Still Waters, Another Turn Prologue
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There's A Bad Moon On The Rise
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"Is this it…?" the man asked, gesturing at the specimen laid out on the worktable. It was quite large, and would be at least eight feet tall if it were standing. But that hair…
"Yes, this is it," the director said with an annoyed frown. The other man had demanded an inspection of the specimen as soon as it was brought in; they hadn't even had time to start disassembly! "As you can see, it's only a partial specimen, but we have sufficient technology—"
"Will it work?"
He frowned. "Yes, of course it will work. Well, not this one of course, but the versions we create based on—"
"Good. Do you have a timeline yet?"
"Not firm."
"Humor me," the man demanded.
The director swept a hand back through his hair and frowned more deeply. "Two weeks, perhaps three for complete disassembly, then a month or two of study at the very least before the first prototype can be started. No idea on build time, materials may be hard to find; we just don't know. Another month for testing when it is complete, then the second prototype, and we'll go on from there."
"That's quite a bit of time."
"You have to understand, sir. This is technology of a level far surpassing anything current. We're talking about a robot that is decades ahead of anything we have ever seen before. The best humanoid robot anyone has ever made can barely walk, much less turn without falling over. This robot," he said, gesturing to the specimen on the table, "This robot can run, jump, and fly using a jet engine attached to its back. Not only that, it can shoot a gun and hit its target, compensating for recoil and outside effects. There were reliable reports of some of these monsters using giant hand held gatling guns, of all things. Can you imagine the implications of that?" The other man just gave him a bored look.
"Look, I've read the reports. I know all about this thing's abilities. I want to know why you say you can't reproduce it in a timely manner."
"A timely manner…" The director just looked at the man before him in disbelief. "Listen Donner, remember those robots I talked about that fall over when they turn around?" He waited until the other man nodded irritably. "Those took years of research just to design, much less build. The only reason we can even remotely plan such a short term build is because one of our agents in the American Division managed to get his hands on the materials that that hacker, Riggs, gathered from the computers at Mahora two weeks ago. Without that programming and those blueprints, we would be ten years from anything, much less a working prototype. Even with this specimen."
"Ok, fine. You can't do what a bunch of kids at a small college robotics department did. Fine, I get it. Just get your act together and get a working prototype put together in three months." He held up his hand at the director's immediate outburst. "I don't care about any problems, I just need something to show the board, and I'm not talking about some computer chip or a mechanical arm." He looked back at the robot laid out on the table. "If you can do that, Roy, I'll see to it that your department receives proper funding for certain other projects," Donner said. "You know what I mean. Now get to work."
Roy Wheeler watched Donner leave. "Proper funding, is it?" That had shut him up quickly. And enough of the 'proper funding' to work on his secret pet project too. Donner was an irritating man, but he knew how to make people work. He looked down at the robot on the table and vaguely recalled the guy who brought it in referring to it as 'Tanaka-san'. "Well, Tanaka-san. Let's see what makes you tick…"
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Author's Notes: So this is the start of Still Waters 2. As a timeline reference, this prologue takes place just after the waters receded in chapter 21 of Still Waters Run Deep. The rest happens later.
As far as story goes, this iswhat happens a short time after the events in Still Waters Run Deep.