[Viktor seems to consider this for a moment, or perhaps he's just concentrating on where his feet are landing. Either way, he takes a moment to gather his thoughts, then he lowers his voice.]

The device that I made. It was a sort of...artificial intelligence. Something that can carry out tasks independently, and, perhaps eventually, think for itself.

[Well, sort of. There's a lot of work to be done, in that department. Even talking about this seems a bit delicate, given the how the Academy swooped in to steal the smashed pieces of the Hexcore.]

Imagine housing something like that in a mechanical body.