Rakhasa Wrote:Arthur isn't Fen. He might be becoming Fen, but he isn't there yet.Ace Dreamer Wrote:Hence, the Body Builder. Constructed in his own time, with his own paid-for materials, seeing what happened with the Hollywood Machine. He didn't like it, it scared him. But, he'd built it, and they'd taken it off him.Arthur seems rather isolated from the fen comunity -a lamb among wolves, almost. This probably will not last if even a few of his thirteen "daughters" has any fondeness for her father.
Like the quoted part: It may be legal, but doing that is quite nasty from a fen perspective -once (because those things always get out, the Plot requires it) it is commnly known, Mr O'Neill will get a truly nasty reputation than not even his (alleged) dirty economic deals did not grant him.
As for the daughters...
The Angels don't know who he is, except for the mysterious 'Charlie'. But, they are all far from stupid, though quite a bit 'bent' in their perceptions of the world. I'd bet on Jane to figure it out, in particular if she gets to do a lot of the admin work for O'Neill Station. Unless people are incredibly careful what goes in files (of correspondence, and e-mail) she will see reference to the 'Angels Project'. It would do her major cognitive dissonance, but she would work it out. If Sarah then turns her legal mind to the problem things could get quite messy.
The AIs probably understand most clearly their relationship to Arthur. He may not have designed their minds (the rather mysterious Dave Mathers did that) but he is responsible for their existing. There is a good chance most of them like him, he certainly has treated them with more respect than management is likely to. Watching them negotiate their pay and conditions with O'Neill Station might be interesting - at the moment I doubt they are getting more than a pittance, with little time off for their own purposes, and that only because they've got bodies that appear almost human, and need feeding and support.
Mrs O'Hare probably owes a debt of gratitude to Arthur. But, she's in a difficult position, if she plans to go on working with the Hollywood Machine. Ms Jones probably pities Arthur. Rod looks up to Arthur and admires him as who he'd really like to become. The glamored staff of O'Neill Station owe him at least their jobs in Fenspace, but most of them haven't met him, and few know him.
Arthur has got the Body Builder, it is firmly his, but to get the best out of it he'd need access to the Hollywood Machine. And, that doesn't look likely, any time soon. Still, do you think people would pay him good money for even the unprocessed robot bodies?
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"It is the business of the future to be dangerous" - Hawkwind