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[amelioraate]

[ Good whatever-fucking-time-it-is-now Riverview! You are being graced with the not-so-rare sight of one Tony Stark after spending too much time in the perimeter defence office throwing himself into work and, if you are to go by the state of his hair and the few smudges of grease on his face, perhaps throwing himself into some of the machinery that can be seen strewn about the place. (It really doesn't look any better from the last time you saw it, Riverview, still a chaotic mess).

With a twitch of his mouth, Tony settles his chin on his folded hands and peers into the feed, eyebrow cocked in a way that made him look equal parts insane and amused.]

So, I have been digging into some random things that I have been able to get my hands on as of late and, overall I have to say I am very impressed with the tech in this place. I mean, sure interdimensional portal and all that, but have you seen some of their basic routeing systems? Well, beyond the shitty ones that like to die and not work and--

[ Shit, wait. There was a reason he was doing this, right.

Tony blinks a few times, shakes his head, and continues.]

Point is, there is a lot I can dig into, lots of things that I can make, but only if I have the parts. So, here's the deal; whoever can bring me scraps of machines and computers, tech that seems mostly useless, please do. In return, I will be more than willing to work with, well, anyone that wants something that is a little harder to come by here.

[ Pushing back, Tony leans back in the chair he is sitting in and runs his hands through his hair.]

While I did say I was out of the weapons manufacturing back home, I can make exceptions here, so if there is something you want in particular, let me know. Within reason, of course.

[ There is a flash of a grin as he leans back in, a quick wink, before the feed cuts out. ]

Comments

[realimperfect]

It's what I did in my home city. [ She'd been biologically engineered for it, in fact, but she wasn't really sure that was a story that she wanted to get in to with very many people in this place.Enough had been shared about Romdeau, she was sure, at least for the moment in this place to a throng of people who were entirely new and.. well, who the hell knew what they understood about society where she'd come from. Most everything explained to her, thoroughly, how strange her home dome had been compared to what most here were used to.

A dark brow arches as he mentions doing work for the government, and, when he's done, comments dryly: ]

Naiveté will do a lot, for the things people will and will not do - [ Her own list grew smaller by the day she felt like. One transgression at a time, really. ] - I have no idea about who or what the hell the 'US Government' is, but if it's anything like having Grandfather as the main source for government, I can't imagine that ended without some kind of ill will. Professional grade or not - I'd rather not have to point a rifle at a civilian any time soon.

[ Oh no, moral AI - there's a long breath in, a reminder to herself that she needs to stay under control - ]

That's all well and good until they gain sentience. Then it's no telling what will happen.

[amelioraate]

[ Tony listens and hums, a short laugh escaping from his lips when she comments on how much naivete will do. how far it can take you away from your goals that you initially set out with. a truth that Tony knows far too well after all his endeavours in being a superhero, and not.

still--]

Not from a familiar universe then. But you sound like you at least have a decent understanding of too much power in too few hands. And I agree, I would rather focus on armour, and if I can find the things I need here, renewable energy that won't rely on shitty power grids.

[ her comment about AI's and sentience make him pause though. there was a story there.]

I feel like there is a story there, not a good encounter with AI's on your end?

[ her answer will determine how much he tells her about Friday. about some plans he has. ]

[realimperfect]

Try having the power solidified in your Grandfather's grasp and then tell me about it. [ Of course, she didn't begrudge that kind of power and influence until it had gotten in the way of her aspirations and truth-seeking, admittedly, but once she had been on the path of finding out what was going on behind the scenes of Romdeau City? There was no stopping her. Which was, more than likely, why there had been an attempt on her life, but this wasn't the time or place for discussions on assassination - ]

I can't imagine that a place that seems to be largely unexplored wouldn't have some kind of power source that could be independent from the grid. It would just be a matter of going beyond the walls and finding it, which I'm sure I'll be doing one day just to see what the hell is out there. [ She can't help herself, apparently. Walls were meant for her to go beyond, so far as she saw it these days. ]

More accurate assessment would be a 'mixed bag' - Everyone in my home world was assigned a companion or entourage type autoreiv... My entourage Iggy was with me from around ten years of age until not too long ago - nearly ten years. He, along with nearly every automated AI in the dome, in the end caught what was called the 'cogito' virus. Granting them free will and the feeling that they had a 'soul' - [ The way she intones the word nearly puts obvious air quotes around it. This time around she takes a moment to breathe, square her shoulders and remain perfectly calm, almost icy, in discussing this -] -

Unfortunately it meant for many of them that they became violent and unmanageable.

[amelioraate]

Yeah, no thanks. Sounds too much like Hydra for me.

[ if there is one thing that Tony knows, and from personal experience as well, is that there is nowhere in the world where having a lot of power residing in the grasp of one person is a good idea. ever. it always ends in disaster, and usually bloodshed to be honest. the whole fiasco that he was dealing with concerning Ulysses and Danvers proved that point he thought.

there is a laugh from Tony at the power grid comment, and he shrugs.] Well so far, we haven't found anything outside for the residences and such. And after getting stuck in a damn stairwell thanks to a rolling blackout, I am all the more hellbent on having this place have at least backup generators for when it all goes to hell again. Because it will go to hell again, it always does.

[ Tony has no faith in things going well, okay. none. ]

If you go out exploring, let me know. I have learned that it isn't the best idea to go it alone out here, and the more information I can gather on this place the better.

[ the story about a companion, about everyone having their own AI, intrigues Tony greatly. it sounds like a place he would enjoy, except the whole idea of violence in the robots. that sounds too much like Ultron and that terrible disaster. or like the one time his own suit managed to gain sentience. so perhaps he could understand the tone of her voice.]

That-- yeah, I have seen that happen. I have-- well I have an AI, her name is Friday, and I usually have her more or less running my life, she's never gained more sentience than what I have coded her with but that isn't always true. There was one event in my universe where another scientist created a rather destructive AI named Ultron. And that was nothing short of a disaster.

[ there is a pause] Makes me wonder if the created mimic the creator without our intent.

[realimperfect]

Not sure what that is, either.. [ Technically, power had resided in her Grandfather and the 'collective.' She'd never been privy to any meeting other than the ones used to berate her behaviors or something similar, so she wasn't entirely sure how the entire process worked, but - To put it in blunt terms, only Donov Mayer would've been one to try and assassinate her with autoreivs. Daedalus surely wouldn't have, and Raul Creed had been too defamed and fixated on Vincent to take exception to her. If it wasn't absolute power to determine who lived and died, then she wasn't sure what absolute power was. ]

Do you know if anyone has dug? Who knows what lies underground to do with water or other movement generated power.. [ Who knew what kind of elements were underground in this place, really- she'd been in the sewers and hadn't seen much, but that meant absolutely nothing.] A stairwell? That's practically a mansion. I was in a elevator for more time than I've ever cared to be stuck behind the doors of an elevator with another person I don't even know. To at least be able to move more than 3 feet in any direction would've been a luxury.

[ Busy body problems - truly. ] I have a feeling I'll have at least one tag along when I go out, whether I want her company or not. [ Carolina had a way with that. ] But it doesn't intimidate me to go out there on my own. It doesn't look to be any worse than the wastes back in my home world, at least.

They might. Iggy certainly seemed to. [ She pauses, then - ] Autoreivs in my world worded it that they had gained 'souls' - [ Air quotes are gestured, here, for posterity. ] - I wouldn't term it so much that as the virus giving them the ability to over ride master commands and continue in their Turing function, which was independent and decision making.

Iggy - [ A pregnant pause, here - ] - was charged with my keeping and protection. A spy for my grandfather as much as my bodyguard. In the end he seemed to become an.. extreme of this. Very protective, almost.. jealous that I was focused on my mission of bringing Vincent back to the dome instead of his continued advisories to go back to Romdeau, irregardless of the fact that he'd been cut from the security grid and my grandfather could no longer have his eyes and ears.

Even if he wasn't following orders, he was still following programming so far as I can see.

[amelioraate]

Huh...[ so clearly they were from vastly different universes, and if Tony wanted much of anything he might say to make sense to her, there was going to have to be a lot of diagrams and maps and-- well it was hard enough to explain his universe to people who came from it, or ones similar, let along wholly different ones. perhaps just being marginally confused about things was really the better way to go about things.]

Mmm, don't know about digging, but I have started to take scans of the place. We could probably easily have this place run off grid entirely on solar if we wanted to put the effort into it. And, if I can find the parts I need, we could easily have arc reactor generators as backup for anything that might fluctuate, but again, I need to see what I can get my hands on in this place. [ he winces at the thought of being stuck in an elevator. yeah that-- no. ] Sorry about that, wow. I am glad I was stuck in the dark stairwell then thanks.

[ the comment about having a tag along makes Tony laugh. yeah, that makes him laugh a little because he so gets that. ] Yeah, I have some friends like that too. It has less to do with how bad it is out there, and more to do with them and that whole caring thing. Which... well, it takes some getting used to.

[ who has self-worth issues? not this guy, no way.

however, he is clearly interested in what she has to say about 'autoreivs', which, as far as he can tell, are more or less what he understands as being just robots. granted with a bit more personality than he was used to. the virus, well the name of it, makes him snort. he can see how that would be an issue.]

I don't see forced consciousness going over well, no. Though, that sounds... well the virus itself sounds brilliant from the point of view of someone wanting to cripple a civilization that had become dependent on non-sentience. How did you end up dealing with them?

[ there is hesitance in Tony's voice though, especially when she speaks of Iggy. Tony knows that robots-- well they can be more than what people expect. there is a pause before--]

I have a suit of armour, controlled by my AI, Friday though--- well, it has gained sentience all on its own more than once. Kidnapped me actually, not a fun time there, but it was-- the same kind of deal. Jealous, possessive. It was one hell of a lesson for me, about hubris and the capability of what perceive as 'just' machines.

...do you miss him at all?

[realimperfect]

Don't worry. I could explain proxies to you and you would be in my shoes just as quickly. This place will bring up more and more of that as we go, I'm sure. [ Different worlds, timelines, everything to that effect. Hell, they might even discover that the events of his world were the ancient history of her own, if they dug deep enough. Provided there was enough time for that kind of thing, of course.

He mentions scans and curiosity immediately kicks in - a brow raising very so slightly on her pale forehead before she has to broach the question - ]

Anything interesting on the scans? I'm curious if there's any odd elemental make ups going on with this moon. I've heard about Earth in my world's moon, but.. Nuclear winter has made it completely impossible to actually see any lunar movement, still. [ She pauses, humming lightly at the mention of solar. ] If that's the easiest way to maintain a steady power flow then what's preventing it? Lack of technology on this end, or just lack of knowing minds and hands to get the legwork done?

Or, well, is it worth it to put the effort in for a government and populace that is largely unknown at this time?

[ Sure, Re-L was no tech expert herself, but... coming from a fairly advanced place there was just a level of basic knowledge that one attained over time. She's no where near putting a solar array together, but.. well, she could offer moral support? Or just bitch at him when the power fails again because he hadn't gotten things working yet? The truly helpful things, you know - ]

I was walked home from a bar on Bajikan one too many times, I think. It gave her this impression that we're very friendly and I want her around. [ Which, well.. that's partially sarcastic. She and Carolina did at least trust one another, and knew how the other worked, so it would be ideal if they had to ever fight again to stick with one another. And, well.. she could stand her in small doses. ]

Autoreivs determined to be suffering from cogito or caught attempting to escape the dome were disposed of, in the early stages. [ Read: shot in the head to disable any further function, parts reclaimed and bodies rebuilt. ] At the end, as the dome was falling, I was shooting them and running with the hope I'd have enough bullets to reach the outside again.

[ She pauses as she considers what he says, and his question, a palpable sense of tension as she sorts through still unresolved emotions about all that had occurred with Iggy from when they'd first been introduced and she'd gone through the process of programming him to her wants to his end. Maybe h would understand her answers a bit more than others who had never experienced something to that end - ]

Some days, like a phantom limb. I'd had Iggy from an age much younger than most, due to my status, and though I live with autoreivs in my current situation - [ pause to collect herself - Fellow citizens do not cry - ] - None of them are Iggy.

Others, I remind myself that if he had lived, he still wouldn't be the Iggy that I knew and it would be the same outcome.