บท 268: Central Non-Intelligence.

"YOU NOW HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED, LOBOTOMITE. GO MAKE YOURSELF USEFUL AND STOP TREADING AROUND WITH YOUR PENIS-TIPPED APPENDAGES..." Klein turns towards his colleagues, "AND YOU ALL SHOULD GET BACK TO YOUR RESPECTIVE STATIONS!" With that, the robots disburse and float over to different parts of the dome.

Afton's just left standing there, still holding the K9000 while watching the robots go about their work... Whatever their work is... He wonders if going over and talking to each one individually would help him understand their situation a little better, but eventually decides that he can do that later on. Right now he has a Central Intelligence Chip to install into the Sink, and a bunch of technology to find.

Turning on his heel, he heads straight back to where he'd come from, reentering the Sink and quickly storing away the K9000. He wasn't prepared to lug it around Big MT so it was best stored safely here... If nothing else he could build something with it in the future.

Afton also takes the time to check the new Perks he'd gained... Though, whether they could be called Perk or not is up to debate, if having your brain and spine stolen was a Perk then he was missing the one from having his arm cut off. He begins to examine the Perks :

[Brainless] : Your head can no longer be crippled and is +25% more resistant to chem addiction. Also grants +1 DT. If he disregarded the fact he was currently missing his brain, the Perk itself was quite powerful... +25% resistance to chem addiction was good, but not all that great considering Afton didn't use addictive chems all that much... The bonus DT and inability to have his head crippled though? Very good indeed.

He wondered if he could take a bullet to the head and still be fine (without [Miracle Maker]), he was missing his brain so the thing allowing him to think and control his body was the machinery inside his head... He reckoned it could survive a bullet or two, but wondered to what extent.

[Spineless] : Your torso can no longer be crippled, grants +1 to Str and DT. Again, ignoring the brutal fact his spine had been torn out, it was an incredibly good Perk. At least now he would never get 'broken like the bat' or something similar, if anyone tried that they might break their knee, considering his spine now consisted of advanced machinery. The strength and DT were also welcome boons, the former finally allowing him to max his strength.

[Tremble before me!] : Allows melee attacks now completely bypass DT, whether this means causing a shockwave to attack through metal armour, or simply slicing through leather. All will apply. This. was interesting, and not just because of how powerful it was. No... What Afton found most interesting about it was the possibilities it presented... For example, what was required to be termed a 'melee attack'?... Was it range? Type of weapon? Could he use a whip and still get the bonus? If so, then couldn't he shoot a wired harpoon and have that count as a melee attack?

So many questions, no little time. Regardless, he'd have more time to study it once he got back to the Mojave. Though, he wondered how long it'd take to actually get back... His Pipboy refused to allow him to zoom out from the Big MT, preventing him from locating exactly where the facility was... Was this a bug in its design, or was something inhibiting it to prevent information gathering? He shakes his head and decides to solve the 'Mobius' problem before asking the egg heads downstairs.

Once done checking himself and packing, he heads back into the centre of the Sink and observes the round holographic map-thing in the middle of the room. The chip he had was relatively small, and he struggled to find where to actually plug it in for a couple of minutes.

Eventually, he finds the port hidden underneath it. He slides it in and a buzzing noise bursts to life as he stands back up to see what had changed.

*DoooOOOO!**BzzzzZZZ!*

"Salutations and felicitations, sir, and a most jocund welcome to the sink." a posh, almost aristocratic sounding butler starts speaking from the device. "I am your electronic valet and household central processor. May I be of assistance to you, sir?"

Afton raises a brow, he'd seen artificial intelligence before, but none quite as polite as this one... Perhaps Mr House's Mr Handy's came close? "Do you have a name I can refer to you as?" he asks, not wishing to call it 'Central Sink Intelligence Unit'.

"No, sir. My creator didn't see the need for one, but you are more than welcome to name me at your own convenience sir." it says.

Afton scratches his face where a beard was slowly forming, "Hmm, how about Alfred?" he asks, a smirk forming on his face as the name leaves his mouth.

"That is most satisfactory, sir. My designation is Sink Central Intelligence Unit, also known as... Alfred. Is there anything else I can do for you, sir?" it asks, and Afton gets a hint of satisfaction from its new name... Though, the machine certainly hides it well.

"Is there anything I should know about the other artificial intelligence units in the Sink? I am aware their personalities need to be recovered, but I'd like to hear what you think first."

"Ah, I regret to inform you, sir, that all modules in this habitat are synthetic personalities... I would not expect anything 'Intelligent' from them once activated. My creator was an eccentric man, and thus saw the need to 'customize' everything operable in the Sink. My humble advice would be to run a large magnet over whatever unit is storing their functions... Just to be safe."