Even without any consideration for possible tinkertech reinforcement…" He considered, "... I'd say this structure already rivals the Rig in sheer defensive capability. What is more concerning is the speed in which it was constructed. But apart from that? It's a ruinously expensive bunker, however he has the paperwork, so it's not illegal in any way. "
"So, we're not getting in, not through enforcing squatting laws as we usually do for secret lairs, nor by force when it comes down to it. Wonderful." Piggot bitterly summarised- checking her dossiers. "The most dangerous tinker we've had in the bay so far and he's also the one who is the most law-abiding… for now. What's this about his business permit? 'Manufacturing.' I believe this is also under the purview of the Guild's responsibilities, Dragon?"
"Yes. The Guild has indeed looked into it." Dragon answered, "Magos has taken to manufacturing tech components, internetwork devices, and some household appliances. That is to say: Integrated circuits, cables, antennas, modems, routers, and smart toasters… All under the 'Mechanicus' brand, and has since started shipping across the entire eastern seaboard. My tests were conclusive: None of it is tinkertech, and thus-"
"-Falls under the protection of the unwritten rules." Piggot finished for the Canadian tinker before rubbing her temples. "He can't keep getting away with this… Tell me that we can nail him to the wall for something."
"Director… are you certain it's wise to alienate this tinker?" Armsmaster verified, "Despite his eccentricities, Magos has so far complied with every law and regulation. Practically the model example of a rogue tinker."
"He has done everything except register his rogue status with the PRT." Piggot corrected.
"I thought rogues were only encouraged, but not obligated to register?" Kid Win, their own tinker Ward, posed the question.
"Despite there being no legal obligation for rogues to register… It is implicitly understood that those who don't have something to hide." Piggot answered him firmly, "And he has hidden a lot from us: We have no idea as to what his actual specialty is, or what he has inside his lair. But we know that he's an extremely versatile Tinker. Cybernetics? Mass production? Megastructures? He seems to be embodying every tinker subclassification out there. What else could he be capable of? From how ignorant we are of his true capabilities, it could be an unstable nuclear reactor, Grey Goo or self-replicating AIs. Tinkers are by far the most dangerous classification of cape to be operating without oversight."
And the mood in the room got a cold bucket full of reality. Piggot faced the assembled capes before her- looking them in the eye to let them know how grave the matter was.
"But at the heart of the matter is that we don't know what kind of person he is." She admitted, "We should not get complacent. For all we know, he could be some villainous mastermind who had been keeping his head down until he can enact his plot to tear down everything we know and cherish. And we wouldn't know: We wouldn't know what twisted evil thing he could be doing right this very second."
(Elsewhere at this very moment.)
" I'm~ too sexy for my flesh, too sexy for my bones~"
"So sexy, I groan~"
"I'm a Magos, you know what I mean~"
"And I do my little turn on the catwalk~"
"Yeah, on the catwalk~"
Estimated time to blessed activation: 3h 47m 05s 686ms.
[Protectorate HQ a.k.a. 'The Rig']
Dragon frowned with her computer-generated face, the director had a point…
"You're right, director." She heard Armsmaster admit, "The potential danger that Magos could pose right now is too great to ignore. I retract my statement."
…But she also didn't want them to be ruled by fear of some unknown evil that Magos could potentially be doing.
"If it's the problem of not knowing who he is…" She spoke up- careful to project her voice just enough not to sound intrusive, "Then shouldn't our first step be to make contact with him? Convince him to register and be honest about his capabilities?"
"Exactly what I had in mind." Piggot smile at her approvingly. And at that moment, Dragon felt like such a hypocrite. Here she was, an inhuman artificial intelligence masquerading as a human tinker, suggesting that a human tinker should be honest to the authorities to assuage their fears of the big bad AI threat. True, Magos' immensely versatile Tinker speciality could potentially be a threat in many other ways, but that didn't change the fact that Dragon was still helping perpetuate the evil AI stereotype.
"If there's anything else I can do, please let me know." Dragon offered.
You wouldn't happen to have his contact information for his cape persona?" Piggot raised an eyebrow, but Dragon only shook her head.
"Magos doesn't have a PHO handle. Not under the name 'Magos' at least." She heard Clockblocker report, "Trust me, I checked."
Dragon could corroborate that. Her identity as Tin_mother allowed her some degree of power over PHO. A list of registered users was one of them. A brief search through it did return a few 'Magos' mostly made in the past few days, all of which were unverified accounts that will mostly be forced to change names when the real Magos' account arises.
"Glory Girl may have spoken to him over PHO." Shadow Stalker spoke up for the first time in the briefing- making everyone turn to look at her, "After Magos and Brandish did their business, I heard Glory Girl offer to keep in contact with him under cape names. She might know his real PHO handle, and she might not be as prickly as Brandish with the information."
"I'll text Vicky…" Gallant muttered- fishing out his phone from his pocket and quickly firing off a text to his on-and-off girlfriend before audibly receiving a ping in reply. With a victorious smile, he declared, "His PHO handle is Amogus."
"what?" Dragon whispered in a small voice.
"A Magos… A mogus. It sounds so similar!" Clockblocker exclaimed, "Why didn't I realise it before? I just knew that account sounded sus!"
"Amogus?" Kid Win scoffed in disbelief, "That nutty tech-fetishist always harping on and on about the superiority of machines, how regular human are unattractive to him and how he wants to have sex with AIs? That's actually Magos?"
"Apparently so." Gallant shrugged.