Brave New World

[In the background is a research lab, though not Gil's. There's various other people in lab coats swarming around some kind of strange rusted hulk in the background. And he's filming it because RP. Don't ask questions.]

Work continues on the artifact we found in the Old City, but at the very least I think we have a good grip on what it was.

It is a large, motorized vehicle of some kind. The configuration suggests it was built for hauling cargo, probably within the confines of some government facility or one belonging to a powerful corporation.

I can't imagine vehicles like this were very common. The infrastructure you'd need to maintain them and use them would be so immense it boggles the mind. Thousands of miles of high quality roads. Massive refueling stations everywhere. Thousands of mechanics who's whole purpose was specifically taking care of them, for such a large machine would need a lot of care. You'd need to build your entire civilization around supporting these vehicles.

And people said MY ideas were outlandish.

Studying old records has led me to believe there are some untouched pockets of old tech in the Old City that have been allowed to go unexplored because of large numbers of hostile pokemon hanging around them. I wouldn't be surprised if there was something in the old caches that was CAUSING them to be more hostile, but there's no way to find out without looking for ourselves.

Unfortunately, I'm not a delver, and I can't levitate with my mind or shoot fireballs from my eyes like some enlightened can. I want to get down there, though, so I'm proposing mounting an expedition. What one man cannot do on his own, many others working together will have no difficulty with.

[He brings out a map of the Old City and points to three red circles in a relatively small area of it.]

The caches are here, here, and here. I'd want some other engineers and probably a few delvers, plus anyone who can fight or carry heavy things around. Who's interested in advancing the cause of SCIENCE!?

[While all the recent chaos is certainly important, it's not the only thing happening in Union. For example, just now is a new broadcast showing the grainy warp band footage of Gilgamesh standing in what looks like some kind of elaborate machine shop.]

Exciting news! I have revolutionized the food service industry! Behold!

[He makes a dramatic gesture and the warp band camera, which is apparently being held by someone else, turns to one side a bit to show what looks like a vague caricature of a man made of steel, with polished brass highlights.]

I call it the chefclank! Using a complex logic engine and a series of prerecord end recipes, the chefclank can perfectly replicate the motions of a human chef, and prepare any meal.

Chefclank: Initiate routine coleslaw.

[the metal man jerkily comes to life, spitting little burst of steam and making faint clanking noises as it moves. It reaches off to the side and pulls out a cabbage, which it starts to chop up with a kitchen knife.]

Just imagine it! In the future, ALL of man's needs will be provided for by armies of mechanical servants like this one! Free from the tyrannical demands of survival, we will all be free to devote our lives to art, literature, or science!

[As he rambles on in this vein, the chefclank runs out of cabbage, and starts cutting up other things: a pear, a cutting board, a bowl, a hammer...Gil didn't notice until it grabbed a distressed looking scatterbug and raised the knife.]

...And that's just the start! With Union's entire workforce mechanized-WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?

[Noticing the automaton's malfunction at last, Gil flings himself over the table and tackles it before it can hurt the poor Pokemon. So did whoever was holding the camera, for the view tilted oddly as if it was dropped, and what looked like a dwarf in an enormous, body concealing coat and hat ran into view babbling unintelligably to help. All of them fell out of view, leaving viewers to guess what was happening from the sounds of them struggling on the floor.

After a minute of silence, Gil climbed back up and deposited the unharmed scatterbug on the table. His left sleeve is in tatters, and his arm has a few scratches on it.]

Well, at least I can declare the self sharpening knife a success.

Back to the drawing board.

[He reaches over and kills the feed, regretting the decision to do this live.]