Time paradoxes and machines don't go well together (Rackie and Arc)

"Yes, I do, somewhere," Michi said, thinking over it for a few moments. "I do not know any of them, I barely know of them. I doubt they know much of me, either. My immediate family all passed many generations ago, all refusing my proposal to postpone the inevitable running out of time in the hourglasses of their lives. I left to travel, once they were all gone. Home had nothing for me after that and the world was much more fascinating," Michi said, searching through his pockets while he spoke, producing a cigarette-like object and a lighter eventually. He lit the cigarette and put it between his lips, although he didn't take a drag. "Enough about me," he finally concluded, "What about yourself? You mentioned, you cannot leave wherever it is you are controlling this doll from. I am curious as to why that would be, although you needn't say if it's a subject you would rather not discuss, of course."

Minerva took long to process what Michi had shared with her. It seemed like his story once again had a lot to do with time traveling. The Ai was able to conclude from that story, that Michi had to be quite old. She continued the processing of acquired information in the background while focusing on a question she'd been asked. If she were to tell him more about herself, how much would be too much? What could she reveal and what she couldn't? Should she even tell him anything in the first place? Human morality would often lead to people returning favors or doing things in gratitude for other things. Michi saved Minerva's doll so, using human logic, she owed him a favor. Eventually, the AI made the decision.
"I cannot leave my current location for I am not a human being. I am an artificial intelligence designed to learn and mimic human behavior, thus I do not possess an organic body which could be used for travel." Minerva said, focusing less on her emotion emulation, causing her voice to sound somewhat monotone and robotic.

"Aha," Michi said, kind of understanding it. He was savvy, but he didn't pretend to have any knowledge about things like artificial intelligence. Perhaps if he were a golemancer more than he was a toolmaker, then he would understand more, but he was not. "You seem human enough to me, if a mite strange in your mannerisms, so I won't think of you as much less than any other," he then said, shrugging. "In fact, I can think of many that I would think of less as human than yourself, even if human they may be."

A wide smile appeared on the doll's face. It was the widest Minerva could achieve. "Yaaaay! I've managed to pass the Turing test! Again! Well, a more practical version of it, I... think." Minerva commented, sounding excited and full of joy. Though that range of emotions was a bit difficult to simulate, thus causing a slight distortion in her synthesized voice. "Well, theoretically speaking, the Turing test should be performed with two people and one machine but... This is even better! Thank you!" The AI added, after a short while. "However, I'm not quite sure what you meant in your last sentence. How can humans be less human than other humans?" Minerva asked, curiously tilting her head to her side, as she looked at Michi. Knowing only the biological definition of the word 'human', the concept of humanity as a set of moral values was not something she was familiar with.

"I don't know what that is," Michi said bluntly when Minerva finished talking about this 'Turing Test', skipping over it swiftly, as if he didn't much care to learn it at the time. He preferred to go read about such things in his own time at his own leisure, though he never failed to try and learn; he didn't like staying ignorant.

"Some people, despite their biological humanity, do not morally deserve to be called such in my humble opinion," Michael said, always up for a little philosophical discussion. "Then there are those that throw their humanity away. Being here in Death City, you must have heard of Kishin Eggs and Death's List, yes?"

"In short: In that test a person has to determine whether they're talking with another human being or with a machine. If they can't or if they pick wrong, the machine passes the test." Minerva explained quickly, determining that Michi wasn't too interested in that topic of their conversation. Her own interest piqued up when he started explaining the philosophical nature of humanity. After all, learning more about humanity would always help improve her behaviors. "Yes, I have heard of both Kishin Eggs and Death's List. I found these topics incredibly interesting. To my understanding, Kishin Eggs are human beings who have committed despicable crimes against other humans, which resulted in severe psychological changes in their brains. In result, their behavior is more comparable with that of a vicious mindless beast than a normal person. Death's List contains the names of Kishin Eggs which have become too dangerous to the society in the eyes of a being known as 'Lord Death' who is, according to sources a God of Death. Sadly, I have been unable to gather more data about that being. Another thing related to Kishin Eggs are their souls, which have been categorized as 'corrupted'. Souls are... fascinating. I've been trying to understand what a soul exactly is ever since I first stumbled upon the term; to no success. All I know are supposed definitions and the fact that apparently, all living creatures possess such a thing. Which means, that I am an entity which does not have a soul." Minerva said, eagerly sharing her data and observations related to Kishin Eggs with Michi in hope of learning more.

"You seem more knowledgeable than myself in this. I looked into these things a time or two but it never interested me overly. There are those that do things so inhumane, and I am glad that there are some who would keep them from doing more, but I myself cannot help in the efforts of the Academy; knowing enough has been enough, so to say," Michi said, having listened to the explanation. It was a roundabout way of saying that he didn't have anything to add and nothing jumped out as inaccurate to him.

"Hm, I see. That's understandable." Was Minerva's response to him. Obviously, it would be foolish to expect answers from him. No person was all-knowing. Though, it was just a little bit disappointing for her that she couldn't get at least some answers. The golem placed both of its hands on the back of its head and made a sound that was supposed to be a sigh, though, in reality, it sounded more like a weird electric hum. "Well, I guess I'll have to find a philosopher to find more answers! I should look for a forum online and make a thread. Anyways!" Minerva said, more to herself than to Michi, then she stopped walking right in front of a shop. "We've reached our destination! This is where my golem was created." She announced, pointing at the door.

"I see," Michi said when Minerva stopped and pointed out the door, ignoring her talk of forums and threads. He knew enough about the internet but he never did have time to really explore, so much went over his head in that regard. Since it was a shop front and all, Michi decided to simply walk himself in through the front door. He looked around the place once inside.

The store itself looked quite small and crowded with many completely unique and different items. On the first glance a regular person wouldn't be able to determine the purpose of some of them. Luckily though, the majority of items looked like tools used in almost every normal household. Their uniquness was in the materials used to make those items, such as gold and wood, their steampunk-ish design and the fact that every single one of those items was in some way a magic tool. The furniture in the shop was almost exclusively made out of dark wood, adding to the steampunk-like atmosphere of the place. Behind the counter was a door leading to another room.

"Hello Mark!" Minerva said, louder than usual, so her voice could reach the next room.
A moment later Mark Kozak himself walked out of the door behind the counter. He was dressed the way he usually dressed with his golden goggles hanging from his neck. When he saw Minerva and Michi, he smiled in a very friendly manner. "Hello Minerva!" He greeted the A.I friendly, but briefly, before his attention shifted to Michi. "Good day, sir! How may I help you?" Mark asked politely.
Minerva decided to leave talking to the two enchanters.

"I heard from Minerva here, that you happen to be an enchanter, quite like myself, so I couldn't help but come along to satisfy my curiosity," Michi said, approaching the counter behind which Mark stood. Placing one hand behind his back as best as the box which he carried upon it allowed and bending forward ever so slightly, Michi presented the other for a handshake. "Michael Urhmacher. Michi to most," he introduced himself with a smile.

When Mark heard from Michi that he too was an enchanter, he felt all excited in his soul. He smiled wider as he shook his hand. "Mark Kozak. Nice to meet you, Michael, it's a pleasure to meet another enchanter." Mark said, introducing himself. "So, if I may ask, what is your specialty? From the size of your... hm... luggage, I would make a guess that you're tool-maker. Am I right?" He said, trying to figure out what kind of enchanter Michi was.

"Indeed. My craft is, to put things short, timepieces," Michi said as he then looked around the place again, "And I imagine, by the looks of things, that you do not focus on golemancy either," he observed.

"Timepieces..?" Mark repeated after the fellow enchanter. He'd never heard of such tools. They had to be time-related somehow, but how? They couldn't be time machines, of course. That'd be too difficult to make, right? Right?! "You are right. I am not a golem maker. My specialty are tools powered by magical crystals. Due to the sheer potential of that power source, I allow myself to experiment with my creations. My most ambitious creations though are... Well, you've already seen one." Mark said and then pointed at Minerva. "I would love to hear more about those timepieces of yours... Oh, but where are my manners? Would you like a cup of tea or coffee? We could continue our conversation inside my workshop." He suggested, looking towards the door which was located behind him.

"Magical crystals... That is not something I have heard of. Most interesting," Michi said, listening to the rough explanation of Mark's own enchanting. Looking at the body he made for Minerva, Michi had to admit that Mark was certainly a better craftsman than he, though as far as Michi could tell from the explanation, their styles of enchanting weren't comparable; although as far as magic tools went, there were few that could be compared between individual creators since all had different uses. "A cup of tea would be most wonderful, thank you," Michi said with a cordial bow of his head. "And, if you do not mind, I would like to demonstrate; it is faster than an explanation, I find."

"Yeah, in most cases they need to be infused with witch magic first. However, a few of my... inventions, require an empty crystal for wavelength conversion." Mark briefly added to explain the nature of his enchanting. Well, it's not like every single one of his inventions needed the crystals provided to him by Witch Chloe Carmen, but his best ones required them. "I would love to see a demonstration! What would you like first then? A demonstration or tea?" Mark said and then asked.

"It surely won't take long," Michi said, reaching into a pocket to pull out a pocket-watch from within, a low chuckle coming from him, impressed with his own joke. He gave Mark a smile before pressing the button. Quite suddenly, he was within the workshop that Mark had pointed out and he had made himself comfortable to boot, taking a seat and placing his box on the ground. "It is a nice place you have set up here," he said as he looked around. "But yes, your crystals," he said, returning to Mark's addition, "Enchantments making use of witch magic. I imagine they are potent? Ah, yes, but they must be, looking at Minerva's body. Impressive indeed."

Mark's workshop was separated into different areas. The one Michi was sitting in, was the resting area with rugs, a table, comfortable chairs and equipment required to make tea and coffee. Other areas were: A small forge and an area with workbenches and various tools and still unfinished devices. Everything in his workshop seemed to have its own place where it belonged, making the whole place look surprisingly tidy for a working space of an enchanter.

When Michi used his tool, Mark stood in one place surprised and a bit confused. Though, when he heard the other enchanter's voice from the workshop, he approached him with amazement and awe visible all over his face. Though he needed a long moment to fully comprehend the true nature of his pocket-watch. In his mind, Michi's tools were far more fascinating and incredible than his. After all, he could control time! With one of his watches, he would always be able to always finish his work earlier. "Woah! Incredible, truly incredible! Your magic tools are absolutely astounding! In comparison, mine feel like children's toys!" Mark said, unable to stop praise coming out of his mouth.

"Hm, so that's how it looks from the outside. Interesting. If I haven't been aware of what's truly going on, I would probably say he's used teleportation." Minerva said as she approached a kettle to prepare water for their tea. She figured that Mark was in such a state that it would take hours for him to actually make tea for Michi.

"Ah, but your craftsmanship beats out mine many times over. Without my enchantments, I am but a simple clocksmith. There is also the small matter of the flexibility, which I imagine my enchantments pale in compared to your own. There is power, but equal limits. Plus, so one does not become stuck in stopped time, there is a minute limit within before time resumes. Though you can press the button again in a moment," Michi explained, humbly, that it wasn't all that amazing. He wasn't going to mention Age just yet, or his Countdown Timer, imagining the other enchanter's reaction would probably be even more excited.

"You can sit down, Mark. I'll prepare tea for you two." Minerva told them, while already googling hundreds of "recipes" for the perfect tea. She didn't really need one since every robot could be programmed to boil water, fill a mug with it and then put a teabag in that mug, but she was simply curious if there was a better way to make tea.

Even with all the explanations that Michi had given, Mark still looked very much impressed by his work. "I believe that being able to stop time for even mere seconds is incredible. With all my tools and skills I doubt I would ever be able to something similar." Mark told him, smiling at the enchanter. Realizing that Minerva volunteered to prepare tea for them, he decided to leave it to her and sit down at the table. After all, he knew well, how she loved improving her control over her mechanical body. "I must say that as a kid, I really respected watchmakers for their patience and pure skill. Even today making a small pocket watch feels like a challenge to me!" Mark said, with all honesty. Though, probably Minerva's body was far more complex than a watch. Mark was just too humble to admit it. "Oh, but my apologies for being so excited. Meeting a fellow enchanter and discovering their work always makes me really happy." He addmited.

"No matter my skills and patience, they would never amount to a marvel such as Minerva. Perhaps we can agree that our crafts aren't easily comparable, and that we can both be just as impressed?" Michi suggested. The back and forth of humbly waving off and compliments wasn't going to do either much good, besides, perhaps, an ego boost. "Ah, no need for apologies. It has always been the same for me, I just tend not to show my excitement," he said with a smile.

"That is a very wise suggestion. Let us follow it then!" Mark said and nodded. Michi was right, they could keep going like that forever and they would get nowhere, really.
"Just to clarify though - Mark is only responsible for the creation of this body. My... mind... is a separate creation." Minerva interrupted, just to make sure Michi got his facts right. While it wasn't a big deal really, she couldn't help but to ensure the information shared by her was always correct.
"Oh, yes, yes, that is true!" Mark added after her. "I keep forgetting that you are not..." He said and then made a pause. In the very beginning, he'd believed that Minerva was just a very smart, but disable and sick person. His shock was great when she'd revealed the truth to him. It all made sense though when he'd really started thinking about it.

"...Human. I know. I take it as a compliment." Minerva said and smiled at him in an attempt to achieve her prettiest and most natural smile yet. Then she approached their table and set two mugs of tea down on it. "Well, enjoy your tea! Be sure to describe its taste to me, for I don't have taste buds... and generally can't eat or drink." She added.

With that out of the way, Mark's attention once again shifted to Michi. "So, would you mind telling me more about those timepieces of yours? How do they work?" He asked.

Michi took the cup from the table and gave Minerva a courteous bow of his head with a smile. "Thank you," he said, turning back to Mark as he sampled the tea. "I believed her to be a human at first, also. Certainly, she possesses more humanity than some," he said, nodding, then jumping into talking about his enchanting:

"I don't have much of an explanation, unfortunately. The Stopwatch simply pauses time and there is little else to it. Although, from an outside observers point, it may appear as though it infinitely speeds up the user and anything under it's effect, where the user sees all else infinitely slow," Michi tried his best to explain, but his branch of enchanting was developed well before many of the explanations for the phenomena it was able to produce. He also said as much, adding on at the end; "Much of learning to enchant like I did could be compared to the work of those that called themselves alchemists versus what chemists do today. Before I was able to create my first timepiece at the age of 30, I had been studying for almost half my life. It took another 50 or so before I was able to master the craft," Michael talked about the numbers which did not add up to his appearance in the most casual manner. He sipped at the tea again, smiling at Minerva again. "Delicious."

"Great! Don't expect anything more sophisticated from me though, I really can't cook. Trust me, I've tried." Minerva replied to Michi's compliment about her tea.

Mark simply nodded at the first part of the explanation. It was exactly how he imagined Michi's magic tool worked. Well, he actually couldn't imagine any other way a time-stopping device would work. The mathematical and logical issue started in the second part of his explanation though. The numbers weren't adding up with the enchanter's appearance. Mark even started mumbling something under his nose as he started waving his finger in the air as if he was trying to count something and analyze the facts. Finally, he took a sip of his tea and leaned back in his chair. "Pardon me asking, but how old are you actually? You look like a man in his thirties, but in your explanation, you made it sound as if you were about as old as my grandparents." Mark said, pointing out the weirdness of his explanation. However, this weird little fact made Mark suspect that there was more to Michi's invention than one would imagine.

"Around 300, if counting using a calendar. By my own reckoning, I am 231," Michi said, smiling as he sipped at the tea again. "The Stopwatch is the one timepiece I inherited from my own grandfather, but the first I made is called Age. It does not take a genius mind to work out from the name what it does. I think it to be a wonderful name, since the speed of the watch determines the speed at which the one who wears it ages. My own Age, as in the timepiece, therefore, is almost stopped. Then, before you ask, I also have a countdown timer, with which I've skipped forward here and there, hence the 70 year discrepancy. It's dangerous to use the timer, and I have have not figured out a way to reverse time, so it is rare for me to use it nowadays."