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[victormakesart]

Victor's sent her boyfriend off to a spa planet, which means that today is a working day, just like the day before was, and the day before that. She's sectioned off a small corner of the Nexus as her workspace, and while she's not using a blowtorch anymore, she was a moment or so ago, if you judge by the blowtorch set off to the side and the

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[hes_onthe_jazz]

Hannibal was just walking by, and he was intrigued by the piles of parts and the work setup he saw. He stopped for a moment to study it. He glanced over the metallic arm, then up at the young person sprawled on the couch. "What are you working on?" he asked softly.

[victormakesart]

She scrabbles up like a marionette with loose strings, moving like she's taller than she is, like she's lanky. "Oh, uh. A sentient robotic person, which, i-isn't possible where I come from but here I can get what I need to make him."

She's wary explaining to new people, because she's scared of the 'oh, way to be crazy, strange androgynous girl' reaction.

[hes_onthe_jazz]

He bent down and examined the arm. Robotics was a little beyond him, though he knew the basics. It looked pretty sound. "May I?" he asked, reaching for the arm, but waiting for permission before picking it up. "How do you plan to create sentience?"

There was a soft keening noise, and a small, blue, draconian head peered out from under Hannibal's jacket collar. Sleep time on his shoulder was apparently over.

[victormakesart]

"Absolutely." The arm is well-articulated, good craftsmanship, which explains why it took her as long as it did. "I've worked on a few robotic projects before, and I've found that it comes with layers of programming detail. And the right parts. It's hard to tell, whether it's hardware or software or a mix of both, and I've been... unwilling to experiment with that, given the moral implications."

And... the tall man has a back-dragon. She has seen stranger, but it does surprise her (perhaps he has tried, and failed, to have it removed). She keeps her attention on him, and not his reptilian abscess.

[hes_onthe_jazz]

He examined the appendage in great detail, growing more and more impressed. It was very intricate. The joints seemed smooth and natural. "That's lovely," he said, setting it down again very carefully. "Well, if you've managed sentience, then that would imply that it's a person, and experimenting on people isn't right."

With a soft chuckle, he turned his head to gaze at the fire lizard. "You awake, then? I bet you're hungry. Do you do anything but eat and sleep?" His tone was fond, though, and he gently scratched the reptile's eyeridges with one finger. The dragonet scrabbled out from under the jacket, with a little help from Hannibal, and spread his wings. He peered suspiciously at the smaller person through faceted eyes.

[victormakesart]

"You got it. And the only way to find out what makes it work exactly is trial and error, which means removing some person's sentience, which... is severely jacked up and I won't do it." She runs her hand back through her hair (fingers catching in tangles through the way, because Victor's hair is almost impossible to tame). "And, and thank you, by the way."

Victor looks back at the critter with a slight wariness. It's good to know that it is its own animal, and not a back-dragon, but that also means that it can get closer to her. She waves hello to the dragon, wiggling her fingers.

[hes_onthe_jazz]

"I don't blame you. It's perilously close to torture." He gave her a small smile. "You've got a nice little workshop set up here. Impressive. Oh, I'm Hannibal. It's nice to meet you."

The lizard wrapped his tail around Hannibal's neck and hissed softly. "Shh, Mago, it's all right," Hannibal said softly. "Nothing's going to hurt you."

[victormakesart]

She smiles back at him, shyly. She can read people pretty well, and she soaks up approval like those trendy girls soak up ultraviolet radiation from tanning booths. If she had more of an ego, you could say he was flattering her, but she's just genuinely surprised and proud to hear nice things. She offers her hand. "Gosh, thank you so much. I'm Victor Allen, pleased to meet you, too."

[hes_onthe_jazz]

Hannibal shook her hand firmly. Mago didn't like strangers touching HIS person, but he kept quiet, since Hannibal didn't seem upset. "It's a pleasure. So, are robots what you do for a living, or just a hobby?"

[victormakesart]

She has a professional I-deal-with-people-for-a-living handshake. "A hobby. I have a lot of hobbies. But, uh. This is a kid I've been planning for years."

[hes_onthe_jazz]

"You must have put a lot of work into it." He glanced admiringly down at the project again. "I'll look forward to seeing the finished product."

[victormakesart]

"I have. He'll be beautiful. The work'll take me the better part of a year, far as my current estimation goes, but it'll be worth it." She ducks her head, sorely tempted to ramble. "Sorry if I'm goin' on and on."

[hes_onthe_jazz]

He grinned. "Don't worry about it. It's fascinating."

[victormakesart]

"In, in that case, you seem like the sorta fellow who'd appreciate this: I've programmed in human error. I was thinking... what makes a sentient 'bot different than a person, and I'd decided it was clumsiness. That is to say, a 'bot wouldn't have it. A 'bot will draw a perfect straight line every single time. So I'm programming in micro timing errors."

[hes_onthe_jazz]

"That's... that's pretty incredible," he said, gazing at her. "Even the best of us make our little mistakes. It must be insanely difficult to calculate in."

[victormakesart]

She looks brilliantly proud of herself, looking up at him. "Thank you. I thought of it, watching ice-skaters. That all it takes is a fraction of a second of an error."