* Para: “I love you too Muncle. And I think I understand. You know you can talk to me any time. Right?”
* Muncle: “I do. Really, it’s not so bad being one-of-a-kind. It just takes some getting used to.
* Para: “Yeah, all of our team is one-of-a-kind if you think about it.”
* Muncle: “True. And as I think about it, at least I’m not alone, not really. Communal is as much a part of me as old Stripe, the spider monkey. Communal provides an incredible amount of processing power to make Muncle 2.0 happen. I’m always immersed in community, they’re always there in the back of my mind. It must be lonely ... being only an individual person.”
* Para: “Sometimes. Yeah, I guess, sometimes.”
* Muncle: “Para, I’m getting to be an old monkey. Beyond that, I’ll never be as you are, like a human. I can mimic to some extent, with the help of Communal.
“We will never truly have your depth of will and determination; your ability to judge impartially; the compassion you can show even toward your enemies; your willingness to sacrifice so much in times of need.
“We can-not achieve your level, your unbounded capacity, to imagine something and then draw from completely different knowledge bases to make it real; contemplating, even manipulating that which is beyond the realm of your senses.
“We will never have your raw intuition. Nothing humanity devises is beyond your capabilities. As the universe seems to unravel all around you, don’t forget that Para. You are made in the very ... image... and I must have. Uhhh, where was I?”
* Para: “A lot of that was Communal, wasn’t it? It’s a lot to take in. I’ll think about that.”
* Muncle: “Para, thank you. It actually was good to talk about all this. You know you can always come find me if you get lonely. Uhhh ... Para? I have a little memory thing that, uhhh. Oh, never mind.
“Hey, did you read this article about the latest attempts to reform the prison system? A group is trying to make the prison system more amenable to rehabilitation instead of focusing mostly on punishment.”
* Para: “I do want to read that. Hey, Muncle, what does that green flashing light by the dark dome-looking-thing mean?”
* Muncle: “Oh, the AI is recording. AI, Mr. Peabody, auto recording mode off. End recording.”
END EVENT RECORDING. AUTO RECORDING MODE OFF. 01:32. Authorization by Muncle.
END TIMELINE DROP. +
***
Shockwave has gotten somewhat famous. I hate that, of course, even though our identities have mostly been kept a secret. The way things are going, we better let our folks in on our Shockwave secret, before they find out on their own from some newsvid.
In the meantime, we do try to maintain some privacy. To help with that we’ve been developing our own specialized military attire. I’ll get around to a description sometime soon. Why not wear clothing that is at the same time functional and fashionable?
Really, to hide our identity all we need do is wear our IVs. The IVAS, generally called IVs (Ivees) by soldiers, is the Integrated Visual Augmentation System. The Journal says I mentioned these earlier on. They actually do work very well. When opaque, they make for a good disguise.
At least we don’t have to wear both parts of the IVs, not unless we’re on a mission. I don’t think anyone likes putting on the DARPA lens part of the IVs goggles. In case you haven’t had the pleasure ... HA! ... I’ll describe the “contact lens” portion of the complete IVs package.
Everyone hates the lens “roll-out”, which is always spoken of in a derogatory sense. One guy in our unit made the point by hocking a loogie when he used the term. Roll-out, ccczzz, splat. Crude, but it does get the point across. The literature states, with regard to the lens roll-out, there may be a momentary feeling of discomfort as the lens envelopes the eyeball. Yeah, a tiny bit of momentary discomfort. Possibly. You do get used to it, a little. And it only envelopes a small part of the eyeball. It’s still gross. Really, the enhanced lensing capabilities and other tech features make them worth the “possible” discomfort. If you’re on a mission.
Of course, IVs goggles and tac-gear only goes so far. There are a lot of questions being asked. For example, about the size, the small size, of some members of the special ops team known as Shockwave. By that they mean Para and me. We’re somewhat ... petite. They think Muncle is our mascot or something. The twins could easily pass for special ops guys. Even Mr. T, though he is a bit ... mature ... for special forces. I know those nanites have done something with you Mr. T. You are way too strong and move around too easily.
Anyway, some of us don’t fit the mold of what an elite military team member should look like. Even wearing our IVs. The public does deserve to have some information about us. We’ve had contractors fielding calls and responding to electronic messages. But it soon became obvious we would need an actual full-time office staff, an office manager, and for good measure, a public relations person. So, Mr. T hired an old friend, Ms. Findley. We needed someone we could trust absolutely. She fit the bill. Ms. Findley started working this morning as our office manager and press agent too.
We all like Ms. Findley. She is sweet. Well, most of the time she is. As she has said herself: “Sometimes a person does need to be a bit firm.” And Ms. Findley can be very ... firm. When she needs to be.
We all think Grandad likes Ms. Findley. It’s actually pretty obvious.
