"I don't deal in hope," he says with a prim twist to his voice. He slides into the seat opposite and begins, nearly vibrating with rising, clear resolve, his motions economical and merciless. "You presented me with a problem, and I intend to devise a solution. A complete solution."

He will not accept failure. This he has as a policy. He will set his mind opposite to the thing that galls him until it has destroyed itself or he has. This is of the sprawling, radiant incomprehensibility the Rift boasts; it is science, hard and bright fact, the simple colocalization of mechanical parts and necessary aptitude.

With nothing else to occupy his time, he has achieved both in short order.