((Collab Post between Letter Bee and TheUnknowable))
Fast ForwardWhen most people step off the ship on the moon they are immediately struck with a bit of culture shock. Unlike the cities of Earth, there is a distinct lack of police or military presence. Instead, most people were armed, some armored. There were people wandering the streets that you would only find in the seediest parts of the cities of Earth, with people offering goods and "services" that would land you in prison if you were caught. Just off of the debarkation area there were many businesses to cater to the needs and desires of people of Earth, everything from a gun and armor store, to restaurants, to and electronics store, to a bar, to a chem store, to a brothel. The later three had bouncers to keep out underage customers, though.
"Here is your expense card." said Sanya, handing him a plastic card. "The exchange rate is thirty US Dollars to one Lunar Credit, or LC, in case you are interested in knowing how much you are actually spending. That doesn't exactly reflect the quality of life difference, as it is based on the sale and transport price of titanium and aluminum, but it is close enough. Is there any where you want to go first?"
"Guns first, then groceries and electronics; I want to know the quality of goods sold in Tranquility City; then after that, I want to go to a restaurant - I'd love Filipino Food - and of course, a public library, where I plan to spend an hour or two. Then, we can go on to the LunaCorp headquarters." To tell the truth, Mikhail was fascinated by the glitz and glamor of the spaceport...but even more so by the fluctuations of hope that seemed to be a constant in the city; despite the abundance of armor, the murder rate seemed to be high, judging from the flashes of hope that got cut off in a split-second.
Either way, after Mikhail had sampled what Tranquility City had to offer (as well as made private observations of local customs, attitudes, and way of life), he would then head to the base, having had fun.
"The Library is part of the Lunar App, a program that is freely available to anyone who visits the moon or connects to our website. I can download it into any electronic device you want, if you wish. There are book stores if you wish to purchase physical copies, including rare original copies. Moving them here from Earth greatly increases the cost. The guns, however, are this way."
She lead him to the gun store across the street, where there were both old style firearms and newer energy weapons available. The grocery store had mostly raw or lightly-processed foods, as heavily processed foods, like on Earth, would have significantly added to the cost. The food was a bit cheaper than that of the major cities of Earth despite the fact that the nutrients and air had to be artificially produced, because they were able to use robots to do the labor and it was produced locally, removing most of the shipping costs. The electronic store contained devices similar to Earth's in the lower price range, as Lunacorp produced them locally as well, but the Earth made products were significantly higher in price due to shipping costs. Not that that mattered to most of the customers, as the Earth goods weren't significantly better than the local products.
There were three Philipino restaurants within one kilometer of their location; Lunacorp recruited from around the planet, making it quite authentic. Sanya took him to the nearest one, as she was unable to taste anything and their online reviews were all approximately equal at eight to nine stars out of ten for quality. Low quality restaurants didn't tend to last long due to the competition.
When they were done, she called for a vehicle from HQ lead him to the Lunacorp headquarters across town. "If you have experienced enough of the city for now, I can escort you to the medical research branch or the corporate building, depending on if you wish to begin research or speak with Mr. Natsumoto first."
"Let's begin research," Mikhail said, having had his backpack filled with new purchases, and also clad now in armor made of new, lightweight, but still exceedingly strong polymers; he was going to have it and most of the more reliable/advanced guns reverse-engineered once he got back to the US.
"Also, Mr. Natusmoto's childhood friends seemed nice," Mikhail was sincere.
Tranquility City has its own strengths and weaknesses, it seems. But what's certain is that by itself, it isn't a threat. His mood then shifted as he stared at Sayna:
"Will they really not do anything bad to me; the doctors, I mean?" The boy sought confirmation of what he already knew.
"No harm will come to you," she responded, though without the emotional facial movements one would expect from someone trying to reassure a scared person. "You probably see us as an evil corporation that is only out to make a profit, but companies with such ideas are extremely short sighted. Humans look out for each other, and react to how you treat others. If they were to mistreat you in any way, other Superhumans would be weary of dealing with them, and people would boycott their products.
Mr. Nasumoto isn't a cruel man, either, and wouldn't stand for his employees mistreating customers or other employees anyway. All they do to most Supers they examine are a few electronic scans and a blood and tissue sample. They may also wish for you to demonstrate your abilities, so that they can get scans of your powers in action, but they won't force anything on your against your will."
Once his questions had been answered, she lead him to the medical research building and introduced him to Dr. Kwan, a middle-aged woman in charge of the research into Super-powers.
"Hello," said Dr. Kwan. "We can get started as soon as you wish." She motioned to a vertical scanner, one that you could stand up in. "Just remove any metal or conductive objects you are carrying and step into the scanner."
Mikhail was obedient, removing his watch, discarding his backpack, and keeping only his armor on; he was someone who underneath said armor, didn't need any belt.
Dr. Kwan activated the device, which glowed a dull yellow light, and it began spinning. After fifteen seconds a scan of him appeared on the screen. "Ok, now, if you could use your abilities so that I can get a scan of your abilities in action, that would be good."
A nod, and Mikhail then conjured up a blue ball of energy, which he began bouncing around on his hand. He then, after making the decision to be honest, changed the color of said ball to white, then to a rubbery red that looked every bit like a normal ball. After that, he dispelled it.
"Anything more?" he asked, now more at ease.
"No, that was good." Dr. Kwan answered, "I didn't know you had that much control over your ability. Tell me, how much Hope did you feel you needed to do what you did?"
"A small amount," the boy responded. "Basically, something I can supply with only my own feelings, and even then, only...0.05 percent, although this is only a conjecture as I'm not good at Math. Actually, with my own hope, on an
average day, I can probably create a construct the size of this room, including filling in empty space. Perhaps more when adrenaline is flowing." Mikhail decided that he liked Dr. Kwan already, something that only the Government's own Chief Doctor, Julia MacReady, managed to do until now.
"Very interesting," she said. "It doesn't seem like your ability is anywhere near as energy intensive as the Fear ability we studied, though perhaps Hope is simply more powerful than Fear? Regardless, I can think of three technologies we could create based on these scans, though two of them may take a few weeks of R&D before we can prototype them. The Hope sensor, however, is just a matter of altering the Fear sensor we've already developed. I can show you the prototype tomorrow, if you like." She then looked at Sanya. "Could you come over here and download the data? I'm sure Mr. Natsumoto would like to see the results." She looked back at Mikhail. "They are very exciting."
Sanya walked over and picked up a cable from the console, plugging it into the back of her head. "Certainly," she said, "It will only take a minute."
"You're a robot?" Mikhail asked. "That is awesome."
It appears that Mr. Natsumoto is quite smart, considering the implications."Interesting," said Sanya. "Most people would assume I was a cyborg, though I assume that you didn't because such implants are illegal in the United States, and similar, legal models are only available to people with prosthetic limbs. Yes, I'm an Android, though my lack of emotion and occasional lag in processing would likely frighten or concern people, so Natsumoto Industries hasn't yet begun mass production." She unplugged the cable, as the scans were finished being downloaded. "Now, if you will grab your stuff, I'll take you to see Mr. Nasumoto.
@RoflsMazoy,
@TheUnknowable
