text

[hackitude]

Hey all. Quick PSA:

Over at StarkTech there's a team of us that are working on a solution to some of the weird ~memory shenanigans~ that you might have seen around lately. We're no closer to a cure, but I'm pretty sure we HAVE now successfully got a working prototype for a "vaccine" of sorts. Basically we've figured out how to upgrade the imPort nanites to protect anyone else from getting false memories implanted in their head and believing that they're real.

If you want to swing by StarkTech any time this week, we'll be happy to fix you up. Free lollipop for people who come in, and it doesn't take any time at all. You can pop in over a lunch break.

The project's being headed by Jemma Simmons, Hiro Hamada, and me-- hi, I'm Skye, if we haven't met before. We'll be rotating different shifts, so you might not see all of us, but one of us will be around.

[Kick off for the memory sharing plot! Again, you don't have to have commented to this post to participate. Feel free to assume your character went in and saw one of them, or if you aren't comfortable handwaving having met one of them off screen, you can always say a random faceless lab-tech saw to you instead! Feel free to comment in here if you feel your character would though, or if they have questions, and network threads can always transition to action threads if you feel like playing it out. Skye, Hiro and Jemma will be out and about in places. Peace out!]

Comments

[rathercommon]

Like better robotics? Details! I want to know what our youngest genius is planning.

[microbrobotics]

okay well i might have made prototypes for the cutest minibot helpers you've ever seen.

[rathercommon]

Is a minibot just what it sounds like?

[microbrobotics]

sure is.

wanna come see? i can set you up with the vaccine and pay you back for showing me that awesome car at the same time.

[rathercommon]

Sounds brilliant. I'll be by this afternoon.

[microbrobotics]

great! if i'm asleep at my desk just knock me over and i'll wake up.

just shamelessly actionspams you

[rathercommon]

[ And, true to her word, Kitty comes by at about 4:00. She's never stopped by an office like this before, at least not here, and at home people who worked in high-powered firms like these always went in dressed to the nines. So she's actually dressed up herself, taken the time to make herself really presentable - which of course makes her feel more than a bit stupid when she walks in and sees how schlubby everyone else looks.

But - oh, well. It doesn't take long for her to find Hiro; and, when she comes over, she's armed with a present in the form of a chocolate croissant which she drops unceremoniously on his desk. She is singlehandedly going to ensure the kid doesn't starve. ]

Hullo, Hiro.

<3 <3 <3!!

[microbrobotics]

[ Not just schlubby - engineer-schlubby. Heck, Hiro is still wearing the exact same outfit he had on when he dropped by her diner. And it's less of a typical office and more of a collection of workstations, with some folks having private rooms and some being out in the open. Like Hiro - he's got a nice clear open space towards the left end of the main room, with all of his junk scattered everywhere. He was just leaning back in his chair when she drops in, so he scrambles for a moment to right himself without falling over. ]

Kitty! You came.

[ And you brought him a snack. He grabs for it immediately. ]

[rathercommon]

Too right I did. I'm not going to miss meeting a cute robot.

[ Or getting the shot to prevent the alteration of her memories. Funny as some of these delusions have been, the thought of having her memories altered is really creepy and awful and unsettling. She's pretty eager to have that all not happen. ]

Though let's do the vaccine first. Just so I've got something to look forward to.

[microbrobotics]

We could do both. Baymini #2, go get me a fresh needle tip.

[ One of the little white blobs that was just kind of chilling on his workstation reveals itself to have bitty little eyes and a chubby little walk. The teeny thing can't be more than six inches tall. It carefully waddles over to the edge of Hiro's workbench, activates a hover panel in its back, and floats over to a much more sterile desk with medical equipment on it. ]

[rathercommon]

[ Oh my God. Kitty's eyes absolutely light up, and her mouth drops open in astonishment. It's so cute. It's so cute. She almost falls out of her chair leaning forward to look at it more closely. Normally, Kitty tries really hard to play it cool, but that adorable little thing has her almost squeaking. ]

Oh my God. That's - that's amazing.

[ Which is better than "I want to hug it," because she might be able to pass herself off as just thinking it's interesting mechanically - or she could, if she didn't reach up to press her hands to her cheeks in delight. ]

And it flies?

[microbrobotics]

[ It's got such a round, bulbous figure to it. If it were made with something other than hard plastic or carbon fiber, it looks like it would be amazingly squishable. Still cute, though, especially as it hovers back with a sterile needle tip in its package. It waits patiently for Hiro (or Kitty) to take it from him.

Hiro flushes a bit at the compliment, trying to shrug it off. ]

Well - I mean, they're just prototypes right now. I have to hardcode in anything I want them to recognize as being retrievable, and they get confused if it's not in its proper place. But they'll be better soon.

And of course they fly.

[rathercommon]

Well, develop them faster. And put me on your list to buy one soon as they're ready.

[ She's grinning as she rolls up her sleeve, clearly far more delighted at the sight of the robot than nervous over the prospect of getting the shot. Which only is half to do with the Baymini: she has a recent wound on her arm, covered with a fresh bandage, so it's clearly not like she's not used to this sort of thing.

That robot, though. ]

What else can it do? Just get things?

[microbrobotics]

[ It waits very patiently while Hiro keys up the machine with the vaccine. Tiny bead eyes blinking up at Kitty every so often. I am programmed to retrieve objects and hold tools, it says in a tiny, tinny voice. ]

Pretty much that. But that's useful, y'know? I don't want to have to interrupt my work just to go chase down the screwdriver size I need.

[ The machine beeps. Sounds like it's done syncing up with the shot. ]

[rathercommon]

Well, you're very good at it.

[ That's said directly to the robot. She knows full well that it's just a machine and doesn't actually understand her - that it's no more intelligent than her microwave - so she's mostly being silly. But that little robot is easy to anthropomorphize.

To Hiro: ]

Did you have hover technology at home, or have you been incorporating what they've got here?

[ And, no offense kid, but - ]

And can I give myself that shot?

[microbrobotics]

[ It sure is. And it nods its head a little, like it does understand. Hiro meanwhile fits the needle onto a slightly larger than usual syringe type setup, then removes the packaging. ]

I made thrusters, but this stuff's based off their tech. It works pretty well.

[ A pause. ]

Uh, you sure? It's kind of awkward trying to stick it in your own arm.

[rathercommon]

[ She's not gotten an injection since she was a small child and they gave her the immunization from smallpox. But she's almost certain she still remembers how this works. She points to the crook of her arm and says - ]

Well, you just -

[ She makes a jabbing motion that looks more like a violent stabbing than a gentle medical procedure, and then mimes depressing a plunger brutally with her thumb. ]

Don't you?

[microbrobotics]

[ He watches her motions, glances down at that bandage on her arm, then back up again. ]

Yeah, but not quite so hard.

[rathercommon]

[ She makes the exact same gesture again, just as brutal, just...slower. Then she raises her eyebrows curiously. ]

[microbrobotics]

Who taught you how to use a needle?

[rathercommon]

Well, technically speaking, I never have. But I've got to think it's easy enough. I've used knives enough.

[ Though, now that she's thinking about it...maybe that's not actually helpful. ]

[microbrobotics]

... Maaaaybe we should practice first.

[rathercommon]

[ Weeell... ]

Yes, all right. I guess that's not a bad idea.

[microbrobotics]

Here, uh ... Hey Five and Six, go get me a foam block and an empty syringe.

[ A pair of the helperbots float off to go retrieve the supplies he requested. ]

[rathercommon]

[ look at them go they're SO CUTE

While they wait? ]

So - did you get training in using...needles and the like?