Yain said nothing as he slunk into the room, his mismatched gaze critically sweeping over his surroundings. White. Very white. He almost couldn't see himself, at least the parts similarly covered in white fabric. This.. was amusing. He was sure that people would go crazy if they stayed in here long enough, and catching sight of the receptionist, started to heavily question her sanity.
"Hello," He called out, striding over and propping his head up with his elbows on the desk. Flashing her a charming smile, he tilted his head to the side and shifted his gaze to the side -- never look crazy people in the eyes.
"My name is Yain, and I've.. heard things about this place. I'm interested in the machine-soul program that's rumoured to have just started here. And possibly radioactive gerbils, but that's the least of my priorities at the moment."
---
Dr. Koyuki - for it was her, not the receptionist - looked up and turned her head to stare at Yain over her spectacles.
A guy.
Who just came barging in, gave his name, and started muttering about radioactive gerbils and machine souls. Is he... alright? You know, right in the mind?
"... Erm. Hi," She stared into his eyes; mismatched in color, just like hers were mismatched in color depth, "Yain. That is who you say you are, at least. Machine souls? We have children that are developed from technology here, at least. Unless you are thinking nuclear bombs? We don't have that here."
---
"The person's words, not mine." He waved a hand dismissively. "'Children of technology' will do just as well, I think." After all, he already had the machine-soul.. He just needed the machine.
He could tell she was staring at him but didn't feel like staring back. Questioning of either one's sanity aside, he simply didn't like eye-contact. Vulnerability and suchlike, however it would be explained -- it made him prone to irritability and sometimes exploding things, and neither would be appropriate at the moment.
"Not nuclear bombs, but I'm interested." He clarified, shifting almost uneasily on his feet and, straightening, raised a hand to run it through his hair. "I have an ID on me if you'd like to check that."
---
"Of course, that's fine with me, and no ID, it's alright," Koyuki replied, and stopped staring to look down on her paper and continued scribbling whatever she had been before.
"My assistants are out. It's not working hours. Do you have an appointment that I forgot about?" She looked up at him in question. Not that an appointment is needed, in honesty. She thought this man was interesting, and would gladly let him skirt away from the appointments rule.
---
"An appointment?" Yain blinked at her before suddenly pulling back. "Aaa, please forgive me! I didn't realize you had to make an appointment.. I would be glad to do that, I have a bit of a busy schedule but I can make time."
A pause.
"Unless, of course..." He tilted his head to the side and let a lopsided grin tug at his lips. "You have time now? I'll try not to be too long."
---
Koyuki paused. Ah, no appointment. At least her memory wasn't slipping like she almost thought it was.
"Hm... well, I guess I do have time right now. Even if you want to schedule, you probably won't see me for another few months," she winked at him, and got up, "Not when I'm going to be dealing with a screaming baby at home."
"Come along then, erm, Mr. Yain," she threw her labcoat over herself and walked over to the right corridor, pressing a code into the pad on the wall, walking into the white hallway.
---
The pale-haired young man shivered at the mention of babies, but obligingly straightened and followed her anyway. He briefly kept an eye on his surroundings but, satisfactorily determining that no zombies would leap at him and eat his head, he coughed lightly and turned to his companion.
"I suppose I should tell you the reason I'm interested, so you may be better able to help me find what I'm looking for. I have casually started a small project..." He seemed to snatch a few sheets of paper from absolutely nowhere at all and began to rifle through them as if this sort of thing was normal. For him, it probably was. "...That I'm calling 'Deus Ex Machina' for now. I'm sure you've heard of ghost-in-the-shell theories that's popular in these fields nowadays. Well, instead of developing said ghost, I'd like to.. implant one. I need a shell, though, and unfortunately I'm not experienced enough in mechanics to trust myself to make a suitable and safe one..."
He vaguely hoped that made sense. He wasn't sure if he'd ever spoken so much at one time, and his mouth felt dry.
---
The young scientist raised an eyebrow, and after a few brief moments of thinking, grinned wickedly. This is the first time anyone had approached her for a challenge in what she does. Ghost-in-the-shell? She had never done such a thing, at least in terms of 'implanting' a soul.
"Ah. I see. What I do is similar to what you want to do in theory, all I have to do is to..." she made a few brief calculations, "tweak it a tad bit. I think I can do it."
She reached over for one of the clipboard hanging on hooks lined along the walls and ripped off the first page on it, stuffing the paper down one of the large pockets on her coat. These clipboards were placed for quick notes from one assistant to another, and Koyuki had a knack of using them for her own notes instead.
"Mmmhmm... yes, alright," she nodded after writing down some notes, along with Yain's name underlined on the top, "Here we are, come into this room," she walked absentmindly into a door on her left, nearly colliding with the frame before correcting herself.
---
"Money is no problem," He continued, visibly brightening at her agreement. "Nor is time, and I'll help in any way I can."
Taking special note not to repeat her near-mistake, Yain easily slipped into the room. He tried to think of something else to say, but decided that was all there needed to be said, really.
"Oh, right, if you could make it as organic as possible.. I'd like it to grow naturally... But not start as a baby." He shivered again.
---
"Mmmm, time is definitely needed. Since I've never done this before, it'd be best if meet and have check-ups of the sort every once in a while. Alright?" She strolled down the rows of pods, reaching one at the end of the room. It seemed isolated from the rest.
"You're lucky... I have this one child who seems to be growing without... er.. a soul. I couldn't figure out how to fix the problem, but now we have a solution," She glanced at the small figure in the pod, supported by the machine she was in.
"Well, anyway, she'll look like a small child when she is born out of the pod, so to say. But you'll need to teach her how to walk, talk, and the basic things. From then on, she'll grow like a normal person."
---
Yain followed, intrigue capturing him, peering wide-eyedly into all of the pods. "Yes, of course, if there are any malfunctions... I will do my best to learn to take care of.. her both mentally and physically, but if something should happen..." He trailed off and shook his head.
He stopped when she did, silently inspecting the small figure held within the pod. Shaking his head in approval, he let out a small 'hm' in agreement to the terms she laid out. "I will do that, thank you. How soon will she be 'born'..?"
---
"Yes, yes," Koyuki leaned over to type in a code into the pod, then entering various numbers that only she understood to the computer that held the child's body.
"She should be born in about a week, possibly less. Normally, they would have dreams or nightmares as they sleep and develop, but this is a special case. Things will have to develop after she is 'born'..." she mumbled, concentrating on entering the right information.
"Oh... and, do you have a name for her?" She looked up suddenly, smiling at Yain above the frames of her spectacles.
---
"Oh." He frowned slightly at the question, not taking his eyes off the small body. "Remiel.. Achrimia. Just Achrimia, I suppose. I called her Ashie for short. Er... Or will call."
He suddenly felt like an ant underneath a magnifying glass.
"Would it be better to implant the soul now or until after she's born? It would be easier to work without the pod, but perhaps it would be necessary to do it now and allow her time to develop naturally.." He murmured.
---
Koyuki rubbed her chin and mused for a few brief minutes before deciding, "I think we can implant the soul at her 'birth'. That would probably be the best. When she's ready, I will give you a call?" She glanced at him again, to confirm this, while typing in 'Achrimia' into the computer to register it as her name.
---
"Alright." Yain flashed her a grateful smile and began to dig into invisible pockets. Pulling out a business card, he quickly scribbled his personal cellphone number and offered it to Koyuki balanced on one finger.
"Oh, yes, aa... what should we do for payment? Like I said earlier, money is no obstacle."
---
Koyuki stared at Yain's outstretched finger with the business card for briefly before accepting it with a smile, "Ahh! Oh, and here," she took one of her business cards and scribbled her own cellphone number on the back, "If you have any concerns, you can reach me as well. Call anytime, even if it's 3 AM. Emergencies are to be dealt with quickly."
Payment? Koyuki blinked... yes. Didn't Eva say something about setting up payment? Whatever.
"Well, I don't want payment. I'd prefer to think of it as a personal... project between us, if you don't mind," Koyuki nodded. Yes, that sounded good. So what if Eva yells at her?
---
"Aaa." Both eyebrows raised alarmingly, but it seemed he had pleasant intentions for he soon relaxed and smiled back, reaching out to accept the offered business card. "Very well then, I hope to hear from you soon. Thank you very much for seeing me." He swept an elaborate bow -- and then was gone.
---
"Strange man, in a good way," Koyuki muttered to herself, before walking out of the room. With one last glance at the pod before it was out of sight, she closed the door and punched in the code to lock the door. Whistling to herself and sauntering out to the desk once again, she kept the clipboard with Yain's information on it.
"This will be interesting, right?" She asked herself, settling down to finish whatever she was doing before Yain's entrance, "I wonder if... who was it that was going to come in next?" She glanced at her computer. Ah. The next person.
She patted her stomach and smiled at no one in particular, "You better not get born before I finish my work here, child."
And the day went on.
