176/Droning On and On in the Park

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Droning On and On in the Park
Date of Scene: 28 February 2020
Location: Bethesda Terrace
Synopsis: Sam's dog Bear fetches a science project and meets up with Peter Parker.
Cast of Characters: Samuel Morgan, Peter Parker




Samuel Morgan has posed:
    It's a surprisingly sunny day out in New York, and those who can have taken the opportunity to enjoy the constrained bit of nature that still exists on Manhattan. The vast majority of people are still at work, however, and the weekend crowds won't be arriving for a few hours yet, leaving the park not too crowded. And out here, by the Terrace, most visitors and tourists seem to be heading straight for the lake, leaving the lawns on either side delightfully empty. And a delightfully empty space is all the German Shepherd needs to race along, in chase of a well chewed tennis ball that is sailing through the air. A leap!

    *CHOMP*

    Shaking his head several times, the ball between his jaws, the young dog whose collar proclaims him to be 'Bear', and whose red neckerchief proclaims him to be stylish, starts to traipse back to his human, taking his time. The human, for his part, doesn't seem to be in any rush. The teenager has a smile on his face, seemingly at ease with the world around him, and kneeling on the grass to receive his companion. Nearby, leaning against a tree, stands a backpack with all the necessities of a responsible dog owner... and clipped to one of the straps, is the hi-vis yellow vest of a service animal.

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter tapped the tablet. The logo of ParkerSoft appeared (his little bit of vanity) and then two buttons appeared. DIAG and ON/OFF. He taps DIAG and watches the list of systems as the tests run, slowly blinking over from red to green.
He looks over at the matchbox-sized red oval, taking a deep breath. He exhales as he looks back to the tablet, showing everything is green.
He taps ON/OFF and the display flares to a HUD display. As it does, the oval unfolds four tiny rotors, rising three feet into the air.
Peter grins. "Okay, Pablo..." he says softly, and tilts the tablet forward. The drone immediately lunges forward to fly out towards the edge of the lake.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    There are many sights and sounds in the park vying for attention, but the telltale drone of a drone filters through the trees and the distance to the ever vigilant ears of dog and teen. Both turn their heads, eerily at the same time and in the same direction, and both start to ignore the sound when an armed drone fails to appear. When they really are out to get you, paranoia is a way of life. The ball is obediently dropped in an outstretched hand, and Bear sits at attention with his tail thumping the ground, waiting for that wonderful moment. That glorious moment. That moment when his human, Sam, looks in the distance, pulls back his arm and launches the ball in a high arc towards the point he had just selected.

    "Go get it boy!"

Peter Parker has posed:
Balance is good...speed at 20 MPH...signal's good...
The drone zips along the bank, whirring softly.
And then the Parker Luck looks at the scene and snickers. Peter is unable to hear it cracking its knuckles.

Suddenly a dark shape is on intercept course, and the collision-avoidance software kicks in, causing the drone to wheel around it. It also looked like an oval...
DOGSIGN!
Peter suddenly stared into the open jaws of a large dog as it closed in on the drone. *My, Parker Luck, what big TEETH you've got!*

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Bear races with delight, feeling the grass under his paws, tearing along to intercept the ball before it lands. Tongue lolling, he tilts his head to gauge the distance, leaps...

    *CHOMP*

    Shaking his head... Bear stops for a moment, thoughtfully working his jaws around his ball. Taste strange. Buzzes. Ball doesn't buzz. Doesn't taste like ball... Indeed, he can now see his ball laying a bit further away, and tries to look down along his own muzzle at whatever he's holding between his teeth, giving it an experimental lick. Taste stange...

    Meanwhile, Sam is rushing over, having seen the drone and the ball intersect at the last moment, blasting a shutdown command at the drone to prevent the rotors from cutting Bear, who seems to be utterly oblivious to what he has just caught, or how dangerous it might be.

    "Spit it out. C'mon, let go, that's not your ball." It does belong to someone though... and he's expecting an angry owner at any moment.

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter grabs his stuff and runs towards the lawn where the drone had last been. In his mind, dollar bills were flying away even faster that 20 MPH.
Then he saw the young man and then the dog, and OHMIGOD OHMIGOD OHMOGPD...
"PABLO!" he calls out, as the young man in the baggy clothes runs pell-mell towards Morgan and Bear, a look of panic on his face.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    *PLEH*

    The drone drops in Sam's hand as Bear traipses of to pounce on his ball, leaving the teen to inspect the curious little thing. No explosive charge, no onboard weaponry, just... a camera? Eyes narrow as he starts the drone back up and looks through its memory, his eyes literally glowing blue for a moment. Ah, good... no clear image of his face, just the flight and Bear's intercept. So he shuts it down again, looking over his shoulder when he hears the shout.

    Standing and brushing grass from his grey cargo trousers with his left hand, the teenager holds out the drone with his right. It's not too badly chewed, no more than cosmetic damage. "This yours?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter stopped, giving the dog a wary glance. No Spider-Sense going off, though. So, he's not a biting dog. He does have this smile on his face. Looks like the one he uses to survive lectures.
"Uhm, yeah...I built it." He looks around, then asks politely, "Uhm, may I have it back, please?" He is holding a tablet, the tablet playing the last few seconds of the flight over and over, DogZilla eating the place forever. So, it's probably a buffer and the feed went to the tablet.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Sure." Sam has the same smile on his face, the one he uses when he's in a social situation he wasn't expecting. According to his tutors, it's always better to face something with a smile. Of course they had a completely different kind of situation in mind, and his therapist was having one hell of a time untangling that mess. "It doesn't look like it's been too badly damaged, but if it turns out it is, I'll be happy to fix it for you."

    The smile is clearly not entirely genuine, and the teenager is holding the drone at arm's length, expecting Peter to come to him rather than the other way around. Things... aren't quite what they seem here. He doesn't have a spider sense, but he's sensing too many unusual technological signatures.

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter steps forward to take the drone. He winces at the dog drool, then gets out a small towel to wipe it off. He peers at it, then brings up the tablet, looking at it.
It was...off? Did he send a shutdown command, or put an automatic cutoff? He was pretty sure he didn't. He'd have to check the logs.
He looked at the rotors. "Hmm...the plastic rotors are bent, but I have replacements for those. And it's waterproof..."
He taps the tablet to run a diagnostic. He looks up and smiles sheepishly. "Sorry my drone invaded your airspace..."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Wasn't like you could have known this was a Bravo clearance zone at the time. Next time, I'll put out a proper NOTAM." Yup. Those are certainly words. Sam smiles as he says them, while Bear returns to his side and looks up curiously at the new human. A sniff, a tilt of the head, and the German Shepherd puts the ball down carefully, grinning a huge doggy grin at Peter.

    "This is Bear, and I'm sure he's really sorry for snatching up your drone. Luckily, it doesn't seem like he was hurt." The teen gives Peter a significant look, the seems to imply that if Bear /had/ been injured, this conversation would have been less pleasant. Then he holds out a hand. "My name's Sam."

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter ohs. Well, the terms are ones he's going to have to look up later, but he is kinda glad the drone didn't hurt the dog. Because he's a dog. Dogs catch things flying in the air.
"My name's Peter. Peter Parker." He shakes Sam's hand, then smiles sadly to Bear. "Sorry about that Bear. But it looks like no harm done on either side, and the rotors usually are the first things to get messed up anyway." He holds out the hand to Bear, palm-side up, but lower than Bear's muzzle. Wouldn't be great if Bear thought Peter was going to hit him.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    The hand that is shaken has not only a strong grip, but is quite calloused, as if used to hard work. Certainly not as soft as one might imagine from someone Sam's age. For his part, Bear keeps looking up at Peter and lifts his paw to put it in the offered hand, giving a doggy paw-shake. That is one well trained and mild-tempered canine.

    "I'll never understand why manufacturers still use plastic for the rotors. Fully ducted carbon fiber rotors would be at least as safe and far less flimsy."

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter shakes Bear's paw, then stands up. "Well, some manufacturers have to work on a shoestring budget and can't afford to fabricate carbon fiber parts." Especially when your 3-D printer came out of a dumpster at Engineer Row.
"It's for a science fair project. I'm proving that viable drones can be made fairly cheaply if you can make the tech current. And have decent coding, to boot."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
There is an 'aha' moment, and Sam nods, his smile shifting slightly. For one, it's far more genuine now. "Well, considering you can print most of the shell and outer parts, it's really just a matter of integration and miniaturisation. And understanding the concepts of rotor flight, of course, but that's not exactly rocket science." He gives the drone another glance, clearly thinking. "So, did you use a custom PCB for the controller, or did you grab a Raspberry off the shelf somewhere? I'm figuring you could probably have it controlled with a simple Snapdragon ARM, which would eliminate a lot of issues with cooling and power consumption. You could have a lightweight lithium battery for your CPU and a separate flight battery for the electromotors."

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter smiled wryly. "Actually, most of the computer power is in the control unit." He held up the tablet. "I did the microtech work myself, but I had to kludge in a wireless antenna. I wrote the protocol to use cell towers to boost the signal, so the unit's processing needs in case the drone loses connection is hardcoded into the IC on the board. All the thinking is done in the tablet."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Doesn't data lag become an issue at distance?" Sam wonders, grasping the concept of the setup after only a few moments. "I mean, doesn't it slow down the reaction time of the pilot if the unit itself is far enough away that the signal is transmitted through two or three towers from the base controller?" Still, as a home made system, it was quite impressive. "You know, case in point, sudden objects in the flight paths and playful dogs."

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter shakes his head. "Nope. I made a variable-strength meter to handle and regulate signal strength. It's...not really patented yet." He looks around. "I'd describe it, but it's a little long-winded. Suffice to say, it can regulate frequency to make up for signal issues."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Right, signal quality variable boosting."

    Sam drops a hand down on top of Bear's head and fusses the Shepherd's fur between his ears, causing some serious tail wagging. "I'd love to hear about it, but I understand if you don't have the time to explain it all. Maybe once you patent it, I'll hear all about it at MIT?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter's smile takes on a slight curl of discomfort. "Yeah...I won't be going to MIT. However, Empire State University has a good science program, and I know a professor there who will be at the science fair, so if I make a good showing, he'll float my name to the Admissions committee."

Because the full scholarship MIT offered means the breadwinner for the Parker house would have to move to Boston. And to Hell with THAT idea.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    A slow blink, and again realisation comes to Sam. Ah, yes, of course. Not everyone is in his rather unique situation. "I ehm... I got admitted to their satellite program classes this morning, through Happy Harbor. So technically I'm not going either. Because moving states, screw that noise, y'know?" Not to mention that he legally can't for another five years at least.

    "Empire State is pretty good, I heard." He hadn't. But it's the kind of thing he had to say.

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter shrugs. "I figure with the scholarships and work-study programs available, I can get my Ph.D. without losing too much time." He chuckles. "Plus, it has the benefit of being local. I've lived in New York City all my life."

He reaches down to pet Bear, but stops before he gets there. "Uhm, I saw the service dog vest...is it okay to pet Bear?"

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Spent most of my life in Kentucky and South Carolina. Gotta say, I'm enjoying Manhattan, but then I've only had about four months to get to know it properly."

    As Sam talks, Bear recognises his name, possibly understands the whole sentence, and nods his head half a second before Sam does. "Yeah, he's off the clock right now, go ahead. When he's not wearing his vest, that's his time off."

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter nods, then completes his objective and Bear is getting his head and muzzle stroked. "Just checking. I know it's a big deal to know when it is and isn't a good time. So, apart from teaching your service pupper here to fetch drones, what do you do?"

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Oh, you know, the usual, I'm just a retired international assassin trying to get an education." Sam says it with a smile and a grin, with a twinkle of amusement in his eyes. Must be joking. "Nah, seriously though, I'm a student at Happy Harbor. Scholarship." He taps the side of his head. "Some things up here work pretty well, others... not so great. But I've got Bear to help with those bits."

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter raises an eyebrow. "Happy Harbor? Can't say I've heard of it. But I have no presence on social media and I tend to focus on a lot of my projects these days. Only a few months before graduation." He smirks wryly, keeping it just to that. He noticed that he had a tendency to humblebrag and it was annoying. "Gotta keep those grades up. Hence the work on the drone, Pablo. I still have some things to work out. I need to get the size down by 50 percent."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Well, let me know if I can help in any way. I used to tinker a lot with things in South Caroline." Technically true, although nobody would classify what he did as 'tinkering'. Sam kneels down and joins in the fussing and petting of Bear, whose tail is wagging so much it's soon going to start to wag him. "Why Pablo?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter shrugged. "Webcomic character. Owned by a different kind of genius." Ah, crud, why did he have to say it like that? Goober Alert!
"Anyway, it kinda looks like a Pablo." Whatever that means. "Do you have your own lab, or do you rent space?"

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    The smile fades slightly. Bear, without prompting, leans in against his human. "I got a one bedroom place as part of my scholarship grant." He's decided to call it that. 'Safehouse' is not a term that should be used in polite conversation. "No lab or anything, not since moving to New York. Hoping to get started again with the Happy Harbor facilities, maybe do some quick commission work using their tools, get some capital to rent a small lock up or something. Long term plans, y'know?"

    Because it's not easy to build equipment when you're 16 and don't legally exist.

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter ahs and nods. "Well, it's great you have something rto work with. My uncle helped me set up a lab in the basement. Donated some metalworking and fabrication tools from the 1980's, but they do the job." He pauses, then leans forward. "I do a fair amount of dumpster-diving for a lot of my materials. How about you?"

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Now there's an idea. "I... honestly hadn't considered it, but that's good thinking." And now it's Sam's turn to lower his voice. "Any good places you'd recommend?." Bear perks up at the mention of the word dumpster, giving both humans an inquisitive look.

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter smiled.
"The Science Wing of ESU is set up along the east side of the campus. On the opposite side of the road from the Science Wing are the four "brain dorms" - fraternities of engineers. The area is called Engineers' Row. There are a line of eight dumpsters behind the Science wing." He leans forward to whisper conspiratorily to Sam. "The major repairs in the Science Wing are completed by Friday, and the old tech is tossed out by Saturday evening. Since the dumpsters are rated for industrial waste instead of residential waste, the brain dorms tend to throw out all THEIR hardware using these same dumpsters. They don't get emptied until TUESDAY the following week."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Oh happy day. Sam's eyes, metaphorically, light up.

    "Now that, my friend, is useful information. I feel like I owe you at least a coffee for that one."

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter chuckles. "Here's what you do. You run into someone who needs help, you help them out. Then you can consider us square." He winks. "The pickings are varied. But three weeks ago, I found a table-top mass spec I was able to retrieve and repair. It's got a good position next to my drafting table in the lab."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
Samuel Morgan gives a solemn nod. "Paying it forward, understood." Of course, he wants to help those who are in need of help... except clearly he can't do it anymore while showing his face. That nearly ended disastrously. It was either mask or armored suit time, and in either case, hardware was going to be required. "I guess we all dream about being the next Luthor or Stark, huh?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Don't say it. Don't say a WORD, Peter. Not a WORD about your IQ.

"It's...I dunno about Lex Luthor. He's got a demeanor about him that sorta bugs me. Stark, though...I MAY have tried to get an internship at Stark Industries. It...didn't go very well."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    It's a topic Sam has been avoiding as well. In his previous career, being known as a genius was not a survival strategy. Clever, yes. Intelligent, possibly. But all the way up there? That was suspicious. Only one person had ever known for sure, and that person never told anyone. Until yesterday, nobody else had known.

    But that cat's out of the bag now.

    "Ouch, sorry to hear it man. Too much corporate culture?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter looks sheepish. "I...get distracted a lot. Attendance issues...tardies...that sort of thing."
Yeah. But he can't say exactly WHAT is distracting him, can he? "Yeah, I was late, but the Vulture was robbing a bank..."

"Something about the only employee allowed to be late or unreliable getting a pass only because he owns the company."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Pff, that's a double standard." Although there is another smile creeping on Sam's face. "Results are what matters." With an attitude like that, this teenager is going to struggle on the labor market.

    "Anyway, I hope your science fair is outdoors. Might have some issue with the signal indoors if everyone brings their phones, those towers get saturated pretty quickly when a lot of signal processing needs to happen in a small area. Ever thought of spoofing a higher priority IMEI for your drone?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter nods. "Not a bad idea. It couldn't hurt to safeguard the signal. I mean, it's only the rest of my life I'm doing this for..." He laughs, a little shakily. "A friend of mine is making an obstacle course. Well, having it made. He knows some people. I keep telling him it's too much, but he says if others want to test their drone tech as well..." He sighs. "Ever had a friend who just...tries really hard to be your friend, even though they don't have to?"

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "No, I don't." Literally, it would seem, because the smile is starting to fade again. Sam has had allies, has had people he'd trust for a while and has even once had someone he could rely on. But friends? Just the big furry one that's leaning in to give him a happy lick, and he never had to try at all.

    "Could make it a competition site though. Drone racing, I hear it's a thing." And before he forgets, Sam reaches in his pocket, writing down a number on a page that he rips out of a notepad. It's an IMEI number... written from memory. "Try that one. If my memory is correct, that's the second highest priority available on the towers around New York."

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter blinks, but takes the paper. "How'd you get this? You know someone who works at a cell provider?"
The guy is certainly full of surprises. But then again, this IS New York, after all.

He is about to say something else when his phone beeped. "Uhm..." He picks up his phone, frowning. "I...gotta go. I have...I have a thing."
He shoved the drone into his backpack, takes a few steps away, then waves to Sam, then to Bear. "Uhm...take care of yourselves?"

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Something like that." is Sam's evasive reply, with a friendly smile that seems to imply that further questions are probably somewhat unwise. And, perhaps somewhat unusually, he seems to glance at Peter's phone just before it beeped, nodding.

    "It was a pleasure meeting you. Hope to see you around, and good luck with the project."

    Bear adds a very friendly and emphatic 'whurf' to that, before very meaningfully nudging at his ball. We are here to play, human.