Super Robot Quest G

"Good afternoon, Dr. Dinym!" Marcus watched in fascination as within a split second, the hologram of a young woman materialized over Boris's desk terminal. She was stylized in the same Defense Force uniform that was so ubiquitous among the Engineering noncombatant staff, albeit personalized in red colors with white highlights. But for the fact that she was a complex computer program bound together with code algorithms working in unison, she appeared very much the spitting image of the typical young woman down the street some of the young lads would pine over. "My name is Katarina, it's a pleasure to meet you!"

"A pleasure, lass," Marcus replied, nodding his head respectfully. "I heard…some rumblings about one of your fellows from Erika, but it's quite something to meet one myself. Tell me, what is your job here?"

"I'm the administrative assistant program across the whole campus." Multiple screens expanded around Katarina's avatar, showcasing different parts of the facilities – and were all in real time as far as Marcus could discern. "Anytime anyone on base needs assistance, or if there are specific projects that need my help, I'm there!"

"Are there…others like you?" Marcus asked. It didn't escape his notice that Boris was standing off to the side, beaming like a proud father. Or a protective father. The man's posture was both rigid and yet relaxed all at once, as if he was trying not to hover over his daughter's presence too much (which was ironic, given that Katarina was very much the one hovering in this mangled metaphor).

"My sisters are here as well!" Katarina exclaimed, with enough bubbly energy that Marcus could bloody well swear that rainbows and flowers would start glittering around her at any moment. "I can't wait for you to meet them!"

She paused – then her smile grew a bit more strained. "Just be aware that we all have our own personalities, they're not all like me."

"How so?"

"Well…you'll find out!"

---

"So…like, I could give you a map if you wanted directions?"

"That would be helpful, lass," Marcus agreed, "thank you."

"It would? I mean, of course it would! Great!"

SAI-02 – Melinda – was an immediate proof of truth to Katarina's words. Where Katarina was bubbly, cheerful, and helpful, Melinda appeared awkward, fidgety, and almost nervous, all while her processes were running at veritable mad minutes. Where Katarina's hair was neat and flowed with uniformity, Melinda's was frizzy and frazzled, her glasses gleaming in digital light. "So, we could get you directions – oh! Ooh! You probably want to go the Engineering Bay, right?" Additional informative windows began to appear hanging around Marcus's head.

"Well, yes, but-"

Another window soon formed next to his head. "So then I can find the optimal route for you to sidestep all the traffic-!"

"Now, hang on-"

Now a score more were starting to materialize. "-but you might want to see some of the stuff, so maybe I could route you also past Xenotechnology-"

"Really, now, lass, there is-"

"-time for more things, I know! So how about I give you some more information just in case-!"

"Boris, help!" At least, Marcus was reasonably certain that Ignatov was still out there beyond the swirling prison of informative holo windows-!

---

"-I told you you were putting too much damned power through the primary drive, Clown!"

"Well, how the hell else are you supposed to get propulsion in this damned thing, Shorty!?"

"Maybe if you actually wired the generator instead of stuffing more batteries into there? You can't just make every system independent, that's wasteful!"

"Yeah, sure. Or maybe all that power draw is just gonna make the damned thing explode mid-flight!"

Marcus very much felt like he was being shepherded through different extremes. From the manic energy of Melinda to the dour and cantankerous personality belonging to Lana, the Engineers' Super AI personality. Long, unkempt hair framed a woman wearing dirty engineering fatigues, her own face smeared with a facsimile of oil grease and soot – all while staring down the nephew of Dr. Rin Yukimura - and appearing just as irate as the man she was currently engaged in a blueprint standoff over.

Yet Marcus watched in fascination as a new copy of the blueprint designs appeared to the side, with parts of the designs being rewired and recalculated in real-time. "What I'm saying is that you can take those independent systems, but stagger them around the main generator, see? That way, you have redundancy-"

"Oooooh. Wait, what if we did it like this then?" Jiro Yukimura's hands began to reassemble the power assembly unit of the strange, dart-like device they were working on. "Think we could add in an emergency siphon unit? That way, if it loses power, it can draw from the main unit in a pinch-"

"Too tiny for a Block. Cube? Whatever, Faedium isn't small enough for this yet-"

"Good to think about, though. What if we-?"

Marcus never interrupted their brainstorming. Yet with both arms crossed behind the back of his waist, he continued to be escorted by Dr. Ignatov, a thoughtful expression on his face.

---

"It can be a little exhausting, if I'm honest." Ivanna appeared as tired as she seemed to sound. Appearing like a young woman and appearing very much like the many young interns run ragged in university while trying to write their own theses, Ivanna looked as if she had slight bags under her eyes. She appeared to be dressed in the scientific uniform of personnel found in Earth Union facilities, a small beret tucked atop her head, and with long brown hair framing her back.

"I have heard that Doctors Carlson and Brand can be…challenging," Marcus opted to say in sympathy. "Are they quite so bad?"

"What-? Oh, no, no," Ivanna tried to laugh off, waving her hands frantically. "No, it's not them. I'm used to their quirks by now."

"Then what…?"

"It's how they break the laws of physics."

The transition from cheerful young woman to the low tone of the blunt delivery took Marcuss off guard. "I have all of the libraries of the assembled nation-states of the world, and Unity Station, about how things should and shouldn't work." The digital air around Ivanna started to take on a sinister bluish hue, even as the exhausted smile never left her face. Yet her eyes were matching the very same hue. "I could even account for the impossibilities of kaiju physiology as a new field of study! But there are some projects which I cannot disclose that have decided that they can simply break the most fundamental laws of physics, and that. Greatly. Upsets. Me."

Marcus turned to Boris with a worried look, yet the older engineer didn't seem to be concerned. In fact, he had an amused look on his face as Ivanna, never once losing her composure, continued to vent about having to balance the many personalities that clashed within the department, or how her predictive algorithms or mathematical models seemed to do very little in the face of the impossibility of super robots.

Marcus decided right then and there that he wouldn't tell her about his own research. It might have upset her more.

---

"-and that's how we tracked down those smugglers!"

"You know you don't have to brag, Adrinna."

"C'mon, Diana! I don't get to tell this story enough to someone new!"

The last two personalities shown to Marcus were…well, comparatively normal. If a bit much. He had remembered how Erika described a computer program who was 'adorable, once you accept she's the annoying younger sister who latches onto you.' Once Adrianna had found out that he worked with Erika, he had immediately been dubbed 'a cool guy' and the uniformed young woman with the short bob cut of hair and a permanent grin on her face wouldn't stop hanging around him.

In contrast, Diana was far and away the most normal. Similarly short-cut hair (albeit blonde) and a similar uniform in the fashion similar to the Defense Forces. Yet she held herself rigidly, her hands clasped behind her back as she simulated walking alongside Marcus and Boris, her own statements far more matter of fact and to the point. Charlie would get along with this one, if nothing else.

"You both have interacted with people outside of the Institute quite often," Marcus ventured. "Do you find it odd or uncomfortable at all?"

"Nope!" Adrianna's answer was immediate. "Super easy! They let me talk my piece and don't interrupt me too!"

"Mostly because you bowl them over by being you, Adrianna," Diana said dryly. "My answer: it can be a little challenging. I never know when people might react…poorly to me being an AI." Diana's head lowered, deeper in thought. "So far, they have been accepting, but I don't know if everyone will react that way."

"And they likely won't, child," Boris said gently. "It's not suspicion you're feeling, it is caution and wariness. Not everyone will react well to what you are – but you must win them over with who you are."

"But we're awesome, doctor!" Adrianna pouted as she floated over to Ignatov's shoulder. "No one else can do what we do!"

"And that is why people may fear you," Boris said sadly. "But it is my hope that you all will be treated the same way as anyone else – as people."

---

"Well. I think I've made up my mind."

Boris looked at his guest curiously. He had been preparing to show him more, but it seemed that the engineer had decided to end the tour here. "Truly? And your thoughts?"

"The MMI and…whatever means you use to create an AI," Marcus said slowly. "Either would help the Valiant immensely. Having both would drastically change Valiant for the better." He exhaled. "I know I'm asking the dragon's share of things, but if we could possibly get both…well, I imagine Charlie will get on his knees and praise the glory of governmental investment."

"We don't need to go that far," Boris replied hastily. "But we will honor the minimum of the bargain called…shall we follow up next month?"

"Likely for the best, aye." As they walked towards the landing bay, Marcus Dinym's eyes stared down again towards the mechanical bodies conducting work below. His eyes had immediately locked onto the dull green form of Ichiro as he was holding a piece of equipment in place, long enough for one of the new Golems to do something with its wiring. He appeared to be straining against the load slightly, all while grinning and shoving back when the load didn't threaten to unbalance him.

"Rather lifelike," Marcus muttered. But then he turned back to the dropship. "Be seeing you, Boris. We'll stay in touch."

Also, while I'm at it: I had some additional artwork commissioned. All of the following artwork is credited to a new artist I commissioned, 'ZZTheDark'

I will get these uploaded to their profiles at a later date.