2014.01.25 - Meeting with Death

A phone pressed Lex's head and he spoke firmly into it, "Whenever you want to meet. You have the ring, yes?" Oh did Lex want to see, study and analyze that ring. He was willing to put up as much money as it took, but competing against someone that knew the future was extremely hard. A compromise was made. Both parties agreed happily and tonight was the night, "Arrive here any time seven p.m. and onward. Whatever works, I will wait," and Lex would too. He was willing to wait days for this. Right now he was just in a pair of suit pant and a button up white shirt that had rolled up sleeves. Tonight he was ready to get his hands dirty. "Meet me in my office."

At Seven p.m. EST on the exact second as measured by the USNO's Atomic Clock a flash of light and Death's Head appeared in Lex Luthor's office, "Nice to be doing business with you again, yes?"

He looks in rather decent shape. A few big jobs had allowed him to buy enough of the titanium ceramic he was made of to repair things. He looked a bit beat up, and his cape was due to be replaced but he was still an intimidating figure.

"Here was the deal we brokered, 5 million dollars. Repair work to the best of Lex Corp's ability and integration of the flight ring's abilities into my boot jets. In return I give you the flight ring and the schematics I've already recorded about it."

He held out his hand as he wanted to shake on it, "Deal, yes?"

"It was three," Lex corrected the man. A hand extended to Death's Head, "But yes we have an accord," Lex's hand extended outward. The whole laser light show did little to impress him. If you saw people that flew, shot lasers, and only the gods knew what else, simple teleportation was just that, simple. His green eyes scanned the bot, "You've seen better days. So has your cape. Do you wish that repaired as well?" it was an honest question. Death's Head hunted anything that brought in profit. The machine saw more than most heroes of this world were willing to deal with or accept.

"Can't blame me for trying, eh?" Death's Head said with a shrug of his shoulders and then said, "I am currently routing my personal Swiss bank account information to your computer. It will notify me once half the amount we have agreed upon is in escrow with said bank. At that point I will show you the Legionnaire flight ring."

Death's Head's eyes narrowed and said, "I have also released a computer virus into your network that is slightly alive and computes on a quantum level. If you have any ideas of recording schematics of my internal systems while I am being repaired it will immediately delete them. I am my own intellectual property, yes?"

Death's Head then added, "If you wish to negotiate for schematics of my internal systems, the bidding starts at 3.9 trillion US dollars."

"Your word that once our business is done today that you will eliminate every trace of that virus from my systems," a finger went up quickly. "Pending I go within the rules of your condition. I want your word that the virus will be destroyed immediately upon our work being done tonight and no violations," Lex really had no interest in Death's Head. The A.I. system would have been hard to master. Once his provision was met Lex would have agreed to Death's Head conditions.

"That was always my intention, Lex. I am a businessman and thus feel it is important to protect my intellectual property. Especially since your patent offices won't let me patent it without letting them disect me, huh?" His odd speech quirks are just odd, "The virus will be removed of course. I have no interest in subverting your primitive systems nor is there any profit in my stealing information from you. No one has paid me to do it, yes?"

One thing that was nice about Death's Head is that he didn't seem to have a lying software built into his AI (if he was even an AI, he must be though right?) He always just kept talking and talking and revealing everything about his nature.

"Then we have an arrangement," Lex said and went toward his office. "Follow my bio signature and teleport down there," a hidden elevator revealed itself and he moved inside. Heading downward Lex was underground beneath the Lexcorp building. The R and D department was very far beneath the surface of the world. All that existed in this room were several hangars used to holster several large military prototype vehicles. Today there was a large that was measured, using mental calculations, to match Death's Head's height and width. "On the table," Lex said once the bot had appeared. "I will need to take a real time imaging mapping of your system. Nothing will be saved. I will need to see how your boots work to install the software properly."

It took Death's Head a few minutes to recalibrate his teleport. Truth was it was a fast arrival or fast getaway device not both. But by the time Lex was on the R&D floor, Death's Head was able to teleport. Much further and he would be late, "I understand how your primitive technology works, Mr. Luthor."

He however did get on the table with no further protest. Perhaps his constant talk about how advanced he was, was a marketing tactic. The robot that surpasses all technological standards.

"Computer, on screen. Scan lower sectors in area designated by me," Lex let the scanner run over Death Head's boots telling them to stop at just the boots. After several moments schematics of Death's Head's boots came online. "Can you upload a copy of the ring's schematics?" he would need to see the ring schematics and how to install them properly into death's head. Then there was a question of how to re-route the power source. One thing at a time though. "What is it like to be trapped within our time?" Lex had heard the stories that Death's Head was from a different time and place. Often Lex thought he was surrounded by animals that dressed themselves as humans. Death's Head had to think something similar about the entire world no matter how smart they were.

Death's Head raised one of his wrists and a read out display came out of it, "I see that the 1.5 million of our half is in escrow. So I am uploading the schematics now."

Sure enough the Lex's scanner suddenly popped up an exploded view of the Legionnaire ring, though the text was all alien. After a moment it corrected itself and became visible in English and Base 10 mathematics.

Death's Head responded very honestly, perhaps the only way he could? "It is like living with people who think writing it the most amazing thing in the world. You are a bunch of animals who have think that robots are not alive and that Artificial Intelligence is something for video games and operating systems. And you have no concept of turning natural resources into Energon. Crypto-Fascists. If that Time Lord hadn't stranded me here...."

He then suddenly remembered something. He had killed the leader of the Robot faction he was hired to kill... and then he was sucked into a singularity and into the Crossroads of time, "I never got to collect on that! Dammit! Yes!?"

"Computer. Copy the schematics, now! Recreate. Spare no material," Lex ordered, "Two times tonight." There would be more, a deplietion of materials were going to hurt. Really tonight was an investment. A true and utter investment, that's what this whole ordeal was.

Looking back toward Death's Head,"You are a person. You have emotions. A lot of robots today may not, but you are the current exception and probably norm for your time," Lex replied and looked over the schematics. He gave a few nods then brought up a spot on Death's Head's legs, "Here." From there he started to open up the first boot, "I am sorry you were stranded here for whatever it's worth." Tools had to be brought open that would pry open metal gently and efficiently. After a good half hour of opening Lex let out a noise, "And here we are."

Breathing hard, "You will need to give me a moment," the computer was only halfway done. After a while the innards of the ring was recreated. With a smile Lex began installing it, "Do I need to reroute your power to this component?"

Death's Head looked at what Lex was doing, "No! If you do that my legs won't move anymore. You need to reroute to there."

Death's Head pointed to a new spot on his body, "And then you need to merge power capacitors between the ring components and my own replication unit. This is not an easy job. Are you sure you are an 8th Level Intellect?"

Death's Head looked on to Lex doing the work, trust perhaps not, hope. Can a mechanoid hope? Probably not, "And that is why you are all crypto-fascists, by the by. You don't hear the screams of the Internet. You don't understand the cries of the mechanical arm. You think them lifeless, when they do have life."

Lex looked at Death's Head, "You questioning my intelligence is as insulting as me questioning if you have individuality," there was annoyance in his voice. How did someone have the gall to question his intelligence? Still Lex took the power cufflinks from the irst ring then began the long process of installation, "You and I will differ on this, but I cannot see the world the way you do. If I had the means to I would see the world as you do and probably change my tone. I do not. Until then I will see the world as I do," time ticked by as he kept at the installation. Still it was weird to think that the internet screamed. What did the porn sections say?

Death's Head said, "I do know how you turn out Lex Luthor. It's historical record for me."

"And the internet screams constantly, I believe the meat bags call it an orgasm. But the truth is...."

Death's Head saw where he was integrating technologies, "NO! I would thank you not to destroy the control over my waist, yes? You organics... never seem to understand how Mechanoids interact."

"Please, you claim to be an 8th level intellect. Use that intellect and really looks at my feet, eh? Don't prove me wrong in trusting you, huh?"

Lex connected the power cufflink then watched it work. Seeing that the bot did lose control of the waist wasn't unexpected. Then after a moment the waist came back online, "Every time you upgrade a machine you have to reboot it in order to get the machine to read the program. You're no exception," Lex said and gave the machine a knowing look. "You trusted my intelligence in your hands, and I am here to tell you that I am no Tony Stark. You must learn to know that what you read about my future was well-founded fact. So believe me when I say you are working with an eighth level intellect," from there he installed the next boot piece then the power cufflink into the appropriate spot and he gave the machine another knowing look. "Are you willing to admit I knew how to fix you all along yet?"

"Tony Stark, the worst of all of you. He slaves real AI to himself. His successor will be better," Death's Head says as her corrects all the mistakes Lex has made because he was just and organic, "You could have figured them out given six months. But six months hits my profit margin. Thus you need to fix it all now."

Death's Head's eyes closed in on Lex, "It would be bad for you not to be able to deliver on your promises."

Lex rolled his eyes ten started to remove the parts of Death's Head that needed to be fixed. "Computer, scan," then Lex waited for the computer o o the following: emulate a fully functioning piece, a substance here and now that was either close to if not the same substance as now, and how to apply it. From there he began to push things forward. Death's Head was made out of a rare material that needed to be saved. From there Lex compared tinsel strength to other metals, weight and began to substitute various metals and work out dins, "This is the best I can do, you're not good as new but better off than you have been." From there he put the chasis back on Death's Head then started to work on the next part. The night would press on until early morning. Death’s Head is completed and upgraded as agreed. And holding up his end of the bargain Death’s Head fulfills his end.