[ ] Upgrade AI
DC 325
After seeing what Syndrome managed at Vegas, and the contents of the Palladium Chip, you have come to the conclusion... that you know way less about AI than you think you do. Seriously, even with the breakthroughs you've made in the field, Sinatron was running laps around your best work. Norm may be a real swell guy, but there's no chance he could ever pull off something like that. It's possible you could still make some sort of advance in AI, but until you sort through everything you gained from the Sands gala, you've got no idea.
[ ] Decode odd transmissions
DC 200
You've detected some odd and nigh-incomprehensible transmissions coming from up north. It's quite possible that it's just the massive heaps of garbage interfering with Canadian radio transmissions, but it's also likely that someone's trying to send you another coded message! None of your inators are able to make the slightest dent into decryption, so you're going to have to do things the old fashioned way…
(Reward: ???)
[ ] Develop a flying car
DC 50 (decreased by Flubber)
Flying cars have been mankind's dream ever since The Jetsons aired! You'll need to update the designs a little so they don't look like they crawled out of a Kronos factory, and probably bribe a few senators to pass legislation allowing the things. Oh, and since you didn't grab it from Kronos, you'll still have to develop the technology.
(Reward: General fame and income, slight government disapproval, ???)
[ ] Form a think tank
DC 120
L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N. just isn't cutting it anymore. Collect a large number of more reliable scientists to throw at the great and pressing questions of the age; or just whatever you want them to look into.
(Reward: Unlocks a second Learning action per turn; reveals Head Researcher council position)
[ ] Research human genetics
DC 80 (Reduced by MG acquisition)
You've made good progress with dinosaurs, but it might not hurt to start investigating the human genome as well. All sorts of genetics startup companies are trying to crack it, because being able to understand and rewrite human DNA on the fly would be invaluable! Just think of all the potential experiments and projects you could get to once you breach the subject.
(Reward: New research unlocked)
[ ] Research silphium
DC 90
This wondrous herb has been extinct for centuries… everywhere except Drusselstein, that is. According to some ancient literature the uses for this thing are innumerable, ranging from the culinary to the pharmaceutical. Unfortunately you've got no idea where to begin given that most of the literature on the thing is older than many modern nations. Get your scientists cracking to see if they can figure out how to best use it!
(Rewards: new research unlocked, ???, ???)
[ ] Research resiniferatoxin
DC 90
The 'geniuses' over at Bueno Nacho had the bright idea to use this chemical to produce a hot sauce definitely unfit for human consumption. Seriously, the thing can start to corrode metal on contact. There are all sorts of potential applications for this stuff though, from non-lethal ways to take someone out to potential painkillers! Just… don't put it on ground beef.
(Rewards: New research unlocked, bonus to martial rolls involving attacks in Doofania)
[ ] Research Fusion Power
DC 105
Now that you've exhausted the possibility of lesser power sources, you think it's finally time to go for the golden goose. Fusion power could theoretically provide you with vast amounts of energy, but the concept is barely out of the planning phase, scientists the world over have been attempting it for years with little success, and there's always some inherent risk involved. This action must be completed several times to unlock fusion power.
(Reward: New research options unlocked, general fame and income)
[ ] Begin the Doofenshmirtz Evil Space Program
DC ???, higher DC indicates higher initial success
Space. The final frontier. The one place you've never managed to crack with any sort of regularity. Sure, you've sent up the odd satellite or twenty, and you even had some plans for a space station in the works, but that literally never got off of the ground. Instead of expanding outward, you can expand upward! Imagine the possibilities! Space Science! A vantage point to spy for aliens unobstructed by a pesky atmosphere! An asteroid belt filled to the brim with valuable minerals!
(Reward: Space program started, research options unlocked, questline unlocked)
[ ] Research Adaptive anti-cape AI
DC 100
One of the hallmarks of Kronos AI is the ability to react and adapt to different stimuli in an extremely rapid manner. While Syndrome typically put this to use in omnidroids to take down super-criminals, you can think of all sorts of use for this kind of learning tech. You may have snatched the schematics and design documents from the Kronos gala, but you still need to spend some time looking them over and integrating them into what you already know about AI.
Rewards: DC for upgrading AI decreased, option to integrate adaptive AI into Normbots, reduction to Doppelganger AI DC, bonus to any future quest options opposing Omnidroids
[ ] Research Zero point energy technology
DC 130
One of Syndrome's most closely guarded secrets was his so-called 'zero point energy' technology, which are basically fancy gauntlets that allow him to immobilize anyone who looks at him funny. Now, you're not sure if this is true zero point energy tech- you know, the stuff that could potentially lead to free unlimited energy- or if he just chose that name to sound cool, but either way, it's full of potential!
Reward: Research unlocked, stasis field technology unlocked, ???
[ ] Research Robo-Doppelganger bodies
DC 120
Sinatron's body was basically indistinguishable from a human body at first glance, and Syndrome's robo-duplicate that tried to assure people he was not missing seemed to have fooled a lot of people online. You're pretty sure that it would be very hard to tell they were actually robotic if you weren't in the know or didn't possess some other means of detection, like deep scanning technology. You've got the blueprints, all that's left to do is try and make sense of them.
Reward: Robo-doppelganger bodies fully understood, option to build robo-doppelgangers with no AI
[ ] Research Robo-Doppelganger AI
DC 130
You have to admit it- you're impressed by Syndrome's research into AI. Sinatron, even as megalomaniacal as he was, seems to have sidestepped all the problems you and other companies have had with the concept. The emotions he was broadcasting didn't feel forced or tacked on, he was capable of quick reasoning and logical deduction, and based on the way he talked Gwen into giving up information, he was able to read people well enough to attempt diplomacy.
Reward: Robo-Doppelganger AI more closely understood, DC for future AI upgrading decreased, option to build robo-doppelganger personalities
[ ] Research climate controlled environments
DC 110
It wasn't as flashy as some of the weapons or goodies at the gala, but Syndrome had an exhibit on self-contained environments that could be precisely controlled and deployed with ease. You can see all sorts of potential here: grow plants in the desert! Form a base on the sea floor! Maybe even set up a base on the moon!
Reward: Climate controlled environments technology understood, research options unlocked
[ ] Study the Palladium Chip
DC 50
This little object was the entire goal of your trip to Vegas, but somehow it doesn't feel right to just slot something unknown into your network without looking into it first. Have someone research the thing a little more and ensure you're not about to brick your robots with ENCOM Centennial edition or something even worse. Oh, and get a look at how it does what it's supposed to do while you're at it.
Reward: Safety of using the Palladium Chip revealed, research unlocked
[ ] Research Greco-Roman Terraforming
DC 100
Somehow a two-bit supervillain with a Greco-Roman obsession managed to construct a gigantic volcano in the middle of downtown Doofania in a matter of hours. It's admittedly rather impressive as to how he managed this. You were able to grab his notes on the subject, but they're still very cryptic, written in an odd dialect of Greek with lots of weird inflections mixed in. Spend some time decoding them and learning how he managed to do what he did!
Reward: New Stewardship options unlocked
[ ] Research Flubber Power
DC 100
Flubber offers a path to clean and cheap energy, and while it's not actually limitless, the upper limit is so high that it might as well be. The only problem is that the majority of the world thinks that Hawaii was destroyed in a prototype Flubber power plant explosion, and with the "tragedy" still recent in memory, you're going to face a lot of public backlash for rolling out a power plant.
Reward: Massive public opinion decrease, power problems for all of your territory removed, Technor's 'Power Hungry' malus removed
[ ] Research Flubber Antigravity
DC 90
It turns out that if you vulcanize Flubber and apply an electric current to it, the resulting substance can produce exceptionally stable gravitons. It might be possible to exploit this and produce effective antigravity technology, though of course you'd have to get past the public opinion of the substance.
Reward: Flubber Antigravity technology unlocked
[ ] Research Flubber Weather Modification
DC 90
Flubber is an impressively versatile substance. Your lab monkeys have found that it serves as a near-perfect nucleation site for water droplets, meaning it is capable of producing seemingly miraculous rainfall and cloudcover in all but the most arid regions more or less on demand. Your boys even think they can manipulate its structure to break down after several months, meaning there's little concern of it becoming a pollutant. If you can manage to get this together properly, the benefits would be obvious- just think of all the dramatic storms you could pull together at a moment's notice!
Reward: Weather modification technology unlocked, significant public opinion decrease
[ ] Research Dino Domestication
DC 90
Before you can really manage to get use out of dinosaurs, you need to establish a basic means of getting them to follow orders and, you know, not eat their handlers. A combination of intensive behavioral study and careful genetic modification should do the trick, at least for the smaller ones.
Reward: Dinosaur Farming action unlocked, Dinosaur Entertainment action unlocked, Domesticate Large Herbivores action unlocked, Dinosaur Cavalry action unlocked, Environmental Adaptations action unlocked