[Social] The Bot and the Beast

[Leo Eskandari]

Leo, in an outfit of plaid tweed sarouel pants and a tan dress shirt, knocked once on the doorframe of Ashlie's office to announce his presence. He had left out the jacket and tie, so he looked more like McCoy on casual Friday than a boy on a fancy date.

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Come in." Ashlie calls out from her desk that is a mixture of papers and various electronics sorted by some kind of system that is not readily apparent.

[Leo Eskandari]

Coming in, he asked, "So, uhh... we haven't actually formally met, have we?"

[Ashlie Minamida]

"I do not believe so, no. A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Eskandari. I hope you've been adjusting well to the school and your new circumstances?"

[Leo Eskandari]

"I'm adjustin' better than I ever thought I'd be, though it has made me think long and hard about who I am. Turns out it's a lot of things I hadn't even considered."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"That's fantastic. It's what we hope to accomplish for everyone who comes to our school."

[Leo Eskandari]

"And you? How are you adjustin' to being one of us meatbags?"

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Well enough." she says, quirking an eyebrow. "Is there something I can help you with, Mr. Eskandari?"

[Leo Eskandari]

"Oh, uhh, right. Have you ever heard of Lambeth's Festival of the Atom?"

[Ashlie Minamida]

"I'm aware, at least. A kind of Mutant Pride celebration?"

[Leo Eskandari]

"Yeah, and a showcase for mutant talents and mutant-run businesses. Anyway, me and Ainsley are tryin' to get a group together to go, which got me thinkin'... the school really could do more to show the people of Mutant Town that we're on their side. This place really did feel like some distant ivory tower while I was there. Leavin' all the outreach to X-Corp isn't enough to show them that the X-Men care about them or show the poorer mutants that comin' here is a genuine option."

"I'm not tryin' to criticize, I just wanted to bring some attention to the issue as one who was at the bottom, albeit briefly."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"It's a legitimate criticism, whether you intend it or not. Truth be told, there is more we could be doing but leaving outreach to X-Corp was a strategic decision at the time as to not offer more than we could provide. We still do not have nearly enough room to provide for anyone who might need it and our funds are limited, generous donation of the grounds and mansion by the Braddock Foundation not-withstanding." she says, tapping a pen on her desk.

"Don't get me wrong, I would like to expand our outreach to the community. It's simply a matter of being able to back up any promises made."

[Leo Eskandari]

"It doesn't even have to be financial assistance. Encouragin' faculty and students, especially X-Men, to volunteer to help out more in the mutant community would do a lot."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"While that is true, if we want to give more mutants the chance to attend here community service and volunteering isn't going to make that happen. And I wouldn't want to reinforce the idea that we're somehow above them, deigning to help out while resting comfortably in our ivory tower. Financial assistance isn't as useful in the long run anyway. To the individual, yes, obviously, but that's not a feasible way to support an entire community. I may have ample personal funds unrestraint by regulations for school funding, but not that much..." she says, clearly not just thinking about Leo's request here.

"Yes." her eyes settle on the lion-man again. "I think this is a fantastic idea. Put together some potential volunteer opportunities, you might have a better idea of where efforts might do the most good. I will set aside some funds for supplies if needed. We'll start with outreach, perhaps get a conversation going with community leaders. I have some ideas but I'll admit I have no firsthand experience of the community's wants and needs. Education, infrastructure support perhaps? Food? Employment opportunities? A new project beyond the scope of workshop and University. Let's do it!"

[Leo Eskandari]

"Great! We'll get on that right away. We're already tryin' to reach out to the festival organizers, so we can ask them about what community leaders we should be talkin' to."

"This is one of those things I never saw myself doin'," he chuckled, "Clearly bein' here is a good influence on me."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"I'm glad to hear. And never hesitate to come see me about excellent ideas such as this."

[Leo Eskandari]

"Thanks for the support," he smiled, visibility encouraged, "I'll leave you to headmistressin' then."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Indeed."

A couple moments after Leo leaves, Ashlie pushes a button on her desk. She doesn't have a secretary to buzz but she does have an administrative assistant. "Will, if one of you would drop by my office please? Thanks."

[Will Stanton]

A few moments later, Will, dressed in black capris and a green shirt with the university logo on the front, came in a moment later.

"You rang, ma'am?" he asked, as he entered.

[Ashlie Minamida]

"That was fast." she says, looking up from her screen. "Yes, I did. It's been brought to my attention that we could be doing more for the mutant community at large. Especially Lambeth. Mister Eskandari suggested an outreach and volunteer program, which is excellent, but I'm thinking we might be able to do more than dispense alms from our ivory tower. You're from a more enlightened and integrated society, so I was wondering if I could pick your brain about this."

[Will Stanton]

"Consider my brain at your disposal," Will nodded, sitting down. "Though I'll suggest that creating a more, erm, 'enlightened and integrated society' isn't generally something that can happen from the top down."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Oh I didn't think so. But you lived through a societal shift, yes? Surely there are things that worked and things that didn't."

[Will Stanton]

"Ah," Will said chuckling. "We're here to talk about some of the more embarrassing failures of the Mutant Power movement, are we?"

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Not necessarily." Ashlie chuckles in turn. "But say we try to bolster Lambeth's socio-economic status. Send volunteers, start programs, perhaps offer job training or even jobs themselves at the University. We'll inevitably bump into those who see it as a threat."

[Will Stanton]

"Story repeated over time, that. People don't like having what they considerer a piece of their pie taken away."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Which is ridiculous. The whole idea of a society is that it isn't a zero-sum game. But yes, humans would feel threatened by an emboldened mutant population and the system would fear loss of an easily exploitable group. To some extent I don't see why that should stop us but if you have any suggestions as to how we might catch off some of the worse issues at the pass it would go along way."

[Will Stanton]

Will hrmed, and tapped his teeth.

"Well, there are some people you're just never going to be able to convince, one way or another. Even in my time, there are still people out there who don't like the 'muties' and whatnot; they just tend to be routinely mocked and considered figures of ridicule, rather than influential, er, influencers. The tide of public opinion washed over them, as it were."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Which means amplifying supportive voices. Not everyone in Lambeth is a Mutant, we'd have to make sure not to exclude them without deprioritizing the Mutant Community..."

[Will Stanton]

"And then we're getting into Xavier versus Lehnsherr territory of how to respond when people are upset. I mean, considering the name on the sign, you probably know where we should stand, but there are always...differing ideas on how to get things done."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"That was never in question, no. But you're right, some in Mutant Town are going to disagree and we'd need to get ahead of that. Show that cooperation works and that we can protect them from a system that has already failed them." she sighs.

"What if we... make them less dependent of that system. A self-sustaining community or at least close to it with the help of University resources. We have land, infrastructure. We could start small, a community garden, establish an agricultural program free of tuition. I need information on Lambeth zoning and urban planning ordinances regarding urban farming, something they can't pull or change easily. Student projects to design hydroponic systems and phytoplankton bioreactors. This could work..." she says as she starts scribbling down notes in, frankly, atrocious handwriting.

[Will Stanton]

"They've already started building a community down there as well -- lots of mutant-run shops and businesses. I believe Tereza knows someone in Lambeth with a mutant-powered tattoo parlor, and so on and so forth.

You know who you need to talk to here? Jezabelle Sherlock. She has a history of working with organizing in the community; she'd be a good member of any sort of point team on this," Will said, scratching his chin as he considered options. "I'll dig in to some of the rules and regulations; see what sort of permissions we can get and what sort of loopholes we can find. Getting buy-in from someone with the power to control this sort of thing would seem to be important; someone on the council."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Yes, excellent. Mr. Eskandari is already looking into contacting existing community figures and leader, I'll put the two in contact." she says, picking up her smartphone and calling Jez's number, continuing to talk while it rings.

"Permits and legislative support are good, plans we can enact without express permission would be even better."

[Will Stanton]

"Guerilla warfare gardening may not be idea," Will joked. "And plans that don't require permission have a way of finding their way into governmental roadblocks when mutants are involved. But there are a few tricks and plans that we can pull out, for sure," Will said, drumming his fingers on the desk. "We don't have any land in Lambeth, do we?"

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Unfortunately not. And while the land value is low, it's low for London. We could probably swing a building or two but no larger agrarian endeavors. We have copious land here but an hour and a half is a big ask for something that's supposed to be easy to engage with."

[Will Stanton]

"But other people in the community own their buildings," Will pointed out. "And the rooftops that go along with them. And the neighboring rooftops."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"I suspect the majority of property owners might not be the people living there, but it's worth looking into." she nods.

[Will Stanton]

"Of course, but landlords can be dealt with in a number of ways," Will grinned.

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Not the expertise I asked you here for, but I will take it." she smirks.

"God that feels good to be able to say! Just a year ago I would have had to couch even something as this in a lot more plausible deniability towards myself."

[Will Stanton]

"No more beep-boop for you, then," Will laughed. "Welcome to the world of the free-thinkers."

"And this is the sort of expertise you asked me for," he added, after a moment. "Think about it. You wanted to know how my world became more trusting and caring? It's because the mutants where I'm from stood on their own two feet, and could rise themselves into places of significance; not just punching against the MRAs and bigots of the world. Turn Mutant Town from a place you go because you get cheap rent and, hell, who else would want to rent to a mutie anyway to the Hanging Gardens of Lambeth; a place run by and for mutants? Let them thrive in their own world, where they don't have to thrive under the pressure of the world around them? That's how this starts. That's how a movement becomes a subculture; how a subculture becomes part of the culture at large. By letting them grow and thrive on their own merits, rather than having that imposed from above."

A pause. "That includes us, for what it's worth. We go in there and say that this is the way things will be because the University says so, and we're just providing a different flavor of the same old story. Buy-in is key."

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

"Yes, excellent. Mr. Eskandari is already looking into contacting existing community figures and leader, I'll put the two in contact." she says, picking up her smartphone and calling Jez's number, continuing to talk while it rings.

Jez eventually answered call.

"Hello, this is Jez! Sorry about that, I was in the middle of something."