"Garbage Man? Seriously, Thomas?"
"Now, Albert—"
"You actually built a new Robot Master and named him Garbage Man?"
Dr. Light sighed. "DLN-00D's function is to take trash and, by compacting or melting it, turn it into a more convenient form for disposal or re-use. Perhaps, in hindsight, I could have thought his name through a little better—"
"Garbage Man," Dr. Wily said again, chuckling as he looked at the robot in question, red and gold and over twelve feet tall, currently standing deactivated in the corner of Light's laboratory. "All right, I'll stop now. Though that does bring to mind a question I've had for a while. Your last few robots, their serial numbers have had letters in them. Why? Why were Time Man and Oil Man DLN-00A and 00B, and not 009 and 010?"
"Well, since we'd worked on the initial batch together, I figured that when you built your own robots one day, you'd want to pick up the numbering where we left off—and I was right about that, as it turns out."
"That you were," Wily agreed, fighting back an instinctive stab of jealousy. He'd always felt he deserved for more credit for the assistance he'd given Light on the original Robot Masters; that had been one of the last straws that had driven him to seek revenge in the first place.
"Even with the distinction of DLN and DWN, I figured using the same numbers could get confusing. So I figured that I would just use letters and cede the numbers to you for a while. You like to come up with ideas in batches of eight, after all," Light said.
Wily was trying not to think about the fact that Light had apparently always planned to grant him numbers 009 through 016, even after their acrimonious parting. Doesn't Thomas have any pettiness within him? Doesn't he ever hold grudges? "Indeed I do. But I still haven't been able to come up with an idea for our eighth asteroid miner."
"Neither have I," Light said. "Roboticist's block, I'm afraid. But I have come up with a few smaller devices that might come in handy for your Wily-Force." He reached into the pocket of his labcoat and pulled out a disk, handing it to Wily. "These are schematics for a levitation platform, a jet sled, and a wall-walking platform."
"Those do sound handy," Wily conceded as he took the disk. As he did so, he happened to glance at his watch. "Čapek's ghost! Thomas, you made me lose track of time! If we don't leave now, we'll be late for our flight to the Fair! This is your fault!"
Light just rolled his eyes as they quickly strode towards the door.
-W-
Even Wily had to admit that the World's Future Fair was impressive, if unimaginatively named. Hosted on an artificial island not far out to sea, the Fair was dedicated to cutting-edge technology and research that held great potential to help both humanity and the planet.
"Which exhibit should we visit first?" Wily asked. He and Light were just inside the front gate, consulting a map.
"Personally, I'm intrigued by the instant teaching program," Light said. "The ability to just have knowledge directly put into your mind, it sounds like it would be an incredible boon for those who don't have the time for conventional schooling. Or those who just don't deal with classrooms well."
"That caught my attention as well, but I think I'm a bit more interested in the quantum computing with the direct brain interface going the other way. Taking the raw processing power of a supercomputer but guiding it with human creativity and intuition."
"It looks like we can get to them both if we go this way," Light said, his finger tracing an avenue on the map. "And the International Food Expo is right nearby!"
"I'd think you'd want to avoid all that temptation. Don't you want to trim down a bit for Noele?" Wily teased, and the other scientist went a deep red.
-W-
They reached the instant teaching exhibition first. Upon stepping inside, before they could even look around, they were intercepted by a bespectacled, balding man with a short goatee. He had a wide smile and gave them each a very energetic handshake.
"What an honor to have such eminent guests!" he said, as Wily and Light shook some feeling back into their hands. "I was hoping someone like you might stop by. Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Dr. Timothy Verdreht, the project's lead scientist. Of course neither of you need an introduction!"
Wily didn't know if the praise was sincere or mere flattery, but he basked in it all the same.
"If this invention of yours lives up to its promises, you'll be just as famous," Light said, warmly. "Why don't you fill us in?"
Verdreht started to lead them around the exhibition, enthusiastically describing how the instant teaching technology worked. He also showed it in action: volunteers would be placed in a machine not entirely dissimilar to an MRI scanner, then removed after about a minute had passed, and demonstrate knowledge or skills that they claimed not to have had before. One woman, who said she had no musical training at all, exited the machine, sat at a nearby piano, and promptly played a waltz by Chopin.
"Incredible," Light said, his voice barely above a whisper.
"There are limitations, of course," Verdreht warned. "It can teach raw facts or rote performances, but it does not grant true understanding of the subject matter. I used it to teach myself some of my favorite recipes, but if I tried to make anything else I'd probably burn down my kitchen."
"And how did you acquire this knowledge?" Wily asked. "Before it was put into the machine, where did it come from?"
"Essentially, the process in reverse. We copy the information out of willing experts in their fields, who either volunteer or get handsomely compensated. So what do you gentlemen say, would either of you like to try?"
The two roboticists exchanged glances. Then Light, sounding a bit embarrassed, said, "I'll give it a shot. You, ah, wouldn't happen to have anything related to exercise or losing weight, would you?"
"We certainly do," Verdreht confirmed, politely trying to ignore Wily's sudden burst of laughter. "One of our paid test subjects was a martial artist. Highly accomplished, even competed in the World Warrior tournament a few years back! I'm sure his moves could help get you into shape. So if you'll just lay down here…"
A few minutes later, Light was climbing back out of the machine. "How do you feel?" Verdreht asked eagerly.
"Oh…oh, my! Albert, it worked! It worked! Look at this!" Light launched himself off the ground, jumping far higher than Wily would ever have thought possible, performing a deadly-looking uppercut. "Marvelous!"
"And you, sir, would you like to give it a try?" Verdreht asked, turning to face Wily, who was trying to remove the astonished look from his face.
"No, no thank you," he said. Intellectually he was aware of the benefits he could gain from such a machine, but emotionally his pride viewed it as a crutch.
"Then in that case, would either of you like to volunteer your knowledge to join our databases?" Verdreht's eyes sparkled with undisguised craving. "Having two such distinguished scientists contribute…"
"I'd be honored to," Light replied immediately. "How about you, Albert?"
"I don't know," Wily said, folding his arms. "Seems like that could make me obsolete."
"It won't," Verdreht said quickly. "Remember, it doesn't grant true comprehension. Someone might learn how to repair one of your robots, but they certainly couldn't build a new one. That still requires true genius and creativity, which can't be copied."
Only partially mollified, Wily continued, "And how much control would I have over what goes into your databases? Robotics knowledge is all well and good, I suppose, but what about personal information? I don't want someone knowing my bank account number, or my emotional states." I certainly don't want them knowing I was about to take over the world, and am still considering the idea.
"Complete control. After you're scanned, we let you look at the results before we do. You can go through and delete any information you're uncomfortable with being included. We don't even know what's been scanned until you're satisfied and turn it back over to us."
-W-
It took some persuasion from Light, and Verdreht had to both display the machine's technical specs and use himself as a demo subject, but eventually Wily let himself be convinced. Both of them had their robotics knowledge scanned, and after many expressions of gratitude from Verdreht, they were leaving the exhibition.
"So where to now?" Light asked, pulling out the map again. "I know you were interested in that quantum computing, that's not too far from here."
"Oh, why not the International Food Expo first? There wasn't much to eat on the flight. And besides, you need a large meal so you can show off your martial arts mastery."
His chuckling (and Light's exasperated sighing) was cut off by an insistent beeping sound. He pulled his skull-shaped communicator out of his pocket. "This is Wily."
"There's been an incident," Quick Man's voice said, his voice sounding more serious than usual.
"Another uprising? Like in New Jersey?" Wily asked, his stomach tightening.
"No. Your old factory."
"What?!"
"The alarms you setup to let you know if anyone trespasses? They're going off like a game show with a grand prize winner."
Wily cursed. "Get some investigators ready. I'll meet them on the way."
"You got it. Quick Man out."
Wily terminated the connection and turned back to face Light. "Well, I'm afraid I'll have to cut my visit short. You heard, I take it?"
Light nodded, looking worried. "I do. How are you going to get there? The next flight out doesn't leave for…ah. Your UFO has an autopilot, I'm sure."
"It does. I'll have it meet me here, then go straight to the factory."
"Would you like some assistance?"
"I'm sure I can handle it, but if I need you, I'll let you know." Wily thought for a moment. "You know, why don't you come out to Skull Castle sometime soon? I haven't gotten the chance to show it off to you yet."
Light relaxed, and smiled. "I'd be honored."
"And Thomas?" Wily hesitated, taking and releasing a deep breath before saying, "Bring Rock and Roll with you."
"Are you sure?" asked Light, his eyebrows raising in concern.
"I'm sure. If I want to beat this thing, I'm going to confront it head on."
