Tony withdrew his gaze in satisfaction, raised a hand, and snapped his fingers. The holographic projections above the workbench rearranged themselves, unfolding the complete MK2 blueprints: a streamlined torso, a redesigned thruster layout, a lightweight internal structure, every component marked with data annotations that shimmered with a metallic sheen.
"Mark II," Tony said, twice as excited as he had been in the car. "Gold-titanium alloy main structure, entirely new vectoring nozzles for the propulsion system, and at least five times the flight stability of the Mark I. The most crucial upgrade is the reactor's energy output curve." As he spoke, he manipulated the hologram, separating and enlarging the armor's chest plate. "The new reactor has three times the energy density of the old version. Someone can stop dreaming about getting footage of me crashing."
Yinsen had already been drawn to the blueprints and leaned closer to examine the reactor's energy circuits. The two quickly plunged into a technical discussion, speaking faster and faster, their jargon growing ever denser.
Lynn stood nearby, watched the hologram for a while, and left them undisturbed. His gaze moved away from the colorful components, and he looked up toward the ceiling.
"JARVIS?" he called tentatively.
"At your service, sir," JARVIS replied immediately. "How may I help you?"
"What can you do?"
"I manage all of Mr. Stark's laboratory systems, including but not limited to data processing, equipment control, environmental monitoring, information retrieval, scheduling, and certain housekeeping functions. I also assist Mr. Stark with armor design and testing." JARVIS's tone was steady and courteous. "Do you have a specific request?"
Lynn's eyes lit up. He picked up an unlabeled can of soda from a nearby table, pulled the tab, and leaned against the lab bench.
"How many concurrent tasks can you handle?"
"Theoretically, provided sufficient computing resources are available, I can handle an unlimited number of concurrent tasks. The computing resources currently allocated to the laboratory are sufficient to support real-time global data retrieval and the parallel operation of all indoor systems."
"So if I gave you a pile of scattered data, could you categorize it, organize it, and find patterns in it?"
"Of course. That is one of my core functions."
Lynn took a sip of soda, feeling as though he had found a power cord while groping in the dark. His biggest headache right now was the abnormalities in his body.
Fluctuations in his brain's processing speed, occasional gaps in time-he had been recording everything using the most primitive methods: handwritten notes and recalling things from memory. The inefficiency was appalling. But if he could access a JARVIS-level AI to help analyze the data... no, even a first-tier AI would be ten thousand times better than puzzling it out himself.
He set down the soda can and turned his gaze from the ceiling back to Tony. Tony was crouching beside the workbench, drawing something on the hologram with his fingers and discussing technical details that only Yinsen could fully follow.
"Mr. Stark," Lynn said, his tone a little more serious than usual, "I have an idea."
Tony looked up, still holding a section of a virtual thruster model. "Go on."
"You promised to find me a place to live, right?"
"Right."
"Then can you make the decisions about the equipment in the new place?"
Tony straightened and turned to look at him, narrowing his eyes slightly. "What do you want?"
"Install a JARVIS for me too."
Tony froze for a moment, then let out a short laugh. "You want what?"
"Relax. It doesn't have to be the original. A copy would do. Or another one would work too. I know JARVIS is one of a kind." Lynn waved a hand, his tone as casual as if they were discussing whether to put a washing machine in his new home.
Tony folded his arms across his chest and raised his chin slightly, his lips set in a classic look of Stark scrutiny.
"You saved Yinsen and me, and I promised to sort out your identity and housing," he said unhurriedly. "Now you want an AI and all the supporting equipment too? Do you know how much it costs to build an AI? Don't you think you're being too greedy?"
"I know a genius's ideas are priceless, but you haven't written it yet," Lynn said.
"That's still no reason to give it away." Tony leaned against the edge of the workbench and tapped his fingers against his arm. "Give me a reason. If you hadn't helped Yinsen and me, you'd be outside that door by now."
Lynn thought for a moment, set the soda can on the table, and pushed it forward half an inch.
"Then I'll raise the stakes," he said. "Whatever you want to know about the present, the past, or the future, I have it. How about it? One AI in exchange for information you don't know but want to know. You definitely won't lose out on this deal."
Tony's expression changed. He stared at Lynn, his brow furrowing slightly and his lips pressing into a thin line.
"What do you mean, 'information you don't know but want to know'?"
"Exactly what it sounds like," Lynn said. "For example, the reactor in your chest. Or who wants you dead. Anything you want to know."
The laboratory fell silent. The holographic projection slowly rotated behind Tony, its blue glow falling across his profile. Yinsen straightened, his gaze flicking between the two of them. His lips moved, but in the end, he said nothing.
Tony remained silent for a long time.
He was considering Lynn as a person. He had appeared out of thin air in the desert, possessed abilities far beyond comprehension, and was now sitting in his laboratory demanding an AI.
"You're too greedy," Tony finally said, his voice leaving no room for jokes.
"That's why I'm offering you a deal," Lynn said. "A fair exchange. Neither of us owes the other anything."
"A fair exchange requires your information to be true. How do I verify it?" Tony pointed at Lynn. "You could tell me anything right now. I can't trade my AI for an empty promise I have no way of verifying."
"You can think it over first." Lynn leaned back and spread his hands. "It's not like you're installing the AI today anyway. Once you've made up your mind, I can give you some of the information first. After you verify it yourself, you can install FRI... the AI in my new place."
"You were about to say 'FRIDAY,' weren't you?" Tony narrowed his eyes further and took half a step forward. "That's the codename of the AI I'm writing."
Without a change in expression, Lynn picked up the soda can and took a sip.
"...All right, don't get worked up." He set down the can and looked up at Tony. "I told you, I know a lot. Including the ones you haven't named yet. That's exactly why I'm offering you this deal. This information is no use to me, and you need it to avoid unnecessary detours. I want an AI to deal with some problems of my own. We each get what we need."
Tony stared at him for a long time.
"JARVIS," he said without turning around.
"Yes, sir."
"Pull up his physiological data. Check his physiological responses while he was speaking just now."
"His heart rate was steady, sir. His respiratory rate and electrodermal responses remained within normal fluctuations. No typical signs of deception-related stress were detected." JARVIS paused. "However, I must remind you that assessments of this kind have a margin of error."
Tony rubbed his temples with his fingers.
Yinsen finally spoke, his voice gentle. "Tony, I haven't known Lynn for long, but I don't think he means any harm."
"He can mean no harm and still be dangerous," Tony said, lowering his hand and looking at Lynn. "You aren't planning to tell me everything you know, are you? You'll only pick out the parts I need when you need something and use them to trade with me."
Lynn gave the question some serious thought. "You're selling me far too short. The clever Mr. Tony Stark should know about the butterfly effect. Even though the future is already pretty fucked up, I still want to keep it within manageable limits. Tony, I may mess around a bit most of the time, but you should be able to tell that I've never meant you any harm."
Tony listened without answering. He turned back to the holographic projection and swiped a finger, unfolding the MK2's thruster layout in the air. With his back to Lynn, he remained silent for a full ten seconds.
"I need to think. I don't want to discuss this with you right now," he said, his tone returning to Stark's usual composure. "I need verification. I'll have JARVIS check the leads you've given me. If they check out, we'll talk."
"Sure." Lynn stood and tossed the empty soda can toward the trash. It traced a parabola and landed squarely inside. "I'm in no hurry. Even if you turn me down in the end, I won't let that thing in your chest kill you."
Tony did not turn around, his fingers continuing to manipulate the hologram. "JARVIS, record his request, but leave it out of the equipment plan for now. We'll make arrangements after verifying the information."
"Recorded, sir."
Yinsen glanced at him, the faintest hint of a smile at the corners of his mouth.
"You almost let the name slip just now," Yinsen leaned closer and said quietly.
"On purpose." The corner of Lynn's mouth twitched.