9834/Moral Coding

Moral Coding
Date of Scene:	26 January 2022
Location:	Basement - 20 Ingram Street - Queens
Synopsis:	Peter gets a visit from the smartest man in the world, the smartest universe in the world, and an upgrade to his basement lab.
Cast of Characters:	Peter Parker, Singularity, Reed Richards

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Peter Parker has posed:
What is belief, anyway?

Peter Parker has spent the last few days working on that very thing. He doesn't have to worry about classes - Empire State University is a ghost town. His job is secure, thanks to the best boss a human/spider hybrid could have.

But BELIEF...it's hard to define, let alone write computer code for.
He's dug in regarding the concept, trying to mathematically define all the possible aspects of belief. Blind faith. Cognitive dissonance. Fanaticism. Disbelief. UNbelief. Mysticism. Devotion.

Might as well count how many angels can dance on the head of a pin and write the formula for it...

Singularity has posed:
Some time after Peter had been working in his lab for the day, there would be a blue flash, announcing the arrival of Singularity. Her energy tone was subtler and the flash was not nearly as bright, just like a flicker in the back of the room and then a small portal of her coming out. She would peek in at him and what he was working on, and she would take a couple of small teleport-steps towards him.

"Hello Spider-Man."

Peter Parker has posed:
He still jumps. Mostly because she doesn't set off his Spider-Sense, so he's even more caught off-guard. He was watching the initial build compile, so he was a little focused on his work. Uncle Ben always remarked how Peter could work "with blinders on."

He took a deep breath, looking around (even though Aunt May was nowhere around) and relaxed. "You...startled me, Singularity. Uhm...when I'm not wearing the mask, it's Peter Parker. You can...just call me Peter."

He regarded her for a moment. "You okay? You aren't as...luminous as you normally are."

Singularity has posed:
Singularity would glance at Peter and then say softly, "YOu were sad and focused when I last saw you, Peter." Her tone was gentle. "I did not want to startle you and make sure that you were okay." From a girl about the size of a young child and as a sentient pocket universe, she might show a surprising sense of awareness.

"I am sorry. What happened?" She would be gentle, hovering up a few inches in midair to make sure she could look at his face.

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter smiled a little sheepishly. "I...it's kinda complicated. The project is about belief...and I guess I felt a little self-conscious about what the others think of my beliefs. It doesn't help I'm the LEAST-creditable brain at the table - I haven't even earned a title, or have my own think tank. Me going off about my beliefs likely didn't help much. Probably think I'm one of those religious nuts. I don't want what I believe to get in the way of the work, but I worry I have no credibility with anyone."

Singularity has posed:
Singularity would nod at Peter, "Do not underestimate yourself." Her tone would be gentle, "You are very intelligent and focused. You are very smart and resourceful. You will do your best and make an incredible contribution to it and help stop the bad people." Bad people seemed to be said with force from her.

Reed Richards has posed:
Old Man Richards arrives in the fantasticar, the original flying bathtub variety. He finds the neighborhood fairly empty and lands in the driveway, making his way to the front door with elongated steps. He knocks with quiet reserve.

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter smiles a little more naturally. "I kinda believe you, Sing. Now, if all the others at the table did, I'd feel better about it." He pointed to the computer. "I've been working on the project Reed was talking about. The quantifica-"

He stops as the doorbell rings. "I wonder...?" He goes to an intercom and touches a button. A small screen pops up, and Peter blinks. "Holy Toledo, it's Dr. Richards. I better go let him in!"

About five seconds later, maybe six, Peter has bounded up the stairs, down the hall, and opened the door. He doesn't look out-of-breath, though.

"Hi, Peter! It's Dr. Richards!" A second of comprehension, and his face reddens. "I mean, hi, Dr. Richards, it's Peter!"

Singularity has posed:
There would be an 'ooh' from Singularity as she would flicker outside and poof next to Doctor Richards, "Hello!" She would chime over sa she would appear next to Mister Fantastic. "Nice to see youa gain!" The blue star girl would offer cheefully. Then she would disappear and pop back inside over next to Peter.

The light dimness in her body fading as she she would brighten up once more, glowing chipper again since Peter seemed to be so happy.

Reed Richards has posed:
Old Man Richards smiles and nods, "Oh, I'm glad . For a moment I thought our quantification had overeached and we has shuffled the indentites of everyone in the tri-state." He winks at Peter and nods to Sing, "Nice to see you as well. Singularity. How have you been doing?" He takes a small data recorder from a pocket and sets it to passive scan, as the universe girl teleports about. "May I come in? I come bearing gifts."

Peter Parker has posed:
"Oh! Of course! Come in, come in!" Peter stepped aside to let Dr. Richards into the rather-old-fashioned house, with decor that was a mix of antique and technological.
"Uhm, the lab's downstairs. Follow me down."

He leads the way through to the rear of the house, then the door down into the basement...which has been expanded greatly.

"Well, welcome to the lab...such as it is."

Singularity has posed:
Singularity would teleport over to the side as Reed would enter, giving more space. Singularity would seem to be fully in accord with any sensor records that Reed had ever taken of her. She would teleport a few feet over with the way that someone else might just take a few steps and turn. Teleporting to face him and give a cheerful wave.

"Hello!" Peter would seem happy. That was important!

Reed Richards has posed:
Old Man Richards follows Peter, looking about quizzically, taking in the residence, "You have a lovely home Peter." Reed smiles amd nods as he looks around. "It reminds me of my first lab. Is there outdoor access? I was looking over the work you sent in, it's very promising a solid start."

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter chuckled. "There is, but it's hidden. It's not locked, but if you could get through it, I'd be worried." He points to the computer, where the code he is working on is still compiling. "As I told Singularity, I've been working on quantifying the aspects of belief, from the mild to the extreme. It's hard, but I've been able to find certain trends, trackable paths, and I'm even hard-testing some formulae."

Singularity has posed:
Singularity would teleport over just a few more feet, "He is doing fine!" Despite having only been here for a few minutes and just heard what Peter had been working on, she was sure of it. He was her friend after all and he knew so many things. And was the smartest one that she knew!

Reed Richards has posed:
Old Man Richards grins raising an eyebrow, "Is that a challenge?" He chuckles and nods, "Yes, I heard as much, "I brought over some of the tissue samples, I wanted to try and see if we could affect them. I also have some equipment for your lab."

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter blinks, then heads towards a chemistry station, picking up sample vials from a tray next to an older-model mass spectrometer, one with a large telltale crack along the side of the casing, and apparently repaired with epoxy. "Uhm, what kind of equipment?"

Singularity has posed:
Singularity would teleport up a little higher, moving to get a better view of things. Deciding she wasn't high enough, she would teleport up to float horizontally, back to the ceiling and just watching down iwth fascination, body sparkling.

Reed Richards has posed:
Old Man Richards shrugs, and smiles, "GC with PID and ElCD, GC/MS, HPLC, Sun microstation. Full access lab controllers, Electron microscope, Full spectrum wide platform 3D printer. Sterilizer, autoclave, weights and scales," Teed lusts off another half adozen pieces of fairly exotic equipment. "The basics."

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter stops. His mouth drops open.
"I...uhm...BUH..."
He may need a moment.
"I...jeez. This...this must have cost a LOT..."

Singularity has posed:
The specifics were all meaningless to her, but it seemed to have startled Peter. Singularity would watch down. His startlement to her was in the 'a good way' categorization! So she would stay quiet to not interrupt!

Reed Richards has posed:
Old Man Richards shrugs, with a smile, "All cast offs and hand me downs. Ben was glad to be rid of it and after the last quarter we could use the tax write off. If you open the access. Herbie can over see the install and you can show me proof of belief!"

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter gulps. "I...I don't know what to say. 'Thank you' seems...woefully inadequate, sir. But...it's all I got."
He looks around again, then says, "Uhm...I have some stuff put together. If you want, I can put the files on a USB stick while you put the samples in these sterile vials...sir? If you don't mind, that is?"

His mind's going a mile a minute, but his mouth seems stuck at first gear.

"There's...something I've been able to isolate. I'd like a second brain to look at it, though...see if it's relevant..."

Singularity has posed:
Singularity would look down with interest, now going to teleport down so she was hovering about a meter away from Peter, and about a foot or so higher to get a better perspective on things. "What is it?" She would ask very curiuosly, eyes flashing over tiwh twirling stars turning to novas.

Reed Richards has posed:
Old Man Richards nods and smiles, "Not at all, you're doing us a favor taking it. Thank you!" He takes the samples and transfers som to vials, leading the rest in a hand held stasis pod. He sterile technique is of course perfect. "Not at all, my boy. Let me see, I am at your disposal."

Peter Parker has posed:
Peter nods quickly, going to the computer and fishing a USB stick out of a Ball jar that used to hold some of Aunt May's preserves. "It's the concept of 'belief made manifest.' Otherwise known as 'magical thinking.' Basically, if you want something to happen, and you want it hard enough, then it would happen. By itself, total hogwash. There is enough evidence in the world to prove it's not real. HOWEVER...there are some cases where magical thinking, coupled with certain theta-wave emissions, DOES seem to have some influence on the laws of probability."

He copies a few hundred megabytes of data to the stick, then takes out and hands it to Dr. Richards. "That's all the data I could compile on the subject, with as many resources I could find. It might turn out to be nothing...but then again, it might be something..."

Singularity has posed:
Singularity would watch over at the two and look back and down, "So you just need to think you can and it will go that way." From some, it might come as an inquiry or a question. From Singularity in whatever terms the girl phrased things as, it was a statement of fact.