I took a step back and cracked my knuckles in satisfaction. Now all my current stuff had 'Qu-It It's certified failsafes installed, similar in function to my signal jammer. With a quick snap of my fingers (and a specialized signal broadcast) they would all malfunction and self-destruct. Dangerous if they went off while I was wearing it? Sure. But I would be a fool if I didn't take steps to ensure my safety.
The PSFSA was coming along nicely. With the extra fifty thousand dollars, I could order some nicer and detailed sensors that would work within a phone. It would just take a while to get here, needing to be shipped to one of Toybox's shell companies, then moved into the main dimension before I could get my hands on it. However, it should be here by the end of tomorrow.
Otherwise, most of the internals were done with the exception of the sensors. Right now, I was working on the custom OS and program that would take all that sensor data and turn it into less of a number vomit. Linux still, thankfully, existed in this world since everybody needed an OS to use and a free, customizable, open-source OS was inevitable in such a case.
Using my prior knowledge of dealing with such a thing, I could draft a reasonably usable version. Nothing too complex though. Operating systems weren't my specialty in my previous life. I just wanted it so no one was siphoning my data for some nefarious purposes. Or report me and have the PRT rap-tap-tapping at my door.
The actual application to handle all the inputs was my current problem. Translating sensor data and making it actually nice to look at wasn't easy. It had to handle a variety of wildly different power expressions while still being sort of responsive and dynamic. Hammer Jammer was… sort of helping? Not entirely but it was working well with generating the codes that would standardise sensor output data which would help immensely later on.
Furthermore, there were two additional problems that I was handling at the same time. Mainly battery life and cooling. With improved sensors, meant a bigger power draw which meant that my dinky phone battery was not up for the task. Which meant I needed an improved battery that could store larger amounts of electricity.
And with improved sensors meant that there was more heat generated as an unfortunate trade off. Although I did ensure to pick those that weren't gonna fry my components, it was still liable to heat up rapidly unless minimally used which defeated the point of the thing in the first place. So I had to make a proper cooling system so I would scald myself while handling it. Or set something on fire due to the heat it was putting off.
Slacking Off was putting in good work, allowing me to work on both of my newly discovered problems while still keeping on pace to complete the app.
Battery was pretty much done after two breaks with Hammer Jammer providing the blueprints easily. The structure, materials, and the principles all fell within the capabilities of humanity. Somewhat. The actual machine that made such batteries was… a bit more complex, but after running through the shopping list, I could afford it. Just a mere $4000 to build a small prototype of it.
The cooling system was a bit more complex since I didn't quite have the space to shove a fan or liquid-cooled system into my phone. Normally phones are thin enough that the heat generated would quickly dissipate, using the backplate itself as a form of conduction cooling, similar to a heatsink. So my first idea was to simply make a metal that could conduct heat away quicker.
It wasn't exactly easy.
Hammer Jammer had a few ideas to create such a material, being important when overheating was a major problem in components. However, they required a specialized forge that could deal with the resulting alloy. Who knew that if you created a highly heat-conductive metal, it became incredibly hard to forge with?
The next idea was to chill the components themselves using Stilling. Yes. That Stilling. Yes, I said I didn't want to use it so as to not piss off Scion or the Shards. But I wouldn't be using the Golden Light Stilling. But merely the principle of Stilling to cool the components down. A sort of counterwave that reduced the temperature of components?
Nah. Nope. I'm still fucking terrified of the Simurgh.
The final idea was an external pack that did the cooling for me. It would be big, bulky and slightly noisy but it didn't touch on Stilling. However, if I was going to chuck it into my bag and never look at it outside of the base then… Did it matter?
My answer was a resounding 'no'. And so I designed the blueprints for it, using my ever-faithful Hammer Jammer to help me with it.
A knock came from my workshop door. "Come in!" I called out without really looking up from my computer. The bit of the app that handled all the input data was almost done now. Afterwards, it would be creating the dynamic infographics and UI and we were pretty much done. Though I would probably have to keep updating it as I encountered powers that PSFSA couldn't account for and small Quality of Life improvements that I wanted.
The door slid open and Claire walked in with the smell of freshly(?) cooked cup noodles wafting through the air. My stomach gurgled, awakening after a long slumber to demand sustenance. Leaning back, I finished up the last few lines of code before I gratefully took her offering into my hands. "Thanks."
"What are you working on?" Claire asked as she looked over the code editor I had open. I didn't really see the need to stop her from doing so. Firstly, that would make me look suspicious as hell. And secondly, I had zero comments or explanations and nothing on screen made any sense without context. And as someone who had to review and refactor code before, understanding someone else's code with comments was already a massive pain in the ass.
"Nothing much. Just some app for a project I'm working on." I explained. "Supposed to take in sensor data and output a readable infographic." Conveniently leaving out the fact that this was supposed to detect parahuman power expression. I took a slurp of my noodles. Delicious.
Claire nodded her head. "That seems useful. But it looks like you're programming it from the ground up. Can't you just take existing code and work on it from there?" She asked with a slight frown.
"Nah. Prefer it to have it done in-house. You know how it is." I shrugged my shoulders. "Anyway, why did you come in? If it's about a new contract, then tell them that I'm taking a break." I joked as I swayed back and forth in my chair.
"Pftt… You wish." Claire rested against the edge of the table. "Can't a senior check in on the newbie? Is that so wrong?" She raised an eyebrow in amusement. Shrugging my shoulders, I continued eating. "How are you settling into your workshop?"
"Horrendously." I shook my head. "You made me taste the ambrosia of a properly kitted workshop and tore it all away for… this." I vaguely gestured to the machines behind me. "Monsters, the whole lot of you." My voice dripped with sarcasm, eliciting a stifled giggle from Claire as her shoulders shook.
"Yea, it was all part of our master plan to keep you in Toybox forever." She deadpanned in reply.
"Jokes aside, it looks pretty well stocked. Can't really see a machine that I would need that isn't here. Though then again, I won't notice when I need a machine until I… y'know… actually need it." I scanned through the room and both Machine Madness and Hammer Jammer didn't point out any incredibly fundamental mill that I needed that wasn't here.
The Celestial Forge awakened. This time missing the Safety Quality Constellation. Not… incredibly bad, Qu-It It was already pretty good.
"That's good to hear." She nodded. We sort of devolved into tinker talk, exchanging a few ideas and insights between each other. Strangely enough, while I was chatting with Claire, I kinda felt like the Forge and tinker powers worked similarly enough. Both were essentially giant databases connected to puny humans that granted us knowledge far beyond what humanity should have.
However, the Celestial Forge seemingly didn't have a conflict drive or any hard limits on what I could work on. Plus, it had powers that were only tangentially related to crafting, like 'Tank It' or 'Painted On'.
Claire's knowledge sounded impressive enough, talking a bit on how her equipment worked, though Hammer Jammer, with the weird sort of knowledge abuse loophole I used, did pick up on some missing information between the lines. Key pieces of information that were integral to the creation of similar devices. It was incredibly well done too. If I was just listening to it, without the Forge, I might have believed her words without a second thought. Even neurologists, who specialized in the same field, might not have picked up on it.
Tricky tricky. And Claire didn't even look like she had noticed that as well. And she was the one reading more books on the subject.
I hesitated for a moment, considering if I should fill in the gaps for her. But in the end I decided against it. Tinker powers still worked with or without the information I provided, and it would only cast more suspicion on me and my specialty. I doubt the Shard behind Claire would care but just in case, let's not do it.
Finishing up my dinner, we walked out and tossed our rubbish into Maverick's Dedicated Disposal Dimension, or DDD for short. An entirely separate dimension that Maverick disabled on the regular, wiping the Dimension from existence and anything within it as well. A terrifying thought to be certain.
"Are you heading back to tinker some more?" Claire asked.
"Nah. I need to rest my brain for a moment." I replied. Well not really, but since I was outside there was something else that I wanted to look at before I continued programming. Walking down the Facilities hallway, I found the Archive doorway and stepped right on through.
The Archives wasn't a long hallway of filing cabinets, thankfully, but a frankly massive server room that was being kept cool by occasional jets of clear liquid being shot up before immediately evaporating. Walking up to a terminal, I logged in using my Toybox details before looking up the Archive for Automata.
Automata, or Clarence Patrick, was a mass production tinker with a focus on long assembly lines that could produce any product, from resource collection to the sale aisle. Mostly his own designs though, like mass-produced computers, servers, industrial components, and more. In fact, during his time in Toybox, they experienced the biggest boom in recruitment as he single-handedly solved the resource crisis most tinkers usually had. And in doing so, turning Toybox into an incredibly attractive team to join.
It was this era of Toybox that it received its big swing up from a small group of ragtag tinker rogues into a proper and well-established 'neutral(ish)' faction.
His sub-ability was reducing the complexity of tinkertech items such that his production lines could handle the unique components required in tinkertech creations. And in doing so, usually 'solved' or otherwise shine a dim light into the black box that was tinkertech.
Much of the file was more on his works that he sold as a tinker of Toybox. He had zero contracts to his name, preferring that all his production lines be kept in-house and being unwilling to set them up for any other group. Perfectly understandable given how desirable his power was.
There was an additional file called 'Automata and Masamune: The Ultimate Tinkertech Combo', which was written by the man himself. It was just thought experiments for him to see what the two of them could do. Automata's simplification process mostly meant that much of the blackboxed tech was replaced with simpler components, allowing for his mass-production. About 20% decreased performance, which was an 'incredible success' according to the comments, in exchange for 25% higher maintenance costs due to the restructuring of internals to handle new tech that it wasn't made to handle. If he worked with the original tinker during the redesign, that cost could be reduced to about 15%.
This was compared to Masamune who could retain most of the tinkertech's performance with only a slight increase in maintenance costs. Though it took a much longer time for him to 'process' it compared to Automata. Automata then comments that the two, if working together, might crack the black box around tinkertech.
Except that whenever he planned to meet the man, something always popped up that demanded his attention. Fatal malfunctions in production lines, sudden attacks on his facilities, all of it culminating in the eruption of the Machine Army.
Interesting. I rubbed my chin thoughtfully. Definitely a Simmy plot then. Even he seemed to think so, though that only made him more determined to meet Masamune at least once which only accelerated the amount of 'coincidences' that struck him.
Simmy was truly terrifying. I sniffed and gave a small bow to his courage against impossible odds. Pulling up his notes instead, there were a mix of plans and blueprints still saved on the servers, one of which was called the 'Abandoned Metal Reclamation Project'. It was one that looked at massive amounts of abandoned technology, junkyards and scrap metal across the world and made plans to use them to make newer components, either for the 'Eagleton Full Automation Project' or for Toybox itself. And one of the considered locations was the Boat Graveyard in Brockton Bay.
Hm… I could feel a smile break across my face. That was definitely a way to get Danny on my side. The plans were pretty detailed as well with many of them already fully fleshed out and only required the actual construction of his designs with an estimated date ranging from 3 to 6 months for each location.
There were a few other projects though none of them were as detailed or as complete as the 'AMR' Project. I tried looking at the details of the EFA project but that one was locked behind Automata's biometrics. And the man was dead.
I could try to bypass the encryption but I decided against it. Although I would get good insight into the Machine Army, there wasn't much of a point. It was probably contaminated with Simurgh's tampering to cause the S-class threat in the first place and I wasn't about to fight the Machine Army just yet. It was better to just let it lie.
As for the rest of the Archives, much of it were the blueprints that contained insights as to how he made his assembly lines and the machinery he used. Although most of it was useless right now due to clear tinkertech used in their construction. Without the actual tinker making it, all of them would just be expensive showpieces gathering dust. However, Automata helped immensely by providing descriptions on each component and their function within the machine.
Which made it infinitely easier for me to use Hammer Jammer on it since, unlike Leet's tech which was already constructed and therefore required more creative methods to find out exact the function and principles behind each components and replace them, these blueprints had everything already explained and Hammer Jammer could just use its own knowledge to make its own to replace them.
I could now make assembly lines. Very cool.
I tried to look at some other tinkers' profiles but found that they were locked behind biometrics so that was a bust. Instead, I started looking through my own profile. Which was pretty barebones. My name and background was on there but outside of that there wasn't anything else. Nothing that I particularly cared about.
The file was created by Cranial which I had noted. Although I couldn't access files, I could see that most profiles were created by the neurology tinker after she had joined which was a pretty interesting note. Was she the one in-charge of handling recruitments? It would seem to be so, no?
I put it out of my mind for now. Filling most of it out, I made sure to keep my powers vague, only listing out the things that I did do rather than everything I could. WIth that out of the way, I made a mental note to put the AMR project on my long-term goals list. A steady supply of metal into my production lines would be nice to have.
Assuming that the Forge didn't just give me an infinite supply of mundane metals anyway. I don't think that was a perk actually.
Eh. Whatever.
There wasn't anything else in the Archive, so I left afterwards. Making my way back to the lab, I wanted to continue working on my program but saw the time in Brockton. Letting out a long sigh, I wondered for a moment if I should skip sleep and finish this as soon as possible. Debating it for a moment, I shook my head.
Grabbing my stuff, I opened a portal back to Brockton, then used my key to just walk into my secret base. Closing the key behind me, I realised something rather important. Since the secret base was half in my pocket dimension and half outside of it, it bypassed a very important restriction to my pocket dimension. That I couldn't seal off all portals while inside since that would effectively trap me in my own pocket dimension.
However, with the secret base, the pocket dimension had permanent portals out so portals made from my key could all be closed. In essence, there was practically no method of finding me once I stepped through the portal unless you also knew where my secret base was.
Nice.
Though I probably needed to make some security to protect this place. Maybe a turret or something? Eh… I'll figure it out. It wasn't like someone was going to dip into the sewers and check an old abandoned incomplete Endbringer shelter.
Walking into the living room, my shin suddenly jerked before I tripped and stumbled on seemingly nothing. Cursing, I took a deep breath. After a moment of thought, I called out. "Amaya! What the hell?!"
The greenette poked her head out, wearing a set of lingerie like she promised. Sheer black lace with garter belts and stockings, only barely covering her nipples and privates. Grabbing her lab coat from me, she threw it on which only made her look even sexier with the whole 'sexy scientist' getup. In her hands was a staff or scepter made of steel and exposed components though it was very much half-finished.
"Like it? I got the neuraljack working." She hummed as she twirled the terrifying piece of technology in her hands like a marching band's baton.
"And what of the laser gloves?" I muttered as I picked myself back up. "I was pretty sure I stated that was to be your main project?"
Amaya pouted slightly. "Do you think I am so unprofessional that I didn't get it working before starting on my own personal project?"
I leveled an unimpressed look at her. Then down at her choice of, or rather lack thereof, clothing. Then back at her.
"W-well–!" Amaya stuttered slightly. "I am unprofessional like that but I definitely don't skimp on projects!" She pulled out what looked to be a cannon of some sort. Even just looking at it, I felt like I shouldn't stand too close to it. "The first is the hard light projector. I had to test it to ensure that all my calculations were correct but once I did everything just fell into place." She looked quite proud of herself as she said so. "The power draw is a bit much but it's enough to push even your tank around slightly."
Blinking, I watched as she set it aside and pulled out a pair of circuitry and wires. "These are the miniature forms." She tossed them over to me. Taking a look at them, Hammer Jammer was pulling out all sorts of information from it which was quickly being sorted away by Savant.
"I'm surprised you could de-energize photons like that." I muttered. By slowing them down, they could gain just enough mass to start attracting and binding to other de-energized photons, forming something similar to a clump of molecules. Coupled with a large amount of photons from a light source and you had a 'bullet' made from hard light. It was pretty much completed, with Hammer Jammer pointing out a few points where it could be 'repaired' which really just meant that entire components were missing.
"Since everything is working as expected, I just need to spend some time refining it." Amaya stretched her neck. "Then install it onto the gloves to get your laser gloves ready. However, they aren't perfect for now, I'll still have to refine the technology and work on the next version of it. The most major problem that I need to handle is the efficiency problem, with about 40% of the photons produced being turned into hard light. The rest simply dissipates as regular light into the environment, creating a rather prominent glow around the emitters and the laser itself."
The Celestial Forge awakened once again, cutting us both off. The tendril reached up and missed a Star on the Lewd Facilities Constellation.
Pointing at the circuitboard, she continued her explanation. "This is an onboard CPU that looks at finger positioning and speed of hand movement during firing. Slower movements are stronger than fast sweeps, and palm blasts are weaker than fists." Amaya said. "This should allow you to control the lethality of your blast. Though, according to my calculations, the weakest strike will still be equivalent to a professional boxer's punch, so be careful where you aim."
"Nice work…" I nodded as I inspected the item. "If you need it, you can use my workshop to finish the rest of the design if you need it." I glanced at Amaya who was rubbing her eyes sleepily.
"How nice of you." She said drolly while smiling. "Though wouldn't Toybox have something to detect if someone unauthorized accessed the remote? I mean, that would be the most basic of security features right?"
"Of course." I paused for a moment. "Though I don't think you could give them too much credit. The Slaughterhouse Nine did manage to break into their super secure dimension with like only 3 members." Shrugging, I tossed the remote aside.
"Still, I think you could do it? I mean, so long as you went straight to the workshop and didn't take the front entrance, I don't see why you couldn't?" I pursed my lips. "Right?" Since the remote can open straight into my workshop, I didn't have to worry as much about Amaya getting spotted. So as long as she ducked out of sight if anyone came by, I don't think they'd be able to notice her.
"Hm." Amaya hummed for a moment. "Sure thing then!"
I suddenly felt like I made a terrible decision. "Just be sure to respect their privacy." I added as I stared at Amaya. Seeing her smile serenely, it didn't help to calm my nerves. "Anyway! And what about the neuraljack?" I shot a glance at the baton. "I see you fixed the… precision problem?"
"Not really." Amaya shrugged and waved it aside. "But it works." She lazily flicked the staff again and my forearm had a sensation of pins and needles, as well as warmth, before suddenly spasming. "It still requires some refinement. It's pretty obvious when the neuraljack activates since it's also firing the nerves related to touch and other sensations. And also I need it to disrupt signals from the owner so you can't fight it. But it can cause sudden muscle spasms like Regent usually does." She twirled the staff around in her hands.
Well… I don't think she would be puppeting bodies around anytime soon.
"Any ideas on how to fix it?" I asked.
"Nope!" Amaya replied happily. "I'm going to have to keep testing this for now." She twirled the baton before flicking it again, causing her leg to jerk on the sofa.
"Al…right then." I nodded. "Now that we have some actual offensive power. I think we can consider heading to the Boat Graveyard or the junkyard nearby." I said as I moved all the excess items away. "I can harvest some metal and components that we could probably use for future projects there."
"As opposed to just calling in Toybox?" Amaya remarked as she took a seat on the couch.
"Well…" I grimaced. "I mean, the small stuff adds up. I could order all my metal from Toybox but… the Boat Graveyard is right there? And I could just toss all the metal into the workshop anyway to process later." I narrowed my eyes slightly and made a 'duh' face.
Amaya raised an eyebrow at me. "Does your workshop even have a forge to reclaim metal in the first place?"
"No…" I eventually answered. "But it's an investment."
"So instead of paying some… $60 to $100 every time you need steel. You're going to pay $400 for a forge and spend… How many hours processing your reclaimed steel?" Amaya crossed her arms. "Even if it's free, your time is just as valuable, you know? Research, designing… actually creating your projects?"
"Like I said, it's an investment. Plus the Forge has an entire Constellation built to accelerate the creation process. What might take a few hours now may take… half a minute down the road." I replied. "Like the saying goes 'It's better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it."
Amaya shrugged her shoulders, unwilling to continue the conversation. Well, half of it was training Reclaimer, the other half was testing my equipment against some live targets. Though guns might still be a problem. I was still very squishy other than my shield. Though I could hang back and snipe people with my lasers…
Oh god. I was a New Wave member.
Flight with Fairy Dust, crimson lasers… PHO is going to fucking explode with theories if I was ever caught on camera.
With the zoom function of my visor, I could stay pretty high up in the air while I sniped people from cruising altitude. They wouldn't even see it coming and I doubt most people could counterattack. Maybe Victor but he was definitely not as maneuverable as me in the air. Keeping a track on me would be impossible at a certain range so as long as I kept moving.
Okay okay okay. I clapped my hands together. I could go out and test my sniping skills. No facing guns, or otherwise long-ranged attackers. And added to my ever growing backlog of equipment that I needed to make were a few new things.
The first was the Kinetic Redirector, the technology I got after figuring out how Bauble's glass worked. By attaching it to something, any force could be redirected throughout and out of an object to make it a lot more resilient. And it would be good for two things. The first was my overcoat and the second was my shield.
The next thing was making the rest of my costume. A navy blue or maybe brown trench coat and top hat, reinforced obviously to handle getting shot at. I considered what sort of tech I should incorporate into it. A slight smile crept into my face as I remembered the bowler hat from 'Meet the Robinsons'. Yea… that will do.
Six legs in a hexagonal formation, with clawed tips to hook into the surface and enough power to really get a grip on concrete. A single optic for me to see through. The internals should be light and barebones since I was carrying this on my head. A CPU for and maybe some RAM… a battery pack to power it. And of course USB plugs and ports to interface with technology and upload or download data.
Most of it would be hollow but it shouldn't weigh more than 1.5kg. A bit heavy but with True Hero Potential, it shouldn't be a problem after the first… week or so.
The trenchcoat would need to have the kinetic redistributor incorporated directly into the suit. But other than that, it was a dark brown and tan piece of clothing that I would probably pull off a store shelf at some point. There wasn't much else I could think to shove into it. Or at least none that came to mind.
And the last bit would be a communication device. Shouldn't be that hard. Earpieces were a dime a dozen and making a specialized one to bypass most forms of interference and interception were well within Hammer Jammer's specialty.
Though… It means that I would need to spend tomorrow morning in the workshop. Again.
My head sank. I thought tinkers were supposed to be like 'suit of armour in a cave with scraps', not... spending hours slaving away in a workshop. Letting out a sigh, I shook my head to clear my thoughts. Well... I guess I couldn't do much about it for now. Stretching my back, I bid Amaya good night for heading to bed.
A/N: Happy New Year! We're now finally starting to head into the 'Make Costume' part of the story. It only took... far far too long to get here. Please send help.