lung, meet rewind

[msrewind]

She gets the note just before lunch. She's in the PHQ in less than twenty minutes, then she knocks on Piggot's door politely.

Comments

[thinkering]

"Won't they be surprised."

[mrglam]

"Honestly, you and I barely even go on the field anymore, you could keep helping the heroes remotely from your penthouse. I'm going to remain a hero, I could even conjure you-copies for public image purposes when we engage villains."

[thinkering]

"I don't mind helping. If they let me I will happily maintain Dad's and Rewind's suits, have my bot coordinate copies and send real bots to check things out on an as-needed basis, and provide strategic advice. I will still show up to Endbringer fights. I just mind the command structure and the obligatory extracurriculars and not being in control of my budget and having to account for what I make."

[mrglam]

"Tinkers do have it pretty bad, there."

[thinkering]

"Ayep."

[mrglam]

"Will you have to modify something about your bot to own its patent or something?"

[thinkering]

"Protectorate doesn't own it, not the software. I'd have to redesign my suit and the drones if I wanted to go out without you as a proxy and they made a fuss, though. I've got that in the works in the background but I can't do enough work on it for them to claim anything while they've still got me."

[mrglam]

"Awww but I like my shoulderbot, it's adorable."

[thinkering]

"You'd have to take it up with the Protectorate if you want to keep the exact design and not a new model. Might slide because you're planning to stay."

[mrglam]

"Yeah. Although you'd probably be able to make something likewise cute under the new design constraints."

[thinkering]

"Yep."

[mrglam]

"Will there be any functional changes?"

[thinkering]

"Maybe. I can't work on this very much in advance, remember?"

[mrglam]

"Well, you could have come up with advance ideas and stuff before you actually worked on it."

[thinkering]

"It's a little like the microwave, if I have an idea it's weird not to at least fully design it."

[mrglam]

"Oh. Hmm, does designing include actually implementing it?"

[thinkering]

"No, drawing it up will do, but there's some ambiguity about ownership of things like that."

[mrglam]

"But in that case the PRT doesn't need to actually know about it, do they?"

[thinkering]

"I'm not sure what the advantage would be to advance design of things I shouldn't build yet, even if we assume it's a great idea to conceal designs from them."

[mrglam]

"Well, if you design things now you'll be able to expand on it or scrap it if you decide it's no good and in general have the idea-having part done by the time you graduate. Saves time."

[thinkering]

"I usually don't revise designs until I've tried them in practice."

[mrglam]

"Okay, so not as timesaving as possible, but still saves some."

[thinkering]

"Only in the long run, and I have more on my plate right now than I expect to as an independent tycoon who can finally let her software do all the work."

[mrglam]

"Tycoon?"

[thinkering]

"I will get a loan, the bot will run a cookie cutter MMORPG with the best moderation and NPC dialogue in the world, and I will be rich."