[ ghoul & the gang ] I have to ask: do you still experience any physical desires such as hunger, thirst, touch, lust? How does that work?
"Oh, oh, this one's fascinating, actually! So, basically--" Where previously the android had been quietly squirming under the gaze of cameras and prodding queries - glad to let anyone but himself take the stage - he appears at once to perk up at the adress, artificial voice brimming with something like a buzz of sudden excitement. They are not the first to ask; This topic has been a recent subject of scientific investigation.
"--the answer is... no? But also, yes. The experimental model unit this frame is adapted from was outfitted with both digital and panel sensors in order to better orient itself in its surroundings. It could detect a certain degree of pressure applied to the outer shell, shifts in weight, hard impact - that sort of thing. However, in order to mimic human touch, you need to be able to emmulate an organic nervous system, which, when you're working with metal alloys, is a much more monumental task. To say the least."
AV-1 laughs, softly, as though he'd told some kind of in-joke, though it stutters to what sounds almost like a cough when he's met with an awkward silence from his audience. It's-- fine, that's fine. Just, uh, yeah. He waves it off, leaned forward in his seat and explaining with his hands as much as his voice.
"I've... fine-tuned the sensors a bit, over time, but, there's only so much modern technology can manage without straying into experimental stages of synthetic biology. And obviously I don't have any, um, 'authentically fleshy' bits left to speak of, so from a realistic standpoint that's... that's a no go." Gazing aside, metal digits rub idly at the back of his neck, before the hand once more withdraws. When his visor falls to the movement, it stills in the air, hanging suspended for a moment whilst he considers it. Studying the plate.
A gentle frown is almost apparent in sleek LEDs.
"Yet... I do feel things, sometimes. Things I shouldn't. Like, the texture of a blanket, or the wind, or the warmth of a hand on my shoulder. It's not quite the same as it used to be, but the sensations are still... there? Like a ghost in the system. I don't understand it, completely. Not yet."
He speaks with something like puzzlement, observing the strange intricacies of his own being with a distant knot of a thought.
"But to summarise - yes, touch is, ah, active as far as I can tell. Not so much Hunger or Thirst, which makes sense given the aforementioned lack of human biology, though, I guess I feel something approximating exhaustion when my charge gets low. As for Lus--"
He jolts, suddenly sat remarkably upright in his seat with realization.
Despite the featurelss helmet, he somehow manages to look flushed.
"Actually, uh, maybe we can skip that one."