Abel And Will-ing

Job Details:

Job Sign-Up: Page 11, Post Number 264

-Motor City, outside Dr. Abel's House, early morning-

Dressed in her casual outfit with blue backpack and carrying Shining Light in its holster on her right side, Lucia approached the front door of Dr. Abel's house. Dr. Howard Abel, the doctor she had met a few weeks ago and whose mugging she stopped before it could escalate into full-blown assault, had called her here to help test the project. Weeks ago he had wanted her to help him test it before he had forgotten the passcode to the door behind which the project was stored and he was forced to postpone the test. Now he had remembered it and had invited Lucia back to do what he wanted to do weeks ago.

Lucia took off her backpack, pulled her iLac out, and slung the backpack around her left shoulder before starting to thumb through the Contacts list until she found the number that Dr. Abel had called her on. She found it and tapped it, then tapped the green phone icon to make the call. The iLac rang for several seconds before Dr. Abel answered.

"Hello?" Dr. Abel inquired.

"Dr. Abel, this is Lucia Winchester. You called for me to help with a project of yours and I'm standing outside your front door." Lucia informed him.

"Oh, splendid! I'll be there shortly to let you in!" He said before hanging up immediately. Lucia waited outside the door and looked for that gang she had stopped from mugging the doctor. They had vowed revenge against her and while Lucia was not terribly worried about it because she had done the right thing in stopping their criminal behavior, she was concerned. She did not know how many people were in the gang and how many members the gang could muster to go after her.

About three minutes later the front door opened and Dr. Abel stood on the other side.

"Hello Miss Winchester!" Dr. Abel warmly greeted her.

"Hello Dr. Abel." Lucia greeted him in return.

"Please, do come in! I've finally remembered the passcode to the gate and I'm ready to begin the test I had hired you for weeks ago!" Dr. Abel informed her before stepping back. Lucia walked into the house and the door was shut and locked behind her. She could not wait to see what Dr. Abel's project was.

-In the garage, seven minutes later-

Dr. Abel led Lucia into the garage and past the vehicles that were still sitting where they had been left last time. Lucia watched the doctor slowly walk over to the keypad and steady his hands before typing the code into the keypad. It flashed green and the heavy metal shutter rolled upward to reveal a person in a gray and red outfit holding an oval white shield standing on the other side. The person wore a helmet with dark lenses that obscured the upper half of their face and a yellow scarf was tied around their neck. The doctor turned his head and smiled at Lucia.

"This is the project I told you about, Miss Winchester. He's not awake yet, but he will be soon. I'll wake him up now." Dr. Abel said to Lucia. Lucia wondered if the person was part of the project or if he was the project. Lucia kept quiet and watched the doctor walk over to the person with the aid of his cane, stop just in front of him, and speak to him.

"Will. Will, can you hear me?" Dr. Abel asked the person. The person looked at the doctor and spoke.

"Hello Doctor Abel. It's been awhile since we've last spoken. It's been about seven months, give or take a day." The person said to the doctor. Dr. Abel smiled.

"That it has, Will. You've been a project that was a little over ten years in the making. Now you're ready for your final test." Dr. Abel told the person. The elderly man then looked at Lucia and spoke.

"Lucia, I'd like for you to meet Will. He's the project I told you about... and the closest thing to a son I have." Dr. Abel informed her with a tone of paternal pride. Lucia blinked. What did he mean that Will was a project of his?

Will's Appearance:

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Lucia was not quite sure what she was looking at. Will looked like a normal person, but he was anything but a person. There was something about him that was... off.

"Hello Lucia. I'm Will, Dr. Abel's newest creation." Will introduced himself to Lucia. Lucia blinked as she mentally rewound what he had just told her. Dr. Abel had created Will?

"Yes. Will's my newest creation... and perhaps my best. He's been a little over ten years in the making and now is his final test. I want to see how he interacts with people besides me." Dr. Abel cleared up any lingering doubts about what Will was with that statement. Will was a robot and undoubtedly an advanced one made with all the latest robotics technology. Lucia had just come back to life a few months ago and did not know how far technology had advanced in four years, but she was sure that it had advanced by leaps and bounds. The mere existence of the iLac was proof of that.

Lucia looked at Will and noticed that one of his hands had what looked to be a cannon of some sort. The blonde looked at Dr. Abel and started to ask about it when he cut her off.

"Don't worry, my dear. It's a retractable arm cannon, so Will can retract it and use his other hand at any time. I built that feature for it since one day he might have to go in public." Dr. Abel told Lucia. Lucia blinked. Will looked at the two humans and smiled.

"Oh, right! I'll just retract it now since there's no need for it." Will said. He made the arm cannon retract and his other hand came out where the cannon had once been. Now no one outside the lab would know that he had a concealed weapon.

"Doctor, why did you-" Lucia started to ask the doctor before he cut her off with a wave of his hand. He then closed his eyes. He kept them closed for several moments before opening them again and facing Lucia.

"I originally created Will to be a guardian of my home and laboratory. There are people out there who would like to get their hands on my creations, so I made Will to stop them. Will would need to be able to not only defend me and my property, but himself too." Dr. Abel explained how Will had come to possess an arm cannon and a shield. Lucia thought that made sense. With gangs running around the city, Will had to be armed and ready to defend Dr. Abel and his home with lethal force if necessary. Then Lucia put two and two together.

"So you gave Will weapons because people might want to steal your creations, including Will himself?" Lucia asked the doctor. The elderly man nodded.

"I'm not happy that I had to do that, but arming Will was an unfortunate necessity. He's my most advanced creation and once word gets out about him, there will be no shortage of people looking to kidnap him and reverse engineer him. If they can do that, they can make an army of advanced robots. I fear that making an army of fighting robots would be at the top of their list." Dr. Abel explained the real reason Will had been created with weapons. Again Lucia understood why. Will was made of the most modern components and his ability to conceal his arm cannon made him much more dangerous than he appeared to be.

Dr. Abel looked sad as he continued to talk.

"I'm an eighty-four year old man, Miss Winchester. I'm not ready to be buried yet, but I don't know how much longer I have to live. And when my time's up, my time's up. There's nothing I can do to stop it." Dr. Abel laid out another reason for creating Will. While he could not prevent his death, the doctor wanted to leave something behind to show the world that he had existed and that he did something with his life. Will would be a living testament to Dr. Abel's robotics ability, one that would last for decades, perhaps even centuries.

"I don't have a family, Miss Winchester. My parents died a long time ago and I was an only child, so I don't have any siblings. I didn't want to die alone, so I made Will to be with me when my time comes." Dr. Abel continued, laying out still another reason he had created Will. Again Lucia kept quiet. She was not one to pass judgment because when her time to die came she too hoped that she would have someone by her side. Perhaps if fortune smiled on Lucia the person who would be at her side when the end came would be her sister Diana.

"I'll be here for you when your time comes, Dr. Abel." Will assured his creator. Dr. Abel closed his eyes and spoke to his creation.

"I'm certain that you'll be there for me when my time comes, but now's not the time to talk about that. We've spent enough time on that subject. Let's move on to something else." Dr. Abel indicated a wish to move on from the grim subject of death and on to a subject that was a little more upbeat. Lucia and Will patiently waited for the doctor to determine what the new subject of discussion would be.

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It had been several minutes since the doctor had requested a change of subject from talk about what would happen when he died, but he had not suggested a new topic to talk about. Lucia and Will waited for the doctor to speak to them and watched him intently. The doctor looked like he was daydreaming. When he saw Lucia and Will looking at him he realized that he was supposed to say something to them.

"Oh, I forgot to change the subject! I'm so sorry!" Dr. Abel apologized to them both.

"Are you OK, doctor?" Will asked his creator. The elderly man nodded.

"Yes, I'm fine, Will. I'm just old, that's all. When you get old you lose focus from time to time.. not that you have to ever worry about that." Dr. Abel told Will. Will, far from being quiet, responded to that statement with a statement of his own.

"I might not age physically, but my internal components will get old. Even if I never see combat I'll need repairs and upgrades from time to time, but even then repairs and upgrades can only do so much to keep me viable. One day I won't be able to be upgraded any more, so I'll be a walking museum piece." Will informed the doctor that even advanced robots had their own problems to face as they aged. The doctor closed his eyes.

"That's true, Will. I've never looked at it that way." Dr. Abel admitted that his creation had made a very good point. Lucia continued to listen in silence as the doctor and Will discussed the latter's concerns about his brand of aging.

"I don't know how long I'll stay top-of-the-line. I also don't know how much longer you'll be with me to make repairs and upgrades to me, Doctor." Will started to discuss his concerns. Dr. Abel leaned on his walking stick and listened silently without interrupting.

"I also don't know if you have some kind of automated repair and upgrade system set up for me to use or if you have an apprentice or colleague who can carry on your work after you die, but I sure hope you have a backup plan of some sort." Will outlined another concern of his, namely whether Dr. Abel had a backup plan in place to care for Will after the doctor passed on. Dr. Abel shook his head sadly.

"I'm afraid that I haven't had time to set up a backup plan like you suggested, Will. You see, I've been so busy trying to get you operational that I've neglected to train an apprentice or ask a colleague to help me." Dr. Abel admitted to Will. The gray-clad robot frowned.

"I don't know of anyone I can trust, Will. I'm afraid that if I entrust you and my lab to the wrong people my creations will be used for the wrong reasons. I'm especially worried for you since you're meant to be the guardian of my property and you're made to be a fighting robot." Dr. Abel defended his actions to Will. Will remained unmoved. Lucia took the chance to jump in and make a suggestion.

"Why not ask Dr. Loretta Reid to help you, Dr. Abel?" Lucia interjected, offering Dr. Reid as a possible helper for Dr. Abel. Dr. Abel turned from Will to her and seemed to ponder the idea for a moment. Once he had thought the suggestion over for a few moments he replied to Lucia.

"I don't know her that well, Miss Winchester. I know that she's an expert in robotics, but I don't know all that much about her. I don't know whether she'll be inclined to make an army of Wills or not." Dr. Abel shot down the suggestion, citing concerns that Dr. Reid would make an army of Wills if given the chance. Will himself took the chance to interject.

"You can't use that as an excuse forever, Doctor." Will sharply reminded his creator. Dr. Abel flinched at Will's sharp tone. Lucia kept quiet, but on the inside she was every bit as shocked as the doctor by Will's sharp tongue. The blonde expected a little more deference from Will, but Dr. Abel was likely not going to get it.

"While I'm an advanced piece of engineering, you're not the only one who's had the idea to create a fighting robot, Doctor. What you say is true... if the wrong person got possession of me they'd have a solid foundation for a robot army. However, you can't keep using that as an excuse forever. Eventually someone's gonna create something like me and they won't be as scrupulous about using them for unsavory things as you are." Will pointed out that the creation of another being like him was inevitable.

"At some point you've got to trust someone to care for your lab and your creations because you won't be around forever." Will bluntly pointed out another reason the doctor needed to get over his hangups about entrusting Will to someone. On the surface it sounded like Will was motivated by self-interest, but he had a very good point in saying what he did. As the doctor himself pointed out, Dr. Abel was eighty-four years old and did not have children or an apprentice. He would not live forever, so the doctor needed to find someone who could care for Will and his other creations before he passed on.

"You're right, Will. But I don't want to trust you to just anyone. The potential for abuse is just too great." Dr. Abel conceded, making it clear that he was agonizing over the decision. Will frowned. Lucia kept a neutral face and listened to the two parties debate the issue of who would get the doctor's lab and his creations after he passed. She was not educated enough in robotics to propose herself as a candidate and she hoped that no one would bring up the idea. Lucia was not very tech-savvy and would not be able to learn everything needed to keep Will and the lab operational.

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Lucia watched silently as the discussion over who would be entrusted with Will, the laboratory, and the other creations continued. She was not educated enough to take up the mantle that would be left by Dr. Abel. Will continued to be blunt with his words and Dr. Abel continued to agonize over who he would entrust with everything he had built over his life. Lucia watched the proceedings and silently hoped to whatever cosmic entity was inclined to listen that she was not chosen as a compromise candidate. Aside from not being educated enough to properly maintain Will and work the lab equipment, she also did not have the time to quit being a freelance mage and devote everything to keeping up something she did not want to inherit to start with.

"I recall you mentioning a Dr. Hanlon who lived in Motor City. You said he's a capable man with quite a few creations to his name. Why not ask him?" Will suggested to his creator. Dr. Abel shot the idea down almost immediately.

"I can't ask him to do that, Will. After an incident from a couple of years ago he's sworn off working on war machines or anything to do with weaponry. He's also got his own projects to pursue and I don't want to impose on him." Dr. Abel declined the suggestion and cited his reason for doing so. Will folded his arms across his chest. Even though his eyes were obscured by the sunglasses-like visor of his helmet, Will's facial expression spoke volumes of how he felt about the doctor's refusal to commit to a successor.

"Well then, who can you trust?" Will bluntly asked the doctor. He was getting tired of the doctor shooting down idea after idea without proposing any ideas of his own. Dr. Abel leaned on his cane for support.

"I don't know, Will. I don't know. I've never had to think about this before." Dr. Abel replied in a calm voice. Will frowned again.

"It's time you start thinking about it, Doctor. Not only is my future hanging in the balance, but so are the futures of your other creations. They need care too." Will sharply suggested to the doctor. Dr. Abel frowned and clutched his cane.

"I know that, Will!" The doctor sharply replied in a tone that briefly surprised Will. It also surprised Lucia as well. The elderly man had taken most of Will's comments in stride, but at this point he chose to make a stand.

"I know that I need to find a successor, Will, but I have to choose carefully. I have a very good idea of what other people think when they see technology. They see the potential to turn technological wonders into weapons of war. They're quick to look for ways to use something as a weapon and slow to see how something can be used to make life better for everyone. You're an example of that." Dr. Abel laid out his cynical view of what people would do with his creations if given the chance. Will remained silent as the doctor continued to speak.

"I created you as a guardian of my property... and a companion for me. I wanted you to be able to think for yourself, not just be a mindless yes-man. I gave you free will so that you'd be able to think for yourself and make your own choices instead of being just a mindless servant of mine. That's why I named you Will." Dr. Abel explained why he had created Will to begin with and how he had gotten his name. Lucia was speechless. Will was a robot with free will, something that was amazing... and very dangerous.

"I know that I took a grave risk in giving you free will, but I didn't want a mindless servant. I wanted someone who could talk to me as an equal. I wanted to make something special. That's why I devoted ten years of my life to building you to last long after I'm gone." Dr. Abel continued. Will continued to remain silent as his creator spoke. Lucia noticed that Will's frown had vanished and was replaced with a neutral expression.

"But the thing that makes you special is also what makes you dangerous if you fall into the wrong hands. Some people are looking for bigger and better weapons and you're a perfect example of what they're looking for. They'll stop at nothing to capture you and reverse engineer an entire line of intelligent war machines that can think outside the box to complete their objectives. But I have a feeling that they'll just make mindless killing machines in your image instead. No one would want a war machine that could think for itself and possibly choose not to kill." Dr. Abel finished his defense of why he was taking so long to pick a successor. Will remained silent for several moments to think over everything he had been told by his creator before speaking. Once he had thought everything over he spoke to Dr. Abel.

"Those are all valid points, Doctor. I didn't see things that way before you brought your viewpoint to my attention. I was being nearsighted and overly focused on my well-being to the detriment of your own. I apologize for that." Will conceded to Dr. Abel and apologized for being so selfish. Dr. Abel closed his eyes and smiled warmly.

"That's exactly what I wanted from you, Will. I wanted a creation that could think for itself and reach its own conclusions. While I'm not sure where you got your blunt way of speaking from, I appreciate you being honest with me and not holding anything back because I'm your creator. You also apologized to me because you were wrong about something, not because I'm your creator and you feel that you owe me undue deference." Dr. Abel said with pride in Will. Lucia could not tell whether Dr. Abel was being magnanimous or was genuinely proud of Will for not sugarcoating his opinions, but she chose to believe that on some level Dr. Abel was proud of Will's demonstration of free will. If the doctor wanted proof of Will's ability to think for himself, then he had just gotten a very powerful demonstration of that ability.

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Lucia silently watched the reconciliation between doctor and creation and was glad that despite the difference of opinion the two eventually reached an understanding concerning the doctor's choice of successor. The choice was to be a carefully considered one because Dr. Abel did not want Will to be abused by being used as a war machine or being the unwilling "father" to a line of war machines made in his image. Once Will knew that the doctor had good reasons for his reluctance he backed off and accepted the doctor's decision to wait a while longer in the hopes of finding the right successor. Lucia continued to silently hope that it would not be her.

"With that being said, who do you think would be a good successor, Doctor? Someone you can trust not to turn me into a war machine or make second-rate copies of me for war?" Will asked Dr. Abel. The doctor closed his eyes and concentrated on coming up with a good answer.

"I don't know, Will. I hate to keep putting the subject off, but that's a very good question. It's one that I'll have to think about, but rest assured that I'll give it serious thought." Dr. Abel conceded to Will. Will almost immediately turned his gaze to Lucia. The blonde did not like where this was going. The very thing she did not want to happen looked like it was about to be set in motion and there was not a lot she could do to stop it.

"Why not make Lucia your successor, Doctor? She's not a scientist. I don't think she'll try to reverse engineer me, if only because she doesn't know how. I also don't think that she's interested in creating weapons." Will suggested to Dr. Abel and gave a blunt assessment of Lucia's qualifications. Chief among them was that Lucia was not a scientist and thus lacked the technical ability to misuse Will, but another "qualification" was that the blonde was not interested in making weapons if she were granted the doctor's laboratory and equipment. Lucia was going to do her very best to shoot the idea down before it could be seriously considered.

"I'm not trained to operate the equipment in your lab, Doctor! I also don't know the first thing about what it takes to keep Will or your other creations working! I'm not a mechanic, an electrician, a programmer, or anything like that!" Lucia cited her lack of qualifications to be Dr. Abel's successor. She hoped that that would be enough to shut down the idea, but to her utter horror Dr. Abel smiled for a moment. He looked like he was seriously considering the idea despite everything she had said. Feeling that she had not said enough to make her case, Lucia decided to list more reasons to not be chosen.

"I'm a freelance mage, not a scientist! I know just enough about technology to use my iLac! I wouldn't be a very good choice as a successor because you need someone who can read your books, work your equipment, and maintain your creations! I don't know how to do any of those things and I'm not sure that I can learn how to do them fast enough!" Lucia pleaded ignorance to try and dissuade the doctor. Dr. Abel hmmm'd. Will looked towards Lucia with a neutral expression.

"All of those points are true, Miss Winchester. I need someone who can understand what's in my books, work my equipment, and maintain my creations." Dr. Abel conceded that the blonde mage had raised good points about why she should be disqualified from consideration.

"I'm not the person you want, Doctor. I'm a freelance mage who's always on the road. As much as I want to help you, I don't have the time to stay in one place and look after your creations and your laboratory. I... I also don't have what it takes to care for Will. He needs someone to look after him and guide him after you're gone and that someone isn't me." Lucia continued to appeal to facts to try and convince the doctor to choose someone else to inherit everything. The doctor seemed to respond best to facts, so a no-nonsense facts-based approach was the one that Lucia would use. She had already laid out many facts as to why she was not a good candidate.

Lucia had emphasized the fact that she was uneducated in the numerous fields she would need to be a master of to carry on his work. She had emphasized that she was a freelance mage with a career of her own who could not reasonably be expected to drop everything and take up his work. She had emphasized that she did not have what it took to properly care for Will, who had the ability to think for himself and choose his own path as opposed to just taking orders from whoever happened to be his owner.

However, it was all up to Dr. Abel in the end. However eloquently (or inarticulately) she had made her case, in the end it was his choice as to whether or not she was chosen to inherit everything. Will was certain to have some input into the decision since he was the one who would have to live with his creator's choice. She just hoped that what she had said was enough to convince the two that they needed to pick someone else to pin their hopes for the future on.

Lucia waited in silence for Dr. Abel to make his decision on the matter. She hoped for her sake that he would make the right choice. She also hoped for both the doctor's sake and Will's sake that he would change his mind and choose someone more qualified than her. She had made it abundantly clear that she would prefer not to be chosen, but if she was selected anyway she would just have to set aside what she wanted and honor the obligation the best she could. Despite her resolve to fulfill the doctor's wishes if she had to, Lucia would not be happy to be chosen for a task that she was ill-equipped to take on.

All she could do was hope that Dr. Abel would consider a few more candidates before finally deciding on one even if in the end she was the one who was chosen.

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Having made her case the best she could, Lucia waited in silence for the doctor to either make his selection or to put off the decision for another time. Lucia was silently hoping that Dr. Abel would choose to postpone the decision so that he could possibly find a better candidate than Lucia to carry on his work. Will looked towards Dr. Abel, who closed his eyes and began to think. Lucia looked towards the doctor as well.

The silence lasted for a few minutes until Dr. Abel opened his eyes and faced Will.

"I don't think that we need to decide just yet, Will. Miss Winchester made quite a few good points as to why I should pick someone else to carry on my work. She's not a scientist and she's a freelance mage, so I can't reasonably expect her to drop everything to do something she's not trained to do. That would be too much to ask of her." Dr. Abel announced his decision to postpone the selection of a successor until a later date. Lucia was relieved to hear that. The doctor now had time to find someone who might be better qualified to inherit everything of his.

"But she might be a good option if all else fails. As you noted, she doesn't know how to reverse engineer you. She also isn't interested in making weapons out of my work. Those are good reasons to at least keep her in consideration for a backup plan." Dr. Abel asserted that while she might not be the front-runner, she was a good backup candidate in case no one better came along. Ordinarily Lucia would feel more than a little insulted to be openly called someone's "Plan B", but in this case she did not mind. She was not in any hurry to lead the race.

"That's true, Doctor. She's been forthright about how she's not qualified to be the first candidate for your successor. She's still a very good backup candidate, one you might want to keep your eye on." Will weighed in on Lucia's worthiness to be in the running. Lucia was hoping that Will would second her ideas and try to dissuade the doctor from considering her at all, but if Will himself considered her a good backup plan she should probably take heed of that. Lucia decided to feel honored by Will's words and let the doctor make the final call.

"Indeed. I'll keep her in mind in case I can't decide on anyone else. I might have to look into making preparations for Lucia to carry on my work despite her lack of training." Dr. Abel mused to Will. Lucia did not protest any further. If he decided that she was going to be his successor, there was not a whole lot she could do about it.

"Well, I think we've discussed the subject enough for today, Will. I'm sure that Miss Winchester has other things to do with her time than to hear us talk." Dr. Abel suggested that the subject of his successor be dropped for the time being. Will nodded in agreement.

"Yes, Doctor. You're right. Now, did you still want Lucia to help you with those tests or did you want to save that for another day?" Will asked Dr. Abel about the reason he had called Lucia here. Dr. Abel blinked.

"Oh dear, I had gotten so caught up in the discussion of the last subject that I had completely forgotten about the tests!" Dr. Abel exclaimed after Will reminded him. Lucia remained silent as the doctor got his thoughts together. He tapped the end of his cane on the ground a few times while he tried to remember what the tests were.

"Oh no, I've done it again. I've completely forgotten what they were." Dr. Abel said to Will. Will sighed.

"Were they tests of my reflexes or speed? Were they tests of my ability to think for myself?" Will began to list things to try and help his creator remember what he wanted to test. Dr. Abel blushed a little.

"I have no idea, Will. I've completely forgotten." Dr. Abel repeated. Will sighed again.

"Well, it was worth a try. Maybe you'll remember what you wanted to test soon." Will hoped. Dr. Abel chuckled and turned to Lucia.

"Well Miss Winchester, I'm sorry to have wasted your time. You came out here all the way for nothing but to hear us talk." Dr Abel apologized for forgetting what he had wanted Lucia to help him test.

"I believe that you wanted to test how I'd react to interacting with someone besides you, Doctor." Will chimed in. Dr. Abel's face lit up.

"Oh, that's right! Miss Winchester hasn't said very much all day. Maybe you'd like to speak with Miss Winchester a little longer... if that's all right with her." Dr. Abel said to Will before turning to Lucia to hear her response.

"I don't mind staying a bit longer and talking to Will, Doctor." Lucia assured him. It was not like Lucia had anything important to do today. Looking for an apartment paled in comparison to the importance of getting to help Dr. Abel test a robot with free will. Such an opportunity did not come along every day and Lucia would be wise to take it while she could.

"So, Will, what did you want to talk about with Miss Winchester?" Dr. Abel asked Will an icebreaker question to get the test started on the right foot.

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-Four hours later, Lucia's hotel room, Talonia-

Lucia had talked with Will for three hours after the test of his ability to interact with anyone besides Dr. Abel. Now she was back home in Talonia sitting on her bed and looking at apartment brochures trying to find a new place to live, one that was more affordable than this place. Lucia was glad to have a roof over her head, but that roof was costing quite a bit of money, money that was practically gone as soon as she made it. She was keeping her head above water, but that was due to careful budgeting for her needs and not spending beyond her means.

Despite the high rent she paid for her hotel room, Lucia was reluctant to leave a sure thing. If she left here and was unable to find another place to live she would be in a bad place. It was not like Lucia could just sashay into a real estate office and buy a house right this instant. Well, she could, but it would eat every bit of her tiny budget, assuming she could even find a decent place that her tiny budget could afford. She would definitely need to keep looking before she went out on a limb and moved into an apartment complex or looked into buying her own home.

She set aside the brochures and her mind drifted back to Will and how capable he was of speaking clearly and surely without needing Dr. Abel to help him. It sounded like a backhanded compliment, but Lucia was impressed by how Will spoke to her with ease and confidence. He asked her questions about her career as a freelance mage and all the places she had been to to date such as Abandoned Cabin, Silent Cemetery, and Haunted Castle. Will listened to her answers intently and never interrupted her, which was more than she could say for people like her late sister Melody... or her late mother Elizabeth, who was infamous for interrupting one of her children whenever she believed they were wrong about something.

Will seemed genuinely interested in the places Lucia described to him, but that could be because he had never left Dr. Abel's laboratory, not because she was a masterful storyteller. Still, Lucia appreciated someone listening to her and Will seemed to like talking to her. Maybe Dr. Abel would pick a successor capable of caring for Will some time soon, but that was out of her hands. Dr. Abel would have to be the one to make the decision.

Lucia had given up on finding an apartment because her mind was just not focused on it. If she continued looking for an apartment while being unable to properly focus on the task she would be wasting her time and ran the risk of making a snap decision that could ultimately cost her a lot more than just money. It was best just to postpone the search until she could give the matter her full and undivided attention. Tomorrow she would try again, but for now the search for an apartment could wait.

With that having been decided, Lucia decided to lie down for awhile and reclined on the bed, then stared at the ceiling until she went to sleep.

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