"IS THAT SO?" Klein asks before continuing, "THEN I HAVE NO NEED TO HIDE THE FACT THAT I NEVER INTENDED TO GRANT WHATEVER 'FAVOUR' YOU WISHED FOR ANYWAY! DID THE OLD 'CROSSING MY MANIPULATORS' TRICK WHEN I AGREED. FOOLISH LOBOTOMITE."
Afton hides the smirk that tries to make its way onto his face, "Oh? So you'll refuse despite agreeing to it? I hardly think that playground tricks would justify such... 'Scholarly' dishonesty." he points from himself to Klein, "From one practitioner of science to another, have you no shame in recieving my work without fufilling your end?"
Klein scoffs, "YOU ARE OUR PROPERTY, YOU HOLD NO RIGHTS HERE, LOBOTOMITE! FRANKLY, I FIND IT INSULTING THAT ONE SUCH AS YOURSELF WOULD ATTEMPT TO EQUATE MY INTELLIGENCE AND WORK ETHIC TO YOUR OWN!"
"*Doctor Klein, I'm afraid I will have to disagree with you on this point... I actually offered Mr Parker a place in the Think Tank, his knowledge in robotics and inquisitiveness is exactly what we wish to see in our colleagues. Do not forget, we were all once like him, I would think that he too would eventually shed his human-shell.*" Doctor 8 buzzes out, the others turning in his direction as he speaks.
"YOU WHAT!? YOU WOULD INVITE THIS... THING! INTO OUR MIDST? WITHOUT EVEN CONFERRING WITH THE REST OF US!?" Klein roars, furious as 8's apparent disobedience.
"Cool it, Klein. Sounds like the Lobotomite didn't even agree, is that right?" Dr. Zero questions.
Afton nods, "Yeah, I refused. As you can see, with someone like Doctor Klein leading you, I think I'm better off elsewhere. From the moment I stepped into the Think Tank, I saw you all cowed under this oppressive 'brain'. I wouldn't be surprised if he took credit for your own work in the sciences, let alone whatever I may create here." he explains, hiding his smirk as he sows the seeds of dissatisfaction.
"Yeah, especially since his theory on brainial beam oscillation came from the CHINESE first!" Zero shouts, seemingly agreeing with Afton.
"HOW DARE YOU! BRANIAL BEAM OCCILATION WAS SOLEY MY DISCOVERY! I EXPRESSLY TOLD YOU THAT I DELETED ALL EVIDENCE TO THE CONTRARY!"
Afton audibly hums, "Sounds like an admittance of guilt to me, how would you delete evidence to the contrary if it didn't exist? Sounds like you're covering up your intellectual thievery, Klein."
"ENOUGH!" Klein roars, his manipulators opening up and revealing many scalpels and saw-blades, "YOU WILL RELINQUISH OUR BRAIN FROM YOUR SKULL, AND YOU WILL DO SO WILLINGLY. YOU ARE OURS LOBOTOMITE, AND I WILL RID YOU OF YOUR DISOBEDIENCE ONE BRAIN CELL AT A TIME!"
Afton chuckles, "You think that despite my ability to fight my way through thousands of Robo-Scorpions, Lobotomites, Cyberdogs, Night Stalkers, and Fungel monsters. You are able to harm me? That's the most pathetic thing I've ever heard you utter. And I'm not stupid either, Klein! Why would I kill Mobius when I can instead, force him into my service!"
"YOU... YOU DIDN'T!" Klein asks pensively.
Afton nods, "When I said I 'dealt' with him, I only meant that I am not in control of Mobius. He answer to ME, he obeys ME, and at my command, he will destroy YOU." he states, his various Perks only adding to the scientist's intimidation.
Indeed, it appears as if his words ring true with them, as everyone apart from Doctor 8 is moments away from fleeing in terror. Klein himself is occasionally twitching, as if something in his machinery is malfunctioning.
"Of course, there are other alternatives, which is why I'm here in the first place. But be sure that I hold no qualms in ridding the earth of you all, the numerous atrocities you have collectively committed would churn the stomachs of even the hardest criminals."
Klein seems to recollect himself enough to speak again, but his voice sounds rather timid, despite it travelling through a faulty voice modulator. "I... I WILL NOT BE FRIGHTENED BY SOME DISOBEDIENT LOBOTOMITE... THINK TANK! IF WE HARVEST ITS BRAIN AND LEARN THE SECRETS OF ITS EXTRACTION, WE CAN ESCAPE BEFORE MOBIUS' FORCES ARE UPON US! WITH OUR COMBINED MIGHT IT WOULD STAND NO CHANCE!" The scientist loudly says, attempting to rally their support against Afton.
Borous appears to have finally had enough however, "I REFUSE! Doctor Klein, I see now that the Think Tank has done more harm to the world than we could possibly ever fathom. Your aggression towards Mr Parker is detrimental to everything we stand for. Cold. Hard. Logic, DICTATES that we listen to his demands before taking such drastic action!"
"*I agree with Borous. Your antagonism towards Mr Parker is... Emotionally driven. Something you yourself has always denounced. If you cannot follow your own rules, then I believe you are ill-fitted to be our leader.*" 8 says, deconstructing Klein in a brutal, but logically consistent manner.
Klein rapidly looks around at his colleagues before his monitors lock onto Dala, "DALA! SURELY YOU WOULD ELECT TO DISSECT THE LOBOTOMITE? ONCE WE ARE FREE, WE WILL HAVE A WHOLE NEW WORLD TO EXPERIMENT ON AT OUR LEISURE."
Dala is silent for a moment, her monitors slowly trailing up and down Afton's form with a critical eye. "The teddy-bear is a marvel of not just brainial extraction, but of humanity in general. I don't believe we would ever find such a... Enticing subject again. Removing its brain and dissecting it would be a waste. Full psychological and physical evaluations, previous experience data, and its own ingenuity would be lost if we took such an action. I myself am curious as to what its 'favour' would have been, had you not rejected it in its entirety, Dr. Klein." he says, her biting words doing just as much damage to Klein as they do Afton...
He really didn't like the way she looked AND spoke about him. Even seeing her now brought up feelings of rage from what she'd done to Christine... But he swallows all those feelings down for now. Perhaps once he retrieves Christine he could have Dala reverse whatever damage she'd caused in the first place.
Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know.
TBH, I'm pretty happy with how the 'debate' is panning out. I think I got all of the scientists personalities correct, and that in such a situation, the would all indeed act like this.
If you like my content or want to read ahead please go to : https://www.p.atreon.com/Nagross, I'd appreciate it.
Klein's seems to be trying to glare a hole through Afton's head, but due to his 'colleagues' interference, his sawblades and scalpels halt to a stop... Temporarily at least. "VERY WELL... WHAT IS THIS. FAVOUR?" He asks, the rest of the Think Tank turning towards Afton.
Afton shrugs, "I actually think you'd all be happy with it... I want to use my favour to become the leader of the Think Tank-
"WHAT!? ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Klein shouts before Afton's able to explain himself.
"Shut your loud, fucking, mouth Klein! Let me finish before you start another temper tantrum!" Afton growls out, the scientist quickly going silent, even despite his reluctant murmurings. "As Dr. 8 said earlier, I am well versed in all kinds of scientific subjects, but that is not one of the reasons you should want me in charge... As you all already know, I am from outside the 'known world' you call Big Mt, I have knowledge of the regions and know much about the apocalyptic wasteland that you all would find difficult to gather.
America is not what it once was, most of it is covered in mutated monsters, 15ft Deathclaws that can cut through most metal with ease, swarms of Cazador's that'd devour a person before their corpse hit the ground, Supermutants created by the FEV virus that roam the wastes killing and eating anything they come across... The wasteland is not a friendly place, and I highly doubt that any of you would live more than a month out there.
But! That doesn't mean I cannot bring the wasteland to you! I have a goal, a goal that requires the aid of the smartest minds this world has to offer, where else would I look then here, among you all. Together, we could truly create something brilliant, instead of merely being a group of knockoff mad-scientists that only harm humanity with their creations." he says, emphasizing the fact that the robots would likely be torn apart outside of the crater... Afton actually believed that to be the case as well, even if the mutated creatures didn't get them, the wasteland governments certainly would.
"Bring the wasteland to us?" Dala asks curiously, "Would that include subjects for me to use my tools on?... Human subjects."
Afton manages to stop a scowl from appearing on his face, instead, sending a friendly smile, "I would be willing to send you any deserving criminal to you, in fact, I think whatever experiments you'll conduct on them are more fitting than just a simple death sentence."
"OOOoooo, please do, the fighters are always the best subjects." Dala says, and Afton's ears tingle unpleasantly at her voice.
"But what will we do here? The place is barely operational as it is, most materials we have were transported from the outside in, and since the trains and tunnels are gone that doesn't seem a likely place to start..." Dr. Zero asks.
"Why, just use robots... There are enough robots here in Big Mt to be used as a workforce. Just send them out of the crater to gather materials." Afton explains.
"But the power needed for something like that is far beyond what we are currently capable of... Though, maybe if we stopped using forcefields for everything we'd be a little better off..."
"THE FORCEFIELDS ARE THE MARVEL OF OUR COLLECTIVE SCIENTIFIC EFFORTS! WE MUST DISPLAY THEM WHEREVER WE CAN!" Klein says, clearly proud of their creation. Afton couldn't blame him either, they were incredibly advanced for their current level of tech.
Afton crosses his arms and hums to himself, "I think I may have a way to fix that issue... Are you all aware of the existence of ghouls, specifically the Glowing Ones." he asks.
Borous and Dala nod their monitors at him, "Strange creatures, what were once humans are now mindless, radioactive beasts. But what use could they be? Aside from interesting test subjects." Dala asks.
Afton grins, "Well, I recently found that Glowing ghouls could be used as energy sources... They are somehow able to produce a seemingly unending amount of radiation, so with enough gathered we'd be able to power whatever we want, whenever we want. I'm not even sure if they require food or not..."
"That... That might work. I have only observed such creatures from afar, none ever seem able or willing to enter the crater, unfortunately, but if what you're saying is true... This would solve the problem of our reactors slow degradation!" Borous says, somewhat excitedly at the idea.
Afton nods, "I want to fix up Big Mt, these destroyed and desolate laboratories hold no place among us any longer. We'll scrap those unable, and repair the ones that are. It will likely be a monumental effort, but I think this could be the beginning of a new age of scientific discovery and innovation... So, what do you say? Will you take me as your leader, or will you... Go against me." he growls out the last part to emphasize just how bad an idea that would be.
"I'm all in, centuries of basically doing nothing under Klein has proven we might need a new perspective. You're all good with me Lobotomite!" Zero happily agrees, though whether this is because of his dislike of Klein or faith in Afton is unknown.
"*I believe in Mr. Parker here... Besides, we can always decide later if this doesn't work out.*"
Afton nods, "I'll even throw in the data of my brain extraction... Once everything is sorted, I think putting you guys back into human, or if you dislike that idea, stronger robotic bodies would be a boon for everyone involved." he says, and notices Dala perk up at that.
"I am in agreement." Borous states.
That just leaves Klein... Everyone present turns to focus on him, they all knew Klein held massive pride in his position and ability. With the majority wanting to side with Afton, there was only two options for him... Join, or die.
...
"FINE! BUT MARK MY WORDS LOBOTOMITE, I WILL INTERVENE SHOULD I SEE THE THINK TANK SLIDING INTO DESTRUCTION." Klein reluctantly agrees.
Afton nods, "That's fine... I don't want to lead unfeeling robots after all, you all have your own initiative, if you feel I am doing something wrong then don't hesitate to bring it up with me... However, there will be rules..." he states.
I hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
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