Stars

1: 02

"Unlike you, I don't have a lot of time for parties." She hesitated a moment before asking, "Will Thor be there?"

"What's the rumpus?" Bruce asked.

"Well, the scepter," Tony answered. "You see, we were wondering how Strucker got so inventive. So, I've been analyzing the gem inside -- You may recognize..." He brought up a 3D image of JARVIS' consciousness.

"JARVIS," Bruce greeted.

"Doctor," JARVIS returned.

"Started out, JARVIS was just a natural language UI," Tony said. "Now he runs the Iron Legion. He runs more of the business than anyone besides Pepper."

"Oh?" Bruce questioned.

"Top of the line."

"Yes."

"I suspect not for long," JARVIS stated.

"Meet the competition," Tony told Bruce as he brought up another 3D image of what was inside the scepter.

"It's beautiful," Bruce noted.

"If you had to guess, what's it look like it's doing?"

"Like it's thinking. I mean this could be a... it's not a human mind, it..."

"Um-um."

"I mean, look at this! They're like neurons firing."

"Down in Strucker's lab I saw some fairly advanced robotics work. They deep-sixed the data, but... I gotta guess he was knocking on a very particular door."

"Artificial Intelligence."

"This could be it, Bruce. This could be the key to creating Ultron."

"I thought Ultron was a fantasy."

"Yesterday it was. If we can harness this power, apply it to my Iron Legion protocol."

"That's a mad-sized if."

"Our job is "if." What if you were sipping margaritas on a sun-drenched beach turning brown instead of green? Not looking over your shoulder for VERONICA."

"Don't hate, I helped design VERONICA."

"As a worst-case measure, right? How about best-case? What if the world was safe? What if next time aliens roll up to the club, and they will, they couldn't get past the bouncer?"

"The only people threatening the planet would be people?"

"I want to apply this to the Ultron program. But JARVIS can't download a data schematic this dense. We can only do it while we have the scepter here, that's three days, give me three days."

"So you're going for artificial intelligence and you don't want to tell the team."

"Right. That's right, you know why, because we don't have time for a city hall debate. I don't want to hear the "man was not meant to meddle" medley. I see a suit of armor around the world."

"Sounds like a cold world, Tony."

"I've seen colder. This one, this very vulnerable blue one? It needs Ultron. People in our time. Imagine that." The two spent days working in the lab, but found no program that worked. "What did we miss?"

"I'll continue to run variations on the interface, but you should probably prepare for your guests," JARVIS said. "I'll notify you if there are any developments."

"Thanks, buddy."

"Enjoy yourself, sir."

"I always do." He left the lab to go to the party.