NOVEL NEXT Chapter 43: Nicole
Not sure if it was because of Blake's presence, but Nick Fury was much more open with Tony compared to the movies. Right from the start, he brought out Howard Stark's relics that were kept at S.H.I.E.L.D. and presented them to Tony as a gift.
Fury immediately told Tony that Howard Stark was one of the three founders of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division (S.H.I.E.L.D.).
After World War II, a military general, a super-agent Peggy Carter, and a genius scientist Howard Stark founded a Strategic Scientific Reserve (SSR). This was the origin of S.H.I.E.L.D.
"Your father wasn't just an old man who made weapons. His vision and impact on this world far exceeded your imagination. He believed that science would ultimately bring prosperity to everyone and prevent wars. However, he was limited by his era, and many of his ideas couldn't be realized. He believed that you would eventually change all this!"
Although Tony had previously discussed with Blake his attitude towards S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury's words still deeply touched Tony. After all, Tony always believed that his father never liked him, thought he was worthless, and unreliable. Who knew his father had such high hopes for him?
"I know it's hard for you to believe these are your father's words. Here are some things he left for you. You'll understand once you look at them. The Arc Reactor was his greatest hope to eliminate wars. With renewable energy, countries wouldn't have to go to war over resources anymore, right?"
Nick Fury was indeed a master at winning people over. He never mentioned joining S.H.I.E.L.D. or the Avengers Initiative. These tasks naturally fell to Blake. Fury simply built a connection and presented Tony with something he deeply desired: his father's recognition.
It was a direct hit to Tony's heart.
Therefore, with the items Nick Fury presented, the origin of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Tony and Blake's personal plans, Iron Man joining the Avengers was practically a certainty.
As for the Hulk, according to Black Widow, he was still continuing his research while undergoing a series of special training to better control his emotions and heartbeat, preventing transformations in daily life.
However, Blake knew that Hulk and Banner were, in a sense, two beings in one. The more they were suppressed, the more likely it was for irreversible situations to arise.
Like Banner in the Avengers, his perfect control, even in battle, allowed Black Widow to calm Hulk down. This led to Hulk dominating his body for two years on Sakaar.
Knowing this, Blake didn't interfere much for now, mainly because he didn't have a better solution.
After going through his father's relics, Tony plunged into his laboratory. Blake knew that due to the Arc Reactor issue, Tony had likely discovered his palladium poisoning.
Before officially starting the site selection work with Black Widow, Blake's house was finally completely set up. Driving an Audi R8 that he had 'borrowed' from Tony's garage, Blake now understood a more realistic reason for Tony's preference for Audi: Tony had helped improve Audi's engine.
As a super scientist with a huge following, Tony's endorsement was invaluable for the Audi brand. Each year, Audi would send their latest models to Tony. Recently, they sent another one, and Blake shamelessly drove one away, claiming there wasn't enough space in the garage.
Arriving at his new apartment, he input his fingerprint into the lock.
"Welcome home, Mr. Blake. I am your housekeeper; you can call me Nicole!" A slightly playful young girl's voice sounded.
"Nicole?" Blake pondered over the name.
But that wasn't important! The key was the practicality of the artificial intelligence.
Of course, this couldn't compare to Jarvis. After all, Tony had modeled all his knowledge theories and the known operational rules of the universe into Jarvis. This allowed Jarvis to assist with any calculations and scientific research Tony needed.
In comparison, Nicole was much more domestic. Apart from controlling all specially designed furniture and appliances in the house, Nicole also had various auxiliary functions. These included an alarm clock, time reminders, weather updates, and even the ability to watch a movie at home and discuss the plot with Nicole.
Of course, this had to be a movie that had already circulated in the outside world. Nicole's positioning was different from Jarvis; she gathered external movie review data, filtered it, and then communicated with her owner.
Blake didn't understand the deep technical aspects, but in short, for household use, Nicole was perfect. This was what smart living should be like.
In his previous life, many pseudo-artificial intelligence products had appeared, paired with specific furniture and appliances. They could be controlled by a single command, but those systems were too rigid in sending and receiving instructions. Sometimes, it was easier to do things manually.
Blake didn't immediately explore his new home. He also overlooked Tony's mischievous act of placing a photo of the two of them posing with peace signs, clipped from a headline news photo, on his bedside table.
Blake commanded Nicole to open the secret room behind the bedroom bed. There was a manual button hidden behind their photo. Placing his palm on it would trigger an automatic scan and open the room.
This was a specially modified secret room. The entire room was coated with a special alloy by Tony. Even if the entire building exploded, the secret room would separate from the external steel and concrete, turning into a heavy metal container. It could withstand damage equivalent to an intercontinental ballistic missile.
The secret room contained a small study with a desk, computer, a small camp bed, and a toilet. It was practically a temporary shelter. Tony's arrangement was remarkably thoughtful.
The server for Nicole, the custom AI program Tony made for Blake, was housed in this small study-shelter. This was Blake's ultimate goal for Nicole: to copy her program!
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