ic Block Head

[Supercape]

GM

 

"A job! I mean, like, a JOB! One that doesn't involve chainsaws and shovels. Count me in!" said Ratchet, smashing his fist into his palm. "I'm all up for medication" he said. "I mean, I love drugs!" he winked. 

 

"The Foundry?" asked an impatient Block head. "Yes! I find waiting around and not building most difficult" he explained, drumming his fingers and eyeing the architecture. "It might almost drive one to smash up a building in order to build it..." he muttered. 

 

"Could you please explain what the Foundry is? I would be most pleased to see it and ...START....BUILDING!!!!" he growled. 

 

He looked at Mannequin expectantly. "I  would have you export me. As you are a builder, it is only natural that we, together, build at this foundry...."

 

Janet for her part bowed out quickly and made a rapid call to Dr Doeoxy...

[Exaccus]

It had been an intresting day over all, Anderson thought to himself, he'd finally gotten his base's genetic security measures online and recived a call from vision inc, he'd only briefly met James before at some convention or another probably to see another of the very few people they'd both considered their peers intellectually, this however was a buisness call for his alter ego so it was even more intriguing.

 

He'd been in his human looking state when he'd answered the call by the young lady who made it, mostly because it was comfortable to wear when he was working in the privacy of his base and so had managed to avoid unsettling her, a small grace if nothing else, none the less from what he had told him he'd been more than intrigued and after politely ending the call and assuring her he would arrive in under an hour he set off for the surface of genesis base through its turbolift system

 

he allowed himself a brief moment to feel the sunlight on his human skin before dropping the facade and assuming his true, new techno-organic form, sleek slivery metal pouring over his form and thick purple plates of metal materializing ontop of that.

 

setting his armour...no his bodies subsystems to enhancing his tachyon propulsors he took to the sky and after climbing to a height that wouldn't interfere with any of the air traffic he was sure was going on headed off in the direction of Freedom city on the opposite coast of america in a streak of what he had been told was purple energy at just over Mach 6

Edited February 13, 2018 by Exaccus

[Removed.]

"The Foundry is where we produce and refine the majority of our products. After experiments to ensure the invention is safe for mass production it goes there to be outsourced to the public market based on orders...In other words that's where we build things. I'm sure you'll find it to be a wonderful place. I would love to explain more but you seem to be the hand on type of person so its probably best to get to it. I have a acquaintance coming soon and he would like to meet you. I'll send for you within the next few hours or days so you can meet him."

 

Mannequin stared off into the distance in deep thought for a moment

 

"Before you leave I have to know. What was it like gaining sentient thought? I can only assume but I imagine it was a very strange experience. What was the first thing you felt and what did you first do? I know my questions seem odd but I'm rather... Curious on how you became you."

[Supercape]

GM

 

"The Foundry, where you produce...." stuttered Block Head "..which must mean you build!" said Block Head, quite unwilling to accept any other explanation, which would surely be most troublesome. 

 

"I...." he spluttered now, hands clenching and writhing "...I have not been building for several minutes. I...do not think I like this feeling. It is very...difficult..."

 

"difficult...difficult....difficult...difficult..." echoed the four other faces, now out of synch. This was a sure sign of a troubled mind, such as it was. 

 

"I must build. I cannot wait hours!" he imploded, standing up and stomping his feet. 

 

"I am, therefore I build, I build, therefore I am! I am the distilled sentience of a building, magnified and enhanced! I MUST BUILD!!!!" he screamed, furiously. 

 

[Removed.]

"I don't know why you think you have to wait hours to build. Ive already requested some assistants to escort you to the Foundry to build. They should be here in but a few moments. I would like you to not break anything until then."

 

Reaching into his desk Mannequin pulled out some Memory Putty. Think of it like modeling clay but completely waterproof, doesn't dry out, able to change its texture, and can easily remember previous shapes and designs its been shaped into. Its useful for idle inventors when they get the itch to create and design.

 

"Here, try fiddling around with this. Its called Memory Putty. It will ease your mind and let you construct in your downtime. Go on,try building a miniature house."

 

He hoped this put the art piece at ease. He really didn't want to mess up his office.

[Supercape]

GM

 

Block head calmed down a little, although he was still agitated. "Not hours? Good...good....I had thought we had to wait for your friend..." he explained. He took the memory putty out and started playing with it. 

 

"Hmm...fiddly...yes....fiddly..." he said, but he did appear interested if not calm. 

 

Without taking (at least one set of) his eyes off the putty, he continued speaking through another face. "I would still be most keen to see your Foundry. And you can tell me about your friend as we travel!"

[Removed.]

"Very well, I will personally show you the Foundry."

 

Mannequin opened his office door and made a casual sweep of his hand.

 

"This way please...Janet, please inform Dr.Deoxy that I will be in the Foundry when he arrives. I would prefer to conduct business with him in my office but there are pressing matters I must attend to. Oh, also Janet, write a demerit to the workers I requested. It has been several minutes and still they have not arrived. Tardiness and laziness  is frowned upon here and they did not do their job as requested. If they fail again recommend to HR to doc their pay. Also please help Ratchet with orientation as we welcome him into our wonderful company."

 

He knew he may be coming off as abit harsh but he had good reason to. How can he possibly expect the best from his workers if he didn't accept nothing but the best? No, those who slack and go for the easy ride do not belong here at Vision. His parents helped get Vision off the ground and he will be damned if he let some spoiled brats take advantage of it. He always acquainted running a business to that of gardening. How did the saying go? Oh yes. "To grow you must wreck havoc upon the soil. Only from the chaos can life grow." With that ponder he strode out his offer  giving a quick farewell to Ratchet. He may be crazy but Janet was a force to be reckoned with when it came to handling people.

 

"As you can tell Block Head. Vision is a very active business. We make groundbreaking progress in space travel and environmental survival daily and we won't stop until we get to the stars." 

 

Leading him towards the private elevator they passed several labs with see through walls. A multitude of science experiments happened as lab technicians slaved away with beakers and bobbles . Occasionally the hall was briefly lit with a colorful explosion as elements and concoctions were mixed. Mannequin couldn't help but feel pride whenever he walked these halls. He didn't just see  lab techs or crazy experiments, he saw a bright future brought by the sweat of mankind's brow. Entering the elevator it took all of four seconds to reach the Foundry, located in the basement to prevent possible spill of molten metal. 

 

The Foundry was abuzz with the sounds of heavy machinery. Belt grinders, Buzz Saws, Hydraulic Presses, and a multitude of furnaces. The air was hot and humid as water was fed into the furnaces letting off steam. Workers in protective overalls ran about checking dials and carting ingredients. All in all the Foundry was massive with its 85+ workforce running it day and night. If you wanted to build, this was the place.

 

"This is the Foundry, Everything is created and built here. We spare no expense when it comes to supplying it with all the tools and resources it needs. You can find a little bit of everything here. It also runs all day and night so you will never not be without the opportunity to build. As for my friend, His name is Dr.Deoxy and he is a brilliant man. Far smarter than I am and I've based a lot of my work on his groundbreaking studies. I'm going to be honest in telling you that I am not sure how else I can help you besides letting you build here. You may think that's all you need but I can assure you there is far more to discover. As to how to properly show you the wonders of the world and teach you about people? Well that's where Dr.Deoxy will hopefully help. Think of it this way. He will help teach you how to build relationships with people. Now unless you have any other questions I can start showing you how to properly use the Foundry."

 

 

[Supercape]

GM

 

Block Head nodded (As well as he was able to with his most peculiar head) thoughtfully. He appeared, at least for the moment, distracted from his urge to build. "It is hard for me to understand all of this marvellous and overwhelming machinery" he explained. "I have spent my entire existence locked into building. It was happy. I felt purpose, and satisfaction in driving forward with that purpose..."

 

He shuddered. 

 

"All of this is both exhilarating and nauseating. As if I was drowning in the world" he said, flailing his arms uselessly. "I cannot absorb it all. I feel lost and...frightened? Yes, frightened...."

 

"What does this mean for me? I know have an urge to understand myself, an urge that I never felt before..."

[Supercape]

GM

 

And meanwhile...

 

Dr Deoxy was making his magnificent approach to Freedom City, and more specifically, Vision Inc, when he came across a cloud. 

 

A regular cloud, this was not. Not your typical fluffy white one, not even your dull streak of grey. That would have been unremarkable. 

 

This cloud, had a most purple hue, was frothing, gaseous, and maybe twenty five feet in diameter. It seemed to be blurry, or distorted.

 

And it was hovering a few miles above Vision Inc, as if it was spying on the proceedings...

[Exaccus]

This was....Unusal to say the least, figuring he had a few minutes to spare as he hovered just outside of Vision Incs skyscraper so with great speed he headed towards the looming cloud with the scientific curiosity that had lead him allthrough out his life as a human and beyond that.

 

First things first he would test how it responded to certain...stimuli, such as his hand, reaching out to wipe his palm slowly through its billowy mass, testing its consistency and of course any adverse effects on the metal plating of his armour.

 

[Supercape]

GM

 

The cloud's edge seemed ragged, like a frothing foam. Its nature seemed to be slightly distorting the electomagnetic spectrum around it. The Doctor could imagine it would be hard to see with the naked eye from the ground, and perhaps impossible with radar. 

 

His hand swiped through it easily enough. It was like a cloud of dust, rather than vapour. Not nanobots; well, not exactly. Like fragments of a shattered kitchen ceramics. tiny little purple tinted fragments, held together by some strange force. 

 

As he swiped his hand through, the cloud reformed straight afterwards, frothing a little more, somewhat agitated. But this was transient, and it soon resumed its previous activity - whatever that was. 

[Exaccus]

"Fascinating indeed....but i am late." he said, as much to himself as the cloud as he extended his hand and his techno-organic internals thrummed to life and began to construct an electromagnetic barrier around the mysterious foam like cloud, as much to keep it from being dispersed or damaged by outside containments as it was to prevent it from wrecking havoc on anything around him

 

"Stay there for me, will you, we can have some more fun later."

[Supercape]

GM

 

The cloud frothed when encased in the electromagnetic field, but was held. It seemed agitated, in its bubbling activity, but on the other hand did not seem to resist or try to break free. As far as the Doctor could tell, it was not sentient. Reactive, possibly, but not sentient. At best, it had a slug like intelligence, and even that might well be a generous estimation. 

 

The descent to Vision Inc was relatively quick. And he was met by a rather tired looking employee, Spencer - tall, wiry, balding and officious, who had Ratchet in tow. Trying to orientate him. 

 

"Oh sweet Lord, another visitor? How many today?" sighed Spencer, throwing his hands up in the air as the Doctor arrived. 

 

"Wow! Doctor Deoxy! This is some crazy day, huh, Spence? I mean, like, total freaking freaky!" grinned Ratchet, hopping from one foot to another. "I mean, it is you, right?" he asked the Doctor. "I'm not having a flashback to Henrietta's moon-party in Dehli? I had some really suspicious Dhal there, you know? I still don't know what kind of stuff she put in it..." he gasped with a moment of fear. 

[Exaccus]

He'd often heard people call him aloof and distant but he felt that was more him not being their cup of tea rather than any true feelings of alienation from him, at least not intentionally, he was here after all at the request of his friend and all in all, felt rather high in spirits from all the wonderfully curious things occuring around him today.

 

"Indeed, I am Doctor Deoxy, at least, last time i checked." he responds with a wry smile, the energetic man dancing around infront of him "It has been a while since i was last in Deli, you and i Should exchange stories at some point, though right now i believe i am late for an appointment with Mr Horridan." turning his head to the second, more exasperated man with the same wry smile.

 

"I believe he is expecting me?"

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Yes of course, Sir, I would be delighted to escort you. Mr. Horridan is currently entertaining our ah...other guest...or employee...I am not quite sure" replied Tristan. 

 

"I am not sure which one of them is the most strange, to be frank" he whispered into the Doctors ear as he brushed past. 

 

"Ratchet...oh Gods, am I calling you Ratchet already? I think it's catching. Whatever it is..." sighed Tristan. "I am meant to be escorting you so you, ah, better come along" he groaned. 

 

With groan and sigh firmly in his artillery of expressions, Tristan took Doctor Deoxy (and Ratchet) to Mannequin, who was, at that very moment, in conversation with Block Head. 

[Removed.]

"That's nothing to be afraid of. You are just now learning that there is so much more than one incomplete building in life. You're uncomfortable now but give it some time and it will feel like home to you. As for understanding yourself well...I've already called in that friend to help you learn more about yourself and others. But until he is here lets take things slow at the Foundry."

 

Mannequin begins guiding him on the uses of various tools and equipment, going on all the rules and such. Truth be told Mannequin hasn't been down to the Foundry in a couple months since he had most of what he needed in his office but it felt good to be back in the belly of the beast that was Vision Inc. He still remembered his younger days where he where the hot steam of the furnaces made his skin tingle as sweat pooled making him feel alive. Now...He felt nothing. The thought made him shudder. He will admit that he might of taken drastic measures to become who he was today but he knew he just had to. He had to become strong to protect those he loved even if it costed him his humanity. True he doesn't feel anything physically but he still loves, hates, and everything else but how long will that last? Will there be a day where he has been detached from the world for so long he ceases to be part of it? Mannequin didn't know and he hoped he'd never find out the answer.

[Exaccus]

"We live in strange times indeed, Im sure Mr Horridan is grateful for your efforts, good help is hard to come by after all." Deoxy stated cooly as he followed behind with rachet, keeping on eye on the excitable man, for all his now inhuman nature he still felt empathy and he could tell that someway, somehow, things had gone very wrong for the gentlemen and this was how he had managed to cope with it all.

 

Perhapse there was something that might be done to help him but right now he had widerspreading concerns to deal with, a accidentally AI with a penchant for building building building could prove troublesome if things to into a grey goo scenario and the cloud of ceramic debris floating over vision inc would have dire consequences if left unchecked.

 

Rachet whilst no less important was still only one person and thus had to take a lower priority in the scheme of things, at least for now.

 

being lead into the foundry behind the member of staff and alongside rachet he announced himself almost immediately to James and his most unusual companions.

 

"Greetings my friend, I apologize for being late, i ran into a little something that required some...direct attention." he says with a thin but sincere smile, there was no need to complicate matters yet, so far the cloud had been content if not exactly happy to sit in the forcefield he'd set up "I would like your opinion on it once we have concluded our buisness concerning your friend here." he says looking to the five faced humanoid of malliable ceramics.

 

"You must be blockhead, I must say it is a distinct pleasure to meet a being so unique as yourself, Mr Horridan has informed me that he believes you and I have much to offer one another, I look forwards to a most productive relationship."

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Unique am I? Unique, I am..." mused Block Head, tapping his head with his fingers and causing a strange drumming sound. 

 

"If we had conversed but a few hours ago, I would have thought that productivity was the sum of all existence. Now, I am unsure. Why is that?" he asked all around him, his faces deeply furrowed. 

 

"What production? Why? And for all that is produces, something else is destroyed. Like an endless grinding wheel, all we do is rearrange. For what purpose? I feel the urge, but do not understand it. Why? Why do I feel this compulsion? Why do I exist at all?" he asked. 

 

He smashed his fists together with crunching power. 

 

"I see no point to my existence, now...."

[Removed.]

Shaking hands James resisted the urged to fanboy at one of his idols. He has met the Dr at a convention or two but never had the pleasure top met him for a personal matter. Finally he thought he was moving up in the superhero community.

 

"A pleasure to have you Dr. I've been following your work and your study on cardiovascular in relation to brain power was groundbreaking. As you can see I've been put into a situation I need your expertise in. Over a year ago mercenaries stole some of my tech and made off with it. Only just recently I've managed to track down some of it thanks to Ratchet and well this is what I found. Somehow they caused the material to become sentient and I'm not sure how to properly bring it into society. Surely you with your studies in Behavior Science could help? After that I hope its not too much to ask but I would also like you to accompany me as I track down the source of where the material came from."

[Exaccus]

"aah, this is because your wolrd has grown vastly in a short time from what i have heard from our friend here." he says with a smile and a gentle nod towards James "You have discovered their is so much more to the world, and thus you desire to grow along side it." he explains "you built because you existed, you existed to build, but now there is more to it than that, and i assure you my friend, more to you than just that, we must simply work our way through it, do not let haste get the better of you my friend."

 

"for example, have you asked Mr James here why he builds, for what purpose he has dedicated his existence to his craft?" he says "To make the world better, to provide for those whom need dearly and desperately, As Do I in the pharmaceutical pursuits, we much like you create for our purpose, we have simply developed ours beyond being for its own sake, as im sure you will too given time."

 

Leaving blockhead to ponder on his statements for however long they would run through its stream of conciousness he turns more fully to james "You are much to kind Mr Harrond, I will assist you and our friend to the best of my abilities to do so, and i must confess the thought of collaberating with you as a peer is an exciting one, i am rather taken with the unique materials of your construction, material science has always been of interest to me, though i have far greater acumen with the study of lifes building blocks."

[Supercape]

GM

 

"The world is expanding. Infinite, it is" agreed Blockhead. 

 

He pounded his head, violently, full of transient anger. 

 

"I cannot see it all. Not the merest fraction of the tiniest part. I cannot expand to fill it. I cannot hope to understand it. And yet, my perception grows, like a ladder without end"

 

He gripped a steel railing, and bent it, crushing it, rending it. 

 

"And from my first step, to build, my next seems only to destroy....!"

[Exaccus]

"there is no need to be upset blockhead, do you not enjoy the idea of infinite possibility? that you might do any number of things, that you might not do just as many." he says doing his best to remain calm and unthreatening or disturbing to blockhead "I understand that it is a lot to take in, to deal with  of course." 

 

if nothing else he could give rachet and Tristan time to clear out, though with his powers dedicated to maintaining his forcefield he would have to get creative if things did become violent.

 

"Is figuring out the solution to problems not half the fun of solving them?"

[Supercape]

GM

 

"No! It is frustrating!" shouted Block Head straight back. 

 

It was become increasingly obvious that when emotionally aroused, his five faces started talking slightly out of synch. It was an unpleasant cacophony, and could even make it hard to understand what he was saying. 

 

"I feel myself crumbling, inside" he said, still angry. "What have you done? I was happy, before, in my world. Now, my mind is jumbled and confused. I have lost harmony. Why did you do this?"

 

He pounded his head again. 

 

"What am I? WHAT AM I????"

[Removed.]

With a sigh Mannequin scolded himself. Of course Block Head would have an existential crisis being exposed to all this. He walked over to the emergency alarm attached to a wall and pressed it. The workers were drilled for such events and immediately started evacuating  the facility. Some progress would inevitably be lost but if that's the price to ensure their safety then so be it.

 

"I'm going to have to ask you to calm down now. I don't want to forcefully restrain you but for the safety of my employees I will if I have to. There is no need for any of this. All you need to do is calm down. "

 

 

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Calm? Need?" said each of Block Heads faces, full of confusion. "What do those words even mean???"

 

"WHO AM I! WHY AM I! I NEED ANSWERS!!!!" he screamed as the emergency lights flashed a dull red over his purple hued body. 

 

The emergency was in full swing, and a couple of security guards thudded into the foundry. 

 

"Halt! What is transpiring?" they asked, almost in unison. 

 

Mannequin did not recognise either of them. They spoke flatly, and seemed slow of intellect. Or even drugged, perhaps. Whatever they wanted, they were at least not pulling guns...