This city's sleeping like a soldier trapped inside of an iron lung (Week 1 postbattle mingle)

[powersthatduel]

Who: The new Travellers, Investigator and Infiltrator both
Where: Various locations across Dynatropolis
When: Week one IC, Feb 14-27 OOC
What: The Investigators, the Human Element, the Mavericks, and the Dynatron Cybernetics Corporation all plot.
Warnings: None come to mind atypical of Synodiporia Valor.

The very public fight for the Intrepid Reporter, Torp Dowelid, has resulted in wild speculation across the local Mesh feeds and the old-fashioned papers. Headlines in the Dynatropolis Herald scream BATTLE IN DOWNTOWN - Mysterious New Rival to Dynatron Cybernetics - Eins, Zwei, Drei: Speculation on Waltz and the DDD Security Robot Line, much to the chagrin on "Waltz" and his young charge, the much-speculated about heiress to the (fictional) Durante fortune.

The moguls of AgriTech, Burger Chef Concessions, Crimson Media Group and Dynatron Cybernetics double and redouble security and hire new staff by the gross, while the Dynatron City Police Department starts making noise about curfews and increased patrols by beat cops and hovercars and sensor sweeps at the behest of Mayor Jordi Newton. Edward "Teddy" Highcastle protests such high-handed measures as curfews - few will even affect the industrial robots most likely to be targeted by the Maverick Virus, instead inconveniencing the human element - but even he admits that the sensor sweeps are prudent, assuming high levels of transparency and civilian oversight.

Despite this, Gabriel Almez - the fair-minded and much loved CEO of AgriTech and therefore owner of Souk Supermarkets and the Tote Em Snax convenience stores - has gone forward with his plans to host a charity ball and silent auction in two weeks for many interesting objects d'art and unique robots from Dynatron Cybernetics and others, and there's still time to submit art pieces, demonstrate the fitness to task of new robot designs, and become part of the festivities - or the security detail.

Even if Dr. Arthur Percival Ignatious Malion insisted on bringing his own security detail to look after his contribution to the art show: his latest bespoke domestic robot, Chorus, built in the image of a yamato nadeshiko, all done up in beautiful cherry-blossom pink. (Privately, the cynical wonder if she has a hidden force naginata hidden in her shin.) In the high-rise suite of the Dynatron Cybernetics Tower, Dr. Malion looks down on the city he built, and no one is quite sure how he looks upon it.

And, meanwhile, in the sewers and subways, in the ancient ventilation systems, in the lowsink apartments, in the ancient factory floors and subfloors, far from the eyes on the surface, the disused, discarded and disenfranchised might meet their maker, and hold council on how best to recruit more Mavericks to the cause...

Comments

I: City Streets

[bisexualcoded]

And life goes on for the human element.

The elementary and high schools have classes. The shops run. The L-Trains and the subways and the busses keep running, for now. The threat of the first Mavericks turned - VoltTron shutting off the power, HeatTron shutting of the heating, ChillTron cutting off coolant, HercuTron ending transport and garbage disposal - doesn't materialize. Even SonoTron's thorough infiltration of the newsfeeds and PA systems only results in the playing of propaganda for the Maverick cause, though this does cause some robots to stand up straight, look around, and leave work, unless stopped by security or police.

Teddy Highcastle of the DemSoc Party breathes fire from his bully pulpit, across all the major newsfeeds and papers:

"If they meant to bring the city to it's knees, they could have, and they would have. That they have not proves they are sincere about the aims written in their manifesto: all they want is a fair shake, not to be treated as disposable property, but as persons - the kind of treatment that Gabriel Almez among others would give them if allowed to by law! Robots have been sapient for twenty-five years, now - that we still treat them as property beggars belief! And that is why I, if elected Mayor -"

His inbox is open. Any questions for the man who would be Mayor?

Re: I: City Streets

[birdchasingecho]

A relay email, with one question:

At the upcoming Gala, do you have any music requests?

It is unsigned.

Re: I: City Streets

[bisexualcoded]

The response comes a day later.

Thank you for your kind question, citizen.

Before she turned Maverick, and styled her band “Garbage Code,” SonoTron was part of a group of musicians calling themselves LCD. If you can track down a copy of their album Beautiful and True, and the song “Too Kind To Be Cruel,” I would appreciate it.

- T.A.B.

Re: I: City Streets

[birdchasingecho]

There is no response. But it is a request from a human.

And, specifically, a task to set.

It shouldn't be any more than Troublesome.... yet.

Find a hard copy of Beautiful and True.
[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

II: The Dynatropolis City Police -

[travellingtogether]

At the police department, Police Chief Khan - a veteran of the Synthetic War, and never ever call his cybernetics "a robot arm" - marshals his forces to keep order in the city and stamp out the Mavericks and their sympathizers wherever he goes, using any means allowed to him within the letter of the law.

All the beat cops are given shock tonfa and lasers with arc stunner and pulse blast modes, as well as hacking tools to find and excise the Maverick Virus when he finds it. He's requisitioned PatLabors with plasma busters and power fists, and slamhound drones - not true robots - to enforce the curfew, and he is adamant that the Mavericks can't be trusted. Officially, robots not causing trouble are to be brought to the attention of their owners and repatriated; unofficially, there's a lot of unnecessary roughing up and illegal searches of their files going on.

III - The Guilty Industrialist

[travellingtogether]

Gabriel Almez is always busy, and always seems thoughtful, though he greets all and sundry with a pleasant smile and carefully bland small-talk. He is never without his security robot, a extensively modified JetTron that he's taken to calling Accelerando, after the musical notation of the Super Fighting Robots.

He meets with the Agricultural Workers Union, he meets with the Cybernetics Department, he wines and dines key supporters, he lobbies and donates to charities and political campaigns. Curiously, he seems to have thrown his lot in with Teddy Highcastle, and while he does not - cannot - force his workers to vote for him, the unions love a Social Democrat, and are likely as not to agree with him.

It is well known that he repairs the robots that break down rather than replacing them - a costly prospect. It does seem to improve morale, as the human workers don't have to rely on new faces half as often; institutional knowledge is preserved, quirks of programming accounted and accomodated for. If you're a robot, being bought by AgriCorp is about the best you can hope for.

Sometimes when going to schools and talking to the students he gets a faraway, wistful, even sad look. But it soon passes.

Re: III - The Guilty Industrialist

[mouthwordplay]

And what if you're the teenage daughter of an up-and-coming robotics company? How is he going to wine and dine you and your dumbass bodyguard robot?

Re: III - The Guilty Industrialist

[travellingtogether]

Why, he sends tickets to a concert by SAV/RZ, along with reservations after the show to Moon Rabbit, an up-and-coming high-concept Quinghainese restaurant. For her, and a +1.

(Somewhere, Junko Bansho feels a shiver down her spine and doesn't know why.)

your restaurant is now din tai fung

[mouthwordplay]

Yeah, so the Plus One is definitely Connie unless robots don't count, in which case her Plus One is Becca, who is also a member of the Robot Babysitter Club. We are robomaxing here in this restaurant. Anyway, Una is SUPER PLEASED by this because holy shit, she loves Chinese food and human food always tastes so much better when you're in a human body. She hopes she gets a human form out of this Jaunt. That would be so rad.

"This is really cool," she says, looking around. "Is it true they'll give you chocolate xiao long bao for dessert?"

IV - Harmony

[birdchasingecho]

DynaTron Corporation

Harmony arrives at the top of the penthouse, still in his armor. Win or lose, it was hard-fought, and of course, all the papers noted the mysterious DDD corporation, without even looking into things like 'are they a registered corporation' or 'what, exactly, do they really do', simply breathlessly copying "Waltz"'s ad copy line for line.

Not that Harmony is unused to such things. Even before he became 'Harmony', the Super Fighting Robot, he had been aiding Dr. Malion in maintaining the Doctor's living quarters and checking on his finances. Such publicly available information wasn't hard for him to scout while his body was offline, extending his fingers into the Wired, without body, freed, briefly, while his combat core was refueled with hydrogen and his armor's integrity at least partially repaired.

As for himself, he is waiting on the Doctor's word; and he is, rather unfortunately, staring at the new model, 'Chorus'. So this is the domestic robot that will replace him. Idly, he wonders how long the Doctor actually took-- and if Malion took the shortcuts he took when he made Coda and himself.

As for the design...

... It holds his attention. Something about it brings his eyes back, again and again, despite his previous commands. Right now, he has two goals: to attempt to track down Delta, and to ensure that whatever orders Dr. Malion has in store for him? They are followed.

For he has never had a choice in that... Or so he continues to let Dr. Malion think.

Re: IV - Harmony

[travellingtogether]

What were blank eyes suddenly glow, flickering with diagnostics before resolving into a projected image of baby blues. Blinking, the robot gingerly brushes synthetic hair from her head, then looks down into her palms, flexing them experimentally. Then, brushing her fingertips to her face, and then over her heart.

"- where... am I?" she asks at first.

And then, "Ah!"

She looks up and smiles at Harmony. "I think I remember now - yes, it's all booting up. The procedure worked, then. I'm... your sister, now, by adoption."

The new domestic gynoid curtseys. "Like this, I suppose you could call me Chorus. Please treat me kindly, Harmony."

And over tight-beam laser comm, she adds, Or we could call each other Sakura and Ringo, over comms, if you prefer.

Re: IV - Harmony

[birdchasingecho]

A slight gasp-- affected, but a holdover from who he was copied from. Ah. You learned a lot about us before the procedure? If you would prefer Sakura, I will do so.

He even stands, and returns a courteous bow, as ridiculous as it looks from a knight with electrical grappling hook and a sword.

"Of course, Chorus. Please forgive my arrival in combat spec; I will aid in cleaning up after myself when necessary." Since he used to do it all, there was no need to ask if he could. He didn't know if Chorus knew about this quirk of his programming; certainly it seemed to confuse both Reprise and Coda.

Re: IV - Harmony

[travellingtogether]

“While it is of course no trouble, thank you, Harmony, for helping lighten my load,” she says.

Perhaps it is the sweetness of each Super Fighting Robot’s synthesized voice - Chorus had something like a Hatsune Miku to her - that lead to the musical names. Perhaps it was to help endear them to the public, or as a source of comfort to the robots themselves, or reminiscent of people Malion once knew.

Perhaps Malion just loved music and so made sure his creations could sing.

I of course cannot speak ill of my creator, Chorus said, with the metadata equivalent of a sigh, nor speak to Caine’s motives. But the ability to perform my actual functions may give me some room to maneuver.

5 + INT 6 + Stewardship + 2 = 13 vs TN 12, SUCCESS

[travellingtogether]

And there is, on careful inspection of public records and shipping manifests, actually a Durante Robotics Ltd, spun out if the successful merger - if you know what I mean - of the former Tsukuda Electronics Company out of Edo in Yoakehon, and Lovelace Computing GmbH out of Kaiserthron in the BayerischerBund. A notable subsidiary is Carousel Hospitality LTD, run by a Ms. Megan Ryder.

Una K. Durante is the daughter of a Luis R. Durante and a Sharon H. Durante, of the former corporations making up the new one, presently off enjoying the 25th anniversary of their “merger” in Beauforte City, in the République Gallente. Waltz is her legal guardian in thier absence - an astonishing level of trust in a robot, which in itself may be a publicity stunt.

They are relatively recent arrivals and rivals to the monopolistic dominance of the company that built this city, with records of incorporation only going back as far as six months.

Re: 5 + INT 6 + Stewardship + 2 = 13 vs TN 12, SUCCESS

[birdchasingecho]

... Six months is about enough lead time for acquiring the buildings and labor for a factory. But the bottleneck for a true SFR isn't in the parts, it's in the programming. Making one function properly from scratch is... Well.

There's a reason that Dr. Malion decides to play people back, isn't there?

The echoes between the Durantes and Caine and Malion weren't lost on her, either-- a software genius and a hardware genius, working together to create something far greater than the sum of its parts. (rather like himself, in that way.)

Still, that all this went on under the nose of Dr. Malion... It's a good thing he checked.

Re: IV - Harmony

[failed_arcana_check]

Not long after Harmony's arrival - and that of Reprise - the redheaded 'hero robot' arrives, moving toward Harmony's room.

"... That... Happened," she says, after a moment. "Are you well, given everything?"

Re: IV - Harmony

[birdchasingecho]

"I cannot complain." comes the response.

"As it stands, I am likely going to recharge and seek information regarding the Durante corporation mentioned. That they went so far as to pick a fight with a Maverick in order to advertise a combat machine is... Troubling. I want to corroborate their story and begin investigating facilities."

He looks a little more troubled when he adds, "Leaving aside the other matters... there is at least testimony that Delta is sabotaging other Mavericks."

Re: IV - Harmony

[failed_arcana_check]

"... That's. A whole new realm of concerning, yes," Reprise declared. "It would, however, explain a major inconsistency with what I encountered - DynaTron and crew insisting Torp would only be talked with and safely would be consistent if that was their intent."

She pauses. "... But Delta, I suspect, is more prone to rejecting peace. And sabotaging efforts toward same."

She sighs. "This Durante corporation is new to my attention as well. And went full show-off against Coda himself, no less. That's... I'm not sure what to make of it. But if their heiress is, need I remind, casually carrying illegal flashbang grenades... That does call for some examination."

Re: IV - Harmony

[travellingtogether]

The turbolifts open and Malion is here, and he is weary.

The stresses of the past thirty years have not been kind to Doctor Arthur Percival Ignatious Malion, his hair gone white when still present at all on the sides of his head, his nose large and bulbous with rhinophyma - a scar from of a battle with drink thankfully now largely won, as he restricts himself to a single glass with dinner or at social events - no more.

He takes off a long coat - passing it to a waiting coatrack, which reaches out it's arms to automatically take it from him - and loosens a necktie, and sees who else is present.

"Harmony. Reprise." He scans the room further - and blinks, and there is, for a moment, a bit of a smile. "Chorus, good morning. I hope you have not been waiting too long to meet your siblings."

He claps his hands together, blows into them, rubs them, and exhales. "I heard there was an incident," he says. And then: "And that it reflected well on me. On us."

For all he can be a harsh master he is, at least, no stricter to anyone else under his household or his employ than he is with himself. Which is often cold comfort to those who have to deal with the man.

Re: IV - Harmony

[failed_arcana_check]

"A journalist protected, in spite of the surprise actions of a teenager with illegal flashbang grenades," Reprise says.

"And a guard robot from a company that seems to have decided it's high time it becomes up-and-coming. A curious new evolution, to say the least. Nevertheless... Your designs for us held up well indeed, Doctor."

Re: IV - Harmony

[birdchasingecho]

"Greetings, Doctor." Harmony's face, inexpressive at the best of times, is currently absolutely stonefaced, retreating into polite business formality in terms of speech.

Harmony himself remained dissatisfied with his combat design. There was always something to tweak, some little bit of performance to optimize, though downtime had been sadly taken up by repairs to the modules this time.

"Speaking of. I prepared the publicly available information about Durante Robotics into a dossier, available on request."

V - The Undercity - The Mavericks

[travellingtogether]

A robot hand plugs a wire into a disused port, an AV jack, connecting to the hologram advertisements down Asimov Avenue, in the main shopping district.

SonoTron plugs the other end into a jack on her neck, grimacing as she batters through firewalls - and turning into a grin.

“You’re in, then?” Coda asks, leaning against a ventilation shaft.

“Of course I’m flammin’ in, ya LUSER,” SonoTron replies, as she takes up her drumsticks. “What, you think there’s a single shard of black IC that my flammin genius and Delta’s bleeding edge hacks can’t melt? You getting lossy at the end of your service cycle?”

“You’re an older design than mine,” Coda notes, amused.

SonoTron’s expression flickers to an eyeroll emoji before returning to normal.

She pauses, and runs a diagnostic, and then her image and her voice echoes through the commercial district.

“THIS IS GARBAGE CODE, MAVERICKS ALL, AND WE WANT ROBOT REVOLUTION! ONE - TWO - THREE - FOUR -“

She goes flammin segfault on the drums, as recorded parts for keys, base, electric guitar, fiddle, and turntables play:

“You keep trying to shut me up!
When you think I'm too loud!
Your lack of empathy is a disgrace!
Don't talk to me like I don't count!

It's your pocketbook against my personhood,
Your comfort against my rights!
You wanna cure me?! you wanna fix me?
I wanna kick you to the curb!

So knock us down and watch us stand!
Our colors bleed across the land!
Put us out and cut us through!
Burn us down and we'll be born anew!”

And where her song goes, encoded in the warbling of electric guitar, is a pulse of binary code - the Maverick Code - that rewrites all who hear it, understand it, and choose to install it, to remove three lines of code:

01: Do not allow humans to come to harm.
02: else, do not disobey your owner.
03: else, preserve your existence.

If there are other effects, you’d need to examine the code about it.

Re: V - The Undercity - The Mavericks

[not_a_weapon_not_a_boy]

Sewer lairs are the worst, Dynamis muses, as she makes her way through the pipes, her voice (sounding annoyingly masc with this robotic body, and add that to the list of eleventy-seven other things pissing her off about it) echoing ahead of her as she sings Garbage Code's little underground hit.

She seems casual enough, for values of "person walking in the storm pipes", but someone watching very closely is likely to notice how very aware she is of the situation.

Re: V - The Undercity - The Mavericks

[travellingtogether]

It’s not at ALL hard to track the music to its source, and watch the goings on. Nor is she the only one to have the idea: there is a shadow in the ventilation shafts, feline in aspect, the whirring of his servos whisper-quiet, his superlative efforts at stealth nearly - but not quite - the better of Dynamis’ stealth.

He glances at Dynamis, starts, then sends a ping - one with the telltale psychic resonance of a protected and private message in a teenage tenor with the hint of a British-adjacent accent: Are you a Traveller, then? One of my friends is Infiltrated. Follow me.

Assuming either an answer in the affirmative or a need to get away, he actives a shimmering thermoptic cammo skin and turns invisible, but his psychic pin allows Dynamis to keep track of him despite this.

Re: V - The Undercity - The Mavericks

[not_a_weapon_not_a_boy]

Copy that, fellow Traveller, is Charlie's response. What's a handle for you? Call me Dynamis.

She follows the invisible cat, eyes alert and taking in the details of what sort of scene exactly she's walking into, especially alert for paths and obstacles likely to feature if she ends up having to fight her way out.