'You want me to add a self-defense module to your medical drones?' Outside the Lutra Workshop, Magallan stares wide-eyed at Silence, as if she's looking at a Seaborn flopping about in the middle of the great tundra. 'Um... would it be strange?' 'Not really, if you think about it—I just never imagined it, that's all. I figured you'd rather improve its healing efficacy, or maybe durability.' 'I probably would have thought along those lines in the past, yes.' Magallan doesn't say anything. She may spend her days in the tundra year in and year out, but that doesn't mean she's completely clueless about Rhine Lab's internal affairs. 'I initially wanted nothing more than to be a researcher. I sought to thoroughly analyze the relationship between Originium and life, and I assumed I'd pry open the boundaries of knowledge with my own two hands. 'But following a string of incidents, I could no longer ignore this: as long as my research doesn't change course, I will never be able to completely exclude the 'human' perspective. 'Before I started a new job, I first needed to stand in the shoes of a doctor, from where I could examine my own dreams and ambitions. The most basic respect you can afford someone, as I see it. 'Those drones, then, are the crystallization of my ideology.' The two inadvertently share a glance towards the workshop. Mayer is inside racking her brains; entering hastily was very liable to get you bitten. 'Speaking as a layman in medicine, I think these drones are already perfect as an extension of a doctor's hands.' 'Perhaps, but I've increasingly come to realize that merely serving as a doctor... is still not enough.' Silence's expression is complicated. She lightly touches her hair. 'Humans are far more complex than Originium. 'We can roughly determine Originium activity from its surface appearance. We can predict the ETA of Catastrophes from natural phenomena. We can avoid infection through highly effective protective measures. 'But how do we determine a person's interior life from what's visible to us? Do falling figures signify deterioration or improvement? Are people with crossbows ultimately there to defend, or to kill?' 'Just like a snowfield that seems perfectly quiet,' Magallan murmurs to herself. 'Yes, just like a snowfield that seems perfectly quiet. 'Therefore, I need tougher measures, so that when the snowfield finally bares its fangs at me, I can protect the people I should be protecting.'