9139/Frosty Ambush

Frosty Ambush
Date of Scene:	10 September 2019
Location:	Kitchen - Xavier's School
Synopsis:	Emma, Doug and Kitora become involved with corporations, capitalism and cured ham in the kitchen.
Cast of Characters:	Emma Frost, Cypher, Rift
Tinyplot:	The X-Corporation

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Emma Frost has posed:
If it is possible to sit with purpose, Emma does it. She is perched on a stool at the large island, legs folded. Her top leaves her shoulders bare, plunges deeply and exposes her midriff. How exactly it stays in place is a mystery. Her form hugging pants are the same unblemised white and so are her heels. Her long straight hair falls down her back. Her hands rest one on top of the other on her thigh. She is quite still.

Cypher has posed:
Having just finished dinner, Doug comes in with his tray balanced in one hand, and a tablet in the other. He thumbs through various apps displaying data, as he racks his dishes up in the dishwasher to be washed -- and then he looks up. "Ma'am." He says, before he studies his app for a moment, and hits record. "Create a better-calibrated voice-to-text option for mutants whose limbs won't allow them to easily use a keyboard."

Rift has posed:
Rift enters the kitchen, thinking only of ham. She is starving as she always seems to be, and doesn't even acknowledge the other two till she's in the fridge, gloiwng with that eerie red aura of hers, as she pulls out - the entire platter of ham. She nods in satisfaction, and cuts a large hunk off, not really seeming to care that that was meant for lunch tomorrow - she isn't thinking of anything else as she starts up the microwave, her stomach audibly gurgling.

Emma Frost has posed:
"Doug," Emma says with a cool smile. "I was expecting you. Come sit with me."

Emma notes Kitora's arrival. She watches with faint interest as the young lady takes a quarter of a pig out of the fridge. "Good evening, Kitora."

Cypher has posed:
Doug looks up, and then says, "Ah... all right." He clicks off the tablet, then walks over and sits. He looks a little tired, and faintly surprised. "...How can I help you?" He asks, quizzical, interested. He relaxes his thoughts, switching into English, something a little more open.

Rift has posed:
Rift jumps suddenly at Emma's use of her name. "Oh, hi..." she murmurs, her aura glowing brighter around her face a moment before it fades. Was that a blush? Hard to tell with that strange eldritch glow. "Anyway - just getting a light snack." She pulls out a few pounds of ham from the microwave. "Why are you just... sitting in here, Ms. Frost?" she finally asks. "Oh, hi Doug."

Emma Frost has posed:
"I was waiting for Doug to come in," Emma replies to Kitora. "Join us. This will be instructive."

"Doug, tell me about the vision behind X-Corp and what you want to accomplish there."

Cypher has posed:
Doug looks up at Emma, and then he blinks, once. He says, "I could write essays about that."

Then he says, "The vision is... cynical idealism. Mutants aren't just the customer, they're also the product. There are always going to be people who will try to exploit Mutants, to establish a paradigm of control, to use their abilities for their own net gain. Failing that, the alternative is extermination."

"But with X-Corp, we can shift the paradigm, allow Mutants to take advantage of their singular and unique gifts in addition to their skills and talents and put resources into creating workplaces for them... when the traditional workplace is, to put it mildly... socially and physically unacommodating. We're not going to discriminate against Homo Sapiens in our hiring practices... but we are specifically aiming to create workplaces that address the challenges Mutant employees face every day."

Then he rubs the back of his neck. "...And by doing that, create avenues by which Mutants can begin to control the way *they* participate in society, not as weapons, not as soldiers... just as people."

Rift has posed:
Rift just blinks. "What's X-Corp?" she finally asks. "I've never even heard of it." She shrugs. "College has been keeping me busy. I have a big physics project coming up and haven't been following along on stuff of late." She shrugs. She hmmmmmms softly. "Sounds interesting - what's the catch?"

Emma Frost has posed:
"Be careful, Doug. Cynical idealism sounds a lot like realism," Emma cautions. She may or may not be joking. It is not entirely clear even to those it should be.

"An important question," Emma comments after Rift speaks. She fixes Doug with her pale blue eyes and waits for his reply.

Cypher has posed:
Doug looks up at Rift, and at Emma, and then he says, "...There's no catch. No entrapment clause... that's not how Roberto rolls, and it's not how I roll. This is--" He thinks about how to put it. "This is an initiative to take the system's rules and beat the system at its own game... because what we've tried so far isn't a solution. Do I know if it will work? No, we might fail. There are certainly people who'll work toward our failure. But--" He says, "You don't just *back down* in the face of your enemies. Right?"

Rift has posed:
Rift raises an eyebrow. "It would be nice not to have to awlasy worry about what people think of me. When I turn off my aura, I do look mostly normal - sunglasses or contacts hide my eye color and the hair can be explained as a dye job, but some people are figuring it out because of how much I eat." She then murmurs, "X-Corp. As in 'corporatoin'? HOw will this help us?"

Emma Frost has posed:
"A corporation that exploits mutant powers for profit rather than discriminate against mutants will provide employment for individuals," Emma explains. "And returns for its shareholders. Which it will need to have global reach. Wealthy as dear Roberto is, it would cost his entire family fortune to capitalize a company into the very bottom of the Fortune 500."

"Now. What is the primary motivation of any successful corporate entity?" Emma asks. She looks to both Doug and Kitora. "Specifically, what must it do with all of its available assets?"

Cypher has posed:
"A corporate entity needs to maximize its value to its shareholders." Doug says. "And our shareholders aren't represented in just physical stock, this is about all of Mutantkind and maximizing its value to them. The question lies in the definition of value. Is it hard numbers, or are there more far-reaching dividends? That's a question of short-term payoff versus long-term, sustainable value. Right now, this is proof-of-concept stuff. We prove that it can be successful in New York and our other staging areas... then we expand. We go in ready, with a plan." He says all of this matter-of-factly.

Rift has posed:
Rift hmmmmms. "Let me know if I can help - not sure I can do much with this courseload, but I'll try. And... I don't really know much about the business side, but it's an interesting proposal for sure." She hmmmms as she has managed to eat a whole pound of ham already.

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma looks to Kitora. "Think of a corporation in terms of a spacecraft commander who must reach the moon to deliver critical supplies. Consider the perspectives of the commander and crew with respect to the definition of assets, and their use."

Emma looks to Doug. "You believe in the vision. Yet your core proposal for competitive advantage is to exploit labor better than competitors. If you fail to do this, X-Corp will not survive. Do not lose sight of that simple fact. You need to steel yourself for decisions that have all of the cynicism and none of the idealism."

"You will find the history of corporate social responsibility and social corporations enlightening," Emma says and rises. She touches Doug's arm. And then walks out of the room.