ArchivedLogs:Sizing Up

Sizing Up
Dramatis Personae Kisha, Tony
In Absentia	2016-07-22 "I've always fancied building a colony on Mars and I expect that will take a considerable amount of resources."
Location <NYC> Stark Tower - Midtown East
A gleaming beacon of modern architecture shining bright amidst the industry of Midtown, Stark Tower serves as headquarters to one of the largest tech corporations in the world. The offices and boardrooms of Stark Industries and any number of satellite companies, subsidiaries, and nonprofits are homed here. To the public what draws most visitors is not the business but the science -- the first two floors of the building hold an extensive museum dedicated to technological innovation. As well, guided tours three days a week are open to the public, to be shown through both the museum and, more notably, through (select parts of) the dozen floors dedicated solely to R&D.The building itself is as eye-catching inside as outside. The soaring lobby atrium extends upwards, bright and glass-walled with perpetually bustling balconies ringing each floor. All visitors must pass through the lobby security checkpoints to be signed in. The technology integrated into the building, from the interactive holographic displays that help guide visitors to their destination to the quiet AI that remembers visitors' preferences upon repeat visits to the basement arc reactor that powers the entire building, are quiet reminders of the company's dedication to innovation. Typically you'd expect someone coming for an interview at Stark Tower to be dressed up. At least until they mentioned that someone was Kisha. She's wearing her trademark aviators goggles, a t-shirt and jeans combo that smell faintly of hydraulic fluid and has Bob following along like a puppy and generally causing untold havok to the floor. "Excuse me, I'm here to see Mister Stark. I believe he should be expecting me," she proclaims while holding up a piece of paper at some extremely suspicious security guards. Even here a memo saying to expect a small girl with a large robot does not quite prepare everyone for the reality. The guards are eying Bob, at first, a lot more than they are looking at Kisha. One of them gives the robot a heavily skeptical look; another takes a moment of gawking before actually bothering to look at the paper. "Is he expecting /that/?" The first guard nods towards the robot, eyebrows lifted. "It's Mr. Stark," the second guard answers, as if this should suffice. "Wait here." He's meandering back to another guard at one of the security checkpoints, waiting for the woman there to call somewhere else in the building before gesturing Kisha (and Bob, presumably) forward. She is handed a visitor's badge, directed around the corner to a freight elevator. "Twelfth floor." Kisha loiters up against Bob up until she's presented with her badge, all the while his metallic fingers drumming impatiently in perfect time with her own. She glances at Bob, the floor and then sighs. "I suppose I should walk and not ride," she mutters to herself. Then as an afterthought adds "Have a nice day. for the security guards. Eventually the elevator pings for the twelfth floor and the doors open to reveal she's leaning on Bob some more and waving her finger lazily in the air. Doodling in her augmented reality overlay. On the twelfth floor Kisha is greeted by Another Guard, this one directing her down one hall and then another to a medium-sized conference room. Here the pair are left alone, for a time, save for a young man poking his head in shortly after to ask if Kisha would like any coffee or cold drinks or snacks. It takes a little while longer after /this/ for the door to open again. Tony, at least, is in a business suit, and seems considerably more unfazed by the presence of Giant Robot. Curious, perhaps -- his eyes sweep over Bob before Kisha /too/, before turning to the girl. "Well. He's definitely impressively /big/, at least." Kisha keeps waving her finger in the air as she heads to the conference room. Only pausing when the offer of drinks is made, which receives a request for black tea. "On a budget it's hard to mount a powerful enough engine on anything smaller," she admits with a shrug. "All the money went into the control system and fine motion in the hand. I've got to the point I can do fine motor skills jobs using Bob from my dorm room while he's in the school workshop." She sips at her tea. "I brought along the schematics on a USB stick if you'd like to see. Thought it would be a good idea to bring a few designs I hadn't asked B to pass on." "So a drone, not an AI?" Tony is circling Bob, his own fingers tapping quickly against a small holographic screen just-appeared in front of him. He holds one hand at the offer of the USB stick, though mostly is still examining the robot. "If I believe B -- and the earlier work she passed along -- you'd be an asset to R&D here. What is it /you/ want to work on?" Kisha nods. "The software for a thought controlled drone was easier to teach myself than actual AI programming using the resources you can find online. Besides I'd rather someone else work out the kinks in the laws of robotics before adopting it myself." She hands the teacup to Bob for a moment, hunting in her pockets for the USB stick and making a few twists in sequence to unlock it. "If someone twists it wrong they plug in a stick full of unpleasant software." She notes as she hands it over. "I've had a few ideas about man portable rail guns lately that interest me. I'd be exceptionally happy to advance the thought control work I've been doing. I have a few ideas about using haptic suits to trick the pilot into balancing the robot subconciously. But that really only has value if paired with a humanoid robot." Kisha explains and sure enough the USB stick contains a variety of such designs. "I much prefer hardware to software, but aside from that I am pretty flexible. My engineering tastes run from vehicles to microchips. I've even dabbled in aviation, although as yet no-one seems keen to let me fly my creation. Insurance reasons I believe." "You went to school with B?" Tony straightens, reaching into his pocket for a moment -- plugging the USB stick into something there, presumably, because his display changes a moment later to let him leaf throuh Kisha's designs. "They do seem to churn out a lot of -- gifted students. That's the official line, right?" His brows are raising, briefly, as he reads over one particular paper. "Along with Peter. I actually gave him a little help with the early valve for the thwippers. My own spin was more like a net pistol, I'd have brought it along but it's quite obviously gun shaped and could have given the wrong impression." Kisha replies, nodding. "If you are discreetly asking if I'm a mutant then yes, I am. Mostly I don't require sleep, which gives me plenty of time for my work. I can also three dimensionally print small objects like microchips but the process isn't very efficient. If you're not asking that and just saying 'Gosh lots of smart kids' then I suppose that's true as well. Although I'm not aware of any other students of interest. The robotics club hasn't had any applicants to decline for a while..." Tony is probably paying attention -- maybe -- at least there's vague acknowledging noises as Kisha speaks and he reads. "No sleep? You figure out how to marketably replicate /that/ and you'll be set for life." He hasn't looked up, yet, still scanning through Kisha's files. "B also mentioned some -- small potential for taking over the world." There's only the slightest of pauses before he looks up, now. "-- I take it that means you'd have no problem with working in our weapons division?" Kisha frowns. "I admit to asking for a good reference, but I didn't expect such high praise. Weapons would be of interest, yes. As for marketing my mutation... I doubt it could be marketed, I suspect elective brain surgery would be beyond what marketing can convince people to volunteer for." "You'd be surprised how far good marketing can get you." Tony flicks at his display, making it vanish promptly. "But bio-engineering people isn't -- entirely -- on our current docket." He leans back against a table, arms crossing loosely over his chest. "You're still in school? Seem kind of wasted there. What's your plan long-term?" "I've been dragging the last year out. I figured that way I can stay at Xaviers, far away from my family, until I am legally able to handle my own affairs. Also they have a better workshop than I'd be able to afford on my own savings," Kisha explains, taking her teacup back from Bob and finishing it off. "Long term I'll do as many online college courses as take my interest. The format lets me fit the work around my schedule a lot better than traditional colleges would. Perhaps start my own firm some day. I've always fancied building a colony on Mars and I expect that will take a considerable amount of resources. Probably easier to manage the logistics if I have a staff for that sort of project." "Mars." Tony echoes this thoughtfully. "Plenty of people trying to beat you there." He straightens, nodding once at Kisha. "I can't promise you anything as exciting as a space colony but our workshops /are/ pretty well equipped." He gives the robot a small /pat/ as he stands. "I hope that tea was strong. There's a lot of paperwork for you to get through if you're going to be working here." Which he's -- clearly not going to be helping with, already heading back for the door. Kisha offers one final shrugs. "I have a lawyer booked for a confra-call to go through it."