"That's right! I ran a whole engineering studio by myself! Lutra studio, represent!"
"And what bone-chillingly unethical experiments did you run there, hmmm?"
"Hey! That's a stereotype! We're not all mad scientists over there, you know. Besides, I had to sign a ten-page NDA just to talk to you."
"Yes. We have no choice but to work closely with Rhine Lab nowadays, which is why they let you come here. I just don't know which abominable scheme you were involved in."
"Don't call my Meeboos abominable!"
"... Meeboos?"
"Here, have a look."
"Ah. Suprisingly cute, actually. What does this red button do?"
"Ooh, I knew we'd get along. See, the last person to look at a mini-Meeboo pressed it without asking me."
"They come in bigger sizes!?"
"The self-destruct explosion is correspondingly larger!"
"I... see. What happened to them?"
"They lost a hand, and I lost my funding. Which is why I'm here."
"Are they autonomous? How big do they go?"
"I have to control them by wire, so no. But I'm working on it! Most of my combat designs are based on otters, so they're about waist high."
"Robot otters. Robotters?"
"Well, yes, but the Engineering director groaned and told me to come up with a new name. So I call them Meeboos. It's the sound they make when they boot up."
"Can they fight?"
"Some designs, yes. Not quite on the level of a combat veteran, but having one bite your foot off can be very distracting. Plus, if the foot is too big, the self destruct can be triggered remotely as well. Very discombobulating."
"I can imagine the results would be otterly devastating."
"Haha! Yes!"
"Hmm. Well, I can definitely see the potential in these Meeboos. How does joining Rhodes Island as a senior operative sound? It pays better than pure research, and you'd be able to test your Meeboos in live combat."
"It sounds kind of dangerous, really."
"I'll give you your own workshop, and it'll let you double dip from both the research and operations budget. Plus, live combat data."
"Hehehe... OK!"
"One last thing I'd like to clear up, though. Your last research paper on emergent effects in an decision-making networks was very well thought out."
"Don't look at me like that. I know how to apply for funding too. You play up the benefits and try to slide your real research underneath. What is it? Some kind of distributed intelligence? Each Meeboo as a network node?"
"More or less. Yes."
"And if the Meeboo network decides it doesn't like us very much?"
"That's what the self-destructs are for."
"But you will press the button? If push comes to shove?"
"... yes."
"Very good. Welcome to Rhodes Island, Miss Mayer."