2023-11-07: Newtype Science, Sanitized
- Cast: Leina Ashta, Ada Legatum Luckwright
- Where: Foresight Home Office, Neo-America, Orbital Ring
- Date: U.C. 0097 11 07
- Summary: Leina follows up after the appearance of a new model of mobile weapon to defend against the attack in Zaftra. Her visit to the claimed manufacturer, under Cathedra auspices, confirms more suspicions than it dispels: Neo-America has breached a new threshold in Newtype science, and given it the respectable veneer of artificial ferns and water coolers.
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
It was a tricky balancing act, committing to filing a report on the so-called Myrmex Format Wanzerpanzer without submitting it 'officially'. As Rajan Zahi studied it, he looked across his desk towards the young woman who just brought it to his attention. "Ordinarily this falls under the purview of the auditing department. You're on limited combat duty, Ms. Ashta. Part of our agreement was that you would fly on an as needed basis with Dominicus Corps, primarily for Psychofield defense and deterrence."
The young woman across from him nodded, hands sedately folded in her lap, "I was given to understand that I would be allowed to pick and choose my missions otherwise, as allowed by my schedule. Well... I've chosen this one. Your auditing department, while thorough to their capabilities is ill-equipped for certain aspects of this investigation." The man frowned, but did not dispute that, "Ordinarily, your... talents, such as they are, are something I would prefer not to take advantage of. Citing evidence obtained through 'intuition' puts us on shaky ground, legally."
She does smile at that, it even looks quite real, "I understand your misgivings, but if they can direct us towards 'proper' evidence in this preliminary phase... and perhaps safeguard the lives of those involved in projects such as these..." Rajan did looked down at the report again, looking through it and... sighed heavily, perhaps thinking of Sayla Mass' words in this moment.
"Very well, I'll start making the necessary arrangements."
As a Spacenoid born and bred in the slums of Shangri-la on Side 1, Leina Ashta despised the Neo-Colonies. There was no attempt to conceal her disgust during the trip. Unlike the Macross fleets which offered a shining ideal for all, the Neo-Colonies were far too dishonest in their idea of the elite few.
The haves, were so much more starkly divided from the have nots of their working class, for indeed even up here the rich required laborers and people to lord their wealth over. As the ward of a Shuffle Commander, she'd known Chibodee Crocket well enough, from the poverty he came out, his dream for better achieved through pugilistic spirit. The false hope of 'hard work' and 'pulling one's self up by your bootstraps', an expression so ancient that people have forgotten it was meant to indicate an impossible to achieve feat.
She saw them, the slums and the squalor, out of sight of the sparkling city and it's Lady Liberty standing above all.
"I hate this place." Leina murmured, as a linear car wound across a Colonial highway en route to her meeting with one Senator. Arranged perhaps as a 'sales pitch' of her mobile suit to Cathedra's combat division from a Benerit Group subsidiary. She's dressed businesslike, in a tan pantsuit with a simple but smart dark blouse, and a pair of flats. A member of her security detail, Enzo, replied back, "Yes - I can tell. You have been moping ever since our shuttle landed. Just remember, this was your choice."
"Oh rub it in why don't you?" She flicked an annoyed glance his way, but she knew she wasn't actually upset at him. "I for one, would much rather be guarding your Villa. Nice quiet shifts. It makes your mother so much happier when it's just back and forth from school and Paris for therapy rather than..." A gesture, "... here, on Cathedra business."
"She's welcome to file a complaint with me, she knows the daughter she raised." Leina smirks, and Enzo chuckled, "Yes she does, a willful one. Just remember to allot time for you to breathe, no? A young woman like you should be letting herself enjoy life more often."
Leina looked out the window again and, "Hmmm." Her features grew distant, as she remembered...
an ear to the door
g n i
m a e c r s
her
an alarm
thrashing in the lukewarm chill of magnesium salt bath
the weight on her forehead
s r u o h
e e r h t
e r o m
a whisper of self-denial
a hand upon her shoulder
the forced grimace of a well-practiced smile
worn by her reflection
e s u a l
p p a
a l p p a
e s u
e s u p p a
a l
e s u a l p p a
m i n e
Flinching, she changed her posture and... forced her breathing to slow before Enzo could notice it had sped up. "Right."
Was it fair she had the privilege of people who reminded her to do such things, when so many out there were given no such grace?
<Pose Tracker> Ada Legatum Luckwright has posed.
Foresight. The military contractor's logo appears in hologram over the corporate compound at night. Reaching it involves a series of security checkpoints and finally a secure sealed dome, with a projected artificial starscape overhead, embellished with colorful nebulas and some manner of computer animation imitating brushwork. Brazen lampposts contrast architecture in a contemporary corporate style that better resembles temples and pyramids than the brick tenements and gothic skyscrapers of residential Neo-America. Leina and her security detail are transferred from the linear car to an open-top convertible shuttle to navigate the wide lanes between Foresight's various office buildings and hangars. Occasionally a hangar is shown under a reinforced glass roof to exhibit its contents. Foresight is well stocked in cruisers, troop transports, construction vehicles, and a couple impressive battleships. None of them are mobile weapons; all artillery, naval craft, and logistical machinery.
Senator Luckwright meets Leina's company with her own security detail at the entrance to a large central building, embellished with colored reflective windows. She's dressed rather similarly to Leina, though she has accessorized with a short-brimmed hat, as seems to be fashionable among the fancier classes here. Age is just beginning to take its toll on her, but it doesn't prevent her from giving an unreserved smile and offering a hand to shake. "Miss Ashta, it's a pleasure and an honor to meet you. I'm sorry for asking you to come through all this way. Normally a casual lunch meeting would be good to discuss these matters. But I understand you're interested in a particularly special project of ours."
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
Foresight.
The name of this military contractor's company said a lot, didn't it? If only they knew. In between wry thoughts of Rita Bernal however, it had an ominous feel to it.
Sometimes the best way to hide an agenda was to put your intentions up front. Her eyes take in the sights analytically, jotting down details as she goes on a simple pen and paper in a strange shorthand code which appears to be Japanese katakana that roughly work their way out into Spanish words.
And upon their arrival at the entrance to the building, Leina puts on a smile. She's quite good at it, there's not even a forced grimace now.
"Senator Luckwright. The pleasure is all mine."
And as she offers her a handshake, she slips easily into the refined mannerisms of a well-bred young lady. It's simplicity itself, after all, once upon a time she debuted as a Lady of Neo-Zeon.
"Oh it was hardly any trouble getting here, please, don't concern yourself overly much with the inconvenience, Ma'am."
It wouldn't take much of a background check to uncover that Leina is the ward of one Doctor Sayla Mass, chairwoman of the Yumi Foundation, and celebrated heroine from her time serving on the White Base during the One Year War. A promising young woman with a promising future ahead of her...
... one would have to go deeper into the intelligence community to discover that's not quite the whole story there.
A gesture, certainly not dismissive, "Though perhaps I should apologize for taking up your time?" A smile, a warm one, "When the reports came through of the success of the recent deployment in Zaftra... I just couldn't resist, coming in person to see it for myself."
And indeed at this point, she speaks in a more hushed tone, even as her detail automatically widens ranks somewhat to offer them that privacy, five armed men and women in semi-formal suit, each the soul of professionalism in the moment. "The recent Gryps II and Denver Colony 'incidents' have impressed upon our Dominicus Corps the need to 'expand our horizons' so to speak, to get ahead of the game in a future of ever-evolving warfare."
There's a flicker of something in her eyes, curiosity, definitely interest... certainly not skepticism, suspicion... anger...
"We were hoping that your special project might assist us with that goal."
<Pose Tracker> Ada Legatum Luckwright has posed.
"Please call me Ada. Even if I were one for titles, I'm not here on behalf of the country. I'm just another citizen." Another citizen with a lot of money, to wrangle control of a company like this without even being part of the corporate structure. She holds a hand out to receive a cup of takeout iced coffee one of her bodyguards had been holding for her, and turns to invite Leina and her detail into the building. The foyer is a fusion of older and newer styles, combining holographic slideshows demonstrating Foresight's products in action with burnished wood and black marble. She gradually takes Leina and her detail around the front desk to approach a set of elevators.
How deep did her intelligence check go? How much does she know? The edge of her lip curls up. "You heard about our contracted defense deployment in Zaftra, really? We hadn't actually publicized that."
She holds a hand out for her own security detail to spread out, indulging Leina's privacy in her suggestion of interest. "Of course Cathedra would be very interested in the Myrmex Engine. I could take you to where I can give the private presentation, but..." She smirks gently. "Would you like to see it, instead?"
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
"Ada it is, and you may certainly call me Leina if you'd like."
There is reciprocation certainly in this tete-a-tete between them. Leina tries not to think of just another white gloved effigy in a room.
The hollowness, the apathy of an aristocratic adulthood. Put another title upon it, strip it away, the structure of the haves and have not remains.
She does listen as the features of the foyer are pointed out, and Leina's lip curls subtly as she points it out.
"Whether it was publicized or not... Cathedra's Dominicus Corps deployed it's own small contingent of three units in response to a call for backup. The movements of the terrorists Yuliana Kafim, and Doctor Elisa Kafim are of interest to our mandate."
It is perhaps, not strictly the truth. They had no idea it was Yuliana Kafim when they deployed, but better that than tip their whole hand towards why they are interested in Celestial Being.
"It would be difficult not to notice a unit of its rather unique features and superb combat performance, don't you agree?"
And indeed, rather than hold her cards even closer to the chest, she decides to tip them forward, "By all means, I'd certainly prefer that to the typical presentation. I'm something of a pilot myself-"
She gives her an almost apologetic look, "A hobby that... I picked up from my mother."
Indeed, she presents it as almost a character flaw that people indulge perhaps. The whims of another young heiress, who does everything as she's supposed to...
... save this one thing.
"So if you're willing to grant me that privilege - then I'd be happy to take you up on it."
<Pose Tracker> Ada Legatum Luckwright has posed.
Ada pushes a button and the elevator doors open. The interior has fine carpeting and what appear to be screen walls that simulate the view from a glass elevator, stylistically omitting the less sightly structural layers (and more classified research floors) with various interstitials. "I wasn't aware that Dominicus dispatched emergency military aid as well. But then, we all have to stay vigilant, don't we." She furrows her brow. "This is a dangerous time in the world, and it has been for some time now. A lot of people still think military development is distasteful. But I always told my husband, we're not being sarcastic when we call ourselves the defense industry. You could call future weaponry a prayer for the day when we can lay down arms."
At the comment on the MFW's combat performance, Ada stifles a small laugh. "Flatterer," she says, and then turns it around. "What do you know about the Myrmex Engine?"
The information Foresight has released on the unit has been spotty, and one must sift through the marketing press to find the useful information. It is a 'quick insertion special operational wunder-wanzer' with the 'force projection of a full scale atmospheric mobile suit' which 'depends on no external armaments and requires no munition supply.' While intimations are repeatedly made of future production, Foresight has concretely only offered limited-availability contract dispatch under internal corporate supervision, while they seek investment for research into expanding the project to create 'a revolution in targeted operations.'
The elevator opens into a lobby that appears to function as another security checkpoint. "If I'm going to show you, though," Ada says, "I'd like for you to please leave behind any devices with recording functions, such as phones, which you can pick back up on the way out. I'm sure you understand. This technology is our pride and joy. We're breaking ground no other firm has touched." As the corporate security sees to checking for devices and stowing them, Ada gives a warmer smile, with more energy than the practiced friendliness she has offered previously. "You know," she tells Leina, "I come from a military family." Born on Earth, to a family of officers from before the Zentradi war. "It was a traditional family, so the sentiment was against sending a daughter into the service. I still wonder, at times, how it might have turn out otherwise..." She loses herself, in fact, for a moment. "But I wouldn't call it a matter of hobbies."
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
If Leina could eyeroll right now, and go on a rant about everything wrong with the Military-Industrial Complex and how it's existence prevents any kind of progress, she would. However, right now, she remains the soul of discretion.
"Hunh." Leina utters that sound, as if contemplating it, "Not a set of ideals you'll find often in this industry. I find that kind of optimism admirable - if only more people could see things in that light."
That much at least, she can say and feel good about herself, there's a chuckle, as she smiles, "Learned from the best."
Glemy Toto truly was the best, in empty flattery.
"What do I know about it? Well certainly I know what you've put out in your marketing releases." A hand gesticulates, "But I'm hardly your typical 'target demographic', so I have deeper 'suspicions'. After all..."
Leina pauses for purposeful dramatic effect, feeling dirtier for this invocation.
"... my mother recently went public with her true identity, that of Artesia Som Deikun."
The name after all brings to mind contolism, the teachings of Zeon Zum Deikun... and of course...
'the Newtype'
There is certainly the full weight of an implication in that. "Naturally, given our reports of its feats in Zaftra... I suspect it is a new kind of mind-machine interface utilizing Quantum Brainwaves to actualize the pilot's will upon the matter around them."
Leina of course surrenders her phone, happily, and submits to any kind of security checks they utilize to make certain there are no other devices. "Absolutely, you can't be too careful."
Instead she holds up her simple notepad and pen, "Surely you won't begrudge me this type of recording device?" She says with the faintest tease.
The pen does not have a camera within it, of course, neither does the notepad. She's not here to play spygames, just to conduct a preliminary investment... and perhaps to decide how personal the issue is to her.
"Oh?" Leina cants her head, smiling in interest at her story, "Well, while I can appreciate the value of traditions, I suppose I take a more egalitarian approach to it. My mother did serve in the One Year War, after all."
Forcibly pressganged as a civilian under threat of military tribunal should she leave...
"But... as much as I admire her for her service, it wasn't the life she ever wanted for me."
Her lashes flutter in a slightly downturned gaze, "So I hardly consider it a 'hobby' either. It's just so rare that people... understand, why someone like myself might have such serious interest at all."
<Pose Tracker> Ada Legatum Luckwright has posed.
Nobody checks the pen or the notepad for gimmicks. There are limits to what you get for salaried corporate opsec. And while Ada Legatum Luckwright is canny enough to be fully aware of Leina's tight self-control, she's not ready for there to be personal motives, either. The background check indeed did not go quite that far.
Still, she's ready for something. The name of Deikum and the invocation of quantum brainwaves does not elicit a tic of surprise or a pause. "Then you've been paying attention," is all that the senator says, as she invites Leina into a research workshop. A handful of employees are around in the corners, checking on things. This workshop is still in use, but not currently heavily occupied. Ada has had the centerpiece, however, prepared ahead of time on a central platform, elevated and held aloft by careful fixtures to keep it visible, exposed, but touching as little surface as possible. The device is shaped something like a cross-section of a labyrinth, laid out two by three meters in length and width. Inside the walls of the maze are iridescent alloys, traces of fold quartz and other exotic elements.
"This was my husband's workshop," Ada says, with a sober tone for the first time in the conversation. Gage Luckwright: engineer, dead of a heart attack in his late thirties. "And this is the original proof of concept of the Myrmex Format mind-machine interface. The full military scale device is larger, of course."
She expects Leina to take her time looking it over. Cathedra sent her, right? There is nothing illegal in this construction.
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
"I do pride myself on that."
Leina faux preens, but not overmuch. There's a delicate balance between 'I know a thing you didn't expect me to know' and 'lording it over them.' when dealing with an adult that's older than you.
She has to keep herself in the space of interested in what she has to offer, without acting like she is 'above' her.
Leina does jot down more notes on the way, there is not an untoward amount of writing that makes one think she's copying down too much about the lab.
And as they reach the next destination, there is genuine sympathy in her eyes, "My condolences. He must have been rather young?" Leina does remark, she knows precisely how young he was.
A heart attack in his late thirties. Suspicious in and of itself, she doesn't suspect the Senator... necessarily, but she might be inclined to believe it was... induced.
"He must have been a rather gifted engineer..."
Leina does indeed look it over, spec by spec. She is not, as a rule, the most technically minded. The liberal arts were her love. There is however a singular exception... she's done her homework on Newtype Tech.
And unfortunately she's listened to the Murasame Institute scientists speak far too much, about their findings.
"Goodness... quite different from Nanai Miguel's 'aperture'." She speaks of course of the Mother of Psychoframe. A Neo-Zeon Newtype scientist. "If I'm understanding this correctly, the amplifier translates quantum brainwaves into shaped kinetic energy?"
Her pen taps against the paper, as she jots down certain notes, "But... huh." Her brow furrows, "The pool of pilots that could utilize this technology seems perhaps, narrower than the typical Quantum Brainwave interface?"
She doesn't look at Senator Luckwright, keeping her eyes on the page and her tone carefully neutral, "Your test pilot must be a rather special individual, indeed..."
<Pose Tracker> Ada Legatum Luckwright has posed.
"He was very young," Ada says, and her words weigh cold and heavy. She does not want to talk about this, and cutting off this topic means no more information on him as an engineer either.
"Quite close, and also far off," she says, recomposing herself with a sigh. "Raquel," she says, calling over one of the researchers still in the workshop. "Could you explain the mechanism of how the Myrmex Engine's psychokinesis works?"
"Well, I'm not actually part of the psychodriver department..."
"But you understand the physical end of things, right?"
"Ah... yes." Raquel clears her throat and pushes her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "Are you familiar with virtual particles and the reason they're called 'quantum brainwaves?' What we call kinetic force is, to oversimplify a bit, ultimately the result of collisions and exchanges of elementary particles. The scale at which these particles operate is extremely small and difficult to observe, and at this very small scale of spacetime interaction, pairs of virtual particles and antiparticles are constantly generating and mutually annihilating. A psychodriver's quantum observation can disturb these pairs, sending them off-course so that they don't annihilate. They become real particles capable of interacting with other particles. What the Myrmex Engine does is integrate itself into the psychodriver's quantum wave network independently from their natural neural activity. The Myrmex Engine supplements the network with modern processing power, effectively increasing the psychodriver's observational power by orders of magnitude."
That conversation got away from the attempt to focus on the test pilot. Perhaps intentionally so.
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
Fortunately, Leina can take a hint, and doesn't press further on the subject of her ex-husband. Instead...
"Psychodriver..."
There is an air of perhaps, wonder? For a moment? A subtle distinction from the Natural Newtype, recently theorized, thought perhaps to be a myth.
Right before Raquel launches into her clinical explanation. While the theory is fascinating, Leina can't help but think of the moments when her soul touched someone else's.
When she could reach out across the universe to answer her brother's need.
When the miracle happened. What it cost them all.
Even travelling to a higher dimension.
All reduced to physics and particles and combat application. It is a challenge to keep her expression in check during these moments.
Leina knows right now she's putting these particles out right now. She does not want to be some Newtype elitist, but she can't help but think of how Oldtypes will never understand certain things...
... it is a subtly depressing and infuriating experience.
Still however, she forces herself to pay attention, even as she's told what comes out of her brain is mutually annihilating. She can't help but think Judau would make a huge joke out of that one.
Notes are certainly jotted down, before she does ask...
"What about their perception and spatial sense of the battlefield, in the receipt of information from these particles? Is it all - purely offensive, this translation?"
And indeed, she looks thoroughly distracted away from the pilot for a time. However... "Fascinating, I didn't think I'd have a hypothesis confined mostly to some very niche circles confirmed today. That Psychodrivers exist adds entire new dimensions to the theories of Zeon Zum Deikun..."
Her pen taps her tiny pad three times, "... I don't suppose we could make time to meet your test pilot during the tour? Truly I'd love to talk shop with them about what it's like to pilot such a machine."
Even if under supervision, it would perhaps... tell her everything she needs to know.
<Pose Tracker> Ada Legatum Luckwright has posed.
Ada Luckwright nods her head with pride. Foresight is riding the bleeding edge of the study of this, what some call a sub-phenomenon of the Newtype. Reams of data and practical tests exist in their hands and no one else's.
"We haven't recorded any data suggesting altered states of perception while integrated with the Myrmex Format," Ada answers Leina. "And if we had gotten anything overtly like that during early tests, we would have stopped the tests there. We developed the Myrmex Format very carefully to avoid any possible harm to the pilot." She's firm about that. Perhaps putting distance between her Myrmex Format and the early Permet format cybernetics.
Ada dismisses Raquel, and pauses to drink from her iced coffee. "I'm afraid our pilots are under a strict non-disclosure agreement that routes all communication through the company. If you'd like to leave some interview questions for one I can have them get back to you in writing, though." She leads Leina out the hall, and turns down an intersection. "I can, however, bring you to visit our psychodriver department. I'm confident Foresight has the single greatest collection of authorities on psychodriver quantum activity and manifestation." And everything aboveboard, she does not add explicitly.
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
It wasn't actually a trap question, but the answer does cause Leina to just internally sigh over the fact that they don't really get it.
After all, if she could only describe what Psychoframe does to her foresight, despite her traumatic relationship with the technology...
... but of course, she chooses not to. "Certainly I understand that the pilot's safety must be paramount." And indeed... she does...
For while the technology is a major concern that it is simply veiling a different expression of 'Psychoframe', the pilot and their situation is perhaps her true aim for being here.
"Hmmm, disappointing, though of course I understand. Revealing the identity of such individuals puts them in marked danger. There are no shortage of bad actors who would wish to spirit them away to a clandestine lab."
Indeed... as Leina does NOT say, she was one of them. A Newtype who still to this day does not know how the Vist Foundation captured her.
She simply cannot remember, thanks to what they did to her.
"Absolutely. I'll submit them as soon as possible, as I'm quite interested in learning about their experiences."
Is there any way to pass a question asking if they require help through screening without tipping alarm bells? Leina will have to think about that.
Most likely it's not possible but... perhaps there's a way.
But there is that question, "By all means, after all it's not every day you have a fringe theory not only confirmed but to discover there's an entire hidden wealth of information already discovered about the individuals in question."
The everything 'above board' is something Leina would doubt anyway. Newtype science is rarely ever ethical.
Even when one believes they consented to it all, perhaps especially so.
<Pose Tracker> Ada Legatum Luckwright has posed.
The psychodriver department looks more like an office space than anything else. Water coolers, a few scientists in business casual standing around having conversations, individual walled offices to the sides for the specialists. Computers and filing cabinets. If it weren't for the occasional room with hard-to-identify measurement equipment or glass-sealed divisions with small-scale experiments set up on tables, one would have a hard time tying it to a scientific venture at all.
"There's still a lot yet to be understood about psychodrivers. The tests and physical analyses we assess here don't just expand the application portfolio of the Myrmex Engine technology. They help our pilots better know themselves and navigate the world with a clarified understanding of what nature has gifted them. We also collect data on Newtype outpatients who are paid for their participation. We remain very interested in how what we typically call Newtypes, psychodrivers, and any other capabilities and perspectives beyond the human natural intersect and differ."
She manages to restrain herself from specifying that no subjects are ever kept overnight. On the other hand, she says nothing about the work history of the scientists here before signing with Foresight. Nobody becomes a Newtype scientist from on-the-job training.
"We're circumspect here at Foresight. We already have offers clamoring for a full production line, but we're taking it slow. The future of conflict resolution is here, but we're going to reach that future the right way."
Sounds like she's stopped indulging Leina's claim to be here looking into potential acquisition some time ago. This isn't a sales pitch, it's a preemptive defense. An investigation here will just waste Cathedra's time. Perhaps for all Ada sees organizational motives, she misses the individual in front of her.
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
Newtype science... sanitized, into corporate, office life. It's surreal. Different from walking around the Vist Garuda, Leina feels the edges of her perception tear along the edges.
men complaining about their jobs
about their wives
drinking plans after work
about a shit boyfriend that never calls
deadlines reports
all so hollow this vision of adulthood
just a different kind of
A P P L A U S E S U A L P P A
Her writing hand had gone lax, her pen nearly falling, but now it straightens up, as she jots down more and more of her explanation.
"That is certainly, refreshing to hear given how Newtype research is typically treated..."
Leina murmurs to Ada, trying to stay focused on the conversation. "... I suppose perhaps, my concerns then would not be so much how Foresight treats it's test subjects, so much as what happens when mass production is given the greenlight."
Her pen keeps jotting down notes, "The typical response of Federation blocs in response to requiring a special individual to utilize a new form of technology for warfare, is to create those individuals."
A beat.
"Quite illegally of course... but rarely ever enforced, at least not until recently. I imagine if a process for artifically creating Psychodrivers has not been developed yet- that they will be clamoring for it's invention to be 'sped along' so they can utilize it in the same manner as they do for Cyber Newtypes."
There's nothing threatening in such talk, certainly, but...
"And until then, they'll be obtaining them... 'consensually' from the rare Natural Psychodrivers to arise in the populace."
It's all quite practical in her discussion of such ethical issues, not perfectly innocent talk perhaps, but all within bounds for someone who is in a sense Artesia Som Deikun's daughter - who has Newtype issues at the forefront of her mind.
"I am curious, Ada. What thought have you given towards these considerations when it comes to unleashing this knowledge and technology upon the Earthsphere, given your current philosophy of being a part of the Defense Industry?"
She looks up from her writing to smile at her, "Rather like letting the Djinni out of the lamp, isn't it? It's not something you can undo."
<Pose Tracker> Ada Legatum Luckwright has posed.
Ada stops. She has to put a finger to her chin, even. Is this a question she hadn't considered?
"I believe that's your job, isn't it?"
She coolly takes a sip from her iced coffee. "You came here representing the Dominicus Corps, didn't you? Cathedra's security force is empowered not only to defend the interests of the Benerit Group, but to enforce its ethical principles. Of course, I am ready to offer my full cooperation, both as a partner with Foresight and a Neo-American Senator, to push to bring to justice any 'Cyber Psychodriver' program or human trafficking scheme that should ever surface, as I am committed now to address the Cyber Newtype problem. Neo-America does not tolerate these atrocities, and I've co-sponsored several bills to enforce stricter penalties and make sure that these monsters aren't set loose walking the streets of Neo-America or of the Federation as a whole. I believe in justice. I don't believe in shared blame. We don't hold knife manufacturers to account for knife crimes, and that's because we understand that a person who innovates for society's benefit is not responsible when an unrelated person chooses to turn that innovation against society. There's much to be learned still from the Myrmex technology that could transform society beyond the military applications. Would you deny the people that advancement because some evildoers would hold us back? When those evildoers find some other implement by which to tear down society, you will still have to do the same thing: stand with the people, defend your creed, and bring those evildoers to justice."
There is an energy in Ada, speaking about these things, that is not there when she is running through niceties. This is her ethos. Those who would advance society are not responsible for the actions of those who would set it back.
"In any case," she says, settling into a cooler smile, "the Myrmex Format Wanderpanzer's appeal is exactly that it does not demand production in mass numbers. This is not an infantry unit. Its size, mobility, and logistical freedom make it perfectly suited for precision strikes at enemy infrastructure without the need to wage a siege battle with a massive cost in blood and munitions. The Myrmex Format Wanderpanzer is the mobile weapon's answer to the deep insertion special operations soldier. It concentrates destructive power where the enemy can best be hobbled. An end to mass evacuations and collateral damage to close out the Universal Century."
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
There is a touch of a smile, and one of her security detail has the wherewithal to shake her head subtly in Leina's direction...
"You could say that."
Leina answers perhaps, coyly on the idea of representing Dominicus Corps, before allowing herself to receive what she regards as one of the most discreet upbraidings of her life.
After all, she questioned the adult in the room, or rather the 'senior' adult. It makes sense that the lash would come subtly to try and make her feel small.
"That is such a fascinating perspective! I believe, if I spoke as such in front of ten Anaheim Electronics Executives that I'd have heard similar from about seven of them."
Leina puts the pad and pen away into her business suit pocket, and one of her detail sighs and pinches their nose, "Did you know, that before Psychoframe became a regulated technology, that it was sold to all sides by Anaheim, because indeed, they shouldn't be held responsible for how it was used?"
There's a ghost of a smile at that moment, "And indeed when the word of Martha Vist-Carbine, their Empress of the Moon, was the law of the land... that same company kidnapped high schoolers off the streets."
She leans in subtly, "All above board, you understand how these things work when you have the power to do whatever you want. They had a Gryps era War Criminal pardoned - perhaps you've even heard of him, the Dr. Murasame, of the Murasame Institute?"
She makes a small gesture with her hand, "To torture them, brainwash them, to make them loyal soldiers of Anaheim's then-largest shareholder, to pilot their experimental suits. Secret files of the Federation's UC Project reveal that their collaborative intent was to 'kill' the concept of the Newtype forever with mobile suits specifically designed to murder even their top aces in combat, an NT-D system. 'Newtype Destroyer'."
A beat.
"All quite legally, a secret genocide. Since the Federation has still never officially acknowledged their existence."
Her smile vanishes in that moment, "I know this, because I was one of those high schoolers. And rather than acknowledge wrong-doing, the Federation fired a Gryps Era Weapon of Mass Destruction - to try and cover it all up."
She lets that settle in for a time before driving home the point, "Tell me Senator. Whose job was it to protect me - and the others swept up in the matter, at the time when Psychoframe was not a part of Cathedra's mandate? The politicians who bent over backwards to discharge their favors? The corporate executives who were all too eager to provide personnel and technology to assist their majority shareholder in brainwashing us to be their 'consensual' weapons? The military they ordered to erase my existence, and did not hesitate to try?"
And yet... the neutrality returns to her voice, "At this moment, the Myrmex engine is new - unregulated technology. That does not fall under Cathedra's mandate. There are no such safeguards in place, indeed based on the idea of 'Psychodriver' being distinct from the 'Newtype' one would consider it a glaring... loophole, that one could utilize to get past our auditing restrictions for certain labs."
There's a dry chuckle a moment later, "I suppose your answer to that would be 'call your representative.' or perhaps more seriously to 'call our lobbying group'." There's an amused shake of her head and a light sigh, "An answer... as always, you call it an answer."
To the question, of whether they 'could', instead of 'should.'
After expelling another breath, she notes, "To answer your question, I am purely here in the capacity of evaluating Cathedra's future investment in the technology. There is no... 'investigation' under way, official or otherwise, as indeed - as I mentioned, it is unregulated technology. Unless we found evidence of Psychoframe research - we have no grounds to audit you."
Leina clicks her pen, and smiles, "My report to the group, such as it is, will be quite objective, given the very specific requirements of such technology."
<Pose Tracker> Ada Legatum Luckwright has posed.
Most of that speech is not listened to.
Ada, wearing the tight smile of a woman who has heard many young idealists start to try to upbraid her, gives a sympathetic knowing look to Leina's security detail. At around the point of "Martha Vist-Carbine," she begins speaking over Leina. "I don't believe that's the tone of someone who is interested in a discussion, so regrettably, I suppose we're done here. Please escort Miss Ashta back out of the facility. Thank you for coming, and if you'd like to hear the details of my position on the defense of human rights, you can find them on my outreach site." The corporate security steps forward, and look to Leina's security detail for their cooperation in ushering Leina out of earshot of the senator and back towards the elevator and the shuttle. She doesn't have time to mention the Newtype Destroyer before they have her out of range. All devices are returned untampered. One of the corporate security workers compliments one of Leina's security detail on the fit of his suit.
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
At being cut off - There's an actual snort, and a chuckle from Leina, as if she found that hilarious. She does not actually say what's funny however.
Indeed she lets her have the last word rather than attempting to argue back.
What she found amusing however, was it carried the same vibe as Glemy Toto policing her for 'manners' at the dinner table.
"Your outreach site. Of course. How silly of me."
As she shifts back to the demeanor of the young heiress who made the tiniest 'faux pas' in public with a similar cadence as if an actual 'teehee' were coming next, "It was very nice meeting you Senator Luckwright, do have a pleasant day. Let's do lunch some time."
Indeed Leina complies, and her security detail complies and they all return without incident-
"So Miss Ashta, what were you thinking pulling that in the middle of the Lioness' den?"
Leina chuckles softly, "Simple. She wasn't going to give me anything else so I needed to 'agitate' her as someone who doesn't 'know their place'. Now either she calls our liaison to file a complaint, or she doesn't. If she does, he takes it quite seriously, and it has the same result as if she didn't call at all."
Enzo responded with a note of incredulity, "So what? All that risk to what? Merely stir the pot?"
Leina finished running a diagnostic on her phone to check for any 'unwelcome guests', which she knows is nigh impossible given the safeguards upon it and the encryption but...
... begins tapping out some texts.
>alright now that im on her radar i wont so much as glance in neo americas direction for a while
>do what u need to do to try and figure out the test pilots identity
"Something like that~"
"You sure do love making our jobs more challenging."
"As I said before... rise to it."
<Pose Tracker> Ada Legatum Luckwright has posed.
Ada hands her empty cup of coffee off to one of her security detail. She lets out a deep sigh.
"Do you want something done about..." begins Barthold, security chief, but Ada interrupts.
"No. No, let her go." She calls up a smirk. "You know, the younger me really could have had it out with her. I remember being that age and frustrated that all the old people couldn't see two inches in front of their face. Run an opsec check on Lua, though. She's doing a great job but I don't think she gets how important this is."
"Yes, ma'am."
Ada holds two fingers out. "Smoke?"
"No smoking in the building, ma'am."
"Shit. Who makes these rules," Ada says, her fingers curling around the memory of a cigarette.