Speaker4thesilent
Crazed Deplorable
[X] - can stay.” (1 AP remains committed to working at the Ritz, effective beginning next month. May be spent on various actions. Keep getting paid 3 dots of income from the Ritz, ???)
[X] - Why not both? (Likely improved odds on getting him to sign up. Maybe more cost? Maybe less? Delay on getting your personal equipment?)
[X] - Why not both? (Likely improved odds on getting him to sign up. Maybe more cost? Maybe less? Delay on getting your personal equipment?)
A Brave New World 18(June 1983)
“... can stay,” you tell the man, who lets out a massive sigh of relief.
“Thank you, Mister Emiya,” he says, sagging back in his chair rather like a limp noodle, clearly exhausted from the stress of the last few minutes. “If you can work out the remainder of the month, I’ll have the time to hire on a couple people to handle the duties you’ll be handing off. I would really appreciate it.”
“That’s no problem. My wife is working out her two weeks’ notice before needing to take up her new position,” you agree easily. Besides, the salary you’ll be making for doing the part of the job you love best anyway is a serious inducement.
There are a few more minor details to work out, including the day of the week you’ll be dropping by to teach: Monday, which you used to have off on account of the relatively slower Breakfast and Lunch service. In the end, you’re quite satisfied with how well things have gone.
ASTtM
Congratulations, due to luck and shrewd decision-making you’ve managed to transition to your new job without burning any bridges. You’ve also, incidentally, increased the strength of your cover identity. Surely the chef/consultant isn’t also a government hero? That would be silly!
ASTtM
Remembering the fact that the man was sleeping on a cot in the back-room of his business and the general lack of traffic, you decided against reneging on your previous agreement.
Entering the gym through the once-again-unlocked door, you found Mr. Port with his head in his hands looking very much like he was either about to pull his hair out or break down in tears.
For a moment, you considered speaking: asking if you could help. Eventually you snuck back out and let the bell at the door announce you.
“Good evening, Mister Port,” you said, deliberately starting your scan of the room on the opposite side from where James was actually sitting to give the man a moment to regain his composure.
“Ah, good evening, Guardian. Did I forget to lock the door again?”
“Seems so,” you agreed, effecting not to notice his emotional state. “As promised, I’ve got my budget sorted out. What options do you have for me?”
“That’s … a bit of a problem,” the man said before beginning to explain. “You mentioned that you and your wife intended to use my machines, but …
“I can’t figure out how to make one machine work for two people,” he finally blurted out. “I can customize one of my workout machines to more than double training effectiveness by optimizing it to work on a person’s particular physiology, but that means it actually works less well for anyone else. I’ve been beating my head against this ever since you stopped by the first time, but I’m just not making any progress,” the man admitted.
That would be frustrating, you acknowledged to yourself.
“Well, let’s put our heads together and see if we can’t come up with a solution,” you said. At his shocked look, you continued, “Sometimes an outside perspective can help.”
Heaven knows you’d had to talk Jupiter down more than once when she was ready to scrap a project she couldn’t get to work.
“Give me just a second he-” Pain.
Shaking your head you rubbed your eyes and resolved not to do that again. One component at a time seemed to work out alright, but trying to take in an entire machine at once was nearly as painful as your first glance at the Saturn Anomaly had been.
“Uh, Guardian, you okay?” Port asked.
“Yes. Your blackboxing is quite effective,” you congratulated the man. You hadn’t realized it earlier, but you’d been instinctively treating the gym like an allied Magus’ Workshop: deliberately avoiding looking at anything that might be secret.
“... Blackboxing?”
Your train of thought derailed, skidded into a canyon, and exploded. You shot a look at him, but his entire expression evidenced only confusion.
“You mean you didn’t intend to protect your invention from scanning?”
“Noooooo? How would that even …” he trailed off, giving the rowing machine you’d approached a suspicious look.
So instead of trying to Grasp the entire machine at once, you concentrated on only the rowing bar.
It came back largely normal. Ergonomically designed to … ah.
“All the machines are customized to fit you, aren’t they?” you asked, and James nodded.
“Probably half the reason I can’t keep members. I didn’t even notice until I tried experimenting to fit one to you and Saber,” he answered miserable.
You scan a few more parts, considering your options, then look once again at the memory metal.
“Well, I don’t think it’s as bad as you’re assuming. With that memory metal alloy you’re using for the resistance weights, you can actually ‘program’ the bar to reshape itself to fit the hand of whoever grabs it. Here, let me show you how that works. If you take-”
James stared at you for a moment as you started to explain, then something clicked behind his eyes and he started grabbing tools.
Six hours, four impossibly compact circuit boards and one instance of Alteration to fix a hidden stress point later, you and James had a completed rowing machine that used the rower’s motion to power a system that would help prevent overheating, increase the general effectiveness of the cardiovascular workout, and intelligently increase resistance to the optimal point for the person using it while also shaping both the bar and seat to help prevent injury.
“I can’t believe it! I fought this bastard for a week last time to get everything working,” James said after you stepped off the machine and removed the cooling vest.
“I can’t believe you were able to assemble all this with such low-tech tools,” you told him honestly. The computerized bits were only four or five decades ahead of current science, but the materials science that went into the alloy was at least a century off from normal development. “Just remember to double-check placement for your capacitors from now on.”
Where he’d originally put them, they would have burned out over the course of a couple weeks of moderate use and needed replaced at least once a month. Maybe twice if the machine was used heavily.
“Yeah, I’ve got the drawing I made for reference,” James said before turning back to the original topic.
“So, what level of equipment are we talking about for your home gym?”
You thought back to the options he’d described at your last visit. They were all viable, but you and Saber had decided on -
[ ] - the cheapest option. (3 dots of income for one month [may be paid over the course of two months]. This buys you the ability to train physical attributes to superhuman levels (above 5 dots), but not above 8 dots.)
[ ] - the balanced option. (3 dots of income for two months. Same as above, but reduces training time required by fifty percent. Expensive, but saves you time and thus AP.)
[ ] - the deluxe option. (3 dots of income for four months 1AP next month. Will not actually be delivered until near the end of that time. This will really stretch James Port’s abilities and will require him to purchase and build an entirely new range of tools, but will allow attribute training above 8 and double training speed under 8.)
ASTtM
Mister Port, is more relaxed than you’ve ever seen him after you shake on the deal for your workout equipment. You can tell he’s chomping at the bit to get started now that you’ve helped him figure out the worst of the problems he’d been having with his technology.
But you aren’t quite done yet. This order will certainly keep him afloat for a time, but his gym still has the same issues it had yesterday, so the root cause is hardly addressed. What you’ve done thus far is a patch job. But you think maybe you understand him well enough now to help.
“Hey, James, have you heard of the Thatcher Initiative?” you ask.
“Huh?” he asks, looking up from where he was already gathering materials and his welder before obviously going back over what you’d said. “Uh, no. I’ve been pretty busy with my projects recently. Haven’t really had time to read the paper.”
You nod, having expected the answer, and give him a synopsis.
“Prime Minister Thatcher put out a call for anyone with … call it ‘conventionally inexplicable’ abilities. They’re calling it the Thatcher Initiative, and part of the offer is paying work for anyone that answers the call,” you explained.
His initial reaction is interest before he slumps.
“Not that I’ve got anything to show them. ‘What can you do?’ ‘I build exercise equipment!’” he said, badly mimicking a higher class then lower class accent.
“How about a memory alloy a century ahead of its time that shouldn’t even be possible to make under the effect of gravity?” you shot back.
“I know you’re impressed with it,” Port replied, “but what’s it going to look like to some bureaucratic asshole who’s expecting fire breath or something?”
“Well, since my wife and I are going to be running the new Ministry, I think things will work out just fine.”
James didn’t seem to understand you at first and damn near dropped his armful of supplies when he did.
“Wait, what now?”
“Saber and I are going to be running it, and I’m interested in figuring out what else you can do,” you state and give him a moment to process. When that moment looks like it will end with a polite refusal, you continue.
“I can tell you really enjoy developing better machines, and I know you’re passionate about fitness, but tell me honestly: do you really enjoy the business aspects of this job?” you inquired rhetorically. You could already tell what the answer was.
“If you take a job with the government, you can take the money you earn and pour it into a better location, better advertising, and hiring a manager to run the back end while you actually do the part of the job you enjoy: getting hands-on with your clients to actually help them get fit,” you conclude. It’s easy to see that the man is now really thinking about your offer.
After a long few moments of thought, Mr. Port nods.
“How much would they be willing to pay me do you think?”
You quote him the salary that had been offered to the electrokinetic, the team’s first potential recruit, and his eyes half pop out of his head. It isn’t too much, but considering he’s been living out of his failing business...
“Hell, for that you’ve got yourself a deal, Guardian.”
“Welcome aboard,” you tell him, then grin. “Now, your first assignment is to come up with a good pseudonym for yourself.”
“... You would start right off with a hard job.”
ASTtM
Recruit Get! James Port, a Tinker/??? Specializing in ???/Training. Currently Resources: *.
For doing the smart thing as well as preventing potential future crimes, have 1 exp.
ASTtM
Near the end of the month, things are calming down enough that you and Arturia actually have some time off at the same time. You’d been considering what you could do for a date when you saw that a new movie had just come out by Monty Python.
Remembering the ridiculous antics in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, you decided to ask your wife if she wanted to go out for a movie. Hopefully this new movie, The Meaning of Life, would be cut from the same cloth.
ASTtM
You were going to die. That was the only reasonable conclusion.
The movie had started off well enough, though the humor was a bit more gallows-flavored than you preferred. Between the fish realizing that their friend was being eaten and the poor woman being ignored by her doctors in favor of them playing politics with the administration.
Then it had all gone downhill. A Yorkshire salaryman had lost his job and returned home to tell his large Catholic family that he was going to have to sell the children off for science. Innocuous enough.
Then the cast started singing. About sperm. Then about the time they hit the chorus of Every Sperm is Sacred, Arturia made a noise beside you, and in spite of yourself, your eyes tracked over to …
To where your wife was sitting, both hands over her mouth, and feet drumming on the ground as she tried to smother her giggles?
You watched, disbelieving as Arturia fought almost successfully to maintain her composure right up until the Protestant man’s wife pointed out that, despite being allowed to use birth control and have sex for pleasure, they never did.
Arturia came unglued, joining much of the audience in a belly laugh.
Maybe it was a British thing? Or maybe even an ancient Briton shared an instinctive Anglican desire to mock Catholics however they could?
Scratch that, I’ll just blame this on Kotomine, you decided.
ASTtM
Though the latter half of the movie was far less memorable than the first half, you took the way Arturia occasionally had to stifle a giggle as a good sign. All in all, a slightly mortifying but good evening.
Then your wife looked up at you through her eyelashes and started humming a particular tune. You decided to skip stopping for a snack on the way and headed home at speed.
ASTtM
Watching Arturia, armored in blue and with a mostly face-concealing helmet, give a press conference was an almost surreal experience.
Some of the media seemed to agree with your assessment, but as you glanced out at the audience, more than one face seemed offended and others like they were the butt of a joke they didn’t yet understand entirely.
At least, until Saber was introduced as the new head of the Ministry of Parahuman Affairs, at which point …
“Madame *Minister*, why are you concealing your face behind a helmet? Doesn’t the public have a right to know who their government’s officials are?”
“I conceal my identity because, while I can deflect bullets and cut rocket-propelled grenades from the air, children can not. Nor can many of my employees, nor their family members.”
The prompt and direct answer immediately sets the press back on their heels, and the entire time Saber manages to both appear and sound like a schoolmarm chastising a student for blurting something out without thinking. Despite her helmet concealing most of her face, having her mouth exposed does allow her to emote despite her rigidly formal posture.
“Why accept the post if it’s so dangerous?” another reporter asked.
“Because the police were in need of aid, the citizenry in need of surety, and I am capable of providing both,” Saber responded.
There were a few more innocuous questions before the offended faction recovered.
“There are reports that London Police are keeping a prisoner shackled at all times on advice from a member of your new ministry, would you comment?”
You snorted. That was a mistake
"Until a generation ago, brigands and highwaymen faced the rightful punishment of the noose. David Martin, the prisoner in question, is capable of firing a beam of energy strong enough to kill after running only a few steps. As he has already escaped custody once and murdered multiple officers before being recaptured, to allow a habitual criminal an easy method of escape would be irresponsible. As the alternative, execution for his many crimes, has been made illegal, he shall spend the rest of his life so hobbled. To do otherwise would be a dereliction of duty."
The hostile faction *really* hadn’t wanted to hear that. Apparently, they’d been relying on Saber being unwilling to comment on an ongoing case to get a hit in below the belt.
Still, they weren’t done. At least one outfit thought they could still salvage their attempt.
“Does that mean you don’t think prisoners can be reformed?”
One of the people intended to manage the press began to step forward to move the questioning along, but Saber waved him off.
“They are not in prison to be reformed. They are there to be punished for the crimes they have committed, so that their victims and their victims’ families can see Justice done.”
Thinking that perhaps blood was in the water, another sewer journalist interjected.
“If you don’t think prisoners should be reformed, does that mean you don’t support educational initiatives for them?”
Saber wasn’t rattled. In fact she didn’t even have to pause to come up with a response.
“By all means, a prisoner should have the chance to better himself. Let him pursue an education. But let him do it in the evening after a day of turning large rocks into small ones, so he applies himself and appreciates the opportunity.”
Before any further questions in that vein could be asked, Saber pointed to a journalist across the room.
“There have been reports of an unknown person stopping mugging and other crimes in Cornwall. What stance does your Ministry take on their actions?”
“Vigilantism is an indication that the Social Contract is broken. Police exist to protect the accused from mob justice even as they do the innocent from those who would prey upon them. It is an indication that the legal system in Britain has failed and is still failing. Arresting the vigilante, though necessary, only treats the symptoms rather than curing the sickness at its root.”
And today’s event is Home Truths with Saber, no refunds, apologies, or complaints.
ASTtM
Saber is introduced as the first Minister of Parahuman Affairs and comes out swinging in her debut press conference. She doesn’t make many friends in politics or the media, but the average British citizen feels that she’s capable, decisive, and dedicated. Support for the new ministry is Enthusiastic, and the people feel the situation with Parahumans is Handled.
The exposure is also enough to tip the scales. People are talking about you and what you can do. Gain one dot of Legend.
ASTtM
Lots of dice rolls: social, crafting, an endurance check. Not gonna list them all.
Making your pitch. Charisma+Presence:6 dice=3 successes+1success(keeping your word)=4 successes. Recruit get.
Arturia’s interview. Charisma+Performance: 10d10=3 10 successes. Why u do this to me, Urist?
Making your pitch. Charisma+Presence:6 dice=3 successes+1success(keeping your word)=4 successes. Recruit get.
Arturia’s interview. Charisma+Performance: 10d10=
You have 7 AP for the month of July. One of these is committed to the Ritz. One of these is committed to your job. One is locked until complete. This leaves you four free AP for the month. What do?
[ ] - Putting on the Ritz. You’ve committed to helping modernize the Ritz’s menu and service. Currently, you think that management would prefer that you work on Lunch or Afternoon Tea. With hiring more staff, there is not currently a budget for remodeling or altering plating.
-[ ] - Innovating Breakfast: Cost: 1 AP. Results: Continued development of Fusion Cuisine. (Suggested stunts include what menu item to work on. Please consider combining traditional British and Japanese cooking.)
-[ ] - Innovating Lunch: Cost: 1 AP. Results: Continued development of Fusion Cuisine. (Suggested stunts include what menu item to work on. Please consider combining traditional British and Japanese cooking.)
-[ ] - Innovating Tea: Cost: 1 AP. Results: Continued development of Fusion Cuisine. (Suggested stunts include what menu item to work on. Please consider combining traditional British and Japanese cooking.)
-[ ] - Innovating Dinner: Cost: 1 AP. Results: Continued development of Fusion Cuisine. (Suggested stunts include what menu item to work on. Please consider combining traditional British and Japanese cooking.)
-[ ] - Renovation: Cost: 1 AP. Results: begin the process of modernizing the design of the restaurant. This will allow you to finally make good use of the performance chefs. Hibachi-style cooking may not go over well in a luxury restaurant, but casual ease with difficult preparations are always a pleasure to watch.
-[ ] - Train your Staff: Your chefs are already solid, but they could be better. Cost: 1 AP. Results: increase Chefs skill level, allowing them to turn out consistently superior food. You’re aware that management feels that this is currently fairly low priority.
[ ] - Working for the Weekend. Arturia was feeling underutilized in the finance department of a motorcycle dealership. Now she’s mostly feeling under-appreciated as she works to get the new Ministry of Parahuman Affairs on its feet while dealing with the setup for the Baker Street Irregulars. Any help you can levy would be appreciated.
-[ ] - Building up a Staff. You’re going to need more than just the two of you to run a ministry. Even a small one. Sorting through the applications to separate out people who just want to coast along and earn a paycheck from people who are willing to roll up their sleeves and get to work is time-consuming but necessary. Cost: 1 AP. Results: employees that don’t actively suck.
-[ ] - Setting Down Roots. In addition to a staff, you’re going to need a building to house them. Having Saber on hand at Number 10 is one thing. Trying to pack a whole new ministry into the already crowded building would be quite another. Cost: 1 AP. Results: room to expand. Legitimacy.
-[ ] - Crafting a Bureaucracy. Just the idea makes you feel generally unclean, but you can’t deny that someone is going to need to lay down a plan for how to grow, who is responsible for what, and how many employees you need for any given department. Saber would probably be better at this, but you could fill in in a pinch. Cost: 1 AP. Results: Structure, organization paperwork.
-[ ] - Closer Coordination. Make sure all the police districts in Greater London know that they can contact you when a case takes a turn for the bizarre. Without a staff, keeping up with the calls is likely to be a full-time job in its own right. Cost: 1 AP. Results: Closer relations with police, improved crime deterrent in London. Lower likelihood a small problem becomes a major issue before you learn about it.
-[ ] - How to Train Your Superhero. You’ve got two recruits, and neither of them are ready to do much of anything. Take some time to show them the ropes and get them started on the path towards usefulness. Cost: 1 AP. Results: Competent employees.
—[ ] Who?
[ ] - Socialize with Arturia. Weekends are for dates, right? Cost: 1 AP. Results: Fluff, WAFF, happy Arturia.
[ ] - Search around for crime to stop. Clearly, as an Ally of Justice, you should be patrolling the neighborhood looking for wrongs to right. Patrols show the flag and might help convince the average citizen that you actually exist. Cost: 1 AP. Results: Crimes thwarted? Justice upheld? Maybe just an annoyed Arturia. Still, it’s visibility if nothing else.
[ ] - A Patent, Pending. Your patent lawyer recommended that you contact Sony to license your patents to them. In order to do that, you’re going to need to demonstrate that they work. That means building examples, which means time and money. Cost: 2 AP. A 2-dot expense. Results: Working examples of your inventions. Probably annoyed neighbors, given your current living arrangements. You may want to finish fixing up your house and get a workshop set up first.
[X] - Home Improvement. (Locked in due to purchase of the Run-Down Townhouse) You own a home now, or the bank owns it and you’re paying them interest for the pleasure of living in it, anyway. The problem is that it’s going to need to be a construction site for a while as you reopen the closed half of the house and reconfigure everything for your needs. Cost: minimum 1 AP. May be taken multiple times. Results: Access to and renovations and furnishing for the full floorplan of your new house. Home Equity.
[ ] - Gym Building. You’ve got your gym equipment on order, but you don’t really have a place for it yet. Get things organized and turn the basement into a proper home gym. Cost: 1 AP. Results: Gain a home gym/practice area in your basement. Training time for physical skills and attributes accumulates. Coordination penalties mitigated.
[ ] - Write in. Subject to QM approval.
You have 3 exp. Do you spend any?
[ ] - Write in.
Gonna try this for the moment: there shall be a moratorium on votes until noon Eastern Standard Time, tomorrow.
Take some time to think over what to prioritize and what maybe doesn’t need prioritized. Remember that Saber has initiative, and will be investing at least 4 actions in working on her new Ministry.
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