Artman was finishing the last piece of the wooden man, no, the wooden Dancer, was nearly finished. All he had to do was make the last connection to link its pewter orbs with the engraved mirror that would become the center of the automata's control system. The focal point of the artificial nerves and muscles, also the means by which commands would be received.
All that was left to do, was place everything under a coat of protective lacquer and then send for San German. And to think he was ahead of schedule by several months. Might even get a bonus for the quick turnover, likely not, but he could hope. But just to be safe, he ought to run some test's first. Considering the trouble its predecessor gave him, it would wise to err on the side of caution.
He sized up a large hand mirror in a gaudy frame, he grimaced briefly and then pinned the little paper figure to the looking glass surface with a bit of putty he had lying around; Useful stuff, and excellent for filling in mistakes. With a bit of Pnuematic power, the mirror shimmered for a moment and the figure lurched on the table. He set his finger around the rim to try and move it, and the dummy just sat there. He tried going the other direction to lift the other arm and still nothing. He added more power and only succeeded in making the thumb and ring finger twitch before he felt exhaustion start to creep onto him. Pneuma bleeding out of him as he tried to force the arm just a bit higher than it was before he started to feel his knees buckling from the lack of motivating energy.
Artman grimaced and put the large mirror down as he collapsed into his work stool and began pouring over what went wrong. All the lines were intact, the ink unblemished and the configurations where all neatly in place. So why didn't it respond?
He was probing deeper into the mystery before him when there was a knocking at the workshop door. Artman groaned initially, he already had a long day ahead of him sorting out this puzzle, now someone was interrupting him with their own nonsense.
Rising to his feet, he started turned in place towards the door when he heard the lock turn over and the hinges swing as San German came swaggering in through the portal.
"Ah, Artman. I was close by when I decided to see how close you are to completing my little dancer. Oh, is this it?" the round man rushed over to view the figure still lying on the worktable, he traced his hand across the lacquered body of the vaguely feminine figure, admiring its lines and shapes. Only for Artman to sigh and exclaim.
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"Yes, But I have much work to do, this model has come up flawed and I must sort it out before I can deliver to you, I may have to go back to my old designs to find the issue, but it shouldn't be too much of a problem -"
"Yes, yes of course. How serious do you think this flaw is? it's not unstable, is it? I've heard terrible things about unstable magics before, terrible things I'd hate to think you'd discovered one in this promising adventure." German's voice intoned with slight concern.
Artman placed his hands against the table and stood up " No Mr. San German, but until I solve it, my work will have stalled for a time. Though I appreciate the time you taken to come here and check on my progress, and if there's anything you would like to ask of me, I will do my best to accommodate it, but I have work to do-"
"Oh, yes of course. Though I must ask, is it possible for you to incorporate what we discussed last time, about the feel of the figure?" San German asked, while rubbing his hand across the dummy's arm.
"The feel of - I'm sorry what do you mean?" Artman had to ask, he'd forgotten the prior conversation being referenced.
" I was thinking, since it's impossible to conjure something to bring the figures illusion alive, why not cover it in something."
Artman blinked "Cover it? what exactly did you have in mind to cover it?" San German smiled as if he was the cleverest man in the world "Why Leather, silk, Cotton, something soft and warm to the touch. Make it feel like I'm touching real skin and fabric."
"What are you planning to- I. Hmm" Artman was at a bit of a loss for a moment "I suppose, so long as it's not metal, Leather may interfere with the motion in some places, since flesh is inherently linked to original source of Pneumatic energy, being the interaction between Lungs, blood, brains, and excreted through the muscles and skin." He gave a glance to San Germans face and quickly abbreviated. "Uh-Hurm, well so long as you try to cover it in brains or raw meat, it should be fine to cover it in whatever fabric you desire. So long as it's not too heavy that is."
"Oh splendid" the bloated man called out. "And you're sure of that? It's not going to imbalance anything or the like. I would hate to think I'm inviting an accidental assassin into my home, though it would make for an amusing penny dreadful." he gave a dull smile to his own comment. Artman was more transparent in pained expressions. "Yes, indeed. But if you'll excuse me, I must get back to work. This issue will not fix itself with polite conversation alone, and I will need time to examine the lines for possible damage as well."
"Oh of course Mr. Wolfram, I wouldn't want to hold you back from progress. Please excuse me, but if you require anything let me know." San German offered pleasantly, Artman sighed "If you could prevent further distractions from my work, it would be appreciated."
"Of course, Mr. Wolfram, but of course." came the reply as he closed the door behind him as he went, and Artman turned back to his pile of wood and paint to try coaxing some life into it. Once he found what was wrong with it to begin with. "Damn" he muttered "back to the sketch board."