"Mr. Stark, you can't do this."
Pepper Potts gave Tony a stern look and dropped a file on the desk. The black cover of the file said Stark Industries in gold letters. The documents inside revealed Tony's recent out-of-control spending and experimental projects.
Tony leaned back in his leather chair, took a sip of whiskey with a nonchalant expression, and raised his eyebrows slightly. "I can't do this? The person who told me that is the person who can't run the company as well as I can?"
Pepper crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes. "I run the company, Mr. Stark. You only care about the toys in your lab. Have you looked at the financial statements? The board of directors has come down hard on your recent spending."
Tony could barely contain his laughter. "Cracking down? Oh yeah, are those fossils in ties saying the same old stuff again, 'Tony, you're damaging the image of Stark Industries' blah blah blah?"
Pepper put his hands on the table and leaned forward. "It's not about image, it's about responsibility. You sit at the top of the company, but do you really know what you're doing?"
Tony's eyes turned serious for a moment, then he shrugged. "Pepper, let me tell you a secret: I don't always know what I'm doing. But somehow it always works out."
Pepper rolled her eyes. "Is that the mentality you run the company with, by any chance?"
Tony straightened his jacket and smiled wryly as he walked past her, "Luck? No, genius," he whispered. "But don't worry, I've got everything under control."
Pepper sighed. "I wish you could understand how serious this really is, Mr. Stark."
Tony looked at her for a moment, but said nothing and headed for the elevator. He went straight home, as he had done for the past few years. In the past he would usually go to some event and flirt and drink until he was drunk.
When Tony got home, he went straight to his bar. He grabbed the bottle of whiskey, poured himself a drink, and walked slowly down to his lab.
As the doors opened, the dim lights inside suddenly flickered on and off. Holographic screens floated in the air, and state-of-the-art equipment was spread out on tables. But the most striking thing in the room - neither the screens nor the machines - was the young man standing in the center of the lab.
Orion Stark.
He had hatched five years ago, and Tony had become so accustomed to his abnormal growth rate that he was no longer surprised. In five years, Orion had grown out of infancy, quickly skipping the childhood stage, and now looked like a man in his early twenties.
He was no longer a child.
He looked like the work of a sculptor, with his tall stature and strong but graceful build. His musculature was pronounced, but balanced with athleticism in moderation. His jawline was hard and sharp, and his eyes sparkled with the keen intelligence of his father's youth.
He wore a black t-shirt and dark gray pants. His simple, but perfectly fitting clothes made his physical perfection clear.
Even though he didn't do bodybuilding, his physique was perfect. Tony looked at Orion and thought the world was unfair.
Orion was looking at a holographic device. As Tony walked in, he looked up and their eyes met. Tony grinned slightly.
"You keep growing up. You look just like me when I was young," Tony said, taking a sip of his whiskey. "Of course, you're not as charismatic as your father, but you'll get there."
Orion laughed easily, but there was a subtle challenge in it. "Really? I think I'm better."
Tony raised his eyebrows. "Better? Dude, when I was young, I was the guy everyone wanted to hang my poster on their wall, and you're a science experiment trying to grow up in five years."
Orion cocked his head to the side, his smile widening slightly. "So you're jealous?"
Tony shrugged. "Jealous? No. But I have to admit it's a little frustrating when a better version of my genes shows up."
Orion laughed. "Admit it, Dad. You're impressed with me."
Tony rolled his eyes, but a faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips. Orion's growth, development and intelligence were incredible. He had the potential to surpass even Tony's genius-level genetics and they both knew it.
Tony set his drink down on the table and approached Orion. "So, handsome contest aside, why are you sitting here, what are you thinking about?"
Orion opened a holographic screen and technical schematics appeared. "We need to talk about some of Stark Industries' projects. About our future."
Tony's brow furrowed slightly. "I make the decisions about my future, young man."
Orion looked at his father with a patient expression. "We don't even have to argue about it. I'm just telling the truth."
Tony took a deep breath and crossed his arms over his chest. "Okay, I'm listening, but remember, when I was your age, I had the world at my feet. You're just at the beginning."
Orion smiled. "Then why are you so nervous, Dad?"
Tony's face looked pensive for a moment, but then he laughed with his old arrogance. "Nervous? Me? Son, you really do take yourself too seriously."
Orion shook his head. "No, I'm just curious to see what will happen. If you're not the least bit worried about me growing up so fast, then you really don't care. But I know you do."
Tony was silent for a moment. Orion was indeed learning and analyzing faster than he had thought. He was maturing much faster than his own youth. Tony knew he had to accept that.
"All right," Tony said, leaning back in his chair. "Tell me what you think. But remember, this is still my world. You're just a guest."
Orion nodded slightly, his eyes shining with determination. "We will see, Father. We will see."
Orion looked into his father's eyes and turned the holographic screen in front of Tony.
"Look at this," he said, his voice calm but confident.
The blue lights swirling in the air suddenly intensified. The hologram changed to a simulation of an unknown data processing system. Self-optimizing algorithms, quantum information processing techniques, and prototypes of artificial intelligence capable of interacting with consciousness appeared on the screen.
Tony raised his eyebrows slightly. "What are these? A Stark Industries project?"
Orion smiled slightly. "No. These are the basic principles of the system I have developed."
The hologram suddenly changed. The processing capacity of the system Orion had designed was a thousand times that of conventional computers. Compared to existing data processing technology, the difference was dramatic.
Tony's brow furrowed. "That's impossible. To increase the speed of information processing to that level -"
"-is possible with quantum computing and neuro-digital interactions," Orion interjected. "In classical computer systems, data is processed linearly. But if you can use quantum entanglement to process data simultaneously, you can increase your processing capacity many times over."
The data in the hologram changed and graphs appeared on the screen, confirming Orion's hypothesis.
Tony took a sip of his whiskey and shrugged nonchalantly. "I've thought about it, but I haven't had time to implement it."
Orion rolled his eyes. "No, you never thought of it. Because it requires technology beyond the limits of conventional computers."
The screen changed again and Orion showed a new modeling sequence glowing in the air.
"Simply put, conventional computers perform a single operation in sequence. My system calculates all possibilities at once, reducing the time to access the data to almost zero. The systems you use still adhere to the old principles."
Tony sighed. "Okay, okay. I admit, it's impressive."
Orion raised his eyebrows. "Just impressive?"
Tony set his drink down on the table and leaned back in his chair. "Okay, very impressive. But if you're so smart, how come you're still alone? I think you should get yourself a girlfriend."
The seriousness in Orion's face disappeared for a moment. "Girlfriend?"
Tony nodded. "Yes. Life is not just about formulas, young man. The real world is full of people. And you have to blend in at some point."
Orion smiled slightly. "You've accepted that I'm that smart, haven't you?"
Tony sighed. "Yes, yes, you are smart, that's for sure. But being smart is not enough. Look at me, I'm a genius and I'm handsome, so it's a balance."
Orion shook his head from side to side. "I know you're thinking about sending me to school, Dad. But I've proven that I don't need school."
Tony saw the stubbornness in Orion's eyes. "Orion, do you know that even intelligence is something that needs to be managed? Sometimes people are not only interested in what you know, but who you are."
Orion lost his smile. "I already know who I am, so don't force school on me."
Before Tony had a chance to say anything, Orion turned off the hologram, stepped back and walked out of the lab with quick steps.
Tony nodded slightly as he looked after Orion and reopened the project he had left on the table.
He ran the simulation again and examined the holographic data once more. Orion's calculations were correct. And more importantly, he had reached a level of intelligence beyond Stark Industries.
"Wow," he whispered to himself. "He really is a genius."
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