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Chapter 102 - Movie Magic and Real Talk
🕑 Added 2025-07-19 09:36:11 +0000 UTCMaking a movie needs actors, cameras, locations, and tons of special effects. With the White Queen's crazy computing power and the island's virtual reality setup, they could handle all of that easily. The tricky part? All those artistic touches—camera angles, color grading, composition—stuff that even the smartest AI couldn't quite nail without some human intuition.
"Hey White Queen, want to try being a director?" Aidan asked casually while scribbling notes for his script.
The little girl's hologram crossed her arms and gave him a serious look. "I'm still young. You can't use child labor."
"Come on, I'm doing you a huge favor here! Being a director is awesome. Once your name's on the credits, you'll be as famous as your sister." Aidan tried to sound convincing while secretly thinking about how much easier his life would be once she learned the ropes. "Look how happy Yinsen is with his job!"
"But most famous people I see in my database are actors," the White Queen pointed out, though she looked a tiny bit interested.
"Sure, but actors totally look up to great directors," Aidan explained patiently. "Make one blockbuster hit and people won't just know who you are—they'll be camping out for tickets to whatever you make next."
The holographic girl tilted her head. "Don't directors get angry letters from fans though?"
"Uh... well... just don't make any movies that make people cry and you should be fine," Aidan said quickly.
"Okay, I want to learn!" she said, suddenly brightening up.
"Awesome! Fire up the VR system and let's get started. I'll teach you everything once, then you can look stuff up and make movies on your own. Just come to me when you need new scripts," Aidan said, rushing to upload the script data before she changed her mind.
"Starting up now..." the White Queen announced.
The peaceful island meadow around them—complete with wildflowers, butterflies, and some very cute rabbits—suddenly flickered and transformed. The VR system kicked in, replacing grass and trees with metallic structures, then entire city blocks rising from nothing. Streets appeared, followed by cars, people, and of course, giant robots. Since Aidan had already fed her all the 3D models, they could skip the whole green screen hassle entirely.
"Alright, let's nail this first shot," Aidan said with director-level enthusiasm.
The scene shifted to deep space—endless stars, drifting asteroids, distant galaxies swirling in cosmic dance. Then a massive cube materialized, floating serenely against the void before Earth came into view.
"Switch the angle!"
Now they were looking at Middle Eastern desert, two military transport helicopters cutting through endless sand dunes.
"Zoom in!"
The camera swooped toward the aircraft, revealing soldiers inside having a conversation... "Nah, that's tilted weird. Rotate it up like fifteen degrees... and brighten it up a bit..."
Under Aidan's guidance, the White Queen started rapidly processing data and switching between scenes. Somehow, between the two of them, they were doing the work of an entire film crew—cameras, lighting, sound, editing, everything. The White Queen was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed, even with her supercomputer brain. She had no idea that learning to direct basically meant she'd be doing every single job on a movie set.
Meanwhile, Baymax Entertainment put out announcements about casting calls and auditions—not because they actually needed to film anything, but to buy the rights to use real actors' faces and build up some industry buzz.
With the White Queen's perfect calculations, everything just needed the right commands, and Aidan was a surprisingly good teacher. She got better and better at handling the visuals, and their progress was insane. In just one month, they'd wrapped five complete movies with absolutely photorealistic footage.
"Once you finish the post-production stuff, send everything straight to Yinsen. And don't forget to put your name in the director credits," Aidan said, checking out their finished work on his laptop with a satisfied grin.
"Got it."
"Oh, and I'm writing a few more scripts after this. Consider them practice rounds—film them, show me the results, then we'll have Yinsen help you release them too."
"But I still need to run the entire base," the White Queen said quietly.
"No worries, Optimus Prime's got your back," Aidan waved off her concern like it was already settled.
New York City
Logan sat in a dingy restaurant booth, thick beard and worn leather jacket making him look like he'd rather be anywhere else. A waiter hovered nearby as he studied the menu with unusual focus.
"Two waffles with bacon, a cheeseburger, a regular burger... oh, and two Reuben sandwiches, coffee, and a Coke," Logan rattled off, handing over the menu.
"Coming right up," the waiter said, disappearing toward the kitchen.
As soon as the guy left, a familiar teenager slid into the opposite seat.
"What's up, Logan?" Aidan said casually, settling in like they did this all the time.
"Same old stuff," Logan shrugged, but there was tension in his voice. "Though some genius figured out I'm a mutant and now I'm getting roasted online."
"Yeah, that's pretty typical. Some mutants get powers and immediately turn into total jerks, some go completely nuts and wreck things. Add regular people being jealous, and you get a mess."
"So we're just stuck being discriminated against forever?" Logan ran a hand through his hair, clearly frustrated.
"For now, probably best if everyone sticks with their own kind. Mutants hang with mutants, regular humans do their thing."
Logan frowned. "But doesn't that just create two sides ready to fight each other?"
"That's why you need someone with serious street cred to back you up," Aidan said thoughtfully. "Plus, if they ever get that elimination serum working, the whole mutant situation might sort itself out."
"Someone with street cred?" Logan's eyes lit up as he looked at Aidan, but then something shifted and he hesitated. Reading his expression, Aidan could guess exactly what was going through his head. "Professor X told you about the Hand Island thing."
"...Yeah." Logan looked away, but couldn't help asking, "Did you really do all that stuff there?"
Aidan watched him quietly for a moment, then noticed the waiter approaching with their food. "Let's eat first," he said as plates started arriving. "We can talk while we chew."
Aidan took a bite of his sandwich, then sighed when he saw Logan wasn't touching his mountain of food. "How long have you been alive?" he asked suddenly, setting down his sandwich.
Comments
KingSpy25i .
Thank you for the great chapter 🙏 Also, poor White Queen is now part of the overworked employee group 🥲
