NationStates Jolt Archive

Two vapid, smiling hosts sit behind a large desk with no front so the audience can see the legs of the female co-host. Behind them, in large letters are the words "North Hack News!" It has all the hallmarks of a worthless tabloid celebrity show. The perky, blonde, male host speaks first,

"Welcome back! Our next story is a North Hack News exclusive story! Here with all the juicy details is Victoria Grapevine!"

The perky, blonde, female flashes a thousand-watt smile at the camera, her perfect teeth gleaming. "Thanks, Rick! Well, we've got a real great story for you today, viewers! It seems that our very own head of IT has gotten himself a girlfriend! Yes, Mr. I-Don't-Do-Interviews himself is sweet on someone! We'll give you all the details after these words from our sponsors!"

---

A man in ragged clothes crawls through the desert, with sun beating down on him mercilessly, vultures circling overhead. His lips are parched. He comes upon a bottle of water, looks at it, and tosses it aside. He continues crawling until he sees an oasis. He looks at the pool, shakes his head, and keeps crawling. Finally he stops crawling, the camera zooms back, and the vultures start diving. Cut to a picture of a bottle of North Hack Spring Water. An announcer says "Why drink substandard water? North Hack Spring Water. You can taste the purity!"
---

The show returns, with Rick chirping, "Welcome back! Now, back to our story!" The camera cuts to Victoria standing before a bluescreen with the North Hack News! logo on it.

"For those of you living under a rock, here's some info on Dr. Specter!" The logo fades away and a picture of Josef replaces it. This seems to be a candid picture of him, as he's walking down the street. He's rather non-descript looking. Solidly average would be how most people would describe him. He has black hair, which seems to be pulled back, and hazel eyes are just barely visible over the frames of a pair of sunglasses. He's wearing a teeshirt and jeans, the teeshirt has the words Disaster Area on it in big letters. Seems to be some kind of band. The picture shrinks, and a large quantity of information appears next to his face.
Name: Dr. Josef Specter
Degrees: Doctorate in Computer Science, Doctorate in Electrical Engineering
Age: 30
Height: 5'10" Job: Head of Information Technology
Salary: <listed; rather high>
Address: <listed>
Phone Number: <listed>
The list continues, listing various bits of personal information. Eventually it stops, and the screen returns to displaying the show's logo.

"You all can see why he's considered by many to be one of the most eligible bachelors here in the Hack! But wait until you see this!"

The picture of Josef shrinks down again, and another photo replaces it. The photo seems to have been taken during the Shiva dedication party. It shows a woman with short black hair and blue eyes having a drink with Josef and with her hand on his shoulder. They seem to be smiling.

"Now, we can't say how we got this photo, but our sources tell us that the woman in the picture is none other than Dr. Alice Merriweather! Who's that, you may ask? Why, she's the head of Military Research and Development from the Federation of GMC Military Arms!"

The camera swings back to Rick. "Wow! Thank you Victoria! Remember, you heard it from North Hack News first! We tried to reach Dr. Specter for a comment, but it seems he's not in the country right now! In fact... he's currently at the Hack's embassy in GMC! Coincidence? We think not!"

---

Cut To Josef in his room at the embassy:

"Oh, bloody Hell..."

bump for GMC

Alice Merriwether, having just watched the tape with Anne-Marie Embersby:

'Err...I really don't know what I should do...'

'Well, do you like him?'

'He was nice enough...We talked for quite a while, mostly technical stuff...'

'You're worrying again.'

'It's not like I'm much to look at...'

'Since when would that be important, even if it was true? If you like the guy, tell him....'

Dr. Specter, on the other hand, was sitting at his computer, door to his office locked, with a chair wedged underneath. Every now and then someone would walk by the door, jiggle the handle, and then yell something vaguely offensive through it.

He types frantically at his computer, several cracking programs running on a nearby LAN'd laptop. He mutters to himself every now and then, "how did they get that picture..." and "did they really have to post everything about me on international TV? I mean, blood-type?!"

His phone rings.

"WHAT?!"

"How... rude."

"Oh, sorry Vic."

"Perhaps it was for the best."

"Huh?!"

"Perhaps this tabloid might be a benefit."

"And just how does posting my social security number on TV benefit me?"

"Sometimes people need a nudge."

"What are you implying?"

"You are in the Federation of GMC Military Arms. Use that to your advantage." <click>

Josef stares at the phone. Vic? Giving advice on relationships? He wonders to himself. He mutters, slams the phone back down and returns to his computer.

'But what on Earth could I do to get his attention...I haven't really got a figure to show off, or anything like that...'

'For God's sake, Alice, do you think that's why he was talking to you? He'd like you because you're smart. And hey...You're not so bad looking...'

'Thanks. I can always count on you, Annie. How would I ever get to meet him, though?'

'Delayed transport and chance encounters can easily be arranged. Mind you, if you get any more nervous I'll have to have the guy frogmarched in here by SFAT...'

'Annie...Thanks. It's always nice to have you here...Makes the place feel less empty.'

'Oh come on, it's not exactly empty...'

'Two spaniels are hardly the sort of company I mean.'

'Oh, and this should give you something to talk about...' she slaps a file on the table, 'There's nothing I could think of that'd break the ice better...Guy does like his computers.'

'This is...This is...You want me to show him the PHALANX project file? Seriously?

'Go for it, it's a censored copy.'

As Josef banged away at his computer, trying to break into North Hack News' server, he suddenly found himself staring at a BBSOD (Big Blue Screen O' Death). He cursed and reached for the restart button when he noticed what the screen said.

Terminal Shut Down By Section 3 By Orders From V. Solis

"That son of a bitch..." He grabbed his coat and stormed out of his office, ignoring the random remarks made by people in the embassy, and went to the nearest bar (pub, tavern, whichever). He sat down at the counter, ordered a stout, and pulled out his PDA, figuring he could work there, only to find it sporting a BBSOD, which was really odd, as it wasn't supposed to do that sort of thing. He noticed it had a similar message, sighed, and started doodling the schematics of his arm on a napkin, figuring he could at least see about improving its performance, as he couldn't do much else.

"did they really have to post everything about me on international TV? I mean, blood-type?!"

<snip>

"And just how does posting my social security number on TV benefit me?"



I must have still been thinking about the female co-host's legs. All I saw was:

The list continues, listing various bits of personal information."



:)

"did they really have to post everything about me on international TV? I mean, blood-type?!"

<snip>

"And just how does posting my social security number on TV benefit me?"



I must have still been thinking about the female co-host's legs. All I saw was:

The list continues, listing various bits of personal information."



:)

ooc- I figured someone was going to assume that such... information was listed! I mean, my Entertainment Tonight clone is resourceful, but not that good. I'm sure they tried, however. Hell, his shoe size was probably listed. It was a pretty complete list.

So, GMC, Alice now knows his favorite band, the fact that he wears contacts, what his perscription strength is, bank account numbers (thank God for biometric security, hmm?), preferred brand of toothpaste, etc. etc. etc. (The information I listed stayed on the screen for a few seconds, the rest went by in a rather fast scroll, but anyone with a VCR...)

And since I'm horribly OOC right now anyway, I've got this great mental picture of Josef being hog-tied, chucked in the back of a duece-and-a-half, and driven over a rocky road to Alice's house on orders by Anne-Marie.

<OOC: Well, had to get the guy out of that room first...I was going to have Annie use the Army's supercomputer 'Hecate' to shut Josef's computer down. Seems Vic thinks along the same lines. It'd be a pub, and Annie's probably at least got public surveillence looking out for the guy. If you haven't realised from the other thread yet, Annie's one of the world's natural big sisters.>

Anne-Marie puts the phone down and picks up her jacket, 'You up for a quick drink, Alice?'

'Who was that?'

'Oh, nothing. Doesn't matter. Come on.'

<OOC: Now, are you RPing Alice arriving or am I?>

ooc- As prim and proper as Vic is, he's not opposed to "cheating" when necessary. Considering the government supplied Josef's computer and such, it was pretty easy to shut it down.

Josef frowns at his napkin, shoves it aside, and grabs another. He begins trying to figure out the chances of some journalistic hack to sneak into a government event. He starts to wonder if he's been set up.

ooc- I figure you can bring your own characters in. He's sitting at the far end of the counter.

<If I recall, there was a Shildonian officer with a camera at the party. It's unlikely that anyone else would have given a picture to a news network with SFAT guarding, since they would have been ejected from GMC via a dark room and lots of shouting>

Josef probably doesn't bother noticing the door open and close, except for the short rush of cold air. It's not particularly crowded, so he certainly does notice that the barman suddenly stops serving and bows towards the door.

Where Field Marshal Embersby is standing, together with a rather confused-looking Alice Merriweather. They walk over the bar, Anne-Marie ordering a pint of lager and a vodka and coke, which she hands to Alice.

Anne-Marie smiles at Dr. Specter, 'Hi! Interesting meeting you here.'

ooc- I knew it! Annie set them up!

He places his pint on the napkin with his 'conspiracy theories', and looks over. He smiles (a little wanly) at both. "Oh, hello. I... uh... just needed to get out of the embassy for awhile. How are things?" The napkin with the arm schematics is between them.

Anne blinks, 'Oh, I forgot to check if I was on a yellow line...I'll be back in a minute*...You'll be ok while I'm gone, right Alice?'

'Err...Uh-huh..'

'Just remember to smile' Annie whispers in Alice's ear as she walks past. Alice smiles nervously at Josef.

'Err...Things are ok, I guess...' She stops for a moment, and looks down, spotting the napkin. 'Do you mind if I take a look?'

[*='I'll call your mobile tomorrow morning unless you call me first']
[OOC: Alice's Doctorates are in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, which Josef may or may not know]

(ooc- He didn't know, thanks for the info. He's currently hoping that Alice hasn't seen the story...)

He looks down, having completely forgotten about that napkin.

"Oh, go ahead. I was just trying to see if I could manage some further modifications to my arm. I seem to be having computer... issues... lately. I doubted a pen and paper could crash..."

'This...This is very good, although I'm not sure quite how...Oh, of course. Sorry, I'm not really with it at the moment.' She considers drinking a lot. May that would...

No. He doesn't want to see you drunk.

Leaning against a wall outside, Anne-Marie finishes her beer and slips the glass into her pocket. 'Well, now it's up to her,' she says to herself.

'Err...Anyway, I've got this file here, might interest you...It's about a new program we're developing*...'

[*Highlights include that it has already beaten a Turing test on three seperate occasions.]
[I also suspect there may have been some collusion between Annie and Vic in pulling this off.]

He glances at her sideways, and then down at the file.

"Working on AI's? Interesting..."

He jots a couple quick figures on a third napkin, blinks, looks at the file again.

"Oh, right. This would be the declassified version..." he voice trails off, and he sets down his pen. "Hey, what's wrong?"

[Isn't that how it always is? Married people setting up their single friends?]

'I...I...Err...I...' She swallows hard, 'I think I find you, that is, it's not so much that it's...Err...'

[OOC: She's never going to manage to say it...]

Not being the king of social graces, it takes Josef a minute or two to figure out what's happening.

"You saw the story?"

Alice nods, 'I'm sorry if it's been embarassing for you. I never ment for it to happen.' She looks a bit upset, 'But it was nice talking to you...I don't suppose you like me anymore, huh?'

[She's got the wrong end of the stick; she thinks Josef's annoyed at her]

"Well, there's a reason I wanted to get out of the embassy, but it's not like I'm blaming you for it. I'm more upset that that... tabloid... felt the need to list minutae of my personal life. And... well... I enjoyed our conversation as well..."

Alice looks relieved, 'Thanks...I'm relieved to hear that. So was all that stuff true...? I thought they must have made most of it up...' She spots Josef's expression, 'They didn't, did they?' She blushes, 'I'm glad our news crews don't have access to that sort of thing...It's kinda nice having a personal life,' she sighs, and whispers* 'Or so I'm told.'

[*Josef probably just catches it]

Josef sighs. "Either they really did their research, or had help, but it was all true." He mutters something about cancelling credit cards. Her whispered words finally click in his head. "What did you mean by that?"

'Oh...Nothing. It's just kinda lonely with nothing but two dogs for company most of the time...' She takes a sip of her drink, 'Annie's the only person who talks to me that often when I'm not in my official capacity.'

"Ah... I can relate..." He sort of looks around, feeling the weight of the uncomfortable silence bearing down on him. "Hey... uh... how about getting a bite to eat somewhere... if that's alright... and... er..."

Alice brightens up a little at that, 'Annie once showed me a great restaurant near here...It's a bit of a walk, but it's worth it.' She smiles a little, 'Don't forget your napkin...'

Josef tosses a tip on the bar and grabs his napkin, putting it in his pocket. He walks a few steps, stops, and also retrieves the file that Anne left on the counter. He walks along side her as they head to the restaurant.

"So... what's this restaurant like?"

'It's just nice...You know, the good sort of quiet. Wood finish, comfortable seats, good food. Annie assures me the waitresses are quite nice too, but I'll have to take her word for that...You're not vegan, are you? It's got a good vegetarian menu, but I'm not sure about what they'd do if you were.'

[Incidentally, back when she looked at the napkin she could barely read it. That's what those glasses are actually for, but she's shy about wearing them in front of people]

[Well, if Anne was having fun and made sure she slowed the tape so the information could be read, Alice would know that Josef wears contacts]

"No, I'm not a vegan. Right after the Corporate Rebellion, we didn't have much hospitable territory, so people couldn't afford to be choosy. When I was a kid, anything other than seafood was a treat."

[She's eaten there with Annie and Elisa, who's vegetarian, which is why she's asking. And I shouldn't think Annie slowed the tape down, since she's not mean like that.]

'Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Um...So, what would you like?'

<The menu is up to you, BTW. She'll have what you're having.>

He looks over the menu, pondering.

"Well, from the research I've done, the pre-revolution days weren't that good. There's a lot of propaganda out there, but I found some info from impartial sources. Anyway, I'm sure the random history of home isn't the most interesting topic of conversation."

After looking over the menu several times, he shrugs, closes his eyes, and randomly points at an item. "Hm... I guess I'll have the steak."

'Me too.' Alice says.

'Two steaks, ok.' The waitress (who Annie wasn't wrong about) takes the menus and heads off into the kitchen, returning a few minutes later with a bottle of champagne, 'It's free, complements of the house.'

Alice notices right away Annie's handwriting on the side. Thought you might come here. Good luck. She smiles.

Josef cocks up an eyebrow, but doesn't say anything. He pours some into a pair of glasses, and hands one to Alice. "A toast?"

'To what...?' She smiles nervously, and blushes, '...Us?'

Josef turns slightly red himself. "Sure... to us." He taps his glass against hers.

After a few more minutes of silence Say something! Anything! "So..." More than one freaking word, idiot! He sighs. "I'm really no good at this... er..."

[gotta bail, will pick up on the marrow]

Alice's hand closes over Josef's, 'You...You don't have to say anything much, if you don't want to...' She blushes more, and smiles, 'Aren't you glad they got those pictures, now...?'

[The pictures were nothing to do with Annie. Some kind of Hack / Shildonia deal, most likely]

ooc- I figured someone was going to assume that such... information was listed!

No one said otherwise; yep, information was listed.

You seem sort of defensive. Feeling guilty about something?

Josef looks mildly relieved, and seems to relax a little. "Yeah, I suppose it was a good thing." He smirks, "well... looks like they were right, hmm?"

He starts to say something else when the waitress returns with a tray.

Two trays, in fact. 'Well, here y'go. Two steaks. Enjoy.'

'Never imagined that tabloid journalists could actually be right about anything,' Alice smiles, 'But I guess so. Anyway,' she says, 'What did you think of that file? It's quite an impressive project...I mean, I could show you the proper version some time, but not out here. Oh...' She slowly puts on her glasses, 'Just wondering what you think?'

Josef smiles. "I was begining to wonder if having glasses hang around your neck was just some zany GMC fashion. You look fine, why wouldn't you?" He takes a sip of the champagne. "As for the file, I'm quite interested. You seem to have made some major headway. I could probably help on the design... with governmental approval, of course."

[Seeing as how most of that stuff is pretty tightly controled]

Alice looks a bit relieved, 'It's just I used to get teased at school, and I can't stand wearing contacts...' she smiles, 'Actually, I'm fifty per cent of the approval you'd need, as Head of R & D. Phalanx was started by the ASPD, so I'd need to clear it with Annie, and she'll run it past the Supreme Commander like she usually does.'

"Well, the joys of public education was why I started wearing contacts in the first place. As for this," he taps the folder, "I'd need permission from my government too, as it owns all the patents on our AIs. However, I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem."

--

Victor sends a simple message to Anne: "Success?"

[Annie's gone home. She can't read minds from that kind of distance; she'd also be concentrating on Elisa.]

'Think so...She hasn't called for a lift home yet, anyway.'

[Back at the restaurant]

'Well I hope not; it'll be good to see how well you're getting on with AI, since I've been hearing a lot of good things from the ASPD test group about the operating system you're designing for Shiva.'

[Vic sent it via e-mail, or some such, no psychics in the Hack...]

"Well, Shiva's a pretty big project. Took me awhile just to figure out where to start. Are there any plans to integrate Phalanx into Shiva?"

'I shouldn't think it'll be part of [i]Shiva for quite a while; at the moment it's just to protect MilNet if they decide allow it outside access. At the moment there's a physical division between all external systems and MilNet for safety.'

[Nah, he just wasn't sure how closely she was monitoring]

"Ah, makes perfect sense. And, I suppose, it wouldn't be wise to one's first AI on something so... big. I can just imagine Shiva running amuck." He remembers that here's food on the table, and takes a bite of the steak. "You're right, it is good."

'Err...Well, Shiva isn't actually that big compared to what Phalanx is going to handle. It's there to protect ISON, that's what MilNet controls. Of course, MilNet can't directly fire ISON, it just issues firing orders and telemetry, and the gun crews handle the rest. Phalanx is only to watch over outside threats if we start building satellite tracking into ISON, at least to begin with.'

"Hm, interesting. Never much thought of approaching AI's from a military standpoint. We had more of a 'because its there' view when we started building ours. In fact, we still haven't put them to any practical use. Other than the entertainment industry, I guess. So, Phalanx is sort of going to be a blend of a firewall and an AI?" He mutters softly "why didn't we ever think of that...?"

[Since the restaurant is pretty quiet, she could probably hear him. The Hack tends to create technology for technology's sake, hence the reason that their AI's are basically used for video games, and electronic friends.]

Alice smiles, and nods, 'Yes, that's exactly what it is; a firewall that can intelligently counter threats to it.' She picks up on Josef's muttered comment, 'I guess we just look at everything from the opposite point of view...'

"...not a bad thing, I suppose." He looks down at the file, then back up at Alice. "I think this can work out nicely."

[Yes, he's being vague...]

[OOC: GMC usually tries everything from a military point of view first. Hey, the computer (Colossus and ENIAC) and the internet were military inventions, after all.]

Alice grins, 'I hope you don't just mean the project.'

[So was GPS... and most every other useful creation, heh]

Josef glances away for a second, "No, I mean... us too... if that's alright..."

'It's perfectly alright...' She pauses, 'Well...Err...I'm not sure how I'm going to get home...Not that it's a problem yet, I mean, we haven't even finished our meal yet, but...'

[She's hoping she can stay the night with Josef.]

"Nothing wrong with thinking ahead, I suppose. However, we still aren't that far from the embassy. We could stop there for a nightcap, and... well... go from there..."

'Oh, could we?' she smiles 'That'd be nice. Oh, have you checked out the desert menu yet? Some of the things they have here are amazing.'

He chuckles softly, "can't say that I have. What would you recommend?"

'Well, it's all good, but I've always had a thing for the toffee pavlova (?). It's really nice...'

'By the way, how many times has this happened to you? Err...I don't mean this part as much, I mean the stories...'

"Well, I can't say that I've ever had a date with a wonderful woman as a direct result of a tabloid 'news' show. The shows themselves are a little bit different." He sighs slightly, "you see, most of the people in the Hack are completely obsessed with technology, I guess I am too, but, you know what I mean. We invent things just to do it, and then it usually sits in a corner. Well, being the head of IT makes me one of the more visible members of the government. And since I'm directly involved in the nation's obsession, it tends to transfer to me. Granted, it usually just means that I make various... lists, but it usually isn't this big a deal. The last time they went this nuts was when I upgraded my arm." He looks a little pensive, "I hope you don't think I'm a media freakshow, or anything. It's usually not this... worldwide..."

[She probably hasn't seen his original cyber-arm. He upgraded around the time of the Mammoth Mk. VII purchase]

[She probably blushed at 'wonderful woman.']

'Oh no, nothing like that...I was just wondering how often they published this kind of story...Just curious, I guess.'

'By the way, have you still got that napkin? I wouldn't mind another look at it, now I can see...'

"Sure," he slides the napkin over to her. "The stories happen about as often as such nonsense does. Whenever some crank decides to put out an 'eligible bachelor' poll, or something, I tend to get mentioned. As for film crews, it's only been twice now, thankfully."

"As for the arm, I'm kicking around the idea of actually adding something to it. Right now, its sort of a glorified oven mitt."

She stares at the paper, 'Correct me if I'm wrong, but...This doesn't actually give you sensory feedback, does it? I mean, we've been working on biomechanics for years now, I should think we could probably manage something. As a joint project, obviously.'

He smiles. "You're not wrong. That's why I called it an oven mitt. The first model was pretty basic. It was faster to move it manually. As you can see, this is a vast improvement, but I still don't feel anything."

[Culture clash again. She goes practical, while he was thinking of integrating a PDA...]

[Well, given GMC has compulsory service which equals accidents,they've been working in the field for quite a while already. Practicality generally wins, the odd amphibious aircraft carrier notwithstanding]

'Well, that's really the main problem we've had with replacement limbs; we've been working on it for a long time. I could run you though our research papers on the subject some time, if you like.'

"That sounds great. I've got the full schematics on my terminal back at the Embassy. It's not a state secret or anything, so I could give you a full run-down."

She puts down her spoon, having finished dessert, and yawns, 'Yeah...Probably should be getting back soon. When did it get to be so late?'

He looks at his watch, blinks ad shrugs. "Time flies when you're having fun?" He pays the bill, leaves a tip, etc. "Shall we head back to the embassy?"

She nods, 'Uh-huh...I don't have a problem staying the night, if it's ok with you...'

He holds the door open for her as they leave.

"Uh, sure. That'd be nice."

[Note: Alice is up for sleeping in the same bed, but that's as far as she'd go.]

'So, are we walking back or do you have a car somewhere?'

[Note: Alice is up for sleeping in the same bed, but that's as far as she'd go.]


OOC: Thank God. If I accidentally read you guys trying to roleplay out anything other than that, I'm pretty sure I'd claw my eyes out. :wink:

[I was wondering just how fast she was planning on moving, ahem.]

"Well, I could call and have them bring a limo here if you want."

'That'd be great.' She smiles, and hugs Josef's arm, 'I'll have to thank Annie sometime. We both will.'

He pulls a phone out of his coat, and hits the speed dial. "Jonathan? Yeah, hi, it's Josef. Could you send my car to <address>? Thank you."

He gives Alice a hug. "Yeah, I'll be sure to thank her the next time I see her."

<Not sure how to wrap this thread up...Any ideas?>

Alice smiles. 'Well, I'll probably be seeing her tomorrow, if you want to come along.'

"Sounds good."

[I see a couple ways... end it here and assume a relationship blooms, or RP further tech conversations that take place the next day?]

[Maybe flick to next day...Although there may eventually be a wedding thread if it all works out. Which only leaves the question; what time in the morning do we start from, and who starts? Two questions. Are fear and surprise...]

[Well, it seems that they've had a bit of a late night. Being a computer geek, Josef has no problems sleeping in. If Alice is an early waker, I guess it would be her. Otherwise, we could always have it be Anne calling Alice's cell, as she said she would.]

Alice groans and awakens to her cheery-but-slightly-annoying phone ringtone. She quickly reaches over and grabs the phone from her purse, hitting answer before it can ring again.

'Annie?'

'You're whispering...That's a good sign.'

'I can't believe you set me up like that...'

'Worked, didn't it?'

'That's hardly the point...'

'Did you two get off to a good start? Come on, you can tell me.'

'Yeah...Yeah. I'm pretty sure, anyway.'

'That's good to hear. Want me to pick you up sometime?'

'Err...Maybe later. I'll call, ok?'

'Yeah, ok. See ya.'

Josef wakes up, if that term can be used. He's still pretty fuzzy. He rolls over and looks at Alice, "Who was that?"

[Remember Annie's comment about service turning the entire population into 'morning people?']

'Oh, just Annie checking on us...Making sure I'm ok, I guess. She'll probably be along to pick me up later...' She smiles, 'You look tired. Want a cup of something?'

"It was a late night, remember?" He sits up, carefully rubbing his eyes. "There should be a coffee pot around here somewhere..."

[Room's a bit of a mess, right? And filter coffee?]

'I don't think so, I can't...oh, there it is. Right...' She goes off and fills it up, then sets it down on the side, 'Filters...Ah, here they are.' She set everything in motion, then sits back down on the edge of the bed, 'I didn't wake you up, did I?'

[Room isn't too bad, but he hasn't been there long...]

"I think I can blame Anne, as she was the one who called, but it's no big deal." He half frowns, "you're certainly chipper."

'Well, that's just what service does...They used to wake us up at five o'clock for a three-mile run. I guess a cup of coffee seems kinda nice in comparision.' She frowns, 'You don't mind, do you?'

"Doesn't bother me in the slightest, I'm just more used to going to sleep at dawn, as opposed to waking up at it. How long were you in the service?"

'Just a year, same with most people. Still, it's enough to wake you up in the mornings...Elisa's the only late sleeper I know, and she never did service, just firearms. So I don't think it's a coincidence.'

'Guess you don't have service in The Hack*, then?'

[*That's the correct team, right?]

[That's correct]

"Well, obviously we have service, just not manditory. The soldiers work hard, but get some pretty nice perks. And they were really happy when we bought those ships from you guys." He gets up, finds a couple of clean mugs. "Cream? Sugar?"

'I'll just have it black, thanks...As long as it's not like that paint thinner Annie calls coffee, anyway.'

'So...Those schematics you were going to show me...'

Josef grins. "While I haven't been in the military, I've had my share of sludge. Don't worry, I prefer it by the cup, not the slice."

He hands her the cup, taking his black as well. He then walks over to his computer and turns it on.

"Hopefully Vic isn't locking me out anymore..."

'Well, if this really is some kind of conspiracy, I should think Annie's told Vic the good news by now...Oh, by the way, would you be free to visit me at work some time? I could show you the Phalanx facilities in my official capacity...Maybe even introduce you to Shiala.'

The computer seems to run fine. Josef places his right hand on a little plate next to the keyboard as it boots. He then types a series of commands to pull up the schematics.

"I'd love to. My assistants are doing stress tests on my OS right now, so I've actually got a bit of free-time for the next couple of days... unless the OS was more of a rough-draft than I intended..."

"Oh, and who's Shiala?"

'Shiala Phalanx. It's her name. We just thought it seemed better than calling her Phalanx all the time, giving her a proper name. You know what I mean, right?'

"Oh, right. I'd forgotten that she'd passed those Turing tests. I suppose it would be a good to give her a name. The first one we made didn't have a name, and it kinda freaked out..."

'Yeah, it was about the time she started talking in complete sentences that we thought she'd need one. And she was the one who decided she was female, supposedly, though I think the programming team pointed her in that direction.'

'Anyway, what do you mean by freaked out? What happened?'

"Hard to describe. The closest human analogy I can come up with was a 'nervious breakdown'. It actually started shorting out its processors. The whole deal was pretty messy. The folks in charge didn't want to just pull the plug, but didn't know what to do. I was on one of the teams, and wrote a quick program that put it in a loop. Sort of an induced coma. As far as I know, it's still in that state. I've been working on a program or AI to act as a 'psychologist' for it, but I'm not versed enough in that field."

[If she looks at the bookshelf, she'll notice a handful of psychology text books on the shelf]

'Mmm, we've had the same sort of problems, although the systems involved weren't what you'd call sentient at that stage, so in most cases plugs were pulled. Those ones were kind of like advanced versions of videogame AI, though...We've never tried anything like Shiala before...That's why we wanted to get it right from the start. She seems happy enough at the moment.'

"Well, it wasn't until sentience set in that the name seemed to matter. But, if she seems happy, I'd say you guys are on the right course." He types a command, and the schematics start printing out.

'This is very interesting stuff...Kinda like we use on our MAC frames, but without a large hydraulic system...' She smiles, 'You're a smart guy.'

"I'm not so sure about that, I mean, I just designed the base model, a lot of others worked on it too..."

'Still, this is fascinating stuff, I wouldn't mind taking this with me to go over with the ASPD, if you don't mind.'

[What's ASPD again?]

"Go ahead, I figured you'd want more than just a cursory glance at the specs," he winks. "Oh, you up for breakfast?"

[That's Army Special Projects Division; there's also NSPD and AFSPD. Basically, the individual services have R & D budgets of their own; Alice is mainly responsible for coordinating things as well as being in charge of cross-service or major projects to avoid any inter-service fighting.]

Alice grins, 'Whatcha got?'

[Ah, so she's a little more "hands-off" than Josef, who tends to snatch up projects that interesting him, like Ali... er, Shiva]

"I've got that little kitchenette, I might be able to whip something up; bacon, eggs, that sort of thing. Or we could hit the cafeteria, or a local restaurant." He pauses for a moment, "I don't suppose that narrowed down the options any, did it?"

[She does her best; Shiva was mainly her idea.]

'Kitchen is fine...I've always had a bit of a thing for a home-cooked breakfast. You cook, huh?'

[I wasn't slighting her, I was just saying that she's more of an administrator than Josef is.]

"I'm no chef, but I can manage. I took a couple of courses a few years back. I figured I was stuck eating my own cooking, so I might as well learn how to make it tolerable."

He starts digging through the fridge, pulling various things out, eggs, bacon, onion, cheese, and a bell pepper. He peers at his ingrediants. "Hmm... omelet?"

['S ok, wasn't getting slighted.]

'Well, Annie's teaching me a few things...Maybe I could help out? I mean, my only tasters so far've been my dogs, but they've never complained. I know that's hardly a huge vote of confidence...'

He smiles. "Pan's in that cupboard over there. I'll chop the veggies. Besides, if I slip with the knife, all I ruin is the knife."

'It's that well made? Wow.'

<I imagine it doesn't take long. It's also pretty good>

'Mmm...I think you're a better chef than you give yourself credit for.'

"The outside is largely titanium, to keep it lightweight."

"I can't take all the credit, you helped, remember?"

'Ah, but I can't hug me, can I?' She pauses, 'Well, I guess I could, but it wouldn't be as nice.' She hugs Josef, 'See?'

He puts his arms around her, "I think you've stumbled onto something here..."

She grins, 'Yeah...Maybe I'll run it by the patent office this afternoon.'

He gives her a kiss on the forehead. "So, any plans for today?"

'Well...I was kinda hoping you could come to work with me...I can show you around most of less classified stuff, only a few places you're not allowed to go at all. That sound ok?'

"I'd love to. Of course, now you've got my interest peaked. I'll have to see about a clearence upgrade..."

'It's ok, I can get you though anywhere that isn't NOFORN*. And I'm sure that'd come sometime...' She smiles.

[*It's a defence classification that NO FOReigN citizens or contractors can view whatever it is.]

[Yeah, familiar with NOFORN, was a summer clerk at the FBI]

He smiles, "It might just. Do you want to stop at your place before we head to the office? I've got a shower here, but I'm guessing you might want a change of clothes..."

[Well, then who did kill JFK? <Notices Will Smith lurking beside fridge> Oh...Nevermind.]

'Oh yeah...'S probably a good idea. You want to hitch a lift back with Annie?'

[Um... OJ Simpson?]

"That would be fine. I haven't had much of a chance to talk to her before. If you want to give her a call, I'll hop in the shower real quick."

[Unless she wants to join him, heh, joking...]

''Kay.'

She reaches for her phone, hitting speed dial for Annie.

'Hey, Alice! Things going well?'

Alice rather quickly realises that nodding down a phone doesn't work, and gives a quick, 'Uh-huh.'

'Great, I'm really glad. You want your lift home?'

'Yeah...Room for one more?'

'Now how did I know you were going to say that? But sure, no problem. I'll be there in about a half-hour.'

[Oddly enough, I nod while on the phone too...]

Josef comes out, in clean clothes, no band teeshirt this time, longsleeve print shirt instead. "She on her way?"

[Happens to us all. I'm also afflicted by the 'walking around at random' thing.]

'Yeah, she'll be about half-an-hour. She does live quite a way from here...So,' Alice smiles, 'What do you usually do to kill time?'

"Hm... program, but I'm guessing you expected that." He thinks for a few seconds. "Oh, how about this? There's a VR similator of the Hack downstairs. I could give you a virtual tour, if you like."

[And if she was thinking in a completely different direction, he's not picking up on it.]

[Naw...She's not thinking of that.]

'Sounds great...I've never had that much time to go abroad. It'd be nice to see what The Hack looks like.'

[I didn't think she was]

He leads her towards the chamber. "It can be full emersion, but Anne would probably be here by the time we got set up. I figure we can take a stroll around Chiba City*. It's pretty neat."

* The capital and population center of the Hack

'Sounds good...Would it be warm there, this time of year?'

[The Hack is sort of inbetween where Greenland and Iceland would be if this was actually Earth]

"Well, it's pretty chilly year-round. In the summer months it's pretty nice during the day. When I left to come over here, we hadn't dipped below freezing for a couple weeks. Actually, it seems pretty similar to what its like here, but we don't have the insane wind that you do. Ah, here we are."

Since they aren't getting into the full-body suits, there's just a couple small visors to wear. There's also some long gloves that are wired to the system too, so they can manipulate things inside. The technition starts to give them an odd look (as he saw the TV special), but thinks better of it.

[Guess the visor would be ok with Alice's glasses, yeah?]

'I bet I look ridiculous,' Allice says, having donned the visor and gloves, 'So, what happens now?'

<Bear in mind, I have no idea what The Hack's buildings are like.>

[Yeah, they'll fit over]

"No more silly than anyone else looks, I wager." Josef nods to the tech, who fires the sucker up.

The embassy fades, blurs, and turns into the front steps of the GMC embassy in the Hack. The embassy stands out, as it is of typical GMC archetecture. The Hack is... different. Many of the buildings are soaring skyscrapers. There are also several elevators that lead to the lower levels of the city. The whole city is almost like a giant building itself [think a Gibsonesque design, or a clean Bladerunner if you prefer].

The city is actually quite clean, as opposed to how many cities of theis style are usually represented. It's high-tech, true, but not completely impersonal. The larger streets, like the one in front of the embassy, have trees along the sidewalk, and bushes, and potted plants make up the dividers in the streets [kinda like in Chicago, if that helps]. The sky is reasonably clear, and the sun is shining. Traffic isn't too heavy, and a clock on the side of a bank says that it's 2pm.

"I figured if we loaded it in the summer and outside of rush-hour, it'd be far more enjoyable."

After giving Alice a few minutes to get herself coordinated to walk around in the simulation, he points out a few sights, including The Corporate Tower, the center for several businesses, as well as a monument to the Corporate Rebellion. It reaches high up into the sky, clearly taller than any of the surrounding buildings. It's probably one of the tallest buildings in the world.

Josef leads her to an intersection. "Well, you've got your choice. There's a nice park over there, or, a quick tube ride will take us to my office."

[Largely off the top of my head, too. Oh, and the Tube is kind of like an enclosed bullet train.]

[GMC isn't all that different, except the bits where it's very old or Elf-built. The centre of Marshall City is all large skyscrapers, with Maiden's Tower a mile high in the middle. But yes, the GMC Embassy would certainly stand out, since they have a tendency to be older-type architecture.]

'Think there'd be time for both? I'd just love to see the park first...'

Josef looks at his "watch". "There should be. The park is only a block or so away." He takes her hand and leads her over to the park. "

"Of course, the simulation doesn't do it justice. I'm sure we'll be able to visit it for real one of these days. Perhaps a picnic."

The park takes up about four city blocks. It looks much like what one would expect from a park, walking trails, bike trails, a large fountain in the center, etc. The trees are a local variety, their trunks look like they twist as they go up. There are quite a few flowers around.

"They actualy smell really nice." He picks one for her. "I'll get you a real one sometime."

'That'd be lovely...You know, I always hoped it* would be like this.' She kisses Josef, 'Thank you.'

[*Her first date]

Josef turns a couple shades of red. "Well, I'm glad I haven't... disappointed."

'Disappointed? I'm sure that's the last word I'd use...'

He smiles, "well, I'm glad you enjoy my company as much as I enjoy yours." He shows her around the park a little more. "You want to skip over to the office, or just spend the rest of our time in the park?"

'Maybe go and see your office. It's not like we're not going to be able to come here again, is it?'

"I certainly hope we'll be able to."

He leads her out of the park, over to one of the tube hubs. He explains that normally there is a nominal charge (which he would bypass with his ID), but since it's a simulation, no point in bothering. The train ride is very smooth, and insanely fast.

The Information Technology Building (ITB for short) is a prime example of modern, minimalistic archetecture. It's a white, cylindrical building, about 50 stories high. There's a little plaque on the front, explaining what it is, and it also says Doctor Josef Edward Specter, Director, Head of Information Technology, The Incorporate States of the Most Glorious Hack. Josef smiles thinly, "it wasn't my idea..."

They walk past where security would be in the real building. There's an area where people would go for tours.

"I actually programmed an unclassified version of my office into the simulation, so we can actually go there, as opposed to just the building." He taps a couple bricks in the wall, and an elevator materializes. "Here we go."

Alice climbs into the elevator with Josef. She smiles, 'Josef Edward Specter...So that's your full name. I was wondering.'

He chuckles, "yes, my deep-dark secret. So, what's yours?"

[Gotta go, will pick up tomorrow.]

'Actually, it's just the same as Elisa's...It's quite popular, as a middle name. I'm Alice Nicole Merriweather.'

[I should be bailing myself anyway]

"That's a very nice name."

The elevator dings. "Here we are..."

'Thanks...' She smiles. 'So, going to show me around?'

[Smacked myself when I woke up. I realized that I had forgotten to describe the fool office.]

"Sure."

The elevator exits to a little reception area, where a non-descript secretary's desk sits. Josef leads Alice past the desk, through another door to his office proper.

The office is a stark contrast to Josef's room, which had accumulated a respectable amount of clutter in only a couple weeks. The office is spotless. The door opens facing an executive style desk. Along the left and right walls are bookshelves. Alice notices that Josef actually took the time to program in the books. They are arranged by subject, then by author, then by title. The shelf on the right is dominated by computer related books. Most every known OS is represented, as well as graduate level text books. The shelf on the left is a bit more ecletic, actually containing some fiction and religious books as well.

There's a laptop on one side of the desk, and a mainframe terminal on the other. A multi-line phone is in the front-middle. A comfortable executive style chair is where Josef would sit, and a pair of less spiffy, but equally comfy chairs are in front of the desk. A yo-yo sits on top of the laptop. Alice can also see where a video-phone screen would flip up out of the center of the desk, which gives her a bit of perspective from when she had talked to him for official purposes. The back wall is a single, large, curved window, looking over the city. In the distance she can get a glimpse of the park they were in.

"Honestly, I don't spend much time here. I mean, I do a lot of programming here, but I like to spend more time in the labs. I was in an odd mood, so I had them install a stairway down to the labs behind the bookshelf..."

'You like your gadgets, then? She smiles, and tilts her head, 'You don't own a white cat, do you?'

<Meeeester Bond>

He smiles back, "No, can't say that I do. Don't have any pets, actually."

[Whoa... 1500th post. I need a life...]

She grins, 'It's a shame, you've got the perfect Bond villian office here! I love it!' She smiles, 'Although can't say I know too much about computers...'

"Well, being my job and all... Actualy," he grins mischeviously, "I was trying to look far more professional than I really am." He looks at the laptop, "I think the yo-yo kinda spoils things, however..."

'Well...You're going to see my office later on, so you should probably be ready for a something a little less professional than this...It's not like I've had any chance to clear things up since I met you.' she slaps her forehead, 'Or my house...I hope Annie cleaned up all those beer bottles* from last night...'

[*Genetic enhancement means alcohol has far less effect on perception. Hence, Annie could still drive afterwards.]

Josef in his best Spock manner, jacks his left eyebrow up.

[I'm tempted to leave it at that, but...]

"Well, like I said, I spend as little time in the office as possible. The labs are a little more... cluttered."

'I don't suppose we could have a look at them? I mean, there's nothing classified in here, is there?'

"There's plenty of classified stuff in the real ones. The simulation had to be censored, however." He walks over to the computer book shelf. "Speaking of Mr. Bond..." He pulls on a book entitled 'Windows ME For Dummies'. The bookshelf slides over revealing a circular staircase. "I figured that was the one title I'd never feel a need to use."

She smiles, 'But then again, wouldn't people be a little curious about seeing that on your bookshelf?'

He leads her down the stairs. "I never thought of that... I think the theory at the time was that since I had most every OS known to man on there it wouldn't stand out. But, it is the only Dummies book... hrm..."

[Chronic lateral thinker, here.]

'Well, I doubt you'd let anyone in who'd want to go snooping around, anyway...I mean, you were talking about biometrics earlier...'

[Well, Josef, like me, has about 5% more goofball than is healthy]

"That's usually used for terminal security." He grins, "The trick with the elevator earlier was me keeping tourists out of my office."

[How long is this staircase?]

'Well...I'm here, does that count against it at all?'

But this is a rather good RP.
Ubiquitous it should be.
Maybe if I post a small message...
Perhaps it will remain current.

[I'm just making this up as I go, I never put any work into the capital. Let's say 3 floors, and they're there]

Josef opens the door to the lab. "You're not a tourist. You're more of an honored guest."

The Lab is a sprawling affair, probably as ecpected. Considering Alice's degrees, she probably recognizes most of the equipment. Most of the projects represented seem to be attempts to improve existing technology. There's a bunch of random stuff, industrial exo-skeletons, robotic animals, holographic generators, VR stuff. Mostly high-tech toys. Chances are, GMC could find some handy military applications for quite a bit of it. Off to the sides are clean rooms, and other such things that require being separated from the general work area. Those tend to be for specific projects, and are labeled with project names. At the far end is a set of double doors which leads to what looks like a cafeteria.

"As chaotic as it looks, we actually have had success with a general room like this. When people get stumped, they wander around and help others who need it, which often clears they're head enough to solve their own problem."

[Janissary, glad you're enjoying it]

'Yeah...Sounds like a good design; my building's fairly laid-back as well. And we've got an office cat, too; one of our techs talks to it when he's stuck. Sometimes I'll go talk to Shiala if I can't think, she's usually ok for a chat.'

[Same here, Janissary]

"To tell the truth, that's what the yo-yo's for. I'm curious, though. What's Shiala's personality like? You said it was largely self-developed."

'Well, not fully-developed, and we did set a few limits, but at the moment she's on the level of a nine-year old, except in straight computation. She's really nice, actually. Very chatty...That's why we always have someone with her. Annie's pretty fond of her. As I said, I'll introduce you to her later on.'

"Sounds pretty neat."

A message scrolls across the room from them, hanging in the air in a most unnatural fashion.

Dr. Specter, Dr. Merriweather. You have a visitor. And she's kind of intimidating...

'Intimidating? I don't think I'd ever call Annie that...Shall we go down and meet her?'

[Here's hoping my memory serves properly...]

"She's kinda tall, I guess. And the eyes. Maybe it was the red." He shrugs. He then reaches into the air, and pulls down what looks like a control panel. He hits a couple buttons, and the lab fades away as the real world comes into view once again. He takes off his visor, "Yes, we should thank her, after all."

[Annie's 6'5". Your memory does indeed serve you)

'Yeah, but she's not scary...Though I guess she could be a little intimidating if you weren't expecting her.'

'So...Which way's the door from here? I was a little tired when we came in last night.'

Josef takes a second to orientate himself. "Ah, right this way, my dear."

Alice follows him, eventually coming to the door. Anne-Marie is leaning against the frame*. She smiles and waves as she sees Alice, 'Hey! Good morning...You two.'

'Hi, Annie.'

'Guess you'll be wanting a lift home, then...Can't exactly go to the lab dressed like that...'

Alice frowns. She's still wearing her skirt / t-shirt casuals from the night before (since she honestly didn't think anyone but Anne-Marie would see her). 'Well, you didn't give me any time to get changed...'

[*If it's a six-foot-or-so ordinary door, she's ducking slightly]

Josef smiles slightly nerviously (well, she is tall) at Anne. "Good morning."

Anne-Marie smiles sympathetically, 'No need to be nervous...Hi. Anne-Marie Embersby, Commander Officer of the Army. We talked a little at the party, didn't we?'

"Hello, pleased to meet you in a less formal setting." He pauses a moment, "Yes, we did talk a little. You pointed out the ISOM*."

[* I hope I'm remembering right... the island defence]

[It's ISON. But hey, I waste huge amounts of paper 'remembering' these threads!]

'Yes...I remember. So, you two seem to be getting along ok...'

"Ah, yes, well..." Josef pauses, trying to pull together cohesive thought. "True. Thank you. I mean, thanks for the... assistance..."

''S ok...What are friends for?'

"Still, the effort was appretiated..."

She smiles, 'Thanks! Well, you guys want to hop in my car?'

"Ah... sure." Josef opens the door for Alice.

The drive back doesn't take long at all; in no time they're back at Alice's house, a fairly large building that seems to exist exactly halfway between a house and a mansion. While it's impressive, it's obviously not the sort of place you would need servants for.

'Well, this is where I leave you guys...I've walked and fed your dogs, Ali. See you again soon.'

"Thanks for the ride," Josef says, trying to commit the route to memory. He turns to Alice once she gets out, "Nice place..."

'Yes, it's a nice place...But it's really far too big to be on your own in. Anyway, want to come inside?'

They head up the staircase and Alice spends a few seconds searching her bag for her keys, then unlocks the door, to be greeted be a pair of large spaniels.

'Hello...'

Inside, the main rooms are fairly clear, but there are a lot of notepads lying around with pens or pencils attached to them with string; one in most rooms, some with fairly detailed technical drawings on them, others pages of notes, a couple even have some surprisingly good romantic poetry, if Josef looks around. There're quite a few models lying around; the living room's mantlepiece carries an excellent scale model of Shiva in a glass case, while others are just little design prototypes.

'I do a lot of work here...I think my best when I'm relaxed.'

Josef offers his real hand for the dogs to sniff, while looking about. He glances here and there at the notepads, trying not to be too nosey.

"I see that." He nods at some random notepads, "Mind if I take a look?"

'Uh, sure...I guess.'

[Mainly it's notes on advanced projects, in some cases massively advanced, but it's generally Alice's thoughts on them rather than serious research notes. There's also a fair few concept sketches, a couple of plain paper pads of sketches and a lot of other stuff.]

[Hm... I was hoping that a poetry one might be lumped in there]

Josef looks over the sketches, and notes. He hits one of the really advanced ones. He starts turning the notepad over and over trying to make sense of it.

[Sorry...No good at poetry, here...But hey, as long as I don't have to post it, just have Josef realise he's holding two notepads.]

'Err...That's a few notes on the Aerospace Fighter project...'S not something we're going to be putting together in a hurry...Not with the kind of things in there, anyway. It's got an AG plant, for a start. I just like working on these projects in my spare time.'

[Sounds like a plan.]

"Hm, well..." He pauses a moment, as he notices that the spiral of the notepad is attached to another. "Hello, what's this?" He starts to read the second notepad. "Oh my. Did you write this too...?"

[I think he just earned a stupid question award...]

'Well sure, they're all my...' She suddenly notices which pad it is, and blushes, 'Oh.'

[There's one about Josef in there somewhere, although it doesn't name him specifically.]

[Woo, subject of poetry. That's always neat.]

"I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to pry..." he closes the pad and offers it to her, feeling mildly embarrassed himself.

'It's ok, it's my fault...' She smiles nervously, 'So...What did you think?'

He reads through a couple of the poems. "They're, really very good. Fantastic... I'm impressed."

'Really?' Alice steps forward and kisses Josef, 'Thanks.'

She heads for the stairs, 'Anyway, I'd better go and get changed...Maybe you should call Vic while I'm up here?'

"Good idea." He sets the notepad down, and pulls out his phone.

"Victor Solis."

"Yeah, Vic, it's Josef."

"Yes?"

"Well... uh, thanks."

"So things are well?"

"Yeah, I'll be getting a tour of her office later."

"Grand. Send my best, and to the Field Marshall too."

"Sure thing Vic." He hangs up, and returns to reading the poetry.

A little while later, Alice comes back down the stairs. She's wearing a smart shirt n' skirt with an absolutely pristine lab coat over it, which has her ID badge clipped to the pocket. It's the friendly 'Hi, my name is' kind, with a photo of a slightly tired-looking Alice on it, along with a few details.

'So, what do you think of my work clothes?'

Josef puts the notepad down again, leaving it open to one that had piqued his interest and appraises her.

"You look very nice and professional." He walks over to her, and considers giving her a hug, but doesn't want to wrinkle the coat. He leans over and kisses her instead.

'Thanks...Do you have a lab coat yourself? I'm just trying to imagine you in one...'

"I have some left over from back when I was just a tech. The pockets were really handy, but I haven't worn one in awhile."

'Uh-huh, pockets are handy...Anyway, we should probably get to my car...Do you like this place, by the way?

"It's very nice... somewhat similar to my place..." He lets her take the lead and follows hers to the garage, car port, whichever.

[Garage. Gotta log off soon, BTW]

Alice's car is fairly sporty but not remarkable by any standard. It's fairly well looked-after, although the paint could do with a slight touch-up in a few places, doubtless something Alice will get round to once all the other things in the garage are finished. There's quite a few mysterious-looking devices on workbenches, including a few engine components, as well as some model kits, a couple of which are half-painted. There's a dartboard on one wall, with a set of of toolkits under it.

'I look after it myself,' Alice says, taking a set of overalls off the bonnet and throwing them onto a bench, 'Tuned it, too.'

[I should crash soon too...]

Josef is duly impressed. "Nice car." He hops in, wondering just how much she's tweaked it.

[This would be that mechanical engineering degree at work, eh?]

[Oh yes. It purrs. Last post]

'Yeah, I've put a lot of work into it...It's kind of a hobby.' She turns the key, to be greeted by the sound of an excessively well-tuned engine, 'Guess I've been neglecting the bodywork a little...Needs a bit of a polish.'

[And tomorrow you get to meet Shiala!]

[Heh... its always the quiet ones who have the Machines...]

"Still, it sounds fabulous. I bet its a blast to drive, too."

[Now I'm seeing her with a lead foot... or, adding an air scoop out of the hood.]

'Uh-huh...It's kinda fun to take it down the LV test track at Wavell Gunnery Range when I get the chance, although that's not too often.' She smiles, 'Don't worry, I'm a careful driver in town...'

"Well, that's good, it would be bad form to tear down the sidewalks..."

'You're not a nervous passenger, are you?'

"As long as you don't pull too many corners on only two tires, I'll be fine." He grins at her.

'Well, I was going to offer to let you drive if you'd said yes...But ok, I promise.' She flicks a switch on the dashboard, and the garage doors swing open, 'Well, off we go.'

"I'll have to take you up on that offer some time. Should be fun."

True to her word, Alice is a rather careful and considerate driver. It still doesn't take long to arrive at her place of work, however.

The main R & D building is a glass-fronted, pleasant building surrounded by carefully-tended gardens, some under glass domes to protect their contents from the cold. While the surrounding wall contains antiaircraft guns, Josef's probably getting used to the sight of them by now. Alice stops at the main gate, where a security guard checks her ID and issues Josef a guest pass.

'Have a good day, ma'am.'

'You too, Rick.'

They pull up in an underground parking lot and get out, heading up to reception.

Josef affixes the pass to his shirt, following her to reception.

Reception is a brightly-lit, spacious room with a huge blast-proof door at the far end. The receptionist smiles as she sees them, 'Morning, Alice...And Dr. Specter, right?* Welcome to Military R & D...Just give me a second to get you two clocked in.'

[*Yep, she saw the report]

"Ah, yes. Pleased to meet you." Josef gets the sinking feeling that he's about to meet a lot of people that know far more than is comfortable about him.

[The main door looks like something bank vaults want to be when the grow up.]

After making various mechanical sounds, the door rises up, revealing that it's a block of steel several feet thick. Beyond it is a large, airy hall with a high ceiling. There's a fountain in the centre, and a few palm trees and other plants around the outside. Above is a second level with a glass floor. Offices are located along the walls, while a sign shows that the main labs are downstairs.

There's a few researchers lying on benches or reading newspapers. 'We're a little early...I usually am. Shall we head downstairs?'

He looks around, rather impressed with the building. "Wow... uh, yeah... let's."

'Ok,' she smiles, 'It's right this way.'

She leads him down a glass staircase to another huge blast-proof door, where an SFAT soldier greets her, 'Alright there, Alice. Just give me a second*.'

As before, the door moves up, revealing a long hallway with a large number of corridors branching off it. Again, there's a lot of potted plants, and a number of paintings on the walls, some of which are obviously the work of a young child. If he looks closely, he'll notice little notes underneath; 'Phalanx Sys V8.91' followed by a date. They get better the further along the hall he goes.

At the far end is a pair of double doors with 'Phalanx Sys Ops' above it.

[*Normally there'd be a lot of complicated security checkups going on, but Alice called ahead when she was upstairs to notify them she'd be bringing Josef along.]

[Hm, being a visiting governmental head has its advantages... as does dating the director, I suppose...]

"I have to say, the security here is... impressive. Of course, considering the value of this particular project..." He glances at a couple of the paintings, but is more interested in looking to see if he can see signs of more hidden security systems. No malice, simple curiosity, as the Hack tends more towards imbedded IR scanners, biometrics, etc.

[He'll probably notice this place doesn't mess about when it comes to security. While GMC isn't too hot on biometrics, there's a large number of ceiling mounted autoguns, mostly retracted behind doors to avoid ruining the friendly atmosphere.]

Down the far end of the corridor, another SFAT soldiers stands guard. 'Dr. Merriweather, Dr. Specter.'

'Hi Tess, can you let us in?'

'Sure, got your key?'

'Uh-huh'

There's a lock either side of the door, along with a battery of mysterious sensors that most likely are to determine who's standing in front of it. Alice stands on one side, the SFAT guard on the other.

'On three. One, two, THREE!'

They both turn their keys, and the door opens.

'Thanks Tess. By the way, how's your cat getting on?'

'He just got back from the vet. Still a little shaky, but I think he's going to be fine.'

'That's good to hear.'

While Josef was probably expecting to be surprised by what he saw behind the door, it's unlikely he expected what actually is there; a fairly open room, with a bed, a few desks and a couple of monitor screens, as well as some more plants. There's a few toys lying on the floor.

None of which is likely to surprise him as much as the little yellow-eyed girl sitting on one of the seats, looking up at him.

'Hi there,' she smiles.

[And the doors stolen from the Gates of Hell don't dampen the mood?]

Josef blinks a few times, his voice saying "Hello..." almost by itself. The Hack-bias in him instantly causes him to cast his eyes around for obvious, or not-so-obvious holographic generators. Assuming that he doesn't find any, he'll look mildly confused.

Much like his train of thought suddenly derailed half-way through a tunnel.

[Nope, she's not a hologram]

'Hi, Ali.'

'Moring, Shiala. This is Dr. Josef Specter.'

'Then that story was true?' Shiala giggles.

'Have you been watching too much TV again?'

'You always think I've been watching too much TV...'

'Sorry, I haven't introduced you, this is Shiala. Or rather, this is Shiala's avatar; her OS is stored on a group of mainframes on the floor below.'

[If Josef looks, he'll notice Shiala's got an earpiece that looks much like a hands-free kit, which is actually a short-range transmitter.]

Things start to finally tumble into place in Josef's mind. His brain undergoes a bit of a reboot (which is how he'd think of it), and he stops standing there like a dolt.

"Hello, Shiala, I'm pleased to meet you. And I see my reputation preceeds me... again."

He looks over the room, and at Shiala (trying to be polite, of course) with a more analytical eye.

'It's nice to meet you,' she smiles, 'Do you like my paintings? You must have seen them on the way in.'

He squats down to be at eye level with her. "Yes, I did. They're very nice. You're quite talented."

[For that distance, he'll notice that Shiala's certainly not mechanical; she's actually a product of GMC's research into biomechanics with her brain being the only electronic component. Brain's actually just a motor control and sensory processing unit, the mainframes handling her memories and thoughts.]

'Thank you.. I can do one for you, if you like.' She looks at his hand, 'Are you another AI?'

Impressive, he thinks, giving the AI a physical body. I wonder if that would solve certain problems...

"That would be very nice, thank you," he says, rolling up his sleeve, so she can see more of the cyber arm. "Actually, I'm not an AI. I'm just a scientist who... had an accident in the lab."

'I hear that happens quite a bit...Accidents, that is, but you're the first I've ever seen with something like that.' She looks at it curiously. 'Did that hurt?'

[Last post; stupid WD thread in II sucking all my time]

"Well, it was a pretty big accident." He moves his arms and fingers so she can see how it moves, sounds*, etc. "And it hurt quite a bit at the time. Not the most enjoyable day at work I've had." He smiles, "but it's okay now. Doesn't hurt a bit..."

[* It makes an ever so quite whirring noise as it moves. Almost any sort of background noise will muffle it]

[She'll hear it, she's biologically like a enhanced human]

'That's good...Anyway, is there anyone like me where you come from?'

this is last post]

"Not exactly, no. We have AI's, but they don't have bodies like yours."

'Oh. Well, maybe Alice can help you out with that.' Shiala smiles, 'She's really clever.'

'Shiala's only had a body the last two years. It'll grow up with her, too.' Alice says. 'And she's right, we might be able to help you out...'

Josef smiles at Ali. "Yes, she certainly is."

He stands back up and walks back over to Alice. "I was thinking it might help out with that AI I mentioned last night. How far can she go from the mainframe?"

'She can't leave this floor of the building, but that's mainly a security precaution in the reciever design; to stop external access. We could install a more powerful transmitter and reciever if that wasn't a problem...'

"Okay, I was just curious as to how closely she was 'tied' to the computer." He appraises Ali, and then turns back to Alice, and looks at her for a moment.

"This is probably the most impressive thing I've seen in years. You're brilliant."

She blushes. A lot. 'Well...She's not all my work...I mean I'm no biologist but...err...Thanks...'

[Is the guard still there, or is it just Ali, Alice and Joe in the room?]

He smiles, "You made me take credit for my arm, so I'm going to make you take credit for this project. You guys as a whole didn't take enough credit when you told me about her. This is really amazing."

[The Hack really sucks in biology and medicine. Most doctors are imagrents]

[Just the three of them.]

'I'm glad you're impressed...I'll pass on your congratuation to the team.' She smiles, 'Do I get a hug?

[Here's confusion; Shiala calls Alice 'Ali' sometimes.]

[I realised the potential for confusion there... Heaven forbid should Alice Cooper walk in too!]

"Sure." He gives her a hug.

Shiala smiles, 'Do I get a hug too?'

Half expecting something like this, Josef disengages, and walks over to Shiala.

"If you would like, yes."

[Josef's probably expecting it, but he's still going to be a little surprised that Shiala doesn't feel in any way mechanical. He might even be able to feel her pulse.]

'She does like being hugged,' Alice smiles, 'Actually, she used to cry a lot, too...She got very lonely in here on her own.'

He gives her a hug, and then stands back up. "Well, she's a nine-year-old. Supercomputer for a brain or not."

He ponders for a moment. "Is she susceptable to illness?"

'As much as an enhanced human normally is, which isn't that much. She's got a lot of human concerns with that body; she has to sleep for one thing, which was a little complicated to work out at the mainframe's end since it doesn't...Well, it kinda does sleep now; sorts through and files things, debugs, whatever.'

"The computer version of dreaming, I wager. I would assume she has to eat as well. Are you allowing the computer to... increase awareness as the body grows? Or are they independant?"

'Well, she's learning on her own now, and she's got all her base software programmed in...So now all she has to do is learn to use it and upgrade it. This body'll grow up, yes; stops at adulthood and doesn't age, just like any other enhancile's.*'

'Basically, it just makes her easier to talk to; it's really hard not to think of a computer as an 'it,' after all.'

[*They still only live an average human lifespan, though.]

"Ah... hrm... raises an... issue, however..." He frowns, thinking. "Perhaps a subject best discussed... elsewhere."

((OOC: Now that I'm all caught up on this thread... :lol: Man, good stuff! Hafta drag Tsume to the Rep. Pro. embassy sometime, I bet the AI researcher types would have a field day with reps like him! :lol: ))

Alice lowers her voice, 'She does know...But we're trying to sort that out anyway.' Back to normal, 'So, you want to come see my office now?' She bends down and strokes Shiala's hair*, 'Don't worry, Annie's coming along later.'

'Really?' Shiala smiles.

'Uh-huh.'

[*White]

[How neat is this? RP other than war. Glad ya like Reploid.]

"Sounds like a plan." He smiles down at Shiala, "it was nice meeting you, Shiala."

'Bye! See you again some time!' Shiala calls.

The door closes behind them.

'My office is back upstairs.' She pauses, 'She can't hear us now...'

"Well, I realise that it won't be an issue for awhile, but that body will still age. Granted, the system probably won't be needed, or obsolete, in seventy years (which is another issue) what happens when the body dies? Or, Heaven forbid, she's somehow murdered?"

'Well, it wouldn't affect the mainframes themselves; she'd survive...But I don't think it'd do her much good emotionally. That's why she's here; to keep her safe. Also, we're hoping that we can design a longer-duration body before then...Augmenting the existing one would be the best solution.'

"I figured that's why you had the drop-down guns of death in the ceiling. The emotional damage was my prime concern. Especially if she's plugged into a key system. How much does she know? Did she have awareness before the body?"

'She's not on MilNet yet...Only simulated versions, so far. She was self-aware before she had a body; we just had to go downstairs and talk to a panel. Made you feel kinda stupid...'

'She's really good at chess, actually...Guess it's just the way she's designed. I'm never seen a human player beat her.'