Participants:
| Scene Title | Not on the Same Page |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Warren and Skyler discuss what Sky will actually be doing for Warren. Their views don't match up that well. |
| Date | November 13 2010 |
Constructed in the 1700s the foundation for the Shalegate Machine Factory is a red-brick mill building that at one point in his spotted history served as a production plant for ammunition during World War II. Much of that original ammunition production equipment still resides within these factory walls, along with an assortment of newer metalsmithing tools in the factory floor. While a large building, much of the interior space is in high ceilings laden with tall windows that let in rich amounts of daylight and ambient strete light at night.
The interior of the favtory itself has a workshop area for the production of hand-made metal components, lathes and assorted tool benches, while a second floor drafting room has tables designed for the design of blueprints and other mechanical schematics. While modern electronic security systems give the factory an overall defense against ordinary breaking and entering.
Warren is on the second floor, sitting in one of the smaller but well-furnished office rooms. The interior looks very modern, as he's had a minor remodeling done so the place wouldn't look so rundown. He sits behind a large oak desk, little gadgets sitting on the shelves in between books. His desk is full of books as well, engineering and fictional literature. Right now he's reading more on blueprints, wearing his black suit with a golden name plate on his desk that says Warren Ray. Skyler knows where to meet him, so he's just waiting for her at this point.
Skyler is in one of the conference rooms, unpacking her stuff into a considerably more old fashioned and rather run-down room. Not because the boss didn't want to share any of the nice rooms with her, but because the run-down, world war II vintage room, with its shabby wood floor and its window and its old radiator for heat somehow seems a lot more comfortable. This room is huge, so it doesn't feel quite so much as though the walls are closing in on her. Air mattress? Check. Electric blanket? Check. Shower? Down the hall. Place to cook? Hot plate. Check. Sky looks around and nods. "All it needs now is computer hardware, and I'm set.
Warren stands, sitting his book down on the desk, then heads out to check on Skyler in her room. He knocks a few times with a gloved hand, then opens the door and peeks in. "Are you doing alright in here? I thought we'd discuss a few things, so I could get to know who I'm working with a little more."
Skyler is sitting on the air mattress, logging her iphone into the local wifi when the boss knocks. She looks over to the door. "Hi." She moves, the mattress squeaking under her a bit. "Yeah, just getting my stuff spread out." She moves over to the conference table, that she's moved against the far wall and set all the chairs on the other side from. "Have a seat?" she sits in one of the rickety old office chairs.
Warren takes a seat across from her, sitting back while peering casually at her. "I know you're doing this for money, but I like to think I can get on the same page with someone I'll be working so closely with. What do you think of the world, the way things are currently? What are your political views regarding Evolved?"
Skyler ponders it, putting her iphone down for a moment. "I don't know what to think. On the one hand, the government's in the process of making us second class citizens, and I don't like it. On the other hand, if Evolved have done even half the things we're accused of, we're fucking dangerous. I think the bottom line is that the Evolved are going to replace humanity in a generation or two, if we can keep idiots from starting wars with humanity now, while they outnumber us.
"The purpose of what I'm doing isn't to give Evolved more power, but to keep things stable, to fix them, and put us in a position to keep everything in check. I want to repair parks, restore the city, and have it be known that Evolved are doing all of this. On the surface, we'll be a massive PR project." Warren motions around the room as he begins to indicate the building itself. "But we'll also have this factory, and my contract with the government. My technology will be increasingly integrated into everyday government life, and security. I'll be able to keep things like that drone attack from happening, make sure the government only uses my technology for good. And with our security integrated into the government, we'll know without them knowing whenever they make some secret prison, or start kidnapping Evolved. There will be a second layer to my technology that only we know about, which is why only the most trustworthy people can be in this organization."
Skyler nods. "We start out being their lapdogs, basically. But quietly we ascend to their kings and their gods… or I guess to be less politically charged, their superiors. Once that happens the birth rate of normal humans will drop off and ours will shoot up. Assuming that the evolved gene breeds true. That sounds like a reasonable plan. But um. One question. What are we doing for the government, exactly?
"Whoa wait, slow down." Warren holds up his hands, sighing patiently. "We're not trying to overthrow the government, or even assert Evolved superiority. We're secretly, and discreetly, going to keep the government in line. We're never going to make ourselves known, our purpose will be to keep balance. Let evolution worry about birth rates, that's not my concern, I don't care if humans or Evolved die out, I just want to keep peace, and improve society for everyone." He sits his hands on the table, letting out another breath. "We make weapons and other technology for them, but I make sure it's too complex for them to be able to even know that I can take control from them.
Skyler nods. "I think your way in the short term works into my way in the long term. And I'm not sure I'd assume that there aren't other technopaths or super-mechanics working for the government, so we have to be very careful. And of course we have to be subtle about it. This whole civilization is predicated on no one group of people being inherently superior to another. Except that frankly, we are.
"I considered that, but I plan to make sure I know if they do, soon. The way I built the robots is so they can be programmed, the way I controlled them is in a way that doesn't use programming. It's two layers of being able to control it, but my way trumps programming." Warren focuses on her now, leaning his arms against the table. "So tell me about your ability, and your general skills." He has an idea of them, but wants to her hear describe them.
Skyler raises an eyebrow. "Robots? What kind of robots?" Skyler stands up, shoving her phone in her pocket. "I knew you had some bizarre machines downstairs. I can feel them from here, but I've been holding back from really getting to know them. What do they do?" Sky takes a breath, finally. "And you want to know what I do? I understand electronics. I can feel them without touching them. Understand what's wrong with them. Communicate with them. If I'm working with a computer with security, I have to break in just like if I was in front of a keyboard. As for skills, I have a BS in Double-E and IT." She pauses. "Electrical Engineering and Information Technology. One Bachelor of science in each. Plenty of graduate work in both, too, but I never finished.
"I don't use computers in my robots because I don't know how to program, but I can build robots that can be programmed, if I have something to base them on." Warren stands, motioning her towards the door. "I build robots for lots of things. Monitoring, combat. I'll show you soon, but for now I'll show you the camera and tracking robots."