ArchivedLogs:Gearing Up

Gearing Up
Dramatis Personae Kisha, Faelan	2014-06-29 Picking up fancy spy gear. Part of Future Past.
Location <XS> Workshop
A large barn-like building situated at the far end of the gardens from the mansion proper, this makerspace functions as a classroom for many of the more hands-on classes. An expanse of workshop space, it is subdivided into smaller segments for the different types of activities: Woodshop, Welding shop, Machine shop, Electronics, Bike shop, Screen Printing and Photography, Fabric Arts, and the Rapid Prototyping Lab with a trio of 3D printers. The space comes complete with a large host of tools available for use, although many of the more dangerous require prior clearance from administration to use -- students with appropriate clearance to use them can gain access to locked equipment with their student IDs. From sanders to MIG/TIG welders to soldering stations to industrial sewing machines to its own darkroom, though, this space is well equipped for teaching students how to /make/. With summer here Kisha has taken a little time out from her work for... some more work. Of course this is work for fun and profit rather than the advancement of science. She's set herself up in a corner with Bob, her trusty robot, beside her acting as a mobile tool rack and handy mechanical arm. To add to the sense of fun science she's got a little music playing, nice relaxing Russian industrial music that sounds a little bit like a factory being bombed. Making his way into the workshop, Faelan looks around, rather obvious he hasn't really ever spent any time in the place based on his curiosity at what he's seeing. Threading around other students works in progress and potentially dangerous or illegal devices, he approaches the center of the industrial music to see how things are going. Offering a little wave to Kisha and her robot, he raises his voice enough to be heard over the nice relaxing music. "Hey there Kisha, how goes progress?" Kisha doesn't seem to react as Faelan comes over, although Bob does swivel a camera pod round to focus on her visitor. "Progress on what? I'm currently working on about six things. Depending on how you break the projects down.... Or are you meaning specifically your request? I have most of that completed, although I have begun reworking the earpiece to include an optional sound enhancement system. There is also a list of store bought goods you'd do well to obtain which I can't personally make due to the school rules." "Most specifically the things I had asked about, but good that you've got plenty of things to keep busy with," Faelan smiles and looks around for somewhere to sit or lean but decides for his own safety it's better to not touch anything. "Huh, I hadn't thought about audio amplification. Yeah, that would probably be a good idea. Does it have a safety cut off too?" He glances towards what she's currently working on, not figuring it was for him but might be interesting if not understandable. "What kinda things would be purchasable? I assume self defense weapons if it's against school rules..." Kisha nods. "Pepper spray, things you could use as flashbangs and some kind of collapsible baton would also be a sensible item to bring with you. Just remember to pay in cash and try avoid products which are easy to trace back to you. Thinking about it don't get caught in CCTV while you're buying the items either." The items she's working on seem fairly nondescript, some sort of circuit board that could belong in anything bigger than a toaster. "It’s less about the amplification, although it does some of that, as it is the filtering. You can drastically improve your hearing if you can cut out background sounds." "Hrm, not sure where you could buy anything like flash bangs. I mean, I guess some fire works might?" Faelan thinks about the list she mentions for a moment, figuring acquiring stuff might be problematic. "Yeah, that sounds about right. I mean, class had said we do perceptive filtering anyway, but I guess electronics would be better at it. Less chance of blocking out something you actually ought to pay attention to." "I can email you a list of suitable retailers," Kisha offers cheerfully. "There is nothing in the school rules which stops me looking up how to get hold of things. At least things someone could legally buy. I imagine if I was looking up automatic weapons they might get a little unhappy." Chuckling, Faelan shakes his head. "Glad to know you have the retailers list already. I guess most of it is military or police surplus?" He gives a not at the legality factor. "Yeah, even the laws are weird. Like you could probably three dee print out a gun easily enough, but it's illegal if it doesn't have a block of metal in it. Still, the school rules are there for the safety of students after all. Less chance of blowing up the school by accident or on purpose." Kisha nods. "I think there are also some issues with unlicensed manufacture of weapons," she admits. "Also plastic guns are still fairly unreliable so I wouldn't recommend them. Mostly, although you'd be amazed what goodies you can get from online auction sites and from companies which do action adventure days for corporate types. I did consider suggesting paint bombs but they would only really be good if you expected to be operating against those Osbot drones." She sighs. "I do hate how timid the school rules are in that regard. Some of us are careful enough to handle dangerous materials without serious risk." "I think I had read an article on facebook the other day about people just assembling old kalashnikov with a legal loop hole,' Faelan scratches his head then shrugs. "Either way I don't think I want to be carrying around something lethal. But a taser and the other things are all pretty good ideas. Maybe a tranquilizer dart or something, but that's probably as controlled a substance. All those college kids using that stuff to get high and all." At the thought of robots he frowns, "Ick, what kind of sensors do the robots have? I mean, if I'm invisible would they still be able to pick me up?" "Well, radar for one thing. I can't say for sure what the newer models have," Kisha laments, finally turning to face Faelan at which point the camera on Bob turns back to the bench. "Darts are a terrible idea. You never know if someone will be allergic to the chemical you use. Also they require very good aim to hit an area the dart will function. Even a taser can have issues against anyone in body armour but then you just have to worry about pre-existing heart troubles." "Sounds like a pain. I guess I'll have to find someone with all the fancy sensor gear to see what will and wont miss me when I'm not around, but pretty sure radar would be a problem," Frowning he shakes his head and lets out a sigh. "So whatever I use will most likely be useless against a specific type of problem. And carrying enough to handle every problem means I couldn't move." "If you had the right mixture of paint you could make something which messes up a radar sensor when it coats the drone," Kisha muses, while Bob begins making a few deft adjustments to her project. "I suspect it would be quite expensive to mix though. As it would need a high metal content. I could probably build the appropriate sensors, but I imagine it would be much faster if you ask Doctor McCoy. The school probably has a variety of sensors in storage to help students with power training." "Yeah, a shame carrying a mobile emp would screw up all the stuff I need help from you on, or that would probably be the best against a robot," Faelan says with a nod. "Either way, I'll have em see what can and can't see me. At the very least I know people can't which is a step up from most things getting around. Thanks for the help, I mean, I know I was paying for the parts and work, but it's still really helpful that it can be made in the first place." "It has been an interesting diversion and of course the money has helped to fund my research projects," Kisha says with a smile. "I'll keep on toying with various additions you might be able to use and if any seem like they'd be worth your while I'll email you the specifications and a rough cost estimate. Then you can decide if you need them or not." She hmmms. "I've emailed the list of stores over and I should be able to finish the last few bits of work on your order by the end of today. I'll drop them at your room sometime after the evening meal, if that's okay?" Nodding, Faelan takes out the phone and glances at the incoming mail. "That's fine, I wasn't in a big rush. I just figured it might be nice to get some practice time in during the summer before I start up classes at college." Raising an eyebrow at some of the things on the list, he smirks a bit. "At least I came to the right person. You seem to know a lot about spy stuff at least, I wouldn't have thought about half of these." Kisha attempts innocent whistling, managing to look neither innocent or like someone who can whistle in tune. "When I was younger my brother may have involved me in some less than legal activities. But the less we speak about that the better." "Hey if it helps me be useful and stay safe in the process I'm not complaining," Faelan nods seriously. "Honestly, I had the idea for this stuff from a dream to begin with. So the fact that you're able to do it is even more impressive." Putting his phone back in his pocket, he glances around the lab. "People have been saying that dreams have been coming true for people lately, so who am I to say it's wrong if I turn out to not be such a scaredy cat." "I have my concerns about this whole future dream thing," Kisha says, scowling. "Either they are factual in which case someone out there has an incredible power and there's a whole new area of physics in need of study or there is a telepath manipulating a lot of people. Which is just as scary but will keep fewer college professors in tenure." "Well, if it was a telepath, wouldn't someone be able to pick up on it? Or simply block them out?" Faelan says curiously. "I mean, we have some really powerful telepaths here, and people who are just sorta immune to it to begin with. But I guess either way it could be a problem, or maybe just a warning. Though I mean, the major scientists had been researching time travel to begin with. Maybe it's like in that one story where the guy is sending messages to the past and it just requires the right receiver. Maybe some people's brains are set up to be a receiver and others aren't." Kisha waves her hand. "I suspect I'll never be able to make a proper judgement. As if it's dream based then I'll never experience it as I don't require sleep. Honestly I can't understand how anyone finds enough hours in the day with all the sleeping you need to do." Shrugging again, Faelan lets out a sigh. "Yeah, before that there was the weird dreams putting costumes on people, and animated snow men. Gotta say that mutations are pretty damn weird no matter how it seems to manifest. " Smiling at Bob the robot, he glances back to Kisha. "At least you enjoy the results of having all those extra hours to work." "Mind controlled robots do take a while to put together," Kisha agrees. "And they are rather handy. During the zombie outbreak I was especially glad to have Bob available to me. Anyway it's been a pleasure speaking with you but I better get back to my work. If you do hear anything more about this future dream thing I'd appreciate it if you could let me know. It's always handy having a notion what might be in store and I'd be curious about any information at all about the source." "Yeah, and he was pretty useful when the school was attacked too. I'll keep an ear out on if anyone knows more about it. I haven't really had many, but some of the teachers seem to have been in foul moods all of a sudden," Faelan says thoughtfully. "If any winning lottery tickets show up in my dreams I'll make sure to write em down soon as I wake up, just in case." Smiling, he backs away from the work bench, "I'll keep an eye out for the stuff and let you know how it works out. If you happen to have any instructions to come along with em leave me an email. Setting up a biofeedback monitor thing might take some practice." Offering a wave he heads on out to leave Kisha to her work.