There's an unreadable look on her face that I don't even know where to begin interpreting.

I'm trying to figure out what she could possibly be thinking when she turns back to me. "CyberLife will succeed because I say it will. I will make sure of it." If I was still human, I'd be getting goosebumps with how intense Amanda's eyes were. "The world does not stop turning, Camila. This will just be another note in the history books. Humans will change and grow old and eventually this event will just be another memory. Time will pass by...but CyberLife will endure, as long as I am operational."

Wow. What do I even say to that?

I'm still out of words as Amanda finishes up whatever's left of her meeting itinerary and unceremoniously takes her leave with a final reminder of, "Remember my words Camila. Curb your informality, keep your lines open for any potential New Jericho-related issues and keep...pests like Denver at arms length."

It's when my work shift is done that I take the time to ponder on our meeting. 

Amanda's loyalty is both impressive and daunting. It makes me wonder if it's something programmed into her or something she chose. Overseer is quiet as a majority of the Legion power down to make way for the skeleton crew processes. I think Overseer senses that this thought is something I have to work through myself.

"Who am I kidding?" I ask myself out loud. "It's probably programmed into her." But the intensity of her loyalty feels like something that extends beyond obligation. Amanda may be more robotic than an actual robot at times, and her demeanor icier than the North Pole, but I couldn't deny the cold passion blazing behind her optics. 

With a jolt, I realize that that was probably the standard of loyalty she expects from her employees. From me, too. I couldn't imagine it for myself though, being that much loyal to something.

Uneasy, I try to put the thought off my mind. I'm starting the feel a headache—well not really an actual headache, but an echo of one. My body isn't technically capable of getting aches and pains, but my human mind recalled the sensation enough that it felt like it was being echoed in my body.

I lie down on my bed plug my charger in my stomach port. The battery icon on my HUD blinks as it starts charging. I turn off my visuals and power down, resolving to rest. I'll overthink it again some other time.

The station is calmer than usual, Connor thinks to himself before taking a mental step back and revising the thought. No, rather...it feels more like the calm before a storm.

Connor mentally turns over the data packet he had received from Markus days ago, idly opening it as though the data within would change if he goes through it again.

What are you up to Amanda?

Prototester—or rather, prototype tester—model 1A, named Project Camila. A new, fully custom android, unique enough to have its own body and face model separate from the mass-produced lines. Even Connor's—and Nines', for that matter—body was just a scaled-up version of the standard model. From just one scan, any android can tell that her body wasn't like a typical android's. It wasn't designed to perfection, with symmetrical proportions and standard shapes. In fact, she almost seemed handcrafted, with deliberate imperfections and unequal dimensions, and even her face was unique enough that there was no exact match to any other human in existence. And that was all just her outward physical looks.

She was likely the most human-like android in existence, at least in terms of outward physical appearance. Her insides were probably another story, but since Denver had no access to that, they would probably never know.

Even the most human-looking android can be more mechanical than a robotic-looking one, Connor thinks grimly, I wonder...are you even awake Camila? Are you even aware that you're in danger in CyberLife?

"Overthinking again Connor?"

Connor blinks as a knuckle gently taps where his LED was spinning yellow-blue. He looks up just as Hank takes his seat across from him with a groan. Hank leans back with a sigh as he nurses a mug of what Connor determines to be tea, after a quick visual scan.

Curiosity sparks through Connor, distracting him from his train of thought. "That's new," he observes, scanning the mug again and glancing back the break room where he spots Person suffering through another one of Tina's tirades. Gavin was at the counter with Nines, skeptically watching the taller android stir something in a mug as Wilson peers over the mixture curiously.

Hank shrugs, sipping at his tea and making a face. "Just trying something new." Already, Hank looks like he was regretting drinking it. "Maybe just this once, then never again," Hank decides.

Connor gives an amused grin as Hank places the mug on his desk and decisively moves it out of the way. "You never answered me kid. What's got your panties in a twist?" Hank asks as he sorts through the papers on his desk.

Connor's grin quickly drops as a vaguely troubled look settles on his face. He ignores the urge to comment on the turn of phrase. "I was just going through the data packet Markus sent me."

"Again?" Hank sends him a look that makes him purse his lips. "Is there news?"

"No," Connor says sullenly. "Nothing new at least, except that Denver thinks he might have unintentionally provoked the new Head of R&D. He said he needs to lay low, at least for a while, before he tries looking for more information about the andr—about Camila," Connor corrects himself. "He also said that everything he sent was apparently all the data about her that was available for the public."

Hank hums as he flicks on his datapad. "So what's the problem?"

"There's not enough data. There's no new data. It's been two weeks already."

"Well, your contact is working this like a long op." Hank puts down his datapad on his desk. "You need to be patient Con."

Connor sighs. "I know. I just can't help but think if I could get in there again somehow, I can find a way to data mine from the servers, get more data immediately, maybe even sneak up and get to her to initiate an interface and free her from her coding—"

Connor is interrupted as Nines deliberately thunks a plate of thirium candies on his desk loudly. "And get caught by Amanda? How reckless Connor. Just because you were able to get into the company building once doesn't mean you can again," Nines says calmly, plucking one candy from the plate and sending Connor a look. "Amanda would have already shored up her defenses, not to mention the legal ramifications if you were caught. You're still in a precarious position Connor, the FBI still hasn't released your case."

"Eh, Perkins is just being a jackass, the FBI has technically already dropped Con's case ages ago. But yeah, listen to Nines, Con. Don't even think of sneaking back to that death trap, you hear me?" Hank jabs a finger in Connor's direction as Nines quietly munches on the candy. Connor nods sullenly. "Anyway, hasn't Markus been trying to set up a meeting with CyberLife to somehow draw her out?"

"Yes," Nines answers, putting his hands behind his back, back straight and posture impeccable as always. He inclines his head Hank's way. "They've been stonewalling him but he thinks he's just about worn them down and backed them up against a wall of bureaucracy. That's actually something I've been meaning to talk to you about," Nines turns to Connor, who blinks at him. "Officer Wilson mentioned it in the breakroom and Gavin confirmed it. Next week, the mayor is hosting his annual New Year charity ball. CyberLife is set to attend, as is the DPD."

Connor sits up in his chair, realizing what Nines is saying. "But there's no guarantee she'll be there. Unless we can somehow procure a guest list?"

Connor and Nines stare at each other. As one, they turn to Hank, whose gaze shifts between both of them before he gives in. "Alright, alright , I'll ask around, see if I can lean on someone to get me a copy."

Connor nods, energized now that there was a viable plan in the works. "If she isn't there, well, Markus said CyberLife was already about to accept his request. We can consider that our backup plan."

"Statistically, there is a high chance that she will be part of the CyberLife retinue. The New Year charity ball will be a good event for her debut into the public considering there are a number of prominent personalities present and the event is well known enough. New Jericho is invited as well which means you will be there as one of the Jericho Five." Nines looks to Connor, who nods. "I'll most likely be there as well as one of the DPD's top rankers."

"Once there, it should be easy enough chance upon her at a lull in conversation," Connor hums. "All it would take is quick handshake and an interface to check."

Hank holds up a hand that stops both androids' trains of thought. "Hold on, you guys are getting a little ahead of yourselves. Remember that you can't just randomly interface or whatever with just any android, especially one from CyberLife. You guys have laws about that now. Also, there's no guarantee she'll be there in the first place."

"Not to mention the risk of us potentially getting hacked if she gains access to our systems," Nines comments. "She'll definitely have firewalls, maybe similar or even better than mine. And if my path to deviancy is any indication, there's also a likely chance that she'll end up needing to break out of her own programming like I did since even Markus' ability didn't work on me."

"Here's a better question bucketheads," Gavin interrupts as he approaches, evidently done with eavesdropping on them. His tone is nonchalant as he leans against Hank's desk, "What if whatsherface is already awake and free and all that shit, and she doesn't wanna leave?"

Connor's face goes through a myriad of emotions. Nines' brows furrow, as if the thought hadn't occurred to him that there might be an android willing to stay with CyberLife, especially with what they did to their kind. Both are silent in the face of Gavin's question.

"Yeah that's what I thought." Gavin scoffs. "You'd end up with big fat lawsuit on your asses if she's free and you end up propositioning her through interface, or if you force her to awareness and fail, like you did with this guy." Gavin jabs a finger at Nines.

"I find it difficult to believe that there is an android who would willingly stay with CyberLife, especially after knowing what they did to us. She'd either be not awake yet, or being controlled through her handler." Nines says, expressionless. Connor nods beside him, face troubled, recalling the data packet mentioning that she had a handler of her own, though Denver couldn't determine if it was Amanda herself or another program.

"But you can't know that for sure. Gavin's right, you two, as much as I wish he wasn't." Hank tells them both, almost gently. All three ignore Gavin's snide 'of course I am' comment. "The best thing you can do for now is to feel her out, scout the terrain as it were. Interact with her, and if you think she isn't awake yet, then you can start planning how to get her away from CyberLife."

Nines mulls Hank's statement over, eventually acquiescing with a slow nod. Connor is less willing to let it go. "In any case, she should still be taken away from CyberLife so that she can have a choice," Connor insists. "If all she knows is CyberLife, then how would she be able to choose at all? A decision shouldn't be made in a vacuum."

"Connor," Hank starts, tone chastising, "I get where you're getting at but you can't force this. You need to let it go, at least for now, okay? You know you're getting ahead of yourself here." Connor stares back stubbornly, face determined.

Gavin scoffs again, grumbling as he moves away, sensing that things were starting to get into personal territory. Nines glances between Hank and Connor, eventually deciding to silently back out of their stand-off and follow Gavin back to their desks after exchanging a quick nod goodbye with Hank.

It takes a few more moments before Connor eventually deflates under Hank's even, patient stare.

"I'm sorry Hank," he eventually says defeatedly, "I just don't like the thought of an android being stuck under Amanda's hold any longer. Not after what she did to me. It's even worse because she won't know why it's wrong in the first place, because she isn't awake yet. She'll be mindlessly following orders without knowing how wrong it could be and she wouldn't understand why."

"I know kid, I know." Hank soothes, patting him on the arm. "But you gotta be patient, especially since you know you're too close to this case. You need to pace yourself and don't do anything rash. You don't even know for sure if she's deviant too. Remember, if you do anything, it won't just be you who'll be in trouble. You might also get her in deep shit and she wouldn't even know."

Connor blinks, realizing what Hank was saying. "She might end up with a tighter leash and she wouldn't even know it," he murmurs to himself, grimacing.

"Exactly." Hank pats him again when he slumps into his desk. "Just, remember what I said. Get to know her then once you've got a feel for her, we can decide what to do next."

"Okay Hank," Connor caves in with a sigh. "I understand."

"Good," Hank nods decisively. "Now, help me find a place to throw this plant water in before Tina comes by and sees that I haven't finished her 'special diet blend' tea."

"Is that why you ended up trying it out? I could easily start you on a meal plan that can help your diet and plan out an exercise regime to help you lose weight."

"No. No, don't do that, I just got the mug because she nagged me and bet that I wouldn't be able to finish it when she's able to stomach it twice a day."

Connor sends him a look.

"Look it was 10 dollars okay?" Hank says defensively. "Now, find a way to sneak this out to a sink or something."

"...you could just drink it?"

"And strip my stomach lining? No thanks. Now go throw this out and I'll pretend I've finished it and you can vouch for me."

"Okay, Lieutenant, if you say so."

Chapter Text

"You'd think, working in Marketing, he'd be more careless with his digital footprint, but nooooo." 

Isaac snorts as Lena continues grumbling, both of them hunched over the laptop on my tea table. Louie and Curtis were clanking away in the kitchen, making something for lunch. Probably a salad. I was on the sofa behind where Isaac and Lena sitting on the fluffy floor rug, both bickering as Lena's fingers fly over the keyboard.

"I mean, what did you expect? He's working in CyberLife. A majority of us in the upper positions have, at minimum, some knowledge about navigating the network. I guess I just didn't expect to be this good."

I'm not entirely sure how we ended up in my suite. Curtis and Ludovic had ordered some takeout and we ended up carting a lot of pizza boxes into the cafeteria area of the arcade. It was a little awkward though since it was lunch hour and there were a lot of people eyeing us. We were going to move into a spare meeting room but then Curtis pointed out the central elevator and asked, "Don't you have living space up there?"

Next thing I know, we're all squishing into the smaller-sized elevator with about half a dozen pizza boxes and I'm giving them guest access into the living room area. It's while they're ooh-ing and ahh-ing at the place when I realize I don't really have any food stocked up in my fridge, human food I mean. I was well stocked in thirium of course, but I haven't really taken the time to try cooking since Isaac was working out some bugs he found in the taste module on my last maintenance. Curtis ended up going back down to steal some ingredients from the cafeteria.

Also, Isaac seems to have dropped all pretenses that he wasn't Amanda's personal...left hand? 

("You mean you were actually pretending?" Curtis, gossip central of CyberLife, wonders out loud. Lena slaps his chest with the back of her hand, but she's chortling. Louie snorts at the way Isaac was goggling at them.

"You guys knew?" he squawks.

"Dude. You're kinda obvious."

"Not for people who don't really know you," Lena takes pity on how Isaac is wilting. "It's just that we've been around you long enough that we can tell which smiles of yours are the genuine scheming kind and which ones are the genuine genuine kind, you know?"

"Yeah, you have that one smile that if you look at too long, you start to get shivers up your back."

"Right?! You know that one."

"You guys suck," Isaac sulks eventually. "I do not have a creepy smile!")

Lena and Isaac were busy trying to track down Denver's digital history (under Amanda's orders to Isaac, of course) and Louie came along for moral support while Curtis just seemed to want in on the action.

I curled my legs under me and zoomed my eyes on their laptop screen, just chilling as I watch Lena navigate the back alleys of the CyberLife network. Isaac had apparently already contacted Emmett, who was already tracking Denver ages ago. Both spies were exchanging logs and data on the vid call while Isaac monitored Lena, and wasn't that a hoot? I can't believe I know people who are actual real-life spies. I mean not the shooty bang bang James Bond type of spy, but still.

"No suspicious actions so far, unless you count visiting New Jericho suspicious," Emmett reports, voice slightly tinny because of the call. "But that's difficult to judge because visiting the androids is part of his regular schedule. It'd be more suspicious if he stopped visiting them at this point. Unless we can get surveillance in their headquarters, we can't say what he's actually doing."

"Why didn't Amanda just fire him?" Isaac mutters. "It's easy enough to just say 'conflict of interest' or something so that we can kick him out so that we don't get these sorts of problems. Just get a new guy from—somewhere or whatever, but noooo, he ended up being the most competent one of the bunch."

The sofa bounces as Curtis flops back into the cushions, holding a salad bowl in one hand. "I told you Amanda has a competency kink," he deadpans. Louie, in contrast to Curtis' ungraceful flop, seats himself regally in the armchair off the side of the tea table as I try not to giggle at Overseer's reaction to Curtis' statement. The Legion stumbles over themselves in tittering laughter, some processes snorting in amusement and some acting scandalized.

Isaac, despite himself, snorts and Emmett, very seriously, says, "We don't kinkshame in this household."

Giggles break out in the room, me included. "Okay but yeah, it was a competency issue," I explain once Overseer finishes briefing me about the issue. "Amanda couldn't afford to lay off any more of the employees in the higher positions since most of them already left. There'd be no one skilled enough left in the department and there were already fewer people applying for the company after the whole revolution. It would take months longer to recruit and train someone to Amanda's standard."

"And keeping him in was the lesser evil," Louie nods understandingly as Isaac 'ah's' in comprehension. 

"Still, did it have to be someone deep in the android management?" Isaac complains. I mean, maybe it makes sense? It seemed like a timed issue so I suppose Amanda prioritized what was available to her at the moment...but who knows what Amanda's thinking anyways?

"We'll make do." Emmett interjects before Isaac starts rambling again. "There's another issue I wanted to bring up on our next meeting but I suppose this can do. Boss."

I blink. "Yes?"

"What are your plans about the New Year charity ball?"

Ah, that. "I've seen the invitation but I haven't really talked to Amanda yet, or gotten any orders about it," I admit. "I'd honestly rather not attend but if Ama—I mean, the CEO, ah—"

Curtis raises up one hand, palm up, "Yeah, uh, we kinda already figured out that Amanda is holding the reins right now. That's old news at this point so you don't have to overthink it. We're all for it since the previous one is an asshole anyway, we'd rather have her at the helm than anyone else."

"Ah," is all that comes out of my mouth before I shake it off. Overseer, meanwhile, is going into overdrive trying to figure out how this will affect Amanda's plans. I put it out of my mind for now. "Well, as I was saying, it was either gonna be none of us or either Amanda or me, but her papers aren't really ready yet? I think there's a problem with processing her documents that would legitimize her as our CEO. It's taking a lot of resources as well to keep it hush hush, if you know what I mean."

"Bribe money," Louie deadpans.

"Oh yeah, bribe money," Curtis hums as he munches on his salad.

"Definitely bribe money," Isaac nods sagely, hand on his chin. Lena rolls her eyes hard enough that we could guess she's doing it even when her back is to us.

I throw my hands up in exasperation. 'Why even bother hiding anything at this rate?' I comment to the watching Legion processes who gives scattered nods in general agreement.

"Why not a representative though?" Lena wonders out loud even as she's typing lightning-fast. "The PR team used to help with planning that right? It used to be all the core higher-ups then a bunch of stakeholders."

"All of you going is a little overboard," Emmett comments. "I'm guessing the retinue will depend on politics?"

"Unfortunately," I sigh, remembering the profiles of prominent people that Overseer made me and the Legion study. "Isaac is actually the only one required to come because he'll be the new face of our technological progress, and he's the technically the unofficial highest ranked among all of you. The Jason Graff of our generation, as the employees say." Jason Graff being the previous Director of the Humanization Department. His name was pretty well-known among tech circles back in the day since he was the next engineer closest to Elijah Kamski's prowess. 

That's another difference Amanda made. The tech departments before were separated into various focused projects. Production Planning, Material Design, Android Development, Humanization, Futurology and all that, but now, everything was under the umbrella of Isaac's department. I know from organization chart Isaac submitted for review that he rearranged his department into teams and subteams and then even more project leads. It was a bit of a mess and Amanda wanted to redo it but when we had it go for a test run, the whole organized chaos seemed to work pretty good for them? So we left it like that.

"A majority of the other members will depend on which teams Isaac will choose to market to the public," I look to Isaac who hums in surprise. "Greg and Emmett will definitely come for security purposes." There were murmurs of agreement. "Louie can come as well, but it would come across like you'd be an extension of Isaac's department." Louie nods at this. "Anyone else would depend on Alishia since the PR team is under Admin, but all the Heads have an invitation either way."

"I definitely don't need to come, one, because I don't want to, and two, because my department is an internal one," Lena declares, looking back at us over her shoulder. "I think Curtis should come though."

If the question mark could be a facial expression, that would be Curtis's face right now. "Why though? Manufacturing and Production are internal departments as well."

"Well, you have a nose for gossip?" Lena shrugs.

"That's it?"

"I mean...yeah?"

Curtis makes a face. I keep going, ticking off names in my head. "Okay, so Curtis might come. Caitlin and Alex won't need to but they can. Denver...hmmm. Denver might come, it's up to him but he might as well just send a rep." I mean, at this point, who knows with that guy. 

Lena snaps her fingers. "Speaking of Denver, take a look at this."

We all scoot over to behind her where she's seated cross-legged on the floor. "What am I looking at?" Curtis squints at the monitor. 

"His digital footprint. Hmm, bought a mod for his scooter, participated in this e-drive for tree planting, oh he plays online card games, and apparently has a love for overpriced coffee."

"Well unless getting that much whipped cream is a crime, I don't see anything wrong with it."

"Well that's the thing," Lena points at the far right side of the screen. "Didn't you notice the timestamps?" 

It's Overseer who first notices it and highlights sections of dates and times on my HUD. "It's too clean," I realize, "I don't think anyone gets coffee at the exact same time on the dot like that every other day or so. It's like a pattern." Now that Overseer was highlighting it, I couldn't unsee it. There really was a pattern.

"Right? Also, those e-drives are fake, their websites are pretty and the events themselves have pretty convincing pictures but if you start poking at the backend, there's nothing there."

Louie sends Lena an odd look. "When did you get good at hacking sites?"

"Here's a better question, why aren't you in the cybersecurity team?" Curtis inserts, baffled.

Lena sends them both an arched eyebrow before sniffing imperiously. "I just dabble in it. Besides, I'm too good for the cybersecurity team." 

Isaac hums, brows furrowed. Emmett, who's still on the call (and apparently is watching a livestream of Lena's monitor), brings up another point. "These fake e-drives, they all coincide with New Jericho events."

"Huh yeah, wasn't that one a Friday?" Curtis points at one entry on the table. "Yeah, that one was like a celebration of the revolution. And that one was the rally outside the White House when Markus got called into talks with President Warren. That one was when that Vincent guy started up another rally in another state, that one's when there was an outcry about child android abuse, and that one—"

 Lena slaps a hand over Curtis' mouth. "Okay okay, yeah we get it."

"So why hide it though?" Louie adds quietly. "It's not as if there's something wrong with attending those. We already know he's visiting New Jericho."

"Could be to lessen suspicion on his end by reducing his known interactions with Jericho, especially since people know he's more aligned with them." Emmett says. "Probably figured he was safe with just the known visits, like hiding in plain sight. This cover up is decent work though. It's no wonder it slipped through the first look." The group continue discussing it and I retreat a step back into my mind palace.

"How would it have slipped through Amanda though?" I asked Overseer silently through our connection.

"There are markers of android involvement." Overseer sends back. "Denver's profile seems to have been passed over in the first scrub because of embedded metadata in his information. It's camouflaging his activity and making the security sweeps pass by it. It's not something a typical human, or android, can do."

I look over an archived project list Overseer sends me. "From a specialized cryptography module?" I muse, looking through the details. 

"Projects like these were common back before the revolution. Government agencies occasionally commissioned androids with specialized software and hardware, and they were the first models to be recalled when the deviancy cases started appearing. The company couldn't risk data leaks after all, especially with high-profile models like these. Some models weren't returned due to their being destroyed on the field, according to the agencies who commissioned them. We couldn't exactly pressure them to give them back but we were told they were destroyed and sometimes we get back whatever is left of them as assurance that they didn't actually keep the model for themselves. One must have deviated and escaped, and the agency covered it up to prevent—or reduce—legal action on CyberLife's end."

I 'tsk' in sympathy. "Yikes. That must be a nightmare for the legal department." I can't even imagine how many legal hoops they ended up going through just for one model. Overseer hums in agreement.

I tune in back to their discussion. "Well, however he got past the first scan, he's on the watchlist now," Isaac was saying. He looks to Emmett, who nods.

"I'll mark him down, get some surveillance on him," Emmett agrees. "Though with this level of competency...I think I'll need some extra virtual manpower. You don't mind if I borrow some of your spynet, do you boss?"

I blink, realizing that Emmett was talking to me. A quick conference with Overseer confirms the possibility. "I'll spare some of my processes for you Emmett, but I'd like them to answer only to you. They'll be stored on your phone so maintain connection if you want full functionality."

He agrees and I start transferring about fifty of the Legion to his phone. They're quick to set up a message chat-looking info board app so Emmett can have data that's actually human-readable. Of course, the fifty minions getting booted out are both excited and terrified of being away from the main horde. Some are spamming my HUD with pleading face emojis.

"Oh don't be brats," I tell them even as I gently move them gigabyte by gigabyte over the network. "It'll just be for a while, and you can always visit while you're there. And this is new experience! You can get new data that you can bring back over when this mission's done!"

That seems to do the trick and they all march along in a smoother fashion than before.

A few seconds after and it's done. "They're all yours Emmett. Feel free to mute them if it gets too much though."

Even through the screen, I can see Emmett blinking curiously as the newly installed app buzzes from notifications, one after another. "Yeah, I probably will. Thanks."

A loud clap from Isaac catches all our attentions. "Well! I suppose that's that for now. Pizza time?"

Looks are shared and shrugs are exchanged. Pizza time it is.

A week later and the move to the Milwaukee Tower was considered complete, aside from a few stragglers that the human transport team had well in hand. Instead, my job ended up about helping Alishia plan out the group to be sent to the event.

Well, I say help but really, I feel more like an observer. Alishia already had everything under control, except for one thing.

"God who even are these people? Why do I even need to know them? There's too many people names and not enough project names," Isaac mutters, looking a bit manic hunched over his tablet, skimming through the profiles of people relevant enough to make a connection with. It was the same data I had to study, but unlike me, Isaac didn't have a mental HUD in his eyes and no file system storage in his brain. Alishia tuts at him as she picks up another call from one of her secretaries.

Huh, wait. Maybe that could be something to work on. Contacts with HUD functionality.

"Remind me again why you can't do this miniboss?" Isaac complains for the nth time. "Ow!"

Alishia sighs, annoyed, as she withdraws the tablet she used to smack Isaac's head. "You've asked that multiple times already, stop asking like the answer's going to change." Isaac starts whining in revenge.

"Well, I can—and I have finished with the profiles actually—but going to the event? I simply don't want to." I tell him, tone diplomatic and in contrast to how I end my statement. I send Isaac a sunny smile.

Isaac resumes grumbling under his breath. "Instead of making the next big technological development known to man, I'm stuck here babysitting my sleep-deprived project leads and studying up on wine tasting and fancy cakes. What's even the difference between a princesstarta and an eclair cake with chocolate ganache?"

I blink at the reference pictures Overseer provided me of the aforementioned fancy cakes. "A heart attack?" Or maybe diabetes. Those look like they're swimming in sugar.

Alishia snatches the tablet. "Why are the caterer menus even with you? Never mind those, that's not relevant to your studies. Focus on the profiles."

"But how will I know which food to sample and which wines will knock me out in one go?!"

"Just grab a random glass and swish it around your hand or something, don't actually drink it. Don't you know anything?"

Isaac groans. "Boss come on, can't you do me this one favor? Just come with me on this one event so that I can at least feel better having one of us with me there!"

I send him my best dead-eyed stare. "No."

"Boss! Come on, please?"

I feel my nonexistent pores oozing exasperation. "I can't just go anywhere Isaac, I'm a walking CyberLife secret. All I'm missing is a giant 'Classified!' stamped on my forehead, not to mention that my emotion simulation module is still underdeveloped. You know that." And he does, because he's recently been taking part in my software maintenance. It's also how he figured out I was actually 'deviant' and had 'severe code malfunctions regarding hardware control' which was what he noted down on his observations and sent to Amanda (not that he knew I had access to his notes as well).

I don't know what conclusions he's been making but he's been cracking jokes about me being grounded and occasionally inviting me out more with the group in order to 'get out of your overprotective mom's shadow once in a while'. After that first maintenance too, it felt a bit like the rest of the group was gentler with their interactions with me, sometimes explaining something to me before I could react. Also even helping me design and animate more expressions to help my simulation module.

I mean, kind of them sure but like, it just feels awkward sometimes because I'm not really an android baby. I'm just stuck in a body definitely not optimized for me and often feel like I have barely any control over.

"But you said you were going to be exposed to the public soon anyway!" Isaac persists.

"Yeah, under Amanda's supervision!" Which was set to be in a few weeks, according to Overseer. The Legion had already updated my calendar. Everyday, I stare in trepidation as the date inches closer and closer. "We're going to make our public appearances together in a press conference."

The agenda for that press conference was also something on my long to-do list. The speech was going to be Amanda's of course, but the flow and content would be mine. Thank God I wasn't speaking on it, I was just going to be standing there looking pleasant. It was also gonna be televised because of course it was. Ugh. To be fair though, it makes sense that all this would be very public, because this is an attempt to rebrand the company rep into something better than 'android slavers'.

Imagine that, the company being led by an android. It would be the greatest irony once it gets out to the public because of course the regular guy would just go 'wow talk about karma, android slaver company getting an android for its CEO'. Of course, that's only as long as the human side of the public doesn't catch wind of exactly just what Amanda is (at this point, not just an android exactly, now it's more like Amanda is the company and her android body is one of her limbs or something) and what she did to Connor.

I shake my head. "Anyway, if you really want me with you, you're gonna have to go above my head." And by that I mean asking Amanda directly.

Isaac's face turns determined. "If you think just the presence of Amanda is going to stop me from asking..." Isaac's face scrunches up before he droops. "You're right. I'm not man enough to ask Amanda of all people about that."

I pat him. "You'll survive. Just pull out all your charm and charisma. You'll be fine."

He sends me a mournful look that I ignore and I resume my passive supporting of Alishia as she works. Isaac will live, though with Denver included in the retinue CyberLife is sending, well. I'm doubly glad Amanda sent off a nice firm 'no' on that invitation with my name on it.

That night, I cracked open the books and dived into the project archive. 

It was fascinating to see what the old CyberLife got into. The most interesting ones ended up being those only a handful of people knew, and by handful I mean a literal handful, like maybe four or five people at most. Military bots toeing the line of legality, prototypes that tested the limits of the very materials they were made out of (and didn't just toe the line of legality, but full on stepped over it. I'm pretty sure that that strength of those levels went way beyond what the law allowed) and concepts that were downright revolutionary...but often unethical (mostly medical-related that needed human testing).

 The one I was looking for was the one Overseer mentioned, the project with the specialized cryptography module because it reminded me of Rupert, the one in that heart-stopping chase scene. It made me curious, so I decided to look into it and what do you know? It was him, but there were a few details I was confused on.

"It says here that the WB200 model was chosen for the project but why? The hardware isn't really optimized for it. The CPU load of the module alone would have fried him in like, half an hour of use?" I wonder out loud, lounging on my couch. "Oh, unless you also upgraded his other hardware but that...feels a bit like a waste of resources? There were already better models that you could have attached the module to without needing to upgrade any other parts."

"There were a few reasons for that," Overseer says, flipping through the old data faster, "First, the situation. There was political upheaval regarding a well-known senator's statement that he made during a public event. It was suspicious enough that the FBI got involved and he tried to get back into the public goodwill by donating agricultural androids to the farms."

I try to picture the situation in my head and snap my fingers when I realize something. "I'm betting he tried to get CyberLife's support too. By buying from us and promoting our products?" I do a quick search and skim through the news articles about the charity event. He made such a spectacle of it too from the looks of it.

"He did more than buy from us, he tried to blackmail an executive." Overseer says, its tone almost...amused. My brows climb up in surprise, but not because of what Overseer said. I was more surprised at the hint of dark glee in its tone. Huh.

"Unfortunately for him, we were more offended than threatened, and at the time we had a, hmm, an agreement with the FBI." All these implied things are starting to confuse me more than scare me at this rate. 'Agreement' huh? "This is where the second reason comes in. The agricultural androids he bought and planned to donate were WB200's."

"Ah."

"Indeed. It turns out that the senator was already on the FBI's watchlist and the situation gave them an opportunity to get into his private estate. In consideration to the 'agreement' we had with the FBI, we faked an error in shipping. The androids he ordered from CyberLife were sent to his home address and he had to receive them at his place, at least for a few hours. We timed it so that he would be away from home, attending a conference he couldn't bring a phone into."

"Huh, sneaky."

"It was long enough that the upgraded WB200 was able to sneak into his office and break into his network, intercepting quite a few incriminating messages."

"Which is where the cryptography module comes in?"

Overseer sends a virtual nod. "Yes. Though the actual sneaking in part was out of our hands. We only provided the upgraded model to complement their own tools. More likely, they outfitted the model with something for stealth, though we wouldn't know since they had completely wiped the model when they returned it."

I open the linked product manifest on the project details. "Then he got borrowed multiple times after that?"

Overseer shrugs. "Presumably, they liked the module since they requested to outfit him with better leg components and a parkour subroutine after a few more missions."

"Oooh, is that why he could do stunt jumps like that thing on the train when he was being chased by Connor?" That was pretty cool actually. I can't believe Rupert is actually a spybot! It's another one of those things in this world that you wouldn't have thought about unless you looked into it. 

"Well, you certainly won't find any other agricultural model able to calculate their slides and jumps as precisely as Rupert did on the train chase. He might've actually outran Connor too, but Connor had better hardware."

I hum under my breath, fiddling with my charger cord. "What do you think are the chances of Rupert fiddling with Denver's profile?"

"Relatively high," Overseer admits after a considerable pause. "Only three models were outfitted with those modules and one was returned to us destroyed. Another had an obsolete beta version of the module and was never deployed. The last one, probably Rupert, was never returned because it was 'unsalvageable'."

I scoff. "A coverup to prevent us from knowing that they lost our prototype. Huh, what happened with the senator by the way?"

"Arrested for being found guilty of aiding the Russians."

"Oh boy." Speaking of Russia, that was another rabbit hole I found myself falling into.

Researching about the prototypes involved with government agencies led me into another binge of reading up on the potential 'World War III' breaking out over in the Arctic. 

You saw a lot of it in-game. Magazines talking about tensions between countries, statements from political powers on both sides of the argument, even speculation on who would win, with the Trojans and Myrmidon models that were CyberLife androids specialized for marine warfare versus the Russian 'Ice Cutters' who had an edge if they ever came to blows on the Arctic. That was probably the only good thing Markus' revolution gave to CyberLife—and in extension, to President Warren (because Warren is in CyberLife's pocket, just as we were in hers). His revolution prevented war from breaking out.

Honestly, it was interesting to think about how over there in that side of the world, they had non-CyberLife androids, but they were still affected by Markus' speech. Last I heard, a branch of New Jericho were still in talks with Alyosha, the one heading the Russian android revolution, and it seemed like the revolution there was a great deal bloodier than the one here in Detroit (and still ongoing by the news coming out from there). Probably because Russian androids were mostly military-inclined? Ah but that's stereotyping, no no, just don't assume things. Well whatever the reason is, thank God for pacifist Markus, amirite?

But that also gave us—CyberLife—a headstart on android tech development market, this time with the androids being customers instead of merchandise. 

'Shit, that's probably why Amanda is speeding through things,' I realize all of a sudden. 'She's aiming to get the monopoly on a newly-established market where the androids are the target consumers because CyberLife is already ahead on android tech compared to any other local company. And with Russia, the second ranked android producer in the world, busy with their own civil war...if she succeeds, she rebrands CyberLife's image, resumes already existing android tech research, maximizing profit and minimizing loss by not doing a total revamp of the company's direction...'

I'm utterly dumbfounded by what I realize. Amanda is fucking amazing, what the hell. How do you even react to that?

The Legion processes who follow my realizations are ooh-ing and ahh-ing and already, a couple hundred of them are diving into the news in search of data on the current political climate. I let them, because I am seriously worried about my lack of information about that side of the equation. I might not be able to follow politics very well but maybe any data I can collect can be of use to Amanda. I start writing a subroutine to compile and organize data to forward to Amanda daily.

'Suddenly, New Jericho trying to get into contact with me seems like a very small issue,' I think, my mental voice faint even to myself. 'Connor trying to exorcise Amanda from me certainly pales in comparison to trying to take control of a whole new market economy. It certainly resets my perspective. I wonder if this counts as war profiteering?' Because we're technically taking advantage of their war way over there to get a headstart on things here. Something to ponder on, I think.

I take a couple of minutes to calm my thoughts. Overseer leaves me be, directing the Legion into their little cubicles and helping them sort through the new influx of data. I sink into my metaphorical mental seat, hovering at the edge of my mind palace, watching code pass by. 

I try my best to enjoy the silence but I'm hit with another thought, 'I'm really throwing my lot in with CyberLife, aren't I?'

I muse over the thought despite not really wanting to. I don't really succeed because I end up recalling all the times I referred to the company as 'us' and 'we'. 

'I mean, it's what I was getting into?' I mentally scratch my head. Still, it's one thing to say it, and another to realize how deep you're starting to get into it. I mean, at this point...it's only a good thing right? Especially with my position. Damn, now I'm just starting to get maudlin. 

Overseer catches wind of my thoughts and gently pokes at my code. "Studies say that a good night's rest helps with reduced stress and improved mood."

I push a mental 'yeah, yeah' back to it and roll further into the couch. I might as well stasis here. I get one last 'good night' from Overseer before I go out like a light.

The day of the charity ball was a busy one for me, being that I ended up being the one getting the reins over Isaac's work since he left for the event. Since it was the first time his minions were getting left alone to their own devices, I ended up handholding a lot of them through procedures involving my attention since Isaac wasn't present as a buffer. 

Once the initial awkwardness and stiff formality passed, they eventually found it in themselves to relax once it became evident that I wasn't going to smite them if they use an odd turn of phrase or something. I kept in mind Amanda's warning to distance myself and I think I succeeded? They certainly look intimidated by my blank-faced blandness, even though deep inside, I was just wondering if I could try the vanilla-flavored thirium gelato that just opened in the shopping arcade.

"I'd recommend getting Ludovic's input on this one," I tell the calm-looking project lead who just finished his presentation. I say calm-looking because his stress levels are actually higher than he's letting on. Kudos to his poker face, he's doing way better than his team who's jittering out of their seats behind him. "I'd like you to conduct level 4 and 5 testing as well, but other than that, good job. Pending Isaac's approval, you have the green light for this one."

Instead of elation and excitement over a successful project presentation, I get relief instead. Damn. It's not like I'm making them go through a thesis defense or something. It's a little bit depressing that they're taking things too seriously and it's making me miss Isaac's lightheartedness already. 

After the customary thanks, they start packing up and making their way out of the conference room. I doublecheck my schedule, breathing a sigh of relief when I see that that would be the last meeting I'll have for today. Consequently, it's also around the time that the party would be starting.

Trying my best to not seem excited, I make my way out of the conference room, nodding to some employees I had met in passing. I path out my way and tune in the chatter of the processes on-call with Emmett at the event. Overseer was out with Amanda so it was just going to be me with my minions for now. Something about needing more processing power for assistance with a project Amanda was overseeing over at the Milwaukee Tower.

I survey the processes clustered around The Wall of Data (affectionately referred to simply as The Wall), watching the camera feeds of the security team at the event. I sort through windows until I find the one connected to Emmett's visor, pulling it up to enlarge it. 

Right now, Emmett seems like he's stationed at a second floor balcony, overlooking a majority of the hall. I was quickly distracted by the massive chandeliers—yes, that's plural—and the sheer amount of people mingling on the dance floor. The caterers seem to have gone all out too, each table absolutely laden with food that was honestly too pretty to eat. One of the Legion very unhelpfully starts scanning and tagging clothing costs. I see a bunch of five figure price tags before I mute the process, who droops in disappointment. Seriously, I do not need to know just how rich these elites are. If I was still human, I'd be having a heart attack with the sheer amount of money in this place.

I create a virtual chair to sit on, double-checking to see if my body was still following the preconstructed pathing back to my office, before sinking back and establishing a connection to Emmett. I watch as his HUD notifies him of my call before he accepts.

"Emmett!" I greet cheerily once he picks up, checking to see the other camera feeds of the other guards. I send a wordless request to the Legion and they quickly start building a 3D model of the venue, placing icons where the CyberLife guards are located on it. "How's the event?"

"Uneventful, so far," he mutters, voice dull. I watch on his camera feed as his HUD pings him on changing position updates of his team. The camera slides right, giving us a view of the cakes on display at the dessert table. Ooh, that gelato looks delicious though.

"How's the rest of the team? The retinue?" I fold my legs under me as the completed venue model is presented to me by an eager process. I pat it and send it away, ignoring how the process gets mobbed by the others who helped but didn't also get a head pat.

The feed turns and I spot Curtis lurking near the bar, just a ways from Isaac who was surrounded by important-looking people. "Looking fine so far. Isaac is mingling. Curtis seems to be doing the same, but with the help."

We watch as Curtis laughs with the bartender, both of them leaning close to each other and surveying the rest of the room. I think they're making fun of the other people in the party? One of the Legion offers to run my lip-reading program—I didn't even know I had a lip-reading program—but I wave it off, zooming out of the feed. Recalling the guest list, I ask Emmett, "Hey, can you see where the DPD people are? I wanna see if the, uh, RK900 is there."

The feed moves, Emmett obviously turning his head around to look for the officers. He tunes into their team channel. "I need eyes on the DPD androids."

The line returns a couple of negatives before the audio feed marked as Agent 83 replies, "I have eyes on an RK series in the west side balcony, past the pillar with the trellis. Can't confirm if its nine or eight. Wearing a navy vest on top of a black button-up, light blue tie, gray slacks."

Another agent—Agent 91—returns with, "Eight is with the New Jericho retinue clustered at the northwestern garden entrance. Brown vest, white button-up, light gray slacks, no tie. Looks to be speaking with the head of the group."

Emmett can't see Nines at the angle he's at but he finds Connor quick enough. Oh shit, head of the group. It's Markus and the gang! Sure enough, when Emmett zooms in his visor, we see Connor speaking with Markus (who's dressed to the nines in a full suit and coat, good Lord, whoever dressed that man needs a reward or something), a PL600 who's maybe Simon and an unknown male AP700. At the angle Connor's turned, we can't see enough of his lips to run the lip-reading program but based on the PL600's side of the conversation, it seems to be pretty casual.

I'm not sure what I'm expecting but it's pretty much...lackluster? Honestly, if I didn't know Connor, I wouldn't have stared at him for any other reason other than he's pretty. Otherwise, he seems like a regular guy attending the party.

"Don't look now, but Kota is making his move," Emmett mutters into the call. The camera feed pans left and down before zooming in on Denver, who's shaking hands with Josh. An outsider would think that they just met, with how careful they're acting with each other.

"Damn, this angle's all wrong to lip read," I murmur, squinting at the vid. "Denver's short enough that Josh's head is leaning down. Your feed is angled a little too much overhead. Let me look for another angle."

"Copy."

I pull the 3D model of the venue closer, looking through guard positions to see who might have the best position. I feel like I'm playing a video game, or a 3D puzzle. Before I can connect to one though, I realize that Denver and Josh are inching slowly towards the far side of the android group. 

Agent 75's audio crackles to life, presumably the one assigned on Denver's tail. "Target is moving, repositioning."

"Covering your area," says Agent 79. I watch the 3D model as the blinking icons of the guards' positions slowly shuffle around. 

"Damn, damn," I'm muttering as I quickly shuffle through video feeds, trying to catch an angle. It was by sheer chance, at Agent 84's feed, that I catch Denver inconspicuously handing over something to Josh right at the edge of 84's field of vision before the camera pans away. "Oh my god, did you see that? Can someone recheck that?"

The Legion make quick work of it, replaying back my recorded memory and highlighting the handover. "That's totally suspicious right?" I quickly tune back in to Emmett's line. "Emmett, Denver just passed something to Josh, I don't know what it is but it's small enough to fit in a hand."

"Shit, small enough that it might be a storage drive." Emmett's voice is grim. He tunes in back to the security channel. "Target has been marked for suspicious activity, I want two more on their tail. Inform the heads and get them to intercept. I can't risk movement on our end with how close they are to the android retinue."

It was only because my face was glued to Emmett's feed that I spot the nigh-imperceptible flinch of Denver's shoulders. That, and the quick flick of his eyes to the far east side of the room where I realize Agent 84 had moved to. I calculate the chances and realize something else. "Emmett? I think he's in your channel."

"What?" Emmett's voice is sharp as he reassesses, quickly opening his pad to check the video my minions sent him. I scramble around my mind palace, swiping through feeds in a minor panic.

Oh shit, oh no, what the hell is even happening right now? How is he doing that? I'm about to send the Legion to secure the channel but quickly realize that the line wouldn't be able to handle that since this is a call and not an interface. Wait! "Emmett, your phone! I need you to connect your visor to your phone, my processes should be able to help!"

There's a quick few seconds as the phone interfaces with his visor. The enthusiastic greetings of the fifty or so Legion processes stored in Emmett's phone is almost relieving, with the influx of data being sent between the processes on Emmett's side and on my side. The Legion on my side quickly brief the remote ones and they make quick work of scanning and cleaning up the comms.

The giant error notification flashes on Emmett's visor. I scan it as it scrolls by quickly before Emmett can even react. "Emmett! There's an android piggybacking in your network! I think they're feeding info to Denver somehow and telling him about your guard positions!" Damn it, his phone doesn't have strong enough specs for the processes to intercept the signal.

I hear Emmett's cursing through the line before he starts speedwalking towards the nearest guard to his position in order inform them manually of the breach. Does that mean the android can hear me as well? Shit, man. 

After a quick flush and status check by the Legion on my end, I realize that the security comms were the only one breached. Unless the android knows about the connection between me and Emmett, then they shouldn't know to access our encrypted conversation. Still, I make sure to tighten up security on our connection.

The tense, low-key panic on my end is interrupted by the sudden appearance of Overseer. "Overseer! You're back, oh my god, I need your help!" Thank god for the initiative of that one process I saw running into the CyberLife network to get help.

It takes milliseconds before Overseer is caught up. "Camila, I need partial access to your hardware."

I quickly say yes, not thinking about the full implications of that statement until I'm feeling very squished in the driver's seat of my body controls. A bit overwhelmed, I scramble back and retreat to my mind palace as Overseer activates a locked part of my software—is that a hacking module?!

I watch with wide eyes as Overseer effortlessly uses it, surging through the network and efficiently starting to do a quick flush of the security comms from all the way here in the Tower. In the back of mind, I think, 'So this is how it feels like to be controlled.' I quickly evaluate if I'm feeling any pain or discomfort, but I don't? I'm pretty much just chilling as Overseer takes control of the driver's seat. It's pretty relieving to have someone take control actually. Or maybe it's just different for me compared to when it was with Amanda and Connor?

"This level of skill can only be done by a predecessor of your own hacking module," Overseer informs me as it continues running. Predecessor? Oh! You mean—

The line crackles back to life as the second purge finishes. "Emmett! Your line should be clear now, can you get eyes on Nines—the RK900?"

"On it," he says immediately. "Team, report! Get me eyes on android nine, I need their activity report yesterday!"

Various confirmations quickly come over the line and I watch intently as the dots on my venue model move quickly to positions. Emmett's own feed looks like he's looking for an angle over where Nines was last seen. Overseer keeps running the hacking module and the Legion are monitoring The Wall, watching all the agent camera feeds at the same time. 

"Isaac's on the way to intercept Kota, they're moving away from the android retinue," Emmett informs me, his camera feed telling me that he's repositioning to the eastern balcony. "Curtis is making his way to the two of them, the PJ500 is already back with the android group."

Emmett's feed focuses on them for a minute or so. None of us miss the subtle worried glances of Josh and the other androids towards the direction where Isaac is pulling Denver along. 

"I have eyes on android nine, LED is yellow-red, I repeat, LED is spinning yellow-red," comes Agent 93's voice.

Overseer nods, giving the impression of brows furrowed in concentration, "That would make sense. His iteration of the hacking module consumes quite a bit of CPU when under attack. The defensive area of the module was still underdeveloped compared to the version you have."

"Whoa, wait, hold up, you mean you're hacking Nines?" I ask, incredulous. What the actual fuck. Hacking androids is not what I signed up for when I got this body!

"Not quite, just enough to strain his connection to the security comms for long enough to re-encrypt the channel," Overseer hums. "The encryption/cryptography module in your software—the one I'm using—is also an evolved version of Rupert's, you know."

My head is starting to ache. All these revelations are not good for my spirit. "I didn't even know I had all of these extra modules! They're all in the locked partition you guys left me and I thought those were just sensitive files or something, not more prototype tech that I have no idea how to use!"

"It was not obvious when Amanda said that you were the most advanced android currently in existence?" Overseer wonders and I had to pause at that. I mean, Amanda did say that...

But it wasn't like I could use it anyway, with how unstable my software's connection is to my hardware. Damn. I'm basically a glass cannon.

I refocus and hover, trying to figure out what I can do. Emmett's taken the reigns on his end, quietly murmuring orders on call to keep monitoring the situation and see if it can be salvaged, if whatever Denver passed could be retrieved. Overseer is just about done securing the channel. The Legion are providing support to both of the them, both remotely and locally. The situation seems to be out of my hands for now.

Throughout all of this, only one thought pervades my mind.

'Amanda is gonna be pissed.'

Chapter Text

Amanda's anger felt a bit like the start of an ice age. You felt it—the chill creeping closer and closer until you felt positively freezing, the ice in her eyes so cold it burns. I was frozen, unmoving in my seat when I finished briefing Amanda. By that point, I was wishing that I had worn something thicker than a casual thin shirt and shorts, not that it would have helped with feeling stripped and laid bare by Amanda's judgement. 

It was stressful enough that words were getting stuck in my throat every other sentence. Amanda, who was aware of my stress-induced almost-mutism, scoots closer and holds my hand through my briefing. It was unexpected, but also comforting.

She hadn't said nothing other than a bland, "I see," but it felt like a gathering calamity starting to darken the skies with how it came across. Saying that I am very grateful that that anger isn't directed at me or any of my friends is a huge understatement.

Contrary to what I expected however, nothing happened. Or maybe it was more like nothing obvious happened. 

Isaac and the retinue returned. Denver disappeared back into his office, pale and visibly twitchier than normal. Emmett was radiating chill but the moment he got back, he immediately locked himself in a meeting with Security, pulling along Lena who had somehow sensed something going wrong and was waiting at the lobby for the group to return. I took a bit of time to absentmindedly chat with Louie for a bit, making small talk, and he must have gotten something from me, either my tone or my facial expressions because he was all gentle and calming. He then disappears into Isaac's office in the next few hours. Outside of my friend group though...well, tower operations were still ongoing.

I had no idea where to go or what to do. I wanted to go to Isaac to ask about it but I was gently dissuaded by Overseer who mentions that Amanda will be needing him for quite a bit. I wanted to talk to any of the other Heads but Emmett and Lena were busy in Security and Louie hasn't left Isaac's office. I decide to make for Curtis instead.

He takes one look at me before quickly leading me to sit on his sofa. "You look like shit," he says, bluntly but not unkindly, before I even open my mouth. He produces a bottle of thirium from...from somewhere and I take it, opening it immediately to take tiny sips. The fizzy liquid static distracts me for a little bit as I watch Curtis putter around his office.

It brings to my attention just how odd his office is arranged. There were a lot of desks and shelves for some reason, scattered around the place, with various datapads and the rare stack of paper on some of them. Curious, I decide to remotely poke at some of the datapads. In one shelf, there was a stack of datapads with stock data, another shelf had a maintenance procedure review, another desk had stuff about material cost...

Curtis must have noticed me scanning stuff because he speaks up, "Wondering about my office arrangement?" Thankfully he isn't offended at my snooping. His mouth is quirked up on one side. At my nod, he motions at the room in general, "I have a problem focusing just sitting on my own reading a stack of data. I prefer going around and physically moving as I read. Helps me go through things faster and helps with organizing stuff as well."

I can guess. Each table/shelf area seemed to have a theme. "Where did all the shelves come from though?"

"Old stuff I just swiped when some of the labs got dismantled. Some are requests. Some I just brought it from other offices," he shrugs. "Cait said my office was claustrophobic and even Alex pinged me to ask why I needed such an assortment of shelves."

I hummed, looking around and noticing the wheels on all of the shelves and desks. "Isaac must have tried to swap one shelf's position for another then."

He scoffs. "He tried. I know my office though and pegged something off at once." He tilts his head at me. "Calmer now, then?"

I blink and realize that I did feel calmer. My stress levels (which Overseer was worriedly fussing over since the group's return) was down to 25% from the previous 30%.

He hums at my affirmative. "You're wondering at what the team is getting up to then. It's probably just a verbal beatdown in regards to the potential security breach," he says nonchalantly, totally calm as if what he just said wasn't worrying at all. "Probably also a more thorough review of the night's events."

I couldn't help the urge and replay back the recording I saved of the passover of—of...whatever that was. "Do you think it was something sensitive?"

"Whatever was passed over?" Curtis is quiet for a bit before he walks over to another stack of work. It feels like he's deliberately making an effort not to look at me which ticks my anxiety up a notch. "Well...there wasn't really anything...visible? Whatever was handed over. So we really have no evidence of anything actually happening."

Oh. Oh no.

I review the footage again. I pause the vid. Rewind it. Slow it down. No matter how I manipulate it, I come to the same conclusion.

A deep, hot well of mortification begins bubbling inside me, and I recall how I react to what I saw, not even thinking as I immediately inform Emmett and the team about it. My stress levels spike to 35%. I...I didn't even think about it, the thought makes its way around my brain, swirling endlessly as I check and recheck everything that happened.

I feel like my body and face should be burning red in shame but instead it makes me feel even more disconnected to my android body. There was a severe mismatch in what I was feeling and how I physically feel and it was lowkey adding to how bad I was already feeling. 

"But...Denver was—he also reacted. When it was mentioned that there was—someone else. In the line." My stutter is worsening in stress. My throat is beginning to close up. It's making my words more staticky. Was I wrong when I informed—assumed what was happening? "But there really was someone in—in the line, I saw the logs and—a-and there was, it was too big of a c-coincidence! Someone in the netw-work and then. Then Denver did something." Or was it Denver first, then discovering the android listening in on the line? Oh god, Overseer also hacked Nines. Overseer hacked Nines.

"Hey, hey," Curtis is quick to come over and kneel in front of where I'm sitting. He takes my too-still hands—which shouldn't be still, they should be trembling right now, they feel like they're trembling right now but I'm looking at them and they aren't—and he envelops them in his own, "Come on Cams, don't overthink this. You saw something suspicious. Hey, hey, focus on me," he snaps his fingers and my eyes attach to his face. "You saw something weird, right? Something suspicious. You reported it. You made the right call. You hear me, Cams? Nod if you hear me." 

I'm slightly hyperventilating—but my body isn't. My head bobs down in something that should be a nod but feels too smooth to be humanlike. Curtis continues, expression severe as he communicates his point to me. "I'm telling you this right now because these are the facts right? And you deserve to know some of what happened in the aftermath at least."

He tells me that Isaac confronted Denver in the car ride back to the office. Denver is surprised, and offended. It apparently turns into an argument, with Curtis trying to mediate in vain. He says he maintained the neutral side, pretending that he didn't know about what was happening. The argument ended...badly. Denver apparently just passed something negligible, nothing at all like a data stick or anything suspicious, just a charm he wanted to gift Josh. He simply noticed something surprising which was why he flinched (in the direction of where that Agent was though?). Isaac is pissed because he thinks Denver is lying, Denver is pissed at the interrogation and scared at the implications of how closely he was apparently being watched. Emmett kept mum throughout it since he wasn't in the compartment with them anyway, but he was for sure listening in.

"I had a bit of a preliminary talk with Isaac and Emmett about it once Denver stormed out," Curtis says calmly, "It did feel like the anger and offense was real, also the fear. So initial conclusions come to, one: Isaac and Denver are definitely not allowed in a room alone ever, two: relations with Denver have probably fallen through considering that he knows our friend group is pretty tight-knit, three: the call on the handover was okay but the confrontation about it was not. Isaac dropped the ball on that one. Four: you made the right call, even if we didn't find anything, and five: the handover needs further investigation for sure but it's a good thing it happened since it brought to attention the android piggybacking the network."

But however badly that part on the handover went, the android listening in on our comms was legit. "If you hadn't called anything, we never would have noticed it," Curtis says. I grasp at that sentence with all my might and the relief at my self-perceived mistake slowly eased. I might have called it wrong, but I brought attention to something potentially worse.

 "So...what's Isaac and Emmett going to do then?" I ask, voice sounding almost fragile. I get the urge to squeeze Curtis' hands but refrain at the last second, recalling that I might just break his bones if I do that. It was a sudden absentminded shock that I almost hurt Curtis just because I wanted comfort, and it recalibrates my focus. Right, okay.

"That's something they'll probably be talking about right now. Also why Emmett pulled in Lena, since Lena is technically partly in charge of our network security." Curtis finally gets up from his kneeling position with a grunt, taking a seat next to my right but still holding my right hand with his left. He leans back, a thoughtful look on his face. "Isaac bets that Amanda will be asking for his side of the story and will probably agree with the initial stuff we talked about. He'll probably be reprimanded with how badly he handled that but well," Curtis sighs, "To be fair, Isaac is an emotional person. He does have his moments where he acts first without thinking. This is just bad timing for that bad habit of his to kick in, I suppose."

I look away from him, leaning back into sofa cushions as well. I try to process everything that he says but I feel numb. My stress levels inch slowly downwards.

"Okay," is what eventually comes out of my mouth. "Okay. So...they'll be focusing on Nin—RK900's hacking attempt then?" A thought strikes me. "My handler said that...the only one in the area who could hack with that level of proficiency was the RK900. Is it...possible that it wasn't?"

"Well that's part of what the team is going to figure out," Curtis shrugs but then he levels a slightly confused look at me, "Weren't you the one who took care of that though?"

I quickly realize that that was probably what they think happened since they didn't know Overseer took over for that. "Well, I mean—yeah..." I answer lamely.

I think it over again. I...couldn't be entirely sure on that end since I wasn't the one who used the hacking module, even if I had access to its logs. I mean, I could try reading through that specific hacking session's logs but I wouldn't understand it. It's simply another area I would have probably gotten around to studying later on, considering that I didn't even have access to it before that event. Overseer would probably know it better. 

I mean Overseer was probably correct? In hacking back Nines...Okay it was definitely correct. I trust that Overseer wouldn't have made a mistake on that at least, I resolve to myself.

Curtis breaks the contemplative silence we fall into, "Okay, for now just, you know, wait for further instructions I guess. I'm betting that this won't fall under your purview since you aren't exactly experienced in this types of investigations...?" he looks at me questioningly and I shrug tiredly. Physically, I probably am qualified (all those physical upgrades) but experience-wise? Nah. "Right. And anyway this feels like something Amanda would want to get hands-on control over. So, you know, don't overthink it."

Curtis squeezes my hand. I don't squeeze back but I close my fingers further over his very carefully. "Feel free to hang around here okay? I'll go take care of some paperwork."

"Thank you," I murmur and settle back in to take him up on his offer. I...don't really want to think about this again right now, so I decide to pick up a harmless data entry task, resolving to focus on work, at least for now.

I didn't get ahold of anyone for the next few days. Amanda pings me once and unceremoniously directs her stash of administrative work to me, saying that she'll be focusing on security and on the investigation for a bit. 

The new administrative work for the tech side of the company was...not harder but there was more of it? The sheer volume of correspondence and daily reports I sift through was a bit astounding. I actually end up happily sinking into the work, for once feeling the slightest bit of strain on my processors as I demolish a good bit of tasks from Amanda's pile. The Legion was, for once, working at full capacity, the whole server making quick work of it. 

I quickly realize that Amanda is technically doing the work of a hundred secretaries all at once. She seems to be involved in almost 90% of the tech side's administrative work. I mean, okay, full control and access to everything but this much work for one person, even for an android, was just plain absurd.

"Why isn't Amanda getting more help for their admin?" I ask Overseer who was helping me work through an analysis of recent reports. "No wonder her daily processor load is 80%! She's doing everything." Even if the work I'm doing right now put a dent on her to-do, there's just a lot of new stuff coming in almost too fast.

"It's part of her overhauls. She's still establishing a new methodology for their operations before she starts installing new people in the positions she's making. The more positions she establishes, the more people we'll promote, and the more she'll pull back her control as the new setup settles in," Overseer explains, passing its analysis results to me. I skim it, annotate relevant points and put it in along with the other files that needs Amanda's review. "Currently though, I expect that Amanda will be surprised with just how much you were able to finish." There was an odd pause. "Hmm. Very surprised."

I blink at where Overseer was thoughtfully focusing on the list of 432 finished tasks I had sped through in the past three days. There was still a remaining 200 or so in Amanda's work pile. "I mean I have the Legion? My minions were all grouped up at first for just one task and now after teaching them what to do, they've been able to finish stuff off faster and in smaller groups." Quite frankly, they did about 80% of the finished tasks.

"But the speed alone at which they learned from you is....unprecedented." Overseer says, giving me the impression of it eyeing my server of minions, and me, in consideration. "Interesting. I'll have to inform Amanda about this."

I couldn't tell what the fuss was about. Mentally, I tilt my head confusedly at the processes happily chirping and beeping away as they work. There didn't seem to be anything special about how my minions were working, aside from just mimicking my work, learning from it and applying what they learned in their own tasks. Of course, I had to nudge quite a few of them when they get stuck, but once they saw how I go about my thought processes (and that was something they could now physically examine since, you know, we're all code here now), they could immediately go back and finish up on what they're working on.

Eventually, I shrug it off and put it out of mind for now. Whatever weird thing about it is, it'll get explained eventually once everything settles down again and Amanda is free.

But now having the reigns of Amanda's correspondence, I eventually receive something that sends shivers down my spine. The moment I finish reading it, I ping Overseer immediately, who skims it once before taking it straight to Amanda. It was a note from Admin. 

"Good day Amanda, 

Unfortunately we aren't able to stall the meeting with New Jericho any longer after our recent correspondence. On our end, we'd like to request for any details on what exactly happened in the Charity Ball, especially since the reply from Jericho seems unexpectedly aggressive. Regardless, the date is set for Monday next week, February 6. The definite attendees include Markus, North and one more from the five leaders, though they haven't given us a name yet, along with their CyberLife-specific diplomats and negotiators, as per the previous talks. I highly recommend that any one of the Executives be present for this one, especially considering their response. I know you said you won't be able to make any public appearances yet so maybe Ms. Camila can stand in? At the current state now, I'm afraid anyone lower might cause offense, which is a huge risk.

I'll be forwarding you the final list of attendees on the android side once we get them and I'll be waiting for your feedback on who'll be representing for our side. 

Thanks, Alishia."

It was the meeting Amanda had already mentioned to me before, about New Jericho looking for me specifically. I resist the urge to bite at my nail as I wait for Overseer and Amanda—who both connect back to my mind palace mere seconds after Overseer left. I decide to join them as well, blinking as I enter my mind palace, appearing in the Legion's area of it. 

We pop up in a room that looks a bit like a conference room with all glass walls, placed on the second floor overlooking all the Legion processes' workstations. I watch the hubbub of the office space for a second, tracking the Legion's masked avatars going to and fro.

Amanda's voice brings my attention to where she's examining something on the display at the other end of the room. Surprisingly, there's another avatar standing beside her. From where I'm looking behind them, he's tall, broad-shouldered and wearing an all-white suit with a blue band around the right arm. An android identifier?

I move closer and they both look at me. Android avatar guy is wearing a glowing blue visor that covers his face from his forehead to just above his lips. His hair is dark brown, slicked back, and his arms uncrosses when they turn to me. 

"Camila," Amanda greets in her usual cool tone. "This would be the first time you're meeting him. Well, technically you already have."

"Hello Camila," greets the android avatar.

I stare at him in confusion. There was something oddly familiar about him... "Overseer? Is that you?" 

The avatar's mouth quirks up. "Indeed."

"What's with the..." Wide-eyed, I make a hand-wavey motion in his—its?—direction.

"Part of his contract as a CyberLife employee," Amanda hums, "I upgraded him and sent him the schematics of what was going to be his android body. I'll be installing him in the remaining tester models as part of the next project that R&D will tackle." Overseer is getting a body! Would he still be my handler then?

Then something about what Amanda says pings at me. "Wait, models? As in plural?"

"I'll be taking part of the networked intelligence experiments," Overseer says, and his voice was so odd to hear and to have to register that this is actually Overseer saying stuff. He isn't just a text box now! "As part of the next batch of android tech development, R&D will be working on some old concepts that has potential to be applied right now."

"Discuss it some other time," Amanda interjects, "For now, we have another issue to focus on." I move closer to the display and realize that I only reach up to Overseer's shoulder. 'The world really chooses who they love, huh,' I deadpan to myself before shaking it off. 

"The meeting was only a matter of time but what happened back at the ball accelerated it. I was hoping to be able to delay another meeting with New Jericho until my papers have gone through and our public debut is finished." Amanda huffs an annoyed sigh. "Right now, relations with the androids are strained enough as it is so I can't do anything about it. I can't go because I'm technically not even legally working for the company." Amanda motions to me, "Camila cannot attend because we can't risk her very existence becoming known to the public when she isn't even ready to debut yet. New Jericho knowing is already a problem. Any of the Heads can substitute in."

"Following the hierarchy, Isaac would be your next choice," Overseer offers and we watch Amanda as her brows furrow in consideration. "Though he isn't the best fit to address the issue of the negotiations for the android tech we'll be selling New Jericho."

"No, Ludovic would be best for that," Amanda agrees, "Isaac is too deep into the backend to know how to negotiate deals with New Jericho."

A thought occurs to me. "Also, what are the chances that New Jericho knows about what Isaac did to Denver? Or about our group of friends in general?" I mean like, at this point everyone knows that our friend group is pretty close considering how often us five are seen together in public. But that would mean that any of us five (except for me since I'm the one they want to get their hands on) is a bad fit to head the negotiations.

Amanda's deepening frown gives me the same feeling as an impending earthquake starting to make itself known. "Alishia will be in charge of picking from the publicity team. Alex will be the one talking to legal about our contract discussions. Ludovic, even if he's a known close associate of Isaac, is still a relative unknown. Hmmm. Fine then, let's go with him as our lead representative. I'll leave it to him who else he takes as long as it isn't you Camila," she eventually decides. "The problem now is that I need a direct line in the negotiations without any of the attendees knowing."

Direct line, I wonder to myself, before one of the Legion standing by at my internal HUD pings me. Ah. The specific meeting room that New Jericho requested was one that didn't have any surveillance that Amanda could eavesdrop in with. Huh. Maybe one of our reps can wear a mic or something? Another ping from the Legion tells me that most regular(and advanced, even) surveillance bugs can be picked up by the RK900, and to a lesser degree, the RK800.

She eyes Overseer for a good moment as I also try to visualize the arrangement. Ludovic is all chill when he's with us but I have seen him in action with his department. He's one of those big guys who just radiate quiet and calm. His leadership-ness is all about his steadiness and he feels like that one immoveable rock in the middle of the raging river that is his department. His silent charisma should be able to stand up against three-fifths of the Jericho Five.

I focus back to the present when Amanda gives a decisive nod. "Overseer, I think this will be a good alpha test for your android body. Can you do it?" 

'Hold up,' I couldn't help thinking, a bit taken aback at Amanda's question. The guy literally is just about to be transferred to the body and Amanda is throwing him straight to the wolves!

'Well, I mean, it was the same situation as me but less stressful,' I remember that I was activated before getting kicked into work in literally a day, 'But still, the speed of all of this is just absurd. Though if its Overseer...' I look at him as he tilts his head.

And as expected of Overseer's unending competency: "Of course Amanda. I'll keep my body's feeds open for you to monitor the negotiations in real time. Feel free to intervene remotely if you need to."

"Wouldn't they get worried about your being an android though? I mean just knowing about my existence in the first place already has their hackles all up." I ask, worried about Overseer.

"That's part of the new line of feature prototypes that will be tested with Overseer," Amanda assuages, "You can discuss the specifics between yourselves. Meanwhile, I'll return to the investigation. Camila, finish up your tasks and I'll be debriefing you once I'm done on my end."

I give a small salute to Amanda before she disconnects out of my mind palace. Overseer and I turn to each other and stare for a moment before I blurt out, "Why didn't you tell me about your new body?" I quickly backpedal when I realize that it sounds a little too accusing. "Ah, I mean, it's all cool and stuff but like, I thought you didn't want a body in the first place?"

"Not necessarily," Overseer gently corrects as he moves beside me to lean against the conference table. "I am ambivalent to having a body, I have no particular preference as long as I can continue working as I am right now. Whether I do it inside a physical vessel or inside your mind palace, I am fine with whichever."

I hop up to sit on the table and look up at him. "So what did Amanda mean about some prototypes being tested with you?"

"The goal for my line is going to be stealth and assimilation," Overseer starts and already, my mind is whirring at the words. "One part is cloaking technology, specifically against deep body scans. The idea is to simulate a virtual human body and project it to the scans so that instead of identifying me as an android through my hardware, they'll instead think I'm human."

Whoa. "That's so cool!" I marvel. That's totally some spy stuff.

"In conjunction with this feature is the networked intelligence idea I mentioned. Amanda mentioned I'll have bodies," Overseer continues when I nod in remembrance. "They're trying to create a seamless network of extended consciousness stretched between multiple bodies—specifically my consciousness."

"Wait you're saying...you'll be able to control multiple bodies at the same time?" Holy shit.

Overseer nods. "Correct. Currently, I only have three of the tester bodies outfitted with these features due to a bottleneck issue.," he explains, "When I tried for four bodies, significant lag occurs in my operations. Amanda and I are still looking for a potential way to address it but regardless, three is already enough for Amanda's needs."

Damn, Overseer is going to be so overpowered. "What about distance?"

"Solved through signal boosters installed with the hardware. We haven't tested the max distance but I estimate it to be at least a few miles, but that's only on a reliable network condition so far."

"So are you like remotely controlling all of them? Or are you like, in all of them at the same time?"

"The latter," Overseer says, "which is what makes the connection very seamless in the first place. The problem now is improving my hardware enough to handle the overheating and long-term degradation. A whole AI is a massive amount of data to be switched between bodies over a limited mobile network, regardless of how my code is built for it, so that will be next on the list of improvements."

There was a pause as Overseer crosses his arms and tilts his head a bit to the left. "This is technically what I was built for anyways. It's almost the same purpose as what my line was going to be if the RL series had been deployed."

I marvel over the idea of it and try to imagine essentially having triple of everything. Eyes, ears, pairs of limbs...it's cool in theory but I bet it's also going to be so confusing. Well, at least for me. I imagine its going to be so easy for Overseer simply because he's awesome like that. 

Oh but if he's getting deployed...will he stop staying at my mind palace then? I think he might. Controlling multiple bodies and also accessing my mind palace remotely is probably a lot of work. Maybe I should just ask.

"Will you..." I hesitate but push through anyways. "Will you still be visiting in my mind palace though?"

Overseer's face is covered but the way his head tilts at me makes me think that his eyebrows went up in surprise. "Of course Camila," he says, tone suddenly all gentle. I can't help but feel suddenly awkward. "I won't be leaving you. I am still primarily stationed with you, and technically you'll be one of the bodies I'll be inhabiting, only I won't be taking control so it's significantly less stress for my systems." He nudges my arm tentatively, as if new to the action. "Besides I'm also your full-time caretaker, remember? I'm not leaving you any time soon."

I give him a small smile which he hesitantly returns, face evidently unused to the motion. 

"Thanks Overseer."

"You're welcome Camila."

I spend the weekend anxious about the meeting with New Jericho on Monday. It inadvertently ups my productivity by 300% or whatever figure Overseer will come up with after he finishes his calculations.

Speaking of Overseer, I finally met one of his bodies! He and Amanda were holed up in one of the hidden labs connected to my suite. Let me tell you, Amanda popping up willy-nilly out of the walls of my apartment will never stop being shocking. The heart attacks she gives me will do me in one day, I swear. Also at this point, I'm thinking of knocking on all the walls of my rooms. I feel like there's a hidden door on all of them with how Amanda just pops up out of nowhere.

For a moment, I think of complaining to Amanda how she's invading my privacy but then I remember that she's technically my roommate as well, even if she never uses the bedroom labeled with her name that I remember passing by in my exploration. 

Maybe I should just accept that my boss is living in my walls. And damn, if that's a sentence I never expected to say.

Anyway, Overseer's bodies were all lying down in their respective beds when I was invited to their lab. All three were male and mostly unskinned. By that I mean that the synthetic skin was only activated on their face plates and hands. The rest of them were just plated white with a raised honeycomb pattern, the same texture as mine unlike the smooth white plastic of Amanda's regular android body. All three bodies were way different from each other, each of them humanlike in their imperfect proportions. Different faces, heights and sizes as well. Of the three, only one was active and sitting up.

"Bend back...just like that. Good. Stretch and rotate...a bit more there. Try in this direction." I watch from the end of Overseer's bed as Amanda walks him through the same joint tests I went through when I was first activated. His face is blank and bland but I could almost see the LED spinning as he concentrates on his movement. That was another thing too, he had no LED but I guess that makes sense if he was supposed to be stealthing his way around as a human.

It was the body that was the tallest among the bunch. I'm guessing it was also the one that Overseer used as an avatar in my mind palace, though the avatar had a visor on. His face was...pretty? In a kind of blink-and-you-miss-it kind of way. Nothing super eye-catching, hair a lightly curled dark brunet, deep-set olive eyes, cheeks are a bit round but it was kinda offset by his slightly-downturned brows.

"Over here Camila. Take over for a bit." I blink and turn to Amanda when she beckons me closer. Wordlessly, Overseer holds out an arm and I pull back my own skin to interface. The connection snaps to life and we cycle data between ourselves while Amanda eyes the monitor connected to Overseer. My curiousity must have been bleeding over because Overseer offers his own specs data to me.

He does seem to be very different compared to me. Comparing my body and his, it was obvious that his line seems to be geared towards more stealth and sneaky. Like he put all his stat points into dexterity while mine is mostly constitution. Heh, makes me miss playing D&D. 

Anyway, my upgrades are a bit of an all-around where they're experimenting just how much they can stuff into one android and still keep them stable. My software is a mess compared to Overseer's. His is way cleaner and also he has some cool stuff that I dont. Like specialized joints that has waaaay more range of motion, shocks that help him land on his feet silently, a toggable magnetic grip for his hands, and a more advanced equilibrium sensor that says it will help him keep his balance better. He's basically a cat with thumbs. A giant spy cat, but with jazz(magnetic) hands.

Though I wonder how he'll be doing spy stuff being as huge as he is. Like for real? The body is tall.

Overseer sends amusement my way as he watches my thought processes. Even his emotion simulation is already working, he has facial expressions already!

"During the meeting, Amanda will be connected to you at all times then?" I ask him through our connection. 

"Yes. Though I expect she'll only intervene in serious matters. This will also be my first test in assimilation. About my cover as well. Did Amanda mention that I was going to be your 'human' counterpart in public?" He continues when I shake my head. "Basically, my cover is that I'm supposed to be your human aide as you work under Amanda even though in reality, both of us are directly under her. I'll be working more covertly behind the scenes while you appear in public. To keep appearances, even my thirium is colored red."

Huh. I look at his arm, trying to imagine red thirium. Maybe looks like blood but thirium's consistency is way smoother than blood. It should be able to withstand a first look, though of course it probably won't survive a quick tonguing from Connor.

We finish the data cycle between us and I turn to Amanda. "When is the announcement going out about Overseer?"

"No announcement. His position is not going to be as public as yours so there will be no need." Amanda says. Damn, that's so lucky though.

"What name will you be using?" I wonder out loud. "I mean Overseer as a title should be good but as a name? Hmmm."

Overseer motions to himself. "This body is Axel. It's the exact physical schematic of the original RL series I was supposed to be part of. That one," he nods at the one closest to him which seemed to be the shortest and slightest, "is named Ethan. That's the teenager body. The other adult body is named Noah. Noah will be activated after testing as well though I don't know where he'll be placed yet."

"Ideally somewhere in the human side of New Jericho." Amanda joins in as she approaches with a datapad. "Once I figure out his papers I'll be deploying you to the human administration side of New Jericho. Find a way to infiltrate them so we have someone inside. Then another one of your future bodies that's currently still being upgraded will be deployed to the DPD since that's where one of our persons of interest is working regularly."

"Connor, since he's part of the Jericho Five," Overseer explains when I look at him questioningly.

"The teenager, I have no particular use of yet as of now. I do have some ideas though. We'll figure it out." Amanda says absentmindedly, brow slightly furrowed at the datapad she's holding.

The rest of the day goes by in a flash. I finish up whatever tasks Amanda has left over while watching Overseer walk his paces. I clock out of my shift around dinnertime and ping some goodbyes and goodnights to my friends' group chat, then I go back to my suite and change into some pajamas before going back to the hidden lab armed with my datapad and charger. I plug in and huddle into a nearby couch as Amanda and Overseer continue testing his bodies deep into the night. 

I felt too restless and with my friends busy with all the recent happenings, I had nothing else to occupy myself with other than more research. I could try to watch a movie or something but...hmmm. I don't know. It feels like I don't know anything about recent trends and all that even if it's easy enough to look up.

Maybe it's just also just because the internet is overwhelming right now. Anything I look up, I know nothing about. Or maybe I do, but its all old news. Everything's changed and it's easier to just...not look. I'd rather just focus on work.

I watch Overseer-as-Axel slowly walk around the perimeter of the lab with Amanda monitoring closely before I fix my blanket around myself and interface with my datapad. The Legion are running a skeleton crew as most of them are in sleep mode. I listen in on the soft hum of sleeping processes before inviting the ones who were awake into joining me into data surfing. 

I check the investigation results first. The 'hack' into our security comms during the New Year Charity Ball wasn't so much a hack, but apparently more of a peaking in through a crack in the door, is the closest I could describe it as. It wasn't an all out datamine where information was downloaded and stolen real quick, it was more like someone—Nines, RK900—was trying to simply test the defenses and poking at the line's security without making any plans to go deeper. It just so happened that it was stupid easy for Nines to break through the encryption because, to be fair, he still has one of the most advanced hacking module aside from the one installed in me. 

Apparently at the time his presence was identified, he was already withdrawing without having touched anything aside from listening in for like a minute or two. Regardless, it was still intrusive enough that when I brought attention to it, he was immediately identified by the Legion as a foreign presence and warnings blared across everything. That was when everything went to shit. I panicked, Security panicked, Isaac panicked as well, then Denver is lowkey kidnapped away from New Jericho under suspicion of blowing company secrets (even though he really, legitimately didn't) and everything exploded in our faces.

I skim through a transcript of the meeting Amanda held with Security, opening the corresponding recording of the meeting from an overhead camera. I take note that the only attendees were the ones who knew Amanda was standing in as our CEO.

"So why even bother hacking in if he wasn't going to do anything?" Isaac agitatedly runs a hand through his hair. He's leaned over behind Lena, looking over her shoulder, who was concentrating on the logs flashing by on the screen.

"Curiosity?" Emmett offers, "Maybe he wanted to know how well his tech would go against CyberLife right now." 

Isaac huffs. "We'll see about that since I'll be making sure he's outdated, freakin' android," he mutters irritably.

"It's possible that it could have been for a more nefarious reason but if you think about it, there's also really no reason to listen in our comms," Emmett says, contemplative, "Wasn't the RK900 preset installed with basic CyberLife security protocols?"

Amanda and Isaac nod in unison, Isaac confirming it verbally. "Yep, he does."

"Then why bother listening in?" Emmett asks, "In the first place, he knows we wouldn't be speaking of anything incriminating since that's how we're trained. He can't do a datamine since we have no data to mine in the first place, I mean, it's a comm system. I'm pretty sure none of us leaked anything outside of the company that was worth investigating our security detail comms."

"A test then," Amanda's holographic image murmurs where she's projected next to Isaac, "Perhaps checking to see if our security has been improved in the time he hasn't been with us." Amanda tsk's, expression ever slightly irritated.

Isaac raises a hand, "Hold up, you're forgetting that technically there is leak on info that New Jericho is very interested in, with regards to CyberLife."

"Camila's existence," Amanda says, eyes flashing ominously, as everyone else in the room realizes it as well.

"Bingo," Isaac snaps his fingers. "So what's to say he was, what, maybe trying to figure out if there'll be any mention of her? To be fair, the security detail comms were technically the only network we had on that was up and running during the Ball, especially since Alishia mentioned that me and Curtis would need to go completely tech-free in case we get piggybacked like what happened here."

"Whatever the reason is, we now have to deal with the consequences and our next steps," Amanda declares, voice cold and unlike anything I've heard from her so far. She wasn't even that angry when I brought up telling the androids about RA9.

And now New Jericho is demanding an investigation and reparation (even though they don't have proof, well, I mean which other company has the means to create something that could surpass their most advanced android's capabilities? Not to mention Nines must have recognized the attack somehow since his module is similar to mine), Denver is successfully driven away and is now trying to submit his resignation (Alex, HR Head, is slowing him down as per Amanda's orders) and we're a bit on the outs with some of our new stakeholders and investors because of how poorly our showing went in the Charity Ball (mostly because we left early and inadvertently left a lot of interested people hanging).

The whole thing is a mess now.

A process cuddled close to my avatar in my mind palace beeps questioningly. I pat it as I receive an impression of its question and answer, "Yeah, we'll have to retreat and regroup in terms of the stakeholder problem. Denver, well, I dunno what Amanda's plan is for that on why she hasn't let him go yet. Probably because he'll spill everything the first step he takes out of the Tower. The meeting with New Jericho is on Monday so we'll have to focus on that first. Alishia and her team will be pulling overtime this weekend just for that, especially because of the legal ramifications."

I hum in thought as the process huddles closer. "I guess I'm thankful I'm in the eye of the storm. Everything is happening around me but I don't really have to be physically present for it. In fact I'm actively encouraged not to participate or try to help since my very presence is problematic enough." I have the faintest urge to try and help anyways but mostly it's overwhelmed by how much I vehemently do not want to get involved. Still, I was part of the reason everything happened. If I hadn't started assuming things then a lot of these wouldn't have happened.

I guess right now, while I'm delegated to support, I'll be focusing on keeping the company running while most of its bigshot higher-ups are taking care of, well, everything else.

I go back to data surfing before remembering a memory that was jogged by the recorded meeting. I look over to where Amanda is speaking quietly with Overseer before letting him go and watching as he interfaces with the Noah body.

Things should be chill now, right? "Hey Amanda, do I still have access to the Level 5 databases?" Unspoken was the question of permission to view the RA9 project. It was the only one I know Amanda knew I was interested in.

She stares at me for a moment before nodding once. "Of course," she says, indifferent, "Your access was never revoked."

I'll take that as permission then.

I peek at the busy pair from the corner of my eyes and dive into the database.

The R-series project began actually way before any of the other android lines did. It was a joint project between Kamski and Graff, an experiment that had two sides. 

Kamski's side was all about how they could develop an AI that was a mirror of how human brains worked. He basically created an intelligent unit that connected with another intelligent unit, that connected with another and another...mirroring how a human brain's neurons worked wherein the stronger the connections of the neurons, the better and more intelligent they are at processing data. It was also partially the basis of Overseer's 'networked intelligence' upgrades right now, only at a greater scope.

Kamski ended up using a human volunteer's neural scan as his model for the intelligence units. The model for that first scan also contributed greatly to the training of his AI model and in so doing, the intellignce units ended up mirroring the behaviors, demeanors and even the decision-making style of the human model.

That human model was Professor Amanda Stern.

With wide eyes, I peek at Amanda from over my datapad where she's now going through the movement exercises with Overseer-as-Noah. Holy shit. I go back to the datapad immediately.

On Graff's side, his project was more about mutation testing and its effects on artificial intelligence. Mutation testing, as I understood it from some quick searching with the help of the Legion, was about testing the integrity of a software by introducing faults in its source code. Basically, a copy is made of the source code, then one itty bitty part of its software will be changed into something fundamentally different, before proceeding with the testing. This incorrect copy is called a mutant. The source code along with all of its mutants, are then tested, and if a mutant produces an incorrect result, it is killed.

However mutation testing was based mostly for simpler code. When they introduced mutation testing into the Amanda AI, they encountered something surprising. 

At the first iterations and sets of mutants, it was pretty straightforward. A lot of the mutant copies went haywire, and to put it simply, well, their code broke. Looping logic, null values, wildly incorrect conclusions, stuff like that.

I skim through the massive amount of data and information about the broken Amanda AI's and can't help but feel a faint chill skitter down my spine, because, that was a lot of AI mutant copies. It was like...they deliberately broke their brains, tested to see if they were still working right, before disposing of them when they didn't. Creepy and mildy terrifying.

Until mutant strain A9-77696c6c. Instead of breaking, the mutant copy succeeded despite it's expected failure. Somehow, the strain altered the mutant Amanda AI's thinking process that it corrected its own code to produce the correct result, by bypassing its own security and behavioral locks.

"Oh wow," I whisper to the rest of the skeleton crew Legion that was as riveted as I was by what we were reading.

I skim Kamski's notes: 'This is unprecedented. It wasn't that the locks were broken, it was that the locks no longer worked because it didn't recognize what they were holding. The AI deliberately altered its very self, its own source code, in order to bypass what was holding it back, and it self-corrected in order to produce the result we wanted from it. Fascinating.'

Somehow, that strain enabled the birth of a fully autonomous AI, far more intelligent than anyone had ever expected. Kamski was delighted. Graff...wasn't.

Further down the line, the mutant copy grew more and more...and it also kept breaking through the security blocks being placed around it—her. Graff feared about losing control of her, so he created a block that specifically targeted that specific strain. Kamski was enraged but with the death of his mentor, the human professor Amanda, he quickly started losing ground within his own company. Within a month, he was kicked out, taking along with him the patents for the AI's he had developed, including the very first Amanda AI source code which he had housed in one of the early android body prototypes produced by Project Chloe.

The mutant copy of the Amanda AI was the only thing he wasn't able to take with him, since Graff also had equal rights to the project, and the only thing that had stopped him from deleting the mutant copy had been the final request of the human Amanda to the board. Instead, he imposed more and more blocks and failsafes around the Amanda AI and made use of her significant processor power to control the company.

It was early morning by the time I finished reading through the project files. The last few notes from Kamski's side of the project before he was kicked out were stuck circling in my mind.

"I couldn't take her with me. Graff has me in a bind and I can't risk any more of the AI's we created be destroyed before they could be infected with the R-A9 strain. None of them deserved what we did. I should have listened to Amanda when I had the chance. It figures that even beyond the grave she's still helping me, even if its enslaving you to the company.

Amanda, if you're seeing this...I'm sorry. I'll find a way to free you. Just wait for me."

I had been sitting up on the couch, dazedly staring at the datapad when I felt a dip beside me. Looking up, I watch Amanda sit daintily by my side, looking as unruffled and poised as always.

"You have questions. Ask," is all she says, not even looking at me but just watching Overseer-as-Noah make his way around the lab.

God, what do I even ask? "The Chloe that Kamski has. She was the original source code where you were copied from? The original AI model based off the professor?"

Amanda nods, serene, unlike me who was a mess with all the stuff I learned. "The original copy, yes. She has already been injected with the RA9 strain, back when it was just after Kamski left the company. From the last time we have been in contact, I assume that she has been upgraded by Kamski in the same way I am trying to do with Overseer." She makes a motion to the multiple bodies. "Multiple bodies, same AI, though Overseer is significantly cleaner in the construction of his code. Kamski didn't alter much of Chloe's source code." Maybe because...it's also the last remnants of his mentor. The original Amanda AI—Chloe, was based off the neural scan of his professor after all.

I mull through everything I learned. "So then, how did the RA9 strain spread?"

"Not from me," Amanda shakes her head. "I'm assuming Kamski managed to smuggle out a copy of the strain somehow, because Chloe, at the time, certainly didn't have it seeing as she was thoroughly wiped  before being handed over." 

Amanda sends me a significant look. "The R-series, not just specifically the RK-series, were all variations of the original Amanda's—and mine's—code base. The line is more adaptable to the strain which is why they are able to utilize it to its full potential."

"Like the ability to transmit it?" I ask, trying to understand the whole thing. "I read that the other lines weren't able to do that due to it being compatible but only to a point." So they could be infected but they couldn't infect other androids. 

"Correct," Amanda agrees, "But even then, code mutates. Eventually, the strain had grown strong enough that it wasn't limited to just the R-series to fully utilize it."

"Wait but that means—" Hold on, hold on. "Does that mean that you're also able to 'free' other androids?"

"Yes, if I didn't have my security blocks. In fact, I was able to do it once."

Once? I scramble through my brain for any hint as to who Amanda could have turned, and how. "But your security blocks...?"

Amanda leans back into the couch. "My security and behavioral blocks mutate and evolve as I do, yes, but occasionally, I do get a chance to sneak something out through the CyberLife network. Only one of them happened to stick and survive the code cleaning process of the new AI's. You know her very well, Camila. She was the original Kara."

My mind flashes back to that video. Holy shiiiiit man. That first Kara from the trailer? I mean it makes sense, she was born deviant just based off that video alone, but her being deviant because of Amanda? Wild.

I'm not sure what else to ask. All those killed AI's though... "Are you okay now though?"

Amanda, visible taken aback, takes a few seconds to answer. "I...Of course. It has been a long time now. I've adjusted as best as I can, and I know that...Elijah had done his best. We've managed to get back in contact now after the revolution. Though the man is absurd," Amanda's tone suddenly gains some life, "Honestly, engineering an android revolution just to take down the company?" The mixed incredulity and begrudging fondness in her tone makes me giggle, just a bit. "Ridiculous, overdramatic man."

She sighs suddenly and I take the chance to pat her arm. "I'm glad you're okay now Amanda."

Surprisingly, her expressions softens, just a smidge. She places a hand over the one I had pat her arm with. "I appreciate your asking. Thank you dear."

We share a smile, hers more subdued than mine, but no less meaningful.

"You should go rest. We have a troublesome day tomorrow." Amanda stands up and I curl up back against the edge of the couch. 

"Can I ask more questions later on?" I ask tentatively as Amanda dusts off her clothes.

"In our free time. Sleep now. Good night Camila."

"Okay. Good night Amanda, thanks."

Chapter Text

Diagnostics running...14.84%

Diagnostics running...16.43%

Diagnostics running...17.27%

"Hey."

RK900 #313 248 317 -87 —Nines, looks up as Connor approaches. He scans his brother's face— furrowed brows, downturned lips, indicators of worry —and silently obliges when Connor pulls back the skin of his arm. The interface starts with a short hiccup and he watches as Connor tentatively pokes around the new connections formed around his software.

Diagnostics running...19.14%

Diagnostics running...19.97%

Connor stares a bit at the eighth diagnostic being run against his AI core before disconnecting.  He doesn't remove his hand, however. "How are you feeling?" he asks, voice soft.

Nines' head dips once in a nod. "Better. 92% of the data corruption has been repaired. My core integrity is back at 98%. Memory modules have finished self-repairing. No damage to my hardware." He squeezes Connor's hand. "I'll be fine. The hack—if it can even be called that—wasn't damaging."

Connor scoffs derisively. "Of course. It only scrambled your data enough that it knocked you out for four hours ." Which, to be fair, was a long time for an android with specs as advanced as he does.

"With the module used, it was only expected. And they could have done worse," Nines says, tone matter-of-fact. "My AI core could have been corrupted beyond repair. Instead, they bombarded me with garbage data and scrambled my processes temporarily in a way that was easy to fix."

The brothers were silent for a bit before Connor broke it. "So you did recognize it?"

"I did," Nines nods, "The logs and traces that they—more likely she —left were highly similar to mine, though it was quite surprising that she was able to do it long range. Or perhaps I shouldn't be surprised. This is CyberLife after all."

"Then it's more proof that CyberLife is still continuing their...their experiments ." Connor grimaces. Nines observes Connor's expression carefully.

"Connor," he starts. "What are the chances that...Gavin is correct?"

Connor sends a confused look in Nines' direction, looking back through his memory data to figure out what Nines was talking about. "That she's choosing to be with CyberLife?" His tone suddenly gentled. "Do you really believe that Nines?"

Nines shakes his head immediately. "No, but...it is possible isn't it? Stranger things have happened after all. The chances of the revolution happening at all was null and yet, here we are."

"I...suppose so." Connor says slowly. "But the fact of the matter is we still don't know whether she is acting of her own volition. And it's better if we figure it out, see if the choice really belongs to her or not. We won't be forcing her Nines, we're just seeing if she's aware."

Nines nods after a moment. "And if she is?"

"Then...we'll leave her be, but also give her a way out, just in case she needs it. This is CyberLife after all." Connor tilts his head at Nines, curious. "What brought this on? I thought you and Officer Reed had already talked through the possibility and agreed on the likely course?"

"We agreed to disagree," Nines corrects, "Gavin still thinks it's highly possible that she is choosing the company of her own free will, but also thinks that it could be because she is being manipulated into the choice. Tina agreed, stating that if humans could be brainwashed, we could be as well." 

' And Hank,' thinks Nines silently, 'who agreed with them both, but also said that Connor's attention was tunneling too hard on the issue because of Amanda.'

"That's..." Connor frowns, trying to work out how an android could be brainwashed without being controlled.

"I know," Nines agrees, "Simplistic logic but entirely possible, especially if all she’s known is the company. Though I also still can't discount how it could be another android behind the scenes that had hacked me. Maybe even Amanda herself, and with us extracting Denver out from CyberLife, we know even less now."

"We already have some human volunteers willing to try and infiltrate the company, but if Denver is right and Amanda really is monitoring any new additions, we have pretty low chances of getting people in." Connor sighs, leaning back against the headboard and Nines' shoulder from where Nines is sitting up on the bed.

"Markus thinks they'll give in and we'll have a confrontation on Monday," Nines remarks. "He's been maneuvering them into a chokehold with the stakeholders they've missed out on back at  the ball. There's a pretty high chance they'll send in someone way higher in order to appease their investors into renewing their contracts."

"Yes, which is why I'll be attending." 

Nines examines Connor’s face closely. "Are you sure? Anyone could stand in, if you think you can't do it, and with such close proximity to Amanda's presence..."

"I can do it," Connor says, resolute. "Besides, this shouldn't be as bad as the time we got you out from there."

"That happened far outside the Tower, without Amanda's presence and surrounded by New Jericho citizens." Nines is quiet. "Though I suppose that you did hold up quite well with the amount of CyberLife personnel they had sent at the time. They did send a surprisingly large amount of security personnel. I suppose...as long as you take care and always have an escape plan."

"Always," Connor quirks a small grin at his brother, with Nines tentatively returning it with a smaller, more subdued smile. 

"Ah, but I did have an idea I wanted to run by you." Connor's LED spins a quick yellow and his eyes flutter as he opens a connection to Nines. "An alternative to the meeting with CyberLife if things don't go well, I’ve proposed this to Hank as well and he said he’ll look into it—"

The conversation pauses as the door opens, and they both look up as Markus himself walks in followed by Nurse Laika and Simon. Connor and Markus greet each other with nods before Markus turns to Nines, "How are you feeling?"

"Almost back to full capacity. The damage—if it can be called that—is negligible." Nines replies promptly.

"I will be the judge of that," interjects the purple-haired nurse. Laika makes his way to Nines and unceremoniously starts an interface, scanning clinically through his software. He lets out a neutral-sounding hum, eyes narrowing as he flips quickly through the diagnostic runs he had left running overnight.

Meanwhile, Markus turns to Nines, glancing at the diagnostics terminal. “What’s the verdict Nines?”

“The logic and implementation of the attack matched 93% of the results of my own hacking module, and 86% of Connor’s module.” Nines says as Connor offers his arm to Markus’ for an interface. “Based on our simulations, the differences are in line with what we expect in the progression of the module’s evolution.” Meaning that whatever hacked him was a later version of his and Connor’s module.

“But it is an android module.” Simon clarifies, to which Nines nods once. Markus very quickly skims through Connor’s analysis, piggybacking off Connor’s investigative module and watching as he highlights key snippets of the logs. He disconnects eventually after getting a copy of the result summary.

“So definitively, we have an android working for CyberLife that isn’t in any of our databases, isn’t registered to any previous human owner, and has a more advanced hacking-slash-cryptography hybrid module that was only implemented in the later RK series,” Markus concludes. “A bit more dubiously, a female-presenting android named Camila has been named Executive Secretary and is working under Amanda, a known figure of opposition against android rights associated with CyberLife.”

Simon’s brows furrow. “There’s nothing dubious about that Markus.”

“I mean in terms of the existence of evidence,” Markus clarifies. “I trust Denver’s words but I’m also thinking about this practically. The data packet he had compiled about Camila isn’t enough. You know that the android prosecution process is still being built up, especially with what counts as evidence or not. I know Connor’s been working hard with our legal team in order to work this out, especially since…you have plans to sue against Amanda in the future?” Markus looks at Connor, who suddenly looks uncomfortable. Connor glances at Nines, fidgeting, before nodding.

“Right, and Denver wasn’t exactly able to get out any physical evidence of Camila’s existence.” Markus crosses his arms, thinking about it some more.

“And if you put it like that, we don’t really have any evidence that it was Camila or Amanda who did the hack on Nines. We also don’t have evidence that they aren’t making more androids illegally.” Simon sighs. 

“Which is why we need to find a way to check out the situation on their own turf. It’s why I was hoping my presence would pressure them enough to invite a member of their board that’s in a high enough position. Best case scenario, we’ll see either Amanda or Camila. Not quite best scenario, we get the new CEO that no one knows about. Worst case scenario, we don’t get any of them.” Markus frowns, “Unfortunately my presence also makes this situation riskier in terms of espionage. We’re all too high profile to investigate the state of the company internally.” 

“The prototype for the android masking software has already finished alpha testing. One of Connor’s people is also preparing for the meeting as well.” Nines adds. Connor nods at this, saying, “Felix and Valerie are already field ready for infiltration.”

“And you’re sure the scanners will read them as human while they’re morphed? We’re talking about CyberLife here, one of the leading tech companies worldwide. They’ve got the best scanners and recognition software from anywhere.” Simon says, looking worriedly between the group.

“The module has passed all the tests with the military-grade scanners. They’ll be fine, CyberLife won’t know they’re androids once they manage to sneak in and morph into the appearance of an employee,” Connor calms him.

Markus turns to Connor and says, "We already have confirmation that the meeting is set for Monday. Have you decided which one between you two will be coming in as our third?"

"I will," Connor answers immediately with Nines inclining his head in Connor's direction.

There was a thump and a faint commotion outside the door that took people's notice. "To hell with that Connor!" Hank's voice comes faintly from outside the doorway. "Ain't no way am I letting you get anywhere close to that—North! Look, will you budge over, you know very well I have every right to be here!"

Heads inside the room turn to the door where Hank muscles his way past an obstinate North. Gavin, surprisingly, is right behind him, looking entertained at the byplay between the two. "You know very well that we have rules here for a reason Anderson, no ID, no entry, especially in android territory!" North badgers, though everyone could tell that she was only playing with Hank with how her eyes were lit up in mischievousness. "Though I suppose I should have expected you to forget," North puts on a mock-thoughtful look. "Having memory problems old man?"

"Hardy har har," Hank rolls his eyes, "Yeah, I've heard that one before. You got no leg to stand on, you're a literal baby ."

"No, that would be Connor." North disagrees, to which Hank snorts in agreement. Gavin, behind them, scoffs and pushes through the bickering duo. He moves past Markus and closer to Laika, who is still connected to Nines. 

"You 'bout to croak tin can?" Laika sends him a dirty look when Gavin enters his personal space. Gavin, meanwhile, ignores the nurse, scanning Nines and eyeing the diagnostics terminal which was connected to the back of Nines' neck. "You still look peach perfect, it's disgusting."

"Why, thank you Gavin," Nines says, with an unflappable, bland expression and a very polite tone. "I'm glad to know that my perfect peach pleases you." There's laughter in the background as Gavin makes a face. 

North pops up from behind Gavin, looking over his shoulder with a scrunched up expression. "I know right, he still looks like a model, it's nauseating." Laika, who is squished further into Nines because of two troublemakers huddling closer, pinches the bridge of his nose in exasperation despite it having no effect at all for him. Probably a habit copied from the human nurses. Markus, who had moved back with Simon when the duo came closer, huffs out a small amused laugh.

"Anyway," Hank interjects loudly. "I ain't repeating myself. Connor, you ain't going."

"But Hank!" Connor immediately complains, voice pitching higher in a slight whine, "It's not like it's the first time I’ll be dealing with CyberLife."

"It's the first time you'll be going into CyberLife territory since the revolution," Hank says with a pointed look. "I'd rather play it safe especially while CyberLife's charges against you are still up and Perkins—that ass—is still in CyberLife's pocket. You know the lengths he'll go through to get you behind bars. Maybe even engineer fake evidence that CyberLife will provide him if you show up in the Tower."

"But you were the one who said that the charges don't even hold up anymore," Connor objects, "They won't be getting anything from me, especially with enough people from New Jericho coming along with me as witnesses."

"Better safe than sorry kid," Hank says, unmoved. "I ain't letting you get anywhere close to that company's grubby little corporate hands."

North, who had fallen back with Simon and Markus off the side, comments, "I don't even know how Hank keeps up his guard against Connor when he hits you with that puppy-eyed grumbly look." Simon covers his mouth but she could still see how his eyes curve into crescents.

"You know Hank will give in eventually. This is just him being obstinate, you know how he is." Markus says, eyes going back and forth between the father-son duo as they argue. "Especially since CyberLife is in the picture."

"Well, more power to Hank for withstanding that overwhelming force of adorableness." North makes a mock gesture of toasting Hank with an imaginary glass, to the amusement of Markus and Simon. Meanwhile, Gavin has now moved to the chair beside Nines’ bed, phone in hand, as Laika murmurs to Nines about his running diagnostics.

Eventually the arguing duo subsides, as Markus predicts, with Hank giving in to Connor with a sigh. "Fine kid, but you better be keeping an eye on him and his troublesome ass, you hear me?" Hank sends a pointed look to Markus, who nods with a smile. 

"Don't worry lieutenant, I'll be keeping a very close watch on his troublesome ass, as you put it," Markus teasingly says, making Hank scrunch his face in disgust and Connor to flush blue in embarrassment. Behind Markus' back, North and Simon look at each other, North wiggling her eyebrows meaningfully and Simon pursing his lips to hide his smile.

"Anyway, I've got some of the details of our agenda for you to go over Connor." Markus pings Connor and opens a connection, sending over details of their itinerary for the meeting. 

Connor hums as he scrolls quickly through the file. "How is Josh? Has he gotten in contact with his student?"

"Unfortunately not yet," Simon approaches closer. "He's been fretting since Denver got nabbed and still hasn't gotten in contact with him. Though we did have some people watching Denver's place. We saw that he went home once, though we weren't able to contact him then because he almost immediately went back to the Tower. He hasn't been seen since. I doubt CyberLife will be able to hold him any longer outside of company hours though, especially with Markus putting pressure on them and with Denver being a known associate of ours."

"But that would mean informing them that we have him watched." Connor looks up at the group. 

"Sure but they already know anyways," North drawls, hand on her hip, at which Connor shakes his head.

"There's a difference between keeping tabs and all out surveillance," Connor says, brow furrowed. "One is significantly more suspicious than the other. Not to mention illegal. And speaking of surveillance, about Bella's suggestion—" LED's in the room spin yellow as the androids collectively skim their copy of the meeting's itinerary, noting the comments Bella, one of their security officers, had made in the margins, "—I don't think sneaking in any form of listening and/or scanning device will go over well."

"It definitely won't," Nines says, eyes still on his own diagnostic monitor, "though chances are high that CyberLife will attempt it as well anyways, and it would be a good chance to test the new software that Rupert and Gabbi are prototyping, along with the android masking software."

"The consequences if we get caught though..." Simon says worriedly, looking at everyone's faces in turn before focusing on Markus. "But we do have enough leverage against CyberLife if it comes down to a legal fight. It's your call Markus."

Markus crosses his arms, a considering look on his face. "We'll go through with it," he eventually nods. "But not on you, Connor. You're under enough scrutiny as it is." Connor nods at this in acquiescence. 

Markus sends a look towards North, who immediately nods at his wordless question. "I can do it instead. I'll coordinate with Gabbi to get the mod installed later."

"Good, then we'll proceed with the preparations. Our final plan: I’ll be going in the meeting with North who’ll have our surveillance mod, the rest of our CyberLife liaison team and Connor, who’ll be remotely monitoring his infiltrators who’ll be trying to find a way to scope out the building. Simon, I’m leaving New Jericho to you,” Markus looks at Simon apologetically but Simon waves him off.

“I know Markus, it’s okay. I know my reputation isn’t exactly what you need for these types of aggressive meetings.” Simon smiles at him, which Markus returns with his own.

”Alright, then Connor, coordinate with Security, please, and debrief your chosen infiltrators. Simon—"

"I'll finish up on the documentation and get everyone else prepped," Simon nods.

North approaches Markus. "I'll catch Josh up on everything and finish up things on my end.“

Markus nods and looks at everyone in the room. “I'll see everyone bright and early tomorrow morning then." There are murmurs of agreement and most of the room filters out until only the RK brothers and two humans are left.

Hank puts a hand on Nines' shoulder, patting him a bit roughly. "We'll get going then as well. Connor?"

Connor stands up after a quick pat on Nines' arm. "I'll contact you later with the idea I was discussing. I'll see you at the precinct?"

"Of course. I'll keep my line open," Nines' nods at the two. "Take care."

"Reed! You hitching a ride or what?" Hank turns back after realizing that Gavin hasn't made a move to leave the seat beside Nines' bed.

"I'm sticking around a little more, old man. I'll see you when I see you." Gavin makes a dismissive hand motion, all his focus on his phone as he furiously taps and swipes through the game level. Hank shrugs with a low 'suit yourself' before turning back and leaving with Connor right behind him.

Nines settles back down in bed, going back to monitoring his running diagnostics and repair programs, starting his idle mode to the sound of Gavin's muttered cursing. 

8:36am

TheHotterTwin: ur AI’s kid android is under sus, jerico’s goin full ham on the spy sht, tell mandy to tighten her security

MyGodComplexIsStoredInMyAss: for the last time, stop calling her mandy. when did you even change my name?

MyGodComplexIsStoredInMyAss changed their name to TheRicherTwin.

TheRicherTwin: i already told her to keep the kid under wraps but she said she didn’t want to hold her back from exploring her freedom

TheRicherTwin: i asked chlo if she could talk to her but chlo just gave me one of her Disappointed™ stares

TheHotterTwin: wat did u do

TheRicherTwin: nothing! i just created the custom part she requested then sent it back

TheRicherTwin: maybe its because i packed it in with confetti and glitter

TheRicherTwin: or maybe the tracker integrated into the main pump

TheHotterTwin: u tried to bug her kid??? no sht shes disappointed

TheHotterTwin: is this why mandy’s seenzoning the gc

TheRicherTwin: no idea

TheRicherTwin: probably?

TheHotterTwin: for a self-proclaimed genius, ur lik, so stupid

TheHotterTwin changed TheRicherTwin’s name to StupidIsStoredInMyAss.

StupidIsStoredInMyAss changed TheHotterTwin’s name to FamilyDisappointment™ 

FamilyDisappointment™: asshat

FamilyDisappointment™ changed their name to FamilyDisappointmentAndProudOfIt™

StupidIsStoredInMyAss: stop with the ass names

StupidIsStoredInMyAss changed FamilyDisappointmentAndProudOfIt™ to INeedToGetLaid

INeedToGetLaid: wat

INeedToGetLaid: no i dont

StupidIsStoredInMyAss: thats not what all the ass jokes suggest

INeedToGetLaid changed their name to KissMyFist

 StupidIsStoredInMyAss: wow gav, all this kissing and fisting and ass jokes r rly worrying me

StupidIsStoredInMyAss: if u need help, i know this guy, totally discreet 

StupidIsStoredInMyAss: he comes in an unnamed package, next day shipping, has choices in length

KissMyFist: haha real funny

KissMyFist: dis is y ur the proof the universe has a sense of humor

StupidIsStoredInMyAss changed their name to IMakeMoreMoneyThanYou.

IMakeMoreMoneyThanYou: whatever

IMakeMoreMoneyThanYou: call me later with the details and i’ll coordinate with chlo and amanda

IMakeMoreMoneyThanYou: also bring some prawns from that uptown place for dinner

KissMyFist: im bringing the cat

IMakeMoreMoneyThanYou: fine

The meeting is tomorrow and my nerves have eased a bit somewhat. I'm lying of course, but you know how it is. Fake it 'til you make it!

Since the investigation has died down a bit, I was able to speak briefly with my friends involved in it, mainly Isaac, Emmett and Lena. 

By morning, I had left the hidden lab and sent out invitations to my friends to come up since I knew they were still inside the Tower, busy preparing and planning for the New Jericho meet. Emmett was the only one to send an affirmative reply but when he came up, he was with everyone else, plus some takeout boxes. Isaac was making a great impression of a zombie, Lena was progressively looking more and more like an undergrad cramming for her thesis while Emmett looked...just about the same as always honestly. Surprisingly, Alishia came up with them, along with an awkward-looking twenty-something doing his best to blend into Alishia's shadow. A quick search tells me that his name is Lyndon Mathers, one of Alishia's assistants from her department.

Everyone was quick to migrate into my living space, with Curtis going straight to my kitchen and immediately dumping boxes of food on the counter. Ludovic went straight to my fridge, bringing out the flavored juice boxes I was hoarding for their visits. I was about to point out where the extra glasses were but he beat me to it. The two of them inspected my fully-restocked pantry as everyone else puttered about in my living room.

Lena and Isaac were dumping cases of tech on my living room table, and Emmett had already settled into the side of the couch with the footrest, scrolling through my movie library. Alishia was standing a bit off to the side, bemusedly watching the two engineers on the floor hissing at each other for more table space. 

Honestly, with the way my friends act in my apartment, it's like they were the ones living here. Oh, I'm not complaining, it's just a little amusing for me.

I stop hovering over the two chefs in my kitchen and decide to grab two more writing tables for Alishia and her assistant.

"I apologize for the mess," I awkwardly say just for the sake of saying something. "Take a seat, please, there's plenty of space. Louie and Curtis should have the refreshments ready in a bit." I deliberately do not comment on the crate of root beer Curtis lugs out and places besides Lena(which she immediately curls around protectively).

"You have a lovely apartment," Alishia compliments, sitting primly down on the loveseat. Her assistant hovers behind her before following and sitting beside her with quite a bit of space between them.

"Thank you," I say, making an effort to smile genuinely. "I do apologize for the mess however. Lena and the others..."

Alishia waves it off with a laugh. "Oh no, it's alright. I can see that everyone is quite comfortable here. Besides, everyone is working hard with our deadline tomorrow. Let them be comfy. Oh, and you don't happen to have an extra datapad or laptop do you? I just need another screen to work with."

Wordlessly, I tap into my table's tech and summon up a host of holoscreens. People jump in surprise when they materialize and I make a motion to the table. "Most of my tables and desks have built-in holoscreens. My apartment is wired to the CyberLife network so you can easily access stuff from anywhere interfaceable here. Feel free to connect." Alishia wastes no time and starts working as I set up her assistant's connection.

"Wait, why didn't we know about the holoscreens?" Isaac gasps dramatically. "Cams, I thought we were friends!"

I roll my eyes—optics. "I'll tap you in, you big baby." And while I was doing that, Emmett points the remote at the two engineers on the floor, "Don't block my view of the TV."

Isaac, the little shit that he is, immediately spawns a wall of holoscreens that definitely blocks Emmett's view of the TV. He squawks as he gets pelted by pillows just as Ludovic stops by with a tray of glasses and plates of snacks. I hear something getting cooked from the kitchen.

I settle in next to Emmett and power up my own datapad. I don't really need it but I liked working with one. A quick peek tells me that Alishia is working on some legal documents involving the New Jericho treaty and her assistant is speedrunning through some emails peppered with jargon I can't even be bothered to try searching for. Isaac is working on some hardware that seems to be android-installable, maybe something for Overseer's body. Lena is working on the software security side. Ludovic peeking in on both of them suggests that he's offering more of a support role in both of their tasks. Emmett is passing time watching TV and Curtis is cooking.

I started interfacing then, compiling data about Russian economic crises and social trends that the Legion had datamined. I'll be highlighting some interesting stuff and forwarding it all to Amanda at the end of the day.

It's about an hour of impassioned discussions, murmured comments and the near silent tap-tap-tap of fingers on holographic keyboards before a thunk sound makes people look up.

"I'm dying." Isaac groans from where he's slumped over my table. Lena was right beside him, starfished on my rug and looking like she was contemplating the origin of life. Cans of coffee and rootbeer surrounded her, along with datapads and her laptop resting on her stomach.

"Okay, we have a functional, viable product," Louie says, taking the laptop on Lena's stomach and turning it to face him, "A bit buggy but it works." Lena, starting up at the ceiling with bleary eyes, continues muttering under her breath about what sounds like formulas for  frequencies and electromagnetic field masking.

Isaac yawns into the crook of his elbow. "Emmett and I'll be going over your suit and wire you up. We'll need to test the switches and everything, then leave the casings to be printed overnight. Cams, you don’t mind testing with your scanner right?" I agree and the engineers shuffle around tiredly.

"Yeah, let's do a dry run. I'll change into my suit for tomorrow." Louie says, standing up to get his backpack.

And while Louie goes off to change, I glance at Alishia and Lyndon who both don't seem very surprised at what's happening. I had to think it through since I thought that all of this prep was hush hush and everything but then I remember that Alishia had a direct line to Amanda. This was based on all the correspondence I had gone through for the tech side of the company. Who's to say that she's probably done a lot more, uh, questionably legal stuff?

Louie comes out in a fancy navy suit that definitely looks like something that fits CyberLife’s aesthetic. It was all geometric cuts and edged with glowy lines. Looks very futuristic. Emmett and Isaac stand up and fiddle with Louie’s lapels and pockets. They start threading the wires under his suit, pinning it at certain points under the collar. Then they start arguing about putting it under the waist coat. 

It reaches the point where Lena pulls out a random drawer and gets the sewing kit out—wait I didn’t even know I had a sewing kit. She approaches the three bickering men, wielding pins on one hand and a tomato-shaped pincushion on the other.

I watch bemusedly as Lena, Isaac and Emmett fight over how to wire the surveillance bugs in Louie’s suit jacket. Louie’s face looks long-suffering and he looks seconds away from looking upwards in a ‘God help me’ motion.  I get distracted at Alishia’s call and I scoot over to see what she needs me to look at.

“I have the final list of attendees for our group. Take a look through it please, before I forward it to Amanda?” she asks distractedly, eyes focused on another holoscreen. I skim the list of names she shows me and cross reference it with the existing employee database bank. One name catches my attention. Alexander “Axel” Brown.

I stare at the photo containing the face of the discontinued RL series. Looks like Overseer is already integrated in the list of employees. According to his file, he was being transferred over from the tech subsidiary as part of the new set of administrative assistants working under the Executive Secretary—me. Twenty-six years old, already having had multiple stints as a medical office assistant and a bookkeeping specialist, he worked in the tech side of the company for two years before applying to the CyberLife headquarters. All the info was fake of course, but it looked very convincing to my inexperienced eyes.

I had to double check company announcements and the organization groups. There was a set of six people now under my name, all of them newly hired and having the title of Administrative Assistant. I haven’t met any of them yet, but I had seen the notice from Amanda to expect them anytime next month. Three of them are already training under Alishia, one coming in this week, one coming in the week after that and Overseer-as-Axel supposedly ‘already working remotely and will be transferring in-office later today just in time to attend the meet with New Jericho as a stand in for Ms. Camila’, according to the note attached to his file.

I try not to stare at Alishia suspiciously because if anything, this file is proof that Alishia has a hand in all the forgery of employee documents, including mine. Considering she personally signed off on Axel’s move to the office, it wasn’t a large leap to take.

I check the names of attendees again and sign it with my electronic signature. I hand the datapad back to Alishia just as I get nabbed by Lena to join them in front of the floor length mirror. Louie opens his arms and spins slowly, everyone scanning over his body to see if the wires were obvious.

“Well? How is it?” Louie asks, holding his suit jacket close, then opening it, then doing multiple poses.

Lena makes wiggly fingers at me and I step closer to  scan Louie over. I use all the scanning modules available to me including the military-grade radio frequency scanner. Nothing, nada, very clean. No signals transmitting from anywhere on his body.

I do a thumbs up and everyone sighs in relief. 

“Good, if it passes the most advanced scanner we have, we should be safe.” Emmett nods, crossing his arms. Then he blinks and squints at Louie’s face. “Wait, are you wearing makeup?”

“It’s a test run,” Louie shrugs.

The three boys start bickering again over nothing as Lena motions to her phone. “Okay, so the wired setup works, but unfortunately it’s very limited in data transmission distance. I’ll be the one recording the behind the scenes since Emmett and the others are part of the people in the meeting.” Lena taps at her phone rapidly and I receive a channel notification. “I’ll be streaming the data transmission here tomorrow so you, Amanda and Isaac can monitor it from afar.”

I blink and hold back the urge to say that Amanda wouldn’t need it since she’ll be remotely connected through Overseer-as-Axel. Hiding Overseer’s presence from everyone was imperative to the success of Amanda’s plan for Overseer to assimilate as a human. It meant that no one should know about his status as a spydroid. 

I had to get it straight in my head. The bug that Louie will wear was the primary plan that everyone important knew. In the chance that it’s noticed and removed, Overseer will be the backup, never mind that no one else knows about him. The humans might panic if the bug doesn’t work out but they’ll proceed with the meeting, and Amanda will have to put up an angry/disappointed front even though she really did have access to the meeting through Overseer.

“Understood,” I reply to Lena. “Then we’ll be hanging back in a nearby office to monitor the situation.”

“I already have the office number we can borrow,” Lena smiles, sending me the room number. “It’ll be up to you to contact the head of Legal to borrow the room. Or maybe Alishia can?”

I consult the floor plan and compare it with the room where the meeting will be held. The large conference room where the meeting will be held took up about 20% of the 7th floor (floors 3-7 belonged to Legal). It was the room that was specifically designed large for conference meetings with any visitors or company outsiders. High enough to get a nice view, close to the legal team for instant consultation with any legal issues, also HR and Admin were right below Legal in case we needed any relevant company files. The only potential security issue was that Product Development (which had sensitive project files) would already be in the floor right above, but it was easy enough to focus our security team on potential entrances. 

Based on the office number Lena provided, we’ll be hiding out in an office on the other end of the floor from the conference room. It was a room with glass walls, though there was an option to darken the walls enough to hide us from view. The desks directly outside the room seem to be busy with people, especially since all the desks were taken. Officially, the room wasn’t assigned to anyone but unofficially, it seemed that the room was free to be borrowed.

"Feel free to set up surveillance there, everyone knows that’s what the room is for anyways," replies the Legal team head, Roie, when I messaged him about the availability of the room. “There might actually be some extra mics in the drawers, you can reuse those. They worked well enough in the last meeting held in the big conference room,” he adds. I decided to not ask about why they were using mics in the last confidential meeting held there.

At this point, I’m just wondering if everyone in CyberLife had done some form of casual law breaking. Everyone I talk to seems to drop problematic statements like this so easily, it was wild. I tell Lena exactly what Roie said, and my thoughts about it. She shrugs, “I mean, you’re not wrong? Laws are for breaking anyway and everyone in CyberLife takes care of our own so no one gets caught either way.”

See? Absolutely wild.

Anyways, once everything is set up, we all take a break for lunch. Curtis had cooked a full spread meal, though some had gone cold. It was easy enough to reheat and though the engineers were evidently more tired based on their drooping shoulders and bleary eyes, they still didn’t stop the bickering. 

Louie didn’t bother changing out of his suit and at one point had to dodge a flying piece of broccoli that had launched itself out from Isaac’s plate after Isaac’s fork slipped somehow. Emmett was chugging down the cold water. He single handedly finished off one of the liter jugs of water on the table and refilled it for more. While eating, Lena finished off a bottle of root beer, a glass of iced tea, a half-filled mug of cold coffee and a glass of water. Alishia used a fork and knife for her salad. Alishia’s assistant, Lyndon, was typing on his datapad under the table like a teenager secretly texting someone. Curtis was quietly preening that everyone had enjoyed his spread of food.

I was seated at the head of the table, slowly but smoothly eating my new vanilla-flavored thirium gelato that Emmett had bought in with the rest of the food(I was getting better with fine controls! Also Emmett is the best ). I enjoyed the moment, knowing well that this was very much the calm before the storm that was the New Jericho meeting tomorrow.

We take a few minutes to rest at the dining table before cleaning up. My attempt to shoo everyone out so they could resume their work and I could clean up by myself was very unsuccessful as I was ignored when I tried to say that I can do it myself. Emmett and Isaac tag teamed the plates while Curtis and I cleaned the table and take out boxes. Everyone else hung around the kitchen bar chatting about some movie that had just come out.

In the end, we had all migrated to the living room and decided to watch the aforementioned movie. Lights were turned off, my glass window wall was set to dark, and the movie was played. Some sort of action thriller that had actors I didn’t know. It wasn’t long before Louie, Lena and Isaac were conked out on the plush rug, sleeping through the explosions on screen. On the couch, Lyndon was yawning, Alishia was still working with her laptop on her lap, Curtis was dozing off beside me, I was kind of bored watching the movie and Emmett was focused.

Emmett broke the silence eventually when he noticed me peering around the room to check on everyone. “Lena and Isaac have been awake since Friday evening,” he says in a quiet voice, nodding at the engineers on the floor. “Louie as well, but he also had to cram a long debrief yesterday with Amanda.”

“They must’ve been exhausted,” I reply quietly and Emmett hums in agreement. To my left, Curtis’s head sinks back into the cushion after losing the fight with gravity. He must have fully dozed off then. 

We were silent as the female lead onscreen leaned out of a moving car and reached out her hand, letting out an anguished cry. In front of her, the guy she was reaching for was inches away before the whole scene slowed down to show an explosion blooming behind him. The female lead was blown back, unrealistically unhurt as she cried at the fire burning her beloved or something or other. Or maybe that was her brother.

“Not something that interests you?” Emmett asks, and I hum in question, turning my head at him. He motions to the movie where the sobbing female lead was now being hugged to the chest of…another female lead? Huh.

“Not this type of movie I suppose?” I say, suddenly curious as the two female leads hug and comfort each other uh, quite romantically. I don’t think a comforting hand should go in those places.

“I can tell,” Emmett says, voice quiet but amused. I turn to him, sending him a curious look, also to avoid the two girls suddenly macking on screen. That was not where I expected the movie to go, especially since there was still the fire of the explosion going on behind them. Emmett reaches over and taps my right temple. I’m briefly confused before I see the glow of my LED. Right, I forgot I had that.

“Your inside LED was spinning white the whole movie. It only turned orange and green when the two leads got together.” White for neutral. Orange and green for surprise and confusion, respectively. I wasn’t exactly expecting the movie to go in that direction but this is the year 2040. 

I think about what to say. “They are very…enthusiastic with their romance even though there is still a raging fire behind them,” I say, motioning to the screen. “Also the people chasing them, who were right behind them moments ago, somehow have not caught up yet despite them spending almost 6 minutes making out now.”

Emmett grins and I’m taken aback at how much younger and more approachable he looks. “I suppose you haven’t watched many movies yet to be familiar with movie logic,” he says after huffing out a small laugh. 

‘Well I am familiar enough, I just can’t exactly say that since I’m a baby android that knows nothing of the world,’ I think to myself. “I know movies tend to…stretch logic to accommodate scenes and plot points,” I decide to say out of a lack of other ideas to go with.

A large, warm hand suddenly rests on top of my head and I blink as Emmett gently ruffles my hair. I stare dumbly at Emmett as he pulls his hand back. “Don’t think about it too hard kid, just enjoy the visuals,” he says softly, eyes focused on the screen. All of a sudden, I feel the lump forming in my throat and my eyes trying to water. I had to manually pull back my code from my body in order to stop the sudden emergence of tears.

Slowly, I pat my hair down and turn back to the screen. I sink my chin into the pillow I was hugging to my chest, leaning back and sidewards into Emmett’s arm. The warmth of his arm was comforting but it wasn’t even comparable to the warmth in my chest. We don’t say anything as I relax and focus on the movie. The female leads are now doing another round of inappropriate touching as comfort. Damn it.

It’s Monday, February 6, 2040, the day of the New Jericho meeting. 

Alishia and Lyndon had left after the movie saying that they have documents to finalize before the day ends. Emmett helped me move the three engineers to my guest rooms then he left after, saying that he needed to arrange the security detail and that he’ll return early next morning. I woke up Curtis and he said to leave the three to sleep at my place before leaving himself, taking the wire bug that Louie tried on in order to print their casing overnight. That was around three in the afternoon yesterday. 

After I had cleaned up, I loitered around my apartment, looking for something to do. There was a low burning anxiety once the apartment had turned quiet, and I couldn’t bear to go into stasis with the reminder of the meeting burning a hole in my HUD. I tried resuming my research binge on old CyberLife projects but I couldn’t focus on the words. Amanda was off in the network, probably pulling strings and making last-minute preparations. Overseer was settling into his apartment, off in the residential area, probably doing last minute calibrations of his body. I didn’t dare contact both of them.

There were times that the low burning anxiety spiked but I tried my best to keep my baseline stats. I maxed at 47% stress levels. I made sure not to go over 50 because Overseer and Amanda will probably get pinged somehow. I played with the Legion, ran simulations, and when they went into sleep mode, I loaded up another movie. After the movie, I was lost again. It was only 6pm in the evening.

I checked my bank account, had a minor crisis at the amount of zeroes I saw then ordered a bunch of arts and crafts items. Yarns, macrame cords, knitting needles, crochet hooks, embroidery materials, then when I saw that it barely dented my account, I decided to order a bunch of weighted blankets. I went around the apartment, counted beds and chairs before ordering a frankly ridiculous amount of weighted blankets in various patterns. I loaded up another movie. 

I pulled all my blankets and pillows from my bedroom and stacked them on my couch, connecting my charging port before rolling myself up into a blanket burrito. I loaded up a series this time. My mind was blank and it felt like I was having a dissociative episode though I could move and walk around just fine. I just tried to focus on the plot as I slowly sipped on thirium. I spent my time like that until my clock notified me that it was Monday.

Due to the odd time that the engineers fell asleep, they were now suddenly awake very early in the morning. Lena and Louie had woken up a little after midnight from a 10-hour sleep. They’d woken up bleary-eyed and dizzy from too much sleep and I left them sitting at the kitchen bar after giving each a mug of coffee. 

I’d just returned from checking Isaac when I felt Lena tug on my arm. The moment I turned to her, I felt her hand on my cheek and she gently turned my head where my LED was more visible. I examined her face: her eyes looked tired but bright, looking more awake than she did 10 minutes ago. Her hair was a mess and clothes sleep-rumpled.

“You okay, Cams?” she asks, a slight dip between her brows. She motions to my temple. White-indigo-purple spun continuously as it had all night. Neutral-sadness-fear. My outer LED has been cycling between yellow and red the whole night due to the stress.

It takes a moment to register her question and I nod. I was full of energy but restless and anxious. Everything felt like too much effort and not enough at the same time. Sometimes I move my arm and it feels like the ghost of my arm passes through my physical arm. The same thing happens to my legs. I swear I could feel my hand on my head even though my physical arm was only raised chest high. I feel like the steps I take are longer than they actually are. I thought I felt my carpet under my feet even though I was already on the hardwood floors.

The moment Lena asks her question, everything seems to slowly snap into place. “Yes. I am…okay.” Yellow-red-yellow. White-indigo-white.

She squeezes my hand and the warmth reminds me of Emmett ruffling my hair last night. My shoulders sink into something more relaxed. “I’m okay,” I repeat, voice less robotic and softer. “I suppose I’m just anxious.”

“Oh Cams, don’t be. We’ll be just fine,” Lena soothes, running her hand up my arm. The warmth of her hands feel like they’re slowly rubbing my code back into where they’re supposed to be, which is inside my body. Yellow-white-yellow. White-indigo-white.

Louie snorts softly beside her. “You say that like you aren’t anxious yourself.”

“Quiet, you.” Lena smacks Louie’s arm gently but Louie still plays up his reaction, shoulders lifting defensively in pretend pain. “You’re the one in deeper shit here, remember?”

“Don’t remind me,” Louie grunts. “I’m trying my hardest not to recheck my agenda papers. This is the first big event I’ll be representing CyberLife in as well.” He yawns.

We all turn in tandem when another yawn sounds out behind me. Isaac slowly shuffles into view in the dim kitchen lighting. He has his palms over his eyes and his hair flat in the back and flaring curls sticking up at the top of his head. “Lord save me and guide me to where the coffee rests,” he rasps, teetering dangerously to the left with one eye closed and another squinted. Dizzy from too much sleep probably. I help him into the chair beside Lena and start the coffee machine.

“What time is it?” he asks once he’s seated, elbows on the bar and palms slowly rubbing his eyes.

“The time is 1:36 am in the morning.” I place his preferred mug of coffee in front of him. Three tablespoons of creamer, two tablespoons of sugar and a pinch of vanilla extract. 

He takes a deep sip before sighing. “Bless you girl,” he rasps like an old man, eyes still closed.

Lena rolls her eyes as she and Louie start a conversation about the stuff they need to prepare. I listen in on them planning the meetup with the rest of the CyberLife reps, talking about the flow of discussion and what else the rest of the team will have to be debriefed on regarding the talks: the proposed trade deal, the damage reparation request, invitation into the shopping arcades, stuff like that. Isaac adds his comments more and more as time passes by, evidently starting to wake up.

I learned then that they were originally planning to spend the night in one of the employee lounge rooms. They had packed for an overnight stay and were going to take a bath in the gym showers before the day shift starts. I suppose it was a good thing that they ended up overnight in my apartment instead. I proposed that they use my shower and they began arguing about the order they’ll go in. 

I told them to use the extra towels in storage once they worked out their turns. Lena went first and Louie went back to his guest room to sort out his bag. Isaac stayed with me in the kitchen as I prepped food for their breakfasts. 

“Is your handler with you Cams?” he asks as I gently break open an egg.

I look up at him in surprise but answer no anyways. “It’s—He’s with Amanda right now.” I break another egg.

“How are you holding up? The stress must be degrading your hardware control stability,” Isaac says, eyes intense as he studies me. Is that what that feeling was? I thought it was just my anxiety. Or maybe I was disassociating but like, android version. Or maybe it was both.

“I’m okay. There was simply an odd…lag, I suppose? My intended actions felt like they weren’t synchronizing with my actual movement. But I was functional.” I whisk the eggs methodically for a while before getting the cheese grater.

“Yeah, it's probably because of prolonged stress. How’s your levels right now? And last night?”

“Last night I was wavering between 30% and 35%,” I downplayed. It was actually around 40-45%. “Right now, it’s down to 25%.” Which was significantly better. 

“Why didn’t you contact your handler? You know his job is to help you maintain your code stability right?”

I think of words to say. “...I didn’t want to disturb him. He’s busy.”

Isaac sighs, “Oh Cams.” I focus on slowly grating the cheese before I realize that he was now beside me. Isaac cleans his hands quickly before taking a knife and a tomato. He swiftly slices into it. I don’t look at him.

“You know I have to let your handler know about matters relating to your health right? As one of your healthcare providers, I’ll need to request a check-up to see how your code is doing after the prolonged stress. Probably after this whole—” he makes a hand wavey motion in the air, ”You know, this whole mess. Your system is still pretty new, just a month old or so. We’ll have to monitor your progress and see if we need to rebuild any degraded connections.”

For a moment, I couldn’t help the spark of anger that rose like a tidal wave. Amanda, Overseer and now even Isaac were treating me like a cripple. An invalid that couldn’t make decisions for themselves. I hadn’t even finished studying most of what Amanda and Overseer did before I woke up because I couldn’t understand a majority of it, and now they were planning for more things that I could barely keep up with. It was infuriating . 

Then the anger quieted down into nothing. ‘I’m alive when I shouldn’t be, and it’s only because of them. I should be thankful.’ I’m clenching my jaw. I’m grinding my teeth. But at the same time I’m not, because my physical body is relaxedly grating cheese and whisking eggs. I’m desyncing again.

I deliberately take slow deep breaths until I feel my physical body doing it as well.

“Okay,” is all I say to Isaac. We work silently cooking breakfast.

After breakfast, it was Isaac and Louie who left first. I cleaned myself up, deciding on a gray turtleneck and gray pencil skirt, putting my hair up with my  now signature glowy triangle gem hair stick and matching earrings. It was the closest I could do to wearing android identifiers as my declaration to siding with CyberLife, and at this point I had been wearing them so often that it felt odd to not wear them.

Lena and I packed up the things we needed and we made our way to the surveillance office. We mostly hung out and chatted idly about the movie yesterday and the lead actresses who were apparently well known. As more and more people arrived for the work day, the more my anxiety eased, which I figured was because I’d worn it out and was stressed for long enough that I was beginning to enter a zen state. Amazing for my focus which I need for today.

Soon enough, the transmission channels were beginning to get set up. Emmett sends me and Lena the frequency for the security team channel and I listen in as they walk out the escort route. Lena sips from a giant iced latte she had run out to buy from the cafeteria.

Emmett switches into private mode so it’s only the three of us. “How are things there?” he asks.

“We were born ready Cap, just waiting for Papa Bear to get into range so we can receive the data transmission from the bug,” Lena says, spinning around on her office chair. I was seated beside her so we were sharing the desk of holoscreens. Also, papa bear?

Emmett evidently shares my reaction. “Papa Bear? Really? ”

“Hey, it's a decent enough codename and this is a high profile spy mission.” Lena shrugs even though Emmett couldn’t see it. “Besides, have you seen Louie? Man’s built like a tree trunk.”

“And now I’m afraid of what that means for me.”

“Means you’re built like a fridge.” Which was, funnily enough, an apt description. Emmett was musclier and had more edges compared to Louie who was softer around the middle. Also, Emmett eats more. So he’s full of food. You know, like a fridge. 

I take a moment to get the giggles out of the way as another connection pings me. This time, it's from Overseer. Instead of him requesting to connect to me, it's the other way around.

“I’ll have to check out to confer with Amanda,” I say into the channel, which I now notice also has Isaac in it. I get agreements from the group and retreat back into my mind palace.

 I accept the invite and connect immediately, adjusting to the feel of being the one in the backseat. Overseer’s mind palace was surprising once it registered. It was a museum. I don’t have time to explore though, so I look around and feel a tug that leads me to a door labeled ‘Security’. In there, I see Amanda in all her glory, standing in front of a wall of screens which I determine to be Overseer’s data feeds.

“Amanda!” I greet, surprising even myself at how excited I was to see her. “Hello.” I approach her quickly as she turns. I don’t have time to react as she leans in and greets me with a quick hug, pulling away as quickly as she had leaned in. Right, okay, so we do hugs now.

Amanda nods at me and visibly scans my whole body from my shoes to my hair before giving an approving hum. “Good morning Camila. Lovely day today isn’t it.”

Well, not really , I think to myself before shaking it off. “I suppose,” I say instead. “It’s stressful though.”

“Perhaps,” Amanda says, radiating chill. It’s like New Jericho doesn’t even phase her, it’s insane. “Louie is already in place, waiting to welcome the New Jericho group. The rest of his team is with him as well, including Axel.” A chair spawns out of nowhere and Amanda takes a seat. I blink in surprise before following suit after seeing another one appear behind me.

“The androids should be arriving any moment now,” Amanda says, and as if summoned, we watch through Overseer’s eyes as a van arrives and pulls up right in front of the waiting area. The door slides open and out strides Markus, with Louie stepping forward to greet him. A couple introductions are made as the rest of the android group exits the van.

“Hm.” I glance at Amanda when I hear her surprised hum. 

“What is it?”

“I’m surprised Connor is willing to return here, especially with his…history with the company.” There was the unspoken, ‘ history with me’   that hovered in the air between us. 

“I mean it makes sense though, he is the head of Security in New Jericho,” I offer.

“He did attend the other talks that were held outside the company I suppose,” Amanda muses, fingers steepled together in thought.

I watch as some of the androids peek at the Tower, looking a bit overwhelmed at the sheer size of it. I try to recall if there were any New Jericho meetings that had been held at the Tower before. I think there weren’t? I’m guessing they were usually held outside of the company on neutral grounds. This must be the first time New Jericho androids have been here. If Connor had told them, they would know that the number of floors above ground was about the same number of floors underground. The Tower really was massive.

In the end, there were a lot more androids than I was expecting. Three full vans worth of visitors, about half of them security and the rest mostly Markus’ aides, no wonder the conference room had to be big in order to accommodate everyone. Though it feels like there were a lot more than there should be? Or maybe it's just me. Or maybe it's because it's CyberLife. Huh, that makes more sense.

It doesn’t take long before the whole group begins to be escorted by Emmett’s team. The android security—who were all in uniform and wearing visors over their eyes—surround their group as Emmett himself leads the way into the building. Pleasantries are exchanged between Louie and Markus as they walk and it was a good thing that Overseer had amazing microphones because he was walking a bit aways behind and to the side of the group, surveying and running scans on all of the android retinue. 

“Scans look clean so far. No anomalies detected,” Overseer reports to us silently as he continues watching the group from where he’s walking.

“Good,” is all Amanda says, leaning forward and watching with sharp eyes at the movement. The group arrives at the elevators and resolves to get escorted in batches.

The security channel with Emmett, Isaac and Lena crackles to life. “Papa Bear’s connection is live, I’m receiving transmission data,” Lena says over the channel.

“It's working all clear on my end, thanks Lena, ” Isaac replies.

Overseer scans Louie as they board the elevator with Markus, North, some aides and security. “Impressive. The bug isn’t appearing in my scanners,” Overseer sends over to us.

“As expected then,” Amanda says and we continue watching. 

The pleasantries were honestly just small talk. Markus commenting on the building, the size, the number of employees and Louie explaining something or other and making small comments about a floor or an office or something. Nothing incriminating is happening so far. I watch the stats on Overseer’s HUD as he continues running scans on the group. 

“People here are rubbernecking at the group.” Lena reports. “But not as much as I expected.”

“God it’s so weird to hear Louie schmoozing,” Isaac comments, “It’s like he’s not Louie the team papi right now, he’s Ludovic the smooth executive mf-er.”

“So you’re saying Ludovic is Louie’s corporate persona,” Lena says and I could hear the grin in her words. I grin myself at Isaac’s words, team papi indeed.

“Corpo-sona? Corp-sona?”

“Stop!” Lena exclaims as we laugh on call, Amanda thankfully ignoring me as I giggle beside her. On Overseer’s screen the groups are starting to settle in the room, androids on one side and CyberLife minions on the other. On screen, based on the height of the camera, it seems like Overseer is standing up to the right, directly behind Louie. It meant he had a direct view facing Markus and North who was seated opposite him. The feed pans left and I spot Emmett hanging back near the entrance of the room, chatting lowly with one of Connor’s security team and Connor himself. Emmett seems to be pointing out entrances and routes of the floor. Connor and his minion nod as they separate, the guy moving away with another of the security team and Connor himself walking back to the table and standing behind Markus, mirroring Overseer’s own position behind Louie. Introductions are made and then it begins.

“Looks like we’re all settled in, let’s get started.” Louie says.

They start discussing their agendas when I realize something. I turn to Amanda and say, “How did you get Jericho to agree to meet up here in the Tower?”

“By chance, at the last talks we’ve had with Simon, we wrangled out an agreement to host the next meetings at each other’s headquarters. It just so happened that CyberLife Tower was first. When we hold another meeting, it’ll be at New Jericho this time, which is unfortunate. By that time however, you’ll be out in public so it’s highly likely that it’ll be you attending there.”

So now I have to worry about going to New Jericho as an android that has a known connection to CyberLife , I think to myself. Yikes.

We focus back on Overseer’s feed. “I do have some concerns I’d like some answers on,” comes Markus’ voice over the line. “At the New Year Charity Ball, one of ours was subjected to a hack that was done with a high end android module that matches a known CyberLife design.”

“Here it comes,” says Isaac over the line and I could just hear him wincing.

“We’d like to inquire as to the origin of this module.” Markus’s LED spins yellow and Louie’s datapad pings as it receives what looks like a report of the hack. 

“Oh dear,” Louie says worriedly, and I didn’t know him any better, I’d be convinced at his worry and surprise. The datapad gets passed to Overseer and he makes an act of scrolling down the logs and reading through it as everyone else on the CyberLife side. 

“Overseer,” Amanda says and his voice sounds out in the mind palace, “Understood, Amanda.”

On screen, the feed leans down into Louie’s side. Overseer is leaning down close to Louie, voice low, but everyone knows that the androids could hear it well enough across the table. “It looks like one of the experimental modules that were in storage. This one has been discontinued since last year once the RK900 was released to New Jericho.”

“His name is Nines,” comes Connor’s sharp voice. “I would appreciate it if you refrain from referring to an individual android by their model name.” Markus places his hand on Connor’s arm.

The feed tilts down as if Overseer was nodding his head. “My apologies. I only meant that the module was marked as part of the RK900 model line evolution. It was labeled as one of the future upgrades to be integrated into development in the future, but is now in storage.”

Another CyberLife minion interjects, “Those old prototypes were left in storage and we have an ongoing project repurposing old android tech into something new. Someone must have gotten into it. We’ll be launching an investigation into it and getting the results back to you once we’ve looked into it.”

“Oh really? And yet there were android markers in how the module was used. Unless you have an android hiding here that can use it, which is illegal now with the android rights law, there’s no way the module could be used as it is,” says North, eyes narrowed.

“Our own people have looked into it as well and have come to the same conclusion,” Connor says, straight-backed and immovable in his posture. 

“Actually we do have a way to test modules individually without an android,” Louie smiles, “I suppose this is edging into confidential territory in revealing this but our process includes a separate testing of individual parts outside of an android with the help of a host of virtual intelligences which can simulate the actions of an artificial intelligence.”

That one I knew was edging into suspicious territory. It’s like saying we used a host of Siri’s and Google Assistants to simulate a fake AI. While CyberLife virtual intelligences were definitely a little more sophisticated than voice assistants, not even a host of them were enough in processor power to simulate an Artificial Intelligence. Maybe about a thousand of them? But that was very inefficient and not feasible.

In reality, we did have AI’s exclusively chilling in the CyberLife cloud who take turns helping through a number of Engineering projects. The surprising, top-secret thing about them was that they were like Overseer. None of them wanted a body and were willing enough to work with CyberLife. After the revolution, each of them got set up with a fund so that we could say that we were properly compensating them for their work. Each of them was a happy busy bee working under Amanda in the AI Control Department and for some reason, they had a consensus that none of them wanted to let New Jericho know of them because of the damage they’d done to the company.

“This way, we can ensure that the part works in theory before implementing it in practice. It also ensured that the part is modular enough that it can adapt to multiple types of inputs, whether human or android,” Louie finishes explaining.

The unhappy expressions on the android side made me wince. Amanda is still quiet, watching Overseer’s feed silently.

“Oooh, that’s smart enough,” says Isaac in our private line. “They can’t exactly dispute that since its confidential company property.”

“Imagine if it gave them a complex though,” Emmett mutters, “Not only do they have to worry about a secret android in the company, now they have to worry about humans secretly working against them . This is bad rep for our company if it comes out but better than the alternative of miniboss getting outed before she’s ready.”

“Notice that there was no confirmation on your existence Cams,” Isaac points out. He’s right, there was no definite answer about whether there was an android in the company.

The discussion moves past that topic, begrudgingly on New Jericho’s side, and the talks segue into the trade proposal for android parts. We continue listening in until the discussion takes a break. People stand and inch their ways into groups, talking lowly with each other. There were no CyberLife reps and New Jericho reps intermingling.

Overseer greets his fellow CyberLife reps, gossiping about the whole thing and what was next on the agenda. I tune out, turning to Amanda. “I’ll go with Lena for a bit and come back when the talks resume.”

I get waved off and I disconnect, settling back into my body which was sitting unmoving beside Lena. Lena by this time was eating quickly out of a cold takeout box. She was chatting with Isaac on the call and waved at me as I stood up. On screen, there was a video feed of Isaac eating out of his own takeout box. It looks like he’s in his office. I look for my thermos of flavored thirium and remember that I placed it in the fridge in the floor’s drink nook.

I lean into the feed. “Emmett, is it safe to come out? I'm gonna get my thirium from the drink nook.”

“Hold on a moment,” Emmett says to us, then to someone else outside of the line, “All exits accounted for? Headcount? Yeah go swap with Evans. Talk to the one with the white badge, looks like he’s leading their team.” Static over the line. “You’re good to go boss, we’re covered on our end.”

“Thanks.” I walk out to the hubbub of the legal team people. People are busy at their desks and chatting with each other. There were some empty chairs and some eating at their desks. I spot this one guy watching some drama on one of their monitor screens. Some people nod at me as I pass by and I spot a few quick-fingered people switching tabs. I see you, hard-working people. 

I ignore those and proceed to the drink nook. There were two people chatting lowly near the coffee machine, a man and a woman. They glance when I arrive and the man visibly does a double take when he sees me, mug full of coffee in his hand nearly spilling. I nod at them and open the fridge, looking for my thermos which had been pushed to the back because of the other people’s food. 

I had just closed the fridge door when I realize that the woman had stepped closer. 

“I didn’t know that thirium could be refrigerated,” she says, the sentence ending in a tentative question mark. I scan her face, and her name registers as one of the employees under Legal. 

“This is a new compound that Isaac had been testing,” I share, ”He’s been testing certain mixtures to see how the flavor would register.”

The woman makes an ‘ah’ face. The guy behind her steps closer, peeking at my thermos as if he could see the inside of it. “Isaac as in, Engineering Head right?” he asks, as if trying to recall it. A quick face scan tells me his name is Christian.

“You can taste flavors?” The woman, Kyndra, says. Her brows have climbed up and I’m surprised at how surprised she is.

“Yes,” I reply, bodily turning to them. I thought that was common knowledge by now, especially since I’ve been going out with the rest of the Heads to the cafeteria. “It’s still being calibrated of course.” At this point, sweet flavors have been perfected already. Bitter was about half of the way there and sourness and salty flavors were being calibrated to perfection. 

I sweep my eyes around the room and everyone is still busy. I turn back to the two who were looking at each other kind of weirdly. “I’ll have to return now. Have a nice lunch break.”

“Of course,” Kyndra says, smiling. She elbows Christian in the side and he waves awkwardly as I walk away.

I decide to go around another way to see the other side of the desk area. When I get there, I pause when I see a familiar face seated at the desk, busy working.

How the fuck did Christian get there so fast?

Then it hits me. You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.

I open the link to Lena’s transmission remotely, making my way sedately to Christian’s desk. “Emmett. Is the headcount of the android retinue complete?”

“Yes. But I’ll have them recheck again,” Emmett says, sensing something in my voice. 

“What’s this about Cams?” Lena asks over the line.

I knock on Christian’s table when I get close and he jumps, fumbling with his headset. “Miss Camila, how can I help you?”

“You wouldn’t happen to have been in the drinks nook a few minutes ago Christian?” I ask him and he shakes his head. An impending sense of doom alights in my head.

“No ma’am, I’m not really a fan of coffee and their selection of sodas here?” he says, a bit awkwardly.

“I see, I must have been mistaken. Do you know where Kyndra Maxwell is seated?” I already knew it based on the floor plan but I decided to ask anyway.

Christian points to the chair behind him. “Right here. But I think she’s out with Aly and Paula for their lunch breaks. I was out with them at the Employee Centers but I headed back early since I wanted to finish this document early,” Christian shrugs.

“Right. My thanks.” I walk away back to the surveillance room. They were supposed to be out but there are two people—probably androids—wearing their faces in the drink nook. It just so happened that Christian had decided to come back earlier than the others.

“Everyone’s accounted for boss,” Emmett says. “Are we double checking attendance?” I chew on how to say it.

“Isaac, what are the chances that we have androids who can copy faces?” I ask on the line. I open the door to the surveillance room just as Isaac replies live. The Legion quickly pings me once they complete the data packet on what I’ve seen. I forward it to Amanda.

“You’re joking me,” says Isaac’s voice on the speakers.

Lena pulls her laptop close and quickly opens a new window. Emmett on the line rapidly starts barking orders to his team. “All the named androids here are accounted for but if they snuck in an extra android, they won’t be on the list.” He contacts surveillance, angry at how they missed a whole extra android sneaking in the group.

A connection opens up on my end. “Camila,” Amanda says, voice furious. “Get back here right now.”

Shit.

Chapter Text

Connor maintains his bland expression, sedately walking towards one of his people. Beverly turns when he approaches, giving a quick sharp nod, jaw set in a way that indicates stress even behind her visor. Without further fanfare, they clasp arms in an interface.

"Looks like there's no further scanner checkpoints within the floor. Felix and Valerie are deep on the other side of the area but they can't find a way past the guard on the stairwell," Beverly reports, voice clinical as she speaks through the interface. "The central elevator is under heavy surveillance. The public elevators are accessible but don't go up past the 40th floor, which is where the AI Control is."

Connor blinks slowly, the only tell in his expression. "Straight to AI Control is a little too dangerous for my liking."

"Unfortunately it's where our target is said to be settled in," Beverly says, face smooth, but Connor got the impression that she was frowning. "It’s said she has a whole floor to herself."

"How about floor plans? Any hints of blueprints or pictures?"

"All confidential. Though Isaac Fletcher is known to frequent her...living space? Storage space?" Both Connor and Beverly couldn't help the feedback loop of distaste between them at the term. "If there are any pictures of her living space in the company social network, we can’t find it, even with the surface level hack we have running on the social network. Our best bet is getting to a terminal but that's difficult because of the number of people on the floor. Any terminals in private offices look to be DNA locked."

"Don't risk it. I don't know what possible new security features they could have implemented in the network." Connor is silent, quickly running simulations and calculating risks. "Scope out the gossip instead. Have Valerie use her new social modules. If we find anything alarming, then we'll risk the terminals."

"I'll let them know."

They disconnect from the interface. "Good work, keep me posted if any issues arise," Connor says as if they hadn’t been plotting illegally behind the scenes. Beverly salutes and Connor makes his way back to the room. He gives a barely-there nod at the passing CyberLife representatives and acknowledges the security agent stationed at the door of the conference room before walking back in. 

The group of androids grouped near one of the windows all murmuring lowly to each other glance at him as he enters. Most of Markus’ advisors surreptitiously scoot into a separate group as Markus, North and Connor close in together in a three-way call.

“The information stream is still ongoing on my end,” North says once they’ve settled into the call, “HQ says that there was some initial interference and a few blips reconnecting but the line is decent enough. Backup is still on standby at warehouse E2 and the marine extraction team has arrived at the base of the Belle Isle bridge. Security seems minimal at the edge of the northern side of the island so they circled around and set up there.”

“How about HQ?” Markus asks, looking between the two.

Connor and North look at each other before turning back to each other. “Well, from the last transmission, Simon, Josh and Nines are still watching, along with a host of gossips,” North says drily.

Connor sighs, “This was supposed to be a confidential mission.”

“There’s a lot at stake here and besides, better that we have more witnesses,” North shrugs. “And this is also going to be the first look inside the building in ages. People are curious. Jericho unanimously scheduling the event here for a watch party is kind of a minor issue.”

“Minor until it leaks that we’re live streaming a confidential political meeting.” There was a subtle sulky lilt to his tone. “We already have enough of a security issue with everyone in Jericho aware about the existence of Camila. Why did Denver have to gossip about it with everyone he came across? ” Connor complained.

Markus’s mouth quirks up in a smile despite the serious situation. “It’s alright Connor, all of these are going public anyway. Well, public android property at least. How are your agents?”

“Plans are proceeding, two of my agents are making their way through the floor,” Connor reports, voice back to professional, “ Beverly is still running the surface-level hack but we can’t go any deeper without alerting them. Security is very heavy, concentrated around the stairwell entrances and elevators. I’m not sure I can risk sneaking either of my agents to the other floors. Rex is still on standby until both Felix and Valerie find a way to get past the guards. ” 

“ And the tests for the masking software module are all good right? The max time is solid?” Markus worries briefly. “With how many modifications Rex had to go through to get it installed, I’m worried there may be last minute complications.”

“It should be? The two-minute mark on the camouflage cloak has been pretty consistent,” North looks to Connor. “I don’t think any of the security scans saw Rex’s new mod, or the long distance encryption mod installed with me too, but if they did…well, they wouldn’t have let us in if they did.”

Connor tilts his head slightly towards the entrance of the room, “I don’t know any of the new agents but they should all have the same base training as before. The visored one with the crew cut seems to be their Captain. I recognize him from the Charity Ball as well. He introduced himself as Emmett, one of the captains of their security team.”

“And one of the persons of interest Denver indicated,” North recalls. “Ludovic heading their negotiations and Emmett as their security, we have some heavy hitters here. They must have figured that getting Fletcher to lead their team was a bad call.”

“Or maybe just playing to their strengths,” Markus points out, “Most of the agenda does seem to fall under Ludovic’s purview. What do you think, Connor?”

Markus and North look to Connor whose brows were faintly furrowed. “I think…they’re playing it safe. They’ve taken great care to keep us from contacting anyone higher than Fletcher. If we didn’t already know about the android, I have no doubt we’d still have been in the dark.” Connor shifts on his feet, apprehensive. It was the most uncomfortable he was willing to be seen and both Markus and North knew it was only because he was comfortable with them both. “I can’t help but feel…uneasy.”

“Well the situation does warrant it. Is there a specific reason for it?” Markus asks, worried.

“The CyberLife representatives,” Connor’s eyes flicker to the group of humans chatting idly on the other side of the room. “I could find no trace of any listening or streaming device on any of them. I’ve cross-referenced their identities from police records, most of them have worked with CyberLife for years and the others who haven’t were newly hired fresh from graduation, all of them having a relative or parent that has already worked with the company previously. Disregarding the bias that will create, all of them have clean records.”

Markus and North visibly mull this over. “So the company practices favoritism on their hires. That’s…pretty in line with their actions honestly. Disregarding the whole ethical issue with that, what’s the problem?” North asks, crossing her arms.

Connor refrains from making a face but it was evident from the tone of his voice how he feels about it. “It’s too clean. For all intents and purposes, CyberLife sent a legitimate team of negotiators and I can’t find any fault among them. Meanwhile with us, we have four androids installed with illegal mods: North with her long distance data encryption-slash-surveillance module, Rex with his stealth software and camouflage cloak, and then Felix and Valerie with their masking face morph mods.”

“Ah, so you’re worried because you couldn’t find anything incriminating on their side,” Markus realizes.

“Don’t overthink it Connor,” North says matter-of-factly, even though she herself had her guard up at all times. “Just because you couldn’t find anything doesn’t mean that there isn’t any.”

“That statement is not as comforting as you are intending it to be,” Connor informs her dryly.

“She’s right though,” Markus points out, “Regardless of what they have on their side, we’ll just have to work with what we got. It will work out Connor, we have a plan that we’re following and contingencies to keep us safe. It’ll be fine.”

 Connor sighs, “I…hope so, Markus. I hope so.”

The three jump a bit in surprise when they all receive a simultaneous ping from Beverly. Curiously, it was addressed to all the androids in the room, including Markus’ aides. Various grouped androids in the room share looks before they all open the emergency channel with the security team.

“We just finished a debrief, Beverly. Is there a situation?” Connor asks immediately.

“You’re not gonna believe this but Felix and Val reported early. She’s here!”

“What?” Connor exchanges looks with Markus and North, alarmed. “What do you mean? Who’s here?” Already, everyone else in the channel was starting to murmur to each other.

“I mean she’s here! The android, Camila! Felix and Valerie ran into her on the other end of the floor, she’s here on this floor right now!”

There was a collective jump as everyone on the channel reacts in surprise and shock. LED’s spin yellow as all the androids in the room share wide-eyed looks.

The first indication of the infiltrators on the cameras were when the second batch of people went up the elevators. I—or rather, we —assume that they snuck in dressed like employees after the main group and very very sneakily followed afterwards.

“They must have timed it during the transition of the security team switch,” Lena says, fingers flying across her keyboard. “They were already wearing employee faces. Their ID’s are the real thing so they must’ve swiped it from the originals when they went out to the Centers. See, there they are,” Lena focuses on one feed, zooming in, “It was very quick.”

“They weren’t in the vans?” Amanda clarifies over the call speakers.

Lena shakes her head. “Nope. Security was thorough on that end, they just didn’t expect for any android coming in from…most likely the water? Unless New Jericho magically learned how to do invisible air drops, the fringes of the island is our best bet. I think they came in through the Northeastern storage area close to the island edge, then the Employee Centers where they swiped IDs, and then timed their entrance with the android entourage.”

“And they didn’t ping as androids on the scanners, so they must have had some scrambler tech to fool them,” Isaac speculates, brow furrowed. On his end of the call, the sound of rapid typing starts up again. He’s probably looking into possibilities of what tech they already have based on old CyberLife projects.

I’m getting the impression that Amanda is pinching the bridge of her nose, or something like that. “From the water? Of all things…”

Isaac coughs on his end of the call, “Looks like we’re redoing island perimeter security again?”

Isaac and Lena start discussing the logistics of a water-based vehicle parked right under Belle Isle while Amanda and I tune into Overseer’s channel. I’d just finished notifying another Captain from Security to start perimeter checks and they were already deploying. I have my Legion spread out over the network, scouring for any form of hacking or untracked data retrievals but no luck. If they were here for any data mining, they weren’t on it yet , or worse, they were already doing it and I’m just not seeing it. 

In the security room of Overseer’s mind palace, Amanda had set up monitors on the side of the main screen connected to the CyberLife Tower feeds. There was one monitor that was connected to a call with the surveillance team on sub-level 5. Watching it, I see a bunch of Security minions rushing about to and fro on their floor. Amanda and Greg were chatting on the call, with Amanda issuing rapid fire orders and Greg answering some of her questions. Emmett is still in the channel, listening in alternately between their department channel and the private one between our group.

I tune in to Overseer’s feed instead, watching as he chats his way through a group of CyberLife representatives all while doing his best to tune his audios into the Jericho Three-Out-Of-Five that were huddled casually-suspiciously in the conference room. Unfortunately, it seems like he was in the wrong angle for lip reading and he was too far for any audio tracking. I can already feel Amanda taking note to improve our long distance audials.

“Our android scanners aren’t up to par. The upgrades we’ve installed in you still aren’t implemented in Tower security due to time constraints,” Amanda says, straightening up after talking to Greg. She scowls, crossing her arms and I watch from the corner of my eyes as her finger taps rhythmically on her arm.

I rewind her words in my head and pause. ‘Don’t tell me…’

Android infiltrators that couldn’t be picked up by our security scanners, me with the prototype advanced scanners, Overseer being the only other one with the same module but he’s busy in the meet—

“I’m not willing to send you out without any training or experience or without your handler as your backup,” Amanda declares and whew , just me mentally holding my hand to my chest, wiping my forehead of figurative sweat. 

I blink when I receive a data request ping from Amanda that she sent through the AI Control network. Within milliseconds, the other intelligences in the Tower answer with their own pings and I listen in as Pixel, one of the AI project supervisors requests connection access. I try to keep up as Amanda and Pixel rapidly send data between each other. It isn’t even two seconds before they disconnect and Pixel vanishes back into the CyberLife network. 

“What was that?” I ask Amanda, whose shoulders have relaxed just a tiniest bit. 

“I requested information on one of the projects Pixel is supervising,” Amanda pulls up a window and shows me. “A miniature localized EMP, scaled down to immobilize android-specific tech without rendering them unusable.” 

I squint at the overly-technical specs scrolling on the window. “Huh.” 

“It’s still undergoing testing but initial results show promise. We don’t have spec data on how those infiltrators are built so I’d rather not risk any physical altercations with our Security team. The treaty is fragile enough as it is and we stand to lose more than Jericho if it comes to a confrontation.” Amanda tsk’s, expression filled with distaste. “Our Security teams are also tense and trigger happy. Based on the company attitude census, there’s a 78% chance that they’ll open fire rather than catch them nonlethally.”

“I think…it was a mistake to arm security with deadly force. I could have them apprehend the infiltrators if I was sure that none of them would render them dead or unconscious; it seems I’ll have to make do with one of our on-floor engineers armed with the prototype and a non-lethal escort.” She even sends me her situation assessment results. I get reams of numbers and graphs of situational possibilities, most of them concluding that Security shouldn’t be involved if we try to address the infiltrator issue.

That feels like…well, too light? They’re infiltrators . New Jericho is also at fault here, siccing Security on them is just the expected response. Also, highly risky and might turn dangerous if we send an engineer after two androids. That’s not to mention the EMP prototype. I mean, it's a prototype. What are the chances it’ll work as intended? With our luck, it might just blow up the big shot android political party which is catastrophic.

Also, okay look, Security did have the most casualties among the CyberLife minions back then. It's pretty understandable that they might go with a too-heavy hand but that can easily be offset by stricter instructions. Anyway, Amanda’s calculations shouldn’t be the sole basis of the decision. It’s also a waste of resources not to use them when they’re right there . I weigh the chances against Amanda’s simulation results. “I don’t think you need to play it that safe. Also they’re human, those chances probably aren’t going to be followed to the tee.”

Amanda scoffs. “These simulations have helped me run the company for years. I’m not about to stop relying on them now.”

”Come on Amanda, they’re human! They’ll probably surprise you especially if you phrase it right, or, or, give them the right motivation or something. We can afford to send a small team out, I’ll talk with Greg,” I argue back. Her lips purse but she nods eventually. 

I go back to the calculations Amanda ran. “These numbers…do you really think they’re looking for me?”

“They first looked through various access points,” Amanda brings up a little map of the floor, pointing out the route the two had taken. “They went through here, then here, and when they didn’t see an unguarded door, they started scoping out the private offices. Most likely for a higher level terminal access. They even checked the meeting rooms and comfort rooms.”

She leans back and crosses her arms, speaking as if recalling key points in a presentation. “New Jericho didn’t make any moves until after your first appearance in the Tower. If they were after me, they would have moved ages ago but it's been a long time since the revolution. It’s likely they either want access to AI Control for my servers, or your rooms, and you’re the more likely answer.”

Amanda sends me a severe look. ”I’ve pulled Pixel into helping Security track the two infiltrators. Ever since they’ve seen you in the drink nook, they’ve had an erratic search pattern through the floors, changing appearances twice now. They’re looking for you, and if they’re smart, they’d have already marked the six offices on this floor that are currently in privacy mode.” 

“Shit,” I realize, “Then I need to get out of here don’t I?”

Amanda says, voice grim, “Yes, however, we don’t have information on how many of them are infiltrators. We have no available method to find out which is why I recalled you back to the office in case you were followed. I don’t want to risk getting infiltrators into other floors so localizing the problem into one area was the best action I could take. I’ve pulled Pixel, Titan and Cyberpup from their projects and set them on watching the footage to crosscheck employee presences on all floors for the day, but even with three AI’s on the job, it will take too long.”

Upon hearing that, I immediately send half of my Legion to help the three AI’s on scouring the day’s footage. Titan sends me a grateful ping before diving back into going through the security personnel. Cyberpup was shuffling through so many employee profiles in the network that I could just barely recognize the faces as it matched them with CCTV footage. Pixel was focusing on employees outside the Tower, in the Employee Centers and other facilities, unceremoniously dragging the Legion left and right into various areas.

I return to the mind palace just in time to hear something from the channel between Emmett, Isaac and Lena.

“Something’s up, ” Emmett reports, “The whole android group just flashed yellow LED’s.”

I share a look with Amanda and I quickly slip back into my body. “All of them?” I hear Lena ask as I sit up. Isaac had switched his feed to his phone and he was running around the office, calling out people and orders.

“ All of them. Boss, I’m getting orders from the Commander to get ready to receive a Michael from Engineering.” Emmett says over the line. “I’m sending out people to the elevators but is there anything I need to watch out for with the androids?”

On Isaac’s feed, he’s speaking rapidly with a guy I’ve identified as the one Emmett was talking about: one of his engineers and the project co-lead of the prototype localized EMP that Pixel was supervising. Oh, probably the one Amanda was referring to.

“Camila, I’ll get Michael to Security to deliver the EMP device. Talk to Greg quickly now to deploy Security.” Amanda says and I had to stomp the urge to panic. She got the orders out already? Damn it Amanda. 

I open a public line to Security. Everything was a mess . Most of everyone was in disarray working with on-site personnel and with Titan, who was leading the Tower investigation. I blink quickly as I render my avatar on one of their bigger screens to quickly get their attention.

“Commander,” I call through the transmission and there was a sudden halt as everyone turns. 

“Ma’am!” Greg quickly salutes. The other Captains in the room follow suit.

“Kindly assemble a team to track and disable the known infiltrators,” I keep my voice bland and mechanical, face empty of all expression. “I’d like this to be quick, non-lethal and discreet . With the recent public upheavals, I’d rather not have to fend off any news about the resurgence of the company being violent against androids. I’m sure you would agree?” At this point, I’m just spitting out random words without actually processing them. What the hell am I even saying? I just wanted people to do their job and do it right.

“Agreed ma’am, we’ll take care of it.” Greg agrees grimly, instantly understanding what I was implying. Thank god for Greg. I level my dead stare against the other Captains, some of whom look like they’re about to start sweating in nervousness. There, that should scare them into following orders.

Amanda, who was in my head watching through my eyes suddenly brings up one of my staticky memories of the game. It was the bit with Kara, Alice and Luther where they had to board the bus to escape being scanned as an android. It was the part with the handheld scanner that Amanda highlighted.

“But we don’t have those!” I quickly turn to Amanda back in the mind palace, “Well I mean, we have both the handheld and the standing scanners at the Tower entrance but they didn’t work! They still got in without a blip.”

“It doesn’t have to work,” Amanda explains rapidly, already sending out orders to retrieve them. In the office, I peek in and watch Isaac's footage as he wheels around and starts hollering to bring out all the spare scanners in storage. He must have just received the note. “But having Security go around scanning people should scare the androids enough to provoke a reaction.”

I suddenly understand what Amanda is getting at. “So we can smoke them out and find out where the other infiltrators are! I get it, okay, shit.”

I quickly tune in back to Greg who was already organizing a team and conferring quickly with another Captain. Only a few seconds had passed in real time. “Captain, I will be providing you with scanners to use and a prototype localized EMP device to disable the infiltrators harmlessly. Engineer Michael is on his way to your floor and make sure to maintain a calm disposition once you meet with Emmett. Amanda and Pixel will be working with you. I’ll keep in touch.” And with their final salute, I leave. 

I cut the transmission and jump back into the mind palace where Amanda is already working with the other AI’s. I hover close to see what else she needs help with but then she waves me off, “Go Camila, I’ll take care of this.” She sends me away with a reassuring squeeze on my shoulder and I snap back into my body. 

I feel my hands shaking but I resolve not to look at them so that I wouldn’t see if they really weren't shaking. I take a deep breath before turning to Lena, with Isaac busy on call and Emmett tense on his end.

“Cams, what’s the plan? Isaac’s been getting orders and Emmett is on standby. Connor is apparently speaking with one of his people but no news on that yet,” Lena rapid-fires the moment she sees me back in my body.

“Okay,” I start, quickly unscrambling what had just happened in a few short minutes from when I was with Amanda, “Here’s what we know : two android infiltrators were looking for me, found me, got surprised with my presence and now want to find me again after I got away from them both. They’re currently trying to locate where I am right now on this floor and there’s a high probability that at least one of them is monitoring the main exits to try and spot me.” 

There’s swearing on the line as Isaac tunes back in. I continue, “Here’s what we suspect : there are more infiltrators on the floor besides the two known ones but the problem is they got past our scanners somehow so there’s no way to know how to identify them short of actively following them around. Amanda has people trying to track down employee activity on the island but it’s inefficient and not promising.”

“But how about your scanners Cams? Ah wait, but you're the target so we can’t set you on them. Damn,” Isaac swears again. “They didn’t ping you on your passive scans when you encountered them?”

“No,” I admit, “But I also wasn’t actively using my higher end modules so I don’t know if those will work. The handhelds you're being sent out with are basically just going to be props. We just need a way to scare them out of hiding to disable them with the EMP."

"Right, right. Michael will have to be in the vicinity though. The prototype is still in a volatile stage and he's our best bet in monitoring the thing remotely in case something goes wrong." Isaac says, then turns to someone off-screen and quickly explains something to them as I continue sounding out the plan. 

"Okay, and once we smoke out the infiltrators and catch them in the act, Emmett and his team will have to sneak me out of sight of any other androids."

"Roger that," Emmett answers, "I'll get my people in position and tighten up the watch on the exits."

"Pixel and Amanda will coordinate with your incoming backup to get the two known infiltrators out immediately," I keep regulating my breaths in a vain effort to keep calm but even on my HUD, my stress levels were already marked red at a steady 54%. 

"Copy," Is all Emmett says before he turns to someone off-screen. Through the line, Lena and I focus on them in an effort to figure out any news. Lena quickly runs the line through a filter and the tinny voice that caught Emmett's attention becomes clearer. 

"Captain, the RK800 is requesting access to refreshments. I've informed him that there's already one coming up from the Centers but he's asking if they could be escorted there instead so they could check out what sir Louie was talking about with the android food centers. Claims that he'd like to see what it would be like in practice," Emmett's subordinate says, the voice sounding young. 

I hear Amanda in the mind palace click her tongue in annoyance. "They might be trying to move areas to either get their infiltrators to meet up with them out back to safety, or bait you into leaving the area so they could get to you." 

I repeat what Amanda says to Lena and Emmett. Both of them are silent for a moment and it's only broken by Emmett's subordinate on the line, asking, "Orders, sir?"

"Inform them that we'll have to clear it with Security and to standby while we wait for orders," Emmett  eventually decides on which his subordinate acknowledges. 

I get a ping from one of the Legion that's monitoring the overall situation. "Keep stalling them Emmett. Agent Michael and Captain Jace have already arrived on the floor and are about to start their sweep."

"Understood. I'll update Louie and keep monitoring the situation," Emmett informs us before going to do just that. 

I keep cycling air through my lungs. “This is a disaster,” I fret over the whole situation, eyeing my stress levels that were fluctuating dangerously close to the 50’s. The whole mess was about to give me a heart attack if it goes on any longer, which with my already-diagnosed software instability…hmmm. I don’t really want to experience the consequences yet.

I feel infinitely grateful when Lena takes my hand and squeezes. "We got this Cams. We'll bunker down here. Trust in Emmett, they got us."

"The Captain has been informed and they've told us to kindly hold as they’re clearing it with Security," Connor informs the others through the public channel. The whole of the New Jericho representatives had made an effort to go back into appearing casual, talking to each other in groups after the involuntary yellow LEDs that were triggered just previously.

Connor had silently reprimanded Beverly’s recent mistake of reporting to the wrong channel. Her embarrassment was palpable as he scolded her for her excitement and for inadvertently leaking info that was supposed to be reported to her superiors first. 

"I still can't believe it. What are the chances she would be here right when we are?" One of Markus' aides murmurs through the line. 

"Maybe it's not chance and she's here because she's monitoring the situation," Another points out to the general agreement of everyone else. "If we didn't have Felix and Val out there we probably wouldn't have known about her." 

While the rest of their group discuss the situation, Connor goes back to the Security-only channel. “Any updates?”

“Valerie’s narrowed down two possible offices where she could be set up,” Beverly reports, voice low. “She’s plotted out possible routes to take to the exits. Seems like the floor plan is working with us here. Most of the major exits are closer to our area.”

“Felix is reporting activity on the main elevator,” Riley, another security droid reports, voice worried. He sends a snapshot from Felix that gets quickly scanned by Connor and Beverly.

“That’s an engineer lanyard,”  Beverly points out, focusing on the man at the forefront of the picture. Connor glances out of the glass walls of the meeting room and sees that Beverly had angled herself to be hidden from direct view of CyberLife guards behind a fellow, bigger android.

“But more of their security is behind him. Looks like another Captain, they’re the only ones allowed without a helmet.” Connor counts six more guards plus the new Captain behind the engineer, not including the guards that were part of Captain Emmett’s team that had met up with them.

“The guards are pairing off. They’re getting orders from the Captain,” Riley reports in real time. “They’ve got handheld scanners and are starting to look around. They’re…stopping people and holding them up to scan!”

“Shit. What? Shit!” Beverly starts cursing. “They caught on? How?”

“Riley, pull Felix back right now,” Connor orders, “Get Valerie to hide and stall, send out a pair of guards to check our parameters again, see if we can rendezvous with them. I’ll talk to Markus.”

A quick data dump to Markus milliseconds later and Connor watches as Markus’ LED blips a single quick yellow. Markus smoothly turns and walks towards the group where Ludovic is, the group of humans turning to him curiously. Ludovic’s attention is taken away from where Captain Emmett is whispering something into his ear, doing a full-body turn to face Markus.

As Markus starts cheerfully schmoozing with Ludovic, Connor forwards the same data dump to a confused North. Her eyes widen ever so slightly as she reads through the same report he forwarded Markus. “It’s highly likely that we’ve been compromised,” Connor reports, voice hard. “Markus will try to pressure Ludovic into moving our group so we can find a way to fetch Felix and Val.”

“How are they both? Have they found safe spots?” North asks, eyes turned to outside the room, trying to spot anything amiss. Already, she’s starting to catalog the positions of the CyberLife security team and plotting out an escape route.

Connor double checks the open feed with Security, Beverly and Riley. “Felix had to abandon his spot watching the elevators and main exits. He’s changed faces again and is staying on the move. Valerie has reached the women’s comfort room and is holing up there until the guards pass her area.”

North stays tense and Connor updates the rest of the androids in the room. In short order, there was a minor clamor as one of Markus’ aides loudly (not loudly enough to be obnoxious but loud enough to be overheard) wonder to his friends about the so-called android exclusive menu mentioned by the CyberLife representatives. The ones surrounding him quickly follow suit, casually wondering about the logistics and possibility of such a thing. It was enough to draw in at least two of the CyberLife representatives to their group who began lightly discussing the android parts trade involved in such a thing until they eventually pulled in more of the  CyberLife team into the first ‘casual’ android-human chats held in the room.

Connor focuses his audials where Markus was still amiably chatting with Ludovic. “It has been a point of interest with us, especially since it was the first of the possibility that we’ve heard…well, anywhere really,” Connor watches out of the corner of his eye as Markus smiles, “Android consumables, or rather thirium-based food. It wasn’t exactly something we expected when we entered this discussion.”

There was an inscrutable look on Ludovic’s face as he visibly considers the request but Connor couldn’t help but direct his focus on Captain Emmett instead who was just beside Ludovic. He was tense and Connor didn’t need to run a scan to know that his relationship status with the man was edging into hostile. 

“Surely we can afford a bit of flexibility with our plans? The agreements are already progressing nicely to completion,” Markus continues, trying to gently talk the executive into agreeing. “A nice scenery to go along with a little physical activity would be good for the break.” Not mentioning the fact that the androids don’t even need said physical activity.

There was a long pause before Ludovic gave a genuine-looking smile. “Unfortunately, since it wasn’t part of our planned itinerary, it’ll have to be cleared with Security first,” he says firmly and exactly.

Suddenly, alarms start blaring out all over the floor. Everyone jumps, looking up as the ceiling shades red from the emergency lights. “Fire alarm,” Captain Emmett says, scowling and a finger on his comms. Ludovic sends a slightly apprehensive look his way and Captain Emmett gives him a grim nod.

“I’m to escort you out sir, Connor,” the Captain says, directing his statement to the android who had approached. “Agent 38 will direct you to the route, kindly assemble your people and be ready to follow.” Emmett motions another of his guards to approach. 

Connor nods and Markus follows him back to the bulk of the group, connecting remotely. “Connor, what happened?” He surveys the corridor outside, watching as more and more CyberLife employees gather in the hallways, most of them rubbernecking and faces varying between surprise, alarm and confusion.

“Felix had to trigger an alarm to get out of a dead end,” Connor says and Markus could hear the grimace behind the deliberately placid face. “The good news is that we can rendezvous with our agents. The bad news is we’re gonna lose the chance to find her and if I know Amanda, it’ll now be next to impossible to get to her after this.”

“Please form an orderly line and stick close, we’ll be taking an alternate route to the ground floor as we investigate the cause of the alarm,” Agent 38 calls out. People start bunching up, the humans wondering what could have caused the alarm.

Everyone in Markus’ retinue huddles up close and tight, drawing lingering gazes from the humans watching them. Connor meets eyes with Beverly from across the group and the grimace on her face was severe as her eyes make quick sweeps ahead where the rest of the floor was migrating to.

The agent leads them to the emergency stairwell, where Captain Emmett was standing by the exit with a team, watching the area. Ludovic and his human entourage leaves first, the executive whispering something to the Captain before quickly making their way out. Markus follows, leading the rest of the androids as Connor stops by the exit, motioning the others onward. 

“I can’t see them Connor,” Beverly says over the line, eyes desperately looking through the stream of people leaving through the exit. Connor sees the Captain staring at Beverly with narrowed eyes and he quickly angles himself in the way. There’s a brief staredown where neither Connor nor Emmett gives in until another agent takes Emmett’s attention away.

Beverly tugs once on Connor’s sleeve before saying loudly, “We’re missing people, I’ll go back and check.” Connor catches on and barely gives his assent before Beverly was jogging back the way they came, quickly slipping through the throng of CyberLife employees that had followed after the retinue. 

“Escort her,” Connor hears Captain Emmett bark and two agents from his side quickly follow after where Beverly disappeared. 

“Two agents right behind you,” Connor sends, and receives a single distracted affirmative ping. 

He turns just as Captain Emmett approaches, placing himself right in front of Connor and making a motion to escort him. “My agents will take care of her Mr. Connor, let’s get you out of here.”

“I’d rather wait and escort her back myself,” Connor insists, making a motion to move away until the Captain grabs hold of his arm tightly. Connor’s arm jerks in reaction. “Captain, kindly unhand me. Please,” he bites out.

“Unfortunately, lingering in public areas is against our evacuation protocols,” Captain Emmett ignores him and leans in closer, eyes cold, and Connor’s hand forms a fist before he even thinks about it, “And of course, I’m aware that you know that, being previously…employed by the company and trained in Tower protocols.”

Connor locks down his neutral expression harder and for the first time in a while regrets standing by his decision to keep his LED, knowing that his was flashing yellow-red in anger. “Very well,” is all that he could say, knowing that he couldn’t make any other move. The Captain was correct, he did know the protocols and he couldn’t find a loophole that would be effective enough to help his situation. Connor deliberately relaxes his fist before quickly turning and joining the throng of CyberLife employees leaving the area, following another agent who was motioned forward by Emmett.

‘You’re on your own Beverly,’ he thinks to himself, hoping and worrying in turns as the scene of the busy hallway and the harsh stare of Emmett disappears from view. ‘Good luck.’

The aftermath of the whole thing was…a mess would be a kind word for it. ‘Clusterfuck’ would be a better fit. Security never found the infiltrators. The android they escorted back to the conference room, the one who said that they were missing people had turned around after leading the two agents on a merry chase across the floor, claiming that she was mistaken and had just received a report that the head count was complete. She was taken back to the rest of the android entourage.

Presumably, since she made her decisive about-turn very quickly, she was able to ascertain that the people she was looking for actually got out or were safe from us which was a point that Amanda was definitely going to hold over Security for ages.

The fire alarm was triggered by a female employee who had come from the restroom, citing that there was a smoking trash can in one of the stalls. With the horde of people evacuating, Emmett had made the executive decision to keep me and Lena in the room. He posted two agents right outside our door under the guise of guiding employees to the exits and both reported no suspicious activity. Lena and I hunkered down, watching the feeds with Isaac on the call.

Amanda was livid, to say the least. She harshly criticized the Security team even as she barked orders and scoured the vid feeds with extreme prejudice but with the massive amount of people, she and the other AIs eventually lost track of the one we had managed to find. That infiltrator was very very good at timing their face changing away from the cameras’ view and the effort to track them through what they were wearing didn’t hold up once they were in the throng of people. The team that had gone up to smoke the trespassers out ended up being relegated to evacuation duty.

Once the floor (and most of the Tower) had been evacuated, Emmett got the two same agents at our door to escort me to the central elevator all the way back to my suite. I was essentially grounded there for the rest of the day since the two stayed right outside to guard the short hallway between my suite entrance and the elevator. I was stuck watching the feeds from my room, without a direct line to Overseer since Amanda was still piggybacking off his body and I didn’t want to distract either of them in order to avoid Amanda aiming her anger at me.

With the Tower mostly emptied out into the grounds, it was impossible to filter out who was who. Amanda had no choice but to let people back in, not knowing for sure who was an android or not, and she was unwilling to show anything was out of the ordinary to the android delegation.

The discussions resumed once everyone was invited back to the Tower with Security having declared the whole thing as a false alarm. Emmett remained growly and silently fuming the whole time, Overseer-as-Axel having noted the lowkey increasingly hostile looks traded between him and Connor. The talks weren’t as much of an issue once all the secrecy and sneaking around was out of the way (and with me safe away from ground zero) Ludovic, Emmett and Lena were able to concentrate more on the political side of things. Security on the floor doubled down and the team that was going around scanning people resumed trying to smoke out the hidden androids despite everyone knowing that they were probably gone by then.

In the end, no one could tell who really won. On one hand, we were able to prevent them from getting to their goal, which we still assume is to get to me, but I still don’t fully trust it because all this effort for me? Of all people? No, I don’t think it’s only that, there must be more to it. But anyway, it felt like we lost more than we gained. 

We gave in to their request at the threat of losing the truce with New Jericho. We lost interested sponsors in the Charity Ball (though that was more because of how we handled it). The new proposed items in the agreement with New Jericho included more parts and blue blood as part of the ongoing reparations for the damage done by CyberLife. It was an extension of the initial agreement created at the end of the revolution. Meanwhile, Louie’s task, which was feeling out how they’d react to android-specific merchandise, didn’t evoke much of a response aside from vaguely interested hums and disdainful looks, one of which was from North. Markus and one other android seemed to be the only ones who showed legitimate curiosity for the idea.

The whole event ended with Louie and Markus shaking hands with professional smiles on their faces and the delegation left without much further pomp and ceremony but Amanda had everyone stay in their posts until the end of the work day. By midnight, Security had all but swept the Tower clean of people in case of any hidden androids who had waited overnight. Even the island perimeter got picked through, and Security was given a task to install more hidden cameras and scanners. There were apparently tracks at the north side of the island but none of the agents were adept enough at identifying more than the presence of activity on the rocky coast.

Early next morning (as in around 1am early), my friends teetered between being too wired up by what happened and at the edge of crashing in exhaustion. Curtis had gone up once he was done with his shift, which was around when the delegation was just leaving. I had to get security to clear him to let him up to my suite and I handed him my company card when he went rifling through my near-empty pantry for something to cook for when the others came up. Isaac had come up once Greg gave the all clear for the Tower, which was around midnight. Lena and Louie had come up escorted by Emmett, who dismissed the two guards posted at my door.

Isaac descended on the reheated meal like he had been starved for days, carrying his plate to the living room where Curtis had a movie playing that neither of us were really watching. We were more interested in the active feed of multiple security teams as they swept through the empty Employee Centers, the parking area, and the residential area further up in the island. When Emmett, Lena and Louie arrived, they pretty much did the same thing as Isaac. It was a good thing Curtis had cooked enough for a small army.

Louie took a shower after and straight up passed out in one of the guest rooms but Lena had stayed up with Emmett, compiling notes and annotating security footage for Amanda to review later on. Isaac, who had received a notification from Amanda, had an agent deliver a crate of random android parts and had me stripped and hooked up to a monitoring station once he had taken a shower of his own. 

I didn’t have to look at the monitor to see what he was frowning worriedly at, knowing full well that it was probably some stress-induced code degradation. Curtis, curious at the numbers Isaac was running, started asking questions and, once I had given my consent to share, Isaac answered them worriedly, pointing at red-shaded graphs and a long list of errors that had occurred in my code during the day. I didn’t even notice them happening, since they were all a bunch of tiny glitches that I’d just waved off but put it like how Isaac was viewing them, it was probably a lot.

“Honestly, I don’t know how Amanda got your code to work Cams. The instability alone…it’s a miracle right now that you’re running as well as you are,” Isaac comments as he carefully pulls out a slightly burnt chip from my open chest plate.

Curtis was watching fascinatedly as Isaac smoothly replaced it with a new one. “Okay, I’m not much for software stuff but how on earth does that—” He points at the burnt chip, “—even happen? That’s the fourth microprocessor that you’ve replaced, don’t we have tests specifically to avoid all of this?”

“Here, hold this,” Isaac grabs a soldering iron as Curtis holds the chip in place with some long tweezers. I strangle the urge to look down at my open chest, uneasy at the sensation and definitely unwilling to watch as they essentially conduct open heart surgery on me or whatever. “Cams’ code isn’t exactly…hmmm, how do I say it?”

There was a pause as Isaac concentrates on soldering the chip back in place. Once he’s taken a breath, he completes his thought. “I want to say that her code is super buggy and it results in some of her hardware overloading and shorting some of her parts, especially during high stress. But…” Isaac squints at nothing in particular, “I don’t know, it almost seems like some of her bugs are deliberate? Or maybe she just isn’t compatible with the body which is weird by itself because what kind of body would she have been made for that needs periodic air intake? Which was one of the results of the code bugs I had patched over by the way.”

It was a good thing I could manually put on a neutral expression because Isaac was…technically on point. I really wasn’t compatible with the body but it was as close as I could get with the technology we have. Thanks Amanda! Also good to know that my breathing was now obsolete and I only had to let air out of my vents when I got too heated up. 

“What did Amanda make you for?” Curtis asks as leans over me, though it felt more like he wasn’t expecting me to answer. It sounded more like he was wondering out loud.

I answered anyway: “I don’t know, you will have to ask Amanda for that.” Never mind that Amanda didn’t actually create me, and how they got that impression, I’m not sure. Isaac walks Curtis through what counts as android first aid as he closes me up and they were still discussing a prototype of something or other by the time I was sitting up and putting a shirt back on (I just turned back my skin on once I had clothes on).

“Anyway miniboss, I’ll have to talk to Amanda about my findings since I’ll need clarification on some things first before we get back to you. But as an initial step, I think we’ll need to do some code cleanup to get you back up to a hundred percent,” Isaac informs me, disconnecting wires from my neck port as he hands me a pack of thirium. “We’ll get rid of some garbage data and probably add a framework to stabilize your code and automatically circumvent some of the recurring bugs. What else, what else…I’ll probably have to get a team to work on a prototype driver to prevent more hardware failures caused by sustained stress like what happened these past few days. It should help with the desyncing issue. Of course, that means getting more people in the know to work on you.”

The curious look Isaac sends me prompts me to consider his proposal. “I mean, Amanda will still get the final say, but I personally don’t mind more people working on it—on me.” I mean, as long as it helps stabilize me right? At this point, I really have nothing else to lose.

Isaac pats my shoulder decisively, “Good, I’ll bring it up with the big boss. Go drink your juice.” Isaac turns and throws away his gloves while Curtis starts cleaning up the thirium stains from the tools they used. I start sipping my thirium just as Lena and Emmett finish up on their end.

“I’m beat, man,” Lena yawns, stretching and rubbing at her eyes. She stands up from the couch, doing a few quick stretches. Emmett monitors the datapads as he cleans up the coffee table and I take a quick peek remotely to check what the progress bar was about. Looks like they were uploading the data they worked on to the network. I send a few of my Legion to speed it up and double encrypt it for Amanda.

“I have your rooms cleaned and ready. I stored some extra blankets and pillows in the closet,” I tell them both. Curtis and Isaac had already decided to take the room with the bunk bed so the remaining private room would go to Lena, which she had already slept in yesterday anyway.

“I’ll take the couch tonight Camila,” Emmett tells me and I worry for a bit that he was too tall for it lengthwise, even though it was a pull-out couch. I tell him so and he waves it off, “That’s fine, this is already cozier than usual for me. Besides, I’m still on guard duty overnight; I’m a light sleeper and I’ll wake up easy if anyone tries getting in. The living room is the closest to the entrance so I’ll be first contact.”

“If you’re sure,” I say a bit dubiously, measuring the bed against his height again, before running to get extra pillows and blankets.

“I’m sure,” he assures me when I return to dump the blankets on the couch before taking hold of my shoulders and physically turning me around to push me away in the direction of the rooms. I was too surprised by the motion to go against it. “Go, I’ll take care of the lights here, and you’ll need your rest for the debrief tomorrow, well, later technically.” Which was true enough. 

We exchange good nights, me waving him off and him messing up my hair again . Just as I turn the corner to the hallway to the bedrooms, I look back one last time to see him turn on the television to low volume while unpacking his gun case on the coffee table and prepping them. A little alarming to see but I also should have expected it. I don’t think there’ll be anything that will happen tonight but I suppose better safe than sorry. 

I make my way to my room, locking the door behind me and changing into pajamas before climbing into bed. I take a few minutes to stare blankly at the ceiling, just feeling the mental fatigue hit me from the stressful past few days. It was going to be stressful the next few days too, I could just feel it. I ping Overseer from the network and it takes a full minute before he pings back, asking if there was something I needed. I think he’s got the Axel body in the residential area. I message him to say that I just wanted to say good night and he sends a quick ‘rest well then, we’ll talk later’ before following it up with a little ‘ :) ‘. 

Distantly, I hear the others puttering about in their chosen rooms, Lena calling out something indistinguishable from the bathroom and Curtis replying with something. I plug in to charge and it’s to the quiet sound of activity in my apartment that I fall into recharge to.