RK800 and the Reason He Stole Our Hearts

RK800 and The Reason He Stole Our Hearts

Who is RK800?

Why, he’s Connor, the Android sent by Cyberlife, of course!

He is one of the main protagonists in a game called Detroit: Become Human, which was released on the 25^th of May 2018. He is a highly advanced prototype created to hunt the deviants- which are the androids that deviate from their programming and begin to show emotions, developing from an obedient servant to something with life and wants. His main mission is to assist the local law enforcement alongside Android-hating Lieutenant Hank Anderson, but as the story progresses, so too does he.

Although the storyline is decided upon the player’s decisions, it cannot be denied that the entire story revolves around the idea of androids gaining sentience and becoming human.

Why else would Connor’s story (SPOILER ALERT) be filled with decisions such as:

In the game, Connor and Hank go to Kamski to see if he has any information about what could be turning Androids deviant and other relevant things to their investigation on the topic. Kamski exits his lavish pool (with androids swimming in it) and puts on a glamorous robe before he begins to talk about what he calls the Kamski Test, which is to see how human (or deviant) an Android is by testing its empathy.

A snippet of this conversation goes like this:

Kamski: What about you, Connor? Whose side are you on?

Connor: I have no side, I was programmed to stop deviants and that’s what I intend to do.

Kamski: Well that’s what you’re programmed to say, but you- what do you really want?

He gestures for Chloe (the first Android) to kneel before he forces a gun in Connor’s hand. If Connor shoots, then he can ask one question, whereas if he refuses to shoot, he and Hank must leave without having learned anything.

Kamski: Decide who you are. An obedient machine or a living being endowed with free will?

If you refuse to shoot (press X), then Kamski will comment on how fascinating the choice is.

Kamski: Cyberlife’s last chance to save humanity… is itself a deviant.

But of course, that doesn’t explain why he’s a fan-favorite among the gamers.

Some say it’s because the choices he had to make were not difficult in the same way that Kara and Markus’ were, but they were difficult because they appealed to a more human side of ourselves.

Kara’s choices involve questions like: do you run or do your kill Todd? Do you steal money from the cashier to survive or find another way? Do you protect Alice first or go to the gun first?

Markus’ choices are hard as well, with questions like: do you push back, or do you stay silent and endure? Do you lead a violent or peaceful protest? Do you take the androids with you or do you leave them?

But what about Connor’s choices?

Do you shoot an innocent android to further your investigation or do you refuse to and end up at a dead end? Do you save your partner from falling off a building or do you continue running after a suspect? Do you shoot two sex-bots in love who only want to be free or do you let them go?

Do you choose to be a human or a machine?

Perhaps that is what makes him interesting to the public: he must overcome his coding and programming in order to be human but his choices all boil down to human or machine over and over.

This arc, of course, has been done in other films and games before, but there is something about watching Connor go through it that satisfies a part of ourselves we didn’t know about before.

Hank plays a rather large role in that as well, though, because he’s the one that Connor has to get along with to push forward his character development. He also acts as a sense of reason and a sharp contrast to Amanda’s “reason”.

Connor must adapt to him, which makes Connor feel more flexible than the other characters because although they also have relationships with other characters, Kara and Markus don’t really need to work on them to push them forward like Connor does. Kara and Markus are both thrust into a situation and people simply recognize them as equals or superiors.

Connor isn’t recognized as a superior and he must actively work to make Hank his friend, which makes people feel like it’s more realistic and human. His character development is also the largest arc out of the three of them, and he shows signs of deviancy long before he actually becomes a deviant save the fish or let it die?

Do you lick the blood or do you-

Oh, wait. You don’t have much of a choice for that one, actually. Connor just really likes licking things.

Hank, of course, is reasonably appalled by Connor’s unsanitary way of dealing with a crimescene. How would you feel if you rolled up to a crime scene in complete Detective Mode and your partner just

They had an untreated blood sickness, Hank!

No matter the reason why Connor is a fan-favorite though, it cannot be denied that he is one of the most-liked characters. He’s interesting and funny and likes dogs and licking blood from crime scenes. What about that isn’t relatable?