ArchivedLogs:Vignette - Quis custodiet ipsos custodes

Vignette - Quis custodiet ipsos custodes
Dramatis Personae Malthus
In Absentia	2013-09-24 '
Location Undisclosed
"Report, Mr. Trask." The wheedley little technician shuffled uncomfortably behind his clipboard. Before Malthus, he looked positively flimsy; as if he were about to be blown over by a stiff breeze. "We've finished our analysis of the radiographic imagery we took of the Doombot during its stay inside of our Stryker," Trask explained underneath Malthus' calm, one-eyed stare. "The results have been... ah, remarkable." The wall behind Trask brightened beneath the projector's light; a high-density x-ray image flashed into view. "I've learned more about robotics from studying these images in the past month than I did in seven years of college," Trask related, his voice growing wistful. "Can you replicate it?" Trask turned to Malthus, visibly blanching. "/Replicate/ it? Sir, I don't even /understand/ it. Professor Doom has done things that we--" "I'm not asking for an exact duplicate, Mr. Trask. I'm asking for a reasonable approximation." "You're asking me to reproduce the Mona Lisa from a grainy polaroid taken a hundred yards away," Trask responded. "But -- I mean, the essential underlying technology /exists/, just no where nearly as sophisticated. A much larger machine, with much more crude components..." "Sufficient," Malthus replied. "What would you require?" "--what would I--? Funding, to begin with," Trask said. "And --" He turned back to the radiographic imaging. "--Oscorp remains one of the leaders in the drone industry. If anyone could -- /approximate/ this, it would be them. But the AI..." "Oscorp," Malthus repeated the name as if he found it's flavor distasteful. "The AI?" "AI isn't an Oscorp strength. And the sophistication of Professor Doom's AI... the only thing in the world that comes close is Stark's work." "Stark Industries. And Oscorp," Malthus said, his single eye narrowing. "Working together." "Oh, that'll be the day -- you know, Osborn had the Oscorp Tower extended /just enough/ to make it taller than Stark's...?" "Mmmn. Anything else?" "An extraordinary amount of money. Oscorp's drone technology; Stark's AI technology. And time," Trask said. "Do you really think this could...?" "Osborn is insane," Malthus said, his voice level and cool as he stared at the image. "But we picked you off his staff for a reason, Mr. Trask -- he had an excellent idea. He just never pursued it to its fruition." "The Sentinel Project," Trask said, and again, his tone became wistful. "I'll start work at once." "And I," Malthus replied, "will bring you Stark -- Osborn -- and the money to do it."