video;

[upshore]

[There's a man in his late 20s on the screen, and he looks tired. Not like he hasn't been sleeping well - though that, too - but like 'tired' is just generally a state of being for him. His hands are out of frame. He's going to keep it that way.]

Not to diss Raine and Heather, without whom I would be dead, and I am very grateful for their help, I've got a question. Out of curiosity, are there any doctors here? Gonna be clear here - I don’t mean maniacs with rusty shears, I don’t mean someone with a penchant for making people into unwilling human guinea pigs for whatever the fuck, I don’t mean Dr. Strangelove’s crazier Nazi cousin who’s trying to turn mental patients into batteries for nanomachines with more tubes in them than that one senator guy called the internet.

‘Cause before I let anyone come near me with so much as a stethoscope in future, I’m going to need to see some medical credentials.

[A pause, and then:]

Also, if anyone comes at me dressed as a priest, this is the only warning you’ll get that I am going to set you on fucking fire. It worked on the last guy.

Comments

[upshore]

[YOU HAVE NO FRICKIN IDEA, KID.]

Just curious, really. Like I said. Legit doctors good, crazy assholes who think they're the guy from Saw, bad.

[Aaaaaand there goes the wariness.] Yeah. I did. [If you're a nanoscientist he is going to dropkick you into the next GALAXY.

But mostly hide under beds and in lockers because that's all he fuckin does lol]

[highprofilerichkid]

...Right. That's not a big problem around here, so I think you're safe. Unless we're talking about the cultists, and you definitely have permission to set them on fire. [Pause.] ...Maybe you should steer clear of a healer named Milyn, though.

[Reassuring!

Tony, the Patron Saint of Social Obliviousness, plows ahead.]

Using people as a... power source? For nanites? [He frowns slightly.] You mean as hosts? Is that why you need a doctor? One of my specialties is nanotech, if that's what you're looking for.

tony you ass

[upshore]

Cultists? [Color him intrigued.] Also, okay. Who's this Milyn person, and why should I stay away?

[If Miles were a cat, all his fur would be puffed out right now. He looks at this kid with great wariness. He ignores the questions for now.] You specialize in nanotech? I might have some questions for you. [And only some of them will result in facepunching if you answer wrong.]

[highprofilerichkid]

Worshipers of an entity we killed a while back. They're lying low, but they're still around, and still nasty. Blood magic and death magic is their MO. Milyn is... She's a healer. But she also does, uh, research. She's not dangerous, [BLATANT LIE] just kind of... weird.

[Tony shrugs. Questionable ethics and past transgressions aside, Milyn isn't a threat to the foreigners, but it sounds like this guy has recently had some bad experiences and might not appreciate Milyn's attitude towards medical experimentation.]

What kind of questions do you have about nanotech?

[upshore]

[Miles bends his head, and there's the scratching of a pen. He's clearly writing this down.

When he's done, there's the sound of ripping paper and he holds up a scratchy rendition of the nanohazard triquetra with his left hand. He is being very careful to keep the fact that he's missing his ring finger hidden from sight.]

First of all, does this symbol mean anything to you?

[highprofilerichkid]

Nope. What is it? A corporate logo?

[upshore]

...not exactly. [It's the logo of the worst thing since...no it's a pretty shitty corporate logo basically.]

Since you say you specialize in nanotechnology, what does that extend to? I'm just trying to see how much you might be able to answer.

[NO MILES DON'T GIVE HIM A CHANCE TO ENGAGE HIS EGO]

[highprofilerichkid]

I've done plenty of work with nanoengineering and nanomaterials, especially within the fields of computing, electrical engineering, and biotech. I'm pretty solid on all the current literature, though. Whatever you want to know, I bet I can tell you.

[Tony grins.] Unless you're from the future - then you can tell me all the new stuff that's been developed.

[upshore]

I'm from September 2013. Not sure if that's the future or ancient history for you. Somehow I suspect ancient history.

Biotech, huh? [He taps his pen against the desk, thinking. He really does not want to get into any of this, but it's crucial that he finds out how irregular - okay, how unethical - Project Walrider had been.] You have some free time to meet in the next few days?

[highprofilerichkid]

2012. We should be on about the same page. I work at the College; you can come down to my lab any time. Just ask for Tony Stark and someone will show you where it is.

[Tony hopes he makes it sooner rather than later. The cagey attitude and frankly sort of unhinged rant have made him really curious what this guy knows or wants to know about nanotech.]

oh good, if he's coming off a little wackaloon, that means i'm doing it right :V

[upshore]

Sure. See you.

[And Miles makes it sooner; within a few hours he's at Tony's lab. He knocks on the door and pokes his head in.] Hey. Miles Upshur. We spoke on the consoles...?

[highprofilerichkid]

[Oh, hey, that was fast. Tony wasn't expecting him to show up this soon, so he's in the midst of some welding. He turns off the torch, pulls off the gloves, and pushes up his goggles. Welding gear and grease stains - the classic engineer look.]

Cool, come on in. Miles? Tony. Nice to meet you. What do you need?

[upshore]

[Wow. This guy really does look the part. That all doesn't look very nanotech-y, but he did say he did electrical engineering, too.]

Yeah. You asked about using people as power sources for nanites like you knew what I was talking about. You brought up hosts, too. I think you could help me shed some light on the little science project I encountered before coming here.

[highprofilerichkid]

Uh... [Sort of abrupt, but okay.] Yeah, sure. I'm not sure what you mean about using people as power sources, but I'm familiar with bio-compatible nanotech. I don't know if you have them in your world, but in my world there's an organization called SHIELD, and they had something called the Extremis program. Nanotechnology to enhance human biology. Is that the sort of thing you're talking about?

[upshore]

[Miles shakes his head.] None of that sounds familiar. And what I'm talking about is the opposite. Using people as...farms, I guess, to grow nanites. Manipulating their cells to psychosomatically produce nanites, and controlling them through a lucid dreaming state.

It sounds like bullshit, I know, but it was real enough to toss me around like an orca toying with a harp seal.

[highprofilerichkid]

Oh - manipulating cellular machinery to produce nanostructures, sure. Lucid dreaming...? That's new. So, direct mental control of an independent nanite swarm?

[Tony looks very intrigued, too caught up in the science to pay attention to the not-at-all-subtle hints that Miles is maybe not the biggest fan of nanotech.]

Sounds like pretty bleeding edge stuff. But yeah, if you had a machine to process the mental input and transmit commands to a swarm, it's definitely doable. I haven't heard of anyone in my world working on that, yet, though. I sort of have a mental interface with my nanites, but it's a totally different thing.

"bleeding edge stuff" go to time-out

[upshore]

[Sheesh. Tony is...a little bit oblivious. So, like almost everyone Miles knows when they really get into a subject. Himself included, too, probably. Still, he gets out his notebook and begins taking a few notes. His missing fingers are very much in display now, and it's clear he's still not used to it; he fumbles with the pen as he writes, trying to rest it against an index finger that isn't there anymore.]

Uh-huh, yeah. Someone was hooked up to a machine, [a fucking Death Star of medical torture,] and kept in a constant dreaming state.

[Then the rest of what Tony said catches up with him. Cue cartoon brake noise.] Your nanites?

[ABORT MISSION ABORT MISSION ABORT ABORT]

hueuehuehueuhueheh

[highprofilerichkid]

[Tony frowns, and he's about to ask for some details on just how illegal all this research was, when Miles performs an impressive physical rendition of the record scratch.]

The Extremis nanites, yeah. I was one of the... test subjects. [Sure, 'test subject,' that works. That's technically accurate and only moderately misleading.]

[upshore]

[Super illegal, Tony. The illegalest.

Again, cue record scratch. He heard that pause, Tony.] What do you mean, 'test subjects'?

[highprofilerichkid]

Um... One of the people it was tested on to see how it would work?

[Okay, yes, he's being a little bit deliberately obtuse. But come on, Miles, what kind of question is that?]

[upshore]

See, because the last 'test subjects' [it is by sheer force of will, and remembering that he does not have one index finger anymore, that he keeps from making airquotes] I saw were mutilated half to death with dormant nanites in their bloodstreams, subjected to 'therapy' [THE DESIRE TO AIRQUOTE IS STRONG] against their will. So please, please tell me you knew what you signed up for.

[highprofilerichkid]

[This interaction sure got intense fast.]

Well, I actually, uh... stole it, [Tony admits.] So did the other guy. It wasn't technically ready for human trials yet.

[upshore]

[WHAT THE HELL, DAMN GUY.]

...well, at least you did it on purpose.

So since you specialize in nanites, the ones you have...they're okay?

[highprofilerichkid]

[Situation defused...? Tony allows himself to relax slightly.]

Yeah, they work great. Even better than I thought they would. I just didn't want to die of heart failure, but now I can hack satellites with my brain.

[upshore]

[...what the hell, damn guy?]

...literally none of that is what the ones I have any experience with do. They're, uh...weapons. Murkoff, one of the biggest corporations where I come from, took Nazi science and expanded on it.

[His voice is very tightly controlled on that last sentence, but he's clenching the fist with his pen in it so tightly that if he had the strength, it might snap. Fuck the military-industrial complex, yo.]