5420/Curiosity is one of the secrets of happiness

Curiosity is one of the secrets of happiness
Date of Scene:	03 March 2021
Location:	Riri's Silo Lab - Somewhere in New York State.
Synopsis:	Vivian and Shuri drop in to visit Riri and talk about her Ironheart 2.0 project. The GIRLs get a chance to get to know each other better.
Cast of Characters:	Vivian Vision, Riri Williams, Shuri

---

Vivian Vision has posed:
With all the recent doppelganger problems Vivian Vision has been rather busy lately. Trying to stop people getting killed, being shrunk to tiny size and fighting giant monster insects. And that's meant a little less involvement with GIRL projects than she would have liked.

So to make up for this she's swinging by the Silo, having called ahead to prevent surface to air greetings, with a selection of food sealed up in tupperware (you can't trust a supergenius to remember cooking & eating!). She's also bringing something less substantial but none-the-less valuable. Data!

One advantage of being a Synthezoid is Vivian can leave a portion of her mind quietly working away on problems. Hunting for the optimal solutions in data sets that a Human mind would find tedious to work through.

Riri Williams has posed:
     Riri's Silo, or 'GIRL ULTRA SECRET BASE (Shhh!) #1' as she's started to refer to it, has an open invitation to any of the GIRL members who know about the place. It is a good idea to call ahead, though, and with the pink robot doing so, the everpresent scan of radar do tingle Viv's sensors but quickly swivel away to indicate a flight path through the point defenses to the simple farmhouse below.

     It's just as Viv is making her landing that Riri emerges from the farmhouse proper, dressed all country-like, with overalls and a red bandanna wrapped around her hair, looking just like a farmer and not a super genius who happens to have a lab in the decomissioned missile silo below. She waves as she makes her way across the lawn to the landing site, shielding her eyes with one hand as Viv comes in for a landing with her bounty, greeting the synthezoid with a wave and a hug if she's allowed. "Viv! Thanks for visiting. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Riri Williams has posed:
     "You got my message?" She asks Vivian after a moment. "I think I've made a breakthrough with the vibrocarbotanium manufacture."

Shuri has posed:
The message she had received from Vivian had said there was some data that might interest her. It also mentioned food which is something Shuri is always up for. Mainly because it often means cuisine she wouldn't normally get from Wakandan Chefs. Sure, she could order or get anything she liked but it was different when someone else recommended it. She did /not/ send a message ahead. Not for any other reason than because she wanted to test something and so she wanted to pit something against radar. Using her wings, she flew in quietly, little hardlight shields moving ahead of her attempting to give an image of nothing but the sky behind her. At the same time also trying to defuse radar signals through, rather than around her.

Carefully, she comes gliding in and tries to land as quietly as possible, noting Vivian is there already and that Riri is outside, trying to see their reactions and seeing if she was successful.

Vivian Vision has posed:
Vivian Vision accepts the hug, if a little shyly, lifting her entire stack of food containers up out of the way with one hand. She's wearing her typical cargo pants and a t-shirt combo and despite the flight her hair is totally unruffled.

"I am sorry I have not been here recently," she says solemnly. "And that we had to make some temporary shut-downs on the GIRL network recently. I hope it did not disrupt anyones work but with the evil doppelganger of Nadia having had access to her suit... Well it seemed sensible to change all the virtual locks."

She glances around and frowns at something up in the sky, then shrugs. As far as she knows that's part of Riri's security system!

"Unless I am off world or deep underground I receive all messages." She gives a nod and a shy smile. "If it sometimes takes me a while to reply it's probably because I do not wish to make people uncomfortable by overwhelming them with messages." A beats pause. "Oh yes, I prepared food for you both. Chipotle meatballs, freshly baked bread, some salad and a selection of healthy dips. There should be enough for a few days of meals."

Riri Williams has posed:
     Riri's stomach gives a happy little rumbly flip at the description of all the food before she uses a small handheld pad to deactivate defenses and make the place that much more welcoming to those with sensors that flirt with the higher frequencies like Viv's. "It's okay. Really. I'm glad you came to visit when you did. I've nearly run out of the vibranium I got from Shuri from experimentation, but I think I've really got something going. You not coming right when I sent the message gave me time to re-run the experiments and make sure they work the right way." She grins. "Very thoughtful of you. Come on." She motions for Viv to follow. "I can't wait to show you what I've got going!"

Shuri has posed:
And with that, Shuri simply appears near them with a smile, "Meatballs and bread sound amazing." She states, "I have not had them Chipotle style before." And then Shuri looks from one to the other to gauage their surprise even as she approaches and nods to Riri, "I am glad to hear you are making progress and look forward to seeing what kind of progress you have made." She nods her head, "Always eager to see what others have done with Vibranium." She shifts her eyes, "When they obtain it legally."

Vivian Vision has posed:
"Good day Princess Shuri. It's not in the style of the Chipotle restaurant," Vivian clarifies, looking around for a suitable place to put the food down as she follows Riri in. "But contains chipotle peppers in the meatballs and sauce. I did not know what level of spice either of you like in food." Of course she did go for some moderate level of heat. Well hopefully. Synthezoids don't really feel the negative effects of hot food.

Being around the Titans and size changing Avengers have perhaps made her blase about people appearing from what should be thin air. Not to mention all the times she's pulled a similar trick.

"I have not had the chance to read up on the theories behind vibranium. Would it be possible to read some papers on the material? Just so I may stay informed and be of use in the future."

Riri Williams has posed:
     Shuri magically appearing out of a small distortion in the air was completely unexpected for Riri who lets out an undignified yelp, whirling away from the appearance in shock. Luckily she wasn't holding anything to go flying, but she did a fairly good impression of Fred Sandford having a heart attack. She's comin' Lisbeth! Sucking in a breath and straightening, she shakes her poofy hair at the other woman, her nose wrinkling as she smiles. "A little warning before appearing might be good next time, Shuri. Surprise aside, it's good to see you too. I kinda want to show off."

     Leading the pair into the house, Riri indicates the table in the kitchen to distribute the food. "I have my notes, and you're welcome to them, but the person you'd really need to talk to is Shuri, the preeminent expert on Vibranium. Heck, she's got knowledge that I haven't even started to scratch in my research yet." But give her time, ladies...give her time and she'll probably have it!

     "So..." Stomach growls again. "Should we eat something first, Shuri, or are you interested in seeing what I've come up with?"

Shuri has posed:
"Well, there's a small problem with that." Shuri states to Vivian, "It's a Wakandan secret that I have agreed to keep." She nods and then shrugs, "I can't just share all of the information and some of my tricks are rather, specific." She then shrugs, "I apologize Vivian, I couldn't even give Riri that information, all I could do was offer her some suggestions and let her work." She bows her head in apology before looking over to the food that is mentioned and then looks to Riri.

"I think food first." She smiles brightly, "I prefer not to think on an empty stomach."

Vivian Vision has posed:
"That is an acceptable reasoning," Vivian says with a nod towards Shuri. "The same sort of rules are in place around Pym particles and the secrets my father used to create synthezoids. Although even I don't have full access to those. Not until I am older anyway."

She gestures at the containers as if to encourage Shuri and Riri to help themselves.

"They can be made into meatball subs, eaten with the salad or chopped up and served with rice like a chili." Her head tracks around the kitchen, looking for plates and cutlery. "I'd be happy to read your work so far Riri."

Riri Williams has posed:
     Heading to the cabinet, Riri gets out a couple of plates, glasses, forks, and spoons for serving and, while passing by another monitor, clicks it on, a QR code blinking on. "Give that a scan, Viv, and you'll get access to my network." she says, the code staying visible for a few seconds before the screen fades away - plenty of time for a Synthezoid to get access through the hidden wifi that's going through the place.

     "A secret that she's actively hiding, too, but not one that she's obusificating, which is helpful." Riri opens the container of meatballs and takes a sniff, grinning over at the princess, dishing out some on to her plate, along with a few slices of the bread and some of the salad. "I do cheat, a little, and look where there's obviously nothing done, and pull in a few things from other sources that might not have been sanitized too cleanly. You'd be surprised at what you can find in old Department of Defense files, as well as the stuff Mr. Stark generates." She would say more, but that might be saying too much.

     Settling into one of the chairs, she waits patiently for Shuri to get her own before starting to eat, blowing out a breath at the first hot bite. "S'good..." she manages to stammer while keeping the spicy meatball from scorching her tongue too bad.

Shuri has posed:
A smirk at Riri and then she nods to Vivian, "It's the way of things. If I allowed anyone to know these things, then who knows what might happen?" She asks and shakes her head, "It's far better to keep it secret and let others make their own way." She then takes a plate from Riri and nods as she builds herself a sandwich and then a salad, pulling things together and smiling, "This all smells very good." She nods to Vivian and then takes a bite. She seems not phased at all by the spiciness.

Vivian Vision has posed:
"Oh I can assure you," Vivian says solemnly as a portion of her mind splits off to explore the network and others split off to read all the relevant files. "There is nothing on a computer system which would surprise me. You quickly discover not to be shocked when you are online all the time."

There's another shy smile when the food is complimented.

"That is very kind of you to say. Cooking is one of the many activities I undertake to better understand humanity. As well as music, literature and art. Lately I have been learning the flute and taking several remote learning painting classes."

Riri Williams has posed:
     The network is fairly open, aside from a few things that are definitely protected. Backups mostly. Research on things that Riri calls 'wonders.' and the high speed pipe back to Stark's servers for offsite and supercomputing purposes. Everything else is pretty much open - if Riri gave access using that QR code, whatever was there was okay for consumption by those who were given access to it. So, yes, if Viv searchedlooked, she more than likely could find the security footage of Riri singing 'Girls just Wanna Have Fun' in her nightgown and, yes, science sans pants, but really, it's just a lot of daily minutae. It's really rather boring if you're not a science sort.

     "That is one thing I've wondered, Viv." Riri says after taking another bite, sopping up some of the sauce with her bread. "I haven't done much research on synthezoids...maybe once I'm done with the vibranium...but with your cooking; can you taste, and is there a taste you find you prefer if you can?"

Vivian Vision has posed:
Vivian Vision glances at Riri, blushes for a moment for reasons that will only become obvious to Riri if she ever checks system access logs, then looks away. Perhaps she can find something to tidy up..

"You were saying...? Oh yes well. There are currently only two synthezoids in the world. And we do not really allow ourselves to be studied by strangers so that makes a lot of sense. I am able to do everything a human can do and more." She frowns while she considers what to say next, then adds "I have all the senses you do. But they don't always translate into output you would understand. I receive a breakdown much like gas chromatography. As for my preferences I... must admit I do not really eat food."

She gestures to the gemstone on her forehead. "My solar jewel takes care of my energy needs providing there is even a small amount of light."

Riri Williams has posed:
     The trio eat and converse for a little while, Shuri going out to take a call while Riri finishes eating. It's not like Riri may have a reason to check the security logs, but one never knows how bored she might get, or what alerts she might have set up, in the event that explorations from specific IP addresses are logged when on the network. It's just a thing she does, after all.

     "Of course, of course." Riri says, gathering the plates. "Getting into your programming would be like having someone study the hydrogen bomb at the height of the Manhattan Project - not a good idea for peace, and definitely more trouble than it might be worth." The leftovers are stored in the refrigerator to be consumed over the next few days and the dishes that need to be done are done. Strangely, Riri has no dishwasher here, so dishes are a manual thing. Rolling up her sleeves, she starts washing. "Can you dry, Viv?"

Vivian Vision has posed:
"My programming is based on scans of human minds," Vivian explains with a shrug. "It's my physical body which would be dangerous if duplicated. There are few places I can't access, physically or electronically, and with my ability to phase... I could destroy countries as easily as harm specific individuals. It's why the Avengers monitor my online activity... That and the risk of attack by Ultron."

Her head tilts. "Usually I just phase so the water falls off me." A blink. "If you mean the dishes then yes. I'd be happy to wash them too if you like." Her ability to dry dishes is certainly novel. Well perhaps less so to a supergenius engineer. She emits microwaves from her eyes and the water evaporates off them as steam.

"I was wondering if you might like me to speak with your suit control system. If it's capable of learning I should be able to share information that will optimise certain systems. Electronic warfare, communications systems and things like that."

Riri Williams has posed:
     When you're a household of one, doing the one cup, the one dish, the one whatever, is easier and more energy efficient by hand rather than running the dishwasher, and you get the lovely chance to look out the window over the meadow as you work. A bonus in Riri's book. doubling it with Shuri's arrival just meant a little more work, but that's more than halved thanks to Viv helping dry in her own novel way. The dishes, dry as they are, go into the drainer next to the sink and that leaves the pair with little to do but chat and wait for Shuri to finish.

     "That's technology beyond what a lot of people can do, thankfully, but those who actually can duplicate it are on a short list." Riri says, motioning for Viv to follow to the living room. "Those people, we either like or really, really don't, and because of that should keep anything synthezoid-schematic wise out of their hands. Off the internet at least. I mean...I am curious about how you work, but that's...not polite, you know?" She settles into the corner of a couch, drawing her legs beneath you. "You're Viv. You're not a thing to be inspected or studied or duplicated. You're just....you." She shrugs. "More than the sum of your parts. Just like the rest of us."

     The offer for her systems to be discussed is taken under advisement. "It's something I'm working on when i'm not doing the materials stuff. It's based on what I culled out from Mr. Stark's programming and adjusted a little with my own proclivities. Right now it's bare bones. Fly the suit. Use the repulsors. Melt the ice when you're high altitude. Keep below Mach-1 when the atmosphere won't handle it. Stuff like that. If you wanted to chat with it, I wouldn't mind."

Vivian Vision has posed:
"My family are very good at keeping certain advances out of the public domain," Vivian assures with a smile. Of course that doesn't mean they never cause any trouble with it themselves... but no-one is perfect. "Even I don't know /everything/ I'm capable of yet. But I do know I'm made out of cells just like a human is it's just those cells happen to be made of synthetic materials."

She sits opposite Riri. More perching on the edge of the couch than sitting. Thankfully her density can be adjusted to avoid damaging the furniture.

"I would much rather people be curious than afraid," she points out. "And it doesn't hurt having some trusted individuals knowing how to help fix me in the event I become damaged. But it is always nice to be treated as a normal person... It's why I am so fond of my Great Aunt Nadia. She has always just accepted me as a member of the family."

She brushes her hair back behind an ear.

"I probably have as many questions about you and your suit as you do about me. Why you decided to make it for example."

Riri Williams has posed:
     With that little revelation, a light is shined upon the deep, and a little spark of knowledge starts to smoulder behind Riri's eyes - a sensation she very much enjoys stoking to a full blaze with discovery after discovery. "Well." She says, sitting back, looking at Viv with her technicolor pink skin and long green hair. "I'm of the view that curiosity is one of the secrets of happiness. And no-one knows what they're capable of fully until they try, and even then, they may not be capable at that time, but with a little effort...who knows?" Riri brushes her hair out of her face and grins at Viv. "I'd love to learn more about you. And I'd love for you to learn more about me. An exchange of ideas, as it were."

     Her armor....riri's cheeks curl up at the memory of scavenging fallen bits of Tony Stark's Iron Man Armor and reverse engineering it. "Well...if you're curious, you should have access to the files. The schematics I worked off of are in there somewhere, under Ironheart 1.0, but I never really went into the motivation." She trails off, glancing out the front door. "You have time for the story?"

Vivian Vision has posed:
Vivian Vision looks slightly to one side and there is a slight deepening in the colour of her cheeks. "Access to your files... Yes I.. I have not read through the schematics because I was unsure if you would be comfortable with... Well I assume that your armour conforms to your physical form. And that means the plans would also contain details about your personal information."

She pauses long enough for Riri to change her mind and, if permission is not withdrawn, proceeds to read all the design documentation.

"I do have time yes. I'm able to multi-task too. So I'm rarely in a position where I have to leave things in order to listen." There's another shy smile. "I do not often tell people this for fear they will consider me rude.. But as I think much quicker than most humans I often readthings while people are speaking. Vocal communication can be very slow."

Riri Williams has posed:
     "That's Ironheart 2.0 with the more precise measurments." The files, when mentioned, glow slightly in the network. "I can't tell you how helpful it was to do full body scans of myself in 3d to make sure everything fit on the prototypes without pinching or poking anywhere sensitive. Ironheart 1.0, the one I made from one of Iron Man's Mark 41 suits he left abandoned after a battle in New York, was more cobbled together....but I'm getting ahead of myself." She sits back and rests her hands in her lap, licks her lips, and begins.

     "Growing up, I was smart. Like...really, really smart. I spent most of my time building things, inventing things, and eventually got accepted to MIT when I was eleven....after my stepfather and best friend got killed in a drive by shooting." She goes quiet for a second, worrying at the hem of her shirt. "I always wanted to build a suit of armor. I mean...it seemed so perfect. Able to fly, safe from the world around you, able to help people with your repulsor beams and stuff...I just...." Riri shakes her head. "It was something that fell out of the sky into my lap and I took the advantage when I could."

Vivian Vision has posed:
"I will ensure anything I read is stored with full encryption so not even I can casually access it," Vivian says, making an awkward little coughing noise. "I think it is important you are.. aware.. that while I am not organic I still have.. certain shared interests with humans."

She very, very intently avoids eye contact.

"Like romance but... well... not in regard to boys." She gives Riri a little time for that to sink in. Then a little more because in her experience your average supergenius isn't always good at picking up social cues. "But I promise that once I leave anything I have accessed will be encrypted to even myself. Unless an emergency situation occurs or you grant permission."

She nods along to the story, giving it her full attention, a sad look on her face when Riri brings up her friend getting killed. "I am sorry you had to experience that. But it's good that you are channeling it into something positive. Doing things to save lives."

Riri Williams has posed:
     "Of course, of course." Riri waves a hand to Viv's declaration, not fully picking up what the synthezoid is putting down or realizing that Viv could translate 3d models of Riri into something that she might be able to study in living color. It's just schematics, after all. Nothing in there that's uncouth or embarrasing, right? "It's fine. That's mostly just the theoretical stuff. What i'm working on down in the silo is really the neat thing, and it's why i'm hoping Shuri gets done with her call soon. Feel free to study them as much as you like. You might be able to see a few things that I missed."

     Riri, most of the time, really doesn't understand interpersonal relationships, preferring her machines and her inventions to going out and socializing. It made school a little more difficult than it might have been otherwise, too. Certain shared interests. Romance, but not in regard to boys. Riri can only nod. "I never really understood it. Romance, I mean. It...it seems nice, but I just never found anyone who could get past the intellect, y'know?"

Vivian Vision has posed:
"You don't find it embarrasing?" Vivian wonders, surprise in her tone. "You are lucky to feel so confident in yourself. I think I would have to trust someone a great deal before I let them know my personal measurements. But I think I will still properly encrypt the information. Just to be safe."

And because it'll make future social interactions less awkward. That being said portions of her mind do scan through all the various documents and compare them againstinformation she already has. How medical companies hook up various tubes, articulation ranges for human joints and other potentially relevant trivia. She then uploads it all into a file on Riri's system for her to look at later.

"I have never actually dated before. I did tell a girl I found her attractive, but I did not expect her to return the feelings. She was very understanding though and I have since got over the crush." She laughs. "I think I understand that feeling. Although in my case it's more that I am not human. Intelligence wise I am.. I do not think I am 'smarter' as such but I am capable of processing much more information at a very high speed. It also helps I have the satellite uplink access to the internet."