Freeport 10's Research Deck: Commonwealth Research and Development Wing.

[The_Normal_Anomaly]

Benny returns to the room he has set out as his in the research deck. A cramped room, filled brimming with boxes of scrap parts from various devices found across space, looking something like the work of a crossbreeding of a Lane Hacker and a Junker. There is one central desk, covered in various lengths and colors of wire, with a bizarre assortment of tools. Many of the tools seem to be home made, and there are a few that no obvious purpose could even be guessed about them.

As he walks across the floor, a strange sticking sound can be heard with each lift of his feet. There is a mixture of leaked coolants, lubricants, and conductive fluids on the floor. He never particularly cared about this hazard, as he is perpetually wearing boots rated for exactly such slip and, in some extreme cases, electrocution hazards. The slick across the floor makes the dim ceiling light cast an eerie glow across the whole room. Everything is tinged a dirty shade of cyan from the malfunctioning light.

"-Neh. . ." he grumbles, a little disgusted by how far he has allowed himself to fall.

"I used to create wonders back then, as a university student. I got attention, I got interest, I got . . . things. Now though . . . I just exist to produce things for simpletons-They don't even know the power they could have!" he thinks to himself. He run a hand across the garbage on his desk, almost like a man looking for a gold nugget among grass.

"Hahaha-haha . . . not for long . . ." he stifles the laugh with a hand, looking to the door as though worried someone might be listening on the other side.

He grabs a metal stool from a nearby corner and slides it over to the table, plopping his datapad on top of some random things. He begins to go over some basic neuralnet research, looking for ideas for a device to build. Something that might be able to show these complacent fools a taste of his true potential. Various weapons of mass destruction come up, classic and modern.

"A simple nuclear device . . . I could have done that in college. It must be something much more . . . interesting. But . . . what would send the right message?" he ponders, as he continues reading. Hours pass as he reads through articles, reviews mathematical concepts, and also sneaks in some pleasure reading on the side. All the while compiling notes and ideas.