Chapter 23: Batman's Exclusive Technology
"Sorry, sir. Do you have an appointment?"
Stark Tower was also located in Manhattan. Batman, dressed in his flannel shirt as Peter Parker, was stopped by security in the ground floor lobby.
"No appointment. But if you're willing to bring me to Mr. Stark, I guarantee that starting today, you'll be more than just a security captain."
"Because I've brought technology that could double Stark Industries' market value."
Batman addressed the security captain standing before him—Happy Hogan.
Happy opened his mouth, momentarily uncertain how to handle this guy who looked like a college student but spoke with a tone and bearing completely mismatched to his apparent age.
Still, professional instinct made him glance down at the case Batman carried.
"Can I check what's inside?"
"Of course. It's just a computer." Batman opened the case. "Not a weapon. This is the technology I mentioned."
"All right, whatever my boss thinks, you've convinced me." After a few seconds of hesitation, Happy led Batman to the elevator and pressed the button. "Good luck."
The elevator rose smoothly and swiftly from the ground floor directly to the penthouse that Tony Stark used as both residence and office.
A private party was in progress. The star of the party was unmistakably Tony Stark.
Similar to the image in the materials Batman had researched beforehand, Tony looked every bit the trust fund playboy coasting through life.
Champagne in one hand, a model in his arm, wearing a bathrobe.
Though his build was reasonably fit, the dark circles under his eyes and the softness of his muscles told Batman immediately that this guy's body was already wrecked.
"I remember telling everyone not to disturb me, work hours or not. Who are you?" Tony called out.
"Tony Stark. Despite being the world's richest man as CEO and chairman of Stark Industries, with a fortune in the hundreds of billions..."
Batman stared expressionlessly at Tony, who was feeding alcohol mouth-to-mouth to the model in his arms.
"From what I understand, you don't actually control the empire your father left you. The board keeps you on the outside. They could kick you out of Stark Industries anytime."
"In other words, you're just a puppet being used."
Stark set down his champagne and picked up a nearby phone.
"Happy? Come up to the penthouse. Throw this lunatic standing in front of me out."
"Happy?"
Batman found himself a seat and sat down. "From the moment I stepped off that elevator, the security protocols for this entire floor were already compromised. You can't contact the outside world, and the outside world can't contact you."
That statement made Tony freeze. He released the model and moved to his workstation, fingers flying across the keyboard. After confirming Batman's claim, he clapped his hands and called to the models, "Ladies, you're off the clock. You've got one minute to leave."
Once no one remained on the entire floor except the two of them, Tony fixed his gaze on Batman.
"Who are you? What do you want? If you're here to extort me, there's a stack of bank cards in the cabinet behind you. Take one or take them all—the PINs are written on them."
"I'm Peter Parker. I came to show you this." Batman opened the briefcase he'd been carrying.
Inside was the computer hardware he'd assembled himself, now serving as an encrypted container for certain data.
Tony pointed at the television in the hall, indicating the computer could be connected to the large screen.
"This is... some kind of digital model?" Tony asked, looking at the series of data on screen with confusion.
"An AI model," Batman said. "I know you can't sleep at night, Stark. Your mind moves too fast, and the world is too slow."
"It's a common affliction among intelligent people. This AI is the only thing that can keep up with the speed of your thinking. It won't tell you 'no.' It'll only tell you 'there's another solution.'"
The current year was 2006. AI and artificial intelligence were still just concepts—no company had an actual product yet.
Batman trusted that Tony could see the value in his AI model.
The model was just a basic version modified from the Batmobile's intelligent obstacle avoidance system, but its function went far beyond avoiding obstacles.
Its real purpose was enabling AI to clearly distinguish human commands and execute them precisely.
"Your timing's perfect. Two months later and I wouldn't need this technology," Tony said, somehow holding a glass of whiskey again. "I happen to be developing an AI program myself. Maybe your model could save me some time."
Tony was also developing AI?
Batman frowned. This was information he hadn't uncovered before arriving, but he had complete confidence in his model.
"Jarvis?"
Tony called out to the air.
"How may I help you, sir?" The AI called Jarvis responded through speakers in the hall.
"Pour our guest a whiskey," Tony said.
"I'm sorry, sir. I can't do that yet," Jarvis replied.
"Jarvis is an artificial intelligence I designed myself. Right now he's more like a talking Wikipedia. Ask him to pour me coffee and he spills it everywhere."
Tony poured a glass for Batman himself.
Batman accepted it but didn't drink, setting it back on the table.
"What's your plan? Sell me this technology outright, or partner with me under some company name?" Tony asked.
"I'm not selling it. But I can leave this computer here. If you can crack the source code and replicate the core algorithm within a day, it's yours."
Batman's words caught Tony off guard. This playboy with dark circles like a panda suddenly looked interested.
"And if I can't crack it?"
"You'll need to hire my company as a technical consultant and pay a consultation fee," Batman said.
"You're confident." Tony drained his whiskey in one gulp. "So am I."
Batman's purpose at Stark Tower was accomplished. He wasn't planning to mention Tony's father or the Cosmic Cube on their first meeting.
That couldn't be rushed.
'Whether Tony cracks it or not, it feeds into my second phase of planning.' Sitting in the back of a taxi after leaving Stark Industries, Batman thought, 'But I can't pin all my funding hopes on him alone.'
Returning to the abandoned shipyard, Batman used the industrial equipment there to train his body until the sun disappeared below the horizon.
As night fell, Batman donned his suit and headed straight for Oscorp.
There'd been no activity from Oscorp yesterday. Batman had staked it out for most of the night without any signs of movement, which was clearly abnormal.
With military protection, conventional exposure methods wouldn't work at all. Batman needed a more direct, brutal approach to bring their human experimentation into the public eye.
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