Fraternization Policy

[Will Stanton]

Will, in their role as Ashlie's personal assistant, sat at their desk in front of Ashlie's on-campus office. To the uninformed observer, it looked a lot like they were sitting there doing nothing and wasting time. A closer inspection, though, would show that their earpiece was flashing, along with their eyes, as they processed incoming information regarding the ongoing community efforts in Mutant Town.

This had become somewhat normal, with Will taking on several roles of managing Ashlie's personal affairs. Acting half-robotically, Will served as an interface between Ashlie and the campus network -- replacing some of the automatic connection she had had when she was still biological. They had once referred to themselves as a "next-generation Siri", and had then had to sit through Ashlie's lecture on exactly why that comparison did not work. Still, they managed Ashlie's schedule, and dealt with some of the calls and administrative minutia that Ashlie could not be bothered to handle. They reminded her to occasionally eat and drink when they got massively distracted by ongoing projects. And they served as a sounding board, mostly smiling and nodding as Ashlie spoke mostly to herself rather than to Will in particular. At night, they 'powered down', slumping slightly in their desk as they waited to be 're-activated'. Ashlie would know that this was, at least, somewhat performative. And she knew that Will must return to the mirror on occasion, as they would come back with knowledge on what their other selves were doing. She'd be damned if she'd caught them slipping out yet, though...

Today was very much similar, with Will in their blouse and skirt sitting there, awaiting commands. The one potential difference was a pamphlet they had placed on Ashlie's desk, on top of the daily papers that needed to be signed or otherwise required Ashlie's personal attention -- a copy of a leaflet issued by the HMRC entitled "Guidance: Personal Relationships Between Staff and Subordinates"

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Good morning, Will." she says as she walks in. Her office hours had become a little erratic, something she's able to do in large part due to Will picking up a lot of the administrative slack. Ashlie had, somewhat, gotten used to this iteration of Will. It has taken her a while to not see it as accidental mockery or a reminder of some of the capabilities she'd lost in her transition. It's a very... Will take on a robotic person and it's not their fault it reminds her of a time she'd been bound by her own programming. To them it's a form of self-expression, not mirroring a lack of it. Case in point. She picks up the pamphlet and turns around to look back at Will.

"Very funny. I'd ask if Heather put you up to this, but I know you're perfectly capable of being this cheeky on your own."

[Will Stanton]

"Good morning, headmistress. You had three calls this morning; two of them I dealt with myself and the third can be delayed," Will replied, with an automatic smile as Ashlie walked in. "The forecast for today calls for partly cloudy skies with a high of 19 degrees, and the quantum entanglement sensors report today's interdimensional incursion risk to be "low"."

"It's never a bad time to brush up on the policies of the human resources department," Will added, mildly, almost (almost!) hiding the cheeky tone in their voice.

[Ashlie Minamida]

Ashlie had once tried to explain to Will that by definition the dimensional incursion sensors only had two states, overlap possible or impossible, but that hadn't stopped them from reporting it on a scale

She holds up the pamphlet with a mildly put-upon look. "I'm well aware. What I'm a little unclear about is how you've decided on this one in particular." That's not entirely true. People talk and Will is a larger-than-average percentage of people on campus. "And for the record, nothing happened. The drinks she needed to talk about pertinent but personal security issues turned out to have been a little much." she adds in what is clearly protesting a little too much. Unlike quantum mechanics, this situation continues to flummox her and no amount of observation seems to collapse this uncertainty.

[Will Stanton]

"Of course, Headmistress. I am sure Ms. Allaire appreciates your personal attention to detail. Shall I book Clos Maggiore for your next security briefing?" Will deadpanned.

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Very funny. I had my reasons and they're not up for debate. Besides, I distinctly remember being informed about being too impersonal once upon a time. An apology was needed as well as neutral ground on which to talk." she immediately walks back her statement about her reasons. The alcohol has long-since cleared her system, but apparently her nanite-subconsciousness had taken that not as temporary permission but rather an introduction to their ability of exerting undue influence on her speech center.

[Will Stanton]

"No debate here, headmistress," Will deadpanned. "There is a long and storied tradition of not asking and not telling what the administration of Xaviers University is up to in their spare time, and a brief analysis puts you no worse than midpack."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"What a glowing assessment." she says, pinching the bridge of her nose. "But all jest aside, this is not something that is sensible to entertain. I damn well know that. And yet."

[Will Stanton]

"Far be it from me to let you know what is and is not sensible. My perceptions of such are, as you might well imagine, a bit skewed.

It is just important to go into things with full knowledge of the surrounding context, yes? So you can take appropriate precautions."

A pause.

"There are other pamphlets for that which I am assuming are not necessary."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Oh for crying out loud. Yes, those won't be necessary. And trust me, I'm intimately familiar with rules and regulations, they didn't leave my memory banks just because I'm no longer forced to abide by them. But your concern is... noted. And the sentiment is appreciated."

[Will Stanton]

"Of course, Ashlie," Will says, with a real smile. "That's what friends are for."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"I suppose they are. And you're not entirely wrong. It's... well frankly I'm not sure what it is, other than confusing."

[Will Stanton]

"Try being a chair," Will suggested, 'helpfully'. "Much more simple."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"I do suppose it is. Probably not an option for me." she says with a slight smile. "There already aren't enough hours in the day as it is. Which reminds me, I have a proposition for you. Or the whole of you, rather. Were setting up a support hotline for Mutant Town and campus, kind of a way for people to voice concerns, bring up issues that need solving or ask for help with minor or mutant specific emergencies. I'll be putting together a sorting and information-gathering algorithm in the backend to highlight larger issues to focus on, but it's almost certainly going to be hit with many smaller requests. Rather than let those potentially slip through the cracks or create a massive queue I was thinking... If you are up for it I could create a filter for requests to be send directly to your 'hub'."

[Will Stanton]

Will leaned back in their chair, clasping their hands together and putting two fingers to their lips, in thought.

"How would you picture this working, exactly? What's your vision for the end product?"

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Ideally? A system that's able to help people, identify larger underlying issues that need addressing and help connect people into more of a community. The initial idea was simply gathering data on what best to focus our efforts on, but we do have people who can address problems directly if they're made aware of it and, I'll be honest, it made me think of the significant amount of manpower that would be immediately available if you're on board, but the specifics are still up in the air. People would actually have to use it, for starters, which means being able to provide at least some immediate results. Not to mention that a conversational algorithm written by me is probably going to be more utilitarian than sociable at first."

[Will Stanton]

"So, you need something gathering data, and you want it to be given by the people, rather than, say, some sort of surveillance system. That would instantly destroy the credibility you're trying to generate with the populace," Will nodded. "And once you've gathered enough data, you want to be able to figure out the common link between the issues; find fundamental and systemic problems that even they themselves may not be aware of. It's smart, and it's potentially frightening.

"You need it to be universally accessible, both in terms of activating it and being easy to use. And you need people to want to use it -- otherwise, you're not helping anyone, and you're not gathering your data. It needs to be...welcoming, and friendly, and non-hostile.

That's why you need something with good conversational skills. That's why you need something with a friendly face."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"That's pretty much spot on. I'd like to think it's not frightening the way it's meant to work but I can see your point. It would generate more than people technically reveal willingly." she admits. "It needs to not just seem friendly. It needs to actually be trustworthy."

[Will Stanton]

"Of course it's frightening. It's the University. They're Mutant Town. We've saved the world -- or, well, the X-Men have, and we get grouped in with them. They fight and scrap to be seen as worthy of existing; we have tea and crumpets with kings and queens. That's why you hired the PR executive; that's why you're making the outreach center. We are, even to our own kind, a bit frightening, and you're trying to soften the edges."

"And that's why your plan has a hole in it," they added, almost as an afterthought.

[Ashlie Minamida]

"I'm pretty sure I know where this is going." she says. She's heard it enough the last couple days, though she doesn't resent anybody for telling her the truth. "If I knew how to build a friendly face I wouldn't have had to hire Li--Miss Allaire in the first place."

[Will Stanton]

"I'm pretty sure I know where this is going." she says. She's heard it enough the last couple days, though she doesn't resent anybody for telling her the truth. "If I knew how to build a friendly face I wouldn't have had to hire Li--Miss Allaire in the first place."

"You have a history of successfully adapting a wide variety of pre-existing technology to better fit your objectives," Will pointed out. "Breaking down and reutilizing existing resources to maximize their potential.

And you crafted your own visage quite effectively; it's just not...quite right for this usage case, I believe you would agree? And a utilitarian conversational algorithm might serve to scare people off before they can become comfortable with using the system to begin with."

Will nodded. "Fortunately, you have other options at your fingertips."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"I was going to train it on more immediately likable people." she points out, though she's aware that's a crutch. "What are you suggesting?"

[Will Stanton]

"I am more immediately likeable people," Will continued. "I was the leader of the X-Men, I'm a father, I have a small business in town already, I'm eager to please, and I am a former mascot for Super Cocoa Apple Bits and Triumph-Brand Dog Biscuits, among others. Trans-dimensional references are available upon request."

Will looked Ashlie in the eye. "Rather than have me interface with the system... you could make me the system."

[Ashlie Minamida]

Will can see the proverbial gears ticking behind Ashlie's eyes. "That... would actually be a significant improvement. As well as time saved on creating the system. There probably wouldn't be any real downtime if the system is to be consistently accessible, not to shed doubt on your capabilities but that is a lot of attention to split across potentially many conversations. Not to mention collating and anonymizing the meta-data for plotting the larger situation. Although I could probably design a module for you to enter all that data into, if necessary..."

[Will Stanton]

"Well, it may need to be stress-tested some," Will acknowledged. "It is a little different than simple mirror-clones, which operate independently until they're re-integrated upon their return. But there are ways around that, especially if we're willing to get a little complicated in the infrastructure of the setup," Will nodded. "A base version here on campus; satellite divisions out in London..." they mused, looking around for some scrap paper.

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Distributed nodes would need a connection. Unless you're planning on an electronic hardware setup that's a little outside my area of expertise."

[Will Stanton]

Will shook their head. "I was thinking more...plumbing?" they suggested, sketching up a series of tubes over a rough map of central Mutant Town. "If we could set up, like, help stations at key points in the middle of the borough, here, here and here..." they said, tapping the pen on the paper. "And connected them to wherever you want the central system to be located..."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"I may have designed the community center with an infrastructure deployment plan in mind. I was thinking more electrical grid, fiber-optics and automated maintenance but there's no reason I could not add more accommodating plumbing."

"As you can imagine, it has been slow going to convince the private companies in charge of water and sewage to let me deploy mapping and self-extending pipework into their 'turf'. What I need is a defendable reason to inject a self-perpetuating system of duct and vent-work into the sewers." There's a reason she has not brought this aspect of her plan up with Lisette, not to mention the fact that a deployment shaft for such a thing is already set into the large central pillar of the community center. Just in case the need for plausible deniability should arise.

[Will Stanton]

"You need to provide an incentive for them to allow you to lay pipe?" Will asked, their eyes flashing as they accessed their database.

"Bruges. A historic brewery in downtown wanted to expand their production without losing their historic site. They created a pipeline, sending beer from the brewery to the bottling plant. Locals jokingly asked if they could tap the pipeline, but that proved to be too technically challenging, and so they simply provided some free beer to make up for the disruption of installing the pipelines."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Underground and sewage access rights are tightly controlled. In part so predatory providers of basic necessities can continue their monopoly. I can force the issue but unless I want to draw the ire of the UK government onto an already marginalized group I need a legal justification. They have rights and permissions, all I have is a better solution; and unlike with some of the things I've done, they will notice if I falsify electronic records on this scale."

[Will Stanton]

"It sounds like you have many boring meetings ahead of you. You may be able to get permission to dig based on archaeological findings; it may not be overly difficult to find some sort of culturally significant finding underneath the town. But as to actually installing your own infrastructure? That is a harder sell to do legally."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Oh I don't need to dig. Digging is for people without access to advanced technological principles. But an archaeological basis might be the perfect excuse. I might not get permission to access the modern sewer system, but somewhere beneath that are the old Roman sewers and ruins. I can sell them on plans to image them with minimal intrusiveness. Get them to sign off on introducing instruments down there with enough leeway for what I need. They're not going to pay too close attention because they don't know the extent of what we can put in without excavating. Then all we need is get a regular sewer hook-up for the nodes and use that to connect it to the deeper system."

[Will Stanton]

"And when they've discovered you've laid your own system underneath the town proper?" Will asked, raising an eyebrow.

[Ashlie Minamida]

"It'll be with permissions they signed off on and they would have to justify denying thousands of people basic services that cost the tax-payers nothing. That's a lot harder than turning a blind eye to systemic exploitation by a de-facto monopoly. You think they okay'ed the portal? It's an interactive art installation on private property." she says with a sly smile.

[Will Stanton]

"Use enough loopholes, and they'll find a way to hang you with them," Will quoted. "Be careful, Headmistress.

Still. I believe the plan, in theory, is a good one. Plenty of issues still to resolve on both ends, even if we manage to install the piping, of course. But the basis is solid."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"I was once told the world is scared of what I could be. For a long time that was made to be my burden to carry, but I've never let that stop me."

[Will Stanton]

"The world is scared of all of us," Will nodded. "Or, at least, some important people are. But then, that's part of the point of this, right? Ease those fears?"

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Yes, but not at the cost of who we are. I can't expect people to trust me if I won't stick my neck out for them."

[Will Stanton]

"And this will go a long way to doing that.

Would it be beneficial if I sketched up some designs for the user-end part of the project to share with you and Ms. Allaire? I am suspecting I would be less useful trying to come up with ideas for the backend, as it were."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Certainly, though we should all get together once we have some design specs worked out."