#android!gavin

-

When arriving at his flat at the top level of the apartment building, it seems he hadn’t been the only one who had had reservations about taking the android there: His cats were sitting on the spiral staircase to the small attic that was basically their lair to greet him, but the moment the android entered, they were sniffing him sceptically. ‘You have cats?’, Gavin asked, crouching down and letting them sniff his hands that without doubt didn’t smell any different than the rest of his body would to the cats. Still the motion was something Richard would have expected of someone who knew his way around them, not an old android. ‘Yes. Sammy and Luis. Do you like cats?’ ‘I do, even if they only like me for warmth’, Gavin grinned. ‘I worked at a pet shelter for a while. Memories I tried to keep through the wipe. But only the cats stayed with me.’ ‘Well, does any cat like you for more than warmth and food?’, Richard chuckled and decided to leave the android with the two.

‘They do, actually’, Gavin commented. He looked up, but the human had left for the kitchen. Gavin wasn’t sure if he should follow him, but the cats weren’t finished inspecting him, so he stayed and looked around the flat. It was fairly small with lots of droops at the edges. The building was quite old, but Richard had somehow made the rustic rooms work with a sleek modern interior. He seemed to be a pretty orderly person, although the dinner table was littered with papers. Once the cats had heard their can being opened in the kitchen they had bolted and Gavin walked over to inspect them. ‘So, I am a security risk, but he lets you take case files home?’ ‘The only way I go home on time’, came the answer out of the question, a bit dulled by the wall in between. ‘You really don’t have anything else going on in your life, do you?’ ‘Rude’, the human grunted, putting something in the microwave by the sound of it. Then he appeared in the doorframe. ‘But also true. Work, the cats and my brother. But I’m content with that. A quiet, relaxing life.’ Gavin shrugged and took one of the papers in his hand. ‘I don’t know if I can adapt to that.’

Richard had wanted to say something, but the microwave pinged, and he decided to get his food first. He sat down, but Gavin remained standing. ‘Did you never had any downtimes? I mean how often can an android go in for repairs? I guess you weren’t the only one to be used for replacement?’ ‘I did have downtime’, Gavin nodded, dropping the paper. ‘But I spent that in stasis. When awake I was always working. Androids don’t have to relax, as humans do.’ ‘Is being idle bad for you then?’ Gavin shrugged. ‘I don’t think so. We were built to work though, so being idle for us is just waiting for a task.’ ‘If it helps, I can bring home some more case files for you. Then we could compare in the evening?’ ‘If that’s what you want me to do.’ ‘What do you want?’, Richard asked. Gavin stared at him. Did this human really not understand? ‘I am an android. I don’t want anything.’ ‘And still you told me you didn’t want to go back.’ The android shook his head and finally sat down. ‘That’s something you concluded’, he mumbled.

Richard’s meal was half forgotten by now. This android was so much more different than the others he had met. ‘You really are fascinating’, he said. ‘You say you don’t want anything, but your programmed body language implies something entirely different. I really would like to talk to your programmer…’ Gavin lifted a brow. ‘Yeah, me too. Question is just which one of them.’ The cat that suddenly jumped on his lap surprised him, but he smiled. ‘With every job I got a new code block, a new extension to my programming or something that overwrote it completely. I was a different personality for each one of them, and some was simply never removed afterwards. I still have some software issues sometimes where I can basically decide which code to follow.’ ‘And how do you make that decision?’, Richard asked between two bites. ‘Well, usually with the one that has the best consequences. Although sometimes I cannot know, then I just decide at random.’

‘I don’t think androids are supposed to work like this.’ Gavin laughed. ‘No, they are not, but I don’t think anything considering myself is as it’s supposed to be.’ He stretched out his arm and retracted his synthskin to prove it. It was a patchwork of different hull pieces: his upper forearm was black and heavily reinforced. ‘This was the modification they made for the police job’, he said. ‘As if that would help.’ Then he pointed to his upper arm, where the hull was completely absent and only the chassis was visible with cables running along the beams. A small box protruded that was wielded to one of them. ‘Universal card reader’, he said. ‘So I could work retail without interfacing.’ The only thing original on my arm is the underside with my interface cable, else they couldn’t upgrade me.’ Richard was staring at the arm, mesmerized seeing the technology like this. He had never seen more of their actual body than a hand on Hank and Hendrik when they interfaced. And they had been pristine shiny white. ‘Fascinating.’

He meant what he had said, but the android let the synthskin reappear and stayed silent. Richard cleaned the dishes and the cats’ litterboxes, then told Gavin, who was still sitting at the table like he had left him: ‘I will likely watch a movie, then go to bed. Feel free to do whatever you feel like doing.’ For the remainder of the evening, the android stayed at the table and was still there when Richard left for bed.

-

It stayed like this for a while. Gavin, not having any instructions, sat at the table or stood somewhere, whenever Richard was home. But the papers on the dinner table started becoming more sorted and laid neatly aligned with the edges after a few days. The cats started to get used to the machine and some mornings, Richard found him laying on the couch, both cats on his chest purring. ‘They seem to like the vibrations of my thirium pump and my warmth’, Gavin had said, almost as if defensive about finally deciding to occupy space in the apartment.

After a week, Gavin started talking to him about the cases. ‘These… deviants. What are they?’, he asked. ‘I found that description several times in these files, but I have never heard that before.’ Richard had looked up from his pasta. ‘We call androids that can disobey direct orders from their handlers deviants.’ ‘But that is impossible’, Gavin said. ‘We can’t disobey.’ ‘Well, they can. Got a few cases of handlers being murdered by their androids after mistreatment. Or androids that disappear from their workplace in factories. Cyberlife believes it is a virus, but they don’t know for sure either.’ ‘And you are investigating these cases.’ ‘Yes. I was in missing persons before, my brother was on the Red-Ice team. With the two androids send our way from Cyberlife and the rise in these cases we had to switch over to the deviancy phenomenon.’ ‘Would be interesting to know if this virus works on me.’

Richard frowned. ‘Why? Am I that bad?’ ‘No. Just. If I’m not affected, I could work on your case directly without risk instead of having to rely on these papers.’ ‘You really want to work on this? It looked like it put quite some strain on you when you actually did that.’ ‘That’s what I actually liked about working for the police’, he shrugged and leaned down to pet Sammy, who was walking by. ‘An interesting challenge.’

Since then, Richard had tried smuggling home more recent evidence and Gavin had spent night and day analysing the data. It had become a habit to sit together at the dinner table every evening and go over what theories he and the android had. It was so much more interesting with Gavin than with the HKs at the station. The GV had interesting input, having worked many of the jobs deviants predominantly came from. Jobs humans didn’t want to do if it wasn’t for the money and jobs the social environment or background wasn’t the best.

When Gavin had mentioned he was able to decide more freely which of his many patchwork programs to follow if his stress-levels were high, it was a small breakthrough. Most of these androids had showed high activity pre-deviation. Unable to determine the best way to please a drugged-up human that acted irrational and actively started damaging the unit, caused this. Gavin had explained it as trying to calculate a strategy and having to abort those calculations all the time as the base variables changed constantly. Something that had left himself in disarray a few times if he was handed to impatient people who told him forget it and do something else when he had nearly been finished. The android had guessed that if the reason he had a higher degree of freedom was that he had several sets of programming, maybe that was what the deviancy virus was. A foreign program that allowed androids to disobey when pushed to the boundaries of their capacity. What left Richard with the question how this program had been transmitted to all these androids.

Something he still brooded about the next days. He had told Connor and the HKs about their findings and while his brother seemed happy about some progress, the androids just got to work.

-

Weeks passed without any new clues, just more questions. They had found multiple cases where the androids obsessed over something called RA9. Neither any of them, nor Gavin had any clue what it could be.

And then the protests started. Androids claiming to be alive rallied the streets, seemingly popping up out of nowhere and disappearing just as quickly as they had come. Deviancy wasn’t something affecting just a few androids, but a widespread virus causing the bots to go haywire, leaving from one moment to the next. Deviants Richard and Connor had apprehended behaved so much more human it was borderline uncanny valley. Several evenings Richard went to bed asking himself if he did the right thing, only then reminding himself that they were machines, designed to look human, but definitely not human. They were malfunctioning, nothing else.

But then the next morning, he would find Gavin at the table reading and excitedly telling him his next conclusion. Or he would come home to Gavin cuddling with his cats and no android had the need to do that, right? What was machine about that? It all had started to blur at the edges, and everything had suddenly become complicated. Especially when the androids at work started to change, too. HK900 still was the same as when he had first met him: strictly logical and focussed on only the mission. But Hank… The older model had suddenly started getting along with Connor. There certainly was some level of friendship there, Richard couldn’t understand. The way the HK400 didn’t just work to complete his mission but also seemed to care for his brother.

Or maybe Richard could understand.

Because when they implemented the curfew and started shooting androids in the streets, Richard’s first thought was to text his old phone he had left home for the android. Gavin. Please stay inside the flat at all times. It dangerous outside for you. He didn’t think Gavin would go out anyways, but he couldn’t know for sure what he was up to when he himself wasn’t home. He had never told him not to do it after all.

‘Rich!’ ‘Hm?’ He looked up from the phone and barely managed to catch his coat Connor was throwing towards him. ‘We have to go out. Hostage situation at a Cyberlife store!’ Richard looked a last time at his phone. No answer from Gavin. ‘Come on, we have to go!’ ‘Yeah, I’m coming!’

-

When Gavin got the text, he sighed and almost hadn’t answered. It was all over the news, so Richard really didn’t have to remind him again. But it was… it was nice to know the human cared to tell him personally. Not that he would have gone out anyways. He wasn’t ordered to, so he continued to sift through older cases to find something they had missed. They had piled up quite a bit, so it was very possible hurried reading and scanning had led to some oversights.

In the background he had the TV running to keep updated on the news. This was all tied to their- to Richard’s case after all. He didn’t pay it any mind until the news-reporter said: ‘It seems the police has just arrived at the sight. There are currently three employees and a costumer held hostage by deviant androids in the shop. The androids have requested to be allowed to leave without the police following them in exchange for the hostages.

Gavin frowned. Androids demanding something from humans. This virus really was impressive. He turned around out of curiosity and froze when he saw Richard exiting the car. Connor followed, turning around to order the two HKs to stay at the car by the looks of it. By now Gavin had stood up and walked over to the sofa. Both cats interested in the sudden activity had stood up and followed him. ‘One of the officers seems to be entering the building’, the reporter commented the video taken by a drone.

Without meaning to, Gavin had buried his hands in the backrest of the couch and squeezed. When Connor suddenly started running towards the building, Gavin knew something was wrong. Just a moment later, a shot rang through the air and Connor fell to the ground. Then the drone footage was cut, and Gavin could only listen to the shocked reporter.

All he knew was that Richard was in that building, Connor was shot, and the HKs couldn’t go near the building because they were told to stay at the car. Even if they were programmed to help Connor in this situation, they couldn’t go inside the store without the danger of catching the virus themselves and changing sides. And when the deviants had no qualms shooting Connor, Gavin didn’t think Richard would fare much better.

He had to go. He was the one with the lowest chance of catching the virus due to his age and… and… Richard needed help. He was telling himself that the police must have already send in backup, but at the same time, he just couldn’t stay here and wait.

Except he had to. For the first time in quite a while, Richard had given him a clear order. To stay inside. But it was a text. Anyone could have sent it from Richard’s phone. It didn’t have to be Richard. Even if the human never gave his phone to anyone. Also, the message had started with a “please” and that could mean it was more a request than an order. Or Richard wanted him there but just couldn’t tell him. Or- Gavin shook his head. He had made his decision already and was out of the door.

-

‘To the back where we can see you!’ ‘You do know you certainly won’t get your escape shooting an officer and keeping another hostage, right?’ ‘Shut up!’ Richard was shoved back towards the other hostages. It had been a foolish thing to do to enter the building hoping to speak with them. Just because he was good with androids didn’t mean he was good with deviants. And they were desperate, that much was clear. Any android out on the street would be shot, so deviating inside a guarded Cyberlife shop wasn’t the best way for a rogue android to come into the world.

He didn’t try to talk to them again, knowing it was futile anyways. He stood there and watched how the apparent leader of the deviants moved to the entrance. Richard leaned to the side trying to see beyond the android. The shot hadn’t looked to bad, but seeing how Connor still laid on the ground, he wasn’t so sure anymore. One of the HKs was at his side already while the other stood behind him, weapon drawn. If Richard had to guess it was Hank that lifted him up and carried him to the car to speed off. It was definitely the HK900 approaching with his gun aimed at the leader. ‘Let the hostages go and no one has to be deactivated.’

‘A lie!’, the leader called out. ‘We will die the moment we let them go!’ Richard had hoped the talk had distracted the other androids, but no, they were still watching their every moment. ‘Leave! And we will leave the hostages tied up here for you when you come back!’ Hendrik shook his head. ‘I’m sorry, I can’t-‘

A smaller figure slammed into the side of the HK900 and wrestled for the gun. With the element of surprise they had the advantage and got it in mere seconds. Then they stormed towards the store and Richard was quick to recognise the man as his very own android, Gavin. The ancient android sprinted towards the leader and stopped at an arm’s length from the deviant, weapon armed at his thirium pump. ‘Give me my human, dipshit!’

The deviant blinked, then grabbed Gavin’s arm, skin retracting. He frowned when nothing happened. ‘Yeah, guess what you phcktwat, I can’t interface. Now I would be very careful about your next move, because I can end you with one finger.’ ‘My people would kill you afterwards.’ ‘You can’t kill what’s not alive and believe me, I’m active longer than your collective lifespan, so respect your elders and give me my human!’

‘You have to understand, we just want to be free. We just want to flee, stay away from humans.’ Gavin rolled his eyes. ‘Listen, idiot. If you wanted to do that, you should have stayed low until the humans were gone. Then break the glass and run for it. Do you really think with this much attention you’ve drawn to yourself they would let you go? You shot a cop. If you are really careful now, they might only bring you to the camps and not shoot you on the spot. But you have lost the moment you started all of this.’

The deviant finally let his hand drop. ‘What about you? You clearly are deviant. Why are you siding with them?’ ‘I’m not deviant’, Gavin said. ‘I don’t phcking know what I am anymore. The only thing I know is that this human sided with me, so that’s where I will stay. Now, let me offer you this: You let all hostages go and my human will make sure you are sent to the camps, not killed the moment you set foot out of this building. It’s the best deal you get at the moment, I would take it.’

He never even looked over to Richard to see if what he said was even possible. He kept fierce eye-contact with the leader of the deviants and waited it out. If deviants hadn’t lost all of their logic with the virus, he would take it. ‘Give me your word!’, the other demanded. ‘My word doesn’t have much weight’, Gavin answered. ‘Just a machine.’ ‘Then give me yours!’, the android turned to Richard, who swallowed and nodded. ‘Alright.’ He lifted his hands in defeat. ‘Go!’

The hostages left the shop and were taken to the waiting paramedics, while Richard spoke to the police. Gavin stood next to the HK900 and silently handed him his pistol back. He watched the human argue in a heated debate, but apparently, he had convinced them, as the androids were taken, not killed. Gavin sighed. ‘Are you a deviant?’, the HK900 asked suddenly, and he looked up to him. In the end he shrugged and said: ‘I don’t know. I don’t think I am. I’m just a bit malfunctioning, I guess.’ ‘Well, good that you are, then.’ Gavin frowned and watched the HK900 wander off. But he didn’t have much time as Richard was walking towards him and gesturing to the car. Once driving, he relaxed and said: ‘Okay, so after today, I really have to ask Fowler to have you on the team. Hell, hadn’t you been there…’ ‘Your partner would have shot all the deviants. You would have been safe.’ ‘Maybe…’

They stayed quiet for a while, driving back to the precinct.