Activated - Q&a1

Activated Q&A

Author: The Architect

Authors note: Sometimes I get questions, sometimes think of questions I figure a reader might ask. In general I'll admit, I'm not sure where this story is going. I start with an idea and let the characters drive it, the original idea I had or this story was a little different. There are two stories I am working on also, one my take on a Genie/wishes story and another mind-control one. I might take a break on this story for a little bit to get those out. I do have written this story through the end of the year, Poppy's summer show, Jen's wedding, Becca and Sandy going to Israel, and a few other things.

Q&A

How are the nanites delivered?

Not telling but they are not self-replicating so they need to be delivered to the entire population and I do have a way to deliver them. The nanites have materials that are not found in the human body so they can't be self-replicating. They need to be replenished so there is an active delivery system.

How do the nanites work?

It's technomagic! Well, at one point Arcturus said there is a more efficient battery tech, that is because it is used in the nanites. They pull energy from the environment and store it, using it to swim round and make their changes. I realize nanotechnology is magic tech but I wanted to limit the "it just works" to a minimum. They have a sort of mesh communication that is technology beyond human understanding, a small cluster of nanites in each person acts as a mini-brain controlling the remaining nanites. When the population of nanites falls below a certain level new nanites are delivered, same if there is any major activity requiring extra nanites.

Where is the story going?

Not sure. The original intent was to write a story with nanites that would alter some characters, lots of sex and such. I let the characters drive the story for the most part and now I'm not sure where it is going. I have seen comments that it has lost direction and I'm not sure I can argue that. Very likely I will stop publishing on this story even though I have continued to write. Might be time to work on 2 other story takes, one Genie-based.

Am I Jewish?

Nope, not even close. I came up with introducing Rebecca at the time of the October 7th attacks and I have such admiration for them. It has been a solid element because it has given me an interesting turn on some of the story elements. I don't treat Rebecca the same way I would treat Jen because of her background.

Why did Arcturus gift the battery technology to the girls?

First off it didn't specifically give them that tech, the information was partially materials knowledge so they had in their heads the info to make the batteries and when they focused on the power problem to the drones this was the solution they came to. Sandy's hacker cylinders are more of a mystery, she created them but has no idea how they work, the batteries are chemistry and maybe someone would have discovered that formula. As for why it let them own it, that was the best way to get the tech out there. A miracle tech just showing up would spawn any number of paths to its release, this way it had a pretty certain path to release and helping humanity. At this point it has the personalities for all the key players mapped out, it didn't have any reason to expect any different outcome. Arcturus project also has considerably different funding, it didn't need the money.

Sandy and Rebecca

If Jen wasn't already her best friend Becca would have that job. Sandy continues to be highly protective of her. You know in the movies where one character feels they have to look after another forever? Sandy looks at Becca like that.

Rebecca

Well, a few things of note about her. She is stronger than the other girls, the only advantage Sandy would have in a fight is skill. Also Rebecca is the most attractive one of the group, the Michaels and Alex wouldn't say it but they are biased. She is not as mature as her age but getting there, the loss of her family hit her exceptionally hard and she is prone to breakdowns and breaking things, the efforts of the group have helped her catch up. Even without enhancement she would have been a noteworthy engineer, she has a strong natural aptitude for it and would have been considered gifted even without the enhancement, this was a reason why she was chosen.

Rebecca Adriel Abrams, blond 5'10", from Haifa, Israel, ice blue eyes, Engineering major, 22 years old.

Sandy

She has an eccentric personality that often comes off as immature and unserious. A planner, she is always scanning, can be joking and snap directly to serious if it is called for. She is very intune with technology, not just computers although this is her focus, also she is very good at reading people which allows her to social-engineer from time to time. While she could manipulate people she generally doesn't. Is a little OCD, a problem with competitiveness, and often will move forward with her plans without consulting others. She confesses later to Michael that she has never had any luck clearing her thoughts, that she is always stuck working on problems.

Sandy Penelope Card, 20 years old at the start of the story, red hair, 5'8", came from Great Falls, Virgina, well off family, formally accounting degree now computer sciences, green eyes

Jennifer

Most of her life she was shy and quiet. She was quite attractive even before the start of our story, her shyness didn't allow it to show. She makes a comment at one point saying something like 'I can mess up my hair and slouch, that was my look back then' One of the bigger changes that she got was a little bit of confidence. She is very good with children, teaching is a calling for her.

Jennifer Ann Brown, 20 years old at the start of the story, chestnut brown hair, now 5'8", came from Phoenix, AZ, education major, brown eyes, very good with children

Calliope

Mostly we've covered her backstory in pieces, she was moderately attractive but introverted, her mother died at an early age and her father just as she was about to go out into the world. She had trouble making friends, she was traumatized by the early death of her mother and then her father. She was on a trajectory towards an unhappy and lonely life before she was activated. She had artistic talent and it was seen during her school years but the disruptions at home forced it into the background.

Calliope "Poppy" Athena Bard, 24 at the start of the story, artist, 5'5", black hair, lives in Raleigh, artist name Euterpe, gray eyes, alias Minerva Cole from Atlanta, alias Cali Bard from Martha's Vineyard. One of her skills is accents and voices, something she developed during her lonely childhood.

Michael Russo

The changes in him are dramatic in the last year. Through school until the start of our story he was socially awkward, and in his own shell. Under normal conditions he would have been depressed but he resisted that except when he started thinking about his future, he saw no chance for positive change. He still has insecurity issues, when Sandy took off the ring on their Texas visit he immediately thought she was breaking up with him, had she not jumped in to tell him not to panic he certainly would have reacted badly. Like Alex he is completely committed. Before his project work with Sandy he saw her in class but in his mind she was just another pretty girl completely out of his league, he never would have asked her out.

Michael Paul Russo, 5'8", 20 years old at the start of the story, brown hair, computer sciences major, from Farmington, CT

Alex Mcguire

Ah Alex, pulled into this madness that first night. He's shy, a good student, generally quiet. He was actually interested in Jen for months leading up to the story, part of the reason his quiet study place was on the 5th floor, skipping the 3rd floor and the 2nd where his room was. He is committed to Jen, and while he feels out of control at times it doesn't matter to him as long as she is with him.

Alex McGuire, 19 years old, dirty blond hair, 5'7", lives in Wilmington, NC, electrical engineering major.

Nanites used to make changes

It isn't all magic, they leverage normal human systems so when you are injured or something is changed the result is that you are very low energy during the process. When Alex and Mike are injured they found they had to sleep a lot, when Sandy was injured the same. Jen slept a lot during the first few days but it wasn't really noticed because she is really big on sleeping. If we revisit Calliope's change she will sleep a lot as the changes kick in, she didn't realize because she was also depressed at the death of her friend at the same time.

Why did you use Elon Musk in the story?

Hey, I never said it was him, Elon is a common enough name right?

Seriously it seemed to work and he's been public enough I figured I could write him as a character. I admire his accomplishments but I'm not a mindless fan.

Why did they sell the battery as opposed to developing the tech on their own?

I'm not sure that Sandy was thinking that far ahead, well maybe she was, the thought was to lock down the rights and then at some point shop it around. The lawyers wanting to get an independent evaluation advanced it, if they had gone to Samsung or Apple it would have played out much the same. Any company that saw a battery formula with that level of energy density would beg to be the first to buy it up, it would be a game changer. Tesla worked because it would be a huge advancement for their technology, and if I loop in Elon as a minor character I have access to things like SpaceX for story content.

Who was the senator who was rude to Rebecca when she was in congress? Did Sandy get even?

Chris Murphy, junior senator of CT. Several embarrassing stories surfaced about him following the briefing, nobody knows where they came from. Sandy has a grudge against him.

Who is the senator the Cards are friends with?

I envisioned Sandy's father as a high-powered Washington lawyer, he has any number of friends on Capitol Hill. The one we have been using in the story is Ted Cruz from Texas. This isn't a political statement, he is just one of the politicians I was familiar with and it worked, I have avoided any political statements from him.

Is Michael really bothered by the wig?

I haven't published to this point so it won't make sense. Spoiler, Sandy will wear a wig at some point.

A little. He is in love with her for more than the physical but we can't discount that aspect. He gets she is using it to be less recognizable. He realizes it is shallow.