001 | VIDEO

[pyms]

[ Timestamp: 4:22 AM.

When the video turns on, it's the face of a blond man, artificial light and the odd backdrop of two awkward looking trees, dirt and one giant worker ant, who took a moment to tilt its head curiously at the man before moving on. ]

I know we're all busy with our own lives so I'll try to make this short.

When we were brought into this world, some of us were given new sets of powers. Others may have had powers that they had from their own world, powers that they were already used to. I was one of the latter case. My powers involve size changing, from the 25 feet tall to being small enough to be able to interact with subatomic particles. It's a power that I've come to know, inside out. It wasn't an easy progress, I had a myriad of molecular instability that affected my life in a very personal way.

So I can understand what some of you who are dealing with these new powers are going through. You don't know the limits to what you can do, and we don't know either. That makes for a potentially dangerous situation, to both yourself and everyone else.

What I'm proposing is a training centre. I know we have government facilities here that are equally suitable for that but there are those of us who are uncomfortable with the idea of any government involvement. This will be a facility that's imPort funded, established and operated, so that we have a building of our own, outside of the government's eye. It won't matter if you're registered or not, the main priority of this is to make this place available to all imPorts.

I don't exactly have any concrete plans right now, a few blueprints and ideas off the top of my head. I'd like to hear what everyone's input on this before anything is done about it, especially those with new powers and those outside the law, so to speak. But all input is welcomed.

Thank you all for your time.

[ A quick smile and the camera turns off. ]

Comments

[assonant]

[ Noooooooooooo-- ]

If it's too far, maybe have directions or a transportation service? ...that sounds really official but a van with a logo would do. [ Even if it sounds mundane and a little bit daycare. Startups can't have fancy jets, after all. ]

Er, well, I'm not a decorator, but I could make a list of things... [ Because really Hank is a lab environment really reassuring, I mean really. ] If you rented or bought something like a hotel it could be converted pretty easily.

[pyms]

Ah. Transportation. Never been good with transportation logistics. [ Pym Porter. Definitely Pym Porter. But that also involves a bit of dimensional jumping that he doesn't have technology here for. So maybe jets in the interim. ] But a van with a logo makes for easy target. Wouldn't it be better for people to come in as discretely as they want?

That's not actually a bad idea, if we're looking for comfort. Rest of the training facility can be an expansion on it... [ Now he's just talking to himself. ]

[assonant]

Maybe offer both? An open door and a pickup of some kind, if people want it. Someone on staff could be on call to do it.

[ But Aoba laughs a little, inwardly pleased. ] Old hotel and convention center? Maybe convert all the empty spaces and basements?

[pyms]

Teleportation would make things a lot easier, wouldn't it. [ Hank said that absently but he's really thinking about it. If he could set up that system again... ]

I wouldn't want to make that look like some kind of secret underground gathering. Better to be above ground, and let everyone know that we have a solid presence here.

[assonant]

...you mean real teleportation? [ Excuse him while he gets thoroughly distracted from the rest of their conversation. He's heard about porting used here, but he hasn't had the opportunity to use it himself. ]

Wouldn't that be expensive?

[pyms]

[ The way his face falls should be telling of his experience with getting funding for his ludicrous projects. ]

It would. It would be quite an expensive project. And it might take a few years for me to develop that technology again, if I were to do it alone.

[assonant]

There are a lot of people here; maybe some of them could help you build it? It's too advanced for me, I think, but there could be others...

[ Money, though. They can't do anything without money. Now that he thinks about it, how would they even get start-up funds? ] Can you get grants for this kind of thing?

[pyms]

Of course, I could ask but what's the fun in that.

As for grants; that's a good question. I haven't thought about applying for any. That would mean the need for government assistance, and ...I'm not sure how willing they're going to be with that considering the idea of this will most likely make some uh space between us and them.

[assonant]

I see what you mean... [ About the grants, not the porter. He's never considered building a teleporter just for fun. ] What about something corporate?

[ Although he winces even to suggest it. ] ...something privately funded, anyway.

[pyms]

You want to fund my initiative, Aoba? [ He said jokingly (but is he) ] Private funding is definitely something I'll have to look into.

[assonant]

I'll get back to you when I have money. [ Why does this seem like a thing that could happen. ] But if you need to make a sales pitch I can, uh -

[ Cheat...... ]

I can be convincing.

[pyms]

[ He doesn't looked convinced about how convinced he is. ]

You don't look like a salesman to me.

[assonant]

[ Well.

Be honest, Aoba. ] I can use a really mild version of my power to, er, influence things.

Like sales. I did it a lot at the shop I worked at.

[pyms]

[ A LONG SUSPENSEFUL PAUSE while Hank squints at what was said. ]

Influence things or influence people?

[assonant]

[ Can you hear the wincing. ] ...people. Just people.

[pyms]

[ This is going to be most dad talk you'll ever get Aoba. ]

I'm going to trust that you won't be mind controlling people to jump off roofs or manipulating to your whims. Can I trust you on that, Aoba?

[assonant]

You can. That kind of thing -

I don't do that.