Steady Work
Ren trailed after Viktor with all the speed his lurching gait allowed.
Step. Tap. Clunk. Step. Tap. Clunk. Step. Tap. Clunk.
His uneven steps echoed down the hall.
"I appreciate you giving me my own room," Ren chatted, "I was almost convinced you'd keep me in that operating room forever. Almost."
"I will eventually require that room again and your continued presence would rend it unsanitary," Viktor responded.
"Still," Ren said, "appreciate it all the same."
As they continued to walk, Viktor produced a ruing of keys from his pocket. He came to a stop outside a room where the automatons were waiting for them.
"This will be your room." Viktor said as he unlocked the door.
"Thanks," Ren replied, "so do scientists usually keep guest rooms, or are you a special case."
Viktor pushed open the door.
"We don't."
The smile on Ren's face withered.
"Oh, it's a closet," he said.
The small room was packed with boxes. The stacks were eyelevel with Ren and formed a maze through the room to get to the small cot in the corner that was to serve as his bed. Beside it was a wooden crate with "N-12" printed on it.
"You gave me my own cubie and it's all personalized. That's cute," Ren said as he scraped for something positive to say.
His eyes scanned the concrete walls and floor as he chewed his lip. Once again, the room in which he was to be staying was windowless, the only source of light coming from a single chem-lamp on the wall. The dim positively radiated dullness and Ren had little doubt that after one night in here, he would miss the comforts of the operating room.
"The automatons will assist you in clearing out the boxes." Viktor explained, "they will follow simple commands. Direct them to bring the boxes outside and take them to storage room B. It has already been unlocked."
"You're not staying to help?" Ren asked.
"The automatons should provide suitable assistance."
"So you're leaving a lame kid to do heavy lifting?"
"I've said it twice already, N-12, the automatons will assist you, or were you expecting me to busy my hands with menial grunt work such as this?"
"When you put it that way," Ren huffed, "it sure does makes me sound foolish for wanting to spend some time with the guy who's gonna strap some experimental tech on me and maybe try to ask some questions about that tech."
"Information will be disclosed when your augmentation is completed. Until then, all I can do is provide speculations about performance. It would be a waste of time to share such speculations with someone who is unable to provide educated feedback."
"I'm not stupid."
"You basic intelligence is not a factor here. It is your technical knowledge about robotics and human anatomy that I doubt."
"I have some mechanical knowledge. I am from Zaun, aren't I?"
"As am I. The difference between us is that while I have spent years studding at the Academy of Techmaturgy, you have spent years clinging to life on the streets."
Ren scowled.
"Hey," he snapped, "living out there requires its own ingenuity. You learned in a big building and I learned in the Sump. One isn't better than the other. Don't look down at me just cause you think I'm some filthy sumpsnipe!"
"You would be filthy, dead sumpsnipe if I hadn't found you!" Viktor snapped back, unused to being spoken to in such a manner, "you should be grateful for what I give you and not demand more! You have no idea of the resources I have spent to heal you, and that is not even counting what I will have to expend in creating your augmentation. I should -"
As the words left his mouth, Viktor recognized the hot pang of anger welling in his chest. He immediately cut himself off and took a breath. His hands had clenched without his noticing and he was in danger of falling prey to the wild beast known as human emotion.
"I will no longer entertain this idea." he said abruptly, "clean your room, N-12."
Without further word, Viktor departed at a pace he knew Ren would not be able to match.
"Ungrateful whelp," Viktor grumbled internally, "would be dead without me. Should be groveling at my feet. Should be grateful for everything. Should be- No. Control emotions. Think rationally. The boy is young and brash. He will learn respect in time. He will learn. Will install precautionary features in augmentation to ensure obedience. Advantage is held by the prepared. Unlikely that I will need install a shunt, but I will not completely rule out a chemical solution. Emergency remote shut down switch should suffice."
Viktor strode into his personal room and locked the door behind him. This place was his sanctum. Once it had been the office of the factory's owner, but now, it was entirely Viktor's. He had torn down several walls, combining the room with several of the smaller surrounding offices to create a space that was at once a workshop and a bedroom and it was not uncommon for Viktor to lock himself away in here for several days at a time.
On the far side of the room, was Viktor's simple living quarters. A bed, not lavishly adorned, was pushed up against the wall. A set of drawers and a wardrobe held his minimal possessions and stood alongside stands for his augmentations and weaponry. The only object that could really be considered personal on this side of the room was a bookcase, which held a collection of scientific texts and a single framed picture of Viktor when he was a younger man.
The workshop side of the room, which was considerably larger, was dominated by a large, sturdy workbench. Various tools hung in an orderly fashion above it and more were kept in boxes and drawers below it. To the table's side was a desk, small but perfectly organized so that no clutter took up the limited space. Above it, a corkboard with notes pinned to it hung alongside a framed poster of the anatomical man, and to the side was a window that let Viktor look out across the chasm to the rest of Zaun twinkling through the Gray.
Viktor turned on an overhead chem-light and went to his workbench. Upon it, Ren's new augmentation sat, waiting to be worked on and draw Viktor's thoughts away from what had angered him. Viktor adjusted the magnification in his mask's lenses so that he could see the delicate work at hand and made himself busy. Each piece of the limb passed under his gaze as he checked for the dull shine given off by the protective sealant, any scratches that could become home for rust, and rough spots that would decrease aerodynamics. Everything had to be perfect, and perfection was an all-consuming task that Viktor was more than happy to let envelope all his attention.
Satisfied with the cleanliness of the prosthetic, Viktor prepared to give the augmentation its power source. He held the source before him, admiring the bright glow it gave off. It was a small artificial hexcrystal, created to mimic true hextech crystals, such as the one that formed the Hex-Core atop his staff. These jewels had served him as the beautiful union of science and magic for years, and they would continue to do so until he found something more efficient. Magic was too unpredictable to be dependent on forever. Viktor inserted the hexcrystal into the prosthetic and connected it.
There was a low hum and a soft blue light began to shine from the core. The limb had low power now. There was enough to ensure that N-12 would be able to run and leap above beyond the abilities of an average human, but it would not be anywhere close to the potential of the limb. After all, this was not simply tool for a healing a child, but a tool for the Evolution. If the boy showed that he was capable of being trusted then Viktor would increase the potency of the core, but until then, his power would be kept at an easily containable level.
Minutes fell away and became hours. At length, Viktor decided that the augmentation was as ready for Ren as it could be and he put the limb away for the night. He looked over to his clock, upon which the hands indicated that it was 2 o'clock. He stood with a stretch, dissatisfied with how his muscles were stiff, and left his workroom with a click of a key in the lock. He walked back to Ren's room to check on the boy one more time.
Ren and the automatons had cleared most of boxes, causing the musty smell of old cardboard to hang unpleasantly in the air. The automatons stood vigilantly outside the door, only stepping aside to allow their creator to enter. Ren was fast asleep on the cot. Exhaustion had overtaken the kid, and he had fallen asleep without bothering to remove either his clothing or prosthetic.
The sight of this had Viktor frowning. The prosthetic was not designed to be worn at night, and doing so put the boy at risk of further injuring his stump. Viktor bent down next to Ren and began to remove the prosthetic himself. Briefly, he considered waking Ren up so that he could practice it himself, but he was tired and the fastest way to sleep was to ensure Ren stayed there. Carefully, the leg came off and Viktor placed it on an empty chem-cask that served as a bedside table along with the sock. Ren stretched his leg as Viktor removed his hands and let out a contented sigh.
Viktor gave Ren one last look before leaving the room. Softly, he closed the door and locked it.
"Soon," Viktor thought to himself, "a few more days and he will see the reason behind Glorious Evolution. And once he understands it, he will be loyal to it, and I will have to play warden no longer. Soon."
