Chapter 263 — Compatibility
Morning came quickly.
The night had passed without incident, and before long Tony and Gaius were once again making their way through Cascade toward the workshop.
The city was already awake.
Civilian traffic moved through the streets. Workers headed toward their jobs. Students traveled in groups. Public transports moved overhead through designated lanes.
As before, people noticed them.
That part hadn't changed.
Gaius remained impossible to ignore.
At nearly eleven feet tall and encased in gleaming auramite armor, he stood out from everything around him. Even among the advanced technology of the UNSC, there was simply nothing comparable to the enormous warrior walking calmly through the city.
Yet the reactions were noticeably different from the previous day.
People still looked. Some slowed down, others whispered, and a few raised recording devices.
But the shock had faded.
Curiosity remained, and familiarity was beginning to replace fear.
Tony noticed it almost immediately.
"Looks like people are getting used to us. Well, mostly you, I guess."
Gaius glanced toward a small group of civilians watching them from across the street.
"A predictable outcome."
Tony shrugged.
"Still faster than I expected."
Neither man paid the attention much further thought.
They continued walking.
Several minutes later the workshop came into view.
And immediately both of them noticed something different.
Outside the building sat a collection of sealed containers.
There were quite a few of them.
Every container was neatly organized and clearly labeled.
Tony approached the nearest one and examined the markings.
Inside were samples of common materials and elements used throughout human space.
Iron, carbon, aluminum, copper, titanium, and gold.
There were also sealed samples of more fundamental elements, including hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Everything had been separated, cataloged, and stored with care.
"They're quite prepared," Tony said.
Gaius examined another container before giving a small nod.
The contents were much the same, construction materials, elemental samples, and carefully separated metals, all packed for scientific study.
Osman had clearly followed through on her promise quickly.
Neither Tony nor Gaius wasted time.
They began carrying the containers into the workshop.
For most people, moving so much material would have required equipment.
For them, it was little more than a chore.
Container after container disappeared inside.
Testing areas were gradually filled.
Storage sections began receiving organized samples.
The process continued smoothly until Tony's communicator suddenly activated.
A holographic notification appeared.
Tony glanced down.
"Marcus."
A moment later a holographic image expanded from the communicator.
Marcus appeared above the device.
"Tony."
Tony set down the container he had been carrying.
"Morning, Marcus."
Marcus nodded.
"The scientist who will be joining you will arrive in an hour or two."
Tony's eyes shifted toward a clock mounted on one of the workshop walls.
A quick mental calculation told him that by the time the scientist arrived, it would already be close to lunch.
"I understand, Marcus."
Tony nodded.
"Thank you."
Marcus looked like he was about to end the call.
Then he paused.
"And Tony..."
Tony immediately noticed the hesitation.
"Yeah?"
Marcus folded his arms.
"Just a reminder."
Tony waited.
"The scientist joining you is extremely important to ONI."
His expression became more serious.
"Please take caution."
Tony raised an eyebrow.
"Understood."
Tony nodded.
"Thank you for the reminder."
Marcus relaxed slightly.
A few brief pleasantries followed before the communication ended.
The hologram vanished.
Tony exhaled softly.
Then rubbed his chin.
"It seems I underestimated the one who's coming, Gaius."
Gaius had just finished bringing the final container into the workshop.
He set it down.
Then gave a small nod.
No further comment followed.
For now, the incoming scientist wasn't important.
The work in front of them was.
Tony turned toward the center of the workshop.
"Jarvis."
"Yes, sir?"
"Download all publicly available physics knowledge."
There was a brief pause.
Then:
"Right away, sir."
Immediately, holographic displays began appearing throughout the workshop.
Data streams filled the air.
Scientific publications.
Engineering references.
Material science databases.
Physics models.
Research archives.
Everything publicly accessible began compiling rapidly.
Tony crossed his arms while watching the process.
Both he and Gaius were intelligent.
Exceptionally intelligent.
Their minds could process information far beyond ordinary human capability.
Yet Jarvis remained better suited for handling enormous amounts of raw information.
If there were differences between this universe and Earth's scientific foundations, Jarvis would find them faster than either of them could manually.
The displays continued updating.
Basic physics.
Material science.
Engineering principles.
Advanced references.
Everything flowed into the system.
While Jarvis worked, Tony picked up one of the newly delivered containers.
"Let's see what we're dealing with."
He carried it toward one of the analysis stations.
The station itself was simple in appearance but extremely sophisticated.
An enclosed glass chamber occupied the center.
Nanite manipulators surrounded it.
Scanning systems were integrated directly into the structure.
Tony placed the container inside.
Immediately the nanites activated.
Tiny metallic tendrils extended toward the sample.
The container opened without direct contact.
The material inside was extracted carefully.
A moment later the chamber sealed itself.
Thin beams of light appeared.
Laser arrays activated.
The scanning process began.
Surface analysis.
Internal composition.
Atomic structure.
Layer after layer of data appeared on a nearby display.
Tony and Gaius watched in silence.
The sample being tested was iron.
The system compared it directly against Earth's baseline iron.
Numbers streamed across the screen.
Then the comparison finalized.
99.9% similarity.
Tony looked at the result.
Then at Gaius.
Gaius looked back.
Neither said anything for a moment.
The implication was obvious.
At first glance there were no meaningful differences.
Tony nodded.
"Interesting."
The first result was promising.
So they continued.
Additional samples entered the chamber.
More scans followed.
Copper.
Aluminum.
Titanium.
Gold.
Other elements.
Other materials.
One by one they were analyzed.
One by one results appeared.
99%.
99.4%.
99.7%.
99.8%.
Always within the same general range.
Always extremely close to Earth's equivalents.
Tony leaned slightly closer toward one display.
"It looks like the differences are only decimal-level deviations."
Gaius nodded.
"The differences are small."
He looked at one of the analysis reports.
"But even small changes can affect performance at scale."
Tony immediately agreed.
"True."
A minor difference inside a single component might not matter.
A minor difference repeated millions of times could become significant.
Especially when dealing with advanced technology.
That was exactly why they were testing everything first.
Gaius turned toward the fabrication section.
"Then let us move forward," he said.
Tony followed his gaze.
"We should try building a lasgun using their materials."
Gaius folded his arms.
"If it works in the fabrication system, then compatibility is confirmed."
Tony glanced toward the analysis reports.
The results had been encouraging.
Now it was time to test them.
"Yeah," Tony said with a nod.
"Let's see if it actually holds up in practice."
The two of them moved deeper into the workshop.
Soon they arrived at one of Tony's design stations.
A three-dimensional holographic workspace activated immediately.
A transparent cube formed in the air.
Coordinate lines stretched throughout the structure.
A digital construction environment.
Tony stepped forward.
"As you might not be familiar with this..."
The system brightened around him.
"I'll show you how it works so you can build the lasgun blueprint faster."
Gaius watched.
Tony raised a hand.
A single glowing point appeared in the center of the holographic cube.
"This is how you start."
The point hovered motionlessly.
"You don't imagine the weapon."
Several more points appeared.
"You construct it from points."
The points arranged themselves into a rough circle.
Immediately the system connected them.
Thin lines formed.
A clean ring appeared.
"Then you connect them."
Tony made another gesture.
The ring expanded.
Additional layers appeared.
Structures began forming around it.
One level.
Then another.
Then another.
Everything aligned with mathematical precision.
"Build it layer by layer."
The structure continued growing.
"Connect the parts."
One section suddenly flashed red.
Tony pointed toward it.
"Adjust anything that turns red until it stabilizes."
He nudged the highlighted section slightly.
Immediately the red disappeared.
The color shifted blue.
"That's it."
Tony lowered his hand.
"Points."
He gestured toward the structure.
"Connections."
Then toward the corrected section.
"Corrections."
The design remained stable.
"Do that enough times and you get your blueprint."
The holographic model dissolved.
Tony stepped aside.
Then he looked toward Gaius.
"Now apply that to the lasgun."
Gaius studied the workspace.
Only a few moments passed.
His transhuman mind, far superior to even a Space Marine and approaching Primarch-level processing, grasped it almost instantly.
His gaze moved through the holographic grid.
Then he spoke.
"Please disable the warning indicators."
Tony raised an eyebrow.
That request was unusual.
Most designers appreciated error warnings.
Most designers wanted as much guidance as possible.
But Tony remembered what Gaius had told him before.
The Space Marine did not simply know how a lasgun functioned.
He understood it completely.
Down to its material composition.
Its construction.
Even the underlying matter itself.
Tony trusted him.
"Jarvis."
"Yes, sir?"
"Remove the red error highlights."
"Confirmed, sir."
The holographic environment shifted slightly.
Warning indicators disappeared.
The workspace became cleaner.
Simpler.
Less restrictive.
Tony stepped fully aside.
Gaius stepped forward.
The giant warrior took his place inside the holographic grid.
For a brief moment he simply observed the empty space.
Then he began.
Points appeared.
One after another.
Perfectly placed.
The first stages of the lasgun blueprint started taking shape.
~~~
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