Session 13: Crazed Georga Town

"He's not our enemy! Weren't you listening? He's the biggest financial supporter of Wells Hills, and the plan is to keep it that way." Ember starts to make as if to part company. "I'll see about a cake. My sister is a cookbook-precog; she can tell what a recipe is going to smell, feel, look, and taste like before you even get out the mixing bowel. Bring a telepath with you, have him forward us his favorite cake, and we've got it made." She pauses. "Come to think of it, I think why my brother married her." Ember leaves.

"I know what is in the file but he will not the only on viewing it."
Mutters Ceffer stands by portraying himself as a official looking bureaucratic boring minion, letting the official public relations do the talking.
"May I take your baggage?"

Pearl's right hand man, Peter, speaks efficiently with the senator and Dr. Wells. Topics include recent political events, the immanent presidential election, a few different social issues, the recent fiasco in Boston and subsequent alien attacks, and of course the antics of the senator's children. For a moment they both sing the praises of video-chat based social media, and then the conversation turns to the validity of rumors about supers. By now, Ceffer and Dustin have checked the employment status of all the camera people and dismissed any amateur photographers and reporters. The caravan is now loaded.

At one point during the small talk, the senator mentioned Wells Hills, but Peter waved it off with a, "We've plenty to show you once we get there sir. Now if you excuse me sir, I would like to make a call to tell the PR head that we're on our way." Peter excuses himself for a moment while everyone settles into the cars.

Ceffer texts Peter.
*Ask him what he wants to see and what he hopes to accomplish by being here!*

Ceffer texts Peter.
*You idiot! That was very rude and we have a guest and you are the official liaison. You are required to talk not just suck it out of his brain.*

*sign*
Ceffer turns to the senator and waits for his response.

Back at the Wells Hills Bakery, Ember and her sister-in-law suddenly feel several cake related impressions enfold in their minds. They both pause in general cake making preparations.

"Uh oh."

"What?"

"He's gluten intolerant."

Ember concentrates for a moment. "No, it's just that they usually go without because his wife is gluten intolerant." She continues with putting her hair up.

In the interve silence on the way back to headquarters, Ceffer apologizes.
"You have to forgive my companion here. Recently our head of public relations turned out to be a spy for a terrorist organization. An organization we have evidence to indicate you've encountered them before. This has left several holes in general staff that have been filled people who were only trained as Top secret black project paper pushers. I believe the question Peter was trying to ask was, what would like to see during your visit of Wells Hills?"
Ceffer says while looking at the senator and not the road.

"Phillip Argo, was it?" The senator nods. "Yes, I met with him during my previous visits. Charming gentleman; a little too charming, as evidenced by yesterday's display. I must admit when I saw him on the news, the first thing I thought of was when last we met, and we last met in Wells Hills. I was mostly curious as to why the head of your PR department was suddenly claiming to be a leader of a terrorist group, and the first conclusion I jumped to left me very disturbed indeed. It was then that I decided to see for myself if your super secret college town is all I was investing in, or if there was more to it than meets the eye."

"Actually this is more of a hidden elf village. The UN and the United States decided that the ordinary person could not deal with the reality of of empowered individuals. So they sequestered them in hidden cities. What that means is there are several groups operating under the radar. The group that Philip Argo works with are responsible for illegal human experiments and kidnapping of minors. This town is full of meta-humans, supers, empowered, or whatever you want to cal them. We have come under increasing attack from this organization trying to understand how Superpowers work."
Ceffer explains.
"What do you want more detail on?"
Ceffer asks as they pull up to the research facility. Still looking at the senator not the road while driving.

"Well, first I'd like to see some of the things you guys have been working on here that are going to make money for us someday." The senator gets out of the car and comes around the front, admiring something unseen. "This self-driving smart engine for example. And afterwards I'd like to speak with your administration officials, and then actually see where your share of the patent moneys are going."

Pearl shakes hands with the Senator. "Welcome to Wells Hills."

"It's a pleasure to be here," Senator Anker shook back.

"What would you like to see first?"

"Oh, I was thinking of the technology development center."

"Very well. Right this way." Pearl leads him inside the Lab and up to the second floor, the R&D department.

The car with most of the press pulls up, and the crew begin to pull out expensive video cameras and microphones. They start chattering excitedly about the marvels they'll be able to show the public once they get inside the lab building.

Ceffer snickers he follows the group keeping an eye out for threats.
I can't wait until he talks to Dr Wells about the self driving car. I wonder what his response will be.

When they see the sign, most of the equipment carrying photographers sigh and return to the car, probably to store their equipment. However, a couple simply hand off their bags and pull out note books and sketch pads.

Pearl leads the tour to a lab developing super suits. The lab workers are all young adults, all dressed in white uniform coats and standing at attention. Pearl picks up a piece of dark cloth and gives it to Senator Anker. "We've been working on this for over twenty years. It is a material designed to withstand the worst of the worst of elements. As you can see, it resembles cloth, and thus it can be used as such. It's flexible, it stretches slightly, it is water proof, stain proof, tear proof, and fire proof. Over time it does begin to wear out, but that usually takes years of intensive work. Here in town, it's made dog toys that last up to six months without a scratch."

The senator becomes surprised and impressed as he feebly tries to test the cloth. "Why isn't this stuff out on the market by now?"

Pearl chuckles. "Because dogs don't care what color their chew and tug toys are." She gives the cloth back to the young scientists. "It's actually part of a running gag around here. Every college science class that can improve it somehow gets twenty points of extra credit. This year's team," she gestures to the white coats, "are working on a way to produce different colors of it without changing its nature."

The artists frown when all that's to take notes on is a piece of cloth.

While the art show is going Ceffer rests his eyes recovering the energy Alishari is using for periodic scans of the 'Aetheric field' (Zero Point Energy). His helmet is cloaked so as make him look not as threatening.

After Senator Anker finishes congratulating the students, Pearl leads the tour up to level 3 via the elevator. "This elevator is equipped with anti-electromagnets."

"What are anti-electromagnets?" one of the reporters asks.

Pearl smiles. "Anti-electromagnets are very similar to normal electromagnets, but instead of becoming magnetic when an electronic current is running through them, they only become magnetic when there is no current. While the building is powered, a current disrupts the magnetic field. In the event of a power outage, the magnets will engage, and the elevator car is slowly lowered to the basement level."

Once again, the press has little to take substantial notes on.

Ceffer is bored with the useless science but pretty science talk for the press.