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[levelshift]

un: Accelerator
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[sweetmilk]

I have three hands.

[ Viktor holds out both of his and waves with the Hexclaw. His sense of humor is terrible. ]

I have done it before. It will be easier this time, considering the framework is already there.

[ It's reckless to some, but this is the way he's lived for the last two decades and regular maintenance and replacement or upgrades to parts are common tasks for him. ]

Why do you ask? Are you offering to assist?

[levelshift]

[His gaze briefly moves up to the Hexclaw, and between that thing waggling and the bad joke Accelerator's expression is shifting to peak teenage exasperation.]

I guess I am, since you're so intent on being fucking irresponsible.

[It's the nice thing to do, so he's obviously ranckled, but he also doesn't want to see someone who helped him out end up dying unnecessarily.]

[sweetmilk]

[ Viktor finds his joke funny. ]

There is still some testing to be done, and I am lacking the space to work, but if you insist.

[ It is clear, from the slight surprise and hesitance, that Viktor isn't accustomed to offers of help. ]

I am fully capable of managing on my own however.

[levelshift]

[Viktor isn't used to being offered help and Accelerator isn't used to offering it, so they're both in an awkward situation. Clearly, the best thing to do is act nonchalant about it, so he shrugs like whatever.]

Just because you are doesn't mean you should be, especially when you're talking about dangerous shit. [Don't make this more uncomfortable than it needs to be, Viktor, geez.] If you need some time to get everything set up that's fine, that gives me time to do some reading.

[Reading on... spines.]

[sweetmilk]

It is less dangerous now than it used to be. [ Viktor shrugs himself and make a noncommittal noise that is modulated strangely through the mask. ] There are fewer arteries to cut.

[ That is spoken like a joke, but it is true. There is a lot less of... everything, really. Except: ]

The wires are more of a problem now. I have been meaning to organize them.

[ Once again said as if he is talking about a particularly interesting insect (because Viktor does not comment on the weather). ]

I have a few books I can recommend.

[levelshift]

[It's a good thing Accelerator is desensitized when it comes to graphic medical (scientific, really) business. He doesn't flinch at that explanation, and he's pretty sure the mention of arteries and wires would turn a normal person green.]

Text me the titles and authors.

[Sorry Viktor, you're going to have to text again. Better get used to it. And Accelerator is still curious, so he asks another question:]

Why the hell is your body like this, anyways?

[sweetmilk]

[ This barely registers as something other than mundane to Viktor at this point and he talks about it, with those he trusts, as such. That said, he is used to the looks of abject horror or revulsion, and he is curious as to why this young man has little reaction. ]

I can. You should have the volumes here, assuming the collections are similar between the cities. If not, I will find new ones.

[ Viktor isn't adverse to texting, but his texts will be dry for the foreseeable future. ]

There were no other options left. If I was going to live, sacrifices needed to be made. [ That says nothing about the additional augments he had made that were vain, nor the ones that stripped him of— ] My humanity was a weakness, and so I removed the offensive parts.

[levelshift]

[More reading material is always going to be welcome, even if the subject is going to be on medicine and surgery. Reading is Accelerator's only real hobby, so he doesn't mind.

Besides, his attention is more focused on Viktor's explanation for all the robotics. His humanity was a weakness? Normally that would be concerning to hear, though he's aware from the other Viktor that he has some kind of physiological issues. Even this version still seems to have something of a limp, though it's subtle.

There were kids back home who underwent surgeries to replace parts of their body with technology, and in the case of the Rensas everything except the hypothalamus, but they were children whose circumstances forced it. The only people he knows who willingly threw their humanity away were monsters, and in the case of the Magic Gods huge jerks. That's why he looks a little unsure.]

Most people wouldn't consider their humanity a weakness. I guess it can be, if you're only talking about it in physical terms.

[sweetmilk]

[ Viktor, unbothered, is currently texting a list of twelve books, having long since memorized all of the titles and authors. There are a few on medicine and surgical procedures, but the vast majority are advanced robotics and techmaturgy. He ends the long message with:

To start.

And then he focuses his attention back on Accelerator, the task having taken only a minute or two. He notices the uncertainty. That is a look he is more familiar with. ]

I am not most people. [ There are days he doesn't even consider himself a person. ] My physical body was weak, yes, but I corrected more than that.

[levelshift]

[He'll review the list later, and probably ask Aurora for some additional books since it's doubtful a modern New York public library would have everything.

Right now he keeps on eyeing Viktor.]

... What do you mean?

[sweetmilk]

I possess a number of inhibitors.

[ All of which are, to varying degrees, functional again, though the emotional dampening is... less effective than he would like. The pain inhibitor is working at it's intended capacity though, which is more than enough. ]

Let me ask you a question. [ Viktor doesn't wait for permission, however. ] You seem familiar with augmentation. What are your concerns?

[ He assumes there must be some, judging by Accelerator's line of questioning and the reactions to Viktor's answers. ]

[levelshift]

[Inhibitors? There was the pain inhibitor he mentioned, but otherwise that sounds so vague.

He sighs a little.]

I'm from a city whose main reason for existence is to research and develop psychic kids. A lot of shady experimentation goes on, including this 'augmentation' kind of shit you've done to yourself. Everyone I've met or read about who's gone through it, and in every single one of those cases it involved a kid being manipulated or forced into it for the benefit of some fucking researchers. It was never to help the kid.

[So he's a little wary.]

[sweetmilk]

My augmentations and the extent to which I have performed them, I have only done to myself. Augmentation as a practice in Zaun has only ever been done to those willing to pay.

[ Viktor might have become misguided in desire to embrace what he believes is humanity's next step in evolution, but following the disagreement that had led to his exile and subsequent descent into near madness, Viktor has held one simple goal: ]

I only help the willing, and only what they ask me for. I have not augmented a single thing other than lungs to breathe and legs to walk. My work is and always will be, to help those who need it, adult and child alike. And I do not ask for payment for it.

Believe what you will. That is all I will say on the matter.

[levelshift]

[This is one of those subjects that hits close to home in a bad way, though Accelerator recognizes not every universe is like Academy City. If Viktor is saying things are different for him, then he can at least him the benefit of the doubt for now.

............. And if Viktor ends up doing horrific science here in Etraya, well, Accelerator will just deal with it.]

... Fine. I'll still help you with the surgery, since you shouldn't be doing that kind of shit by yourself.

[sweetmilk]

[ Any horrific science Viktor might experiment with in Etraya will be wholly focused inward. While he still extols the merits of parts of his glorious evolution, his time in Pollux and then Auriel tempered the obsession that had clouded his vision in Runeterra. ]

I have for over ten years.

[ Trust, especially in this, is something Viktor doesn't offer readily, not after everything he's been through, to the point that he'd rather suffer alone than attempt to seek help. He had tried to, years ago, and it earned him nothing but pain. Never again. ]

And it is only a spine. I cannot make it worse than the one I was born with.

[levelshift]

[Accelerator scowls up at Viktor, unimpressed. His expression is kind of petulant, honestly, since he's going to push hard on this.]

There's a chance you could still end up killing yourself, right?

[Even if potential is near zero he doubts the procedure is completely safe.]

[sweetmilk]

There is always a chance, yes.

[ Viktor always runs the variables and even with all of them accounted for to the best of his ability, there persists the inherent danger of surgery. ]

It would take a great deal more effort to kill me than for most however.

[levelshift]

Doesn't matter.

[His response is very blunt.]

Dying around here is shitty. Echo will bring you back, but you lose something in the process. It isn't something to take lightly.

[sweetmilk]

I am aware.

[ Viktor is too careful to have put himself in a position to experience that cost firsthand, but he had been in Pollux long enough to have seen it happen. ]

There are a number of systems that will keep me alive should the worst happen. The odds of failure is low.

[ Never zero, but he's pushed those systems to their limits often enough to know where the line is. ]

[levelshift]

[Accelerator's stare is very firm, not beating around the bush.]

Have you died before?

[sweetmilk]

[ Viktor matches that stare. ]

That depends on what you consider death.

[levelshift]

[Well, he can certainly clarify.]

I don't mean some psychological concept bullshit like ego death. I mean your heart stops, meaningful brain function ceases, and under normal circumstances you wouldn't be able to come back from it. You'd just be gone forever.

[sweetmilk]

I know. I do not believe in the concept of a soul.

[ That was a pretty fantasy that he'd never really subscribed to, and certainly not one he finds comfort in now. ]

My core has stopped before. My heart, too, when I had one. But no, by that definition, I have not died. I do not intend to either.

[levelshift]

I have. [He doesn't offer any details about that, just that he's experienced death before.] And I can tell you that any offer that decreases the likelihood of dying is an offer worth taking.

[sweetmilk]

Hm.

[ Viktor won't offer condolences. Those won't turn back the hands of time and he's not the type to waste words if he doesn't see a use in it. ]

I can see the merit in the offer. What is it you expect in return for it?