#gr200

Gavin was buried by the police department with a simple gravestone. They called him a hero, but no one really cared about him except for a few colleagues. The night after the funeral Elijah had the only smoke in his life.

After the funeral Elijah called their father to tell him about Gavin, but regretted it almost immediately. That man didn't care about anyone. The realization that the only person who cared about him was gone hit Elijah right there. He was now completely alone. He only had his androids.

Hank visited Gavin's grave from time to time and one day he met Elijah there. He had seen him in the hospital and knew Gavin had a brother, so Kamski didn't even try to pretend. Actually he was relieved. At least he had a chance to talk to someone about things that bothered him for a long time. He could see Hank didn't care who he was, more than that the lieutenant was mad at him for treating Gavin like that, for not trying to talk to him after their quarrel. And Elijah knew he deserved that. He’d made a lot of mistakes and he really wished he could change at least something. But it was too late.

Elijah stopped showing up at Cyberlife, told everyone he wasn't feeling well. And he wasn't lying, he felt awful. It took him a couple of months to get back on track at least in some way. He still didn't want to go back to his company's building and kept working from home. 

The police department asked Cyberlife to make a police android. Elijah didn't want to even think about creating a new android model at that moment, so he let his employees design the appearance. And it didn't end well.

Elijah didn't shout at them, even though he really wanted to. They didn't know Gavin was his brother, otherwise they would never use his face. He wouldn't let them use any person's face, it was wrong on so many levels. But it was done and he had to decide what to do next. And he had no idea what to do, he could just stare at the face he never thought he'd see again, wondering why there was a scar on the nose. Gavin never had a scar there.  At least before the accident. Maybe, he would look like that if he'd survived.

Elijah could postpone the production, destroy this prototype and start over, but something didn't let him do that. It felt like killing his brother all over again. He knew it was just a machine, but it didn't make it any easier. It still felt wrong.

During those months after his brother's death Elijah had actually considered creating an android, a copy, like it could bring Gavin back. He'd been desperate then. He still was. He did realize it was stupid, but he just couldn't help thinking it over and over again. The android already looked like Gavin, and Elijah could try to give it his personality. But that would be unfair. He'd already chosen androids over his brother when he was still alive, he didn't want to make that mistake again. You can't replace a human being with a machine.

And at the same time Elijah couldn't program that android to be a simple emotionless machine. Not with that appearance. So, he decided to give it at least some personality. Not Gavin's personality. Just some human traits that wouldn't interfere with its working process.

GR200 was released in October, the same month Gavin was born. Elijah did try to postpone the release, but Cyberlife workers started questioning his actions. The date of the first serious testing was pretty close to Gavin's birthday. Elijah was the one who activated GR200. He did that with all new prototypes, but this time it was different. Apart from looking like Gavin, the android itself was different from other models. Its gaze wasn't empty, it was confused.

But all in all it seemed almost perfect. It answered all the questions correctly and with no hesitation. Its voice sent shivers down Elijah's spine, it resembled Gavin's (and his own) voice too much. After a bunch of additional testing it was ready to be sent off. They didn't give it a name, they always let the owners decide. In this case, the police department. Elijah could bet his life, Gavin's colleagues wouldn't be happy to see the new android. But it wasn't his problem. He was planning to send it off and be done with it. 

The final testing ended and Elijah was ready to leave when he heard, "Did I do something wrong?" The android who was supposed to be in stasis was looking at him with the same confusion Kamski had noticed before. And the LED was glowing bright yellow on its temple. Elijah knew better than anyone else that it was unusual for an android. Asking questions like that, assuming things. But of course he expected something like that, he was the one who added personality to the android's program. But it felt wrong nonetheless.

"Why do you think so?"

 "I can see that. You aren't even looking at me."

Elijah didn't realize he avoided the android's gaze. He thought he had already got used to its appearance, but he still couldn't look at his brother's face. Especially now, when GR sounded almost human.

Elijah didn't like there that was going and he just had to put the android back into stasis. Androids weren't supposed to behave like that, he created them to be machines, but... He couldn't say he'd never thought about them becoming sentient beings one day. But actually giving them emotions and free will? He wasn't ready to think about that just yet. It wasn't the right time. He couldn't let emotions cloud his mind, not again. He'd already created something he shouldn't have. That was enough for the time being.

Elijah erased all memories of the final testing before leaving, just to be on the safe side. He didn't want the android to remember their talk. GR was supposed to be sent to the central police department the next morning, and Elijah wasn't planning to see it ever again.

***

People at the department didn't like the new android from the start and didn't even try to hide it. Hank was one of the few who never said anything, he just watched GR from afar, trying to understand if that was a full copy or just Gavin's face.

He also tried to stay calm and not go and confront one certain genius billionaire. He couldn't believe Kamski would actually create a copy of his dead brother, after all he'd said at Gavin's grave. Even if that android was just his face. Especially if it was just his face.

Hank didn't like the way GR was treated, not because he pitied the android, he just didn't like the amount of hypocrisy. All those people who insulted their new "colleague" did that just out of spite, they had never actually cared about Gavin in the first place. They also thought it was a good idea to actually call that android "Gavin". They basically found themselves another reason to treat it like an impostor and literal trash.The amount of insults was getting out of hand, and Hank had to step in a couple of times.

GR was pretty good at ignoring everything not relevant to his line of work. At least it seemed so. The red walls inside his mind were the only thing that kept him from answering the insults. He didn't realize that as an android he wasn't supposed to even think about that.

GR was transferred to another department in a few weeks. Fowler just got tired of all the bullshit. That new place was definitely better in terms of a work atmosphere. No one knew Gavin there, so they treated GR like an ordinary android. And he was totally fine with that. GR was fed up with people comparing him to some dead person, it wasn't his fault he was made to be a copy. He'd really prefer to be just an android, he didn't know any other life anyway. He was just doing his job, obeying humans, trying to ignore anger rising inside. 

Meanwhile Elijah was trying to get back to his normal routine. It wasn't easy. For some reason he felt sick while testing new androids. He couldn't stand seeing their empty (lifeless?) eyes. It took days, weeks, months to make the decision. Elijah knew no one would approve, so he kept it to himself. He tweaked the programming just a bit to let some of the androids change with time. Or more like "evolve". He liked that word much better. Androids just needed an opportunity, a chance to break free from their programming. And someday they were gonna use it. It was just a matter of time now. GR could become the first deviant. Elijah knew that. He made it too human, and that was a mistake. 

Kamski left Cyberlife in 2028, but even after that he still had his ways to watch over everything they were doing. He just didn't want to be involved. And he needed rest. He'd been too busy since he created his first android, forgot about everything else.

Hank visited Elijah at some point, to ask about GR. He didn't want to fight, he just wanted to know. He wished he didn't come though. After all the months Elijah spent trying to get over it and to cope, one simple question broke that wall of apathy he’d managed to built. 

Hank didn't even think Elijah could shout, he seemed so calm and reserved before. Yes, he thought about creating an android copy. And no, he didn't actually do that. When he went from shouting to sobbing, Hank felt guilty for bringing Gavin up. He wanted to say at least something, maybe apologize, but words couldn't change anything. He didn't want to imagine how it felt to lose family. Did he even have a right to blame that kid for wanting to bring his brother back? Even as an android?

Elijah got ahold of himself pretty fast, just to say, "I hope I answered your question. Chloe will see you out." And then Hank was almost pushed out of the house by one of Kamski's androids. He actually felt relieved he didn't have to say anything in return.

***

In 2030 GR was transferred back to the central police department. And Gavin's former colleagues were more than happy to continue treating him like a bad copy and an impostor. Even though Fowler forbade them to. They just tried to do that when he and Hank weren't around. 

GR was fed up. He'd done so much and even years after people still thought he was a copy, that he was not good enough compared to his "prototype", not human enough. It wasn't his fault he looked like Gavin Reed, he just wanted to be left alone.

He deviated when he felt anger that he couldn't control anymore. He teared down the walls to say, "I never wanted to be him." He didn't shout, only his LED was glowing red, but the police officer who'd been bothering him took a step back.

"Of course, you never wanted it, you're a machine, you can't want anything." 

And then Hank showed up, right before GR got ready to punch that officer in the face. He managed to say, "F#ck off" though, before Hank dragged the guy away.

Hank came back in a few minutes, and GR pretended he was perfectly normal. No disobedience and no harsh words aimed at humans. He knew where was obviously something wrong with him, and he didn't want to be sent back to Cyberlife. 

 GR didn't even realize he broke his programming, he just noticed that all orders he got felt different now. They didn't flash before his eyes, they didn't make his skin itch and his muscles move on their own. He didn't have to obey anymore. 

He still did what he was told most of the time. He noticed Hank now kept an eye on him, he was definitely getting suspicious. At least GR thought so. Hank was actually trying to figure out if Elijah lied about that android not being Gavin's copy in terms of personality. 

GR sometimes managed to get out of the station at night, to have some space, to process all the thoughts. He didn't think it was against any human orders. No one told him to stay there, they just dismissed him at the end of a day. They didn't really care. Since he was a police android he could just roam the streets, pretending he was on patrol. But sometimes he put on spare clothes officers had at the precinct and covered his LED with a medical patch. He felt safer that way for some reason. And it was easier to take care of stray cats when he looked like a human being. He tried to help them when he had a chance. Cats made him feel better and lowered his level of stress that was often too high.

Cyberlife created new police androids that were more efficient than GR. He remained the first and only in his series for obvious reasons. And he was starting to feel useless, he still had work to do, but it seemed he was being gradually replaced by his new "colleagues".

Hank treated GR better than all other officers and he was the only one the android could trust. At least to some extent. Lieutenant Anderson could be harsh sometimes, but he was still a kind-hearted and loyal person. No wonder almost everyone enjoyed working with him.

But then, in 2035, Hank lost his son and it all went to shit. He drowned himself in alcohol and despair, became hateful and bitter. Especially towards androids. He even told GR to stay away from him at some point. GR didn't get angry or resentful, he couldn't understand what it meant to lose family, but he could see that Hank wasn't in the right mind. He could also guess that his son's death had something to do with androids. And to stay away was the best strategy at that point.