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The conference in Vienna, Austria is continuing and still remains enormously successful. As yet, the ESU high energy project team have not had their opportunity to make their presentation, as they were edged out by ESU's robotics team during their drawings to decide their own orders. As such, T'Challa has continued to be more of an observer than a presenter, but she has thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to see so many others' projects. The greatest gift to humanity is a chance for fertile minds to openly converse with one another. Two heads are greater than one. Imagine what two hundred heads can do.
For the moment, the Wakandan Queen is still dressed up, but is no longer surrounded by her security detail. Rest assured, those worthies are not too terribly far away, but they have been relegated to somewhere out of her immediate vicinity by the absence of those she considers to be a threat or a danger. Like Doom. She is currently hovering near the presentation table and booth for the Fantastic Four. She saw the destruction of their placard, and did not get to examine it closely before its destruction. So she is making up for that now.
*
Mree is hanging out behind the booth. Not that he doesn't enjoy the crowd, he's just on a knee sorting a set of recently acquired documents into an accordion folder, back here where he'll be out of the way of people while he does so. It's a soothing activity, if he, of all people, ever needed soothing, and soon enough he's winding the closure cord around its post and standing up with the folder tucked nicely under one arm. His tie's fallen a little slack, his jacket's unbuttoned and a lock or two of long blonde-green hair have drifted from the ponytail the rest of his copious coiffe is done up in. And not only that, but he's a little bit fluffier than he was the evening before; the spade-like tip of his tail and the gently undulating whiskers which hang delicately from his jawline seem to have sprouted a downy white fluff. Did he just forget to shave? Who knows. At any rate, here he comes from behind the booth, and whom does he see first but the Queen herself, come to investigate. "Oh, hello," he remarks, quite pleasant of voice, with a tidy, crisp accent which makes his words sound almost delicate.
*
The torn poster has been replaced, of course… But the new poster is equally flashy and disgustingly vague, mostly highlighting the VERY SPECIAL PRESENTATION the Four plan to give at the Conference for their most favorite peers and fans. There's also a little table with piles of little brochures and info cards and similar swag.
Reed is supposed to be milling around to discuss things with those interested, but of course something has caught his attention just down the way. Still, the Four's august visitor doesn't have to wait long before the slightly-rumpled Dr. Richards returns to his post, trailed by a gaggle of students, scientists, and… okay, let's be honest, there's like four people that are clearly Fantastic Four groupies. There's a smattering of "Yes, absolutely, we'll talk, thank you for the card…" and "Thank you so much for coming" and "I'll be happy to send you some thoughts after the conference" as he somehow manages to shed the shell of people wanting part of his time.
Which brings Reed to… T'Challa. Sue briefed him, repeatedly, and grilled him— also repeatedly— on all the very important people he should absolutely not in any way offend by being impolitic. Which Reed had accepted as his due with as much patience as he could muster. He is not truly as hopeless as people sometime believe. In any case, he gives Mree an apologetic and grateful smile for covering Reed's disappearing for the fourth time that afternoon, and cuts a perhaps-too-florid bow for their visitor. "Your Majesty," he offers. He manages reasonably well, but court is clearly not his environment.
*
The Wakandan sovereign inclines her head slightly, offering one of those enigmatic half-smiles to Mree. "Hello again. You are Ms. Walters' assistant, yes? I believe I heard her address you as Mree. Is that correct?" she offers the green-hued young man. To one who is aware of such things, it might strike one as odd that T'Challa could manage to hear something murmured so softly in such a crowded hall full of voices. Even more odd, that she would choose to pay attention, remember it, and make the effort to recall it. And yet she does, in that cultured yet mysterious accent of hers. "I was not aware that Ms. Walters was assisting the Four. But I suppose I should not be surprised." She does not say why she shouldn't be surprised.
When Reed appears, T'Challa remains calm and impassive, watching as he drags along his shell of admirers, and as he relatively effortlessly finds his way through shedding them. She does him the kindness of not indulging in any amused smiles at the antics of his physical bow, and merely inclines her head respectfully. "Dr. Richards. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, even if only briefly." She extends her hand towards him. "Please. I would prefer if we could speak as fellow scientists, rather than bother with the social flotsam of courtly etiquette. I appreciate the respect to my own person in my position as Queen, but now that it has been offered, I ask to set it aside, if you will?" English may not be her second language, but the woman knows it and speaks it well.
*
Mree enjoys the Queen's smiles. All enigmatic. They prompt a larger one from him, something big and beaming as if just happy to be graced with it and not shy about showing it. And he thinks he can read into her lack of surprise for some entertainment value, as well. Some sort of sly jab at the amount of legal representation required by the Four. It elicits a bubbling upwell of a girlish giggle from the mutant, who lifts the hand not clutching the accordion file to his loose strands of hair and pushes them back in a moment of — possibly shared — amusement. "Yes, that's me. Wow, I'm flattered you'd rememeber," he offers up, tail rising into a tall, loose coil behind him. When Reed returns, he gives the fellow a gracious nod, glad to be of help, and also opens out his arms, keeping the folder pinned to his side with one elbow, to take the various fliers and cards he'd accumulated on his latest jaunt. "I'll put these with the others, Dr. Richards?" he offers more than asks, but it does have the upturned vocalization of a question.
*
Help is there to be helpful, so Reed is happy to turn his latest pile of contact information and so forth over, to be put with wherever the rest have gone. All things in their order. "Yes, thank you, if you're not already overloaded, of course." There's a few in hand, a few in each of his pockets, a pen with a company name stenciled on it from behind his ear. Newton's Ghost, what a way to run a railroad.
He nods promptly, relaxing noticably, and offers T'Challa a much more restrained incline of his head over a hand to his chest. Which is probably what his bow should have been in the first place. "That would be most welcome, Madame. Please, call me Reed. I understand you're hear with the team from Empire State. I was most impressed with the high-density energy project. We'd been nibbling around the edges while I was studying there, but we never had anything practical to show."
*
T'Challa offers Mree just a hint more acknowledgement, apparently pleased that he is flattered by her effort to remember his name. Politeness counts, and she is not above using it when it suits her needs. Or abandoning it entirely when it gets in the way. She can be calculating like that. And apparently keenly observant.
"Please, Dr. Richards. Reed. Feel free to address me by my name. I am T'Challa." the young queen offers, pausing for a long moment, and then repeats her name again, letting the brilliant man hear it again so that he can get that pronunciation into his mind's ear so he can replicate it more precisely.
"I am indeed here with the team for ESU's high-density energy project." T'Challa responds, pleased that he cared to put that together, and that he has relaxed enough to talk to her like a fellow scientist, like she asked. "The current materials assemblage is the product of over six thousand test assemblies made over the course of the last year and a half. But we have finally managed to land on an assembly that has matched our original projections. We suspect that we may be able to tune the result up another ten percent, but our efforts thus far have proven too unstable for transport, so we'll only continue that work back in the secure bunker labs." Nevertheless, if the figures in their literature line up, T'Challa is talking about being able to crank up an output of almost four-hundred thirty-three million kilojoules per second.
*
Mree collects the materials with a good grace, then retreats a half-step with a smile for the Queen (Queen!), pivots and crouches, keeping his fluffy white tail curled close to the back of his head so as not to swat anybody. He draws out a box from beneath an overhanging curtain on a portion of the booth, sets down his file folder to lean against it and makes slow but methodical work with the other contents of his arms. Fliers go with fliers, cards with cards, swag with swag. Alphabetized within categories of products or services on offer. He's trying to listen, meanwhile, to the Queen's words, but filing is simply more his speed, and the science talk just loses him after a few moments. So he'll gather all the pens out of the swag category and rubberband them together with the new arrival, setting them down inside one of the promotional mugs. There, that looks tidy. The box is soon being slid back behind the flap where he'd gotten it from.
*
"Fascinating," Reed muses, and he means it. "Our own generation work at the baxter Building doesn't approach that, though of course our output needs are considerably more modest. I've been focusing on thermal and radiation containment safety, considering out location" they have neighbors "and the… shall we say, unique opportunities to develop for such we have to hand." Helpful when Johnny can output a simply ridiculous amount of controlled heat. "Are you working from a nuclear angle, or something more… ah… exotic?" He's trying to remain within the bound of polite interest, but it's clear he's bordering on excited for the topic.
*
T'Challa never got the chance to explain - not that she would - that her reason for paying such attention to Mree, or her expectation of Jennifer being associated with the Four, has more to do with the fact that clearly a woman from a firm at the forefront of mutant or metahuman rights work would be associated with the Fantastic Four. And that Mree's presence proves that what she has heard about Jennifer's firm's work on the subject is real. That pleases her.
"We have been depending on the bunker labs for safety and containment, thus far." T'Challa responds, honestly. "I imagine that thermal containment has been an especial concern for you, and one you have every reason to pursue in advance of increasing potential throughput. Our own drive for higher throughput has been in the hopes of building a safe, renewable energy source without radiant fallout, sufficient to begin weaning the nations of the world off of expendable fuels."
The young Wakandan's dark eyes sparkle as she gets to truly talk SCIENCE with Reed Richards. "We have moved through several angles. We tried standard nuclear efforts, but though they could get rather high in throughput, they are not nearly as clean as many believe them to be. Their waste products pose a real problem. We've moved on to a very exotic artificial isotope. It is far less radiant and dangerous for its level of output, though it is still not as clean as what we would like. We're still exploring new ideas."
*
Mree is going to have to get this accordion folder back to the room and safely packed. He doesn't see a real opening in the conversation in which to utter a farewell, and he doesn't want to interrupt them in the middle of their geeking out in order to say something as silly and mundane as 'see you later.' But, so as not to just wander away without any acknowledgement, he touches two fingers to his forehead and then angles them in a jaunty salute along with a big grin. Then he's heading off. He's really gained confidence in the last day, along with a healthy crop of white fluff. Nobody here is going to bother him. Or even really gawk. It's weird. This must be what normal people feel like every day. Huh!
*
Reed does not miss Mree's exit, and gives the young aide a grateful smile, nod, and a wave. "Thank you for your help today, Mree," he asides in brief between conversational beats with T'Challa. "Enjoy the rest of the evening."
His eyes track back to the Queen. "It is, though part of it is thermal containment matters are more easily pursued with Johnny on hand to run tests," he notes, then listens to the rest. "Very interesting indeed. And you're right about the issues of nuclear cleanliness. In our case, the output needs are low enough that feul and waste issues become… acceptably small. Still, I'd prefer to eliminate them altogether. I've been considering some ideas surrounding data we've gathered on harnessing cosmic radiation" he breezes right past *why* they have such data "but it's only some vaguely-formed curiosities at this point. I've been somewhat distracted preparing for this conference, of course… and there's been some new equipment at the tower that has occupied my attention of late. To say nothing of… administrative affairs interefering with lab work." His smile turns wry. "But I'm sure a sitting head of state wouldn't know anything about that problem." Except how she almost certainly does very intimately and he knows it.
*
"Have a good evening, Mree." T'Challa also offers, as the green-hued young man heads off about his business. Then she turns her attention firmly back to her chat with Dr. Richards, that gleam of animated interest remaining.
"I can see how his presence would provide ample opportunity for high-scale testing, as well." the Wakandan offers. She listens to the discussion of nuclear materials and their problems, clearly engaged, nodding slightly here and there. "I am afraid I do not have enough experience with the waveforms of cosmic radiation to speak to that. Interesting, nonetheless. Right now, we have been working to try to develop a better molecular measurement and imaging apparatus, in order to facilitate our artificial materials construction." Something like an Arc reactor could well not be far into their future. Then again, it could be on the other side of time. It's all in how it is pursued.
"It is true. Administrative trivialities can definitely get in the way." T'Challa admits, with a shrug of those broad but feminine shoulders. "I have had the unfair advantage of not quite being a fully sitting monarch these last couple of years. My regency council keeps things under control back home, and merely refers their conclusions to me along with summaries. They want me to complete my education, so that I can return home and take up my throne in earnest, while also helping to engender the advancements that will see Wakanda into her future."
*
"Wise of them," Reed opines in an approving tone. "The sciences are the key to any given country's future. It's unfortunate that sometimes it's difficult to ensure the people in charge understand that. I suspect Wakanda will enjoy great properity in the near future."
Which is apparently closer to political flattery than he's entirely comfortable treading, even if he believes every word. "In any case, I'm glad to hear State is still encouraging pushing the forefront of possibilities. At times these things weigh heavily on my mind. It's part of the reason I'm glad to be here at the conference."
*
Of course, no one outside Wakanda knows just how advanced the African nation really is. Most barely even know it exists. And they don't seem to be in any hurry to change that. "It is true. The Sciences hold the key to the future of the world, and it is often disturbing to see how difficult it is for many so called 'people in power' to grasp that." Says one of those people in power who's a certified genius, and has made the pursuit of science part of her life's work. Go figure.
"I think you would be pleased with the efforts of your alma mater, Dr. Richards. We still strive to uphold those ideals, just as they are stated on Tanner Hall's entry plaque: To Seek, to Strive, and not to Yield, in the Quest for Knowledge and Understanding." T'Challa nods. "I too am very glad to be here. Seeing so many people, all focused on these pursuits, is very hopeful, I would say."
*
Reed nods, and strokes his chin, a slight smile playing about his mouth. "Well. With all of that in mind, I hope you'll come see our public presentation. If you'd like, we could arrange special seating as a personal geust."
A pause. "Though… I would hope you wouldn't find it too… crass. One of the unique opportunities our position as celebrities afford is to help the sciences appeal to a… more widespread population, I might say. Given the crowd we're expecting, we have a somewhat," He looks for a diplomatic word. "…non-traditional presentation style in mind this year."
Not that this is likely to surprise her, given she's taking her schooling in New York. It would be hard to miss the level of fame the Four have managed to put together for themselves, especially states-side. But Reed is Reed and never acts like it's as big a thing as it is. Even if he's largely responsible for it.
*
"I think I can find my way past any … crassness, Dr. Richards." T'Challa offers. She is aware of the level of celebrity the Four enjoy, and she hasn't a problem with it. She understands from whence it springs, and frankly she finds it entirely respectable that they should be able to better popularize the pursuit of knowledge. It is just as it should be, in her view.
"You could not keep me away from your presentation. I am not sure that special seating will be required." The Wakandan smiles slightly. "But I would be a fool to turn down the opportunity." That said, T'Challa glances around towards the public presentation spaces, and then back to Reed. "That being said … I think we should go. It looks like the Leningrad Institute is about ready to begin their presentation, and I am sure neither of us wants to miss that."