Checking Out the Territory (IC)

[Electra]

"I'd send him straight to hell," Miss Americana said sweetly, giving Supercape a thin-lipped smile. "If he wants to work with the preeminent scientific minds in the field, he'd do well to not treat us as though we're research assistants desperate for a break. I'd say he's a bit thin-skinned and thick-headed to be handling outreach for his firm. But who knows, maybe he'll hit it off with Ironclad. She's not much for prosthetics, but she's got a sharp mind for cybernetics. I need to get back to work."

[Supercape]

"Fair enough. " answered Supercape, prodding an artificial hand. "Well, I wont keep you. Sterling job there by the way.." he pointed at the appliance. "Nice manicure. " he gave her a smile. "Don't let the chap vex you. The Lab is our sanctuary from interference, and is here to serve the world, like you said. It's been a great success, and more importantly..."

He rubbed his hands together and his eyes twinkled.

"Its full of lovely toys!"

He hopped out of the room.

He caught up with the Baron, and gave him a polite smile. Supercape didn't really stay angry with anyone for too long, with a few exceptions. And the Baron was not one of them. "Well... *ahem*... perhaps you might reconsider your...err... options and ummm.... direction?" he asked as politely as possible.

[KnightDisciple]

The Baron had, by this point, calmed significantly. This day hadn't been going anything like what he'd hoped and planned. Here he was, trying to recruit talent for his company, both in America and abroad, and it was like he was hitting a brick wall!

'Bad enough she turned down my offer; I can accept that fine, even if I don't like it. But she insists I'm a money-monger? After the "tour guide" all but calls me a naive, misguided weapons-maker! No. Patience. You are Magnus Vilhelm Katastrof. Your family stretches back to the 8th century Anno Domini. You will not be ruffled further by angry scientists and uppity Englishmen.'

Speak of the devil. The Baron turned to regard his guide to the Lab with an expressionless face and cool eyes.

"What exactly do you mean by "options and directions"?"

[Supercape]

"Well" said Supercape as gently as he could. "It seems Miss Americana and you didn't..." he gazed upwards, put his hands behind his back and whistled slightly "...end on the most congenial of terms, shall we say. And I was under the impression you were most keen to meet her. So, I was wondering where yo would like to go from that position?"

"Its not that the Lab isn't open for business, so to speak. It's just we aren't a business, and not business minded. And to be honest, the people here, well..." he shrugged. "We are, I guess, the reclusive eccentric scientist types. Out to change the world and do it behind a lab coat and a steel and glass laboratory that nobody can pry into hehe. Why, we even have anti-surveillance technology installed. "

"We aren't out to offend, but I guess you have to take us as you see us - a bunch of stereotyped scientists. " He spread his hands out in a genuine show of civility.

[KnightDisciple]

"Well" said Supercape as gently as he could. "It seems Miss Americana and you didn't..." he gazed upwards, put his hands behind his back and whistled slightly "...end on the most congenial of terms, shall we say. And I was under the impression you were most keen to meet her. So, I was wondering where yo would like to go from that position?"

"Its not that the Lab isn't open for business, so to speak. It's just we aren't a business, and not business minded. And to be honest, the people here, well..." he shrugged. "We are, I guess, the reclusive eccentric scientist types. Out to change the world and do it behind a lab coat and a steel and glass laboratory that nobody can pry into hehe. Why, we even have anti-surveillance technology installed. "

"We aren't out to offend, but I guess you have to take us as you see us - a bunch of stereotyped scientists. " He spread his hands out in a genuine show of civility.

The Baron closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let out a small sigh.

"Look. In retrospect, perhaps I didn't approach her in exactly the right manner. Maybe it was a simple personality clash. Who knows.

I understand this isn't a business, and that your unique group isn't out specifically for business. But I'd have thought I would have had a little better luck. Then again, who knows. Perhaps I'm just frustrated by some underlying philosophy clashes; after all, you were rather dismissive of one whole arm of my company's work earlier.

More than anything, though, what frustrated me was Miss Americana's not-so-subtle implication that I didn't care about people with my company's program. Which is the furthest thing from the truth. She just assumed I was a greedy businessman who didn't care for my fellow man. But I have a responsibility to help my company earn a profit. Both as the majority shareholder to my fellow company owners, and as a Senior Vice President, to both the shareholders and my employees.

That all said, moving on would be best, yes. I'd rather move away from just metals for a bit. Is there someone else here who deals with exotic energies, dimensional research, or the like?"

[Supercape]

Supercape smiled. "Yes" he replied with confidence "Me!" he laughed.

"Dragonfly does too of course. The difference is in the angle. I deal with it from a purely theoretical background. If you want complex maths about interdimensional theories, quantum mechanics, subatomic particles, wave-string theories, all that stuff, I am probably the person to see. If you want to build a machine to power a city, Dragonfly is your expert. "

He paused.

"Which, on reflection makes Dragonfly actually much more useful!" he smiled.

[KnightDisciple]

The Baron contemplates his choices for a moment.

"While performing complex theoretical equations is fun, it sadly won't help my goals today quite as much. So I'd like to see if Dragonfly's available to speak to us. If she's not, we can talk to other members here. I can see that I need to reformulate my approach a bit, and again apologize for my temper. This is just a very stressful trip, for several reasons that...well, that I won't discuss."

[Supercape]

"There is also, of course, our current resident non-organic visitor" said Supercape, tapping his chin. "He, or rather it... actually, I'm not sure how to refer to it, is still a bit of a mystery to me. Perhaps even to itself. "

He shrugged.

"But there is no doubt it has highly advanced technology. And I do mean highly advanced. It's complexity is staggering. And believe me, I can see complexity. If you are willing to take a gamble, you could see what it has to say?"

[KnightDisciple]

Magnus looked off in the distance, rocking back and forth on his heels a bit in thought.

"An android of unknown origins, you says? Interesting. He sounds like an interesting being to speak with."

He looked at Supercape with a slight smile, gesturing for the other man to lead the way.

"We'll change our plans a bit, and see him first, then this Dragonfly lady."

[Supercape]

Supercape walked over to a nearby console - they littered every square meter of most floors of the Lab.

"Well, lets see if we can find the elusive guest, shall we?"

For all he knew, Protectron had some fancy stealth system that would make him undetectable to the scanners of the Lab. Possibly even to Supercape. Peeking into the flow of energy inside its metal casing was like looking into a work of fractal mathematics created Van Gough.

"Supercape to Protectron, Supercape to Protectron" he said through the speaker. "Are you reading me, old chap?"

[Dr Archeville]

In the small kitchen on the first floor, Protectron busied itself with the creation of snack-baskets for the Lab members. Particular care was taken with the basket meant for Dragonfly.

Apple, quartered (150g)

Fiber, vitamins B₂, B₆, and C

Cottage cheese (118.290 ml)

Calcium, fat

Jolly-O's whole grain cereal, single serving box (0.81 oz.)

Whole grains, vitamins A and C, calcium, iron

Nuts, mixed (78.074 ml)

Protein, fiber, folate, vitamin E, copper, niacin, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, monosaturated fat, Omega-6 fatty acids

Pomegran-

Incoming call detected.

Voice identification: Friend-Supercape.

"Affirmative," the strange robot replied flatly. "How may I be of assistance?"

[Supercape]

"Aha!" replied Supercape "there you are old bean!"

He wouldn't normally refer to people in such a manner, he reflected, but then, Protectron wasn't precisely a person. So he was using these terms of reference to over - compensate.

Well, that was his self - analysis for the day.

"There is a chap here might want to pick your brains...err... circuits....err....mind. He has some business proposals, all for the good of humankind and betterment of the species. Wants to see if the Lab can cooperate with development. Prosthetics particularly, but seems everything is game. Would you be interested?"

[Dr Archeville]

Logic dictates that the first step of the salvation of Earth must be the preservation of the dominant sapient organic, Homo sapiens. Fortunately it seems as if the noble organics have created the instrumentalities of their own uplifting: machines.

Machines are the natural help-mates to organics. Apart they are good, but together we are great.

Prosthetic devices are a natural extension of this philosophy.

"It would please me to assist, Friend-Supercape," the strange robot flatly responded. It returned the incomplete food baskets to the large refrigerator, "what is the 'chap's' name? Also, has he spoken with Friend-Americana? Her interest in prostheses, as well as her charismatic nature, make her a natural candidate for discussion." Food stored, it moved towards the main lobby.

[Supercape]

"Magnus Katastrof" replied Supercape "a Baron, technically, you may wish to refer him with that title. Never quite got the hang of aristocracy myself. But then, I'm biased, I'm English and we have the house of Lords..."

He coughed, realising he was rambling.

"Anyway, I can meet you in conference room three dash six, and bring him along. And, er, he has already talked to Miss Americana. And it was a very, er, interesting meeting. Best not ask how it went, however..."

He turned to his guest. "Well, our non-organic guest should be less, um, emotional anyway. Let's meet him in on level three. For the moment, he only has limited access to the Lab. "

[KnightDisciple]

Baron Katastroff had stood by silently while Supercape conversed with the Artificial Intelligence member of The Lab. A couple of comments made him quirk his eyebrow a bit, but he stayed silent until the British superhero was done. He'd waited a few polite steps back during the conversation, but closed the distance now that Supercape was addressing him again.

"Non-organic guest? I suppose that's one of the more delicate ways to put it. I have so many questions for a being such as him! So, yes, let's head on to meet him. Lead the way; after all, you're the one with the access card."

He gave Supercape a pleasant smile, though there was clearly a spark of curiosity and anticipation in his eyes.

[Dr Archeville]

Shortly after Supercape and his guest reached conference room 3-6, a strange golden robot zipped in on air jets protruding form its back and legs. The jets slowly cut out and it landed, but it still towered several inches above the two humans. Silvery chrome power cables snaked up and down its limbs and torso like exposed musculature; Daka crystal lenses adorn the forehead, shoulderpieces, and chest. Its head had two large, flat superstructures projecting from either side, and its visual sensors glow greenish-yellow. It had a mouth of sorts, a permanently open maw.

And in each hand was a small basket, filled with fruits, power bars, and bottles of water.

Analysis indicated a 97% chance of improved relations by returning to kitchen to create small food-gift-baskets for Friend-Supercape and Guest-Baron Magnus Katastrof. Observations shall reveal accuracy of calculations.

"Greetings," it said, speaking in a clear, precise, unaccented, flat voice. It turned to face Katastrof, "I am Protectron. This is for you." It held out one of the baskets to him, "I hope particles from the peanuts do not cause your mast cells to release inflammatory mediators."

It turned its head slightly towards Supercape, and extended the other basket to him. "This one is for you. I do not know when your last meal was, but I know you have a predilection towards neglecting proper nutritional intake while working on your projects."

[Supercape]

"Splendid!" replied Supercape, wondering if he dare try the morsels. He suspected Protectron meant well. He also suspected Protectron had no olfactory senses - or at least none that could approximate to the human ones. Which meant that it may not be the best judge of human morsels from a taste point of view - even if the foodstuffs were precisely calibrated to optimise his health.

In fact, most healthy food tasted pretty awful now he thought about it, and if Protectron's primary goal was to preserve organic life...

"Very thoughtful!" he smiled, casting around for any bins in case he needed them.

"May I introduce Baron Magnus Katastrof. Baron, this is our guest, Protectron!"

[KnightDisciple]

Magnus raised an eyebrow in curiosity at the android's thoughtful gesture. He reached out and took the basket with a smile, setting it to one side for the moment, though it was still close at hand.

"Protectron, it's a pleasure to meet you. It truly is. For a scientist like myself, the chance to meet a genuine self-aware artificial intelligence is a true honor. Add to that your clearly advanced technology, and it's a rare privilege indeed!"

He seemed equal parts curious and excited.

"So...oh dear. I have so many questions, but I don't want to be rude...Hm. Let me turn the tables a bit; do you have a question or two for me?"

[Dr Archeville]

Initiating greeting ritual. Extending dextral manipulator...

Protectron extended its right hand to Katastrof.

Replaying audio:

"It pleases me to meet others who work to improve human conditions," it said flatly. "Could you go into more detail on your work with prosthetic devices? As well as other technologies developed 'for the good of humankind and betterment of the species'? I am also interested, albeit to a lesser extent due to my unfamiliarity with corporations and finances, on your business proposals."

Note: Study business and finance. Most endeavors require material goods and/or monetary compensation for services rendered, so a way to improve revenue flow would be prudent if I and my Lab-Friends are to assist and preserve organic life.

[Supercape]

Supercape chuckled softly. It seemed, ironically, as though the Baron was hitting it off with the machine far better than Miss Americana.

I really don't know what to make of that... he conceded, wondering what that said about the three respective parties. He shrugged, and set about making some tea for the Baron. As far as he knew, Protectron didn't drink - at least not tea. He wondered for a moment if he could feed it some tuned radiation in some spectrum or another, and his brain danced away imaging cooking a gourmet feast of subatomic particles and wave-strings to serve up.

[KnightDisciple]

The Baron let a thoughtful look cross his face as he seemed to stare off into space; when he started to speak, it was like he was reading from a presentation, or a book.

"As far as more classical prosthetic devices go, our goal is to produce ones that are so close to the original function of the patient that they have minimal adjustment time. While I understand that some individuals think it's an opportunity to grant people greater abilities than before, in my mind it has the hangup of greater physical therapy investment. Whereas something that works exactly like your old limb, feels like it, responds like it...it could greatly ease the trauma of a lost limb, and help them recover faster mentally as well as physically.

Connected to that, we're doing research into mechanical and bio-mechanical replacement organs. The goal is to produce replacements that can be inserted with no wait time, and with the smallest chance of rejection as possible. At worst, our goal would be to produce a sort of "stopgap" until the patient could acquire a fully organic component.

Broader still, one of our most recent large-scale projects has been alternative energy. The sort that might require some decent initial investment, but has almost zero upkeep, and either zero or near-zero cost for fuel and the like. As well as being totally clean and harmless to users and the environment. Even better, most of our concepts are vastly safer to produce and deploy than current widespread methods. Most of my family's vehicles run on one sort of prototype or another."

[Supercape]

"Energy production sounds quite interesting" piped up Supercape, finding himself what the mechanical marvel would make of this. He didn't even know what powered Protectron - the machine was an intricate web of energy flow that he found impossible to penetrate.

"I am sure we could do bang our heads together for the advancement of science, perhaps? The Lab is an ideal testing ground for such research..."

[Dr Archeville]

"I believe a combination of your approach and Friend-Americana's approach," the strange robot said flatly, would work the best. Start with prostheses that approximate standard organic functioning, then add on extra abilities as requested. Modular systems that could be changed as needed would seem ideal, though an acceptable medium between ease of removal and coherence of systems would be a notable issue. This would appear to be a safer and more reliable method of granting metahuman-equivalent abilities to an organic being -- of improving all qualities of organic life. Though I should add that my research into granting metahuman abilities via other means, such as mutagenic chemicals or radiation, has not been very thorough, and it is my understanding that the results of such techniques have been very hard to predict and reliably replicate."

Observation: Research into varied subjects would go quicker if onboard communications systems were active. Must redouble efforts to repair.

"Alternative energy sources are a very worthy goal," it continued, in the same flat tone. "Do you work mostly with solar? Biofuels? Wind? Tidal? Geothermal?"

Analysis: 98% probability that one or both these men will ask to see my power source.

[KnightDisciple]

The Baron glances at Supercape, his expression unreadable.

"Perhaps eventually I'll have a project I don't mind bringing here. But I'm worried enough about patent infringement that I'm not going to move the bulk of my company's work here. I'm in this both to change the world, and make money. So far, I'm doing pretty well at balancing both goals."

He turned to Protectron, a slight grin on his face as the android talked of Miss Americana's ideas, and inquired as to what alternative power sources he was researching.

"I realize Miss Americana's goals include, essentially, giving people mechanical superpowers. I'm...more wary about the concept. Suffice to say that, while I want to give people the most lifelike replacements possible, I don't want to suddenly give a 10-year-old boy a laser cannon in his arm, or some such. My concern truly goes down to a sense of responsibility; right now, "super-science" is confined to a fairly small number of people in the superhero and supervillain communities. Thankfully the former outnumber the latter. But if you suddenly give everyone the chance to have superhuman abilities...well, suffice to say, in my mind it's a worrying proposition at this stage in our history. But that's a philosophical debate for another time, I'd say.

As for alternative energy...

We do have a subdivision dedicated to biofuel and other options to replace gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, and other such products. There are a few hurdles with making current electric designs universally owned, so biofuels are a good "stopgap" for the next few decades. And unlike the current ethanol formulas, our research looks to improve car efficiency, take less energy to produce than regular gas, and runs even cleaner.

Solar and wind are nice, but don't have the sheer capacity we desire.

Tidal and geothermal are just too dependent on location to become universal.

No, our big project is something else entirely. Our goal right now is refining the various models, to go from the sort that power a car, to ones for individual homes, to ones for cities and countries."

He pauses, clearly considering how much to say.

"I ask the utmost discretion from both of you on this, even with the broad concept I'm about to speak. If I hear anyone else speaking about this, I will be rather displeased."

His gaze lingered fairly equally on both of them; both Supercape and Protectron seemed rather...chatty.

"Our ultimate goal is to power the world with vacuum energy."

[Supercape]

"Vacuum energy eh?" replied Supercape. He wasn't completely surprised - his guest had shown himself to be quite capable of understanding such esoteric physics - and was clearly motivated and able to dedicate significant resources to the challenge of harnessing such forces.

It had always struck him as being... well, feasible but not necessarily warranted or even efficient. Conversion of matter directly to energy had always seen the best option.

"Well, its an interesting thought. Played around with the idea in my head of course. Technically possible, I suspect, although the engineering to do it is not... easy to say the least. I wont press on just how what direction you wish to travel, but it sounds interesting. "