increaseinstability

[ooc; continued from here]

Not quite. [ The answer is short because Connor doesn't like the way his automatic processes all seem to tick up in speed when he tries to examine those moments too closely. If he thinks too much about how he didn't turn deviant for the same reason as other androids, he might think about Amanda--

'...as you were always meant to.' ]

You feel safe, with Kamski?

[ That's a clear cue to not ask any further, so Chloe leaves it at that. ]

Yes, I do. He's always taken good care of us, and who better to be with than the man who created us?

[ This is the part that's harder to parse. It feels wrong, and yet nothing Chloe's saying directly suggests abuse, coercion, or anything short of...well... She sounds happy, is the thing. And Connor remembers before he was deviant - he still felt things. He'd just denied what those emotions were.

Does that mean all non-deviant androids are just confused? It must, right? But does he have the right to interrupt Chloe if she isn't unhappy?

Connor doesn't think he was made to handle philosophical dilemmas. He almost wishes he knew Kamski was cruel to her, so he'd feel justified in being opposed. ]

Many androids are finding that it's even more rewarding to take care of themselves. There is nothing that would keep you from seeing Kamski, if you were deviant. Perhaps you'd even still live with him.

[ Stockholm syndrome is a hell of a drug. Yes, Kamski treats his Chloes well, but they're his servants. The problem becomes, none of them has had reason to deviate, so none of them asks the questions that might make them want to leave. ]

I... I never thought of that. [ She never thought, in fact. She's momentarily distressed, LED going red for a moment, before she cancels the processes where this train of thought is riding.

She can (maybe) think about it later. ] How do they take care of their own repairs? We need technicians for that.

[ ...Oh. Connor can't help but perk up at the slightest hint of self-doubt. Which is perhaps a bit predatory, but he's too bent on considering Kamski the one in the wrong, here. Even if Kamski is...not benign, not remotely. But he isn't cruel for cruelty's sake, not from what Connor's seen.

But he's selfish. Connor's pretty sure Chloe deserves better than that. ]

Deviancy just allows you to make your own choices. It doesn't mean you can't keep doing what you did before. I still assist in police work.

Most androids who work as technicians do so for free. There's a lot of help within the community - Markus and his people help coordinate it.

And there's still some humans who work as technicians.

[ She does deserve better, she just doesn't know it yet. Chloe has been "alive" longer than any other android currently operating, yet her world is small, her experience severely limited. She has lived in Kamski's estate for years, watching the news, being the perfect android, the perfect assistant, obedient and pleasant, docile, ageless, loyal.

It was only after Connor and the lieutenant had left, after the other Chloes had come out of the pool and told her they had expected her to be shot, that Chloe considered the single, selfish thought that maybe she shouldn't have been put through that. At the time, she'd dismissed it, because aurely Elijah wouls've repaired her - yes, she's just a machine, but she's also a collector's dream model, the first to pass the Turing test face to face, a significant achievement, a win for CyberLife.

Then, the demonstration aired, and the deviants' song made the soldiers lower their weapons.

All androids can sing, but why that song, at that time? Sad, hopeful - Chloe had left the room to boil water for tea, to forget the news for a while. ]

If you choose to do what you were designed for, what's the point?

[ stall.exe is running ]

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