Participants:
| Scene Title | World-Saving-Level Shit |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Two old aquatinences meet up to work on a new project - it may or may not be as explosive as the last. |
| Date | April 29, 2019 |
Raytech: Alia's Office
Alia’s office in the Raytech building is not hard to find, at least, assuming you have the security badge to get on the right floor. The whole ‘head of IT’ thing tends to make you a favorite person to come grump at if something isn’t working right, as if she could make it work faster than her co-workers/employees. Sometimes she could, mind you, but not often. Today, she has a whole swath of books and printouts in front of her, which, amusingly, have nothing to do with electronics or computers. The technopath it seems is researching psychology for reasons she’s so far kept to herself… and apparently has been putting in late nights on, as she is sort of -napping- on top of her research as one of the little vacuum robots roams the room.
Devi doesn’t seem surprised when her badge gives a cheery beep that admits her entrance here and there throughout the expansive halls of Raytech. Honestly, she doesn’t know any better and, at least in this case, just does what she’s been told. A quick rap of her tattooed knuckles is given at the threshold as Devi pokes her head into the office. The vacuum bot actually gets a quick look, pupils expanding, before the raven-haired gaze pans quickly towards the slumbering head.
The tall biker crosses the room in a few easy strides and raises a brow as she looks down over the brain-shrinking jargon peeking from around Alia’s sleepy head. Her gaze softens briefly when no one is the wiser, but the expression is fleeting when she reaches down and raps her knuckles beside Alia’s head. “Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey. Well… not really.” No bacon, but there’s coffee! Devi sets down a mug with a smile.
Alia, It turns out, is a surprisingly light sleeper, and is startled awake by the first couple footsteps. The startling causes the vacuum to -spin in place- a few times as Alia’s ability apparently lashes out as if someone was waking from some nightmare and, well… it resumes normal operations a few moments later. Alia stares at the coffee a moment, then nods. “Thanks.” She offers, blushing, sipping the roasted caffeination goodness. “Sorry. Lots going on. What brings you by?”
After all, it could be a number of reasons, and it’s not like Alia is a telepath, something the woman is intensely thankful for frequently.
A strange bleep comes from what appears to be a thick, black steel cuff around Devi’s wrist. She glances briefly to an illuminated faceplate on the contraption that seems to go back to sleep once Alia has got her wits about her. “Burning the candle at both ends or some shit?” the biker asks, tapping a brightly painted nail on the pages before Alia. It’s a casual interest only, especially seeing as the Head of IT has gotten straight to the point.
“Been a while,” she comments in her husky way before reaching to a chain around her neck. She pulls up a small USB drive on the end and lets it dangle in front of Alia. “But, as always, I come bearing goodies. Toots sent me to discuss some serious tech. World-saving level shit.”
Alia stares at the USB stick as she listens, then ‘ahs’ at the ‘world saving level shit’ line. Because there’s only one project she has in the works that could possibly be on -that- description at the moment… it’s a good month for Alia in that regards. “Superstring incursion detector.” She states after making sure her door is closed.
“Can help with some of the… techier details? Or general questions about it or?” Alia probes, asking more what Devi needs help with then assuming anything.
The USB is pulled up higher, dangling directly before Devi’s face now. Her dark eyes almost cross at the bridge of her sharp nose as she scrutinizes the little storage device. “Oh, is that what it’s called?” It’s amazing even Richard manages to take her seriously. “I took a look at the plans, the partial plans as it so happens, and ended up somewhere between a migraine and an orgasm…” The biker bitch gives a not-unpleasant shudder for emphasis.
“Think we can pull this shit off?”
Alia raises an eyebrow, then laughs. “No idea.” She offers honestly. “Within technical abilities if we fix partialness? Yes.” The technopath then shrugs, and gives something she usually doesn’t waste the mental energy for her on: A quip. “Lucky, I only got the migraine.”
Devi cracks a cockeyed, amused smile just for Alia. She finally lowers the little flash drive, the tiny metal storage unit resting against the bottom of her ribcage on the long, silver chain. “Fixing the partialness - good start.” Devi combs back errant, voluminous waves of dark hair from her tattooed countenance. “I got a meet-and-greet with one Michelle Redacted, but from what Richard says I got that feeling that’s going to be its own puzzle. I’ll loop Warren in, too. Somehow I’m QA in the Looney-unit, how the fuck did that happen, hm?” She turns over her hands in empty, what-gives gesture towards Alia.
“He said it’s dangerous… How dangerous we talkin’?” She levels Alia with a give-it-to-me-straight gaze.
Alia’s response is to pull up a different set of partial schematics. This is a set that … well, the short version would be to say “What do you get when you have two mechanical adepts make a quadruped, then have two different technopaths involved in making programming for it?” The result is a Hunter Drone Mark II. This one is missing a lot of details Alia never did figure out. “ONe timeline, army level of these hunting evolved. And Humanis First Mayes in charge AND is already aware of Project Looking Glass.”
Alia pauses a moment to consider how to word it. “This, not worst case scenario, that would be Virus variant timeline infection. REmember evoflu? That crossed with ebola” She pauses. “Accidental opening to flooded world also mildly problematic for obvious reasons.” Alia shrugs again as the screen clears. “And that just ‘nearby’ possibility. Weirder stuff out there? Maybe.” Alia then rubs at the fresher of the two scars on her neck Then a new picture comes up. This one of the firefight that was at the observatory. In particular, a picture of one of the hyperadvanced hardsuit armors she had faced. “And these are from one of the others.”
Devi’s gaze turns towards the partial schematics on Alia’s side of the equation. Her eyes widen and her pupils expand hungrily, nearly swallowing the hole of her already dark, chocolate-hued irises. Alia’s voice drones into a semi-coherent noise in the background, like a soundwaves muffled by the passage of water - distinguishable, but just barely.
The monitor changes to that final shot and doesn’t seem keen to provide any other enticingly dangerous projects for her viewing. The trance is broken and she blinks quickly, a shudder raking up her spine that she smoothly transitions as a turning of her head back to Alia. She takes a deep breath and brings up bother her hands, raking them thorough long black longs and tangling the lot of them in claw like gestures at the crown of her head. Devi tips her head back and raises her brows. “Oh, is that all?” she replies as a tease. And though her lips play at a mischievous smile, a glimmer of proper concern manages to leak up from the depths of her dark, greedy pupils.
Her hands fall away, one protectively going to the little USB device. “I guess we better get started, then…”
Alia smiles, takes the USB stick, and pulls it up. “Let’s start.> Tell me what you need me to do.” She states with some understanding, even if she’s not sure what answer she’ll get. She’s not the one who knows what all was needed to make it work in total now. “Or at least, what you need me to start on and we work from there?”
Some Time Later…
Multiple coffee mugs sit in different corners of the room. The roomba appears to be slowly, repeatedly, and deliberately thumping it’s faceplate into the wall. Devi leans back in the rolling chair, the ergonomic seat giving to accommodate her boots kicked up on the arm of an empty chair nearby. She combs her fingers back through her hair.
“We’ve calibrated every inch, we’ve followed every line of code. It just… doesn’t fucking fit.” She closes her eyes and shakes her head. “There’s gotta be a piece missing. What’s that friggin’ thing cal— a keystone. Something that ties it all together.” She pinches the bridge of her nose and turns to consider Alia from the corner of her dark, shadow-embellished eyes.
She lowers her hand, revealing a look of mild terror.
“So, I guess I have only one question left: Know anything about going to meet a man’s mom?”
“Only that terrified of emotional end.” Alia quips, and sighs. “I’ll put us on her schedule?” She pauses. “Or we could ask him to. EIther way…” She sighs and sets aside her mouse and saves the roomba-clone from further damage.