maskormenacelogs | [CLOSED] People facing the fire together

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[CLOSED] People facing the fire together

WHO: Bruce Wayne & Motoko Kusanagi
WHERE: Wayne Technologies
WHEN: Sometime in September, before people start developing powers
WHAT: Bruce hasn't had the opportunity to meet Motoko yet, to find out more about this technology, and to give her a tour of his facilities.
WARNINGS: None, but will update as appropriate

[Bruce stood outside of the main research and development facility of Wayne Technologies in preparation for Motoko's arrival. He had taken the opportunity days before to take his own tour of the building, was able to meet with his employees and not only reaffirm their mission statement, but to debrief them on the upcoming project they would undertake.

He had planned on building her a body, one that she had specified in brief footnotes via their communicator earlier in the month. He was, however, more curious as to the full details of what she was capable of, in whether it could pose a threat to him and others in the future, and if its appropriation would benefit him in any way. She didn't know that last part, of course, but there were a lot of things he didn't tell a lot of people out of what he still considered necessity.

He had given her a date and a time, and had even planned to send a car for her. He wasn't entirely sure that she would take it, but he expected her any minute regardless as he checked his watch.]

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[She'd done her research on Wayne Tech before agreeing to work with the elusive Bruce Wayne. Everything seemed on the up and up, except for a some directories on his corporate network with such heavy encryption that it'd even take her a while to break through. A little suspicious, but given the propensity for otherwise normal-seeming people to dress up in costumes around this place, she wouldn't be too surprised if the company was funding some kind of side operation. It wouldn't be that far-fetched to imagine the impossibly square-jawed owner of the company wearing a mask in his spare time.

But that would be research for another time.

The car he'd sent pulled up, and Motoko climbed out, removing her sunglasses and glancing around at the facility. Part of her thought that it must be nice to somehow have a company already set up for you when you arrive in a new world.]

Pretty impressive building you've got here.

[He wears a little smirk to her comment, the kind that the rich and privileged often wear. With a simple turn on his heel he starts toward the door with her.]

I agree. I was surprised myself to find that there was very little I needed to change personally. Workflow has barely been interrupted.

[The inside of the building itself is massive once they pass the main entrance room, a large open floor plan with rows of machines of varying size, with a full team managing each one. Even as the two of them enter, none of his employees pause their work, all of them dressed in sterile looking clothing and masks.]

This is our main development area. It's not ultimately where we'll be performing your transfer, but it is where the majority of the components used in the development of your new body will take place.

I guess that's the benefit of having been here before, in a sense.

[She would find it a bit disquieting that someone else sharing her identity had been here before, but Bruce seemed to be adapting well.

She observes the equipment as they enter the facility. It's not as high-tech as what she's used to, of course, but still fairly impressive for a world stuck a few decades behind her own.]

Do they know exactly what they'll be working on? [She nods toward the various workers going about their business.]

They don't. And in fact, neither do I really.

[He continues walking as he speaks, leading them through the development room and through a set of large doors at the end that leads them through a long hallway decorated with various other doors leading all the way down.]

That's another reason why I brought you here. We'd like to run a brief diagnostic, but more importantly...

[He stops in front of a door and pushes it open. It looks like a large testing area filled with various decoys and raised platforms to reach and other various things to test her numerous skills.]

...I was hoping to get a more practical idea of what you can do.

Fair enough. I do have the only physical example of what we're going to construct.

[She'd figured that there would be plenty of poking and prodding on her prosthetic body during this project. Luckily, she's not really shy. But she's a little surprised by the obstacle course.

She smirks slightly.]

Trying to see what your money's going to buy, hm?

[He walks into the room and shrugs his shoulders exaggeratedly, a similar smirk on his face.]

Well, you know what they say, Ms. Kusanagi. An investment in knowledge pays the best interest. Unless, of course, you think you need a smaller room.

I didn't say that.

[She removes her jacket and tosses it to the side before jumping a clear twenty feet into the air onto one of the platforms.]

Any particular objective, or should I just go wild?

We'll be able to get more accurate readings if we have a better understanding of what your limits are. I was thinking more along the lines of the second one.

Activate program Tango Charlie. Clearance, Bruce Wayne.

[The platforms in the room start to move and spin, raising arbitrarily at different heights to make movement more difficult for her. And while he didn't like guns, small drones buzzed around the room firing simple non-lethal tazing projectiles at her.]

You said something about being a police officer back where you come from. [He calls out from the safety of the edge of the room, just outside the bright red line that marks the inner area of the arena.]

Why don't you tell me a little more about that?

[Well, that makes things more interesting. She flips out of the way of one of the taser drones, landing on another one of the raised platforms. Bruce might not like guns, but she has no problem with them, and is in fact packing at the moment. But she doesn't know if he would approve of live ammunition in a research facility, so she refrains from using it. For now.]

I led an elite anti-terrorism squad of predominately ex-military cyborgs. We mostly specialized in cyber-crimes.

[Which probably doesn't sound like much, given the relatively small scale of most cyber-crime in a land without cyber-brains. While speaking, she roundhouse kicks one of the drones to the ground.]

That's a vague answer. You don't like to give up information, do you?

[He presses a button on a small handheld remote in his pocket and the entire room shifts gears; the next time she jumps, a platform beneath her moves out from under her and additional drones focus her vulnerability.]

What would you say the hardest part of your job was?

My team wasn't exactly public knowledge.

[Which is her way of saying no. She's always been guarded with information. You learn that in the military and from working outside of the public eye.

As she leaps to the platform, it vanishes from beneath her, sending her careening toward the ground. She lands hard in a crouched position, but is otherwise no worse for the wear. She immediately darts ahead, avoiding the drones closing in. Scooping up the drone she'd damaged earlier, she hurls it at one of the others to disable it.]

Dealing with the politics and bureaucracy was definitely the most frustrating.

[He laughs.] I see. Are you trying to tell me something?

Computer, end simulation.

[He was joking, but he doesn't give her a chance to answer as things around her start to shut down. He certainly didn't push her to her limit, but the simulation was enough to give him both enough practical, in-field data and the rest? Well... he was able to judge that by watching her. He would apply his own evaluation to the received data which would essentially fill in the gaps of what he wasn't able to get via the simulation.]

Alright, I think we have enough here. We can move on, unless there are any questions you have for me so far?

[She would say that he's expecting her to be pretty forthcoming despite the fact that they just met recently. And she would ask about the restricted areas of his network, but she doesn't want to tip her hand that she's been poking around in his computer systems without authorization.

So instead, she just retrieves her jacket and tosses it over her shoulder. She doesn't seem winded at all, despite the obvious exertion that took place.]

Did I meet your no-doubt lofty expectations?

With that? No, that was to determine your expectations. I have no idea what we're supposed to build you until I have a better understanding of what you can do already.

[Bruce continues down the hall with her, passing more sets of doors on the way down until they reach their destination.]

We'll be doing a full body and PET scan, with your permission, of course, to gather the technometric data we'll need to start engineering the technology we'll need for your new body. After that, we'll pretty much have everything we need after you lay out any additional features that we may have missed during this consultation.

True. This body is military-grade. I doubt we'll be able to match its capabilities perfectly. But maybe you'll surprise me.

[She walks along with him, mentally filing away the layout of the building. Not that she suspects anything, but you can never be too cautious.]

This project wouldn't get very far if I wasn't willing to be thoroughly examined.

[Which sounds a lot weirder than she means, but they're both professionals, right?]

We won't be trying to access any of your memories during any of this testing, is what I'm saying. All we need is to get a good idea of the makeup of your synthetic brain.

[He leads them into a much smaller, darker room this time, segmented into two rooms by a large wall with a mirror. On the other side of the wall is a large machine which looks very similar to a CAT scan machine. Bruce waits at the door.]

This will be the more intimate of the two scans, although you can remain clothed. You can leave your jacket and boots here, if you will. I'll be right here walking you through the process.

My brain is the one part of me that isn't synthetic, though it is cyberized. And don't worry, I'd probably know if you tried to access my memories.

[After all, she doubts that anyone, even Bruce with all his scientists and equipment, could match her for skill in cyber-brain hacking.

She removes her boots and sets them to the side with her jacket before lying down on the machine. It couldn't help but dredge up some slightly unpleasant memories of the constant scans and tests when she was first cyberized.]

Let's get this over with.

[The machine whirs to life, making tiny humming noises like machines in hospitals would make. Little lights pulse around her as a small concentric circular tube within the machine spins around her slowly. When Bruce speaks, it comes from an intercom from within the room.]

That's interesting. Tell me a little about this "cyberization" process.

[He's interested, but he also sounds like he's concentrating on the data he's receiving on the screen in the other room.]

[She lies motionless in the machine, not showing any outward signs of discomfort. The scan shows a heavily-modified human brain.]

Some of it you'll be able to see for yourself. The brain is encased in a hard shell, making it a stand-alone unit. It's then enhanced to allow direct interface with networks and external devices. I guess you could say that the brain is merged with a very high-tech computer.

I do see that.

[He sounds hushed, and very interested as he watches the screen. You've just caught his attention, Motoko.]

But even more than that, it appears a large portion of your body is made up of nanomachines. You weren't wrong when you said the technology was sophisticated.

Is that going to be a problem?

[Micromachines were a fairly ubiquitous technology back home, and she knew that this world was capable of similar things, given the nanites that burdened all Imports.]

I didn't say that. It's just impressive to see, and I wouldn't have offered my services if I didn't think I could replicate it.

[The ringed gantry continues to spin, as passing lights continue to scan her body and the machine whirs with a gentle mechanical hum that continues through the process.]

In fact, I would say the cranial housing will probably be the more difficult aspect of the process, but I don't expect that to be a problem either.

Micromachines are the hot new technology back home, but I suppose it's not outside of the realm of possibility here. They have managed to create the technology to infect us all with nanites, after all.

[Really, she was almost impressed by that level of technology from a world that still seems stuck in a perpetual state of mid-20th century politics.]

Is that right? I suppose that makes you cutting edge then. Either way, it's the sum of the whole that's impressive. I've seen similar technology back home, but very rarely in a way that you utilize.

[The machine slowly comes to a stop and he comes in to pull her from the inner tube.]

Alright. We're pretty much done here.

Top of the line prosthetics was one of the benefits of working for a secret government section with deep pockets.

[Of course, she could think of more than a few downsides as she climbed out of the machine.]

I suppose a physical exam is next?

[Ever the playboy, he gives her a look and smirks a little, but never breaks stride back towards the main room.]

Actually, that was the physical. And in fact, we're pretty much done. I have what I need...

[He stops and turns to her, and casually places a hand in his pocket.]

...now we're at the part where you let me know if there's anything in particular you need from me during this process.

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[CLOSED] People facing the fire together

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(Sorry! Last week got a little crazy)