Logistically, he has to have funding coming in from somewhere to kick-start the beginning of his Glorious Evolution. Is Viktor from a rich family line, or is he a self-made man (cyborg) who made his wealth through his inventions?
Malicious Metal3 votesI'd say low Middle class but extensive funding by Zaun's government and his acolytes.
A Superb Villain3 votesI doubt Viktor is willing to associate with Zaun's local government, or anyone above himself. He trusted another organization to further his experiments once before, and the fallout was so bad he effectively amputated himself. Once bitten, twice shy. If anything, I suspect he receives public funding from communities that benefited from his prosthetics.
Think Howard Roark from The Fountainhead with a Robin Hood twist.
A Superb Villain3 votesI posit that Viktor attained his current status purely through merit.
Being a member of the upper class necessitates a certain level of social propriety. This convention extends both ways; a member of the upper class isn't going to draw unwanted attention to themselves that could soil their family's reputation, and outside parties will refrain from inflicting overt harm on someone due to public backlash and the victim's potentially powerful associates.
I bring this up because Viktor does not qualify on either account. He acts purely in his self-interest, experimenting as he sees fit regardless of the impact it has on society. Conversely Viktor had his work stolen from him, and even after bringing his case to the public, he was dismissed as a fraud, indicating he lacked the connections or funding to prove Pididily's theft.
In my mind, Viktor is part of the middle class at best, possibly even a member of the lower class.
333lom5 votesAh, but you are forgetting that not all rich families are the same. Looking at Zaun, I get a feeling of a society that was once very traditional, but a large industrial boom pushed resourceful people or CEO's of rapacious companies to the "top of the food chain" while the previous high-class families fell into shadow. Perhaps many even fell from grace. They're a dying class.
The detail that I always look at, is the fact that Viktor had a private laboratory even before he locked himself away and started self-augmentation. He had money. Or his family had money.
Let's suppose his family belonged to the higher class, the type that is now relatively rare, as the top is being overtaken by first generation rich. I doubt they would meddle with them (going to their organized parties, or whatever), they don't think highly of them. That's what happened in the real world as well, if I'm not mistaking. They're not very social, they're conservative even though they're dying out, or exactly because they're dying out.
Another thing is the Prestigious College of Techmaturgy. I doubt anything in Zaun comes for free, even if you're the best at what you do. The other possibility is sponsorship by some company, but I believe that in Zaun, after you finish college, you're then a slave to that company.
Viktor had enough funds to start the entire Evolution. Equipment and materials for that are far from cheap, and I find it highly unlikely that someone funded him while he was locked away, while seen as a failure that "tried to steal Blitzcrank from professor Pididly".
He acts purely in his self-interest, experimenting as he sees fit regardless of the impact it has on society.
I thought his goal is interesting exactly because it is extremely focused on impacting society as a whole? "Join the glorious evolution".
A Superb Villain2 votesYou raise valid points, not much I can offer as a counterargument.
In regards to the Glorious Evolution, I don't see it as Viktor attempting to change society, the social consequences are merely side-effects of his intended purpose, which is to improve the individual. I understood Viktor's goal as one to elevate people through augmentation, and if the world changes because of actions, then so be it.
333lom1 votesI got the feeling that he was frustrated by how the society he lived in had ho regard for the worth of an individual or their work, and so he decided to focus on changing the entire civilization by changing the way people think along with removing physical weaknesses via augmentation; but your idea is also a perfectly valid possibility.
SaltyToplaneGoat2 votesAnother possibility would be for him to pull a "Mr Freeze" and go criminal to fund his research.
I really think this a thing in Zaun. Criminal scientists living underground with their gangs and fighting each other... would make for some awesome story tho ^^
Maple Crusader2 votes[{quoted}](name=Kyoki Shinkuro,realm=EUW,application-id=6kFXY1kR,discussion-id=6cm3y1Lf,comment-id=0001,timestamp=2016-02-27T22:20:42.712+0000)
Another possibility would be for him to pull a "Mr Freeze" and go criminal to fund his research.
I really think this a thing in Zaun. Criminal scientists living underground with their gangs and fighting each other... would make for some awesome story tho ^^
Which could explain his new splash art: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Lwe_0plVzGI/maxresdefault.jpg He's actually breaking and entering into private property
SaltyToplaneGoat2 votesZaun is pretty much in a state of somewhat stable anarchy, balanced out by several coopoerations, gangs and rouge scientists holding each other in check. It's pretty much a futuristic Bilgewater...
resumed2 voteshe doesnt have a russian accent because hes meant to be bourgeois scum
god
viktor will unite the proletariate of zaun and lead a glorious revolution in the form a mechanical evolution
