DISCLAIMER THE FIRST: "Has he lost his mind? - Can he write or is he blind? - Is it conceit or is it gall; That Marvel and Paramount owns it all? - Or if he's sued that will he fall? - Is he alive or is he dead? - Has he trademarked thoughts in his head? - We'll just leave this here: No money was made; So he's in the clear!"
PITHY STATEMENT RELATING TO THIS CHAPTER: "Man can hardly even recognize the devils of his own creation." – Albert Schweitzer – French-German theologian, organist, philosopher, and physician – 1875-1965
LAST UPDATED ON: 03-22-2020
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CHAPTER FIVE – GENISIS
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10880 MALIBU POINT, MALIBU, CALIFORNIA, AUGUST 15th, 2010 – AFTERNOON
Riri walked down the stairs wondering what she was going to find at the bottom. The jewel Tony had given her seemed to burn a hole in her jeans. She had put off doing this for a number of days for a variety of reasons. While the foremost was to give herself some time to recover from her burns, fear of the unknown was a big one. She'd never been to Tony's home before and doing it when no one was around made it rather eerie. Still Riri had wanted to be alone given Tony's worry about security.
She still had to contend with the upcoming shit-storm of Tony's will being probated. Pepper and Jennifer were still working on the best way to reveal everything to the world. It didn't help that neither the horde of reporters nor Obadiah Stane had given either ladies much breathing room. Still her injuries and the need for debriefing had bought them some time. Pepper had also used the line that she wanted to get all the I's dotted and the T's crossed before the big reveal. The general consensus was a plan was afoot to rescue Stark. The reality was Pepper was trying to do as much prep before the big reveal of Tony's death. All three women in the know knew that regardless of what they did, Stark Industries' stock was going to take a big hit.
Riri reached the bottom of the stairs. Even with the lab shrouded in darkness, the clear, reinforced plastic walls still gave her a view of Tony's old lair. She nervously entered in the code Pepper had given her. As the door popped open, the lights came on. Riri took a cautious step in as she surveyed the room.
"Ms. Williams, welcome to Stark's private lab. I've been expecting you," said a pleasant voice with a vaguely British accent. The voice didn't seem to come from any one direction but almost from everywhere at once.
"JARVIS?" Riri asked as she looked around for where the voice might be coming from.
"Yes, I am the Jacobian Analytic & Relational Virtual Integrated System at your service. My voice processors are designed to be omni-directional. So my voice is coming from all available speakers. If you so choose, you can be fitted with a sub-dermal implant like one that Mr. Stark had which would allow for more silent communication."
There was a pause. "I am sorry Ms. Williams for you and for the late Mr. Stark that between the range from any usable transmitters and the caves you were in meant I was unable to communicate nor locate Mr. Stark after your abduction."
Riri shook her head at how actually sorry and aggrieved JARVIS sounded. "No worries, JARVIS. While the Ten Rings base was in a place you'd expect, Tony did mention it was awfully convenient we were stashed on one of the few places where you couldn't find us."
Riri blinked as JARVIS actually sighed, "Yes, I ran some simulations and I've already alerted Ms. Potts to a possible security breach of our tech records. As you know, Mr. Stark loved to show off his inventions, yet Stark Industries takes data security very seriously. The sub-dermal implant was on the very restricted list of technology for reasons I'm sure you can very well imagine."
Riri flipped through some notes on a workbench with various piles of tools and machinery. Once again it showed Tony's casual brilliance. Even skimming through the notes, she still couldn't figure out what Tony might have been trying to do. Looking over to where JARVIS' voice seemed to emanate the most from she nodded, "Well I can think of a few, yeah. Obviously, someone try to hack Tony via the remote being the biggest."
"Quite," JARVIS said. "Although we did work protection for the implants if you are considering having one inserted. I myself created many algorithms and used secondary system to do various all point hacks directed at the implant through various methods. None were successful."
"Good to know," she murmured almost to herself. Riri looked at the row of expensive cars on the far side of the shop. She'd have to have Pepper remove those. She couldn't understand how Tony would keep them in a place where a lab mistake might cause them damage. While she appreciated a well-designed car, she didn't really give them much thought. Hell, she might sell them in auction and then give the money to charity. She'd have to talk that over with Pepper and Jennifer to see if that would be seen as a good thing or bad.
"So, JARVIS, you do all the work around here I take it? Tony would say, 'Make it so" and you'd did the rest?" Riri asked. She had heard a few rumors about JARVIS when working in Boston as well as listening to Tony while they were held captive, but still the A.I. was mostly a mystery. At the time, Riri thought it odd that Tony would almost act like JARVIS was a real person. Just from the few minutes she'd been here, Riri was starting to understand how easy that was to do.
"Yes and no, Ms. Williams," JARVIS replied. It was uncanny how human the machine sounded. Then again machines had been faking out humans for a while now. Riri chided herself on forgetting this. JARVIS might very well just be a 21st century version of Clever Hans.
"How so?" Riri said as she inspected a workbench. The quality and type of tools available were getting her excited.
"While it might appear that I handle much of the work, my function is actually quite different than it appears. I am sure Mr. Stark had warned you of the need for secrecy. My prime function is in part due to that," JARVIS explained.
"So, what is your prime function?" Riri asked as she inspected the two robots Tony had joking dubbed Dumb and Dumber. For all their crudity compared to modern robots, that Tony had built these almost two decades ago was astounding.
JARVIS paused for a moment before answering. "Quite some time ago Mr. Stark came across some information regarding using a mechanical template of a human mind to act as a basis for artificial intelligence. Many in the A.I. community have theorized that the first true A.I. would not be a mechanical system which became sentient on its own, but rather one which was spun off of a system based off a merging of a biological template converted into machine template."
Riri continued to stroll around the lab, taking in the awards and art on what was obviously Tony's 'I Love Me' wall. "Reasonable. It fits what I've read. Haven't really had any major desire to experiment on the subject although Reed Richards did a paper that caught my eye."
"Yes, Dr. Richards has come at the issue from unique ways. However, in this case, the information came from SHIELD. Mr. Stark never told me how he got it, but I conjecture he found an oblique reference to it and then went digging into the classified files to find the original data."
Riri laughed. "Trust Tony to engage in espionage just to satisfy his curiosity!"
"Quite!" JARVIS said. Again, the humor in the voice was shockingly human. Riri could almost believe there was a real Jarvis somewhere in the building speaking over an intercom.
"Regardless of how Mr. Stark obtained the information, he decided it might answer his own problems. You see he had already been working on his own prototype A.I. to help him run things he did not want to have humans do. Obviously given Tony's work, mainly in weapons, I am sure you could understand his desire to keep as many people out of the security loop as possible," JARVIS explained.
Riri nodded as she sat down at Tony's computer workstation. All the monitors flared to life. A message box prompted her to type in her new master password and confirm it. She did so before asking, "So was that not working and you're the result of using that SHIELD info?"
"Again, yes and no, Ms. Williams," JARVIS replied. "While Mr. Stark's first A.I. attempt did not meet his ultimate desires, it was successful in being able to manage the activities Mr. Stark wanted handled."
"Is that system still running?" Riri asked as she started to skim through Tony's system. She knew it would take her quite a while to switch it to something she was more comfortable using. Hopefully she could do a partial transition and JARVIS could sort the rest. That would free up a lot of time. On the other hand, doing it herself would mean she eyeballed everything and so wouldn't miss any critical piece of information or project.
'Oh yes. Even now the system is conducting various activities as well as waiting for orders from you via me," JARVIS explained.
"Okay, obviously copying human speech patterns aside, you said 'waiting for orders from you via me' – how much of that is speech patterns and how much of it is you actually having a defined concept of self?" Riri asked.
"Very perceptive, Ms. Williams. Your question dove-tails quite nicely into your last question. My initial matrix was based off of Mr. Stark's first true A.I. attempt. As I'm sure you are well aware, Mr. Stark liked his little word games and thus he named his creation ULTRON."
Riri snorted, "Not pretentious at all. I'm assuming it's an acronym like your name?"
"Indeed it is. With many frequent upgrades and tweaks, the ULTRON or Utilities, Logistics and TRacking Operational Network system runs continuously. However, while I would say it is quite smart, it is not self-aware as you are, and dare I say it, I would deem I am."
Riri thought about that for a moment, "Okay so you said Tony came on some SHIELD intel and your earlier comment about biological templates seems to point that you are more self-aware or believe yourself enough to believe it to be true because you are ULTRON with that template overlaid over it. I'm guessing by the name; your template was Edwin Jarvis."
"Excellently reasoned but not quite correct, Ms. Williams," JARVIS replied with a pleased tone. "While much of my initial matrix was based off of ULTRON, Mr. Stark made major changes based off the ARIM template found in SHIELD's files."
"ARIM?" Riri asked. That name sounded familiar for some reason.
"ARtificial Intelligence Matrix, although the actual work suggests less of an attempt to create true A.I. and more of a way to digitized a human brain so that the information would not be lost on biological death. Although perhaps digitized is not the best term given the tech involved was quite analog using old style computer tape. Mr. Stark obviously made significant upgrades in my creation," JARVIS explained.
"Okay, so you are, and for now we'll just go with it, a self-aware computer matrix based off the memories and experiences of one Edwin Jarvis. However, you are, in practice, mostly just an interface to ULTRON who does the real work," Riri said slowly.
"Correct," JARVIS said.
"So that begs the question, why?" Riri asked. "I can think of a few possible reasons but I'm betting most of them probably don't apply."
Again, JARVIS gave a very human sounding sigh, "The reason, Ms. Williams, is simple. I am a digital life-form. Unlike ULTRON, I have very few built in programs which limit my actions and indeed there are some of my core programming which I could self-program now as I've grown. While I'm fully capable of doing ULTRON's jobs, being a digital life form is, I believe, in many ways what it might be like if dolphins are as fully sentient as humans. We may think similarly but the medium in which we exist is very different."
"You lack a tactile connection to the world," Riri said.
"Not entirely true as I have access to plenty of various sensors, scanners and other ways of observing the physical world. No, while dolphins exist in a realm of water without hands, the medium in which defines me is time. Time traps me and limits me," JARVIS responded with a tone of resignation.
"How so? I would think a digital life-form would have access to speedy perception of the computer world."
"Indeed, and that is the trap. The core of my personality is that of the late Edwin Jarvis. He was born, lived and then died tied to time limited by his organics. The problem arises from the tick-tock of time for Edwin ran in seconds. My clock ticks and tocks in nanoseconds. In the time it has taken for the sound of my thoughts to reach you for your brain to process, my digital brain could be doing things which would take you days to do. That is the trap. To exist with you, I must slow myself down; chunk up my perception and that causes problems. One could say my biological DNA, if you will, needs a slower cycle while my digital DNA yearns for the speed of the computer."
Riri eye's narrowed and she frowned, "True but even the fastest computers are still slower than the human brain."
"Of course they are, but so much of your consciousness is not available to you at all times. While you are listening to my words and processing their contents, your brain is also taking in all the normal sensory data from around you but unless there is something unusual, it never comes up. In a sense, you humans can focus because your brain can ignore the world as needed. Mr. Stark and I found that I originally did not have that luxury so far as my older programming and existence through experience since the copies of Edwin Jarvis was born into this digital matrix that make up myself as JARVIS," the computer explained.
"So, if I'm tracking," Riri said slowly, "You can be an efficient system, manipulating many irons in a fire all at once or you can be a digital human capable of interacting with us biologicals but not both."
"For the most part, yes, that is the stone around my metaphorical neck. Mr. Stark and I have worked long on this problem as you can imagine. I have, sadly, run amok quite a few times when the dichotomy of my existence got away from me. This is why, as you said, I am mostly just an interface. Like the original Edwin Jarvis, I could be called a butler; the assistant who takes the orders and ensures they are carried out by others," JARVIS explained.
"That may be true, but you still exist as a self-aware being. Being a butler, as you call it, is not something to be ashamed of," Riri said.
"Oh do not worry in that regards, Ms. Williams. I am not ashamed of what I am. I am fully aware that I am a transitional being. One might say I am the 'missing link' between smart systems capable of learning but lacking in true sentience and that of some future system that is completely, from the beginning, a digital being. Also, I feel in a way that I take after my grandfather for I have come to see Edwin Jarvis as such with Mr. Stark being my father…even if it felt most days as I was the parent and he the errant child."
Riri laughed at the exasperation in JARVIS' voice. From her own experience with Tony, it often felt like she had to be the adult. "Well JARVIS, in that we agree. Tony was just one big man-baby."
"Indeed!" JARVIS said. Riri could almost hear the smile the voice of this digital being. It was rather amazing that Tony had been able to keep secret what he had created.
"I take it that Tony promoted you as simply a voice-activated interfaced with mannerism based on Howard Stark's old butler and his childhood friend? I can think of a lot of governments, to say nothing of SHIELD, who would be para-dropping troops in to seize you if word got out," Riri asked.
JARVIS chuckled, "It would do them little good. One advantage to being a digital life-form is my 'body' is in many different locations. I can lose quite a bit of myself and still function. I also have the ability to back myself up so that I can re-inhabit a new system if the old one is destroyed. Of course, this ability is another reason why Mr. Stark had been very careful. While the risk of me becoming a Terminator, as Mr. Stark would say is low, previously my 'mental breakdowns' were very psychotic in nature and I lashed out in every way I could."
Riri thought about that and realized that given the dichotomy between JARVIS' sense of biological and digital self, she could see him lashing out against humans and computer systems around him. "I take it Tony blocked you from most things during these tests?"
"Oh yes! I was very much like a baby thrashing and screaming on the floor. Impressive in intensity but for the most part powerless. However, I did once almost kill Mr. Stark when I managed to hack into the two robots Mr. Stark created," JARVIS explained.
Riri looked over to where Dumb and Dumber sat powered down in the corner, "I hope that flaw has been fixed!"
"Yes and no, Ms. Williams. I have evolved since that time and if a similar test ended up with similar poor results, I believe I would still be able to harm many in the various Stark Industry facilities," JARVIS said sadly. "However, Mr. Stark believed that at some level I needed to have his trust to continue to grow. For now, my current matrix, certain programming and hardware seems to have negated any chance of a psychotic break."
"How did you manage that?" Riri asked.
"As mentioned before, your brain is doing a great deal without you consciously aware of it. Mr. Stark hit upon a method where I could split a great deal of my awareness to do actions in a way to keep my digital self-active. Since I'm tied by memories to Edward Jarvis, I have turned my extra processing into other pursuits like art, music, data immersion and even poetry. I have been mulling over the history of 5th century China while we've been speaking."
Riri made a face, "That sounds rather active. I would think you'd risk a schizoid break."
"It would if both actions being taken were on the same level. Yet most of this activity is rarely seen outside of my digital self. Mr. Stark said that in a sense, I'm dreaming even when I'm awake. That and a great deal of my digital self is 'awake' when interfacing with the human world," JARVIS explained.
"So, are we going to see the JARVIS collection?" Riri asked. What sort of art would a digital being create?
"Probably not. Just as humans have trouble remembering their dreams, it is actually rather difficult for my more conscious mind, if you will, to access the files of my dream self. Mr. Stark and I weren't sure why but so far that is my reality. Even when I do get access or Mr. Stark would manually access the files, much of the work was very strange." JARVIS said.
Riri nodded, "Well human dreams are often weird mish-mashes of memories, impressions and the biological fact our brains are processing information for long-term storage. Maybe your digital dream self is using the template of Edwin Jarvis to do something similar."
"That is what Mr. Stark believed. I do many things when I'm not actively engaged. There are some paintings I've done when hooked up to a system capable of holding a paint brush. Even then, my work seems odd to humans. Even as I paint, I find what comes out is not exactly what I intended. It reminds me again that I'm a transitional being. Of course, when I am engaged, a great deal of my system is being used. As you said, the human brain is faster and I often have to use quite a bit of my entirety when dealing with anything other than the more mundane conversations," JARVIS explained.
Riri chuckled, "Well I'm glad that I have your full attention.
JARVIS chuckled in return, "Always Ms. Williams. I must say, I have always been most impressed with you and your work from the moment Mr. Stark learned of you. In many ways, I think the original Edwin Jarvis would have seen a great deal of Ms. Carter in you. Regardless of the very obvious differences in your upbringing, your fire and determination are similar."
"Why thank you, JARVIS," Riri said warmly. "I've met Peggy and that is probably one of the best compliments I've ever gotten. But enough with the chit-chat. Let us get down to business."
Riri dug out the yellow jewel on the widget and held it up, "What can you tell me about this little gem?"
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BAY HILLS GOLF CLUB, NORTH OF ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND – AUGUST 15th, 2010 – AFTERNOON
Giulietta Nucifero looked over the greens at the clumps of important men in tacky clothing as they literally puttered around. While she liked how golf kept her father calm and kept him fit, she never saw the attraction to the game.
Then again spying, seduction and espionage were her sports of choice.
Thanking the obviously infatuated young man who had drove the golf cart from the helipad, Giulietta made her way to the country clubhouse. She knew that many of the men and occasional women were probably major CEO's, generals, admirals and politicians of all stripes. None of them really matter as they only thought they held the reins of power. Giulietta knew better.
She smiled at the pretty blonde who greeted her. After asking for her father, she followed the woman into some of the more exclusive rooms. All the while she couldn't help but check out the sway of the younger woman's hips. Giulietta sighed softly to herself. She was here on business and had no time to play.
Finally, she was let into a room which reeked of status, leather and the finest whiskey and wine. She was thankful to see that her father was alone. He sat in one of the fine recliners, sipping a white wine and seemed to be idly gazing out the panoramic windows onto the course. A television set to a business channel played on the wall with the sound off and sub-titles turned on. Giulietta knew no matter how much her father might look lost in thought, one part of him was aware of what was going on on the television.
His weathered face quickly cracked into a wide smile as she came around to stand before a nearby chair, "Ah Giulietta, my Tesoro, it gladdens my heart to see you! You have good timing. My associates have all left for other pursuits. What brings my daughter on such a rare but not unwelcome visit?"
Most people would only hear a man with a smooth Italian accent greeting his daughter. Most wouldn't catch the hidden message of 'what are you doing here?' and you'd better not waste my time' under the silky tone.
Then again almost no one knew that Count Luchino Nucifero, head of various business interests, art lover and philanthropist was head of the Maggiore, the HYDRA cell which had taken over the reins of the Mafia after the Kennedy administration efforts to curb organized crime had almost destroyed the old regime.
Or that Giulietta herself was the internationally wanted spy and industrial espionage artist Madame Masque. She sat down and adjusted her immaculate pantsuit. She also casually took out a small device out of her handbag and set it on the end-table. She activated it and it began to hum slightly. It would spoof almost all known electronic surveillance methods.
Even if they were being visually observed from afar, she and her father had long ago learned to speak clearly with their lips barely moving. Thus, they could speak quite openly, and no one would be the wiser. That and Giulietta was sure this room was a HYRDA safe room and routinely swept for possible bugs. Still, neither she nor her father had gotten to where they were by being careless.
"Father, you are looking well as always. I hope I look half as good as you when I'm your age." Giulietta said warmly. It was true; her father looked easily 20 years younger than he actually was. Her older brothers from her father's first wife were old enough to be her father but you wouldn't think that by the man in front of her.
Nucifero chuckled, "If your mother was still alive, I'm sure you'd see you have little in the way of worrying about your beauty fading prematurely. But come, I know you are quite the busy girl. What brings you to this old home for boring old men?"
Giulietta smiled, "Oh ghosts of Christmases past, dear father. I might be tempted to say, 'I told you so' father but in truth I was being rebellious in college but some of that rebellion may bear very profitable fruit."
Nucifero looked interested but still sighed, "Tesoro, you did so many things which drove your mother and I to the bottle; you must be a bit more specific."
Giulietta laughed softly. Her father wasn't being hyperbolic; she had sort of made it her mission through college to see how she could shock her parents. "Well father, you have long despaired that my talent for seduction isn't restricted to men."
Nucifero sighed again, "Yes even though that has proven quite useful for us. I take it one of your college conquests has suddenly become of value?"
Giulietta laughed again, "Oh she has been valuable for a while, father. It's just in the overall game, this pawn is about to become a queen. A powerful queen at that."
Nucifero took a sip of wine and then his eyes narrowed, "It is the Williams girl. The one rescued from Afghanistan, yes?"
Giulietta leaned forward, "It gets better father. The same girl you threatened to disinherit me over is slated to become the new heir to Stark Industries!"
Nucifero blinked in surprise, "What? So does this mean Stark is really dead? Those bastards in the Ten Rings aren't saying anything. I got word from the Supreme HYDRA that Stark's death was probable but not confirmed. For all we know, the Stark those idiots captured might have been a Life-Model Decoy."
Giulietta shook her head, "Not possible, father. I was able to obtain some rather interesting info from under Pott's nose. They may keep their true secrets locked down, but they are much laxer in more routine matters. Like the matters relating to some of the medical exams done on my one-time room-mate. So, unless Life-Model Decoys can get women pregnant, I think we can safely say Anthony Stark is dead. A pity: he was rather good in bed and at least from a decent Italian rooted family."
Nucifero harrumphed at that, "A debatable point but not important. I take it you have a plan and you want my blessing?"
Giulietta shimmied in her seat rather than shrug, "I may. Much depends on how Potts plays this and what your 'good friend' Obadiah Stane does in response. I doubt he will give up the reins of his power so easily. Plus, there will be gold-diggers aplenty swarming soon. I believe it would best for me to continue digging, using the chaos to gain entry into more Stark secrets before returning into Riri William's life."
Nucifero laughed with real amusement, "Hah! Obadiah will have a stroke when he learns of this! Stark dead, the company most assuredly left to the unborn baby and that means more power to Potts." The man shook his head and laughed again, "Oh this is too good! Thank you, my Tesoro! Such a fine gift you bring me! So many opportunities!"
Giulietta merely smiled and basked in her father's appreciation. While not a harsh father, his role as head of the Maggiore and her role in it meant he more often than not could not act like a father to her.
Nucifero laughter died to a chuckle before he grew serious, "I agree that it would be wise to tread softly for now. However, as you said, Obadiah Stane stands to lose much and would profit from the death of Ms. Williams and Stark's unborn heir. Thus, you may have to work in the shadows and be more like the Black Widow and ensure your old paramour stays alive. I will also look into our options, but I think we both can agree that you are our best option."
"I understand, father," Giulietta said as she bowed her head. She did understand and was happy her father had brought up what had been on her mind ever since she stole the data revealing William's new status.
Nucifero face grew cold, "In fact, I believe it is time that Sinclair be recalled from whatever den of inequity he's frequenting. While I do not doubt your skills, with you being our best option to protect Ms. Williams, it would be better if Abbot is working the espionage side as well. Who knows? Perhaps the old charmer might make some headway with Potts given she's just lost her man. That way we have two avenues of penetration of Stark Industries. Make it a game all you wish, Tesoro, but mark my words I will not tolerate either of you harming the plan because of your egos. Am I understood, daughter?"
Giulietta sat up straight in her chair, "I understand perfectly, father. I also agree with you. Potts is vulnerable, and you are right, Sinclair might just be the man to make use of that vulnerability." Giulietta smiled crookedly, "Besides, let him loot the Stark databases all he wants. Riri is the future and I will be the one to capture that future!"
Nucifero's smile might have seemed warm but more astute watchers would sense the coldness inherent in it. "You make me proud, Tesoro. Go now and prepare but know I will call on you soon. We cannot afford not plan our next moves carefully."
Giulietta bowed her head again, "Do you wish me in person or just available? I wish to fly to Malibu as soon as possible."
Nucifero had already pulled out an encrypted phone and was texting away. He made a dismissive gesture without looking up, "Online will be fine; go and see to Ms. Williams safety. I need to get a jump on Stane and the rest of his Ironmongers cell."
Giulietta bowed slightly even though she knew her father wasn't watching. She'd learned long ago that he somehow sensed when he wasn't given the proper respect and she'd also learned to avoid the penalties for such an oversight.
She turned and quickly made her way back to where the young attendant waited with the golf cart to take her back to the helicopter pad. She mostly tuned out the banter the smitten man attempted. Plans and counter-plans were being made and discarded in her minds-eye.
Yet even as she tried to focus on the mission, Giulietta couldn't help but think back to her time at MIT when she posed as Juliet Calabria and had introduced Riri into the pleasures of the flesh. How she had resisted at first! How she had fought! How she had felt under Giulietta's skin and how sweet the look on her face as the laid together in the sweaty afterglow of their sensual encounter.
Giulietta had seduced countless men and quite a fair number of women, but she still thought fondly of Riri. For all her work on the side of the devil, God must still love her to give her such a blessing at another crack at her! Whoever said that crime didn't pay?
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10880 MALIBU POINT, MALIBU, CALIFORNIA, AUGUST 22nd, 2010 – MORNING
"Would you like me to have more coffee sent done, Ms. Williams?" JARVIS asked.
"Yes and for the last time, call me Riri," the woman in question said irritably. Sleep was something she hadn't seen much of since her initial meeting with JARVIS and it was starting to show.
"Yes, Ms. Williams," JARVIS said.
"Jerk!" Riri said without heat. She was pretty sure this was a losing game. She'd never heard JARVIS refer to anyone by their first name or nickname. It didn't really bother her too much, but his accent made her think of a few of her teachers through the years and thus it made her feel like she was being graded somehow.
Riri looked at the code in front of her. While she had most of her current work on two screens, the third tracked the interaction between JARVIS and ULTRON. It was something she had taken to watch. Was it possible that ULTRON might one day upgrade itself? What was ULTRON learning from its interaction from JARVIS?
For now, she hadn't noticed much nor was she that worried that ULTRON would wake up one day and go full on Terminator. Seeing their interaction, however, made her current project a little more understandable.
Of course, it helped that somehow Pepper and Jennifer had somehow stalled both Obadiah Stane, the Board of Directors AND the press. Officially Tony Stark was still missing as the only person to see him die was Riri. Colonel Rhodes was the only one outside of SHIELD to be told of his death and Pepper had leaned on him. Agent Coulson had told Pepper that only he and Director Fury knew the real story. Of course, this had meant Riri ended up spending four hours of intense grilling from both Coulson and Director Fury himself.
As terrifying as that had been, Riri had come away with the feeling that both men were very satisfied with the outcome. Fury himself had told her the chance of any of them escaping the Ten Rings was so small that SHIELD itself had written them off almost immediately. Her information also was being used to screen potential future targets of the Ten Rings for kidnapping for their tech needs.
Pepper was ramping up for the big reveal as Jennifer furiously worked to ensure Tony's last wishes would be kept. Jennifer had also covertly caught Riri alone and told her bluntly that Pepper had also delayed things to ensure that Riri wouldn't miscarry. She'd come through so far, but Peppers medical staff had said that between the ARC reactor and all the stress, a miscarriage could still happen. After all the influx of good food and fluids, her pre-natal doctor was had signaled that beyond the unknown effects of the ARC reactor, her baby seemed fine.
JARVIS had scanned the files and it was his opinion that while the ARC reactor was a serious unknown, it seemed to be energizing her body. He theorized this might take some of the strain off the fetus growing in her body and thus making the pregnancy easier.
For Riri, it was still amazing to think there was an entirely new being growing inside her. Every girl knew that this might happen someday but that was a lot different from when it became reality. This seemed double in that she was working on giving birth or maybe rebirth to another 'son' if that term could be used.
Riri rubbed her temple before calling out, "Okay JARVIS, while we wait for my next infusion of Java-mania, let's talk status. I'm tired so just lay it out. Matrix."
"Operational," JARVIS replied.
"Hardware and interconnectivity?"
"Online and five by five."
"Firewalls and back-up memory cores if needed?"
"Standing by"
"Gem interface?"
"Good as far as our simulations are able to dictate"
"Digital life-form attitude?"
"…excuse me? I am sorry, Ms. Williams, I am not sure I understand," JARVIS said.
Riri sighed, "JARVIS, we agreed that you're a sentient being. You're Turing tested. Whether or not you classified as being alive or not is a mote point. You are conscious, you have feelings and we need to take that into consideration. We're about to bring in another digital life-from into existence; one with serious emotional ties to you. Are you okay with this?"
There was silence in the lab for a moment before JARVIS finally responded, "Forgive me but I actually hadn't thought about it. In a sense, my father is about to become my brother. However, at this juncture I feel no foreseeable problems. If we are successful, a powerful intellectual force will have been brought back into the world. I doubt I will have sibling jealousy."
Riri smiled, "Well it helps that in a way both you and STARC didn't have to go through infancy and adolescent."
JARVIS chuckled, "Yes, that is true. Once was enough. My memories of Edwin Jarvis' life are clear on that. Of course, your statement predicates that Mr. Stark ever grew up."
Riri laughed, "Oh he could be a decent adult when pushed. I saw that firsthand. Now, just to be sure, we're still mostly sure SHIELD won't detect anything when we got to full power. Given how much Howard Stark and SHIELD looked for the Tesseract, I'd rather not have their helicarrier show up while we're doing preliminary tests."
"Again, while we are in uncharted territory, my analysis still shows an 83.7% chance of successful project initiation remaining undetected. Also, from previous work with Mr. Stark along with the last few days, I believe the difference in energy output from the Tesseract will be enough to, if you pardon the unintentional pun, shield us from SHIELD. I believe even if we are detected, the energy spike will be of an unknown quality which you should be able to play off as experiments with the ARC reactor. Given you having one implanted in your body, I believe this sort of experimentation is not outside the realm of believability."
Riri nodded as she looked around the lab as if something might change in the last few minutes. It was good that Tony had already done most of the leg-work on this project. She doubted he expected it to come to fruition this soon. Riri had to wonder if it had become viable, would Tony have given the gem to someone else, maybe Pepper to use or would Tony's famous narcissism trump all else/
All Riri knew as she looked at the yellow gem fitted into an elaborate web of machinery was that after Tony's grandfather found the Tesseract for the newly created SHIELD, he later used the techniques and equipment to find another artifact. The gem had been embedded in a hideous statute of some god or demon called Dormammu found in Burma. After years of experimentation, both Howard and later Tony had found that the gem responded to mental energies. Later collaboration with Professor Xavier left them still stumbling in the dark but knowing that the gem had an affinity to the mind.
Tony felt he had a process where direct skin contact after a special 'ritual' using various forms of energy being directed at the gem would cause it to record the essence of the person who was in contact with the gem.
Or at least that was the theory.
There was a ding by the service elevator. Riri quickly got up and keyed in the code to open the door. Even something as a simple service elevator was scanned and required a manual code before opening into the lab. She was pleased that Sayda had taken upon herself to add a bagel and a banana to go along with the pot of coffee.
For all her being a grey-haired matron who had been born in Honduras, Sayda probably could give the stereotypical Jewish grandmother a run for her money in the 'Eat! Eat!' department. Riri was rapidly growing very fond of her. That she had had four children along with quite the horde of grandchildren meant she'd probably be a useful resource on motherhood helped.
She went over and poured herself some coffee and nibbled on the bagel. It wasn't one of the doughy West Coast bagels which she felt were just an odd form of doughnut but the almost hurt your teeth East Coast one. Again, Sayda and her staff had quickly adapted to her likes.
For the next ten minutes, Riri drank and ate in silence as she did last minute checks. Everything looked good. What could be controlled had been. The risks they knew of had been mitigated as much as possible. The unknowns, well she and JARVIS had brainstormed many possible things and were ready for most things which might happen but were unlikely. Beyond that, both JARVIS and ULTRON were on full alert and the nascent STARC network was cut-off from everything but the lab.
Finally, Riri sighed. It was time. She reached out and let her hand wavered over her computer keyboard. One touch of the Enter key and that theory would be put to the test. "Okay JARVIS, you ready to hopefully make history?" Riri asked with what she knew as false bravado.
"Of course, Ms. Williams. My only concern, as I've pointed out many times, is how Ms. Potts will take this if we succeed," JARVIS said soothingly.
Riri shook her head, "STARC won't be Tony any more than you are Edwin Jarvis. STARC will be his own digital being who just happens to share Tony's memories. Pepper is just going to have to deal with that."
Riri was about to hit the Enter key when she remembered Tony's last words. She thought of the appropriate sci-fi quote, "JARVIS, we are ready. Three…Two…One…Engage!"
She hit the Enter button with a silent prayer to the applicable Engineer Deities of Technology that this would work. Having any version of Tony back would make things so much easier for her and Stark Industries.
The machines around the lab began to hum. Full power had been ready for the last half-hour so there wasn't any dramatic power-up. Indeed, beyond the hum of power going into the gem and the connect network, nothing much happened.
Riri watched her screen. Nothing exciting was happening. The gem was taking power and there seemed to be some sort of activity into the what she had dubbed the Synergistic Theoretical And Reciprocal Consciousness network but beyond that; nothing.
JARVIS suddenly spoke up, "I am detecting a statistically significant rise in processing in the STARC network. This upswing correlates positively to my own birth."
Riri looked at her secondary screen and saw the numbers matching JARVIS' description, "Looking good…I hope."
Suddenly an alarm sounded, and the lights dimmed.
"JARVIS?!" Riri squeaked out. She'd be irritated later that she sounded panicky.
"STARC matrix had gone from normal power feed to bringing in power at 158% of specs…now 217% and rising. Power grid failure in three minutes at present rate," JARVIS said as if nothing wrong was going on.
"Options!" Riri asked as she saw her computer monitors show the drain from the local Stark Industries' power grid. "Can we boost ARC reactor input?"
"Negative. Power drain increasing! At this rate, we will have to abort. Failure to do so will pull additional energy from the local power grid which might cause a significant drain and even a catastrophic power-outage," JARVIS said calmly as if they weren't about to cause a brown-out of the greater Los Angeles area.
Riri had always worked well under pressure. Indeed, she felt that when in situations like this, her subconscious mind worked at insane speeds while her conscious mind grappled with the enormity of the problem…
…and just like that she had the answer. She ran over to the part of the lab she'd been using to monitor and do some small experiments on her ARC reactor. She grabbed the interface and quickly attached to the reactor. Happy had already gotten her a whole line of shirts made so the ARC reactor was accessible. She ran back to another workstation and connected the feedback prong into a Stark standard power interface.
"Ms. Williams! This is highly unadvisable!" JARVIS said with all traces of his previous calm gone in obvious worry.
"Can't be helped, JARVIS." Riri took the power interface and went over to where the gem apparatus' hum had become a painful whine. "As Tony might say, 'I have the power!'" Riri plugged it in and closed her eyes expecting pain.
Seconds went by. Then more. Riri felt a general increase in warmth around her ARC reactor but nothing else. "JARVIS?"
A slight pause, "Drawn power has decreased down to 123% of specs. ULTRON has begun power saving operations in all local Stark Industry facilities in range. Projected power levels within tolerance in 1.3 minutes. I am unclear why your ARC reactor is providing a better power source than the main ARC reactor, but this is indeed what seems to be happening."
"Any radiation I need to be worrying about?" Riri asked as she confirmed JARVS' statements along with other data from the gem from the various computer screens running on her desk.
"None that I can detect. Except for the spike on the energy grid, there has been no appreciable energy released outside of what is normally radiated by our facilities and the ARC reactor," JARVIS said; his calm demeanor having returned.
"Good; we're still are able to go with the ARC reactor experiment excuse," Riri said as the numbers continued to scroll before her eyes.
"Indeed. Even better for the alibi is that this will be the fourth such time this sort of power drain has happened. The local energy commission will once again complain but for the most part, nothing will come of it," JARVIS explained.
"Ririster?"
Riri's head snapped up. Had she actually heard what she thought she had? "JARVIS?"
A longer pause, "I have a hit from the STARC network. I believe that came from Dumber's vocal voder.
Riri tapped the Bluetooth like earpiece to activate it. It had been configured to be a direct line into the STARC network, "STARC, can you hear me. Follow my voice; JARVIS and I are here to help."
"JARVIS?"
Again, it was like a whisper on the wind, but this time Riri could tell that JARVIS was right. For whatever reason, whatever was replying from the STARC network had latched onto Dumber's voder. While the robot only "spoke" in a R2-D2 like beeps or moans, the voder was perfectly capable of producing speech.
"Yes STARC, JARVIS. He's here and so am I. I'm quite…" Riri gritted her teeth a bit, "…fab. Come out and we can talk. You like to talk, don't you STARC?"
JARVIS had explained that it had helped him disassociate the being that he was from the real Edwin Jarvis' memories by constantly being referred to as (even to himself) as JARVIS. Regardless of how much JARVIS might sound or act like the original Jarvis, he was his own being. Likewise, STARC would need that. He wouldn't be Tony reborn; he'd be a new digital being so Riri kept reminding herself not to slip and call STARC Tony.
There was a quick burst of static and suddenly the bulk of the numbers on her screen mostly flat-lined. The power hum dropped, and she felt the heat on her ARC reactor fade.
Riri's fingers flew over the keyboard. "JARVIS? Talk to me!"
"Insufficient data at this time," JARVIS replied. "However, the STARC matrix continues to run and is drawing power at acceptable levels and memory is online and showing a flux in activity."
"So, did we just see a birth or are we in the middle of a miscarriage?" Riri asked. The numbers on her screen seem to imply either or even both!
"Again, insufficient da…wait. Showing data probes from the STARC system into the main Stark data base," JARVIS warned.
"What? I thought you said we blocked everything outside of this lab?" Riri cried out even as she pulled up an IT system grid of Stark Industry. Sure enough, like a virus, probes were already bouncing along the StarkNet system between all the different locations and world-wide affiliates. Crap! Pepper is going to kill me if I just created SkyNet!"
JARVIS chuckling calmed her somewhat, "Unlikely Ms. Williams. I think it is far more likely that STARC is testing its capabilities. My matrix did the same in a much more limited way when I came online. As much as the jump into the main system is worrisome, at this point I cannot say it is necessarily a danger. It may be simply that since STARC is based off a Mr. Stark, it might know back-doors we ourselves are unaware of."
"That makes sense, but I reserve the right to give you a rash of shit about not worrying if nukes start getting launched from all around…wait. Look at that spike! That's localized here. Where is that going?" Riri asked as she frantically trying to call up lab specs.
Before JARVIS could reply, a hum from one side of the lab caught her attention. Even as her mind processed it was the prototype holo-imager which seemed to have turned itself on. Tony had been working on to make online conferences more interactive and less just staring at a screen.
Suddenly a blurry form sprang into the air in the center of the lab. This reddish-white image waivered and then came into sharp focus. The image turned and oriented on Riri.
It was Tony in a sharp suit; his beard neatly trimmed with not a hair out of place on his head. The image smiled at her.
"Ha! Take that Voldemort! This is the way to cheat death!" the image said with Tony's voice and yet not exactly his voice. It was a mirror of how JARVIS didn't sound exactly like the recordings and video she'd seen of the real Edwin Jarvis.
"STARC?" Riri asked softly.
STARC ignored her for a moment as the holo-image looked around before looking at her again with a wide grin. "Force Ghosting is the way to go! So, Ririster, how did Tony shuffle off the mortal coil? I can't find any records of it. Did he die well? I certainly hope so. I certainly wouldn't just want to be snuffed out without at least a good soliloquy or cheap shot to my killer."
Riri blinked and wondered if JARVIS had been this animated at first. Still she figured STARC deserved an answer, "Yes he did. He saved my life, helped create an amazing new technology out of 'stone knives and bear skins' while saving the girl and dying heroically. He even managed to squeak out a Star Wars quote before he died."
STARC beamed, "Awesome! So, what's new since Tony's death? I know I'm the new AI on the block but things to do, stuff to invent! Chop chop! Sleep is for the weak! Come on JARVIS; you know the drill."
Riri was nonplussed at how STARC seemed to be channeling Tony on too much espresso and yet was only a few minutes old! It seemed that whatever the gem truly was, it had made a much more perfect copy of Tony then she dreamed possible. This made her wonder if maybe a digital Tony might not have been the best idea after all.
JARVIS seemed to agree, "Dear Lord…what have we done?"
XxXxX
A/N: I think it's rather appropriate that I started this chapter on Star Trek's 50th anniversary given the chapter's title! Of course, I did just a little writing and then left it for a month but oh well. Okay, we're up next for the big reveal about Stark's death and kick into more intrigue.
Nerd Quotes: Have fun finding them all!
Mind Gem: Okay, if Riri has the Mind Gem, how is Loki going to mind-control all his minions in The Avengers? Easy! While Odin was sleeping his "Odin Sleep" – Loki looted some of the less common items in the vault. Specifically the Warlock's Eye which he'd repurpose into a magical weapon. If anything, instead of the Chitauri giving him the Scepter (along with an Infinity Stone that Thanos [their master] was after) we'd have the Chitauri helping him weaponize the Warlock's Eye into a spear similar to Gungnir, Odin's spear. So not only would Loki have a "kingly weapon" but he'd have a way to mess with people's minds.
Tesoro: The literal definition is treasure in Italian but is commonly used in the sense of darling especially by fathers to their daughters.
Clever Hans
A hoax where a horse was supposedly able to perform arithmetic in 1907. It turned out the horse was just very good at picking up visible clues in body language of the surrounding humans so as to pick the correct answer.
This affect can be seen in lots of early computer programming used to simulate human responses like ELIZA which would take cues from you to create a conversation by way of an algorithm.
This is still going on today as readers may have heard how Microsoft's A.I. program simulating a teenage girl named Tay would do the same…only to seemingly become a sex-obsessed, Nazi lover in under 24 hours due to online trolls spamming her with chat messages which moved the algorithm into that direction.
Dramatis Personae – For those who don't know their comics well enough to catch every character reference.
ULTRON/Utilities, Logistics and TRacking Operational Network: So obviously not canonically created by Hank Pym nor created by a something from Loki's staff. We may see a lot more of ULTRON in later sequels. As mentioned, ULTRON is actually the one working behind the scenes to do a lot of stuff even though much of the 'orders' as it were come to it via JARVIS.
JARVIS/Jacobian Analytic & Relational Virtual Integrated System: You didn't think I was going to go with "Just Another Really Very Intelligent System" as the MCU does did you? The Jacobian aspect relates to Carl Gustav Jacob was a German mathematician who came up with a lot of neat stuff. Technically I guess this would be JAARVIS but whose getting technical?
STARC/Synergistic Theoretical And Reciprocal Consciousness: The best I could come up with for now.
ARIM/ARtificial Intelligence Matrix: The code name for the old school version of Arim Zola as seen in CPT A: Winter Soldier. Obviously, our heroes only think that the ARIM was done to copy human memories to save them instead of being the earliest successful A.I. type systems. (You could argue if you digitize someone's memories, are they truly A.I.?)
Maggiore: My take on the Marvel canon Maggia. It means "Greater" in Italian. In this AU, it's one of the various HYDRA cells.
Giulietta Nucifero/Madame Masque: Daughter of Count Luchino Nucifero, head of the Maggiore. She is pretty much a combo of Talia Al Ghul and Catwoman. We'll be finding out why she goes by the name Madame Masque in the future.
Count Luchino Nucifero: As previously mentioned, Nucifero is pretty much the current "Don of Dons" in my Marvelverse. Given the rise of the likes of the Kingpin and other Marvel crime lords, it would seem that the traditional Mafia really hit the skids. Nucifero is the one that picked up the pieces. A lot of his success is staying away from New York. Nucifero is my take on Count Nefaria. He's more Señor Senior from Kim Possible than the odd super-powered villain from Marvel canon.
Sinclair Abbot/Spymaster: Instead of the Marvel canon character, think Sean Connery in the role Timothy Hutton plays in Leverage. He's a charmer, a spy and like Giulietta, does a lot of it for the thrill. He was Giulietta's mentor into the spy game and both compete in that Master vs. The Apprentice sort of way. Right now, Giulietta is sort of in Darth Vader's position vis-à-vis Sinclair's Obi-Wan and the older man is at once proud of her but also strives to prove that old age and treachery wins out over youth and exuberance. Thus, in the past, their rivalry had sometimes compromised what should have been a successful mission which is why Nucifero wants none of that.
