8169/Wowing the Sophmores

Wowing the Sophmores
Date of Scene:	08 October 2021
Location:	Columbia University
Synopsis:	Demona showed off her van but had a somewhat tense encounter with a nosy student reporter
Cast of Characters:	Mairin Moran, Susan Sullivan, Shredder

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Mairin Moran has posed:
    The group of twenty-five or so sophmores winds its way out of the engineering building in small clumps, chatting and joking as they do. The typical cliques, modified only by the fact that every one of them is a nerd. Mairin walks behind them, chatting amiably with another student, her arms waiving animatedly as she describes some concept in better detail. It's obvious at a glance that Mairin isn't the kind of instructor that really lets students become friends, but neither is she aloof. She has a job to do, and she does it to the best of her aility. Like she does anything else.

    The students stop at the end of the sidewalk, where it hits the parking lot, and gather in a larger clump, waiting for Mairin to catch up.

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    There is a van sitting on the sidewalk, a woman in a skull-themed gas mask washing it some. It's had some modifications, but mostly under the hood. At least one student has probably noticed the solar panels lining the top surface. The gas pipe being gone, probably nobody has unless they're a gearhead.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin walks through the students and stands in front of the van facing them for a few moments, waiting for them to quiet down. Surprisingly, they do, without her having to say a word. Once they have quieted, she turns to Demona. "Good afternoon Demona. You're right on time." She doesn't bother to offer to shake hands. It's a stupid custom anyway.

    I was thinking we could start with you giving a little explaination of what you've done with your van, followed by any questions. Then perhaps the students could take a closer look. In small groups, of course," she adds, knowing how scary it can be for a crowd of strangers to be close to your baby.

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "Alright," Demona says. She thumps the wide, shallow hood of the van. "This van is all-wheel-drive, so the first thing I did was take out the engine, plop in a high-torque electric motor, wire up some prius battery cells, and make her a plug-in EV. After that, I did a lot of googling, but I put solar cells on the roof to charge. The most recent thing I've done is make it so the van can charge AND drive at the same time. She's still got a rectifier in there, so I can plug her into AC, but only 110. I can't use a Tesla quickcharge or anything."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    A hand goes up. "How long does it take you to charge to full then?" It's from a well dressed young man whose parents probably own a Tesla and believe it is the greatest thing on the road.

Shredder has posed:
    There's a non-nerd in the group. Betty Michaels. Her name is hardly unknown around campus. She's often involved in announcing one event or another. She's part of a different program, though. She's a journalism major, with a focus on TV reporting. Perfect demensions, perfect teeth, and perfect black hair that rarely has a lock out of place, she looks the part of an anchor. She carries a small video camera, and strolls up to Demona, looking for acknowledgement before just unloading on her with questions.

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    The camera grows increasingly hard to hold, seeming to have a mind of its own as the girl finds it like the game piece on a ouiji board: Not technically with a mind of its own, but SOMEBODY is moving it and keeping Demona out of shot, out of focus, out of exposure. Every time she might fix one, another dial shifts of its own accord. "I don't really think in terms of full charge," Demona says. To questions about top speed, she unashamedly replies, "Fourty miles an hour. That's about sixty six kph." When asked if it was 66.6, she says, "It's not exactly fourty, so the top speed is NOT the number of the beast." She keeps trying to call on others, but the reporter's question bombardment prompts her to look at Mairin. "Hey, can we get this set up so other people can ask questions? Maybe stop her distractingly fidgiting with that camera?"

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin walks over to the journalism student rolling her eyes. It figures, you can't do anything fun on campus without them swooping down on you. It's like they're practicing for when they graduate and have to be able to find that tragic story before anyone else.

    "This is a class. I'm afraid if you want to participate, you'll have to stand with the class and follow the class' rules. Or, more specificly, *my* rules. Which means raising your hand." She smiles, "Just think of it as a press conferance."

     Then she stands back a step and monitors, hoping her students are capable of better than surface level questions.

    "Did you remove the transmission too? What current is the motor rated for? What kind of power loss are you seeing between the battery and the wheels?" The questins keep comming.

Shredder has posed:
    Betty raises the camera, and as she does, she feels the pull, and another. She turns the camera over, as if expecting some gremlin to be attached, staring at it strangely. "What...?" she is distracted when Mairin speaks to her. "I'm sorry?" she asks, one of those chipper voices on her lips. "I was just..." she looks at her camera again. It'd sound crazy to say what just seemed to be happening with it. "Sure," she changes gears. "What are your rules?" she asks. "I can be like a fly on the wall if you like, just let me know." She gives a brown eyed beaming smile of affirmation, though there is a hint on her tone behind that friendliness that says she's a little put off by the seemingly unnecessary cold shoulder treatment.

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Demona seems more relaxed as the camera seems to have gone away, given how poorly its behaving. Demona attempts to answer all the questions she can, though there are several she has to answer, "I haven't measured that. Probably about--" or simply, "I don't know the answer to that." However, she does say, "I am currently using the original, automatic transmission. I would love to go to in-hub axial flux motors or something like that. The extra torque would help offroad, I think I might get more miles per kilowatt hour, and maybe even be able to keep up on the freeway. I won't know until I get the funding to do it, though."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    If Mairin notices the put-off tone in Betty's voice, she doesn't react to it. And odds are she'd just laugh at it if she did. Like most scientists, Mairin has no time for the press. That said, she doesn't treat Betty any differently than any of her other students. Better in fact, in that she calls on her questions more often then anyone else. So she definitly has her fair chance to get a story. After all, as much as Mairin hates reporters... Betty is still a student looking for a good grade. No need to be mean.

    Some of the more general quetions that stump Demona, Mairin directs back at the students. Using them as a learning opportunity and reinforcing recent topics covered in class. But for the most part, she lets Demona show off her own knowledge.

Shredder has posed:
    Betty's questions are less technical in nature. They are more kinetic, and she pulls out a small tablet and stylus before she begins her own, standing back with the other students. "What do you see as the most practical applications of yur system, beyond, say, the ones that are commonly produced, anything new?" she questions.

    With the solar panels, is it possible that it would never need to be recharged manually with the cable?"

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    As Mairin is busy trying to educate students, Demona does her best to humor the reporter. "It's all off the shelf stuff," she says. "I'm more copying than innovating," she says, starting to get frustrated. On the solar charging, "If there's enough cloudy days in a row, or if I run too many electronics inside, I would need to plug in." She retains her friendly exterior, though her enthusiasm for the topic is wearing down as the reporter bombards her with obviously tricky questions.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin is keeping an close eye on Demona, and steps in before she can get overwhelmed. Literally. She steps between Demona and the class and raises her hands, to calm them. "Youve had some very good questions. I'm proud of you, you actually seem to be grasping some of the topics we've been covering. And..." she gestures to Betty, "I want to thank our local news for gracing us with their presence." Only a small smount of sarcasm there. "We appreciate your questions as well.

    "Now," she clapss her hands together in front of her. I'm going to dismiss the class early, but don't forget to do problems 1 through 40... *odds*," she emphasizes to groans, "and if anyone wants to take a closer look, they may. But no more than four at the van at any one time, and you may *not* look anywere that Demona soes not expressly open up for you to view." She glares at a fe students she knows are busybodies.

    "And..." she turns to Betty, If you have any other questions, I'm happy to help Demona answer them."

Shredder has posed:
    Betty of course sticks around. "Dr. Mairin," she says after the dismissal, "Thanks for letting me stick around for the report." She glances to Demona.

    "Could I ask you a few more things?" she asks. "I think it's really great that you were able to convert this whole van to electric on your own. Do you realize that you could open up a whole energy saving option for people who might not have the money for new vehicles?" There is that look, though, the one Demona may be familiar with. She is wondering about the gas mask. But she holds on to that one for the moment.

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Mairin has officially called it, so while Demona will absolutely answer questions, she takes a time out to walk directly to Betty. She gets close enough that the other woman can see the bloodshot red of her sclaras, the ghostly pale blue of her irises, and how very tiny her pupils are. She reaches up and flicks a small, sliding switch on the side of her mask. She speaks, her voice quiet and muffled by filters. The speaker is off. "Miss," she says, "I know you're doing your thing, but I would like you to leave, now." She's not hostile as she speaks. She's doing her best to be discrete about it, even. It's up to the other woman if she chooses to press the issue.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    You're welcome," Mairin answers Betty, then gets called away by... who else but Tommy Rikly... That boy is going to get himself killed one of these days and she isn't sure she'll be sorry. Someone that inept shouldn't be anywhere near electricity of any kind.

    "Excuse me..." she mutters as she hurries off to save him from himself.

Shredder has posed:
    Betty looks mildly shocked. "I'm sorry," she says apologetically. "I didn't mean to offend. She glances to Mairin, seeing her go on to take on the other student's antics. She puts away her tablet, back into her purse to join the small camera, and holds out her hands as if showing that she's unarmed. "Sorry. I just thought you did a great job. Not one for the spotlight?" she asks, trying to be friendly.

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "I'm really not," Demona says, looking very relieved. "I grew up pretty, but--well--now the only place I fit in is Mutant Town. I don't like my picture taken, so when you were fiddling with that camera, it made me tense." She offers Betty a pale fist to bump. "No hard feelings, okay? Just...not really okay with you sticking around, just now."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin etricates Tommy's head from his own sphincter and sens him on his way. She can't deal with him any more today. She looks back to Demona and Betty in time to catch the end of the exchange, but doesn't walk over. Demona seems to have things under control for the time being. Instead, she hangs closer to the kids and answers various questions as they look over Demona's craftmanship.

Shredder has posed:
    "No problem," Betty says to Demona, acquiesing. "I get it, I'm not myself," she clarifies, "But my boyfriend is, and he can get really nervous about it sometimes. There's a lot of really rotten people out there." She's dating a mutant? That seems the implication. "I can find a different report to make," she suggests, "If you don't want this posted on campus. It's okay," she encourages, taking a step back as if ready to agreeably leave even as she keeps the conversation moving.

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "Thank you," Demona says, bowing slightly. "Please use the other thing to report on," she says. She then turns. Interaction over. She returns to the students. "Okay!" she says after flicking her speaker back on. "Sorry about that. Where were we?" She notices someone at the far side of the van trying to find serial numbers or identifiers on the undersides of the solar cells and briskly walks toward them. "Be careful with that!" she says. "The solar panel mounts are just held to the body panels!"