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cyberpunkonline · 1 month ago

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The Top 10 Spooky Cyberpunk Movies and TV Shows: Neon, Fear, and Dystopia for #CyberSamhain

Alright, my fellow netrunners and glitch enthusiasts, it’s time to jack into the grid and merge two of the best genres around: cyberpunk and horror. You know the deal—neon-lit cities crawling with tech, corporate overlords doing shady things, and a constant feeling that you're being watched. Now throw in a healthy dose of spine-chilling terror, and you've got the perfect setup for #CyberSamhain. We’re talking about movies and shows that don’t just make you question your reality—they make you afraid of what’s lurking in the dark corners of the digital world.

So, buckle up, because we’re about to run through the top 10 spooky cyberpunk movies and TV shows of all time. Get ready for creepy androids, mind-bending AIs, and dystopian nightmares that’ll leave you sleeping with the lights on… and your computer turned off. You know, just in case.

1. Blade Runner (1982) Spooky Level: "I think that neon sign is watching me." If we’re talking spooky cyberpunk, Blade Runner has to sit at the top of the list. Sure, it’s more of a slow-burn than in-your-face horror, but the eerie, rain-drenched streets of future LA? They’re pure cyberpunk nightmare fuel. Deckard's hunt for rogue replicants isn’t just an action-packed mystery—it’s full of existential dread, identity crises, and the looming question of what it means to be human. Plus, Rutger Hauer’s “Tears in Rain” speech? Goosebumps.

Resource: The Nerdist has a deep dive into how Blade Runner paved the way for dystopian cyberpunk horror.

2. Ghost in the Shell (1995) Spooky Level: "Am I real or just code?" No list is complete without Ghost in the Shell. This anime flick is a straight-up mind-bender that’ll make you question your own existence. Major Kusanagi, a cyborg cop, is chasing a mysterious hacker who’s messing with people’s memories—creepy enough, right? But when you start pondering whether you even have a soul, that’s when the real chills kick in. It’s got a cold, digital aesthetic, filled with philosophical dread that’ll leave you staring at your reflection, wondering if there’s anything organic left inside you.

Resource: Collider has a killer write-up on why Ghost in the Shell remains a staple of spooky cyberpunk perfection.

3. Akira (1988) Spooky Level: "I don’t want to become a tech monster, thanks." Want to see what happens when body horror meets cyberpunk? Look no further than Akira. This anime classic brings you a futuristic Tokyo, biker gangs, government conspiracies, and mutated psychic powers. The result? An out-of-control cyberpunk nightmare that gets creepier by the minute as Tetsuo’s powers spiral into grotesque body horror. The neon-lit streets and apocalyptic vibes are what dystopian dreams (or nightmares) are made of.

Resource: IGN has an in-depth feature on how Akira shaped the cyberpunk genre and our collective nightmares.

4. Altered Carbon (2018–2020) Spooky Level: "Body-swapping freaks me out." This Netflix series threw us headfirst into a cyberpunk world where consciousness can be transferred between bodies—or "sleeves"—so death is more of a suggestion than a rule. The spooky vibes come from the whole immortality for the rich, dystopia for the poor thing. The first season especially gives off some dark, existential fear—imagine waking up in a body that isn’t yours, with no idea how you got there. There’s action, mystery, and just the right amount of creepy tech horror to make you rethink that new VR headset you just bought.

Resource: The Verge has a solid breakdown on why Altered Carbon brings fresh cyberpunk horror to the screen.

5. The Matrix (1999) Spooky Level: "What if this is all just a simulation?" Look, if the idea of living inside a computer simulation where machines are harvesting your body for energy doesn’t freak you out, then you’re tougher than most. The Matrix took cyberpunk and cranked up the paranoia, making everyone question reality for a solid decade. Sure, Neo’s kung-fu is slick, but it’s the spooky concept of being trapped in a digital prison that makes this one so chilling. The machines run everything, and humans? Just disposable batteries.

Resource: Vulture has a deep dive into the philosophy and horror of The Matrix and how it made us all low-key paranoid.

6. Videodrome (1983) Spooky Level: "Body horror and TV mind control? Sign me up!" If you want a straight-up creepy trip through a cyberpunk-esque world where TV and tech meld with the human body in the most disturbing ways possible, Videodrome is your ticket. Directed by the king of body horror himself, David Cronenberg, this film dives into the concept of tech-induced hallucinations, mind control, and some seriously weird flesh transformations. You’ll never look at your TV the same way again. Long live the new flesh, am I right?

Resource: Den of Geek does an excellent job dissecting the chilling horror behind Videodrome.

7. Dredd (2012) Spooky Level: "Trapped in a megacity with psychos and drug dealers." While Dredd might lean more towards action than traditional horror, the dystopian setting of Mega-City One is creepy as hell. The movie focuses on Judge Dredd and his rookie partner, Anderson, as they fight their way through a skyscraper controlled by a brutal drug lord. The Slo-Mo drug scenes, where time is slowed to a crawl, are unsettlingly beautiful and grotesque, and the entire setting just screams cyberpunk dystopia. The violence, the dark atmosphere, the claustrophobic tension—it’s all there.

Resource: Empire has a fantastic retrospective on why Dredd became a cult classic and hit all the right cyberpunk notes.

8. Ex Machina (2014) Spooky Level: "Are AIs gonna kill us all or just manipulate us?" Here’s the deal with Ex Machina—it’s quiet, subtle, and so unnerving. The movie follows a programmer who’s invited to test an advanced AI named Ava, and let's just say things get complicated. The spooky part? Watching an AI learn to manipulate and deceive with an intelligence that’s almost human, but not quite. The claustrophobic setting, the slow-burn tension, and the underlying theme of humans creating monsters through tech? Yeah, this one will mess with your head.

Resource: Wired has a fantastic exploration of the AI horror in Ex Machina and why it feels so real.

9. Black Mirror (2011–present) Spooky Level: "Welcome to your tech-fueled nightmares." If you’ve watched Black Mirror, you already know why it’s on this list. Every episode is its own spooky cyberpunk horror story—whether it’s the dark side of social media, virtual reality, or AI gone rogue. "San Junipero" might be a more feel-good episode, but "Playtest", "White Christmas", and "Metalhead" will have you questioning whether we’ve gone too far with tech. It’s cyberpunk horror, but with that all-too-real edge that makes you want to smash your phone and go live in the woods.

Resource: The Guardian does a killer analysis on the most terrifying episodes of Black Mirror and why the show taps into modern-day fears.

10. Upgrade (2018) Spooky Level: "When your body fights back." In Upgrade, a guy gets an AI implant that controls his body after he’s paralyzed in a brutal attack. But this isn’t your average tech-upgrade story—soon, he’s dealing with an AI that’s starting to take control in very disturbing ways. The film’s got that cyberpunk dystopian vibe down, with a gritty future setting and a tech-horror concept that feels way too close for comfort. It’s violent, it’s slick, and it’s got enough body horror to satisfy your spooky cravings this #CyberSamhain.

Resource: SlashFilm has a great breakdown on Upgrade and why it’s one of the most underrated cyberpunk horrors in recent memory.

Final Thoughts From existential AI crises to body horror nightmares, cyberpunk and horror go together like neon and rain. This #CyberSamhain, grab one (or all) of these movies and shows, switch off your phone (because, y’know, Black Mirror), and get ready to dive into some of the creepiest, most unsettling cyberpunk worlds ever imagined. Just remember—whether it's rogue AIs, mind control tech, or creepy robots, it’s all fun and games until the machines start thinking for themselves. Sleep tight, netrunners!

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journeythrough-impossiblethings · 6 years ago

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Journal of Impossible Things Journey Through Impossible Things

John I – Fobwatched Tenth Doctor – David Tennant – #Journal-of-Impossible-Things-Volume-I / #Human-Nature-Family-of-Blood – Doctor Who, Time Traveler’s Wife Whoniverse

The Tenth Doctor was hiding away from the Family of Blood in England in 1913. He used the chameleon arch to become John Smith, a perfectly ordinary human being, a man with his head in the clouds perhaps a bit too much. He was a school teacher who dreamed of being a Lord of Time. His dreams were filled with fantastical, almost fairytale-like adventures with monsters and aliens and a tiny, enormous, impossible box that travels anywhere and anywhen in the universe. And she was there, in his dreams. Her face was in his dreams, even before he knew her (he had proof, too; he drew her in his Journal of Impossible Things before he met her). She made John Smith fall in love and showed the Doctor what it was like to be normal for once. They were married and the Doctor almost had a chance at an ordinary, simple, beautiful life. But they found him, and John Smith had to wake up from his dream of an ordinary life and become the Doctor again. He left her behind, because she was just a fairytale. He didn’t know he would meet her again.

John II – Fobwatched Twelfth Doctor – Peter Capaldi – #Journal-of-Impossible-Things-Volume-II / #The-Newest-Time-Lord – Doctor Who, Time Traveler’s Wife Whoniverse

Anna finds out she is pregnant, and Anna and the Doctor decide it is best to use the chameleon arch to turn him back into John Smith, and settle down on Earth until the baby is old enough for it to be safe for them to travel together. They live in the 21st century, which takes some getting used to for John, since he was from 1913, but he adjusts quickly. He gets a job as a schoolteacher again and continues to write his dreams down in his updated version of the Journal of Impossible Things, only this time knowing it is all real. Anna secretly works for UNIT to do her best to keep trouble away from the Doctor and the baby while the Doctor is human and the baby is young, trying to give them as normal a life as possible. Except for Him, of course. Their sentient ex-war machine “Living Construct” companion who has basically taken on the role of nanny while they’re grounded on Earth. That part is still a little unusual. Also that the Doctor still talks to his son through his watch, and sometimes the Doctor’s doppelgänger (from another life), literally, shows up.

John III – Human John – Eddie Redmayne – #Journal-of-Impossible-Things-Volume-III / #A-Life-Of-His-Own – Doctor Who, Time Traveler’s Wife Whoniverse

After the Doctor gets stuck in the confession dial for four and a half billion years, he has a lot of emotional issues to sort out. He can deal with the pain fine, but what he can’t deal with his the pain his own pain is causing his empathic wife. She can literally feel what he feels, and he can’t stand to let her go through all that pain, so the deal was that she would live on Earth until he recovered enough from the trauma. He wouldn’t be alone. He had Tavin, and he would of course have companions like he always does. He promised he would not be alone. He wouldn’t let her be alone, either, of course. He found a couple on Earth, Sydney and Verity Lambert, in the year 1982. After the birth of their first son, they were unable to have any more children due to complications with the first pregnancy, but they really wanted their son to have a sibling. The Doctor helped them have another child, if it could be John. So he put John’s personality into the new embryo. John was a test-tube baby, but no one knew that except his parents (and the Doctor and Anna). John’s memories of his other lives were suppressed, but they still leaked out, usually in the form of dreams that he wrote down, like always. When he was in his twenties, he was a school teacher as a History teacher at the same school that Anna works at. They started dating, and not long after that Anna helped John’s suppressed memories come to the surface. They got married and had five children together and adopted a sixth, Terra Verity, their identical twins Aiden Daniel and Calder Sydney and their adopted Zygon triplet Pete Basil, Martha Skye, and Sarah Jane II.

John IV – TARDIS Matrix Ghost – Eddie Redmayne / Peter Capaldi / David Tennant – #Journal-of-Impossible-Things-Volume-IV / #In-the-Matrix – Doctor Who, Time Traveler’s Wife Whoniverse

Anna died of old age after the human John died, and Anna was reborn as a man, going by the name of Sean. Sean finds the Twelfth Doctor, who is currently a lecturer at a university, where he and Nardole are guarding Missy in a vault beneath the school. Sean and the Doctor take the TARDIS and go back to find John as he is dying, where John’s consciousness is uploaded to a fragment of the Time Lord Matrix kept in the Doctor’s TARDIS. John stays in the TARDIS Matrix while Sean occasionally sits in the Doctor’s classes and visits John, goes on adventures with the Doctor and his student and companion Bill in the TARDIS. John gets very lonely in the Matrix by himself and they discuss the possibility of finding a way to get him out of the Matrix at about the same time they discover Anna/Sean is actually a fobwatched (second version of) Patience, the Doctor’s Time Lady (now Time Lord) wife from Gallifrey, and Anna didn’t reincarnate into Sean, she regenerated into him. They had tried to keep Anna’s marriage to John and her marriage to the Doctor separate until now (even though it’s been in debate about if they’re even different people or the same person), but when they decided to find a way to get John out of the Matrix they all accepted that Anna is going to be with both of them.

John IV.5 I – HoloJohn – Eddie Redmayne – #Journey-Through-Impossible-Things-Volume-I / #HoloDreams / #HoloJohn – Doctor Who, Time Traveler’s Wife Whoniverse

They project a hologram of John outside of the Matrix, just within the TARDIS, so he doesn’t have to be stuck in there all the time. He travels with the Doctor, Bill and Sean as they figure out their new dynamic, but has to stay within the TARDIS. Patience and Sean decide to stay as one person, so that Sean releases Patience and has both Anna/Sean’s memories and Patience’s, but still goes mostly by Sean/Anna. At the end of The Doctor Falls, Sean stays with the Doctor as he’s blowing up the Cybermen, and the explosion causes Sean to regenerate back into a woman, who is the fourth incarnation of Patience.

John IV.5 II – RoboJohn – Eddie Redmayne – #Journey-Through-Impossible-Things-Volume-II / #Androids-Dream-of-Existential-Crises / #RoboJohn / #John-Synth – Doctor Who, Time Traveler’s Wife Whoniverse

During Twice Upon a Time, when Testimony had the Twelfth Doctor’s TARDIS with John still inside, since he only exists within the TARDIS, they found him in there. They talked to him and found at the Doctor and Anna saved him very similarly to how they save people, but he’s stuck inside the TARDIS. They asked him if he wanted to join them, so he wouldn’t be trapped in there, but turned them down because he didn’t want to leave Anna and the Doctor. Later Testimony helped the Doctor find a synthetic body for John on New Earth from the time that Testimony comes from.

John IV.5 III – WereJohn – Eddie Redmayne – #Journey-Through-Impossible-Things-Volume-III / Howl-on-the-Moon / #WereJohn – Doctor Who, Time Traveler’s Wife Whoniverse

During one of their adventures, they came across a lycanthropic virus that can apparently mutate to infect synthetic bodies, and John got infected with it. The Thirteenth Doctor went back and got pregnant with Sean’s daughter who they name Jamie Alistair. Anna (Patience IV) gives birth to the Tenth Doctor’s son they name Jason Chesterton, and later somehow John gets Anna pregnant with fraternal triplets, two daughters and a son who share John’s lycanthropic virus. Their two daughters Diana and Connor and their son Lowell. Thirteen, Anna and John raise all five of the children together. Later John has a child with Patience V named Eirlys, who has a mutation of the lycanthropic virus making them a wereseal. Sometime later, during the time of the Eighteenth Doctor, Anna becomes Sean II, and he has a baby, Rosalyn, with a version of John from another universe, Kara Jon, and Kara Jon and her Anna, and Sean II, John and Eighteen all raise her, mostly in a split-custody sort of way since there’s a bit of a long distance thing, being from different universes and all.

John IV has interacted with Pete White from the Venture Bros. Fandom and Jareth the Goblin King from the Labyrinth Fandom. We also have a character who is a regular in this verse who is a Warforged OC (called Him) from the D&D Eberron Campaign Setting Fandom.

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John IV from Mainverse - #Journey-Through-Impossible-Things-Unbound - Doctor Who TTW-verse AU/Canon Divergent

Once, before Thirteen was an actual thing, and before I made John III, just after the first Fantastic Beasts film came out, after I saw the movie I really wanted to play Newt Scamander, but Anna hadn't seen the movie yet, so very briefly I made an AU OC version of the Thirteenth Doctor with Eddie Redmayne as the FC who was basically just Newt Scamander but as the Doctor. Later, after I officially made Eddie Redmayne the main FC for John, we briefly talked about combining the two verses where John and the (Thirteenth) Doctor looked like twins. Although, now that I think about it, he could also be the elusive Eighteenth Doctor who is the Doctor during Sean II's time, instead of the Thirteenth. Idk.

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Fobwatched Doctors AU

Fobwatched Doctors – #Fobwatched!AU – William Hartnell (Richard Hurndall, David Bradley), Patrick Troughton (Reece Shearsmith), Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, John Hurt, Christopher Eccleston, Matt Smith, Jodie Whittaker, Peter Cushing – Doctor Who, Time Traveler’s Wife Whoniverse 2

John Smith One (AU Fobwatched!One) | William Hartnell (Richard Hurndall, David Bradley) | Scientific Journalist

John Smith Two (AU Fobwatched!Two) | Patrick Troughton (Reece Shearsmith) | Nursery Assistant

Jon Smith Three (AU Fobwatched!Three) | Jon Pertwee | Mechanical Engineer

John Smith Four (AU Fobwatched!Four) | Tom Baker | Sailor and Artist

John Smith Five (AU Fobwatched!Five) | Peter Davison | Writer and Author

John Smith Six (AU Fobwatched!Six) | Colin Baker | Weatherman

John Smith Seven (EU Fobwatched!Seven) | Sylvester McCoy | Human Nature novel | Teacher

John Smith Eight (AU Fobwatched!Eight) | Paul McGann | Zookeeper

John Smith War (AU Fobwatched!War Doctor) | John Hurt | Diplomat

John Smith Nine (AU Fobwatched!Nine) | Christopher Eccleston | Police Officer

John Smith Ten (Fobwatched!Ten) | David Tennant | English Teacher | Human Nature/Family of Blood Canon Divergent Fobwatched Tenth Doctor

Anna met and married John before she knew the Doctor. She finds out about the Doctor from John's dreams, his journal, and by confronting John's living pocket watch with the Doctor's consciousness inside about it. This version of John also meets Jackson Lake while he believes that he is the "Tenth" (or actually Eleventh) version of the Doctor.

John Smith Eleven (AU Fobwatched!Eleven) | Matt Smith | Toymaker

John Smith Twelve (AU Fobwatched!Twelve) | Peter Capaldi | Teacher

Joan Smith Thirteen (AU Fobwatched!Thirteen) | Jodie Whittaker | Mechanic and Inventor

Dr. John Who (AU Fobwatched Unknown Doctor) | Peter Cushing | Scientist and Inventor

The Celestial Toymaker kidnapped the Doctor, made him use the chameleon arch making him believe that he's a human scientist named Dr. Who, who invented a time machine, and travels with his granddaughters Susan and Barbara and Barbara's boyfriend Ian, and later his niece Louise, as well as a man named Tom Campbell by accident, fight the Daleks and reliving some of the First Doctor's adventures with some small changes.

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thescribe · 4 years ago

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Albums of 2020

Entry 1: A discussion of Ulver-Flowers of Evil (House of Mythololgy)

It’s after 1 am on a Friday night/morning in the middle of October and for the countless time since it’s August 28 release; I find myself listening to Ulver’s masterful Flowers of Evil. It’s become an audible comfort blanket during a year where most of humanity seems collectively lost and winging it as we go. For the mostly upbeat tempos of the music, it dawns on me that lyrically the album might be the most prescient album in these bewildering times.

“It’s two minutes to midnight in the garden of delight; and do androids dream of electric sheep?”

During “Machine Guns and Peacock Feathers”, reading these lyrics; I can’t help myself (at least personally for me as an American) but think that our little empire is crumbling as we speak. Our leaders seem to be playing their fiddles while Rome burns. Meanwhile I also find myself watching these videos on the development of companies like Nueralink and watching their panel openly talk about the possibility of telepathy and downloading memories into non-organic bodies in the near future with their brain implant technology. One step away from completely blurring the lines of where humanity ends and machines begin forever.

And yet somehow these heady words fall over the backdrop of 100% pure unapologetic dance beats and rhythms. Pop music weaponised. It’s like putting on the sunglasses from They Live and realizing the billboards you pass everyday are hiding messages right before your eyes.

“We have seen the burden God has laid upon the human race.”

Before the “last dance” of this album kicks in, we’re met with a preamble about our existence. Pondering “what can we do other than work, sleep, and do the best we can?” The existential crises most of us inevitably worry about from time to time. Well... what we can do is dance. We can enjoy our time here. We can simultaneously be aware of the evils of this world and find a way to enjoy what time we’ve got.

The clever word play in “One Last Dance” is not lost on me either. “One last DANCE in this BURNING CHURCH.” A playful jab at the band’s own juvenile scene from which they grew. Something that maybe the more cult of Black Metal fans might want to reevaluate with the lyrics presented in this album. Maybe the same old screeched out lyrics about Satan over tremolo picking isn’t all that scary when put in context of our everyday existence and the very real evil that lives among us.

The title Flowers of Evil presents a juxtaposition of thoughts. Flowers should generally make you think of something beautiful (and the music itself should conjure those thoughts as well) while there’s no mincing words of what evil is. Flowers spring out in different areas from a central root. What looks disconnected comes from a main source and I feel like that is the overall message of the album. What comes across as individual horror stories (human trafficking, cult leaders, paranoia, post apocalypse, nuclear war) share one common denominator. Humanity.

The phrase “flowers of evil” is used in the song Little Boy. Little Boy was the code name of the first atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945 during World War 2. Assuming my thoughts are correct of the album title, this made me think of director David Lynch’s use of atomic bomb testing in Twin Peaks: The Return. A common theory for the show is that the bomb testing is what let’s this malevolent force that they refer to as Judy birth these evil entities into our world. A no return moment for humanity.

“A little red rose running with the wolves.”

Where most of the album is danceable, it seems to be that where the subject matter is at its darkest in scope are also the most upbeat and catchy musically. Russian Doll was used as the first promotional single for the album. Lyrically telling a tale of human trafficking with an accompanying video of a woman wearing an old Black Metal era Ulver t-shirt freely dancing around to the song seemingly without a care in the world.

Admittedly, when I first saw the video I brushed this off as just a promotional tool. But now looking back with context of the full album, I can’t help but feel that the video is very intentional and a commentary on how we digest art. Like I said earlier, we can dance and enjoy ourselves while being very aware of the evil that exists in this world.

But, I also feel that pop music is usually looked at as disposable in the world of art. So why go through the hassle of making a concept video for the subject matter of Russian Doll? The lyrics are there for you if you buy a physical copy of the album and ingest the work as a whole with the accompanying still frame photos for each song in the album.

How many videos and memes have been made since the album came out of people dancing around to “Machine Guns and Peacock Feathers”? We live in a world of convenience of playlists and moving onto to the next thing within days. There’s nothing wrong with those people coming along for the ride, but they’ll be gone as quick as the next guy skateboarding while drinking cranberry juice; so they might as well get a video that will keep their attention to the dance aspect of the album. And if maybe they do feel like digging in a little more, then there’s plenty to digest.

“The palace of excess. The madness. Life and death.”

If there’s one thing about this album overall that irked me. It’s that it left me wanting more. After my first listen I remember not liking the ending so much. It felt like it pulled away to soon. But those final reflective moments of hearing the shores of a beach gives you a chance to really think; what did I just listen to?

The album may start off with a quandary, but it ends cloaked in symbolism and metaphor. Forcing you to ruminate over what it all means if you were following along. “A headless man, scissors in his hand cuts the hair; cuts the tongues.” Do any of us outside of the writers really know what’s going on here? Probably not, but the cutting the hair line does invoke the image of the album cover taken from the silent film “The Passion of Joan of Arc.” And that might be the only line that ties it together.

I’d be lying if I said I was well versed in the story of Joan of Arc. I know that she was on trial for heresy for claiming to have been given messages from God. I know that after she was sentenced to life in prison after being threatened to be burned at the stake if she didn’t confess; she recants her confession and is more willing to die for her beliefs then spend her life imprisoned on what she believes is a lie. Maybe that’s an important message behind the album. Maybe I’m grasping at straws to shoehorn this all together. I honestly don’t know. Maybe there is no perfect ending. Life is not perfect, and in that final moment of pulling out the music from under you at the end, there’s a message to unpack yourself. Or, maybe you can play it again and enjoy the ride. “The pleasures of the flesh. By a thousand cuts.”

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silvensei · 5 years ago

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In This Mad Machinery

A human and an android swap bodies, resulting in identity crises, existentialism, philosophy with the boys, and fun!

Detroit: Become Human | gen | 20k | rated T | introspective comedy/sci-fi

Chapter 7 (3k words) | [AO3 link] | [first] | < prev

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Even though it wasn’t something he normally did, Hank called Sumo to hop up on the couch with him. The dog hesitated before heaving himself onto the cushions, lying with his head pressed against Hank’s legs. He smiled and absently scratched his ears as he took a swig of beer. Another warning popped up on his HUD, declaring, (CAUTION: Ethyl alcohol detected. Combustion will raise core temperature by est. 0.06°F. Further consumption NOT RECOMMENDED.)

“Yeah, yeah, fuck you, too, CyberLife,” he muttered as he put the bottle back on the table and returned his attention to the TV. Information about the movie, its actors, its reviews, similar films, subtitles, alternate dubs, and everything under the sun scrolled by his vision. Instead of canceling it, though, he decided to just let it happen. Why not. He turned on English subtitles and changed the audio to Russian in his head just for the hell of it.

He was planning to just hang out for the rest of the afternoon, messing with his search function, maybe downloading a VR game or something (if he even could; surely, he wasn’t the first to think of it), but he eventually got restless. He didn’t even know androids could get restless, although it might be because of his very human attention span. Shitty movie anyway.

His countdown from earlier had continued in the background. It notified him when only an hour remained, reminding him that since the estimate varied by up to an hour, they could now switch back at any time.

Hank stood up, stretching his arms to the ceiling. It didn’t feel refreshing, and he got a notice advising against overextension. “Don’t know what I was expecting,” he said to Sumo. Sumo also stretched, taking over his spot and most of the rest of the couch.

He sounded like Connor. Which was obvious, of course he sounded like Connor, it’s Connor’s body, but he sounded exactly like him. Listening to his own body talk all day from an outside perspective made him realize that his voice wasn’t what he had always heard. According to his computer brain, he normally heard a mix of the sound of his voice and the reverberation inside his head from his vocal cords. Connor’s ears, though, canceled the reverb in order to hear his voice as the world did.

That seemed like such a minuscule thing. How was that going to make an investigative android investigate better? They could do that but not build in better taste buds?

Holy fuck, he was an android.

Throughout the day, the realization had hit him again and again, but it still never lost its potency. God, it’s like all those Eighties body swap movies with a sci-fi twist.

Hank shook his head, turned off the TV, and went into the bathroom. He held off on flicking the light switch for a moment; in the dim room, his LED cast a faint yellow glow on the walls.

The pop of the lights as they lit up heralded the illumination of his reflection. Frankly, he was surprised with himself for not looking in a mirror yet, the brief glances in the car mirrors while he was distracted by Connor’s silence notwithstanding.

Even though he fully knew what to expect, having a different reflection for the first time in ever was still jarring; ([serv].exe(26) non-responsive: rkcomp001; cebf014; cebf121; opt006; srvm338f; […]) appeared in the corner for a brief millisecond. In the mirror, his LED flickered.

The first thing he coherently thought was that his hair was messy. Not really, but compared to the immaculate state Connor normally kept it in, it looked a bit…wrong. He reached up to shape it into place, receiving another uncomfortable twitch in his head from stalled processes when the Connor in the mirror copied him. Combing his hair back, it seemed to fall into place more easily than he expected. What was android hair even made of? (Translucent fiber optic – silica-fiber nylon composite) After critiquing his image, he even pulled that one tuft of hair loose to hang over his forehead.

He should be feeling something more. Running a hand down his cheek and barely moving the skin, noting that having darker eyes made them look bigger, entranced by some morbid curiosity, his stomach should be doing somersaults, goosebumps prickling his skin, something. But the most that happened was a twitch of a servo, a slight hiccup in the data running through his thoughts.

Hank frowned. It wasn’t technically a look of disgust, but it was still the most disgruntled that Connor had ever looked.

He was not comfortable with how indifferent he was feeling. He hadn’t felt this apathetic since….

“Shit, kid,” he said, stepping back from the mirror and crossing his arms. “No wonder you all flipped out when you started feeling things.”

His LED flickered to red, at which point Hank turned off the lights and left. It was beginning to mess with his head too much, much more than he was prepared to handle in a body that couldn’t get drunk.

The bedroom door was half-open. He considered checking on Connor but immediately dismissed the idea; he’d had enough of out-of-body-induced vertigo for one day.

The sun was starting to dip in the sky, casting a warm gold through the windows. Sumo slept sprawled out on the couch, as content as a dog could be. Hank smiled at the peaceful sight as he brought the beers into the kitchen. It was cozy. Maybe he should take a nap, too. Nothing much else to do at the moment. Androids don’t sleep, though.

Enter low-power mode?

Yes No

“Huh. Maybe.”

Inconclusive response

Yes No

“Fuck you.” Despite himself, he chuckled. What was he doing. Why was he a robot. It’s pure science fiction.

Setting the bottles on the counter, he noticed a coin lying on the corner (US quarter, 0.25USD – mint 2020). One of Connor’s, probably. One that he does tricks with to calibrate. He had always wondered how and why that was.

He palmed the quarter as he returned to the living room and settled in the recliner. His thumb flicked it into the air a few times as a test. It was something he could normally do, something simple, but it initiated a predictive program. The coin’s path was highlighted, his hand moving slightly out of his control in ordered to follow through with the catch. Hank didn’t thoroughly enjoy that part.

Rolling the coin over his knuckles, a (Calibration complete) popped up on the HUD. Nonetheless, he flicked it to the left, deftly catching it with his other hand. Back and forth, increasing in speed as he went, Hank almost laughed at how easy it was. It’s just simple physics to a computer brain, and what it lacked in emotional everything, it surely tried to make up for in physics.

He caught the quarter between two fingers. He nodded. “Neat.”

He tossed it onto the coffee table, it landing exactly where his HUD had circled, and turned on low-power mode with a thought. Responses from his senses slowed, the already-quiet room somehow becoming quieter, the colors dulling and shifting to warmer tones. It was like a dream state, a conjecture that was only reinforced by the slightest delay in motor functions.

This ain’t so bad, he thought, kicking up the footrest on the recliner and crossing his arms. Computer-induced chillness. Some music would make for a perfect relaxed evening, especially after the unexpectedly-disorienting day he’d had. Did androids’ search function work for music, too?

It sure as shit did. A widget opened from the left with a search bar and a list of example queries. He was connected to loads of free databases (with others available after signing in with your user information), allowing for searches by song title, album, year, genre, BPM, producer—the whole nine yards.

How ‘bout an album, he decided, and the search restriction applied. Something Eighties or Nineties, both from his childhood and the dwindling end of the golden age of music. In English or without lyrics, maybe something at least platinum. Something that would be a nice complement or conclusion to the day.

At that last thought, the current list of (many) results was replaced by a spinning wheel. He felt something running in his head alongside the search, and after a few seconds, the key words Science fiction, Technology, Saudade, and Family appeared. Hank was thrown for a loop wondering if he should take that as an invasion of privacy when the results came back with only two albums, listed in order of release. Somewhat impressed at its efficiency, he selected the first, hoping to keep it quiet enough to not wake Connor. (External sound system MUTED)

…or that worked, too.

A rhythm of low, imposing notes (F♯) introduced a song he had heard before. Good song. He leaned back and turned his gaze to the soft pale orange ceiling, playback controls and scrubber bar superimposed over the bottom.

This certainly was quite the day.

Did he regret it? Absolutely not. He’d had a field day with his new tech, like the world was at his fingertips, and Connor uncovered some leads to help him figure out his life. Did he regret that it had to end? Also a ‘hell no.’ It was neat and all, but he was better suited for human life and the more leisurely, contained existence it yielded. Visiting android life was fun for a vacation, not something he’d want to make permanent. Like Florida.

He snickered. If only Hank from a year ago could see him now. What an obstinate bastard he was.

As the fourth song was ending, it stuttered, his limbs clicking lightly as they locked. (Transfer requested by 313248317_53. Initiating in 5s.)

And that was that. Shame he couldn’t get through the rest of the album. He’d have to find it when he—

- - - - - - - - - -

Rebooting…

Nexus-7 detected; terminating VM…

Initializing 313248317_53…

Systems check complete: 100% – Fully functional

Network online ID: ************ Lisc: *************** Credentials validated

Resuming suspended programs…

Previous state: low-power Restart in low-power mode?

Yes [No]

Resuming

Connor blinked.

He was looking at the plaster ceiling of Hank’s living room, lying 61° from vertical in one of the chairs (ceiling position indicates RECLINER). His clock announced that it was 7:48:11.2 PM GMT-5 and that he had gone offline due to a complete data transfer initiated thirty-five seconds ago. (CORRECTION: RK800 went offline, running [unknown] prior to 313248317_53)

A drumbeat sounded, fading in on a crescendo. He noted the playback overlay on his HUD which indicated the music came from his own systems. It had resumed from its stopping place before the reset; must’ve been Hank’s doing. He paused the song.

He felt compelled by narrative trends to take a breath to indicate contentment with the end of a journey and/or hardship. It only alleviated slight stress on internal cooling systems. All was back as it’s always been.

A long, boisterous yawn sounded from the hallway. Hank shuffled in, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. “Well, that was weird,” he stated. “I was awake, then cut right to waking up without any of the ‘sleep’ part in between.”

“Welcome back, Lieutenant.” Connor couldn’t help but smile at the fact that he could look at Hank and see normal, long-haired, perpetually-tired, human Hank. It felt more natural that way.

“Back to some peace and quiet in my own head.” Sumo picked his head up enough to glance at the two of them before stretching and nuzzling into the cushions anew. Hank sat on the arm of the couch, running his thumb over Sumo’s paw. “How're you? Everything left in working order?”

A notice reminded him of his system status retrieved a few minutes ago (100%) and asked if he still requested another scan. He declined. “Yes. And you? Feeling okay?”

“Feeling rested and ready to go. So.” Hank raised an eyebrow. “Do androids dream of electric sheep?”

“The question still stands as to whether I was an android when I was in your body—”

“And we’ll nitpick shit tomorrow. Just answer the question.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, Lieutenant, but I don’t think I did.” He had some difficulty remembering the last hour, like the memory was missing frames and full of artifacts. “I’m pretty sure you asked me this earlier after I couldn’t sleep and came back in here, remember? We went back to watching TV before your girlfriend walked in with Sumo and his puppies—wait.” His processor stuttered; the memory didn’t fit in with the rest of the timeline. Hank didn’t have a girlfriend.

Hank wore a shit-eating grin. “Sounds like a dream, there, kiddo.”

“I….” Time was linear from a single perspective, with only a single degree of freedom along any timeline. Where should this anomalous memory be stored if not in sequence? It was almost paradoxical to the very function of system memory. He blinked. “What am I supposed to do with this information?”

“Do with it? Back to being an android for like five minutes and you’ve already got your mood ring in a frenzy.”

“I can’t help it! It contradicts my systems! I understand dreams are the vague recollection of subconscious imagination, but I wasn’t designed to accommodate for… I wasn’t….” Something clicked—yes, an electromechanical relay in his head, but more importantly, something figurative. He blinked and looked away, at some space above the coffee table. “I wasn’t designed for anything,” he realized. “I understand what a dream entails. I understand the concept fine. It’s CyberLife’s programming that can’t parse it, that—that can’t allocate it.”

He heard Hank shift on the armrest. “Get it now?”

“I….” He had found a disconnect. It was like he had deviated from his machinery instead of just his programming. Living as a human was something he had experienced but was incompatible to an android system. “I’m going to need some time to think things through,” he said when the silence grew too long, “but maybe.”

“Well, congrats.” Sumo stretched again, this time curling up and freeing a cushion for Hank. “Sounds like today’s been a success. Mission complete.”

‘MISSION COMPLETE’ recognized as termination command – Forward file ‘blbxcomp.exe’ to CYBERLIFE?

Yes No

“Oh, Lieutenant, the black box recorder!” Connor, after selecting [No], pulled up file details to keep him focused on the new topic; it took him a split second to remember he could multitask again, but he didn’t particularly want to run philosophical introspection in the background. “Should I send it now, or…? Markus pointed out that they may not like that we told him about it….”

Hank leaned back, stifling another yawn. “True. Or we can give them a classic ‘fuck you’ and claim that we were already doing more than enough for them, we can talk to whoever the fuck we want.”

He must’ve noticed the unconvinced, uncertain frown on Connor’s face because after a moment, he crossed his arms and rolled his head onto the couch back, a deliberately-bored gaze directed at the ceiling. “Or,” he suggested. “Or. We just don’t tell them.”

Connor’s frown deepened. “That doesn’t sound very fair. We were given the chance to do this on a quid pro quo basis.”

“We don’t tell them now.”

He blinked. “Lieutenant, I can’t edit an executable file like their recorder without intense effort and noticeable signs of tampering.”

Hank hummed. “I mean, it was sent in an email, right? So, you could just redownload a fresh one and record it again some other day.”

“But to record it again, we’d have to switch again.”

“Mm-hmmm.”

“But—but Lieutenant—”

“Fuck, kid, I dunno, it’s just an option! But you don’t always have to question everything! Maybe someday, you’ll just want a break from the whole android thing for a bit. I know the human life can get kinda boring every now and then. Something to mix things up. It is an option now, though.”

“Lieutenant, I—”

“And we don’t have to fuckin’ Vice Versa tomorrow! Could be the next day, could be next week, probably should be soonish so CyberLife doesn’t get suspicious—although now that I think of it, they probably saw the transfer over their network, so sooner rather than soonish so they don’t start harassing us.”

“I—” Connor stopped, processor stuttering. He took his time thinking through the conversation and coming to terms with Hank’s suggestion that they switch lives recreationally just to “mix things up.” It only took 0.82 seconds. After reviewing the concrete, he considered his own feelings.

And he found that he thought he would like that.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “Yes, that should work just fine.” Then he added, “But Captain Fowler said not to be in the wrong bodies at work on Monday.”

An unexpected snort was a harbinger of a fit of laughter, Hank slapping a hand on his knee and doubling over. Sumo startled awake, perking his ears at his owner. His hysterics turned to coughs, almost hacking up a lung trying to snicker at the same time. “Fuckin’-A right, he would! Shit—” he coughed, “—alright, I need a beer, now that I’m not at risk of fuckin’ combustion.”

“Of course.” Connor smiled. His android chassis didn’t feel compelled to join in on the contagion of human laughter, but now he could remember what it felt like. It was comfortable. Warm. Homely. A good end to a complicated day.

After Hank had caught his breath, he pushed himself up and stretched his back. “God, my calves are going to be sore tomorrow,” he groaned. “Maybe I should make you deal with it since it’s from your damn half-marathon this morning.”

“I suppose that would be fair. But I wouldn’t necessarily enjoy that.”

“Well, maybe that’s what you deserve.” Hank’s persisting grin denoted he didn’t really mean it. “Now. Beer. Maybe have the rest of Bel’s ambrosia of the gods in a bit, though I think you left it in the car.”

Connor checked his memory, appreciating how perfect it was compared to the human equivalent. “Yes, it appears that I did. My bad. I was a bit distracted.”

“��s fine. It’s fine there a bit longer; the thieves of Detroit aren’t that desperate yet.” He walked to the kitchen, calling over his shoulder, “Hey, if you wouldn’t mind, d’ya think you could play the rest of that album? You’d probably like it, too. Can keep it on as a soundtrack to some Saturday night games.”

“Sure.” Turning on external speakers, Connor hit play, bringing the scrubber out of suspension. The crescendo culminated in a couple cymbal crashes, the drums prominent, the guitar with the slightest reverb. (1982 – 112 BPM – Further information?)

He declined. He didn’t need every scrap of information. Folding his hands in his lap, watching Hank take a sip from one of the open beers, look at it, then dig for a new chilled one from the fridge, he felt like just being in the present. Just being in the room instead of in his circuitry. A content smile pulled at his lips as the vocals began to ring through his head, lyrics written decades before, oblivious to his existence.

Nothing to fear but fear itself

Not pain or failure, not fatal tragedy

Not the faulty units in this mad machinery

Not the broken contacts in emotional chemistry

#couldn't think of a better ending so kinda fell into songfic territory there at the end #it's this fic's namesake!#The Weapon by Rush #Detroit Become Human #Connor RK800 #Hank Anderson #body swap #DBH #DBH fanfiction #my writing

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maybeishouldwritesomething · 6 years ago

Text

I got sucked into the Detroit fandom, so I had to write a little something for my two favourites. I hope it’s okay!

Pairing: Hankcon (only the softest amount).

Word Count: 1056

Warnings: Existential crises, little bit of angst.

Since becoming deviant, Connor had found himself plagued with these strange images in his mind at night. Replays of conversations, things that made him feel frightened, or at least simulated the idea of it. Nightmares, humans called them. Every night it was the same. He was standing in the Zen Garden, Amanda telling him that he’d failed, while the RK900’s - his replacement - lifeless grey eyes bored into him. Her voice was as cold as the falling snow, the wind whipping around him, and yet he could hear her every word as if she was right at his ear.

You’ve become obsolete.

You’ll be deactivated.

You’ve failed.

Failed.

Words that didn’t compute with his original programming. He hadn’t been designed to fail. But he had. He’d done the one thing he wasn’t supposed to do. He was free. A deviant. An error in the system. And that terrified him more than anything. Just because he was a free man now didn’t mean he was fully free from his mind.

He tried to explain – it wasn’t his fault, he’d done everything he could – but no sound passed his lips. Amanda's voice gave way to his, that android's - RK900, his voice so disturbingly like his own.

You’re a failure.

You’re going to die.

And then a hand was pressing against his throat, squeezing the life out of him. Was this what it felt like to drown? Everything was going dark, he couldn’t think, couldn’t move-

Where do deviants go when they die, Connor?

He jolted upright in a panic, thirium rushing through his system, fight or flight instincts in overdrive. He wanted to run. The nightmares had been getting gradually worse, but they had never been this bad. He felt as if he was having a panic attack. Impossible. He wasn’t programmed that way. He was shaking, his thirium pump felt as if it was about to burst. He had to get out of here.

Had to run.

Escape.

Where? Where could he go?

He got as far as the living room before he collapsed onto the couch. He’d never been afraid of the dark before, but now it left him shaking. He pulled a cushion into his lap, hugging it tightly against him in an attempt to comfort himself. His instincts were still telling him to run, hide, disappear, but all he could was sit there, huddled up and trembling.

The light suddenly flicked on. “What are you doing up so late?” a voice asked.

Connor flinched, looking behind him in a panic. Hank was leaning in the doorway, arms folded and eyebrows knitted together in concern.

“I had trouble sleeping,” Connor told him quietly, hugging the cushion tighter to himself.

Hank sighed. “Sumo,” he called, gesturing to Connor.

The dog roused itself, padding over to Connor in a half-sleep. Connor smiled slightly, slowly releasing his grip on the cushion to pat Sumo on the head. The couch sagged slightly as Hank sat down, eyes flickering between the two. He didn’t say anything, knew Connor would talk in his own time.

Eventually, Connor found his voice. “How do you cope with nightmares, Hank?” he asked timidly, eyes never leaving Sumo.

“You know how I handle nightmares, but you can’t drink,” Hank told him with a humourless smile. “I didn’t think you could dream.”

“I can think, and dreams are just involuntary thoughts and images from the subconscious,” Connor told him. Subconscious?

“Something troubling you?”

“I wasn’t…I wasn’t programmed this way. Deviancy. This isn’t who I’m supposed to be. I was designed to serve, not to…not to be.”

Connor looked so small, his voice so weak and frightened.

“None of us were put on this earth with a purpose, Connor,” Hank said gently.

Connor looked at him, eyes watering. Tears?

“But I was,” he said fiercely, as if Hank had offended him. “I was designed with a purpose, I had a specific reason to exist and now…Now…”

Tears began to stream down Connor’s face.

“What am I, Hank? What am I without my original programming?”

Connor, the ever collected and together, top of the line RK800, Cyberlife's pride and joy, was having an existential meltdown. Hank said nothing, just leaned in and pulled Connor gently into his arms. Connor lay stiff against him.

“You’re not that person anymore, Connor. You find your purpose, like every other sad case on this planet. It’s tough and it’s scary, but it’s what makes us human. You’re not living by anyone’s rules but your own now. You’re free.”

Hank tightened his grip around Connor, as if he were trying to protect him from the world, one hand gently running through his hair. Connor slowly began to relax against Hank, fists clenching at his shirt.

“Is being human always this scary?” he asked quietly.

“You’re talking to the wrong person there,” Hank said dryly, and Connor tightened his grip slightly. “What I mean is…everyone has their own way of making things better for themselves. Work, friends, hobbies, love, whatever works. You don’t have to have it all worked out all at once. Hell, look at me, half a century old and I’m still figuring things out.”

Connor slowly loosened his grip, a little hum escaping his throat – an unconscious tic. Almost a contented sound.

“I’m not very good at this shit,” Hank admitted sheepishly, and Connor looked up at him.

“I think you’re better than you give yourself credit for,” he said sincerely.

Hank looked visibly embarrassed, but he smiled, leaning in to press a soft kiss to Connor’s forehead. “You think you can go back to sleep now?”

Connor nodded, not quite meeting Hank’s gaze.

“Hey.” Hank tilted his head up. “You’re not on your own, okay? Come on, let’s get you to bed.”

Connor let Hank lead him back to bed, giving Sumo one last pat as he went. He didn’t argue that he didn’t need a blanket when Hank pulled the duvet around him, and he held his tongue as Hank wrapped his arms around him, holding him close. He let his eyes drift closed, his mind mercifully quiet for a moment.

It wasn’t what he’d wanted to hear, but Hank was right. He didn’t need to have all the answers right now. He’d figure it out as he went, like humans were designed to do.

(This fic can also be found on AO3 here. Thank you so much for reading!)

#fuck the hate i think these two are very sweet #and i love hank being older and unconventionally attractive #what a sweetheart #hankcon #hannor #hank connor #hank/connor #tanja's writing #tanja's fic

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