[CLOSED]

[sweetmilk]

Who: Viktor, the Machine Herald + closed prompts in the comments
What: A little pre-mission prep
When: In the weeks prior to the mission
Where: All over (will indicate in the prompt headers)
Warnings: Blanket warnings for surgery, body modification, body dysmorphia, will update as needed


Anyone interested in a closed prompt, feel free to hit me up at brutallyamish!

Comments

[ornithologist]

[ Harold, on the other hand, is fully human and has always embraced his humanity, seen it as something wholly positive. In that regard, he has no interest in risking offense by trying to plant surveillance mechanisms in a possible ally's private lab. His paranoia is tempered by a keen appreciation for the rights of others, which he tries not to infringe on unless necessity justifies it. ]

I have some familiarity with Mr. Talis, enough to realize you come from variable iterations of a similar universe. [ As he speaks, he reaches out and picks up the schematic, examining it with palpable interest. He folds it neatly and tucks it into his inner jacket pocket before setting off, his heavy limp obvious. ]

Much like you, I would be interested in learning more about your history of innovation, even if it isn't directly comparable.

[sweetmilk]

That is unfortunate.

[ That is as far as Viktor wants to indulge that thread of conversation. Viktor doesn't have much to say and what he does have would break the truce he'd forged with Mr. Talis. The address is ridiculous but he bites back that comment.

Watching as Harold picks up and then pockets the schematic, Viktor falls into step with him. The limp is similar to the one he possessed years ago, one that still haunts his gait now even though the leg and all its associated twists and ailments are gone. ]

Zaun has a long history of defying expectation. Necessity breeds innovation as they say. [ Viktor makes a noise. ] Techmaturgy is our greatest achievement. Technology and magic fused with chemistry to create something better than all three separately.

[ornithologist]

[ Being exceedingly private himself, Harold does not press further; he'd shared that only to disclose his own awareness. Beyond that, he tries not to make any assumptions. Getting close to Accelerator has had a way of dismantling his expectations, if nothing else.

He's not perceptive enough to pick up on the remnant traces of Viktor's limp, though he's met the other one here and realizes there might have been, at one point, that similarity.

Harold gives an understanding noise of agreement as he leads him toward a room not far from the circulation desk, on the same floor. ] We've no magic at all where I'm from. I confess I'm still somewhat mystified by that aspect, of how it combines with technology or chemistry. I'm exclusively a technologist, myself.

Over the past fifty years our technology has progressed exponentially. The Alto represents a pivotal moment in that history.

[sweetmilk]

[ For the sake of this partnership, it's a good thing that Harold picks up on that boundary and doesn't try to find a way to cross it. Viktor will always cut his losses and he despises feeling backed into corners. It's a purely human feeling, which is the root of his dislike for it, all his years of fighting to survive against the brutes and thugs that preyed on orphaned children instilling in him a drive to prevent himself from ever being put back into that position.

Viktor glances at the area around them as they walk, strings of calculations compiling in his brain, attention evenly split in two. ]

Magic is a natural force of Runeterra and harnessing its power is simply practical. It is no different from using water to generate electricity by turning a wheel. You only need to understand how it works.

[ Easier said in a world where magic is mundane. ]

And what is the problem the Alto deigned to solve?

[ornithologist]

I'm familiar with the idea that magic can be quantified like any other source of energy, its expenditure and its generation, [ Harold comments, showing he isn't totally ignorant of the subject. He's been here for over a year now and he's learned quite a lot in the meantime.

Including some of it from Jayce. Not that he'll say that. ]

But I can't help but feel it's like saying I know the circulatory system exists. You still wouldn't hire me to do heart surgery. In here, please.

[ He pushes a door open and leads them into a cozy room -- saved from being somewhat musty as one might expect from the decor because John still cleans excessively between missions -- arrayed with frayed couches and armchairs. A CRTV is positioned across the semi-circle of seating, a library cart beside filled with a variety of VHS tapes and a SNES with two cartridges.

Beyond is another door, which Harold heads toward, picking a key card out of his suit pocket. The card swiper beside the door is anachronistic against the public library setting. ]

The Alto is responsible for several seminal advances, but the most obvious one is that it introduced graphical user interfaces. It made it possible for people who are not coders or computer experts to interact with computational technology. It created the idea that anyone could have one.

[sweetmilk]

The problem is thinking of it as magic. Considering it as something other only stands in the way of progress. You can harness it the same way I do if you adjust your thinking. I am no mage and have worked with it since I was six.

Unless you are telling me you cannot learn something a six year old can.

[ His tone is flat, but he is joking. ]

The circulatory system is more complicated than harnessing the arcane and I would not trust most to do cardiac surgery.

[ And not only for the reason that his circulatory system is proprietary information.

Viktor notes the various pieces of technology in the room as they walk through, the relatively clean space, and the key card. His eyes study it, and the reader by the door, curious about the locking mechanism. He has considered alternative ones for Emberflit, including fail-secure electromechanical locks to prevent unwanted visitors. ]

Technology is meant to be used. If it is inaccessible to those whose lives it could improve, it is useless. [ Viktor makes a curious sound. He is more interested in this device now. ] How efficient was it in breaking down that barrier?

[ornithologist]

Depending on the six year old, [ Harold answers dryly, ] maybe I can't.

And I'm not certain I want to unless there's a compelling reason. My days of ambition are long since past.

[ Isn't that the truth? Harold would love nothing more than to settle down into a quiet corner and live out what days he has left with John, doing any good they could. He's not at all the same person who set out to create a world-altering artificial super intelligence and had the drive to do it, year after year, iteration after iteration. It took over forty versions before he landed on what would ultimately become the Machine. Some of them had even tried to kill him, and he'd kept persevering.

Now he just swipes a key card through an electronic lock in an abandoned public library in another dimension and steps inside, welcoming Viktor in after him to see the Alto. It's a small collections room of Harold's personal interests, some pieces of art and first edition books beside the computer, a chunky old thing on top of a full server cabinet. ]

By itself? Not at all. It was astronomically expensive. But it raised the concept that it was possible, and twenty years later, every home had one. Thirty years later, every person had one.