Immortals in the Playground, Episode 1

[Argentum]

Alan listened attentively, gently removing the device on his forehead so that he could speak once again. "I work with particles and nanotechnology myself, mostly focused around light particles for now though. I've managed to make stable hard light, if you've heard about it. Basically solid holograms, I won't bore you with the details unless you're interested." He explained, waiting for Dieter to finish before talking. "I had a presentation on it earlier, but the hardware's with the professors now, unfortunately."

Well, he did have his particle rings, but he wanted to keep those a secret and get them to work better before he showed those off.

[Space Lawyer]

"Holy ****, Miki, that's...did you really do that?! That's incredible. Do you have a prototype? Can I see it?"

Miki nods vigorously, smiling. "Yeah! I mean, I think I did it. The prototype works, and it does what it's supposed to, but to be honest I'm not entirely sure if I did it right. It might be that I did my calculations right, or it might be that I just got close enough to produce the effect while still being wrong."

That was always the problem turning theories into reality, especially when dealing with something that couldn't easily be described and examined. In fact, that had been why Miki had built the prototypes. Gravity was hard to examine directly when it only came from massive sources, and there was only one such source easily available. So, Miki had made her own sources.

"I didn't bring it here though. With Professor Callaghan going crazy and everything, I was worried about showing it off. I've just got the neural band and goggles I use for it." Miki reaches into her satchel, pulling out a bulky headset.

[ThreadOfFate]

"Yeah! I mean, I think I did it. The prototype works, and it does what it's supposed to, but to be honest I'm not entirely sure if I did it right. It might be that I did my calculations right, or it might be that I just got close enough to produce the effect while still being wrong."

Ah, the constant worry of people at SFIT - though the campus was brimming with nigh geniuses that had amazing ideas, prototypes were about as far as most ever got. The simple truth was that while every graduating class had about four or five revolutionary ideas, and even working prototypes, getting it past that to market or other studies rarely worked out due to a variety of factors. Kaylee herself knew that her K-stance substance, while amazing in many aspects, would take a long time to get to the public - it had to be tested, examined, retested, tweaked, sent to sixteen different agencies, approved, unapproved, approved again, and so on.

Still, if even a fraction of Miki's success made it to the general public, there would be major benefits to the world at large. This girl really was going places.

"I didn't bring it here though. With Professor Callaghan going crazy and everything, I was worried about showing it off. I've just got the neural band and goggles I use for it."

Kaylee leaned down more, examining the band closely, nodding at it like she had some idea of what she was looking for. "Yeah, with that whole...deal, I expect a lot of people are a little nervous about showing off their projects here. All the copycat criminals with experimental tech aren't doing us any favors, I suspect."

She glanced at one of the nearby police officers - not maliciously, just observing that she was one of many police officers on site. Her look around caught her up on Lee, currently chatting with three others over by a demonstration of what Kaylee had best heard described as a localized EDM concern. That was good, not that Lee had any trouble making friends, but that girl did keep busy. It was cute, really.

She turned back to Miki, all smiles. "If you need a testing ground, I can get you into the basketball court at any hour. It's wide open, enclosed, and almost always empty outside of practice times. Interested?"

[Space Lawyer]

"Yeah, with that whole...deal, I expect a lot of people are a little nervous about showing off their projects here. All the copycat criminals with experimental tech aren't doing us any favors, I suspect."

Miki nods in agreement and looks at the police officers with Kaylee. Before the attacks of Yokai, it would have been unusual to see any officers roaming a science fair like this. Now though, it seemed like the entire police force was out, taking an interest in anyone who took too great of an interest of their own in the assorted projects. Unfortunately, at a school like this, that description could be applied to just about everybody.

"If you need a testing ground, I can get you into the basketball court at any hour. It's wide open, enclosed, and almost always empty outside of practice times. Interested?"

"Really!?! That would be great! Did you hear about that physics classroom that got trashed a few weeks ago? Well, uh, that was me. I was testing the prototype and it just sorta went haywire and started throwing everything around." Luckily, there were no cameras in that building, and nobody suspected that a small girl like Miki, even as athletic as she was, was able to throw heavy lab equipment about like that. After all, massive gravitational distortions weren't exactly a common method of vandalism.

"I can see what they really do in a wide open space. And you can show me what the K-stance can do! I'm sure it's really cool. There are just so many things you could do with it if it's that versatile."

Miki looks up at her closest friend with a grateful smile. Kaylee really was one of the nicest people Miki knew. Miki could never figure out why Kaylee was so quiet and reserved. She was so tall and cool! She wasn't just the point guard of the basketball team, she was their leader. Miki could never bring herself to do something like that. To top it all off, Kaylee was so smart! How she could visualize those molecules and figure them out, Miki never quite understood. Kaylee wouldn't have even needed the goggles to figure out the gravitational field interactions; she could probably just look at it and figure it out intuitively.

[The_Admiral]

"You're working on AI, COOL! What do you mean by, critical flaw?" she replies to Dieter, excitement giving way to curiosity.

As she hears Alan talk about his solid light, she temporarily shifts her attention to him, saying, "....You have solid holograms? What's the power requirements? How big is the projector? Can you colour the holograms?"

[hobbitguy1420]

Bobby offers a lopsided smile to Dieter. "The way I see it, Dietz, most of us humans are pretty flawed, anyway. Sounds like you're right on track."

He raises his eyebrows at Alan's pronouncement. "Hard light holograms? As in, made of actual light, not ultrasonics or electromagnetic fields? That's cool."

He laughs and holds up his hands to Lee. "Whoah, Legs. Give the guys a chance to answer, why don't you?"

[ThreadOfFate]

"Really!?! That would be great! Did you hear about that physics classroom that got trashed a few weeks ago? Well, uh, that was me. I was testing the prototype and it just sorta went haywire and started throwing everything around."

Kaylee did hear about that. The general consensus was that a grad student had gotten wasted and trashed it out of rage, since there was a lack of video evidence pointing to any other conclusion. Hearing that it was her friend brought a wide grin and a small giggle to Kaylee, as the thought of Miki having trouble with her devices and causing widespread destruction in the classroom was an incredibly amusing one.

The damage to the labs, less so, but it was still hilarious to mentally picture. Even the kid geniuses at this school had their moments, often multiple moments spread out across multiple years, ones that lead to the fountain's water turning into inky black or a strange metallic pylon to be erected on the rooftops of multiple buildings to strange lights appearing in the sky over the physics building.

"I can see what they really do in a wide open space. And you can show me what the K-stance can do! I'm sure it's really cool. There are just so many things you could do with it if it's that versatile."

"Oh, no, I- it's- there's nothing...it's nothing special, really!" she blustered, face turning red as Miki praised her invention. "It's not stable or anything yet, it's still...kind of a mess, there's a lot of work that needs to be done but I, um, I- I guess I could show you some. Yeah. I can do that, with the- the foam kind, and the gel, and I think..." Now it was her turn to lean in conspiratorially. "And I made some that...explodes..."

She wanted Miki to be impressed, but she doubted it could happen. What good was a substance with a dynamic molecular state dependent on variable electrical and chemical conditions in the face of reversing gravity?

[Held]

Dieter

"N- no, that's all right, let her. It's just... Artificial Intelligence anyway. Everyone's all 'been there, done that'," Dieter says dejectedly. After all, they already had programs that could adjust to their environment. That wasn't... exactly that difficult. It was way more difficult to not give the AI a specific task, and just allow it to find its own purpose.

Even if he completed it, Dieter had no idea how he could set up a proper presentation that wouldn't involve wiping his invention's memory... and thus far, even after 9 failures, Dieter had never had the heart to wipe the memories of any of his AI.

Dieter leaned in towards Bobby. "M- my hour should be up soon, anyway, so I can get back to the lab... #10's probably waiting. He should've at least remembered to recharge himself, but I'm worried he'll uh, try to make friends with the... spare parts," the boy said. "Like I said... quirky. Flaws."

[Space Lawyer]

Miki and Kaylee
Presentation Hall

"Oh, no, I- it's- there's nothing...it's nothing special, really!It's not stable or anything yet, it's still...kind of a mess, there's a lot of work that needs to be done but I, um, I- I guess I could show you some. Yeah. I can do that, with the- the foam kind, and the gel, and I think...And I made some that...explodes..."

"Kaylee, you've basically made the next wonder substance! Everybody is going to be trying to be the ones who get to makes this stuff! Just think about 3D printing it for 4D contructions. You could ship little boxes of it with a battery pack attached and have emergency shelters on the go. You could take little vials of the explosive kind (that is so freakin' cool by the way) and use it to clear debris. It would be the best thing ever in a disaster!"

Kaylee was going to save the world!

[ThreadOfFate]

"Kaylee, you've basically made the next wonder substance! Everybody is going to be trying to be the ones who get to makes this stuff! Just think about 3D printing it for 4D contructions. You could ship little boxes of it with a battery pack attached and have emergency shelters on the go. You could take little vials of the explosive kind (that is so freakin' cool by the way) and use it to clear debris. It would be the best thing ever in a disaster!"

Kaylee didn't really know what to say to that. All she could do was smile in an embarrassed manner and look away, afraid that her obvious gratification to Miki would suddenly spill out in the form of one long stream of unpolished words, or a more literal sense of picking up the girl and hugging her tight, or...

She stopped there before her thoughts got away from her.

Instead, she continued to blush and she nervously rubbed the back of her neck with a free hand, smiling. "I- erm- I- Miki, that's-" Her words just stopped as she took in a breath, giving her time to get her head on straight. The comparison to Alfred Nobel, intentional or otherwise, was all that Kaylee could want from anyone speaking of her work.

"Thank you." she said in a tiny voice. "Thanks, Miki, that's...you're really sweet." She didn't really know what she was going to do with the stuff, but those were more than a few ideas, all of them good. "Do you wanna, erm, walk around? Look at some more exhibits?" Something? Anything, really.

[Argentum]

Well, he'd known that Dieter seemed awkward, but Alan certainly didn't expect the guy to have such confidence issues. "Oh please," Alan scoffed. "Everyone knows that Artificial Intelligence isn't anywhere close to perfection, what you're working on would be a great breakthrough. " Everyone knew that dumb AI in video games had to be fixed anyway.

Alan held back a snort at Dieter's worries, silently laughing at the mental image the teen invoked.

"To answer your questions, yes, the hard light is actually made of light." Alan began, turning to face Bobby and Lee. "Power requirements are pretty low, the internal hardware works sort of like a Rube Goldberg machine. It doesn't actually have a projector, it works by making a field around itself with a radius of five meters and manipulates photons within the field to create the hologram. You can color, shape and even change the hardness of the holograms, color and shaping is best done in a 3D modelling software and there are presets for hardness levels.

[Space Lawyer]

"Thanks, Miki, that's...you're really sweet."

She couldn't mean it that way, could she? No, she couldn't. Miki wasn't that lucky. Besides, Kaylee probably wanted someone athletic and smart and . . wait, that could be Miki. But it wasn't. Was it? But . . .

"Do you wanna, erm, walk around? Look at some more exhibits?"

Miki clears her head. "Oh, um, yeah, sure, we can do that. I mean go look at some exhibits." She looks around, hoping to spot some interesting work that wasn't threatening to either explode or draw too much unwanted attention.

[Sasaisen]

The crowd around erupts into applause, drawing attention back to the stage. With a seemingly herculean effort, the current presenter liberates himself from an invisible box twenty feet above the ground, silent and dressed in mime attire for effect. He confidently returns to earth on steps of hardened air and takes a bow, and the freshly painted backdrop crumbles in midair as its unseen canvas dissipates.

"Let's give another round of applause to Gillespie Davis, for a demonstration every bit as artistic as it was ingenious!" the announcer booms, clearly enjoying the event as much as anyone else there. "Now, everyone welcome our next presenter..."

[The_Admiral]

"....hmmm, shrink it down into a ring, wear a green spandex costume, think about it, BEST COSPLAY EVER! Aaah, good luck with the AI." she rambled.

Hearing her name about to be called, she continued, "Ooh, ooh, it's my turn to present!" putting on a pair of gloves from her pockets and rushing off, arriving on stage just as her name was called,

LEE KAI CHEE

Stopping on stage, she stares at the expectant crowd, panting from her recent exertions as she slowly put on the gloves, telling herself that this was just like one of those fancy parties her parents have.

Taking in a deep breath, she, switched and by the time she exhaled seemed like a completely different person, none had seen her present before.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for making the time for my small project." she says bowing respectfully. Raising her arm into the air, she makes a come here motion into the air, and an almost dog like machine .

"This, is the Gou," she said, squatting down and 'petting' it. "Designed to replace dogs in positions where it is inhumane to have them serve, such as search and rescue after disasters."

"It is in almost every respect, equal to a dog, for example." she continues, snapping her fingers through the gloves. As she does so, a panel on the back of the dog opens up and as she looks at it she says, "It's olfactory sensors for example can sense particles in the parts per trillion, easily matching ooh.....that's a surprise, half the room ate curry just now."

Waving her hands around she continues speaking, "It can surpass a dog in strength."

the Gou leaps into the crowd, sliding under a random bystander, and effortlessly carrying him around.

"Speed,"

She reaches into her pocket taking out a bolt and tossing it in the opposite direction, the Gou gently places the bystander, leaps into the air, almost levitating as it catches it and lands.

"And dare I say, obedience."

she claps a pattern as the Gou returns to her, returning the bolt.

"Thank you for your time ladies and gentlemen," she finished calmly, bowing again internally terrified of the reaction.

Spoiler

Show

I can, Fly on a dog.

[Argentum]

Alan shuddered, "Not a chance, never spandex. Ever. He might have invented something that could imitate Green Lantern, but he wasn't ever going to dress in spandex or have his undergarments worn on the outside. Armor was way cooler, not to mention more practical.

"That's quite an impressive invention." Alan observed, clapping loudly as Lee bowed. Making the Gou stronger and quicker than a regular dog was understandable with robotics, but replicating their sense of smell was probably a much more complicated task.

[ThreadOfFate]

"Oh, um, yeah, sure, we can do that. I mean go look at some exhibits."

An encouraging smile slid onto Kaylee's face. Miki was such a dear. A cute one. With cute hair. And a cute face. And a giant brain. And lots of other delightful things.

...oh hell, was Kaylee already in too deep.

Still, they began to move away from the exhibit, Kaylee desperately trying to push away any thoughts related to that matter and failing spectacularly at doing so. Miki couldn't feel the same way, anyway, she was streets ahead of Kaylee in...a lot of things.

Maybe not basketball.

Hopefully not basketball.

Applause filled the air and the announcer's booming voice rang through the hall. Kaylee caught Miki's eye and jerked her head to the stage, the two moving up to join the crowd as the newcomer took her place. To Kaylee's mild surprise, it was her friend Lee, who was showing off...something? Kaylee screwed up her brain, trying to remember what her major was, and coming up with...machines? Engineering? Robotics, maybe? Something about robots.

As Lee was looking out over the crowd, Kaylee gave her an encouraging smile and a small wave. You got this! she mouthed to her friend, hoping it would help.

When Lee took her breath and started her presentation, it seemed like she hadn't needed the encouragement. She brought the crowd through her spiel, showing off a truly impressive piece of technology - it was a dog. A robotic dog. Cute, in a way.

She laughed at the man who held on for dear life, same as much of the crowd did. She oohed at all the right moments, impressed as everyone else was with the demo. She applauded loudly at the end, glancing back to Miki, trying to find something clever to say at this moment.

Nothing came to mind, as was often the case, but she found that looking at her friend was a good decision by itself. Her smile could pierce steel. "So, uh, what did you think? Feel like riding a robot dog to class every day? It...beats walking, yeah?"

[hobbitguy1420]

Bobby grins and claps along to the presentation, then sticks his finger and thumb into his mouth and whistles appreciatively when Lee's done. "Brava!" he calls out, then turns to glance at the others. "It's the female form of Bravo."

[Held]

Dieter

Impressive, as always. Robotics, that was. It was Dieter's side interest, and no wonder! His AI'd have nowhere to go without Robotics. Well, digital AI, but those were... not a favourite of Dieter. Bad memories.

"Nice that it can listen, but it won't replace a real dog if it can't think like a dog," Dieter mumbled. He guessed that the robot dog had a narrow scope where it was free to adjust to the situation, and it probably... Nah, wouldn't be any sense thinking about it!

"Your friend does robotics, huh," Dieter said to Bobby, completely ignoring the lame joke. "Or is she majoring something else?"

Light-particle guy (what was his name again?) seemed very impressed. Dieter wondered if he'd be as impressed with #10? It was partially robotics. Partially. Mostly... not.

[hobbitguy1420]

"Yep," Bobby says proudly. "Best servomechanics I've ever set eyes on." He glances at Dieter. "I don't know if she's trying to replace real dogs - just offer an alternative for when you need something doggish without wanting to get an actual dog... I dunno, roasted in steam tunnels or something like that."

[Argentum]

"I don't think that the Gou would replace a family dog very well, too hard to cuddle with." Alan added in, glancing at Dieter in amusement. "And the little girls would still prefer cute and tiny poodles, I bet."

"Still, it'd be great for replacing guard dogs. Give it a bulletproof outer layer and with its strength and speed any thief or mugger would be out of luck.

[The_Admiral]

"Hey guys, what did you think? I had to resist the urge to name him Rush." Lee asks rejoining the group, having absconded from the stage, the Gou at her heels, smile on her face.

[Argentum]

"Its really good. I can't believe that you managed to make olfactory sensors as strong as a real dog's." Alan's mind was still blown about that. Manipulating particles and such had been a hard thing, but he was just controlling already existing things and forcing them into new shapes in the end. Making something that could distinguish between smell was way beyond him, especially if it was at such a level that it rivaled canines.

[The_Admiral]

"Oooh yeah that, sensors already existed, the only issue was coding out all the false positives, had to teach myself chemistry." Lee replies, fidgeting excitedly on the spot, back to her usual self.

[hobbitguy1420]

Bobby chuckles and claps Lee on the shoulder. "Ya did good, Legs. Got any offers yet?"

[Space Lawyer]

"So, uh, what did you think? Feel like riding a robot dog to class every day? It...beats walking, yeah?"

"Umm, maybe? I mean, I really like running here in the morning. Not to mention it seems like it'll be a rich person toy, at least for a while. Well, that isn't to say that what we've made won't start off expensive either. . . Yeah. . ."

Wait. Was Kaylee. . .flirting with her!?!?!?

HOLY
F******
S***

Ok, Miki. Keep calm. Jump up and smooch her right here? No, too obvious. Plus, you could be wrong. Not likely, but possible. Wait for a moment out of public and ask her out? Yeah, that'll work. You get shot down, no biggie. You just lose your running partner, closest friend, and romantic interest.

[The_Admiral]

"Naaah, but I won't be surprised If I don't get one, I mean, look at all the other cool stuff! she replied cheerily.

Plus I don't really need the offer to develop my tech she added in her thoughts.

[hobbitguy1420]

"Hey, you made a dog. That flies. You ask me, that's plenty cool." He grins.

[Held]

Dieter

Dieter squatted down, eyeing the dog from up close. Yeah, no way it was going to replace a real dog... if you were into soft and fluffy or whatever. If you asked Dieter (and no one ever did anyway), this was more practical. Wouldn't die. He remembered that one girl who'd cried her eyes out the day her cat had died. She was inconsolable. Well, maybe he shouldn't have said she could just get a new one. In hindsight, Dieter understood it was a bit of a bad comment. Didn't really help with his isolation from the rest of the class!

But who needed those people anyway. Tch. They didn't even understand the basics of, well, anything. Didn't get the Pythagorean Theorem! And the teacher tried to make it seem all right 'cos "you're just 7, that's too complex".

"Does it listen to anyone?" Dieter asked, as he poked the dog on the nose.

[ThreadOfFate]

"Umm, maybe? I mean, I really like running here in the morning. Not to mention it seems like it'll be a rich person toy, at least for a while. Well, that isn't to say that what we've made won't start off expensive either. . . Yeah. . ."

Kaylee's smile faltered just slightly. What she said was just not clever enough, or she'd missed the point, or any number of things. Kaylle also liked running, and she wasn't rich, or....anything like that. This was why she usually kept silent, though.

Still, best not to show it too much. She gave a nervous chuckle. "Yeah, no, I get it. Too rich for my blood, a robotic dog...sled...thing. I'd miss fur and warm snuggles and, you know, all the- the best parts of a real dog and- and everything, plus I'd miss yo- running! Running with you. I'd. I'd miss doing that. Not that I would stop running with you, even if I had a robot dog, because I can't just...up and quit on a partner like that, that'd be...nope! No, I wouldn't."

Her brain had been telling her to shut up shut up shut up since the part about the real dog but she'd plowed right on through anyway, and now here she was, awkwardly rolling to a stop after a torrent of words had spilled out, and it was too late to take it back. Stupid cute hair.

She was halfway hoping Lee would come over and save her from this situation, but Lee was already surrounded by a crowd of admirers. Kaylee would just have to wait and congratulate her in person in a little while. Her current hope was that she would not say something more dumb than what she;d just blathered out.

[The_Admiral]

"No, no, not just a flying dog, a flying skate dog. Oh,no, I'm not that good at programming, so I cheated a little, it only obeys hand gestures from these gloves and is keyed to my voice," she replied to them, exited about explaining the inner workings of her work.

"..Waitaminute, I haven't shown her the Gou yet." she ponders out loud when she spots Kaylee, she rushes over to her shouting, the Gou bounding after. "HEYA! You saw my thing right? Oooh who are you talking to?"