Triumph of the Will
3rd April
09:26 GMT -5
"Ooookaaaay." Ted taps a couple of buttons on his tablet and then looks up at the… Ah, call it what it is, the stage. "Try the legs?"
Diana leans forwards, stretching her left leg straight backwards as she bends her right at the knee, her hands resting on her right thigh. She bends it a little further, then tries twisting her torso left and then right. Then she stands and bends her right leg behind her, taking hold of her right foot with her right hand.
Io looks her over. "It seems well to me, Princess. How is it to you?"
Diana lowers her right foot to the ground, then spreads her legs apart before bending to her left. "Constricting."
Io's face falls. "Which part, Princess? We can-."
"No, Io, the armor is perfect. It's simply that my normal Wonder Woman armor doesn't cover quite so much. I have become accustomed to the flow of the air across my arms and legs."
Ted starts walking in a circle around her while the motion sensors capture everything for later review. We developed this set up to try and make the computer in my power armour a bit quicker on the uptake, but Ted thought it could help with arcane armour as well. "We've only been talking about the enchantments we could put on it in the theoretical so far. Sephtian could
probably come up with.. something if it's a problem for you. Of course… We can only make the matrix
so complicated, you know? Might end up…" Head down again, he taps a few more buttons. "We could make a bunch of different versions if you can't decide."
Diana twists and throws a punch to her right, testing how far the armour can accommodate her. "Can you make me faster than a speeding bullet?"
"Top speed in the air, no problem. I mean, you'll want a helmet with a-" He waggles the tablet at his jaw. "-mouthpiece…" He turns to Io. "Io, you don't happen to have a super tough glass or something you haven't told me about, have you?"
"Would aluminium oxynitride not work just as well?"
"For the armor? Sure, but it's a synthetic material so-."
She nods. "It would interfere with the enchantments."
"Yeah." He taps his tablet again. "Maybe. We might be able to persuade the spells to just
ignore it…"
Diana stands again and looks down at Io. "How were you able to make this so quickly without Paul's help?"
"The foundries here are far more advanced than those on Themyscira, Princess. Achieving an alloy that is nearly perfect for the transmutation is apparently a simple matter."
"I wouldn't say simple, but-" Ted shrugs. "-yeah. Automating the process of making the rings for the chain was harder. We don't usually have any use for armatures that small."
"That is why the armor I made for the guards on Themyscira makes no use of chain. Without the knowledge of enchanting Sephtian shared it would have taken until the end of the universe for me to transmute all of the links that would require."
"How do you feel about the design?" Ted points to her with his tablet. "We could stick some stars on the skirt if you start missing them."
"No, that won't be necessary." She rises slightly into the air, then drifts down from the stage. "The design is perfect. The armor is beautiful." Io beams, blushing slightly. Ted grins. "I am almost afraid to be struck while wearing it in case it becomes damaged."
Ted nods. "Just because you
can take the hits, doesn't mean you
have to."
"Who else do you plan to make such armor for?"
"Small wrinkle there.
"
Ted pulls a face. "Y-
eah."
Diana looks at me. "What is it?"
"Senator Clyemne's been agitating again. Currently, we're not supposed to manufacture suits for any military organisation, which.. because Themyscira doesn't separate the military guards from police guards, includes the police.
"
"She doesn't have the authority to order that."
"It's covered by existing laws about supplying military equipment. We can make it for the Justice League, or other Amazons… Which means we can make some for Kon, Donna or
me… Unless Lyta Trevor-Hall feels like coming out of retirement.
"
"That seems unlikely."
"And then we run into a bit of a roadblock. Themyscira doesn't trade with the outside world, so we can't pay them for the right to sell it. Or, we can, but they've got no use for the money. Giving potentially hostile countries better armour does
technically weaken Themyscira's defence… This isn't something where I can just persuade my fellow citizens not to demand that I stop, this is… They'd have to actively change the law to make this possible. And I'm not that popular yet.
"
"Do you want me to try speaking on your behalf?"
I shake my head.
"No, thank you.
"
Ted raises his right hand. "I wouldn't mind, actually. Oh, I'm not-" He turns his head to me. "-complaining, or anything. Kord Tech's share price doubled within a day of us announcing the weather control drones and our order book is packed, so this whole thing hasn't been a drain on our assets. But I'd like to know this is going to get
used by more than a handful of people. Otherwise, I just-" He shrugs. "-feel like I'm kinda wasting my time."
"But it's not just
this. I want Amazons to embrace the best of the modern world. Otherwise, we're going to have to fight them on every little thing. I mean, we're not even allowed to mass produce the purple healing ray.
It's a gun that shoots life.
"
"A
Nazi gun that shoots life."
"Also.
" I turn to Diana.
"Bit annoyed you didn't tell me about that thing earlier.
"
Io walks around to join us as Diana shakes her head. "I didn't know that she had a working version in her workshop. Otherwise, I would have brought it to America myself."
"Okay, that.. makes sense.
" I return my attention to Ted.
"And who knows what else they've got squirreled away where no one will ever hear about it.
"
"Princess? We have a purple healing ray here if you wish to use it on your arms."
Diana shakes her head. "Thank you, Io, but that will not be necessary. The wounds will be gone by tomorrow, and until then they serve as a useful reminder that I am
not invulnerable. Paul: how do you plan on convincing our countrywomen to change the habits of three thousand years?"
"Wait until next September? Once the births start I don't think it'll be all that hard to convince people that I'm on the right track. Until then, I still think that increasing familiarity is the way to go. We need more arcane smiths anyway.
"
Io nods. "I have had three present themselves to me for training, though it will be months before they are ready."
I nod.
"But… Then they'd either have to come
here or we'd have to set up a modern foundry on Themyscira an
nnd I know that's a non-starter. We
could trade suits to the guard in exchange for letting us sell some
here. That just requires me to convince Philippus, and I should be able to do
that.
"
Io looks thoughtful. "Perhaps if we focused more on the mithril type instead? The weight of orichalcum might be more difficult for those who do not share the Princess' strength and stamina. The guard does not use it and the metal is generally considered inferior for weaponry."
"Maybe some of your senators could visit us here?" Ted looks around the workshop. "We do sometimes show politicians around when we're competing for major orders. Io got pretty excited when she saw what we'd be working with-."
"
Theodore!" Io glares at him indignantly.
"You
did. And Paul.. said most Amazons have tried just about every profession sometime. Maybe it'll work for them?"
Diana nods in approval. "I am glad that you have it so well in hand."
