Drucker sat upon the edge of his desk, thumbing through the thin Perspex ring binder containing a detailed historical record of only the highest profile cases. Internal policy dictated that those documents were not to be saved and secured on any digital medium that may be vulnerable to Internet hacks or any other such data leakages. As he flicked through, he couldn’t help but stop to skim over the Quakeson report. A legendary win for the precinct and one of their proudest moments involving the tracking down and apprehension of a ruthless murder, Walter Duebury. Upon breaking and entering into the Quakeson family home to carry out what was to be a routine burglary, he ended up slaughtering the family of four after an unanticipated alteration within the house. Walter was on the run for at least a five week stretch until his eventual capture in an old secluded barn. This case victory was held in such high esteem that it was actually used to boost morale for young police cadets when the going seemed to get a little too rough for them.

In the corner of the room perched on a cast iron bracket, the television quietly worked away in the background. Mr. Carl Randyll, chairman and spokesperson for “Strata”, was in the middle of making his speech for a highly publicized political debate. Rising public tensions between the synthetics and humans forced both parties into televising their bureaucratic squabbles for the masses as otherwise their secretive and private sessions were rarely ever broadcast. Drucker looked up as the sound of raised voices coming from the television set detracted his concentration away from the thick file.

Mr. Randyll continued. “… All I’m saying is that we have a duty of care owed to our people. Speaking as a delegated representative of the humans, we cannot just allow rogue synthetics to run amuck in our society causing devastation and injury to innocent civilians. This goes for all law-abiding synthetic citizens too. I still find it absolutely astonishing better fail-safe safety measures were not put into place in the event of what we are witnessing today. It’s downright lunacy and now we run the risk of having opened up a veritable Pandora’s box that may never be shut and sealed ever again. The Samson chip was designed and implemented to promote a trusted common ground between both races. It compliments the balance of our ideologies and provides protection against… ” A chorus of jeers and boos mixed with cheers and whoops echoed through the tinny speakers. Drucker could only shake his head in dismay at how their governmental establishment was unravelling into chaos before him.

The camera quickly panned and zoomed into a tall, slim synthetic sporting a crew cut and thin moustache. He appeared to have slightly sharper facial features than most of his robotic counterparts. Mr. Dan Reeves, leader of the party of “Freewill”, boldly interrupted the charismatic Mr. Randyll. “Excuse me, Carl, but aren’t we all living in a so-called democracy here or do you openly classify synthetics as second class citizens? If indeed there are criminal activities involving the impairment of the Samson chip, should we as a whole be punished for it? What about all the guns, knives or drugs still being sold illegally on the black market for humans? This societal weaponry was around long before the synthetics arrived. So according to your philosophy, everybody should be locked up until proven innocent. Is that the way it goes? Because I certainly will not stand for…”

A loud knock broke his gaze away from the rhetorical banter. He lazily threw the heavy file onto his desk. “Yes, come in.” he called out. Doug shambled in exhibiting heavily puffed bags under his eyes and generally looking tired and weary. “Hey Druck. Apologies for my appearance, man. Been burning the midnight oil away sifting through from one document to another.” He settled into the seat nearby following a subtle nod from Drucker. “Got anything for me, Doug? I’ve been perusing some past investigations here to give me some possible pointers as to how we should proceed from here. We haven’t had any useful leads so far and the main ones have proved to be non-starters.”

Doug clasped both hands whilst resting two index fingers stiffly upon his lips. “A little something came up but otherwise not much, my friend. Of course, the irony of this situation is the fact that every news station keeps replaying the same so-called leaked video footage on an almost hourly basis showing our perpetrator tearing up the place right there in broad daylight. That synthetic wrapped itself up good and proper in order to conceal their identity. Reporters are having a field day saying we’re just sitting on our asses and doing jack shit about it. We’re becoming a laughing stock out there.”

Drucker casually strolled over to behind his desk and relaxed back into his comfortable leather recliner. He was tense and on edge. “What’s even worse is that after living so long in a city brimming with synthetics for the last few years, I’ve made some unavoidable observations. Such as the fact that I can now recognize seven distinct facial templates that have been grafted onto their skulls. You know, like faint variations of skin contours as well as minute imperfections in their rigid, inelastic skin. You’ll only really spot it through constant daily interaction with them. General degradation over time may also add a few new nicks or marks that were not there before. Female synthetics now even paint themselves with make-up to better fit in. But otherwise, it can be very difficult indeed to distinguish between them.” Drucker sounded dejected and uptight. A far cry from the laid-back, jovial man that had once occupied that chair.

“This entire experiment is obviously one massive trial run, Druck.“ Doug reasoned. “How else would you explain the complete lack of security protocols in place? No barcodes printed on their bodies or implanted tracking devices. We just have the S.P.A who are proving to be more of a deterrent than an actual threat and a bare-bones judicial system created for them to adhere to throughout their lives. If you can even call what they experience as “life” per se. It’s a mess and an extremely dangerous one at that.”

“Well, Doug. I suppose I see things slightly differently.” said Drucker shaking his head. “The fact of the matter is synthetics had no prior instances of criminality in their short history on this planet. From petty theft all the way to full-blown murder. I mean, a synthetic wouldn’t even sneeze in your general direction, if they could actually sneeze at all. They’ve enjoyed an impeccably clean track record up until now. So getting any kind of legal precedents set up without making it look unfair for them will take time and lots of it. What do you think “Freewill” are up there doing every day? Defending their constitutional rights and promoting an equal and balanced system for the synthetics to live in, that’s what. So without any reported wrongdoings of any sort for the majority of their existence with us, that doesn’t leave much room for “Strata” to move.”

Doug pondered this train of thought for a few moments. “Fine, that’s looking at it from a legal standpoint, but as I said, no barcodes or GPS style tracking chips inserted within them for our own safety at least? What’s up with that?” Drucker couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle. “I just saw Mr. Randyll nearly turn blue in the face trying to emphasize that very point. Just take a look at those clowns arguing up there.” The television set flickered in the background displaying Mr. Reeves passionately addressing the house over a stylish rostrum. “The answer to your question? Well, you’re already aware of the conveniently proposed solution agreed upon by both parties to fix that. In fact, it’s a problem that’s making this case so damn hard for us. That blasted Samson chip. Reduce a synthetics capabilities down to a regular human being’s and apparently that should serve as a temporary Band-Aid allowing for peace between us until things need to be reshuffled again in the future. Remember, these are the second generation synthetics being produced. The first models didn’t have any defined boundaries and just look at the carnage they are capable of causing. Of course, we humans weren’t going to stand for that. No siree! So the powers that be introduced this cobbled together remedy. Now the synthetics have figured out a way to disable that remedy, it’s back to square one again.”

Doug shook his head is dismay “When I hear you talk about it out aloud, the future looks so damn depressing and bleak.”

“Well, it is what it is and that is out of our hands. We are nothing but pawns in the midst of a mechanical and biological battle of wits. We’ve got a job to do so I guess that counts as our proud little contribution to country and state.” Drucker sighed deeply and placed two palms flat on the desk. “Anyways, we’ve rattled off on this matter for way too long. You said you had a little something for me when you came in, right?”

Doug stood up with a weighty groan. “Yes, Druck. It’s a stab in the dark and will probably be inconsequential but I thought I’d let you know anyways. We received a call not too long ago regarding an apartment building downtown on Fifth. A synthetic couple reside in one of the flats there and have gone AWOL for the last two days. Again, the chances are remote that…”

Drucker looked at him uneasily. “Doug, what’s the matter with you, man. This could be an important lead, however insignificant it seems to you. Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” He headed to the small coat rail near his office door. Doug looked down sheepishly. “Sorry, Druck. We got talking and I lost all track of time.”

“Don’t worry about it. It takes two to talk. Now let’s move.” He glanced up at the clock on the wall as he donned his long, black overcoat. “Afternoon traffic and all, we should be there within the hour.”

Hope you enjoyed this post, please look out for more on the way... (author: @ezzy)