Lidda was in a good mood and decided her evolving relationship with the new Widhbo was a positive thing. His performance the previous day with Professor Gliedan had given her the confidence she needed to take the next step. She had seen another side to her magiton as though a separate personality was emerging.

Excited to see the labs, Lidda was dressed and ready to leave, but Widhbo had connected to her computer and was flipping through screens faster than she could read them. "It's past seven-thirty and we both know Conner will be here on time."

No response.

"Aren't you coming with me?"

"No. I'm going to do a little exploring on my own." Widhbo replied.

"You are going to entrust me to Conner's care?" Lidda was surprised he would trust her to manage without his supervision.

"My little girl is growing up."

"Aww, thanks."

"Hal will be meeting you in the lab area. I sent him a message last night so knows to expect you." Widhbo said.

"Just how do you communicate with everyone in the Ring?"

"We have a small satellite with a communication hub orbiting the planet. I'll explain later."

"Another other small details you may have left out?" Lidda asked. She was learning to expect the unexpected more every day. Widhbo didn't bother to answer. There was a buzz at the door as Conner arrived exactly at the appointed time. It felt strange to go anywhere without Widhbo. This would be their first time apart since the day Casra had given the magiton to her.

She made a last-minute check list of things she wanted to ask Hal and opened the door.

"Good morning, Miss Lidda," Conner greeted her. His voice sounded genuinely cheerful but the smile on his face projected on the head screen looked unnatural.

"Hello, Conner," Lidda replied and followed him to the elevators. She noticed his head screen returned to an LCD image of a stylized face, void of expression. She supposed it was to save power.

"What do you do around here?" Lidda inquired. The screen image of his face came to life as Conner responded.

"Concierge duties for guests mostly. No offense Miss Lidda, but it gets to be rather boring over time." Conner said.

"I imagine it does," Lidda said.

"I have always wanted to work up in the labs, but that's not what Servo's were designed to do."

"Well, I might find something you could do to help me out around our labs." Lidda said. She was surprised Conner would express his feelings when they had known one another for less than twenty-four hours. Even less expected, was the fact he recognized being bored, under-utilized, and aspired for much more. That was a qualitative difference she had not anticipated.

"Do you really think so?" Conner asked.

"Of course. Why not? I will need a general lab manager to help oversee and coordinate my project with the production schedule in engineering."

"I could do that," Conner replied. "But I'm not sure my job description allows it."

" I'll speak with Professor Gliedan and make a request. He said I could have anything I needed," Lidda said. "Certainly, I will need assistance ordering supplies, keeping everything on schedule and running smoothly. You could do that and free me up for my work."

"Oh, thank you Miss Lidda. That would be the most wonderful thing anyone has ever let me do," Conner said. The smile he produced looked much more sincere.

The elevator delivered them to a wide, sterile hallway devoid of humans. A small robot like the one in Professor Gliedan's office went buzzing past on some errand. Conner led her to the end of the hall and down another hallway to a set of double stainless-steel doors.

Lidda was looking forward to seeing Hal again and soon found him standing near the door munching on a breakfast muffin. He nodded on seeing her and pointed to his full mouth.

"Hal! I was hoping you would be here," Lidda said.

"You have an acquaintance here already?" Conner asked.

Hal answered before she could. "Sure, I know Lidda. We worked together last summer." He gave her a warm smile and a hug. "Getting started today, are you?"

"Yes. I can't wait to see everything. Conner is showing me around," Lidda said. She noted Hal's attire was more formal than at the gardens. He wore dress slacks with a shirt and tie making him look more mature.

"I'll take it from here,Conner," Hal said and put one hand on Lidda's shoulder. "You can leave her with me."

"Very good sir. I have other duties I can attend to." Conner was off in a buzz of gears and wheels.

Lidda sensed he might have been offended by Hal's dismissal of his service judging by Conner's abrupt departure, and it reminded her of how Widhbo might act. She brushed the thought aside. Conner was no Widhbo and a lot more polite.

"Looks like I'll be your tour guide again," Hal said.

"Suits me."

The labs had everything that she had been promised. It took all morning to review the entire layout. It was good to have Hal around and soon Lidda was feeling more at home in her new surroundings. Her office and lab area was more than she could have dreamed possible with a large computer array and plenty of space to work. She wished Widhbo had come along to have a look, especially at the circuit boards. She felt upgrades would be needed but decided not to change anything until she could bring him with her. She wondered why his exploring was so important that it couldn't wait.

After lunch, Hal took her to his department and showed off his handiwork on the androids. The model he was designing would be far advanced from the servo line that Conner came from.

"They will have life like skin over their metal frames with extensive articulations to imitate human expressions and movement." Hal explained. "I would like for them to be virtually indistinguishable from a person to the casual observer. We are working on facial recognition software and realistic voices for human interaction.

"That would be amazing," Lidda said.

I hope I'm not stepping on your turf there programmer." Hal grinned and gave her a playful nudge.

"Hey, knock yourself out. I have my hands full. Trust me, any assistance will be appreciated." Lidda said. She was getting excited about the project. Now that Professor Gliedan had given her his full support, Lidda's imagination was soaring ahead. She still needed Widhbo and suddenly realized she was really just his helper. This was his project, and she was his covert method of getting it done. Her ego deflated, she had to wonder if Hal had a little help with his talent.

"Hal?"

"Yeah, sweetie."

"First of all, I don't let anyone call me that but you," Lidda said. "You're the one person charming enough to get away with it."

Hal chuckled. "Good to know."

Lidda "Did you have a magiton guide, like mine?"

"I did. But it had to leave me for another assignment." He winked at her knowingly.

"But, not until your education was completed?"

"I'm a fast learner. What can I say?" Hal pointed to a small scar on his hairline. "The chip makes it easy, doesn't it?"

"It does. Did your magiton have a name?" Lidda asked.

"Several," Hal replied. "Little bastard comes to mind."

Lidda suppressed a laugh. "And that would be Widhbo."

"The same," Hal said.

Lidda suspected as much. She was beginning to think everyone was mentored by Widhbo, including Mara and the Tollsuns. Why didn't they just say so?

Thanks for the orientation, Hal," Lidda said. "I need to check on some things and leave you to your work."

"Anytime you need anything, just let me know."

As Hal turned to leave, Lidda watched him walk away, noting his strong and handsome physique. If it weren't for her relationship with Reddge, she knew Hal would soon have her heart.

She struck out on her own to look around the building, making sure to go by the gift shop. She picked up some souvenirs for her parents and a couple of tee shirts for herself before heading back. Once oriented to the floorplan of the building, it was not hard to find her way around. She returned to her lab planning to spend the rest of the day getting everything organized. Lidda found Servo Conner lurking by the lab door pretending to busy himself with a mail delivery cart.

"Hi Conner."

"Hello Miss Lidda. Are you finding everything?"

"There's a lot to be done, but it's all coming together well enough. I almost forgot. Let me call the Professor right now."

Conner perked up and parked the empty mail cart by the door. He buzzed back and forth across the door a couple of times while she put in the call as though unable to stand still.

Gliedan made good on his word about providing for her every need. A few minutes on the phone and Conner was all hers. "Well Conner, you are now assigned exclusively to my project. Your new title will be, General Manager, Kandell Project."

"Thank you for this opportunity. I will not disappoint you." Conner said and buzzed merrily into the lab. He began a whirlwind of activity. After cataloguing the inventory, he began meticulously cleaning every surface. He was still hard at work when Lidda left for the evening.

"See you in the morning Conner."

"Certainly Miss Lidda. Do you need assistance returning to your quarters?"

"No, I've got the floorplan down. Goodnight." Lidda's headed back to her suite, mind racing with all the possibilities. After seeing the advancements Hal had already made in engineering, the android project didn't seem so far-fetched. She had no doubts it was within their reach. No longer an if, but a when. And that would come very soon.