A new security guard?<br/><br/>This will be fun. San Francisco Zoo was one of the only facilities still manned by Human security guards. There were a few androids on patrols at night with them, but VIKKI agreed with the Zoo Manager, the animals react better with empathetic Humans walking around instead of androids. The androids made the animals nervous, and statistically speaking, there were less incidents with them this way.<br/><br/>Rowan wasn't a guard. He wasn't really part of the administration either. He was closer to an animal handler, but on a junior level of sorts. He fed animals, cleaned cages, and the like. The shit his manager and senior handlers didn't want to do. His first day they had him feed the tigers, then locked the door behind him as he stepped in the enclosure with them. It was only for a laugh and unlocked it after only a few minutes. The Tigers didn't even stand up from their resting places, but it was enough for VIKKI to notice on the security cameras and an android was present quickly, then dragged one of his co-workers off to be reprimanded. He got a hefty fine for endangering Rowan like that, but Rowan didn't mind the joke. He knew he would get him back eventually.<br/><br/>The prank he did that night on his co-workers returned to him this night. He noticed the waving flashlight below as he lay stretched out in his perch, a hammock in a small tree house above the gorilla exhibit. No one ever went up there and was installed as decoration more than anything to make the place look more jungle-like, even though the Gorillas never climbed up that high. They usually ignored it or climbed up halfway and slid back down. Rowan never told anyone how he gets up there, but for good reason. Most of his belongings were here in the small room; a backpack, mobile terminal, a portable solar powered cooler, a few snacks and some magazines he shouldn't really be allowed to have. But this was the only place in the whole Zoo that was a blind spot to all sensors and cameras. Rowan made sure of that.<br/><br/>Picking up his terminal, he snapped his fingers and it sprang to life. Security cameras showed the guard walking the path around the Gorilla enclosure, his light dancing over the mounds of fur below to check to see if they were awake. Rowan huffed. This guy will quickly learn that animals hate having lights shining in their faces when trying to sleep. Another snap of his fingers and the camera on the terminal changed to show the far end of the hall, where the staff entry to the enclosure could be seen. Smiling, he put the terminal down, then got up, leaning over the side of the rail around his house. Below, his silhouette against the starry night sky wavered and a dark shadow crossed the enclosure below, the rush of wind and feathers the only sound heard. He landed, changed back to his normal form, stretching as he stood up, and waved his hand in front of the door. There was a beep and the door swung open.<br/><br/>"Is someone there?" The Guard called, the light shone down the hall showing the access door swinging into the hall, the shadow of the chain fencing grid dancing over the wall, "Oh shit." he added. The Guard's light began shaking as a massive, four hundred pound Gorilla lumbered out into the hall. His flashlight nearly bounced out of his shaking hand and the Gorilla stood up, pounded it's chest and roared, it's call echoing down the halls and throughout the Zoo. The guard screamed and ran off in the opposite direction, his light flailing around the hallway. The Gorilla huffed and slowly began to shrink, the fur becoming clothing once again, the hair on it's head forming into a baseball hat and red bandanna, it's long arms shortening to the normal length of a Human. Rowan then brushed off his shirt and stuck his hands in his pockets, his head lifting to the  ceiling and his eyes closed as he counted.<br/><br/>"Three....two....one...."<br/><br/>"Halt! Cease and desist!" The whirr of servos followed by clomping of metal feet on concrete and the local security android came to a stop before Rowan, "Sir, what are you doing here."<br/><br/>"Sorry, I ran a bit late cleaning cages. I was on my way out and saw this door open." Rowan replied, again the light flailed across the hallway walls behind the android as the guard returned, trying to keep up to the machine.<br/><br/>"The Guard reported an animal on the loose. Have you seen the escaped animal?" the android asked. Rowan lowered his brow and closed the door, making sure to lock it, then went to a screen on the wall. He turned it on and activated the bio sensors in the enclosure.<br/><br/>"Six Gorillas. All accounted for. That's all we have." He said. "I was here for about ten minutes and none of them even woke up."<br/><br/>"This guard reported one in the hallway. Why did you not close the door upon discovery?" it asked.<br/><br/>"I thought he had gone inside. Didn't want to lock him inside with them." he said.<br/><br/>"Why not use the bio sensors to see if he was in there?" The android pressed. Rowan took a step back and looked the droid over.<br/><br/>"The lights under your chassis are red." he began, "Our androids are supposed to have blue lights or have them turned off. Red upsets the animals. You must be new."<br/><br/>"I was commissioned this morning."<br/><br/>"Probably just have the standard security protocols installed. You need to get the local Zoo protocols installed as soon as possible. They have the specs for the bio sensors in the enclosures. They only detect the type of animal the enclosure is designed for. It's cheaper to have specialized sensors."<br/><br/>"I see." it said, "This incident will be recorded. Please be more careful about leaving doors open." Rowan nodded and the android continued on it's way. The guard nervously pointed his light into the enclosure at the Gorillas, counting them one by one to make sure they were all there.<br/><br/>"I swear there was one out here." he said, "Did you open the door?"<br/><br/>"I don't have the code." Rowan said, then pushed the flashlight in the guards hand down, "But a word of advice. You wouldn't like a flashlight pointed in your face when you sleep, would you? Neither do they." The guard turned off his light and continued his rounds. Rowan walked off in the other direction, quietly whistling to himself...