Nova Laboratories Inc. is the fictional military tech company in Short Circuit (1986), responsible for developing the SAINT robots—autonomous, laser-equipped machines designed for combat. When SAINT Number 5 is struck by lightning and gains sentience, Nova scrambles to recover what they see as malfunctioning hardware, while the robot—soon dubbed Johnny 5—embarks on a journey of self-discovery. The lab’s lead designer, Dr. Newton Crosby, initially built the robots for peaceful purposes, but Nova’s defense agenda clashes with Johnny 5’s newfound personality, setting up a classic showdown between corporate control and emergent consciousness.
