2857/With A Side Of Gamma

With A Side Of Gamma
Date of Scene:	09 August 2020
Location:	Starr Labs
Synopsis:	Banner, under an alias, checks out a Starrware Labs event. Karen Starr shows him around personally.
Cast of Characters:	Karen Starr, Bruce Banner

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Karen Starr has posed:
    Starrware is rapidly approaching a household name, for one reason or another. A tech conglomerate in similar style to Stark Industries, it is just as famous for things it has claimed to have- but has not -applied- as it is for things that it has actually released. From nanites that can, supposedly, create a functional 1966 Pontiac GTO, to an operating system that the CEO herself, Karen Starr, has touted as 'theoretically sentient' in regards to how it handles the security of its computing.

    This means that while the opening of the Starrware Open R&D Laboratories is not necessarily a glamorous affair, it does have a certain level of quiet prestige. The idea is simple; The laboratories are not -exactly- Starrware R&D, and they are not 'for rent' as they are 'provided as part of an initiative to further growth and interest in STEM.' While this DOES mean that there's a catch or two involved (No weapons development, for one) it also means that if one can work within the -extremely- loose contract, there is almost limitless potential.

    All you have to do is give Starrware the first option for purchase and copyright. This means it'll be difficult to -sell- anything made in the labs without Starrware being involved, but that if one doesn't mind that caveat, it becomes suddenly very, very easy.

    The labs have already been unveiled- fourteen floors from a converted office building are open to all manner of experimental design and scientific research, including several spacious sub-basements that allow for larger scale scientific theater.

    The only question is where anyone would start, as these laboratories are, for the most part, sparcely populated.

Bruce Banner has posed:
Well, laboratories are kind of Bruce's thing as a scientist, so he might as well see whats new and improved in today's world of the field. From nanotechnology that can apparently put cards together to the R&D Laboratories that he adores so much. See, all these minds are doing groundbreaking work and to be quite honest, it fuels much of Bruce's jealousy of other great minds of the generation.

He will always have the stigma of 'Hulk' plastered onto his name everywhere he goes. Its also why he's here really incognito, dressed in just flannel shirt, jeans, boots, and a beat up cap.

So, he signs the waiver under an alias and gets on the move. His first choice? He heads to the floor that deals with any kind of nuclear science, since well, he's the king of the field and he wants to know what advances are being made in his specialized area.

Karen Starr has posed:
    There is a level of incongruity to what technology encompasses the laboratory. For example, all of it is familiar, and yet: all of it is in some way alien.

    Much of the laboraties that can, do rearrange themselves- counters and set pieces rotating and shifting configurations to allow a limited space to fill several very different roles. Such is the case with the atomic research laboratory. It is in many ways more advanced than most, if not any public laboratory (and most private) on the planet. It is, though, a familiar setting. Despite that it is advanced- perhaps more advanced than anything the Doctor is used to- it is still not groundbreakingly different. It is not entirely alien, and there is no tool that isn't one that he's never seen before... Though some might not be in the shape or interface that he's used to, it's still the same thing.

    The signature is electronic, and as soon as Bruce has jotted down the alias, several databases are kicking on to run the name he's offering to the organization: In a world of mad science, one can only be so careful in turning over control of laboratories containing dangerous materials to just -anybody.- Luckily for Bruce, the background check is both instantaneous and green, so no security personnel drop in to make things altogether more complicated. This leaves him alone in the research laboratory he's chosen.

    For a few moments.

    An elevator ding heralds the arrival of two blondes that could not look less alike. One of them, wearing a fashionable two-tone suit and her hair tied up in pigtails, appears to be playing the role of secretary to a taller, decidedly more rubenesque woman in what may be the most horrifying pantsuit ever created, in salmon and cream. This woman is tall, with hip-length blonde hair that isn't the vibrant gold of a natural or bottle blonde, signifying what is likely a poor dye-job. She adjusts these thick, almost coke-bottle glasses on the bridge of her nose, and almost immediately drops the business affairs to greet the only other person present- apparently tired of whatever paperwork she was dealing with.

    "Hello! Hello! Welcome to Starrware Incorporated, where your ideas can become reality. I'm so happy to see someone making use of the place already! Doctorate, right? Hopefully you're finding everything up to snuff!"

Bruce Banner has posed:
Alien Technology.

Bruce never liked the stuff. It was like a time bomb waiting to explode since so few people on earth knew where to even begin with such complex technologies. In many cases, it was beyond their understanding. But, Bruce keeps his initial thoughts and apprehensions to himself, instead just walking through the labs while he wringles his hands together -- its a thing that Bruce does to help him stay calm and collected.

At first he was briefly nervous about the screentest, but it paid off to do his best on his aliases in the event he may need them. He moves through the laboratory, and he turns his head just in time to see the arrival of those two blonds. "Uhm, Hi." Bruce greets as he adjusts his glasses.

"Everything looks to be good so far, I'd say. Its really interesting technology you have here. Top of the line stuff."

Karen Starr has posed:
    The alien technology was similarly, in a way, double-alien. The source of it is highly unknown- and it's only salted throughout some of the pieces of research equipment. Somewhat noticeable, but not heavily... However, it -is- Kryptonian. A dead civilization's spice woven throughout these laboratories. If Bruce knew, he might even wonder -where- it came from.

    Regardless, and in spite of the fact that her secretary is now physically holding her breath after Karen stops doing the obviously important busywork, Karen strides forward and offers her hand for Bruce to shake, all while flashing a smile worth several billion dollars.

    She doesn't seem to be willing to take no for an answer, and her grip is delicate, unlike the kind of domineering shake one might be used to from other business moguls. Very clearly, from her appearance and enthusiasm, this woman seems to have come from a STEM background herself. It is, to some degree, a meeting of the nerds. During the shake, unless Banner physically recoils, Karen will go so far as to place her hand on the man's shoulder. The tone she takes is altogether highly reassuring.

    "It's a pleasure to have you here. I'm hoping you'll find it a wonderful experience."

    Then, her tone is back to being as boisterous as it was before, as she gestures to the lab. "Fourteen floors, two sub-basements, all research labs. Spared -no- expense, I doubt you'll find a place better equipped for any experiments you want to run in the world. And- We take requests! If there's something you need that isn't here, you just let us know and we'll see if we can sneak it in for procurement to snipe and drop into your work area." A pause, "What do you think?"

Bruce Banner has posed:
Dr. Banner is altogether largely unfamiliar with Kryptonian technology, only recently being exposed to the uber-technology during the Brainiac incident. All the same, he keeps his hands with his own until Karen offers a hand to shake, which he seems to nervously take. Granted, he doesn't pay attention to people's networth, all he knows is that Karen is probably extremely rich.

He gives her hand a gentle shake. He's still nervous, as he always is, but he's -calm-. and THATS what matters. Because if Bruce isn't happy....believe him when he says that nobody is happy.

"Pleasure to be here." then there's a hand on his shoulder, which he doesn't seem to mind. But as they look to the labs, he nods. "I don't know if you want to do the experiments I have in mind, but...I'll definitely give it a look. But practically 16 floors dedicated entirely to research? If they all focused on one aspect, I doubt they'd be limited at all." he encourages with a light smile.

"Its definitely something. Uhm...I think the British say 'Top marks?'"

Karen Starr has posed:
    There's this loud, more than obnoxious laugh. It's a sort of high pitched, nasally cackle, and following a few moments of it, there's this little snicker-snort that hits right near the end. Quite possibly cringe inducing, but not the worst experience in the universe, probably.

    "Dedicated entirely to people like yourself just trying to get off the ground, to give you the space, time and resources to make the great things you never dreamed were likely, but knew were -possible.- That's why we don't stop anyone from running any experiments here that can be applied to peaceful applications that advance this collective we call humanity. Nothing isn't fair game as long as it doesn't hurt anybody. Some stuff is going to be a little risky, but that's why we have the scheduling to keep people from stepping on toes or putting anyone else at risk."

    This wicked grin spreads across her features.

    "Top marks indeed!"

Bruce Banner has posed:
Bruce can't tell if thats the fakest laugh he's ever heard or if she just thought he said something genuinely funny. Bruce can't remember the last time anybody laughed at something he did. Like that time he faked getting angry as a practical joke.

It was not well-received.

More's the pity. All the same, Bruce seems happy that Karen's happy about her project's completion. "So I guess then the real question is...how advanced is your nuclear physics department?"

Karen Starr has posed:
    The laugh had been in response to the very -idea- that there was an experiment that Bruce would run that Karen wouldn't approve of. It wasn't that what Bruce had said was funny- or that it was intended to be- it was that certain concepts were comical to her. Or, at least, should be comical to Karen Starr.

    At the final line, there is again that wicked, overconfident grin most associated with a child that has a new and brilliant toy, that all the others should envy.

    "You have no idea."