Video - Four days after Malicant's message

[highprofilerichkid]

[Malicant has made his move, and Tony has decided that it's time for the Foreigners to step up their game. Starting with their communication network. As Bakura demonstrated, the consoles are no longer safe from Malicant's prying eyes (if they ever have been).

After a marathon troubleshooting session with Akito, Tony has also concluded that if a truly secure secondary network is going to happen any time soon, there's going to need to be a lot more people working on it. His time and resources are stretched thin, and he needs help.]

The consoles are not secure. I don't know if anywhere is, but we can actually do something about the consoles, at least. I know there've been some attempts to encrypt the console traffic and a couple false starts at a secondary network. I think it's time to get down to business and get a fully independent secure mobile network up and running, as soon as possible.

Magic is too susceptible to influence, so this network is going to be strictly technological. Pure tech and heavy encryption give us the best chance of shutting out our nosy neighbor.

If you have any expertise with radio, electronics, or telecommunications - anything that might be helpful - get in touch. Engineering, physics, cryptography... Hell, if you worked a summer job in IT. I want you here at Stark Industries.

Also, if any foreigners from higher-tech worlds brought any stuff along with them that they don't mind giving up, I'd like to take a look at it. Electronic devices like cell phones would be the best. A lot of post-industrial-revolution consumer goods contain minerals and compounds that are hard to get a hold of here, and we'll need as much of those as we can get.

And one more thing: I've put together a dozen... self-defense devices. Nothing big, but enough to give you a few seconds if you're in a tight spot. Distributing them to the turtle parents is the top priority, but if there are any left over, it's first come first serve. If you want one, meet me at SI and I'll give you the rundown here.

[private to ALL TURTLE PARENTS]

The fewer people are bonded to each turtle, the more vulnerable they are. Protecting the turtles means protecting their parents, so you all get first dibs on the toys. Anyone who's interested, send me a message and I'll set one aside. And come to SI as soon as you can.

[private to AYA, RICHIE FOLEY, CLARK KENT, DONATELLO, and MIKE WESTON]

I'm contacting you all specifically because I know you have tech skills or because Aya told me that you've worked on the secondary network in the past. We need you in on this.


---


((ooc: For the sake of security, Tony will only be describing the self-defense gadgets in person. Anyone who comes to SI to claim one will be given the following information:

There are six aversive devices [remaining: 4]. They consist of a slightly concave hemisphere - sort of like a very thick-walled bowl - that fits in the hand. They work on a principle similar to the Active Denial System. When they are held with the concave side facing out, and a button on the side is pressed, they emit a ten-second burst of radiation that, while harmless, causes immediate and intense discomfort to any person standing in range. Anyone without extreme magic- or drug-enhanced pain insensitivity will be compelled to move out of range. The area of effect is a wide cone that extends out about thirty feet. Each device has enough power for two bursts before it must be recharged.
[claimed by: Enjolras, Annabeth]

There are six force field generators [remaining: 5]. These are devices are disk-shaped, with about the same dimensions as a restaurant pager. Press the large button on top, and they will generate a transparent force field bubble about six feet in diameter. The field lasts about six seconds under ideal conditions, but may collapse sooner than that if it is interacting with a lot of matter (e.g., if the person holding it is swimming, or in tall, dense grass). The field can be moved, and will remain centered on the device when in motion (in other words, you can run with it). Each device has enough power to generate one force field before it must be recharged.
[claimed by: Raine]

Both devices can be recharged at any console, or at Stark Industries.))

Comments

video; 100% Encryption

[highprofilerichkid]

Raine? Absolutely. [Raine is good people. Tony certainly wants to make sure she gets one.] And I'll take the radio, if you're offering. If you or Raine can bring it over here, I'll trade you.

video; 100% Encryption

[gistful]

I can deliver it within the hour.

[He needs to go back to the Hotel first.]

video; 100% Encryption

[highprofilerichkid]

I'll be here. You can come straight to the lab. They'll give you directions at the front desk.

video --> action;

[gistful]

Very well.

[An hour later, Anton shows up with an old-fashioned WW2 radio-pack under his arm, wrapped in cloth, and knocks on the lab's open door.]

action;

[highprofilerichkid]

Hey. [Tony waves Anton in.] You can just put it down there with the other stuff. Give me a sec. [He gestures to a table scattered with other scavenged materials, then goes back to work. Half a minute later, he's finished what he was in the middle of, and he stands and goes over to greet his visitor properly.]

Tony Stark. [He holds his hand out.] You're Raine's co-parent?

action;

[gistful]

[Which he does, and then shakes Tony's hand with callused a hand strong with hard labour.]

I am. You know Master Sage?

[Tony Stark. ... He looks young. Very young. But the engineering expertise doesn't really leave much doubt as to the youth's identity, though Anton doesn't let a flicker of the recognition show.]

[highprofilerichkid]

Yeah, she helped my friend Gene a while back.

[Tony walks back to his workbench and picks up one of each device.] This is what I've got. [He gives Anton the spiel.] Do you think you know which one she'd prefer, or do you want to ask her and come back later? I'd send her a console message with the details, but I don't want to spill all the beans to Big Ugly that easily.

[gistful]

[Anton considers it carefully. He hasn't spoken to Raine about this yet. Still, there seems an obvious answer.]

She is a healer. The force-shield would be more prudent if she was required to heal or protect others in the heat of battle.

[highprofilerichkid]

[Tony nods and hands Anton the force field generator.] Makes sense. And can you tell her that if she knows any other skilled healers who could use one, have them come talk to me? Turtle parents are the priority, but if the force fields don't all get claimed, the next people they should go to are healers.

[gistful]

A youth named Sokka has a sister who is a healer, but I do not know her name or whether she is fostering a turtle.

[He glances around the room, curious in his surroundings in spite of Stark's youth. That explains the red armour he had seen in the stairwell of the palace--he had recognised it immediately, but dismissed it partly as the influence of the darkness and the dank air, or some such.]

[highprofilerichkid]

Thanks. I'll see if I can get in touch with either of them.

[He sees Anton looking around the room. Secretly, he appreciates the attention. Given the extremely limited supplies and preexisting technology he'd had to work with, he thinks he's put together quite a nice little lab here in Keeliai.] Was there anything else you needed? Any other malfunctioning tech you want me to take a look at?

[gistful]

Nothing malfunctioning, no.

[However ... Anton's gaze passes thoughtfully over the shieldpacks.]

Have you worked in combining engineering with magic?

[highprofilerichkid]

[Tony makes a face.] No. I don't know anything about magic. And it seems like nobody who uses it knows how to explain how it works. I think if I tried combining magic and tech it would either not work at all, or it would just blow up.

[On the one hand, Tony's fascinated by magic: it's basically an entirely new branch of physics, after all. On the other hand, it's incredibly frustrating how all the magical theory he can pry out of anyone boils down to "because magic."]

[gistful]

Perhaps you haven't found the right kind of magic. There are magical physicists in my world who have been combining the two for decades. If I may?

[He indicates a clear patch of bench and waits long enough for permission before using a piece of chalk to draw two light-sigils. The first is largest and casts a broad glow; the second is small and casts a narrow, intense beam, though they are visually identical save in size.]

I have limited knowledge of the theory behind such combinations, but sigils have been used as a stand-in for technology for some time. Perhaps you can utilise them to your benefit.

[highprofilerichkid]

[Tony nods, and watches dubiously as Anton draws the sigils. When they light up, he blinks and frowns, looking a bit taken aback.]

How long does something like this last? Do you know where the energy comes from to produce the light?

[gistful]

It lasts until the sigil is interrupted, unless installed with a timer.

[With a finger he smudges the chalk on one of the sigils, and its light dies.]

Chalk, for obvious reasons, isn't practical for long-term sigils. As for the theory, I once heard Professor Grouse hypothesise that the language of magic captures the magical energy of the dimension directly ... I believe he used the phrase 'quantum harmonic oscillator'?

[His brow furrows.]

That was some time ago, however. I don't know whether he's confirmed that hypothesis or not. Regardless, the shape, depth and size of a sigil defines how that energy is used.

[highprofilerichkid]

['Quantum harmonic oscillator'? Ooh, yeah, Anton, talk dirty to him.

Tony nods again, still skeptical, but definitely intrigued.]

So theoretically, a sigil could last indefinitely, constantly drawing energy? Doesn't seem too smart when you don't know where the energy's coming from. [His tone isn't critical, just thoughtful.]

Can anyone make one of these sigils?

[gistful]

They can, given the proper knowledge of technique and vocabulary. From my understanding that's the difference between magic and science in my world. Most people assume they're oppositional forces, when in fact they're complementary. Science refers to forces whose origins can be measured, while magic refers to forces whose origins cannot.

[He pauses for a moment to consider.]

The theory of names is a good example--we know the use of a given name controls others and that a taken name protects one from being controlled, but the actual quantifiable power in a name can't be measured aside from the effects it leaves on forces around it. Sigils are much the same. We know they're powered, but we can't measure the source, because the source itself defies measurement.

[highprofilerichkid]

[Anton. You are hurting him in his science soul.]

Okay, I don't know what any of that stuff with names is about, but that's not a very useful definition of science versus magic. There's plenty of things that we don't know how to measure directly, but that doesn't mean they're... immune to the scientific method, or inherently unmeasurable. That's not even— [Tony sighs, and throws up his hands.] Whatever. It doesn't matter. [He'd promised himself he wouldn't get into these science/magic discussions with magic users. All it does is frustrate him.]

Anyway. These sigils, they follow rules, right? Specific input results in specific output? That's all I need. I can work with that. [That's just pure experimental science. When you don't know anything about why something works, you just tweak variables and see what happens until you figure out how it works. The "why" is interesting, but not generally necessary for practical applications.]

[gistful]

Yes. But not knowing how to measure them and not being able to measure them are two different things. Sigils are a language. Even if we know where they gain their power, measuring that source is another matter.

[It's a pity Professor Grouse wasn't here, or at least that Anton hadn't spoken to him more deeply. But Anton hadn't needed to hear much theory about how sigils worked--as long as they worked, and he knew how to use them.]

They do. The nuance of their input can occasionally be difficult, but if you require a practical example the Midnight Hotel is built of them.

[highprofilerichkid]

[Yeah, arguing magical theory with Anton isn't going anywhere. Maybe magic uses vacuum energy or something. Tony lets the subject drop.

So, away from theory, and back to practice:] Sure. If I see what you're using them for in the hotel, maybe I'll find some that could be useful. Are there any that generate electrical current?

[It sounds like these sigils could act as an easy source of effectively unlimited free energy. Yeah, at the end of the day, the energy has to come from somewhere, but still. Even if Tony's not particularly fond of magic, that is a really tempting shortcut.]

[gistful]

There are, but they're not very ... useful. Sigils encapsulate concepts--there's no point in generating an electrical current you can't control when you can use sigils to generate light or energy directly.

[Anton glances down at the table and gently puts some things aside to give himself a little more space, and brushes away the light-sigils. When he draws the next sigil he adds a time-delay so he can pull his hand away without being hurt; the sigil activates and it's like watching a little spring of lightning crackle on the table, scorching its surface and trying--and failing--to arc toward some of the metallic objects nearby.]

[highprofilerichkid]

[That's interesting. Tony might be able to find a way to work with that.

But he still feels like he and Anton aren't quite on the same wavelength. Talking science in layman's terms is hard okay?] Um... are there sigils that can act as batteries? Can you put a sigil on a piece of technology and power it?

[gistful]

[That makes Anton pause.]

I'm not entirely sure. Many sigils which replace technology were developed before the technology came into being. I don't have a fridge, I have a coldroom whose temperature is regulated by magic. My intercom isn't a speaker system, it's a series of sigils which project my voice. Sigils are more analogous to the wiring inside a piece of eletrical technology than the batteries that power it.

It may be possible to develop something similar to what you're asking, but it would depend on what you're writing it into.

[highprofilerichkid]

The radios. I don't want to mess with this on anything more complex [- Combining arc reactor technology and mysterious magic? Ha ha, NO. There is WAY too much chance of things going wrong, catastrophically -] but if we could have radios that didn't ever have to be recharged, it would make things a lot easier on people. Nobody would have to worry about missing emergency broadcasts because their handset ran out of battery.