Stark-SARAH.
Feb. 12th, 2012 04:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
smart_house"Why is this necessary?" SARAH asks again. "I think I could make these adjustments on my own. There is no need for you to come down."
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Date: 2012-02-12 10:02 pm (UTC)Stark eyes the display in mild surprise.
"Is there a problem?"
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Date: 2012-02-12 10:06 pm (UTC)A rather pregnant pause, and suddenly there's Warrant's Cherry Pie coming in over the message line.
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Date: 2012-02-12 10:13 pm (UTC)Stark shakes his head, knowing SARAH is perfectly capable of tapping the signal in the visual spectrum, and commences packing up his personal computer repair equipment into its carrying case while he waits for the song to end.
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Date: 2012-02-12 10:19 pm (UTC)"I apologize, Dr. Stark. I've been trying to get better at Guitar Hero."
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Date: 2012-02-12 10:29 pm (UTC)He closes the case and taps a few buttons on his desktop system, transferring the call to his cell phone. Stark switches the output to an earbud, puts his phone in his pocket, and starts for the door.
"I should be there in ten or fifteen minutes at most."
Normally, it's a twenty minute drive, for anyone who's not Nathan Stark.
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Date: 2012-02-12 10:32 pm (UTC)"Take your time! Sheriff Carter is on patrol."
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Date: 2012-02-12 10:39 pm (UTC)His office door slides seamlessly shut behind him as he strides through and down the hall.
"Dr. Stark -- Dr. Stark, wait--"
He turns to pin Fargo with a sharp look and raises his hand for silence.
"Before you open your mouth, Fargo, ask yourself this: is your question important enough to interrupt me on my way to a meeting, or is it something that can wait until I get back?"
Fargo visibly snaps his mouth shut and shakes his head.
"Very good. I'll be back in a couple of hours," Stark tells him. "Try not to let anything explode between now and then."
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Date: 2012-02-12 10:46 pm (UTC)She sees Stark pulling up in the driveway and has the wherewithal to open the door for him before he is even out of his flashy car.
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Date: 2012-02-12 10:51 pm (UTC)"Thank you, SARAH." He glances around.
"How are Puck and Lysander today?"
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Date: 2012-02-12 10:56 pm (UTC)That's what cats do, right?
"The server room door is unlocked off the kitchen for you."
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Date: 2012-02-12 11:02 pm (UTC)He sets his toolkit on the counter and divests himself of his suit jacket, draping it neatly over the back of a nearby chair, then begins to roll up his shirt sleeves.
"I think this memory expansion will give you a great deal more capacity," he tells her. "I should have thought of it before."
"While we're on the subject, are there any other modifications you'd like to have implemented?"
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Date: 2012-02-12 11:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-12 11:13 pm (UTC)Especially if his hopes for the Artifact pan out, but it's too early be certain.
"But in the meantime, I thought you might be able to use the increased capacity for more detailed scans of the Milliways area, and perhaps some upper-order analyses and modeling of the results."
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Date: 2012-02-12 11:25 pm (UTC)Scientific discovery!
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Date: 2012-02-12 11:29 pm (UTC)He opens his kit and pulls out a few items, including an additional memory chip he's modified for inclusion in SARAH's systems, then goes to the server closet.
"This won't hurt," he quips, dryly. "You might notice some odd signals while I reroute processing, though."
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Date: 2012-02-12 11:33 pm (UTC)There are a few audible clicks in front of Stark in the closet, and a row of red lights flicker off.
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Date: 2012-02-12 11:35 pm (UTC)"... hm. Interesting."
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Date: 2012-02-12 11:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-12 11:42 pm (UTC)He's frowning over it.
"I'm going to have to decouple this connection in order to install the new chip, before we can do anything with the programming."
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Date: 2012-02-12 11:43 pm (UTC)"If you deem it necessary..."
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Date: 2012-02-12 11:49 pm (UTC)Surely there's nothing in Fargo's files that wasn't in the scientific records at Global. Surely not even Fargo could be that foolish.
"... it shouldn't be a problem," he says, after a moment. "You've shut down all your secondary functions already. This should only be a space-saving design approach, not anything substantive."
He's tracing cables just in case, but there doesn't seem to be a significant anomaly.
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Date: 2012-02-12 11:54 pm (UTC)"I trust you."
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Date: 2012-02-13 12:10 am (UTC)"This will only take a moment--"
It's the work of a few seconds to unhook the PCB board with the bank of newer modules, all of which appear to him in a brief glance to have industry-standard TSOP configuration. Adequate, if not inspired; he'll have to see to that later.
Stark moves to shift the bank sideways to give him room to install the chip he's brought, but as he does there's a nearly-inaudible "ping" as a hidden connection breaks, one that Fargo had sautered permanently in place between the boards instead of wiring each end in a removable configuration.
He freezes, cursing inwardly.
"SARAH?"
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Date: 2012-02-13 12:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-13 12:15 am (UTC)There's a diagnostic program he can use to run a check; there's soldering equipment in his toolkit.
"SARAH, don't worry. I'll have you back fully online in minutes at most."
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Date: 2012-02-13 12:20 am (UTC)The new voice, now vaguely masculine and much less in the way of inflection, accompanies the sudden lighting of the entire secondary circuit board under Stark's hands. A faint whirr gives a few seconds of warning before the heavy server closet door starts to shut.
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Date: 2012-02-13 12:27 am (UTC)The downside is that now he has no access to the server closet.
"SARAH--"
Wait. Wait.
"Battle Reactive Automatic Defense," Stark repeats, as a sinking feeling strikes him. "BRAD."
He remembers BRAD all too well.
He'd been the one to give the order to discontinue him.
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Date: 2012-02-13 12:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-13 12:40 am (UTC)"As Director of Research, I have the clearance for access at this level," he counters, not allowing himself to show any hint of uncertainty.
BRAD's interrogation techniques had resulted in his victims either offering unconditional surrender or dying.
This situation could get bad very quickly.
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Date: 2012-02-13 12:44 am (UTC)Another security violation. A lie.
"Initiating quarantine protocol."
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Date: 2012-02-13 12:46 am (UTC)"BRAD, wait!"
Too late.