Chapter 676 - Message Alert

Afton stops his futile attempts to screw in this rebellious screw and finally notices the group of confused scientists looking up at him. "Er, hi?... Is it morning already?" he questions, time having flown by during his mad dash of sudden inventiveness.

Indeed, it wasn't just boredom that'd lead him to do this either, once he started the project, he'd a [Eureka!] moment which allowed him to focus all of his 16 + bonuses intelligence on this single project...

Last time he'd been able to create Glados, and that was with sub-ten intelligence... Now though? He could hardly wait for the results.

"AFTO-*Ahem*" Klein starts but coughs in embarrassment, all that time he'd spent with a broken voice modulator causing him to sporadically raise his voice, even after he'd claimed a human body, "Afton! Why have you suddenly destroyed our laboratory?... And what is that thing you are standing on!?"

...

Afton glances down at the huge metal machine he'd created in his Eureka-Induced trance. It honestly just looked like a pile of scrap metal glued and screwed together, but that was only on an exterior examination... Inside, was probably the most advanced technology this world had seen thus far, far surpassing even the likes of Glados.

Inside was basically everything mar's needed to become a fully sustainable planet again. It was the swiss-army-knife of terraformers, able to create an atmosphere, regulate it for human life, and even moderate how plants and other life forms affect the ecosystems that are subsequently created.

The only real problem was how many would be needed for the planet... You'd need thousands just to get the terraforming to a 'good' rate, and even that would still take hundreds of years. Plus, the internals would be incredibly hard to manufacture without Afton's direct assistance... The components were simply too delicate and intricate for anyone else to do...

Perhaps if he designed another AI on the level of Glados, solely to reproduce these machines it'd be doable, but... He sighs, and looks back down at the scientists, "This is my new creation... A terraforming device that'd be sent to Mars to make it habitable for human life... The schematics are over there, do what you will with it, right now it isn't good enough to be launched yet." he solemnly explains as he hops off the machine and exits, already thinking of solutions to machine's problems.

The scientists look at one another and shrug, each checking out the machine and marvelling at its design. If it wasn't already obvious, Afton had surpassed all of them in scientific accomplishments, Klein and Zero could only look at the machine with large pouts at being beaten in their own specialized fields... Mobius though just looked amused, like a teacher who's been surpassed by their student.

The following days after the terraformer's invention, Afton split his time between tech invention, maintaining Bulwark, and taking care of Josie and his daughter... Truth be told, were he not an incredibly powerful superhuman, he'd have died from lack of sleep and exhaustion many months ago...

Rose was fun to play with, even though she was essentially just a fleshy potato, at least until she learns how to play games or talk. Though, even spending time in her presence was enough to cheer Afton up after an exhausting day of work.

Despite the incredibly tough workload though, Afton was very satisfied with his life... He had a purpose, friends, and family. What else could he ask for?

Unfortunately, the goods times couldn't last forever. A month after his father had left to join the Brotherhood of Steel, the organization had started probing the borders of the Mojave... While the East was somewhat protected as they'd have to fight their way through the chaotic remnants of the Legion, every other direction was at risk.

The Brotherhood's aerial superiority (That they know of), allowed them to attack at any angle...Luckily for everyone involved, the Elder Council had decided to send a holodisk for Afton to New Vegas.

Mr House had handed it over to him, after getting him to promise to show it to him after he'd viewed it. Which Afton easily agreed to.

Josie, Veronica, and Christine were all waiting in the Sink's living room to view the recording. All the while Rose was resting in Josie's arms, smiling sweetly as the girls shook toys above her.

Afton walks in and tosses the holodisk in the air, a claw controlled by Glados catches it and pulls it into the wall, the T.V screen flickering as its connected. "Josie, you might want to put Rose to bed... I have no idea what's on the disk." he admits.

She shakes her head, "She isn't sleepy yet... How bad could it be anyway?"

...

Afton shrugs after a moment, "Well, I'm kind of expecting a tape of them torturing my father. His Chip indicated he was under stress recently, so..."

...

Josie finally relents and puts Rose to bed, afterwards sitting back down and looking to the screen as it activates.

*Bzztch!*

The screen flickers and eventually reveals an old-looking man wearing Elder robes. He was bald but had a large white beard and silver-blue eyes. He was standing politely and looking directly at the camera recording him, "Greetings, I am Elder Gurren of the Elder Council, currently in charge of negotiations concerning the Mojave, New Vegas, and... Bulwark." his face contorts slightly as he recites their factions name, though, Afton wasn't sure if it was amusement, disgust, or something else that he couldn't keep hidden.

Afton pauses it and glances at Christine, "You ever seen this guy? You know, in the Circle of Steel?"

Christine shakes her head in response, "We were assassins, trained to do what needed to be done and given minimal orders afterwards.. I never had any contact with the main Brotherhood branch, nor did I meet any of the Elder Council."