The Difference Engine by copperbadge

Title:  The Difference Engine
Author:  Copperbadge
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Pairing: John/Rodney
Rating: R
Warnings: Character Death (not permanent)
Genre: Romance, Canon, First Time, Deathfic
Word Count: 22,031

Summary:  Sheppard remembered dying in Afghanistan, but since he was still walking around he didn’t pay that memory too much mind.

Why You Should Read This:
John Sheppard as a robot! Well, sort of – more a cyborg. When John is killed in Afghanistan, his body is given over to science. He becomes the first test subject for the top secret project Tria Prima, in which John’s organic, ruined brain is replaced with a cybernetic one. The fic covers the events of the show, including John turning into a bug and their struggles against the Replicators (which makes for some interesting reactions for John), and does nice things regarding John and emotions. Copperbadge does a fantastic job taking John from someone who is is a human with bits of coding done by Rodney and Radek, to a person in his own right, who lives and learns and loves. Fascinating premise, well-written, with spot-on characterization for everyone.

“You can’t reprogram me?” he asked hopefully.

“Even if I could, I wouldn’t. You’re a person, and you’re just going to have to cope with being a person the way the rest of us do. Do you get that?” Rodney snarled. “You’re not my pet machine, you’re not my brainchild, you’re a person, you have your own memories and your own damages, and you write your own basecode the way we all do. I didn’t program you. All I did was save your life, and you’ve amply repaid the favour.”