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Norton manor, is the estate where Ginger Snap Norton lives. It's a great mansion located in the forest near San Francisco and secluded from the usual urban environment. The mansion itself sits in the middle of a large forest and is surrounded by many trees.
The manor was built in a Victorian style while making sure that it’s earthquake proof. The building was designed by one of Ginger’s moms who told her that it’s based on the Aramaic Stilton’s Manor that she designed in another world. She also made some changes to the design and the rooms. (1)
The there is a stairwell that connects the second floor to the attic on the West wing of the manor. There is also a door leading to the roof of the manor.
On the second floor, the study is now Ginger’s office where she works on her business dealings.
The butterfly room is now Ginger’s private library with a balcony that overlooks the indoor greenhouse.
The guest bedroom and storage room is now the live in staff room that has a bathroom. Ginger only hired female staff that lives in the manor with her. With Ginger's bodyguards Poison and Roxy also living in the manor with her. Along with the new robots she had brought.
The other guest bedroom is still a guest bedroom with a bathroom.
A small office with an opening on the floor that looks down at the front door.
And Ginger’s bedroom.
The first floor has the dining room.
The vault is now a bathroom.
The workroom is still a workroom and lab where Ginger works on her inventions and other machines.
The boiler room use to be the main source of power to the manor and heating, till a new generator powered by mushroom oil replaced it. Ginger kept the old boiler and still uses it to burn the burnable waste from her workshop and the staff also uses it to get rid of the burnable trash.
The grand hall where parties and other events are held.
The green house that use to be the home of Chocolate The Chipmunk before he died of old age. Is still used as a green house.
The indoor pool that has a small bathroom. Is left as it is.
The kitchen has a walk-in pantry and freezer.
The parlor that also has a upper level that acts as storage.
The basement is mainly used as storage and where the new generator has been place that powers the manor. Which is powered by mushroom oil. There is also an elevator that connects the basement all the way up to the attic. The basement also has a large root cellar where more food stuff are kept, that’s also refrigerated to help keep the food inside last longer. And also a wine cellar.
The expansive estate around the manor is walled off to keep unwanted visitors away.
There is a cabin build on the estate, with a fireplace, bed, a bathroom for the ground keepers to use.
And the two dormitories, two medium-scale building adjacent to the manor where the male and female staff without families live.
The manor has changed over the years, since it was first built when Ginger wanted to move out of the house. After being build Ginger threw a party with the workers who worked on the manor invited with their families to joined in. Since then once a year Ginger would throw a company party at the manor inviting everyone who could come. And once Cookie Corner became a country wide company the factories and other businesses would have a yearly company party on their sites.
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Inside the manor -
Ginger is in her lab working on the head of a Tallneck that’s been shipped to her from that robot factory in Yellowstone. From what she learned about them, Tallnecks are completely solitary, walking in a predefined loop within its particular region, functioning as a communications center for other machines. The signal emitted by Tallnecks can be detected by a Focus, which can be used to locate them.
Ginger is studying the head which has been broken into parts to fit inside her workshop. She’s hard at work in figuring out how it works and how she could use what she learned to make better communication towers. She has already been making progress in figuring out how the Tallneck worked and already making plans on making some improvements.
From what she knows about the Tallnecks from the data she has been given. Tallnecks are mobile communications towers, relaying messages to and from other machines and creating and maintaining detailed maps of their surrounding areas. Which explains why they’re always moving and are so armored that only heavy firepower has the hope of damaging one. One of the Tallnecks that appeared in a city had literally walk through several buildings, with the people of the city finally taking it down by using tons of TNT to blow off its legs, but left the head still working.
The natives of the world where the Tallneck came from have little information about them, seeing how they couldn’t hunt them because none of their weapons could harm them. The only one who knew anything about them is Alloy who is traveling with Diego, because of the map that they give her once she manages to get to the top of their heads and afterwards the Tallneck release a wave of energy that shut down any other machine around it. Which she is trying to figure out how to recreate and weaponize so they can just turn off the hostile machines.
She also has a working machine to study, a Strider a horse like machine. About the size of a common draft horse, the chassis of a Strider is very equine in appearance, very closely resembling the body of a heavy-built draft horse. It stands on four equine legs with hooves, and has powerful shoulders. The bulk of the chassis is composed of synthetic muscle, with white armor plating over the head, shoulders and legs. A vertical dual optical sensor array is on the tip of the snout. Between the haunches is a Blaze canister. The Strider is in its own stable on the estate, where it’s fed plant matter from food scraps and yard trimmings. Where the canister once filled it exchanged for a empty one.
“This should do it,” Ginger said as she works on the Device that the Corruptor machine uses to take control of other machines.
The Strider had been overrided by Aloy and Ginger has been studying how to mass produce the override effect from the Corruptor device, that was also sent to her for study. Learning about the EMP effect a Tallneck let’s out once it gets overrided, she hopes to combine the override device to it. Seeing how all the machines in the area around a Tallneck is connected to it by a wireless network, if the Tallneck signal has the same effect as the override device all the machines I the area would all be overrided all at once. Turning on the machine she made, the readings she’s getting is the same as the Strider.
“Yes it works,” Ginger said as she looks at the tv screen that is connected to the camera that shows the Strider’s pen. The Strider is acting the same as it was when it first came to the estate.
Ginger looks at the device she created using the Corruptor’s device and connecting it to the Tallneck. Once she can test it out in the field and make more of them, the whole rouge animal machines will be solved. Of course there is the problem of attaching it to the Tallneck.
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France -
The young Russian prince Alexei Nikolaevich and his bodyguards, Sergei Dragunov and Aleksandra "Zarya" Zaryanova waited at the airport for their flight. His teacher Lara Croft is coming with him who is training him in using the force. The aircraft that would take them to the United States, is a jet plane that would take a couple of hours to land at the New York international airport.
“Once we get to the New York airport one of the copies of Empress Barbie will be there to meet us,” Lara said to Alexei and the other members of the party.
“Wonder which one it be this time,” Zarya said having met one of the Barbie’s who was traveling around Europe at the time.
“I hope it be the Jedi one,” Alexei said.
“That one mostly stays at home,” Lara said.
“Look,” Sergei said suddenly and pointed to something. Turning to where he’s pointing to they saw it’s a very tall and large man.
The man simply known as The Duke, he’s a mysterious, morbidly obese merchant who runs a traveling Emporium. The first reports of him had him traveling around in a cart pulled by a horse. He sold and brought things as he traveled from one place to another. He is known for the customized guns he creates and sells, being a skilled gunsmith, with many seeking him out for custom guns.
Then there’s his cooking skills, that made him also be known as a traveling chef whenever a royal house or someone of wealth managed to hire him to cook for them. The royal houses all been trying to get him to become their royal cook but he always turns down the offers as he says he enjoys traveling too much to ever be struck in one place. And that while he is a cook, he’s a merchant first, that he used to make connections all over Europe.
The Duke used those connections so that he could have custom clothes made for him. Where his clothes weren’t made for someone of his size, and has his fat belly spilling out. He now wears finely custom clothes that fitted his frame and he finally has shoes that can fit his feet. (2)
“I haven’t seen the Duke since that party,” Alexei said trying to remember the party where he had last seen the Duke and tasted his food.
“Looks like he’s going somewhere,” Lara said seeing the Duke walking towards the terminal for the cargo plane. Which is a rare thing for him to do as he likes traveling on his own on the road.
“He must had been hired to cook for someone,” Zarya said.
“And has deep pockets,” Sergei said as hiring the Duke to cook depending on how many people he’s cooking for isn’t cheap. Thanks to how many people are offering to pay large amounts to get him to cook for him. He has heard that the Duke would cook for people who he likes or is helpful, but mostly if they have the ingredients he needs for a dish. (3)
"Boarding for New York International," a female voice called out over the speakers.
"That's us," Lara said leading the group to the plane.
As the Russian party boarded the plane, they were watched by several agents from different countries. The news of the Russian prince being sent to study and live with the royal family of the United States, the Norton's has spread like wildfire. Many houses have been trying to get a marriage with one of the children of Barbie Norton the current empress, all attempts have failed as empress Barbie refused any arranged marriages. The Russian prince being sent to befriend and form a relationship with one of the young princesses of his age on the other hand hasn't been tried. And many houses are now making their own plans to get a young member of their household close to one of the children of the royal family of the United States.
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