Lovelace House
2010 State Avenue

Named in honor of Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace, daughter of the infamous Lord Byron and an apocryphal figure in early computing, Lovelace House is the main residential building and campus headquarters for the sisterhood of Gamma Lambda Phi. The building is an L-shaped, four-story glass and steel affair, its façade featuring pillars, arches and grand reliefs depicting the triumphs of women in the sciences, all created out of brushed metal in a strange neo-Victorian architectural style. The interior of the building -- beyond the vast windows on the south and east walls, which admit a great deal of natural sunlight but can be tinted or rendered completely opaque as necessary -- carries on the neo-Victorian themes, recreating great halls of marble in metal and artificial stone, and the intimate interiors of old manor houses in warm, dark wood colors and coppery hues. The result is something that many Gamma Lambda sisters refer to proudly as steampunk chic, a riotous blending of outmoded architectural sensibilities with modern materials and conveniences in a union that should never have worked and yet somehow does.

The grand lobby of the building, which soars upward for a full three stories, features a fifteen-foot tall statue of Lady Ada herself, crafted in gleaming steel and typically gazing boldly forward, holding a fan of punch cards rendered in copper in one hand. An interactive display running around the statue's base details the history of computing, from the days of Charles Babbage and Lovelace herself to the very cutting edge of current computer research. On the great wall across from the statue, a long series of brass plaques honors female Greyson alumni who have gone on to enjoy great achievements in science. Though few outside of the sorority know it, the statue of Lady Ada is at least somewhat articulated and computer-controlled, and its position is often changed very slightly during parties and pledging events, just to tweak those in attendance. Rumor has it that the statue can do much, much more, even coming to "life" as part of Lovelace House's automated security system when absolutely necessary, but the true extent of Lady Ada's abilities is known only to the sorority's leadership.

Beyond the lobby, the first floor holds an extensive library, a state-of-the-art computer lab, the den and general meeting room, a smaller conference room used by the sorority's leadership, and Gamma Lambda Phi's kitchen and dining hall. The second story holds the sorority's main game room, featuring table tennis and air hockey as well as a number of arcade games, a big-screen TV attached to several gaming consoles, and a few experimental games developed by various past and present sorority sisters; as well, the second story contains the single and double rooms and bathrooms used by senior members of the sorority. The third and fourth floors are entirely residential, though they also hold lounges, TV rooms, kitchenettes and other common areas designed to foster a sense of community -- as well as soundproofed study rooms for those who need to place academic goals ahead of community spirit for a while. As with Church House, Lovelace House has basement and subbasement levels containing a number of restricted-access private laboratories for the use of sorority sisters pursuing their own particular pet projects.

Like its sibling facility down the road, the sorority house is serviced by its own particular AI, though Lovelace House's avatar is not the sexualized figure enjoyed by the other house's residents. "Dani" is a bright, down-to-earth young woman whose appearance is faintly inspired by surviving portraits of Lady Ada herself, with a healthy dose of the modern sorority sister thrown in for good measure; the AI appears as a slender brunette with a ready smile, glittering green eyes and an upturned nose, and generally dresses in jeans and a t-shirt, her curls cascading freely to her shoulders. On more formal occasions, she might appear in a business suit, party dress or evening gown as appropriate. Unlike her "sister" in Church House, Dani has a well-defined personality which has developed naturally over the course of a decade, a friendly, enthusiastic, intuitive and genuinely sweet persona that wins most pledges over right away. Dani bears genuine affection for Gamma Lambda Phi's alumni and current membership, and frequently engages both residents and visitors to the house in lengthy conversation, offering everything from an encouraging word to a shoulder to cry on -- as long as you can do without the actual shoulder. Currently, Dani can appear only on computer monitors and in holographic form, though the sisterhood is working on a robotic body for her, trying to bring her as close to humanity as possible. Despite this, Dani is widely and deeply loved, and most members of Gamma Lambda Phi view her as a loyal friend and "big sister" figure. Though some have occasionally suggested replacing Dani with a sexualized beefcake figure, a sort of tit-for-tat directed at the residents of Church House, most sisters view the very prospect of such replacement with genuine horror. For better or for worse, Dani is practically a sorority sister in her own right, and she's very much here to stay.