Chapter 119: Artificial Intelligence

On the way to the seaside villa, Pepper Potts glanced at Tony Stark sitting beside her and finally spoke:

"Tony, when I asked Smith to come help yesterday, I didn't mention any payment."

"Last time we gave him a hundred million dollars in equipment and other conditions. What should we do this time?"

Clearly, Pepper had always thought of Smith Dole in terms of business transactions—when she asked for help yesterday, she felt there ought to be some compensation.

After all, personal relationships were one thing, business was another.

Hearing this, Tony rubbed his forehead.

"If you hadn't said it, I'd have forgotten. That guy's saved me more than once or twice already."

"He really deserves a thank-you."

"With how we are now, just giving money feels too tacky. Tell you what, go see Smith later and tell him I'm giving him an artificial intelligence system, along with the full suite of hardware needed to run it."

"Consider it thanks for saving me so many times."

"I remember his chief scientist, Bulma—she seemed interested in AI last time she was here."

"This kind of thing takes a lot of training and feeding data; even with the skill, you can't just whip it up overnight. Otherwise you just get an artificial idiot."

"Even Dummy feels like an idiot sometimes. I keep thinking of donating him."

"Hmm… which one should I give him?"

"Oh right, Friday."

"But tell him to prepare a proper space for the storage. A full AI system takes way more than just a USB stick or a big hard drive like in the movies—you need an entire floor of hardware."

Pepper was stunned. An AI system wasn't something you could buy for a few hundred million dollars—big companies had poured billions into development only to end up with clunky prototypes.

Tony's gift was incredibly generous.

"Tony… isn't this a little too valuable?"

Tony thought for a moment and then told her what really happened in the villa last night.

Pepper gasped.

"My god… that was so close. Thank heavens Smith got there in time."

"You made the right choice, Tony. Since he wanted an AI, then give it to him."

"Smith is someone we can trust."

Tony smiled proudly.

"My friends are as reliable as I am."

"And the media already thinks we're Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent anyway, right?"

"What's Batman's superpower again? Ah, yes—money power!"

"Alright, Pepper, let Happy drive you over later. Give Smith the good news."

······

After discussing things with Fox, Smith returned to his office after letting Bulma know about the upcoming product launch.

Bulma, meanwhile, was busy working on detoxifying Yelena's implanted pheromones. She already had some ideas and was confident in making progress soon.

Smith reviewed his upcoming schedule: Stark board meeting, groundbreaking ceremony, product launch, arrangements for the scattered Black Widows, Bulma's research…

And then there was the matter of the Dragon Balls and his second wish to plan for.

It was a lot of little things getting in the way of his training.

He resolved to clear all of it within a week, then return to focused practice.

As he worked, Pepper arrived at the Assassin's League HQ under Happy's escort.

The guards recognized her and, after informing Fox, allowed her and Happy in.

Fox greeted her:

"Pepper Potts, you're just the person I wanted to see. Capsule Corporation is holding a product launch in seven days—Tony's on the invite list."

Fox handed her the invitation, and Pepper nodded.

"I'll let Tony know. I'm sure he wouldn't miss it."

Fox smiled.

"So what brings you here today?"

Pepper replied:

"Tony asked me to deliver a message of thanks to Mr. Smith."

Fox was a little surprised there was even payment for the last rescue.

"Smith's in his office. I'll take you."

Smith, deep in paperwork, heard the knock.

"Come in."

Fox entered with Pepper.

"Boss, Ms. Pepper Potts has something for you."

After Fox left, Smith smiled and gestured for her to sit.

"We just saw each other not long ago. What's the matter this time?"

Pepper explained:

"Tony wanted to thank you for your help. He asked me to bring you a gift."

She handed him a small device.

"This is the Friday AI system—a gift from Tony."

"This contains the program, but the hardware it needs is extensive. You'll have to prepare a space for it."

Smith was surprised.

"This is an artificial intelligence?"

Pepper shook her head.

"This is just a piece of the program. Running it takes an entire floor of equipment."

"Tony said once you have the space ready, he'll have it delivered. If you just plug this in and try to run it now, you'd be relying on Stark's infrastructure—and then Tony could see all your data."

Smith nodded—he understood now. This wasn't a full AI system yet. He'd have to allocate enough space at his base for it.

Still, it could be something for Bulma to study and maybe improve.

"Thank Tony for me. I accept his generosity."

"I'll be at the board meeting in three days."

······

(End of Chapter)

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