"This is far from what I'm well versed in..."

"Again, that's why they're here. We're not asking you for... I'm not asking you to do our jobs, we need electric and magnetic shields. Something only specialized potential weapons that you make might resemble."

Alexander took me aside, leaving my friends in his lab with the laser.

"You know there's a reason I don't allow phones or other tech in here."

"You mean, you're paranoid."

"The government and wanton hackers have proven themselves credible threats."

"And your biggest clients. Still, I take your point. You're worried that if you show me a thing and I use it, eventually others will get a hold of it. That's why we're bringing it to you." I turned to the door. "Let me bring the trio down here. Another day, we'll have prisoners they don't understand. They'll come around."

"Darius, I'm not okay with talking people into something they want to not do." Alex was always keen on avoiding unwarranted risks.

"They're on board, they just don't know it yet. One grew up being raped, just around the corner from where we grew up." I recalled Eli telling of a time she was groped.
"Another hates her home town, wants nothing more than to eradicate it." The last part maybe was an exaggeration, but Shenaa had seen some fucked up shit, being a mutt in a bad place. It definitely left its mark.
"Alex, you know... we both want to push this. We want immortality. If we can get some shields and repairs on this nanoscopic level... We can become anything, maybe gods, a hundred years from now. Before anyone can just buy this, before the corporations' labs or the intelligence agencies or the other dedicated scientists. We're in the midst of a many fractioned technological cold war and have our own personal ambitions. Will you really let faceless monsters-"


"Like us? No. But now you're talking about besting others."

"I'm not saying we have single handedly defeat every other person with the same ambitions, who knows, maybe we'll work with some current rivals. But for now, just the power to hurt lesser beings who think themselves greater than us is a power we have, and the power to keep them and our loved ones alive is a power perhaps within reach." I grabbed the doorknob. "I'm meeting with my friends outside, so give us clearance or consider yourself not in this project."

"Fine, they can join, but I'll tell them nothing, and be sure you tell them not too much."

"They'll see our collection of corpses. One day." Within the week.
They were all really into horror and truly seemed the sort... but it's always hard to predict how someone will act their first time.