the_innovations_department [Scoop!]

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====== The Innovations Department ======

(Or, before the Great Innovation, //Science & Technology.)//
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\\ //- Hydro Ivory-Starr, Innovator-in-Chief // \\
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Artificial intelligence? Bionic limb transplants? Cryptocurrency? This department isn't just concerned with change -- Innovations is where the change //happens.// In this corner of the Gazette newsroom, every recent development that serves to further scientific knowledge is its own spectacular subject line. For the writer looking to toe the cutting-edge between that which is and that which could be, Innovations is the prime department to work in. 

Although they operate according to a perfectly reasonable publishing schedule, ideas travel at light-speed within the department itself -- often at their helm is the Head of Department, "Hydro" Ivory-Starr, followed sometimes by a palpable //flash,// and occasionally by the odd //bang//. Ze grants his employees a great deal of freedom, holding space in particular for all those topics, and even methods of research, which might otherwise be regarded as unconventional. 

Hydro takes pride in their department for standing so far out it could throw off the others' orbits, and is generous to her employees with both fae's time and attention. Innovations is perhaps the most demanding department, however, when it comes to final editing cycles. For all xer approachability, Hydro does have stylistic preferences --- Innovations articles are specially primed in pre-pub, making sure they're not //just// detailed, objective, and all that other quasi-relevant stuff, but much more importantly, that they engage the attention of their readers. Market appeal matters, and it is not unheard-of for the Head to make material alterations to, or shoot down point-blank, ideas that fall short of the expected threshold for novelty.

===== The State of Progress =====

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Headquartered in New Glabe is //Sygyzy Incorporated,// a Seldonan spaceflight technology company. Its ambitious, multi-stage programme to establish a semi-permanent lunar research base --- the "Reach toward the horizon (And establish a colonY)" project (or "RAY") ---  has been the subject of much public and academic interest. //RAY// received international coverage for its remarkably successful first stage --- the launch of an orbital probe, the "INTEGRAL". A decade later, encompassing mass recruitment from academia's best and brightest (both Seldonan and otherwise), and no shortage of public acclaim, //RAY's// much-awaited second stage is underway: the "VECTOR" launch, or more accurately the twin //launches,// of an information-gathering rover ("DIRECTION") and an excavator machine ("MAGNITUDE"). A successful //VECTOR// mission would make history for launching two spacecraft within the shortest-ever elapsed time.\\
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Concerns about the use of generative artificial intelligence in education and the workplace have been on the rise for a number of years. A short handful of months ago, Seldona Royal University issued a public statement about its use by students across subject departments. The University has emphasized that its "meticulous and systemic revisions" of thesis submissions and famously intensive //viva voces// are held to be effective preventative measures against academic malpractice. The University has heretofore declined to comment as to whether rules for limiting AI use, or a potential ban, are on the horizon. \\ \\ 


===== Relevant NPCs =====
^Name ^Pronouns ^ Description ^
|"Hydro" Ivory-Starr|any|The recently-appointed Head of Innovations. Has been described as "electrifying" and "like a thunderbolt" and occasionally as "allergenic". |
|Mortimer "Beetle" Beetle|they/he|Long-suffering member of the <del>Science & Tech</del> '//Innovations//' Department who frequently butts heads with Hydro over frivolous concepts such as 'accuracy' and 'proof'.|