[ The naked circuitry of the robot forms clean, recognizable lines. Krouse knows instantly that the core understanding of the technology is beyond him without additional context, but the basic anatomy clicks readily into place. Storing processing in the 'head' is an interesting design choice, perhaps reflective of -

He starts when Noelle speaks, the panel he's holding clattering against the side of the robot's shoulder in a way that feels far too loud. A veil of as-yet inexplicable guilt skates over his eyes.

This skill is one of the things that came after. He doesn't want to talk about after, when every minute was one he never wanted and didn't deserve.

She wanted him to have a life. He hadn't known that. It changes things. Contextualizes more of his astonishing selfishness, the luxury of regretting all the time he got that she didn't. Even if what he ended up with wasn't much of a life, it was more than she had. ]

I picked some things up.

[ He smiles, again. He's smiled more in the last hour than he has in the last six months. Every time gets a little bit easier. ]

Had a good teacher. [ And that's a joke just for him. ] Lucky for us. I'm not sure building a computer tower with a guide would cut it here, in terms of experience.

What do you think? [ He touches the robot's open head on the side, away from the components. ] This looks like a central processor to me.