Chainsman Institute Mecha Resources
The Spyders
One of Mr. Chainsman's designs and roughly the size of a pair of hands
held together (except they have eight legs not 10) there are hundreds of these
mecha roaming both the Institute and the grounds relaying their visuals to
security.
Though they usually function as mobile security cameras, hence the name,
they have some other useful properties. While there are limits to how much
computing power you can put into a body this size their AIs are sufficently
advanced to recognise and alert security to the presence of unauthorised
personnel. Another useful feature and the other reason for the Spyder name
is their ability to extude a nigh unbreakable polymer thread which we
inevitably tagged their webbing. Quite correct, that was another of Mr.
Petruski's innovations. Unlike their namesakes Spyders are not limited to
spinerettes in the rear. There is a concealed web dispenser that deploys from
a hatch in the top of the abdomen that is used against flying targets and for
surprise attacks on escapees and intruders who figure they're safe so long as
the Spyder's back isn't facing them.
While they normally act independantly Security Central can assume
control of any and all Spyders in an area. Both Pumas are experts in
Spyder control and deployment and find swarming intruders an excellent way to
neutralise them quickly. If you had been here last tuesday you'd have seen it
for yourself. A heavily armed woman who identified herself only as B-Ko
attempted to break into the Institute and free either her best friend or her
worst enemy. She was fairly inconsistent about which it was but that's to be
expected with her state of mind.
At any rate the Spyders followed standard programming against airborne
intuders by anchoring themselves as best they could and deploying their
concealed web dispensers at her. As they did they were relaying an alarm to
security which meant their video feeds were designated priority video by the
security monitors central computer.
Security Archival Video - Spyder 0021 - B-Ko Incident (File 0132)
The Spyders succeeding in bringing the intruder down. Chief Ani Puma
assumed primary control but she didn't have to do much to guide the Spyders
actions beyond directing more to join in swarming the intruder. Her missile
launchers clogged with webbing and most of her mobility gone she had limited
defensive capabilites. We lost the few Spyders that she managed to grab and
crush with her suit's augmented strength but Chief Puma had her surrounded and
Spyders swarming her faster than she could lash out. Especially with every
new Spyder joining in the web spraying until her mobility was completely gone
and she was virtually coccooned in webbing. With that it was all over with
no real harm done apart from some already repaired cosmetic damage to the
building's facade from her initial missile attack and some fire and blast
damage to the gardens that's kept our groundskeepers busy. I understand
they've been suggesting some innovative therapies to Dr. Sleet to teach her
more respect for nature though he hasn't acted on them yet.
Yes, she did become a patient here. That very day in fact. Right after
the incident Chief Puma sent out a security officer with a handcart to
retrieve the coccoon and her weapons, filled out the necessary paperwork and
had her wheeled into the secure ward where she was stripped of her power suit
and outfitted with standard restraints. Being the duty doctor of the day Dr.
Sleet was assigned to her case and after an initial interview and study of her
case history assigned a therapy program to begin immediately. If you continue
the tour into the secure ward I'll point her out to you.
Yes, that was fast work. We pride ourselves on our efficency.
Is that standard practice? It's standard for female intruders. Breaking
in with the intent of freeing violent and unstable patients and endangering
the lives of both patients and staff in the process is clearly the act of an
unbalanced mind. We have a different procedure for male intruders.
Returning to the Spyders we have just completed the field tests of the
Mark II model. Here's the design sketch by one of our associates.
The Mark IIs performed excellently in the testing and we'll be slowly
introducing them into the Institute. Initially we'll just be replacing any of
the Mark I's which reach the end of their operational life. Eventually,
assuming we don't spot any problems from long term usage which the field tests
couldn't simulate, instead of maintaining and repairing the remaining Mark I's
they'll be replaced when they return the production facility for servicing.
So what's new and improved about the Mark II? Well besides it's more
arachnoid appearance it has faster processing speed and reaction times, it
scuttles between 20-30% faster than the old model (the variable depends on the
terrain). It also possesses new webbing mixing capability so it can spray
both regular webbing and the new nanite laced molecular binding adhesive. The
latter requires longer preparation time than regular webbing and there is
limited fluid reservoir space for it so regular webbing will be the default.
However when facing targets capable of changing or phase shifting their
molecular state this new adhesive will prove its worth.
To test the effectiveness of the new adhesive we required the assistance
of Open Ward patient Katherine Pryde. She agreed to assist and after the
removal of the restraints and the return of her civilian clothing she
attempted to break out of the Institute through an area patrolled by Mark II
Spyders. They detected her and attempted to intercept with standard webbing.
When this passed through her in her "phased" form they switched to the
molecular binding version. This reacted to her phased state by phase shifting
itself to the same frequency and enveloped her.
A very useful property of this adhesive is that when phase shifted it
generates a molecular repulsive energy charge towards solid matter. This
repulsion means that when immaterial it can't pass through walls, floors or
ceiling as they repel it. Additionally since the field affected gaseous
matter to a lesser degree it creates a drag that slows down the mormentum of
the enveloped target.
Ms. Pryde attempted to escape by shifting back to normal so she could
step out of the immaterial glob but it phase shifted with her so she found
herself in the center of a very solid and sticky goo. When she phase shifted
again it also shifted states and continued to match her no matter how many
times she changed until she was worn out and returned to her solid form. In
this condition it was easy to scrape away the adhesive, re-restrained her and
return her to the Open Ward.
This feature of the adhesive was insisted on by Mr Chainsman who said
he'd learned from Tinya Wazzo that simply snaring immaterial beings isn't
enough. Your restraints have to be able to shift states with them.
I have no idea who she is but I suspect he'll be taking a swarm of Mark
II Spyders to find her someday soon.
Let's move on to our more humanoid mecha.
The Sabers
For information about these androids check with the Security Department
The Modular Android
Originally designed by Doctor Akagi to serve as an easy to transport
and assemble humanoid robot Gold Team could take with them on acquisition
missions that required additional personnel who could serve as either cannon
fodder or decoys the MA (Modular Android) has been used primarily within the
Institute to fieldtest software intended for use in the Saber Units. While it
was also intended to serve as a backup security unit within the Institute
circumstances changed between the design phase and the construction of the
first prototype MA. With the addition of more members of Gold Team and a team
leader who avoids sacrifice plays it was no longer needed for external
missions. Then with the acquistition of the physically superior Saber Units
the Technical Department's robotics emphasis was shifted to restoring them to
operational status again. Despite being fully functional in many ways the MA
was obsolete before it came online.
However Dr. Akagi is not one to scrap hardware recklessly and saw the MA
could potentially be very useful. While it lacked the physical capabilities
of the Saber Units the MA could fieldtest the Security Assistance software she
was planning to install in the Sabers once they were operational again. It
would also be better if a less powerful unit discovered any bugs in the
software. Since part of the assistance program concerned apprehending
escaping patients and subduing those running amuck if there were flaws that
could lead to patient injury during either operation it was best discovered
by a unit not possessing superhuman strength.
Dr. Akagi's fears proved groundless and the MA performed flawlessly
during its trial period. In fact it easily succeeded in capturing one of our
most notorious patients during her recent escape attempt.
Despite this the fact remained that the MA was far exceeded in terms of
performance by the Sabers. So with their recent activation the MA protoype
was disassembled and placed in storage until a suitable use for it is
discovered. If and when a need it can serve is discovered it will be taken
out of storage but until then it will not be seen again in the Institute.
Robotics Repair, Reconditioning and
Reclaimation Facility
In addition to handling all repairs to the Institute's mechas this area
also serves as our recycling center for the second hand androids we acquire
that are basically sound but need reconditioning and reprogramming before we
put them to work.
A case in point is our latest acquisition, Dorothy Wayneright. Yes,
unusually for an android she has a family name. Apparently her original
designer based her upon his late grand-daughter then subsequently became
confused about who she was so she acquired the original's name.
Confusions about her humanity not withstanding her design specs make it
clear she'll make an excellent addition to our Security Droids once she has
been debugged. When she was sold to us her former owner warned us to keep her
away from pianos as that was the glitch that had driven him to get rid of her.
We also need to correct her emotional responses; androids with emotions are
fine but androids with emotions and delusions of humanity tend to malfunction
in destructive ways.
I'm told the system rebuild to implant our directives to serve the
Institute will be finished by tomorrow. She'll retain most of her memories
and personality so we should be able to put her to work very soon instead of
painstakingly configuring a new OS which always takes longer than planned.
Could you repeat the question? "How would we restrain her if she was
still active?"
As a matter of fact that question's invalid. Dorothy is both operational,
on-line and restrained. Being of a "hardened" design that's immune to
electromagnetic pulse she is merely immobalised by powerful electromagnets
rather than suffering hardware and software damage. Each of those red pads
you see is magnetised and holding her fixed in place on the chair. She is
however currently unaware of the outside world as all her remaining processing
power is being consumed by playing multiple games of "Pong" against our
Mainframe. Having far more processing power the Mainframe is simultaneously
proceeding with her system rebuild and a myriad of other duties throughout the
Institute
According to Dr. Akagi while not as advanced as the MAGI Supercomputers she
worked on while employed by NERV it's more than sufficent for our needs.
Moving along we come to the next addition to our Security Mecha.
This is Naomi Armitage, last of the decomissioned Third Series androids.
We got a good deal on her as unwanted government surplus.
You're right, she didn't like hearing that and if it wasn't for the gag
she'd be turning the air blue. Or should I say bluer as she was verbally
abusive during the entire procedure before we gagged her and is still trying
her best to curse the Technical Support Staff. She doesn't appreciate the
concept that there's anything about her that needs changing.
Unlike Dorothy this Android contains a lot of organic components so simple
magnetism is insufficent to hold her in place. However gravity is very
effective making this an excellent trial for our gravity chair.
The latest in artificial gravitation generating technology the back and
seat of the chair generate an enhanced gravity field that increases
automatically should the occupant attempt to pull away. An android would
burn out her servos fighting against the gravitational attraction before
reaching the chair's maximum generation capability.
It was originally intended for use on patients but while it looked good
in theory tests made it obvious that the added the strain on circulatory and
respiratory systems from subjecting patients to an enhanced gravitational
field was unhealthy and to be avoided. However that concern doesn't apply to
androids as you can see.
The re-programming seems to be proceeding without incident but I imagine
she'll still be a handful as we're just changing her prime objective to
serving the Institute rather than rewriting her basic personality. So she'll
still be the "Terror in Hot-Pants!" but she'll be our "Terror in Hot-Pants!"
Which means I imagine she'll liven things up around Technical Services.
Well either that or she'll wind up a drinking buddy of Bloodberry and
Panther.
Now there's a sobering thought.
That's about all there is to say about our Mecha Resources.
What else would you like to hear about?
Perhaps you'd like to meet the Support Staff who find the Spyders an
invaluable asset
Or would you rather meet our Medical Staff?
Don't forget our Training Staff, they test and keep everyone up to date on our
latest innovations
I can arrange an interview with a member of our involuntary patient
acquisition team if you'd like.
Or you could meet our Physical Trainers and see the Gym
You might like to see our student internship program
Would you like to drop by the lounge where we hold conferences and staff
parties?
Unless you'd rather return to the Open Ward
Or I could give you the scoop on our advances in humane capture technology
Alternately some visitors have been fascinated by the specifics of our patient
restraint and control equipment
Then there are those who were more interested in the human interest angle of
our friendly staff rivalries
If you insist we could take a look at our underground high security storage
facility
Finally there's one more option. The place most everyone wants to see.
Or would you rather return to the Lobby?
Of course we could always end the tour