@ivory-paragon —
“Reeve, can you make me an automaton?”
⤑ ominous requests in my inbox
Strictly speaking, he could; whether or not it fell within the scope of his job duties was a different question, and one with a gray answer at best that was made no clearer by the lack of context surrounding the request. Was Rufus looking for a new toy? An army? A replacement for Palmer? Ultimately, Reeve had very little room to probe for such context, because giving a conditional answer was as good as admitting his capability but withholding access to it.
“ I can... ”
He wouldn’t make one like Cait Sith, of course ( subjecting a sentient creation to the whims of Rufus Shinra? That was basically the nightmare scenario that kept him bound to silence about his abilities ), but a traditional automaton ran on AI that was absolutely something ShinRa, Inc. could achieve, with some collaboration between departments. But the hours and expenses that would go into creating something that passed as the level of mechanic sophistication that Cait Sith appeared to possess... Reeve glanced around the President’s office for a clue as to how long or involved Rufus had intended for this meeting to be when he summoned him here, or if he even remotely grasped the scope of this request.
( In the end, there was only one answer permitted. )
“ We should discuss your needs first— ” Reeve began animatedly, at last masking his confusion with the demeanor and confident gesticulations of someone who was of course expecting his boss to casually ask him to build the world’s most sophisticated robot today, “ —the purposes you require it to fulfill, as well as any deadlines you might have. Once I have a sense of the scope of the project, I can work out a budget and a timeline and get back to you with some options. ”
