Serling's face was twisted in utmost concentration, her gaze focused on the small assembly space containing the slowly swirling mass of grey dust. Her second skin was covering her right arm, which was currently pressed against a console mounted to the side of the nanoforge's frame. It was faint, but the blue-silver lines of the Algorithm mandala were traced on her arm. "How long did you say… it took you to learn this?"
"To do the most basic manipulation? A day or two." I remarked while keeping an eye on the device's integrity. The nanoforge was built pretty sturdy, with four pylons cornering the structure to emit the fields that controlled the nanites within, but it helped to play it safe. "But what you're attempting? A few weeks. Maybe you should try on something simpler than a nanoswarm first."
"I know these nanites back to front. Simpler hardware's not going to make things any easier for me."
I hummed, watching the grey sand twitch a bit before it settled again. I checked the bounding pylons again and remarked "Well, if you need motivation, you should know Ted's going to be bringing the investors in here within the next ten minutes. It will look real impressive if you have control of them by then." A beat. "Or have burned down Ted's lab with them. One of the two."
Serling only answered with a grunt. Considering that Ted had been showing off all of the tech I had helped him develop to several major tech companies, the demand for Kord Tech's products and services had skyrocketed. Particularly the demand for carbon nanotubes, which we could produce at much higher volume and quality than anywhere else in the world. Of course the original reason for that was that I was making the material personally, but that wouldn't work for scaling up production.
Which lead to the project the Serling and I had cooked up: constructor nanites. Extensive modifications to her Fog nanite designs let us make nanomachines that could build molecular structures at an incredible pace, so long as they had the materials. They were also a lot less advanced compared to the Fog, as a matter of safety (I had to rein Serling in a few times during the design phase). They couldn't tear through metal, they had much more limited battery and processing power outside of their forge, and most of all they couldn't fly.
In any case, with some time before the investors and buyers showed up, it was a good chance to help Serling learn how to use technomancy. Her talent with the art was… spotty. She was still trying to learn the right mix of focus and imagination from her human brain, and letting the calculations from her neural connector nanites guide the process. I wasn't something I had to deal with considering for me those were one and the same.
I lifted an arm with a gesture, and with mechanokinesis willed some of the constructor nanites to me. Thin streams of the nanites swirled around my arm while I made small motions with my fingers. "You know, you'll probably have an easier time of it if you use your hands." I remarked, making a thin CNT thread between my fingers.
Serling grunted and shook her head. "No. I don't want to get used to using psychosomatic gestures as a crutch. There's no reason my body has to be involved in a mental process."
I let the builder nanites I was controlling go still and looked at her, a small frown crossing my face. "...You're looking at it the wrong way."
She stopped and looked at me skeptically. "Oh really?"
"Yes. I mean, you're not completely wrong, learning to do it without is good training, but there's a difference between a crutch and a tool." She looked at me blankly, and I raised an arm in front of me, hand towards the main nanite pile. "What am I doing right now?"
"...holding your arm out?"
"I'm reaching out, gesturing towards an object. It's not just a motion, it's a concept that's a part of the action."
She folded her arms across her chest. "That sounds like new-age clap trap."
"Normally, yes. Except we're talking about magic here. Which is inherently conceptual. This gesture," I moved my arm around. "Has a weight to it, because it's a universal sign of reaching out, a connection. And thus, it makes magics that involves the thing you're pointing at more effective."
I let the hand drop, but the grey dust remained floating in place. "Of course, it's not strictly necessary. I suppose you could also train yourself not to attribute any special meaning to physical motions, but that would just deprive of a tool you could use."
Serling's brow furrowed. "So, all those nonsense words and gestures that wizards make… those are more 'tools' than needed components?"
I shrugged. "I can't account for other magical traditions, but that's how it works for us."I stood up straighter. "Also, I've found that by shouting my attacks, they are ten percent more powerful. And I have the data to prove it."
Serling looked like she swallowed something awful. "You ruined it. You ruined science."
"Ah, don't be like that. You don't actually want to take all of the style out of things. That just leaves you a cold, mechanistic universe. After all, it wasn't exactly a lack of imagination that caused you to do that." I pointed to the second skin covering her arm. "You could have easily built another nanoswarm, but instead you went full transhuman."
"Ugh. I'm starting to wonder if that was more troubled than it was worth." She groused, glaring down at her silver and blue arm.
"Is it giving your biological side some trouble? Maybe I could help. I have scans of your second skin, but it'd be helpful if I knew just how you developed-"
Her head suddenly snapped up to me. "Last I checked you're not doing any better in that department." Silence filled the air between us for several long seconds, before her expression fell. "I'm sorry, that was… I shouldn't have said that."
"It's..." I started to say before I stopped and sighed. "Well, regardless, I'm not doing so bad with it. Progress has been made on that front."
"... somehow, you don't sound very enthused."
I put the nanites back into their containment area. "I've managed to isolate the subroutine that handles and interprets my physical sensations. With a little bit of programming, I've made a new interpretation layer that will let me feel just about anything."
"That sounds like great news!" Serling said, but then she noticed my expression. "Though it seems there's a but coming..."
"Do you have any idea how to program a virtual endocrine system whose 'hormones' don't match anything on Earth? Because I don't. I gave myself an awful case of synesthesia the other day just trying to taste sugar. I think Lovecraft must have gone through something similar before he wrote The Color Out of Space, though I doubt he had to taste it too."
I sighed and looked off to the side. "If I feel a correct sensation, I'll be able to remember it and program it in. But doing that at random? For every human sensation possible? No, I'm going to need to keep looking."
Serling started to speak, but was cut off as the doors to the lab opened wide. We both looked to see Ted striding in, followed by several men in business suits. "And this is where our most advanced technology is being developed," He announced before gesturing at the two of us. "By these fine people right here."
Serling and I composed ourselves and reset the nanoforge back to idle by the time everyone made their way over to us. I got a few looks from the assembled businessmen, but it was clear they were more interested in the technology than the superhero who made them. Introductions were relatively brief, and then came time for a demonstration. At which point Ted's CTO, Kimiyo Hoshi, seemingly appeared from nowhere and stepped forward. I had only met her a few times, but I knew she was smart enough to understand the tech Serling and I built, and had the social skills to properly explain and sell said tech to anyone interested (the second point irritating Serling to no end).
As the woman started the forge to show off what it could do, Ted slid over to the two of us. "How are things?" He asked quietly. "Any problems?"
"No, production is running smoothly," I said back. "Why, is there an issue?"
"Not on your end," He grumbled. "But we have something of an unexpected guest."
Before I could ask, a voice drew our attention back to the doors of the lab. "Sorry I'm late. I hope I haven't missed anything interesting yet." We all looked at the newcomer, and I had to keep my expression neutral.
Lex Luthor was much how I imagined him to be: tall, bald, and in a very expensive suit. He was slightly thinner than I would have thought, but I could tell even through his clothes that he had an athletic build. He strode towards the group with the sort of casual stride of a man who felt he was in complete control, and there was just the barest hint of a smirk on his face.
Walking behind and to the side of him was a blonde woman in a sharp dress suit, who I could only assume was Mercy Graves. Since I still had my core online, I could also tell the woman had extensive cybernetics, which included an energy canon in her arm. Huh, wouldn't have expected that.
Luthor walked up to Ted. "I know this is abrupt on my part but I assure you this will be worth both of our time." He then turned to me, looking me up and down before a full smile crossed his face. "You must be Machina. It's a pleasure to meet you. I never got the chance to thank you properly for your work in Rhelasia." He held out his hand.
More out of reflex than anything else, I reached out and shook his hand. "Ah, thank you." I said awkwardly. I was paying attention, so I knew he didn't try to slip me anything on contact, but I wasn't dropping my guard either.
He then turned to Serling and offered the same courtesy. "Dr. Serling, might I say that your work on Information Theory and its application to digital medium was inspiring. It is a shame that some people have trouble seeing past the more… difficult aspects of your situation to properly recognize it."
Serling paused for a moment before she took his hand in turn. "Something I have become unfortunately used to, but there are still people who have some sense." I noticed that she took a subtle step back toward myself and Ted as she broke contact.
I spoke up. "I don't want to be rude, but what brings you here? It was my understanding that this demonstration was for potential investors and buyers. And, not to put too fine a point on it, but LexCorp and Kord Industries are competitors."
"That doesn't mean we can't come to an agreement." Luthor replied. "In business, it is often prudent to make deals with competitors rather than try to completely oppose them. And this," He gestured to the nanoforge behind us. "Is certainly worth that."
"Right," Ted drawled before pointing out "And that technology is staying with me."
Luthor held up a hand, his bland smile remaining in place. "Of course. I simply wish to purchase some of your manufactured metamaterials for my own hardware." He looked at Ms. Hoshi, who was looking between us and the rest of the group, uncertain of what to do. "But we can talk about this later. For now, the presentation?"
I saw Ted debate internally for a second before he looked back at his CTO and nodded. She took this as her que to continue, and she resumed talking about the capabilities of the nanoforge. I turned it out, seeing as how I knew all the specs already. I spent the time instead keeping an eye on Luthor and Graves, making sure they didn't try anything. Maybe I should tell Ted he's a suspected supervillain. I don't have any proof, but if Ted was certain of it he'd cut off any deal out of sheer principle.
The presentation wound down and the various people watching were suitably impressed by the results. Ted stepped in front of the group with his arms spread wide and said "Now, with Kord Industries's material development technologies established, let's show you just what we have been doing with them. I know that several of you are interested in our new motor technology." A few in the crowd vigorously nodded their heads, and they started moving off.
Ms.. Hoshi took the lead while Ted quickly stepped over to our little group, addressing Luthor. "We'll be going over specific deals and arrangements after the tour is over. I hope you don't mind bidding along with everyone else. In the meantime, if you could-"
However, Luthor interrupted. "Actually, I was wondering if I could have a conversation with Machina." He looked to me. "In private."
That was… ominous. I cast a glance back at Ted, quickly weighing my options. After a moment I looked back and nodded. "I can spare some time."
"What about the rest of the presentation?" Ted asked, somewhat miffed.
"I'll be along soon enough. Mercy can go in my place until I'm ready to rejoin."
Ted sighed, but said "Alright, there's a conference room just down the hall that way. Machina knows where it is."
Luthor held his hand out to me. "By all means, lead the way."
So, me and Luthor parted from everyone else and headed to the conference room. We both made the short walk in silence, and when we arrived I shut the door behind us and asked "So, what did you want to talk about?"
He turned back to face me, one hand resting on the surface of the table. "I was curious to meet a superhero who had interests outside of saving people," Luthor said. "To find one using their talents to create something is rare indeed."
I arched an eyebrow. "I'm sure other superheroes do 'productive' things off the clock." I retorted, considering how to handle this. I was going to have to be careful here. Luthor was supposed to be a consummate manipulator and was likely trying to get something from me. Knowing that would help, but I couldn't get complacent. I definitely didn't have the social skills to try to turn it around on him and get him confess to something illegal (never mind it be admissible in court).
With that in mind one might wonder why I agreed to talk in the first place. The smart thing to do would probably to just politely decline. And yet… I wanted to meet the man who would stop at nothing to be considered the greatest in the world. To see if he really was the monster I remembered.
If anything my response seemed to amuse him. "If they do, I doubt it is of anything real significance." He paused before adding "Well, Wonder Woman is an accomplished diplomat, but that is not quite what I meant. You are using your abilities and intelligence to create new technology, rather than keeping it all to yourself."
Miffed about Superman not handing out Kryptonian tech, huh? Out loud, I just shrugged and said "It seemed like the right thing to do when I was starting out. I already had some skills in that direction, so after I became post-human it was a decent way to get my feet under me."
"So, it was mostly a financial decision? Because if it's money that you're after-"
I held up a hand to forestall him. "If you're looking to recruit me, I'll have to decline. I'm happy with my current arrangement with Mr. Kord, and if I ever want more money, I'd rather acquire it by more independent means."
Luthor inclined his head. "You can't blame me for trying. Though surely there's something you want that I could provide?"
Is he actually trying to bring me on board, or is he just trying to figure me out? I wondered. Either way, I probably didn't want to give him too much. I made a show of thinking about it before responding "I can't think of anything specific. In the end what I want… to make the world a better place."
"Of course," Luthor said, though there was something off about his tone. "Though that is a bit vague as far as things go."
"I know. There's a lot of ways to go about it." I said. "Aside from the whole superhero thing there's charity work, infrastructure improvements, new technologies that improve quality of life… I'll probably be doing a lot of all of them. A holistic approach seems best in the long term."
The other man's eyebrows rose slightly. "Ambitious. You will need a lot of assets and organization for such a strategy to be effective. Do you have a plan?"
I made a vague gesture. "I'm still working on it. For now I'm taking it slow, and seeing what I can do. Revolutionizing transportation and communication seems like a good start."
"Hmm… If you are taking advice, I would suggest setting up a few small LLCs now, each with its own objective it can pursue. This will let you continue your superhero work while pursuing these other goals of yours." Luthor suggested. "It may seem early to you, but I am sure that by the time you are ready, you will want to have them fully operational."
Why do I have the feeling that if I do that, you'll be meddling with them almost immediately? I thought. I was getting tired of Luthor's proding, so I took the opportunity to bring up a particular point. "You say that, but you don't have the best of luck with your own subsidiaries. Or need I remind you of Cadmus?" It had only taken a cursory investigation to find out that Cadmus was owned and funded by LexCorp. Of course they had disavowed any knowledge of the various illegal genetic experiments they were doing, just enough to ensure they weren't legally liable.
Luthor frowned. "That was unfortunate, but almost impossible to foresee. Dr. Desmond had become unstable after he was appointed to director of Cadmus, and used his position to hide what was really happening in his facility."
Uh huh. "But it does prove the point that when you're dealing with this level of tech, you need to be careful with what you do with it, and who has access to it. Can't let unscrupulous and unethical people control world changing technologies, after all."
The unscrupulous and unethical man in front of me nodded in agreement. "I understand that, but perhaps you're exaggerating the risks?"
I snorted. "Cadmus created a sapient species in their basement as an experimental byproduct and effectively enslaved them. No, I don't think I'm exaggerating." I fixed Luthor with a hard glare. "And if that's too abstract for you, let me put it a different way: it's like fathering a kid so you could use them as a tool for your own ends."
The two of us stared at each other for a long moment, the silence stretching out between us. Officially, Superboy did not exist. There were no records of him other than the ones the League confiscated from Cadmus, and LexCorp very insistently stated they had no idea what was going on. Unofficially, I was staring down the 'father' of my friend, who had him made so that he could have a weapon that could kill Superman.
Eventually, Luthor relaxed a bit and his easy smile came back. "I think that is a bit of a stretch. From what I heard the Genomorphs were treated quite well. They were not made with the intention of making slaves. If life, or perhaps artificial intelligence, is made through the pursuit of progress, I'm sure their creators will act responsibly and only do what is in their best interest."
The thought occurred to me: what if I just reached out and snapped Luthor's neck right there? It wasn't a serious thought, but part of me considered it for a moment. Even with all of the negative consequences I'd suffer, I could be saving a lot of future lives by doing that. And it would be so easy.
But, even if I ignored my own morals to do it… it wouldn't be a good idea. Anything I did could reflect badly on the League and other superheroes too (I wasn't a well-known crackpot after all). Besides which, I knew very little about this Luthor. Both about what he had planned for the future, and what contingencies he might have arranged if he suddenly died. So, my idle thought remained just that.
I remained silent for just a moment longer before I let out a sigh, clasping my hands together. "Thank you for the advice, but I'm afraid we're not going to see eye to eye on this. If there's nothing else, you should probably get back to the tour. However, you're taking advice, I would advise you keep a closer eye on what you and your employees are up to. Because when people are full of themselves and meddle with things they shouldn't, they usually get burned."
I turned to leave, but as I reached the door I heard Luthor say "That almost sounded like a threat."
I looked back at him, an open expression on my face. "I would never threaten you." I said, and left.
When I got back to the Mountain and asked the systems for a status update, I found that we had a guest. Seeing as how I could use some pleasant company after my brief chat with a supervillain, I made my way to the kitchen. As I got closer, I could hear voices in conversation.
"-gods gave me my powers, though it was Gaia, goddess of the Earth, that breathed life into the base clay that was my body."
"Fascinating… there are similar tales back on my home planet, though those involved spirits creating bodies for lost souls."
"Perhaps they're more similar than you think."
Reaching the kitchen, I saw Diana, Donna, and Kori all sitting at the kitchen table, chatting over steaming mugs. I wasn't sure what prompted Diana's visit, but she was always welcome. As I got closer, the group-
Wait, what do you call a group of warrior princesses? A royalty? No, too ambiguous. A coalition? No, that's cheetahs. A war party? Yeah, war party, let's go with that.
The war party turned to look at me, Diana in particular raising her mug. "Jacob, good to see you."
"Always nice to have you visit." From where I walked in, I came up behind Kori, so I wrapped my arms around her neck. She leaned back into me in response, and I continued. "Though considering the circumstances when most other superheros visit us, I'm wondering if we've got more work ahead of us."
Donna shook her head. "No, this is just personal time. Me and Diana are getting ready for a trip back to Themyscira, and, well..." she looked at Kori.
My girlfriend tilted her head back to look at me, a smile on her face. "I'm going to see their homeland!"
I blinked in surprise, and Diana explained as I glanced at her. "Themyscira has regular festivals, on each of the seasonal equinox or solstice. Back in the early days when the Amazonian capitol was on the mainland, this is when Amazons would allow visitors. Particularly men. Though after Heracles… Well, we moved to Paradise Island. Since then men have only visited our home with special dispensation from my mother or myself."
I nodded in understanding. I remembered being told by Batman that Jay and Alan were the last men to visit Themyscira, and that was decades ago. He had implied that there was some trouble involved with Alan, but he wouldn't go into details, so I assumed it was personal and didn't pry.
Diana gave a small sigh and continued. "In any case, the Autumn Festival is starting tomorrow, and I thought it would be a good time to let Koriand'r see our home. She has expressed in visiting, and I think my fellow Amazons will welcome her."
I looked down at Kori. "For the record, I agree. You have a lot in common with them. I hope you have fun." I looked back at Diana. "I certainly don't expect an invite myself, but I know I would love to see it at some point." I considered pointing out that, my body being made of nanomachines, my physical sex was neuter rather than male, but somehow I doubted the Amazons would apreciate the technicality.
An odd expression crossed Diana's face. "Point of fact, that's the other reason I'm here. You see… you are invited."
The other two women stared at her in surprise, while my eyebrows shot up into the air. "I..." I started to say, before I got over my surprise. "Wow, just… thank you Diana. I didn't think-"
She held up a hand to stop me. "Please do not take this the wrong way, but I am not the one who invited you. Nor my mother."
"Oh… then who did?"
"Lord Hephaestus."
=====A=====
Taste isn't really controlled by the endocrine system, but he's using it as a short hand for biochemical stuff