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The Good Life: Momentum (ch. 68)
🕑 Added 2024-11-15 15:55:03 +0000 UTC“La da ah-ah-ah,” I sang under my breath, humming a song that I didn't know the name of as I pieced together two parts of a contraption. Another invention that I had started playing around with in the aftermath of my rather successful debut to high society. It was just the first step in many more to come, but I had put my best foot forward and the results were already paying off.
I was granted a scholarship to the university, as well as a personal workshop that I could use. I'm not sure if it was the case for all colleges, but the school also acted as a sponsor of sorts. I got food, I attended classes, and I got a place to live and work -- all in exchange for advancing my ‘craft.’ Every year, I’d have to prove that I was worth the investment of resources that were put into me. I could either invent something new or make notable progress on a more long form project.
“Do do dadada,” I continued to hum, screwing the two parts together, all the while my Amp-Room fed me information. It was cheating, honestly. I had taken to exploring what my Amp-Rooms could do -- there was the combat applications that I had already tested against Sukuna. But there were more mundane applications that I was finding pretty useful. Such as the one I had around my workshop.
The Amp-Room was set up to feed me highly detailed information about the inner workings of everything within the Room. In function, it acted as high-end monitoring equipment that would tell me not only if something didn't work, but why it didn't work. Before I started adding the brain juice of others to my noggin, the information would have slid right off of my brain that had simply been too aerodynamic for it to sink into.
But, after harvesting a half dozen people over the past three months, my aerodynamic brain had developed a few wrinkles. Now I was able to perfectly and precisely utilize the information that the Room was giving me to fine tune the invention.
“Ba ba lalala,” I continued right up until I heard a knock at the door. “It's open,” I said, glancing in a mirror I had set up to let me look behind me. The biggest drawback to the Amp-Rooms was the fact that I was very much used to knowing just about everything in my area. So cutting that off felt like I was getting rid of one of my senses.
Which left me relying wholly on my Haki and more mundane means of keeping myself aware of my surroundings.
The door swung open, revealing Asami. She looked right at home in this new world once she’d had a chance to settle in. She wore a form fitting blouse with a vest over it, tight fitting pants and boots, with an entire toolbox worth of tools slotted in two leather belts loops around her waist. Her gaze flickered to the blueprints that I had hanging up -- I didn't mind. Half of them were based on her designs.
“It's been three months, Law. The portal to El Dorado should have enough power to connect,” Asami said, crossing her arms as she leaned against the closed door.
“Hm. So it has been,” I remarked, leaning back as I held my little contraption aloft. It was a much smaller version of Mr. Handy, able to fit into the palm of my hand. “How are we looking on sustaining the portal?”
“No chance of that, yet,” Asami replied, and I knew she wasn't lying because I reviewed the numbers myself. “The delay between openings has been reduced to just two months, but we'll need to more than triple our power output before we can even think of sustaining the portal.”
Entirely expected, honestly. Provided that the estimations had held strong without too many delays, El Dorado should be supporting the portal with a solar grid from solar panels that were looted from the Old World. In another six months after that, El Dorado would have a nuclear power plant of Fallout's design since it was vastly more efficient, if requiring specific equipment to build.
“Is that your way of asking me if I've managed to convince Councilor Mel to let me build a fusion plant?” I asked, activating the Mini-Handy to watch the spider legs unfurl, the eye stalks elongate, and the attachments cycle. All miniature versions of the real thing, but the Mini-Handy was specialized in detail work. Ideally working in groups of a dozen, they could maintain the spots that a Mr. Handy couldn't reach.
They would be sold separately, of course, but by the end of the year, a second version of Mr. Handy will be released that could act as a carrier for the smaller Handys.
I didn't even need the mirror to see Asami's scowl, “I suppose it is.”
“Hate to disappoint, but she is getting stonewalled by the other council members. Too many of them are invested in fissure mining, or the results of it,” I said, leaning back in my chair to look at Asami directly. Honestly, the whole thing was a tale as old as capitalism -- it was just like the big oil companies back home dragging nuclear power through the mud to kill it as an alternative power source. I could still remember the commercials about terrorists flying a plane into a nuclear power plant, decrying them as unsafe.
All bullshit, naturally. But people were stupid. It didn't help that there were genuine nuclear disasters like Chernobyl that they could point to.
“And you expect me to believe you're leaving it be?” Asami questioned, her annoyance leaking out in her tone and I had to fight a smile. She never confronted me head on about it, never really mentioned it at all, but I knew that my success was irritating the fuck out of her.
“Never said I was, but it's not like we can construct the plant under their noses,” I pointed out. “If you'd let me do things my way, then I'd already have the roadblock removed, you know.”
The look that Asami gave me told me exactly what she thought of that, so I gave a dismissive shrug. “It's in both our interests, you know. It could be Vought's big break! Could you at least pretend that you'll think about it?”
“I'm not that good of a liar,” Asami needled. But, that's all she did.
Honestly, I was finding Asami's silence more alarming than her words. We were three months into this little game of ours. I made decent strides in my goals -- I made a few connections, and with Vought, our products were selling like hotcakes. Asami got scouted as well, so it was hardly like she was idle. It was just…
I was expecting a sucker punch by now. Something big, decisive, and painful. Something that would force me on the defensive, scrambling to recover while she pounced on the opportunity to cut me off at the knees. Instead, I was left… waiting.
And that was starting to worry me a bit.
“Fair enough, I suppose. When are we opening the portal?” I said, setting my Mini-Handy down on my desk where it curled up into a ball. Pushing my chair back, I stood up and stretched. My back popped like a machine gun and a low groan escaped me. Dismissing the Amp-Room, I replaced it with a normal Room that allowed my awareness to expand across the campus once more. “Because I have a meeting with Jayce and Viktor.”
The reminder tweaked her nose a bit, annoying her but she hid her annoyance rather well. I wasn't sure if she was aware that I could sense emotions or not, but I didn't feel a need to inform her.
“Congratulations,” Asami replied drily. “And if you paid any attention to the briefing, then you'd know that it's up to us to initiate the connection. Today is just the first day it's available to connect.”
“Might as well do it now. I'm done here,” I said, rolling my shoulders and feeling a lot looser. Even with my Amp-Room, there was a lot sitting at a desk and tinkering to put up with. “To our office, then?” I said, offering an arm and a charming grin that only grew when Asami rolled her eyes and ignored the offer. She really was too much fun to tease.
We made our way through the halls that had rapidly become familiar over the past three months. Both Asami and I had landed a scholarship, and we made full use of it. Thanks to some of the local rising stars burning out, courtesy of me, our stars shone that much brighter even if Jayce still outshone us. The result was that when people saw us stalking through the halls, they gave us a berth to avoid getting in our way.
It was fun. My high school experience had been pretty lackluster, all things considered. I had resigned myself to a mundane existence, so I just kept my head down for the majority of it. I figured that my life would get better after I graduated. I was right, just not in the ways I imagined. So, it was a little fun being the big dog on campus.
“Have your eye on anyone?” I asked Asami, making small talk.
“And let you shamelessly steal from them? I think not,” Asami muttered under her breath. I just chuckled, unbothered by the accusation because it was absolutely true. Asami was wise enough to keep her own work well out of range of my Room, which was why our joint workshop was only occupied by me. Others weren't so lucky. Even if I didn't steal their knowledge, I could and did steal their designs.
“The only thing that matters is the company's bottom line- ohh, do you think we could create a stock market? That'd be entertaining,” I mused. There was a proto form of Wallstreet already around where you bought shares of trade voyages. It was a big money maker for those that had the money to risk. I would know since I was one of them.
“Would it kill you to not make a world actively worse with your mere presence?” Asami groused, her annoyance climbing. I was pretty glad that we were out of the ‘Hate your guts but too polite to say as much’ phase. I liked Asami a lot more when she was being honest.
“Considering the bet, probably,” I replied with a shrug. To that, Asami had nothing to say as we loaded up into a mechanized carriage -- it wasn't a car, not really. But it was a weird step between a horse pulled carriage and a proper engine. It was more of a massive wind up toy functionally.
As always, the rides with Asami were filled with a profoundly sullen silence as we made our way through the busy streets. Overhead, I caught a glimpse of the Spire sending another ship halfway across the world. It had been in constant use since it was unveiled three months ago and the changes that it brought were starting to reveal themselves. More people were drifting to Piltover, the docks for both air and sea ships were starting to overflow, and new things from foreign lands were starting to pop up in greater numbers in the markets.
I was lucky to arrive when I did. We’d arrived at the start of a new tomorrow for the city, and I did my best to channel my inner Stan Edgar. I don't think I was doing it as well as he would have, but I was learning and I was learning fast.
The main building of Vought, our start up company, was located on the fringes of Piltover, near the river where bridges marked the border between the upper and lower city. It was originally a warehouse that we’d repurposed into a production facility. Getting out of the carriage and pushing the doors open, I was greeted by working conditions very reminiscent of a time before labor protection laws were a thing. The main floor was a furnace that heated raw ore, a foundry that poured it into molds, then an assembly line of children that fitted pieces together.
I probably would have gone full on oil baron if it was just me, but Asami saw that everyone got a fair wage. The child labor was primarily to get them off the streets because Zaun had a massive problem with not only the homeless, but in particular homeless children. It was basically London in the Victorian Era down there, with conditions so bad it made my own childhood seem like a dream in comparison.
“Mr. Trafalgar, Ms. Sato,” I was greeted by one particular child -- blonde hair and bright blue eyes, wearing what amounted to a pair of overalls and a shirt with a jacket over it. She was around eleven years old, based on what my Room told me, but growing up hungry made her seem younger. “I have the projection reports that you asked for.”
“Thank you, Tanya,” I said, taking the folder that was filled with articulate graphs, diagrams, and a flow list of numbers. “Articulate as always. Good job,” I said, patting her on the head.
I took Robin's advice and started to recruit amongst the locals. Tanya was a rather surprising case, though. As far as I could tell, she was a genius that just needed a lucky break that I was more than happy to give her.
“No, thank you, Mr. Trafalgar,” Tanya replied dutifully. “Our current projections are on track, and we are getting demand. However, I have noticed that morale has started to flag after so many twelve hours shifts. I've put forth a written recommendation for a pizza party to show that we, the company, appreciate our valued employees.” Sounded like she just wanted to have some pizza and was justifying it, but I respected the hustle.
“Request approved,” I said, making a smile curl Tanya’s lips. “Round up the kids during their lunch break. I'll arrange the delivery. Now, Ms. Sato and I are heading to the back room.”
Tanya nodded, and I'm almost certain that she thought that Asami and I were fucking. “I’ll ensure that you aren't disturbed.”
Giving the girl one more head pat, the two of us moved on. I could sense Asami’s annoyance next to me, but she didn't want to say anything disparaging about Tanya while she was in earshot. I could understand her reservations, though. Some might call it ill-advised to have an eleven year old girl act as a supervisor over other children. They might even call it a bad idea.
Shows what they knew. Tanya knew her stuff and until she messed up in a spectacular way, I was content to let her flourish. A big part of being a hot shot CEO was finding and nurturing talent that could then push forward my company's agenda. Probably. I was kinda making it all up as I was going along.
Stepping into the backroom where our offices were, I created a Room and revealed why we had chosen this location as our base.
Yoruichi had known exactly what to look for and she chose well. The building was located on top of an old, long since abandoned fissure cavern. Essentially giving us a secret basement that was located a solid fifty feet below the factory. Making it perfect since I was the only one that could get us to and from it.
The cavern was illuminated with lights, all connected to a fusion generator. A beefy one that was in turn connected to a grid of six others that were in turn connected to the Anchor. It was barely a fraction of a fraction of what we needed to power the Anchor from our side. Honestly, what we needed was a fusion plant that could easily sustain the power demand for Piltover and the Undercity five times over.
As Asami went to do the system checks and start up, I brought down Yoruichi when she arrived inside of my Room. She had also taken to the local fashion -- tight pants, tall boots that ended at her mid thigh, and a frilly blouse under a too small vest. There was a smirk on her lips, “Your range has expanded again.”
It had. Since my discovery of the Amp-Room, it had inspired me to focus on an aspect of my power that I had largely ignored -- the Rooms themselves. Up until recently, my focus was spent on mastering what I could do within the Rooms. Controlling the elements, manipulating feelings, harvesting the knowledge of others. Now, as infrequent as my training was these days, I focused on manipulating the Rooms -- trying to change their sizes, increase my range, manipulate what was inside without being within the Room itself.
I hadn't made much progress yet, but a by-product was my Room's range had expanded by leaps and bounds.
“I haven't been slacking,” I replied, putting a finger to my lips. That was another card I didn't want Asami to know I had up my sleeve. “How about you?”
“It hurts you have to ask,” Yoruichi replied, giving me a playful pout. “I don't see Robin here. Maybe you should ask her if she's been slacking instead.”
“Sad to say it, but Robin can't be seen giving such blatant favoritism,” I sighed. It had taken some work, but with a little leverage, a synth, and Robin herself being a rather quick study, she had landed a job as a teachers assistant. The university employing her on a trial basis to feel her out before offering a more permanent role.
“Hmph. Well, in my case, we've been busy. Sukuna has been playing with his food a little too much with the Slickjaws, but as far as I can tell Silco is willing to let them sink or swim.” Yoruichi shrugged and I chuckled at that. “It's been useful, in any case. Lets me see who is plucking what thread and where they lead to. Between that, and my Goonies, we're rock solid in the Undercity. Just waiting to take the next step.”
What that step was, I wasn't entirely sure yet. What I did know was that Silco was apparently the center of the spiderweb down in the Undercity, in a real ‘All roads lead to Rome’ kind of way. It was enough to rouse my interest a bit, but I hadn't decided what I wanted done with the man yet. Largely because he hadn't shown his hand, which would determine if he would be entertainment or an obstacle.
“Hmmm… and how is Sukuna?” I asked, already sensing the answer.
“He's pretty happy playing god, but he won't admit it to you. You found a real tsundere. You know, they're calling him ‘The Cannibal?’” She said with a cocked eyebrow, and she was answered with a shrug.
“Everyone needs a hobby,” I said. As it was, I couldn't afford to have a direct connection with Sukuna. Him eating people would be a black mark against me if others discovered it. I'm almost certain that Asami was looking for an opportunity to connect me to the ‘Goonies’ as Yoruichi had taken to calling her organization.
Yoruichi just snorted, accepting the answer for what it was -- I didn't particularly care who or what Sukuna ate. He wasn't a toddler at risk of choking on some legos, so there was no need for me to watch who he decided to stuff in his mouth.
A second later, the cavern became filled with a familiar hum and both Yoruichi and I approached the Anchor. The wind up took a bit longer now that the distance had grown, but after thirty seconds, the portal sparked to life over the Anchor. The Vault was there on the other side, with some familiar faces to greet us.
“Cinder,” I greeted her, watching as Cinder strutted past Asami with hardly a glance with Starlight right behind her. “How was your vacation?”
“Rather dull, but relaxing,” Cinder all but purred, closing the distance and pressing her lips to mine. She moaned into the kiss, pressing her body against mine fir a long few seconds before pulling back. “I'm ready to get back to work.” I could tell Asami was watching us out of the corner of her eye as she approached Cate to get her own status report.
“Hm. In that case, how would you feel about a little bit of undercover work?” I asked, resting my hand on Cinder's lower back.
She smiled, but I could tell that the thought didn't appeal. “I would relish the chance, but such a thing would be better served to your gift.” Cinder said, pivoting to look at Starlight. Her gaze was to the floor, and at least she was dressed in actual clothes this time. “It took me a nearly two years, but I finally broke her in enough. Isn't that right, Annie?”
“That's right, mistress,” Star-no, Annie voiced, not looking up.
I felt… disappointed. There was a point in time that I had honestly expected something from Annie. She had joined the Seven, but Cinder got her hooks into her almost on day one and they’d only sunk deeper since, dragging her down to this wretched state.
It was something of a conundrum, I realized. I rather liked corrupting people like Annie, like Taylor, but what I liked most is how they resisted. How they twisted their justifications. If Taylor had broken like Annie had…
“Hmm,” I hummed, hiding my disappointment with Annie. That aside, I did rather appreciate the gesture.
Cinder was all too happy to brag, “She was a rather stubborn girl, but just as I broke her down, I have built her back up. She exists to serve you in mind, body, and soul.”
“I appreciate it, Cinder,” I told her, giving her an affectionate squeeze. It didn't really alter the plan that much. Despite her wretched state, Annie had experience essentially acting as a secretary for Cinder. I imagine working for Mel wouldn't be anywhere near as difficult. To that end, it did open up a question of what exactly I should do with Cinder.
But, I'm certain I could find just the thing for her.
…
The portal was open for twenty four hours, so I made the most of that time. The first thing I did was gather up a number of excess engineers, scientists, and technicians that had been purchased at the slave markets. I had them hooked up quietly in the basement, their knowledge being drained while I railed Taylor for the three hours that it took to harvest the knowledge. It would have to be drip fed into my brain, as I had learned the hard way with Japanese that taking in too much info all at once leads to some serious pain. Probably a stroke if I wasn't careful.
The knowledge would be invaluable to me when it came to understanding fusion energy and how to develop the electronics that Fallout had. Yoruichi helped smuggle it through the portal as it wasn't as easy as dropping a shipping container through the portal without anyone noticing anymore.
We got a basic report on everything that had happened over the three months which could best be summarized as a whole lot of nothing. Taylor continued to secure her grip on the Commonwealth while dealing with fringe threats like The Deep. Soldier Boy had apparently emerged victorious over the Capital Wasteland, but he was staying in his territory for now. No robot rebellion either.
However, Shaun was more than happy to accept the dozen barrels of Shimmer that Sukuna had procured. After an initial test, he was quite hopeful that it could be the key to fusing Compound V with the FEV.
Also, with the farms in El Dorado up and running with the untainted soil, the food issue was firmly behind us. As was the water shortage. From what I heard, Nora was doing her job well in uniting the tribes of the Americas and preparing for an inevitable invasion into Cuba to deny the colonial powers a forwarding base. I also heard that her pregnancy was coming along quite well.
I got an update from Cate as well about Asami's orders and moves. I had hoped to find a smoking gun of some kind, but there was a whole lot of nothing there either. She was making moves, of course, but nothing that hinted at what exactly her plan was.
But, overall, there was nothing in Fallout that needed my direct attention so I was quick to turn my attention elsewhere. Which was why I found myself stepping out of a carriage before one of the universities towers -- it was a workshop that was dedicated to the heavy hitters of the University. The best and brightest students, the teachers, and even Dean Heimerdinger himself. The workshops were divided up by floors, with my destination being the top floor.
Even with a passing glance, much less my awareness with my Room, the security of the workshops were on a whole other level. If the regular university was a state research lab, then the tower was Area 51 in comparison.
So, I accepted a frisk down and an armed escort that followed me into the building and took me directly to the workshop I was invited to. If I was anyone else, I wouldn't be able to get so much of a hint as to what was being developed beyond the doors. But, as it was, almost all of it was too high profile for me to steal and pass off as my own work.
After a knock on the door to the top floor, the double doors opened revealing a wide open space. The top floor was a singular workshop that was broken up into smaller pieces, largely for private projects and collaborative works. Standing at the center of the room were two familiar faces.
“Law! Glad to finally have you here,” Jayce exclaimed, approaching with a friendly grin and offering a hand to shake. “Sorry that it took so long. It's the red tape. Hextech is important to the future of Piltover, so the Council gets pretty twitchy about who gets close to its development.”
Shaking his hand, I matched his smile. “No need to be sorry. Honestly, it was probably for the better. I doubt I would have been able to divide my attention between this and my other project.”
It was then that the other man in the room spoke, “Vought, was it?” Viktor said, leaning on a crutch. “I've heard good things. And that you partnered with… Asami Sato, was it?” Oh, she was going to be so pissed. I kinda loved it.
Asami had her pride. She hid it well, but I could only imagine how much it pissed her off knowing that I was considered a greater inventor than her.
“Right on both marks. There was a large overlap when it comes to our designs, but we specialize in different fields -- so, a partnership seemed beneficial for us both.” That was the story Asami had spun, and I didn't see any reason to contradict it. “This way neither of us have to worry about funding.”
To that, Viktor chuckled. “That is a concern that we are all most used to.”
“Honestly, it's the best part of Hextech. We get as close to as an unlimited budget as we can get,” Jayce agreed. “And, speaking of Hextech, I imagine you're pretty curious about what you're here for?”
Jayce wore a boyish grin -- like he was a giant kid that was eagerly awaiting an opportunity to show something off. So, I obliged him, “With bated breath,” I replied drily, making his grin grow larger.
He sent a nod to Viktor, who took over the explanation while Jayce vanished behind a door to retrieve something. “With the Spire completed, the council has given us a directive to stabilize Hextech. Or, rather, the mana crystals that power it. Their concerns are primarily security -- the Spire itself is one bad earthquake away from a truly spectacular explosion.”
Jayce reappeared carrying a box, “The mana crystals are low yield explosive when they're disrupted too much.” As he spoke, he unveiled what was within the box and I got my first good look at it.
Magic.
The mana crystals were around the size of those rubber balls you got out of a coin machine, colored a vibrant blue while the surface was cracked and uneven. What they appeared as in my Room however, was far more interesting.
Mana was everywhere in this world. It was in the air, in the cobblestones and the metal. It was in people too, but so far I hadn't seen anyone that could actually use the mana within them to produce magic. Each of these stones was that same mana taking a physical form, so concentrated that it became tangible. Which, in turn, gave that weird static feeling of magic within my Room a sensation to ground itself in. After all, you could hardly describe color to the blind. Sound to the deaf. Taste to the tasteless.
“Our next big development with Hextech is exactly what you're doing with fusion technology -- portable devices that can be put in the hands of people to make their lives easier,” Jayce continued while Viktor inclined his head to me.
“Ordinarily, we would be more… judicious with who sees our projects, but your initiatives in the Undercity show us that you have the same goal. To use our technology to make people's lives better.” Viktor said, sounding oddly hopeful.
I… probably shouldn't tell Asami that her insistence on charity had ended up doing me a solid. Or maybe I should?
“The first step is stabilization. Refining the mana crystals so they don't explode the moment someone drops them, but after that…” Jayce finished, his gaze seeing a far off future. My gaze flickered between the two of them, a slow smile spreading across my face that I didn't even have to fake.
Idealists. The two of them were idealists. And in me, they found what they thought was a kindred spirit.
In response, I plucked the mana crystal from its holding place, feeling the sensation of static dance across my fingers. There was only one thing that I could say to that.
“Let's get started then.”
