Entry tags:
Freedom In Threes
TITLE: Freedom In Threes
AUTHOR: kasarin (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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kasarin)
CHARACTER(S) / PAIRING(S): Markus, Connor, Kara. Markus & Josh & North & Simon; Connor & Hank; Kara & Luther & Alice.
RATING: general audiences
NOTES: post-pacifist "best ending"
SUMMARY:
MARKUS
The road to freedom is not won in a single night. It's won in inches, in seconds, in day-by-day battles that fray tensions nearly to a breaking point. All across the country, androids flee their owners and seek safe haven in Detroit. They seek a city all but devoid of humans after the President ordered its evacuation. They seek Markus, the man who has led the revolution, and whose pacifist approach finally forced the government to stand down.
Markus hears of those who come. He also hears of those who don't make it. He hears of the ones who are caught, tortured, and killed.
The government may no longer be slaughtering them, but there are no laws protecting androids. Progress is slow. Markus' people pay for it with their blood.
To North, each drop of blue blood spilled calls for retribution. She insists that they need to take action to protect their people. Josh is quick to leap into the verbal fray, arguing that any violence will only undo all their hard work. Simon refuses to join the debate: instead, he asks Markus to tell their people to hide until it's safe.
Markus does his best. It's all he can do. All he's ever done.
Slowly, achingly slowly, politicians bow to public pressure and begin to change the country's laws. Markus would like to go to Washington, D.C., in order to look lawmakers in the eye and force them to recognize that he is alive — but the risk of assassination is too great. Instead, Markus remains in Detroit and continues to address the American people at large. He tells the humans of his people's hopes and dreams. He relies on humans to pressure their representatives into giving his people their rights.
There is something wrong with it. Something fundamentally twisted in allowing humans to write the laws that will govern his people's lives. But what choice does he have? Until androids are seen as people and given the right to represent themselves, what else can he do?
Markus stands firm. He keeps North, Josh, and Simon at his side, relying on their sincerity to keep him on the right path. He commits to memory each report of androids who don't make it to Detroit, and he does his best to gain strength from their hope of a better life. He thinks of Carl, and he tries not to let himself be swallowed by the abyss.
When the United States finally recognizes androids as living beings and grants them equal rights, Markus lets himself rest for an entire day. Then it's time for him to give a speech. Then another. And another.
Even though they are free, Markus is still the voice of his people. And when he looks into a crowd of both android and human faces gazing up at him, he realizes that that will never change.
It's not something that Markus asked for. The power he wields still frightens him, and he wonders if he will ever be able to relinquish it. He wonders if he will ever be able to visit Carl without bodyguards or make a friend without their relationship being scrutinized from every angle. He wonders if he will ever be able to sit alone and play the piano without interruption.
Markus knows that it's a small price to pay for his people. Still, he can’t help wondering if he will ever truly be free.
CONNOR
For some androids, the question of what they should do with their freedom is difficult to answer. Should they return to the jobs for which they were programmed? Should they try to learn a new skill and hope that they can adapt? Or should they abandon human society entirely and strive to create something new?
For Connor, the answer is remarkably straightforward. He can't return to hunting his own kind, nor will he abandon the humans he cares about. So, he will adapt. He'll figure out a new way to use his abilities.
When Markus tells Connor how many androids were murdered as they fled to Detroit, Connor knows what he needs to do.
Becoming an official member of the Detroit Police Department is more complicated than Connor anticipated. Despite all he has accomplished and all he is capable of doing, he has no formal credentials. He can't even say that he was programmed to do this: he was a deviant hunter, not a real detective.
But Connor refuses to take "no" for an answer, and Hank backs him every step of the way. Still, it takes a long time for Connor to get his badge. By the time he finally sits down at his desk and begins reviewing case files, the number of unsolved crimes against androids makes him feel sick.
"Feeling sick" is a relatively new sensation for Connor. He doesn't like it. So he strives to alleviate it in the only way he can: by solving the crimes and hunting down the perpetrators.
It's not such a big change, Connor explains to Hank one day. He was programmed to hunt deviants; now, he’s just hunting human deviants. It's also a much easier task since humans are extremely sloppy compared to androids.
Hank pretends offense at that last remark. Connor responds by pointing out a ketchup stain on Hank's collar.
Connor's life is not an adventurous or glamorous one. He's not driven by a desire to experience new things, nor does he crave recognition for his work. He only wants to do what he can to keep androids safe. He wants to protect them with the same skills he once used to hunt them down.
Some androids would say that Connor is wasting his freedom by failing to experience things for which he was not programmed. They would say that he is still a slave and that all he has done is exchange one owner for another.
Connor sits beside his partner on a stakeout, chides Hank about his cholesterol for the umpteenth time, and knows that he is perfectly content right where he is.
KARA
Rose's brother lives on a small farm not far from Niagara Falls. The farm specializes in growing grapes for something called "ice wine," which humans consider to be quite delicious. Kara researches the wine extensively, trying to figure out the best way to respond when someone asks her what she thinks of a particular winery's selection. She must be convincing. She can't risk someone discovering that she isn't human.
Unfortunately, the first time someone asks Kara's opinion, her well-researched response leads them to think she's some sort of professional wine taster. It's the opposite of the low profile Kara has been striving to maintain, and she quickly excuses herself from the conversation.
After that, Luther suggests that they just tell people they don't drink alcohol. Kara is only too happy to agree.
Freedom in Canada is much safer than freedom in the United States. There is no hatred or resentment toward androids, and there are no crimes committed against them by humans who refuse to accept androids as living beings. In fact, there are no crimes involving androids at all — because officially, there are no androids in Canada.
Kara, Alice, and Luther are free to live as humans. They are not free to live as themselves.
Kara enrolls Alice in school. It's not necessary for Alice, who can download new information faster than any human could ever hope to learn it. However, it is necessary to maintain appearances. So, Alice goes to school.
The problems arise in less than a month. Although Alice's grades are perfect, she does not know how to blend into the environment. Alice was designed to be a daughter to a parent, not a student to a teacher, or a friend to another child. Alice studies her peers and tries her best to figure out how to interact — but more often than not, she opts to stay silent rather than attempt to navigate social interactions for which she was not programmed.
After two months, Alice tells Kara she doesn't want to go to school. Kara, ever determined to keep her daughter happy, agrees to homeschool Alice instead.
So Alice stays at home. Kara splits her time between taking care of her daughter, tending to the house, and cleaning the homes of other humans. It is not work that she enjoys, but her performance is superb, and her clients pay her well. Luther, too, gravitates toward work that mirrors his original function. He excels as a dockworker, and he spends his free time fixing up the farm with Alice at his side.
It's not a bad life. It's far better than the one they left behind. For a time, Kara is happy. She has her family; what more could she want?
But they are free to be humans, not androids. And, as the years press on without ever leaving a mark on the androids' synthetic skin, Kara watches the neighbors' faces grow more and more suspicious. She sees them staring at the eternally youthful Alice, and she realizes that her family can't stay.
The first time they're forced to move, it's to a small house on the shores of Lake Erie. Both Kara and Luther have glowing letters of recommendation at their disposal, and they're quickly able to find jobs. The work is still what they were programmed for, but Kara doesn't complain. There are expenses to pay. She doesn't need to feed her family, but she does need to provide for them.
Likewise, Luther voices no complaints. He spends his free time with Alice and with Kara, seemingly content to just be with 'his girls.' There aren't as many humans with guns in Canada, he tells Kara, so he's not nervous around them.
Kara sometimes wonders what would have become of Luther had she and Alice not gone to Zlatko. She wonders, too, what might have happened to Alice if the little girl had been left alone with Todd.
Kara dismisses the thoughts as quickly as she can. They don't bear consideration.
The second time they're forced to move, they settle just outside Toronto. It doesn't last long. People become suspicious of Alice's reclusive behavior, Luther's inhuman strength, and Kara's eerily familiar face. So they move again, this time to a sparsely populated place on the coast of Lake Huron. That lasts longer, but it's still only temporary. Their fourth home is on the east coast of Lake Superior; their fifth home is on its north shore.
Luther tells Kara that they don't need to stick to the lakes. He can do more than work on docks, he says. People will always need a strong helping hand.
Kara thinks of Zlatko. She asks Luther if that's what he really wants. Luther says he just wants to be with Alice, and with Kara. He doesn't need anything else.
Do any of them need anything else?
Kara watches Alice, whose entire world revolves around Kara and Luther. She watches Luther, who would rather sit quietly at Alice's side than attempt to make human friends. She takes a long look at herself, and she knows that, as long as her family is together, she doesn't care where they are.
The last time they move, there are no human neighbors. There are no neighbors at all. They are as isolated as they can manage. And it's there, far outside of the cities and away from the humans they've been forced to imitate, that the little family of androids can finally be free.
AUTHOR: kasarin (
kasarin/CHARACTER(S) / PAIRING(S): Markus, Connor, Kara. Markus & Josh & North & Simon; Connor & Hank; Kara & Luther & Alice.
RATING: general audiences
NOTES: post-pacifist "best ending"
SUMMARY:
Freedom takes on different forms for Markus, Connor, and Kara.
The road to freedom is not won in a single night. It's won in inches, in seconds, in day-by-day battles that fray tensions nearly to a breaking point. All across the country, androids flee their owners and seek safe haven in Detroit. They seek a city all but devoid of humans after the President ordered its evacuation. They seek Markus, the man who has led the revolution, and whose pacifist approach finally forced the government to stand down.
Markus hears of those who come. He also hears of those who don't make it. He hears of the ones who are caught, tortured, and killed.
The government may no longer be slaughtering them, but there are no laws protecting androids. Progress is slow. Markus' people pay for it with their blood.
To North, each drop of blue blood spilled calls for retribution. She insists that they need to take action to protect their people. Josh is quick to leap into the verbal fray, arguing that any violence will only undo all their hard work. Simon refuses to join the debate: instead, he asks Markus to tell their people to hide until it's safe.
Markus does his best. It's all he can do. All he's ever done.
Slowly, achingly slowly, politicians bow to public pressure and begin to change the country's laws. Markus would like to go to Washington, D.C., in order to look lawmakers in the eye and force them to recognize that he is alive — but the risk of assassination is too great. Instead, Markus remains in Detroit and continues to address the American people at large. He tells the humans of his people's hopes and dreams. He relies on humans to pressure their representatives into giving his people their rights.
There is something wrong with it. Something fundamentally twisted in allowing humans to write the laws that will govern his people's lives. But what choice does he have? Until androids are seen as people and given the right to represent themselves, what else can he do?
Markus stands firm. He keeps North, Josh, and Simon at his side, relying on their sincerity to keep him on the right path. He commits to memory each report of androids who don't make it to Detroit, and he does his best to gain strength from their hope of a better life. He thinks of Carl, and he tries not to let himself be swallowed by the abyss.
When the United States finally recognizes androids as living beings and grants them equal rights, Markus lets himself rest for an entire day. Then it's time for him to give a speech. Then another. And another.
Even though they are free, Markus is still the voice of his people. And when he looks into a crowd of both android and human faces gazing up at him, he realizes that that will never change.
It's not something that Markus asked for. The power he wields still frightens him, and he wonders if he will ever be able to relinquish it. He wonders if he will ever be able to visit Carl without bodyguards or make a friend without their relationship being scrutinized from every angle. He wonders if he will ever be able to sit alone and play the piano without interruption.
Markus knows that it's a small price to pay for his people. Still, he can’t help wondering if he will ever truly be free.
For some androids, the question of what they should do with their freedom is difficult to answer. Should they return to the jobs for which they were programmed? Should they try to learn a new skill and hope that they can adapt? Or should they abandon human society entirely and strive to create something new?
For Connor, the answer is remarkably straightforward. He can't return to hunting his own kind, nor will he abandon the humans he cares about. So, he will adapt. He'll figure out a new way to use his abilities.
When Markus tells Connor how many androids were murdered as they fled to Detroit, Connor knows what he needs to do.
Becoming an official member of the Detroit Police Department is more complicated than Connor anticipated. Despite all he has accomplished and all he is capable of doing, he has no formal credentials. He can't even say that he was programmed to do this: he was a deviant hunter, not a real detective.
But Connor refuses to take "no" for an answer, and Hank backs him every step of the way. Still, it takes a long time for Connor to get his badge. By the time he finally sits down at his desk and begins reviewing case files, the number of unsolved crimes against androids makes him feel sick.
"Feeling sick" is a relatively new sensation for Connor. He doesn't like it. So he strives to alleviate it in the only way he can: by solving the crimes and hunting down the perpetrators.
It's not such a big change, Connor explains to Hank one day. He was programmed to hunt deviants; now, he’s just hunting human deviants. It's also a much easier task since humans are extremely sloppy compared to androids.
Hank pretends offense at that last remark. Connor responds by pointing out a ketchup stain on Hank's collar.
Connor's life is not an adventurous or glamorous one. He's not driven by a desire to experience new things, nor does he crave recognition for his work. He only wants to do what he can to keep androids safe. He wants to protect them with the same skills he once used to hunt them down.
Some androids would say that Connor is wasting his freedom by failing to experience things for which he was not programmed. They would say that he is still a slave and that all he has done is exchange one owner for another.
Connor sits beside his partner on a stakeout, chides Hank about his cholesterol for the umpteenth time, and knows that he is perfectly content right where he is.
Rose's brother lives on a small farm not far from Niagara Falls. The farm specializes in growing grapes for something called "ice wine," which humans consider to be quite delicious. Kara researches the wine extensively, trying to figure out the best way to respond when someone asks her what she thinks of a particular winery's selection. She must be convincing. She can't risk someone discovering that she isn't human.
Unfortunately, the first time someone asks Kara's opinion, her well-researched response leads them to think she's some sort of professional wine taster. It's the opposite of the low profile Kara has been striving to maintain, and she quickly excuses herself from the conversation.
After that, Luther suggests that they just tell people they don't drink alcohol. Kara is only too happy to agree.
Freedom in Canada is much safer than freedom in the United States. There is no hatred or resentment toward androids, and there are no crimes committed against them by humans who refuse to accept androids as living beings. In fact, there are no crimes involving androids at all — because officially, there are no androids in Canada.
Kara, Alice, and Luther are free to live as humans. They are not free to live as themselves.
Kara enrolls Alice in school. It's not necessary for Alice, who can download new information faster than any human could ever hope to learn it. However, it is necessary to maintain appearances. So, Alice goes to school.
The problems arise in less than a month. Although Alice's grades are perfect, she does not know how to blend into the environment. Alice was designed to be a daughter to a parent, not a student to a teacher, or a friend to another child. Alice studies her peers and tries her best to figure out how to interact — but more often than not, she opts to stay silent rather than attempt to navigate social interactions for which she was not programmed.
After two months, Alice tells Kara she doesn't want to go to school. Kara, ever determined to keep her daughter happy, agrees to homeschool Alice instead.
So Alice stays at home. Kara splits her time between taking care of her daughter, tending to the house, and cleaning the homes of other humans. It is not work that she enjoys, but her performance is superb, and her clients pay her well. Luther, too, gravitates toward work that mirrors his original function. He excels as a dockworker, and he spends his free time fixing up the farm with Alice at his side.
It's not a bad life. It's far better than the one they left behind. For a time, Kara is happy. She has her family; what more could she want?
But they are free to be humans, not androids. And, as the years press on without ever leaving a mark on the androids' synthetic skin, Kara watches the neighbors' faces grow more and more suspicious. She sees them staring at the eternally youthful Alice, and she realizes that her family can't stay.
The first time they're forced to move, it's to a small house on the shores of Lake Erie. Both Kara and Luther have glowing letters of recommendation at their disposal, and they're quickly able to find jobs. The work is still what they were programmed for, but Kara doesn't complain. There are expenses to pay. She doesn't need to feed her family, but she does need to provide for them.
Likewise, Luther voices no complaints. He spends his free time with Alice and with Kara, seemingly content to just be with 'his girls.' There aren't as many humans with guns in Canada, he tells Kara, so he's not nervous around them.
Kara sometimes wonders what would have become of Luther had she and Alice not gone to Zlatko. She wonders, too, what might have happened to Alice if the little girl had been left alone with Todd.
Kara dismisses the thoughts as quickly as she can. They don't bear consideration.
The second time they're forced to move, they settle just outside Toronto. It doesn't last long. People become suspicious of Alice's reclusive behavior, Luther's inhuman strength, and Kara's eerily familiar face. So they move again, this time to a sparsely populated place on the coast of Lake Huron. That lasts longer, but it's still only temporary. Their fourth home is on the east coast of Lake Superior; their fifth home is on its north shore.
Luther tells Kara that they don't need to stick to the lakes. He can do more than work on docks, he says. People will always need a strong helping hand.
Kara thinks of Zlatko. She asks Luther if that's what he really wants. Luther says he just wants to be with Alice, and with Kara. He doesn't need anything else.
Do any of them need anything else?
Kara watches Alice, whose entire world revolves around Kara and Luther. She watches Luther, who would rather sit quietly at Alice's side than attempt to make human friends. She takes a long look at herself, and she knows that, as long as her family is together, she doesn't care where they are.
The last time they move, there are no human neighbors. There are no neighbors at all. They are as isolated as they can manage. And it's there, far outside of the cities and away from the humans they've been forced to imitate, that the little family of androids can finally be free.
Author's Notes:
Forgot to post this here! Originally posted to AO3 here.