Rubin’s Trail, Science Facility, Research Labs:
Tosca Shi’s joy of potential research and discovery was short lived. It was only a question of time before news of her actions reached her supervisor. It didn’t take long at all.
She already knew how the assistant director would respond to her request to test the droid with AD7. However, going behind her supervisor’s back for the director’s permission was a risky boundary to cross. Now in the assistant director’s office, she was feeling the full brunt of Dr. Cheari Wu’s wrath. Tosca could do nothing but listen as she was scolded.
Dr. Wu was not the one who saw wisdom in pointless yelling. However, it became evident how strongly she felt about this issue. After a few minutes of loud scolding, it seemed as though Chaeri was only getting started, “What were you thinking?! We have no way to know how the droids would react to her! We keep Aa Dee Seven separate from her droids for a reason!”
The assistant director continued along those lines, sternly reminding Tosca of the great risks posed by each of the projects. Boundaries were set to eliminate those risks. Though she avoided insulting Tosca’s intelligence, she wanted to make it painfully clear the danger she may have caused with her impatience.
Tosca spent the time finding interest in her shoes as she listened. After taking ownership of the ball droid project, she did all she could to see something come of it. Perhaps she had let the presumed power get the best of her.
Tosca had figured that AD7 was able to interact with all the facility’s machines already. Granted, many of the devices they used were considered Rubin’s Trail technology now. Still, almost all of the technology developed in the last twenty years had been modified from the Mech Fortress’ devices. To AD7, the programming would only be slightly different from her machines.
Tosca knew the risk was possible. There were always risks with innovative research. Doctor Yu was even testing AD7 with the weapons she used in the war! If AD7 was to act in violence, she would have done so by now.
However, it would do little good to explain this to the facility’s assistant director. Doctor Wu didn’t seem to agree with her reasoning, “Let me remind you who we are dealing with,” the assistant facility director paced as she spoke, “Aa Dee Seven, the one that held our greatest warriors back with a simple tower defense wall. Aa Dee Seven, the one that could have covered our entire valley with her mechanized landscape when she took the offensive.
“She became a machine herself and defeated us time and time again with her creations. So, the most brilliant, horrifying, mechanized, military mind is here, awake, in this facility. Unless we can convince her that the war is over and we are not her enemy, she will escape and destroy us. Do you understand?”
The clear, cold tone the assistant director used as she finished told Tosca that there was much more she wanted to say but chose not to. The war was horrible enough when it was on the other side of the valley. If it started again in the castle, Rubin’s Trail was doomed.
Tosca took the cue to be much more respectful of their situation, “Yes ma’am.”
Sitting back down at her desk, Dr. Wu added, “Never do anything like that again or your work in this field is over.”
Taking that as a signal of the conversation’s end, Tosca bowed and left the room.