May 30th: New Project

[Robert West]

Rob was apparently commandeering one of the workshops. He'd moved a large amount of equipment from his building and was currently taking inventory and getting everything working.

Sitting in the center of the room was what looked like a large vat.

[Altamira Vazquez]

A psychic redhead popped her head in.

"What you doooooing?"

[Robert West]

"Hijacking the network at the moment," Rob says, "My new project needs a lot of processing power."

"How about you? Eat any planets lately?"

[Altamira Vazquez]

"That's not me. You're thinking of the guy with the silly hat."

[Robert West]

"I must be," Rob says, picking up a tablet and starting up a few systems, "My mistake."

Picking his hat off a nearby table, Rob puts it on and adjusts it carefully.

[Altamira Vazquez]

"What is the vat?" she asked, curious.

[Robert West]

"Wanna see?" Rob asks with a grin.

[Altamira Vazquez]

"Yes!" she said, cheerily.

[Robert West]

Rob walks over to the edge of the vat and carefully removes the lid. Inside is a green slightly pulsating gel of some sort. A low hum fills Altamira's head.

[Altamira Vazquez]

"What on Earth is it?"

[Robert West]

"Sentient artificial matter," Rob says, "Careful. It has low level telepathy. Not much consciousness to speak of but it can get on your nerves."

[Altamira Vazquez]

"How sentient?"

[Robert West]

"How much do you know about the sentience quotient?" Rob asks.

[Altamira Vazquez]

"Let us assume nothing and go from there."

[Robert West]

"Let's just say it's not quite as sentient as lobster but more then a rock," Rob says.

[Altamira Vazquez]

"That describes quite a lot of things."

[Robert West]

"Well, I'm still testing it," Rob says, "Don't know much about it yet."

[Altamira Vazquez]

"Why did you make it?"

[Robert West]

"For science!" Rob shouts suddenly, "....I mean, why else?"

[Altamira Vazquez]

"Care to narrow that down?" she smirks.

[Robert West]

"I create something amazing and you're asking why?" Rob says stalking around the room, "Science is about discovery. Leave the 'why' for the businessman and the philosophers. I'm only concerned with the how."

[Altamira Vazquez]

"Can it think?" she asked, peering in.

[Robert West]

"Not yet," Rob says.

[Altamira Vazquez]

"What are you going to do with it?"

[Robert West]

"It's self-replicating programmable matter that's telepathic," Rob says, "Once I have the interface set up the better question is what won't I be able to do with it."

[Altamira Vazquez]

"OK, what won't you be able to do with it."

[Robert West]

"I'm pretty sure I won't be able to bring people back to life with it," Rob say, "...Probably."

[Altamira Vazquez]

"Probably for the best."

[Robert West]

"But basically I'm planning on using it to make configurable tools and apparatus at first," Rob says, "Machines that can repair themselves at adjust themselves to the project as needed."

[Altamira Vazquez]

"That could be useful!" she said, with a hidden smirk.

[Robert West]

"Or, you know, an army of artificial people with no fear of death," Rob says, "It has a lot of applications."

[Altamira Vazquez]

"Don't do the second one."

[Robert West]

"You sound just like one of those things," Rob says, "I forget what they are."

[Altamira Vazquez]

"People who munch on planets?"

[Robert West]

"No, a conscience," Rob says, "That was it."

[Altamira Vazquez]

"I can do that, yes."