OOC: Done in collaboration with Malgrave.
IC:
Estancia Tennenbaum
50 miles outside of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Earth SSR
Colonial Republic of Earth
It was a lonely existence.
Dr. Edelmira Tennenbaum Orozco’s estancia was a lovely, wondrous place on the outside. By all accounts, it was a lovely, wondrous place on the inside. It was well furnished, well kept, and decorated with a style that mixed the elegant simplicity of Bauhaus with the dramatic flourishes and flairs of William Shatner. Dr. Tennenbaum often had luminaries in these halls for wine, meals and science. Indeed, the Estancia was technically part of the overall Tennenbaum Institute complex, which meant that science was still going on in the inside.
But, within the inner sanctum, Dr. Tennenbaum was quite lonely.
The good doctor was experiencing the emotions one gets when their house becomes an empty nest. Dr. Bebaus, her companion, lover and well, husband, had died a long time ago. Her two children, Juan Pablo and Paula, had since moved on to their own families and careers, although they kept in touch. Dr. Javier Farrell-Diaz--the Robin to her Batman--had since taken over the Institute, moved out and gone on with his life. In the meantime, she had made massive advances, including the one which kept her alive. Namely, working with Javier, she had successfully performed the uploading of her brain into the mainframes within the Estancia, thus keeping her alive when her own body had failed.
Now, Doctor Tennenbaum was facing that most existential of questions.
What now? Not the easiest question to answer, considering that she was throwing herself into Institute work. One would think the question was answered, but frankly, it was all becoming rather routine. Work with scientists here. Work with bigwigs there. And maybe have robots play her beloved Stradivarius. Not much variety there. Oh, and the odd bit of work for the Reserves, as she did hold a Lieutenant’s commission.
Or so she thought.
One of the phone calls she picked up came from the Government. It came from the State Department, with Norton Simons’s visage appearing in the form of a hologram. The Good Doctor nodded, and said, in her Virginian accented-countenance, “Mr. Secretary. I suppose you have a reason to be here. Tell me, is it another teleconference? Another seminar? Another conference?”
Norton ignored the fact she had said conference twice. Smiling, he said, “Well, actually, it involves science.”
“Vague and unhelpful, Secretary,” Dr. Tennenbaum’s avatar said with a frown on the screen.
“It involves scientific efforts with a nation known as the United Kingdom of Malgrave,” Simons said. “I--”
“I am aware of Malgrave, Mr. Secretary,” Tennenbaum said, cutting off Simons. “A land of scientists, full of characters and thinkers, and one which had faced a great alien foe. So the television says.” Pausing, she then asked, “Where do I come into play?”
“Well, the State Department and the Malgravean Government are working on ways to boost Dornalian-Malgravean relations, particularly in regards to bolstering their technological capacities against future attacks by alien marauders.” Simons then added, “If it pleases you Doctor, as part of that, the Malgraveans have a spot open at the Royal Institute for the Advancement of Universal Technology. Government run thinktank/research laboratory. I was hashing things out with my counterpart from Malgrave, and well, they wanted to see if you were available.”
Dr. Tennenbaum raised an eyebrow.
“They wanted my help?”
“Well, not so much help, but they were interested in working with you to do any number of scientific ventures,” Simons then added, as if to play to Tennenbaum’s ego, “I told them about the Insitute, the kind of work it does--they are most intrigued. It seems your name does go places.”
Tennenbaum stroked her chin--well, her avatar did--and Tennenbaum smiled a bit. It would seem that there were indeed people who didn’t take her for granted. “It seems that it does, Mr. Secretary. Tell me, are they coming here, or am I to come to them?”
“Well, I was told they’d be sending a pair of scientists to come to you, actually,” Norton said with a nod. “A couple of their best. Claudia Donovan, and Emily...Lowwe, I believe it was.”
Tennenbaum paused, and said, continuing to hold her smile, “Well, if they’re sending people to meet me, then I do believe they need my skills after all!” Clapping her hands, Dr. Tennenbaum said, “Well! When do we start, and where do we begin? I am eager to try my hand at science in another environment. At the very least, it would be a wondrous change of pace from being in this dreary place!” The excitement was palpable, and Simons laughed.
“Well, Doctor, I suppose that if they are to meet you, we are going to need you to clean up a bit.”
“Clean me up? You’ll forgive me, Mr. Secretary, but I would think I was clean enough here in the mainframe,” Dr. Tennenbaum said with a curious look..
“Well, I mean, we could give you a new body to work with? I mean, brain uploading being the way it is….we could simply upload you to a new body.” Simons said all this with a shrug. “I mean, it wouldn’t be hard. But I don’t think it would be quick.” Simons then looked at his watch. “I bring that up because they may be coming…”
Then, Tennenbaum got a call from the Receptionist.
“Señora Doctor? You have two visitors.”
Tennenbaum instructed for the Receptionist to let them in, and to allow them access to the Sanctum. As she did so, Simons ended sheepishly with a simple, “....rather soon.”
Tennenbaum said, with a nod and slight annoyance, “Sooner than you expected, I see. Fortunately for you, I do love discussing matters of importance with fellow professionals like myself. Have the body prepared as quickly as you can.”
Thus, as Simons’s transmission cut out, Dr. Tennenbaum began having drones of all sorts begin preparations for her guests. Wine, water, foods, and last but not least, comfy chairs. Hopefully, it would all work out.
It had been several months since the end of the short-loved Atumite-Malgravean war and yet the Malgravean government already understood that it needed to address the technological gap that existed between the two nationstates. Since that date Claudia Donovan, the current Minister of Science & Engineering had been tasked with recruiting talented minds from across the world in an attempt to bolster the nation's intellectual capacity and bridge the known gap.
Dr. Eldelmira Tennenbaum was one of the highest priorities for the Ministry of Science & Engineering, and after a few weeks of negotiations the Malgravean government had successfully managed to bridge the subject of hiring the illustrious scientist. Since the Tennenbaum Institute was similar to the Royal Institute for the Advancement of Universal Technology it had been decided that Dr. Emily Lowwe would accompany the Minister, and she eagerly walked behind the Malgravean in question as they both entered the room shown to them earlier by the receptionist.
Dr. Tennenbaum observed the two, and greeted them with a smile and a nod, her avatar gazing down at them both from the screen. The avatar itself would resemble a young woman, blonde, with a ponytail and spectacles. She then said simply, in her Virginian Tidewater accent, “You two must be Emily Lowwe, and Claudia Donovan--from Malgrave, I presume? Dr. Edelmira Tennenbaum Orrozco, head of the Tennenbaum Institute. It is a pleasure to meet fellow professionals with a such a love of the sciences as I.” Pausing, she added, “You’ll pardon my appearance, but I’ve uploaded myself into a computer. Advanced age, and physical ailments compelled such a transformation.” Pausing, Tennenbaum added, “It does well enough, but as the great writer Borges once said, ‘The original is unfaithful to the translation.’”
With the robots out and about, Tennenbaum had them gesture to the spread she had put out for the two, and the comfy chairs. She then said, “Have a seat, and feel free to partake of the refreshments. The wine is a fine Malbec from the Citadela Tucuman--one of my favorite vineyards, although there is water and other refreshments. The rest? Well, a variety of small hors d'oeuvres. Small sausages, cheeses, fruits, so on. I may be a disembodied consciousness, but I do know guests must be entertained.”
Tennenbaum then asked simply, “So, how can I help?”
“You are quite correct Dr. Tennenbaum. I’m Dr. Claudia Donovan, the current Minister of Science & Engineering. It is quite a considerable pleasure and an honour to be meeting with such an esteemed mind such as yourself.” Claudia said bowing slightly out of respect, the Malgravean in question was wearing an old pair of jeans and a black oversized Niels Bohr Academy Jumper.
“I’m Dr. Emily Lowwe, currently I work for the Royal Institute for the Advancement of Universal Technology. I must confess now that your paper ‘Genetic Resequencing for the Purposes of Controlling Harmful Aberrations in Human-Sauran Symbiotics almost convinced me to pursue a career with the Royal Institute of Biomedical Development.” Emily added also bowing with respect, although the younger Malgravean wobbled slightly as she bowed. In comparison to her comrade Emily was wearing a simple pair of black trousers and a crinkled white shirt paired with a fresh lab coat making it entirely possible that she had been pulled straight from work.
“As for our purpose?” Claudia said accepting a small glass of water and a few pieces of apple from the table. “We are both here to offer you a job at the Royal Institute for the Advancement of Universal Technology, as i’m certain you are aware the Malgravean homeland was attacked recently by a spacefaring civilisation and was forced to handover our current reigning monarch or suffer the same orbital bombardment that the Imerian nation suffered. Since then I have been tasked with finding suitable scientific minds to broaden the nation's intellectual capacity and close the technological gap that currently exists between the Malgravean state and our former enemy.”
Tennenbaum nodded, her avatar stroking its chin as she spoke. Her guests were certainly colorful--a trait which often translated well in Dornieland. Their clothing was a bit more used looking than the usual suit-and-tie jobs she had to talk to. Tennenbaum herself smiled at the notion that others had read her papers and found them inspiring. “Finally, people that get me!” she thought to herself. Even as time had mellowed her sharp tongue, she still had her moments. For now though, she thanked Emily with a simple, “Always a pleasure. The Novaen situation was a touchy one, but we were able to provide needed technical assistance to Project Rejuvenation to introduce corrective genetic alterations to radiation damaged genetic structures and find a way to ensure the corrections were passed on to the next generation, thus staving off potential dire consequences.”
Pausing, she then said, “At any rate, yes, I have heard of the war between the marauders and the Malgraveans and the Imerians. I have heard of the terrors visited upon both of your nations by the marauders. No one should have to put up with that sort of humiliation. A noble sacrifice yes on the Queen’s part, but still a humiliation to try and save one’s people. And even then, with people like that--they tend to come back for another try.” Of course, she left out the part where she had seen footage which did not depict the Imerians in a good light, but that was besides the point.
Tennenbaum then asked both Claudia and Emily, eager to investigate the particulars of her new gig, “What sort of facilities does the Royal Institute for the Advancement of Universal Technology have? And also, what sort of a gap would we need to close? I got the impression that the marauders that attacked Malgrave possess considerable capabilities. Not as good as say, the Dornalian Navy’s, but more than capable of activities such as orbital bombardment and using directed energy weapons to their own ends. And also, the challenge would be to figure out what sort of resources we have generally….hmmmm...” Tennenbaum stroked her chin, deep in thought.
"I'd like to talk to you more about how you ensured that the corrective genetic modifications would be passed on through successive generations in the future, if that is possible. It could have an impact on research that we're currently conducting across our research colony." Emily said, the younger Malgravean also accepting a small glass of water although she kept away from the food on offer.
Claudia nodded in confirmation before speaking, the Malgravean rather thankful that the pair had seemingly been accepted by the Dornalian scientist. "It is the belief of the current government that the country must prepare to defend itself from a second attack, after all we can't simply keep surrendering to the demands of everyone with a spaceship. At this point I am sure that you understand that the United Kingdom of Malgrave was founded primarily by a collective of scientists, engineers and intellectual minds from across the world. Since that date we have been committed to scientific development, so the facilities you will have access to will be of the highest quality."
"A few years ago the Malgravean government even established an entire colonial region for the development of new scientific facilities both Malgravean and foreign in origin, and we've received a positive reputation from the international community on the quality of our research and communication infrastructure on the colony. If you want I could show you a holographic representation of a few of the facilities controlled by the RIAU?"
As to Emily’s question, Tennenbaum smiled and said, “Oh yes. It’s in the paper, wasn’t it?” Pausing, she then followed up with a genial reply of, “Well, anyway, we took the DNA of the local humans and Saurons, and then worked to repair the damage caused by the radiation and atomic war so as to restore the DNA to it's proper shape. Once that occurred, the repaired DNA structures were cloned en masse and placed into a nanotech based solution using a basic Academica Sinica cloning device which was designed to produce material for commercial-scale gene therapies. The nanites used in the solution were biodegradable, so they would cause little harm to the persons which had the substance injected into them. The substance would carry the repaired DNA structures and graft them onto the germ cells of both species living on Nova. I worked with local scientists to do most of that gene therapy, although a significant tech transfer was performed in the form of nanites and gene therapy. The result would be repaired DNA structures which effectively not only cured the problem in the first generation, but also would enable the birth of offspring which would have drastically minimized undesirable mutations--assuming any survived the gene therapy process.“ Emily was lucky--the good Doctor years ago would have likely cussed out someone who didn’t read her paper first. Or who did. Either way, it seemed age and the karma which one developed from being a jerkass likely had caused her to mellow out a bit.
Tennenbaum then stopped and asked, intrigued, “An entire colonial region for science, eh?”
Dr. Tennenbaum liked the sound of it. Her avatar stroked it's chin, thinking of the possibilities. In a way, it made sense. Malgrave was a land founded upon science. It was only natural that any territorial expansion would follow suit. Still, it would do to take a look at what kind of facilities it had. Tennenbaum simply nodded and said to Claudia, “You had a holographic map, you said?”
As that occurred, Tennenbaum paused, and then said, “Hold that thought.”
The screen went dark for a few moments. Outside, the two could hear a bit of a commotion. The doors then flew open, and a young woman in a lab coat appeared. She appeared to be a bit on the short side, and unlike the woman in the image, seemed to change her appearance to that of an Asian woman with pigtails and purple hair. Her spectacles remained, but when she opened her mouth, the Tidewater accent was gone. In its place was an accent which was...well, it was close to Sardinian Italian, but it also had strong overtones of Rioplatenese Spanish--the Spanish of Buenos Aires which contained many Italianate influences. And the voice shouted, at a figure outside of the room:
“MAIARE! I told you. This is not my regular voice--are you--”
She paused, as someone shouted to her in Spanish, before she flipped them off and went, shaking her fist, “TOMÁTELA!” and slammed the door in the offending individual’s face. Turning back to the Malgraveans, she then said, smiling, “My apologies. I am Dr. Edelmira Tennenbaum Orozco. I have acquired a new body, as you can see. I was told it...may need a little work. Anyway, where were we?”
Claudia scrunched her nose up in confusion as the computerised image disappeared from the screen, the Malgravean scientist inwardly concerned that they had somehow managed to offend the quirky scientist during their brief conversation. In a few minutes that concern was replaced with sheer curiosity as a young Asian woman entered the room and claimed to be the Dornalian scientist that had been on the computer screen just a few moments ago.
“Dr Tennenbaum? I recognise that you’ve also adopted a version of the Malgravean accent in the brief time you’ve been away. It will certainly help you adapt in your new workplace environment.” Claudia said, the Malgravean holding out a small holographic display case to show the Dornalian woman a few facilities from the research colony.
“Who designed your new body? You are so adorable!” Emily exclaimed, the younger Malgravean scientist blushing furiously as she rushed forward to rub the Dornalian scientist on the head.
“Emily, remember that discussion we had about professional boundaries? You need to compose yourself.” Claudia said handing her colleague a couple of tablets that Emily accepted and took along with a few sips of water.
Tennenbaum was annoyed enough--the makers of this new body had evidently ignored all pictures of her which ever existed and made her into what the cool kids called “waifu bait.” But to be patted on the head by a random person was cutting it rather close. Fortunately, Claudia reeled the errant Malgravean back in and had her take some pills. Dropping the annoyance for a minute and raising an eyebrow, Tennenbaum asked in a curious manner, “Are those….pills?”
Claudia and Emily both bowed towards Dr. Tennenbaum as a form of apology for the earlier interaction, although once again Emily wobbled as she lowered her back. “I must apologies for my comrades over-familiarity earlier, she has had little contact with people since her birth and tends to get a tad overzealous from time to time.”
“As for the medication? I guess I can explain that.” Emily said, the Malgravean rather sheepishly rubbing the back of her neck. “It is designed to delay the impact of Malgravean Immuno-Deficiency Disorder, usually it is taken twice a day but I have a slightly more advanced form so require more to function adequately.”
Tennenbaum nodded, stroking her chin thoughtfully.
“Yes. I have heard of Malgravean Immuno-Deficiency Disorder. Pernicious condition that. Among other consequences, has a tendency to shorten lifespans dramatically. Also induces instability in the infected individual’s immune system as well as mental health impacts. Yes, it is little wonder why my work with the Novaens would be of some interest to Madame Lowwe here.”
Looking over at the map, Tennenbaum gazed at it, nodded and said, “Interesting! It appears there’s a place for high energy research, an area for researching matters of biology--generally facilities capable of studying many things within the pure and applied sciences. Would this be so?”
“It is predicted that I have approximately thirty years left to live so you can probably understand why finding a cure is a top priority for people in my situation.” Emily said nervously touching a small necklace that resembled a small ring with carved symbols on the outside. “Interestingly enough we did not understand the impact of MIDD on mental health until around a decade ago and some like to theorise that it is quite a recent evolution.”
“The Royal Institute for the Advancement of Universal Technology operate several large facilities in the research colony, and a few sites on the mainland dedicated to researching matters that cover high-energy research, although I believe they only have a couple that cover a limited spectrum of biological subjects. If you are interested in pursuing developments in that field however you should also be cleared to enter facilities managed by the Royal Institute of Biomedical Development.” Claudia said highlighting several offices that contained a multitude of highly advanced labs, work spaces and libraries.
“As of a year ago I used to work in the research colony, although recently I have been working on the mainland on a project i’m technically not allowed to talk about.” Emily added, the Malgravean comically locking her mouth and throwing away the key.
“I see,” Tennenbaum nodded. “Classified projects--I’ve had my share of black programs, yes. Nonetheless, I think I definitely like what I see.” Stroking her chin, Tennenbaum said, “When do we start? And would there be any objections to my bringing in other colleagues or items from the Republic as needed?”
As she said all this, Tennenbaum noted the ring with symbols on her necklace. Some sort of jewelry? She would need to possibly inquire about this later on.
“I’d like to start as soon as possible, although I don’t know what the Dornalian government would say about that. I can however confirm that we would welcome any colleagues that are willing to relocate to Malgrave, although I do advise that it would be wise for everyone involved to join the local Ancestral Study Group. As for the items they will each need to be inspected by customs but I highly suspect that they will pass through without any problems.” Claudia said plainly.
“If you’re interested in continuing classified research projects then I highly recommend that you stay away from ongoing police operations, even if the female officers are attractive getting shot is not conductive to a productive future.” Emily added again.
Tennenbaum nodded, adding, “I’m sure my Government will agree to starting as soon as possible. We would need to do some paperwork, but I think it shouldn’t be anything big.” Pausing, Tennenbaum asked EMily, ignoring the random discussion of how good looking female officers was, “Wait, police operations? I wasn’t aware crime was that much of a problem in Malgrave?”
“It was during a joint Kouralian-Malgravean operation to arrest a few of the scientists involved in unethical experiments, so no it is not typical but I somehow managed to get injured in the crossfire.” Emily said her face reddening slightly in anger as she remembered the horrible crimes her former colleagues conducted. “Of course I would not of met my current partner if I had not been shot so in a way I guess I am thankful that I assisted the authorities.”
“Sadly I have developed quite the proficiency for paperwork since becoming Minister of Science & Engineering.” Claudia said stroking her chin thoughtfully for a second. “Would you be against joining the ancestral study group? It is not a deal breaker but joining the group would make integration easier.”
Tennenbaum nodded, getting the feeling Emily wasn’t entirely comfortable with the subject of police actions. She gave a simple, “Duly noted, then,” before turning to Claudia and raising an eyebrow.
“Ancestral Study? I’ve heard about that, but just enough to make mistakes about what it is. What would that entail?”
Tennenbaum of course, was interested in knowing the level of commitment the Group would require. As numerous spats with her Colonial Polytheist rivals in the UCK days had entailed, Edelmira Tennenbaum was fiercely proud of being Jewish, and not likely to forsake, in the words of Walter Sobchak, “three thousand years of beautiful tradition from Moses to Sandy Koufax” just to earn brownie points.
“It is a group dedicated to celebrating and researching the Malgravean connection to the people known as the ancestors, although it is not compulsory to attend meetings beyond a basic registration ceremony I highly recommend attending at least a few of the social events as they can be quite entertaining.” Claudia said the Malgravean virtually bouncing from excitement as she got to talk about one of her favourite subjects. “As it is a non-religious group it is also possible to maintain current religious or non-religious views as a member so you don’t need to be concerned about that.”
“You can also use it to get discounts at various stores across the country. How can you say no to a free 10% discount at all MalTec stores? Plus I have been able to research some exciting off-world items with my older sister in the past.” Emily added once again.
Tennenbaum nodded, relaxing a bit. Perhaps those Three Thousand Years of Tradition would not be forsaken after all. Tennenbaum said simply, “Social networking. Activities which may involve genetic and genealogical and historical research. Discounts at stores.” Milling it over, Tennenbaum then said, with a smile, “ Consider me interested.” At the very least, Tennenbaum thought to herself, she would be able to approach the matter historically. Or scientifically.
Claudia stroked her chin for a second before responding. "Do you have any other questions and concerns about living in Malgrave? I can't really think of anything else to inform you of at the moment, what about you Emily?"
"Don't cook pasta in milk, add parmesan cheese to seafood dishes or try to get involved in sports discussions with members of the RIAU cricket club unless you want to be lectured for eight hours on the finer details on the sport." Emily Lowwe noted, the Malgravean nodding as she spoke like she was reading off an internal checklist.
Tennenbaum nodded, and said, jokingly, “Luckily for you, I find association football more to my liking than cricket.” Looking at her legs as she flexed them a bit, Tennenbaum looked down and went, “Hmm. Now that I have a new body, I think I can actually play a round of footy. I think I had a Boca Juniors jersey around here somewhere.” Looking up, she nodded, and then, snarkily--a skill which was coming back to her--added simply, “Also, I guess I can live without fettuccine alfredo for the duration of my stay, then.”
Pausing, she then tapped her chin, and then asked, “I suppose it’s obvious, but I suppose that any...how do I put this delicately….personally owned armaments, blades, so on, are best left here, yes? Also, what sort of freedom would I have to publish the results of my work? Also, if I understand Madam Lowwe, there seems to be...issues with cheese?” It wasn’t exactly an appetizing prospect, but Tennenbaum like most Dornalians was a good guest--so it was worth the effort to find out what sort of limits her hosts would have.
“It is only possible for current or former members of the Territorial Defence Force to maintain firearms at home. As for the blades I believe they will have to be checked individually to see if they conform to regulations, although I personally would recommend against transferring them to Malgrave as the procedure is incredibly tedious and purposely long-winded.” Claudia said grimacing at the thought of the paperwork involved in such a task.
“I understand we’re not internationally recognised for our cuisine but Malgravean cooks can get quite emotional whenever you start talking about adding parmesan cheese to fish or....well overloading pasta with strong cheese. Plus we have a wide number of football teams you can support! Claudia and I both support Niels Bohr Academy Football Club.” Emily said.
“If we’ve covered all of the topics about re-settling in Malgrave perhaps we could move onto the paperwork involved in such an operation?” Claudia added
Tennenbaum nodded, simply saying, “Yes, let’s. How hard can it be?”
