"Oh, I am running out of punch, aren't I," Jones says, catching his drift. "I suppose I'd call myself a sort of jack-of-all-trades inventor and fix-it. I've actually been doing some work with the local academia, particularly at the big school for physics—that's University of Chicago—and for the mechanical engineering department at the Armour Institute, which is really quite an honor."

She carefully avoids the matter of her academic background. Her lack of education has always been something she regards with mixed feelings—on one hand, it is what it is; on the other hand, some days she wishes she were the one going to school instead of Petras and Justina, as much as she loves them.

"I've been doing a little bit of work with electrical signals, since a friend of mine was doing some... projects with radio signals." And the less said about them, the better. Actually, most of the Ordo Dracul's work was a little on the disreputable side. "Although I do a little bit of everything, honestly. I've been doing some work with experimental photo developing; special chemicals and the like." She grabs the ladle to pour herself some more punch, and then dips it again and holds it out, offering it to Sebastian.