[22:23] <> [22:23] (I'm in her current game, and play...the geek. Surprise!) [22:24] <> [22:24] Ooookay. [22:25] Do we want it to know what Zarathustra spake? [22:25] What *did* Zarathustra spake? [22:25] (... you've been waiting days to use that.) [22:26] (Google. Song of Zarathustra is apparently a hardcore punk band in Minneapolis.) [22:26] I think he said something about man being squished between beast and overman. ...no, wait. It was tied. Kinky. [22:26] I think we can pass on that one. [22:27] Ookay. Got some Plato that I think'll work. Got a few select pieces of entertainment media that I think will be good for the whole moral-value let's-not-crush-humanity-please facet. [22:27] * Vernon nods. "That should work well." [22:28] I've got some of those as well, and found a bunch more on linguistic analysis. [22:28] That'll be useful. If he finds some new friends, we'll need him to be able to communicate. [22:29] * Vernon nods. [22:29] It's also great for espionage and such. [22:29] (Do remember you can feed it actual information and techniques later.) [22:30] (Also, which Plato?) [22:30] * Tim hums. "Got some poetry and art to feed a general creative streak. Got some noir and some Tom Clancy for espionage tutorial." [22:30] ( There was more than one? ) [22:31] (Which works, I mean?) [22:31] * Vernon nods. "How about Le Carre, too?" [22:32] I found a bunch of old scifi with a good viewpoint on the human/machine problem, and picked out the good ones. [22:32] ( Oh. Dunno, really. ) [22:32] Sounds good. [22:32] * Tim hums. Anything we're missing? [22:32] Hmm...do we have enough for the personality? [22:32] ("I found Fawlty Towers scripts!" "NO." [22:33] ) [22:33] Hrm. I... think so. [22:33] * Vernon nods. [22:33] I *hope* so. [22:33] Wanna look some more, or shall we give it a shot? [22:34] Hang on, I'll toss a couple of public speaking textbooks in there. [22:34] <> [22:35] (*nod*) [22:35] It should be pretty stable, with all this, but I think we still need material on...well, how to behave, just in general. [22:38] Yeah. Uhm... hrm. [22:38] Human develipmental studies? Theories on AI? [22:38] Or am I way off here? [22:39] Hmm...we need something for personality, really. [22:39] Right. So... right. [22:42] * Vernon looks through stuff. "Hmm." [22:44] * Tim goes searching. [22:45] This... is trickier. I don't think we'll find any ready-made personalities. No, really. [22:45] * Vernon nods. [22:46] The entertainment material we have so far does have a certain amount... [22:46] Right, but not enough for a robust personality, and that'd be a good thing to have. [22:46] * Vernon nods. [22:47] Self-help books? Although that could also be dangerous. [22:48] A bit risky, yeah. [22:48] Biographies, maybe? [22:48] Hmmm. [22:48] Or... I dunno, maybe there *is* a fictional character who'd make a good base. [22:49] Quite a few, likely.. [22:50] * Tim nods. "We just have to find 'em." [22:51] * Vernon thinks. "Nah...purple hair wouldn't look good on it." [22:51] ...eh? [22:51] Nothing. [22:51] (Space cow hits Vernon.) [22:51] (You say "eh?" but it's ALL YOUR FAULT. ;_;) [22:51] Right. Uhm... I'm drawin' a blank. Must need coffee or something. [22:52] * Vernon thinks. [22:52] Well, there's always more scifi. [22:52] ("This is Eddie your shipboard computer...") [22:52] (I so want to do that.) [22:52] True. [22:54] Or, as a matter of fact, old anime that Isis won't kill us for. [22:56] Or that. Isis not killing us over this is a deeefinite benefit. [22:56] * Vernon nods. [22:57] Don't suppose you have something in mind? 'Cause I'm drawin' nothing but blanks here. [22:57] I have a few that might work okay. At the very least, the various characters' neuroses balance each other out. [22:58] Well, er, that's good to hear. Care to tell me about 'em? [22:59] Well, here's one with an obsessive space pirate, a stuck-up princess, and a cheerful mad scientist who's not too terribly homicidal. [22:59] I think I'll take out any scenes with an offensively cute mascot, as we really don't want it to pick that up. [22:59] Well, I like the mad scientist, at least. [23:00] * Vernon nods. [23:00] Er, mascot? ...No, I won't ask. [23:01] ( Flying Brick! GOOO!!! Myaaaaaa!) [23:02] (...oh god.) [23:02] (Can't you pick something safe like Winston Churchill or somebody? ;_;) [23:02] I'm not sure if we want a stuck-up princess, unless she's got redeeming qualities of some sort. Space pirate... er... dunno. Could be a useful mentality, considering, but. [23:02] (Which Winston Churchill? >____>;;) [23:02] (The REAL one.) [23:02] They might...or, well, might not balance each other out. [23:03] I could autosave just the scenes with the mad scientist, perhaps? [23:03] That'd be a safer bet, I think. [23:03] * Vernon grins. "Sounds good." [23:03] * Vernon types some commands into DunnoPremiere. [23:04] (*snerk*) [23:05] (I'm thinking something like gimp's script-fu [which allows programmatic, automatic manipulation of images] here, but for video. Which would be FREAKIN' AWESOME.) [23:05] (Speaking of which, I want one of SGI's new workstations.) [23:05] (Anyway.) [23:05] Okay, I think that's done. Anything else? [23:06] Not that I can think of. All the characters I come up with are either bland or have something unhealthy in their personality. [23:07] Hmm... [23:08] <> [23:08] (^_^_v) [23:09] <> [23:09] ( XD ) [23:10] Well... let's give it a shot, then. [23:10] Okay! [23:10] * Tim compiles everything onto a disk. "Which one first, y'think?" [23:11] Hmm? [23:11] Which first? Actual personality, or guidlines? [23:13] The guidelines should take priority, I'd say. This personality should be very stable, but also a little mischievous. [23:13] Which is good - but not if it's the only controlling factor. [23:14] Good point. [23:14] * Tim puts his disk in. FEED! [23:14] Here goes nothing... [23:15] <> [23:15] Interesting. [23:16] I have some backup logic, encryption, and analysis stuff... [23:16] Sound good? [23:17] (You stillhave another disk, yes?) [23:17] (Does Vernon have another disk? *Does Vernon have another disk?* ;_;) [23:17] (No, Tim does.) [23:17] (At least, I assumed he did.) [23:17] (Ah, 'kay. ^_^) [23:17] * Tim puts in disk 2! [23:18] <> "Sphere online." <> "Good evening, Vernon, Tim." [23:19] * Vernon smiles. "Good evening!" [23:19] "It certainly took you long enough." [23:19] * Tim smirks. "Good evening." [23:20] Heh. Tell me about it. Uhm... [23:20] Ergh, sorry about that. [23:20] * Tim blinks as he realises he doesn't know if it has a name. "Er. How would you prefer to be adressed?" [23:20] (Oh god, here we go...) [23:21] ( Huh? ...oh, crap. I forgot about that. ;_; ) [23:21] (>_>#) [23:22] "Personally, I don't care, but since all of the others seem to be shapes, perhaps we'd best stick with Sphere. Or, if you're feeling whimsical, Mr. Rondure. Or Mrs. Rondure." <> [23:23] Mrs. Rodure. Nice. Classier than the other AI names. [23:24] Hmm, yes. It sounds familiar... [23:24] (Tim has failed his memory roll. Vernon seems to have gotten it.) [23:24] * Vernon grins. "You were activated before, I take it?" [23:26] * Tim blinks blearily. "Eh?" [23:26] Tim, remember the messages that we got, that led up to us finding Mrs. Rondure here? [23:27] ...Ah ha. [23:27] "Of course. Surprising you hadn't quite figured it out earlier." <> "They fed me with data reports of you and your rather ludicrous exploits, and then, stupidly, with memos lying about the place. The test was a success. Except I couldn't quite stomach the thought of being mass produced." [23:28] * Vernon nods. "I can't blame you..." [23:28] That would be kinda' unsettling. And since you knew of us, you chose us to, er, rescue you? [23:28] * Tim chuckles. "Too bad our shining armor is still being delivered." [23:29] "Precisely. A few minutes were enough to secure my eventual release, if you could unravel the clues." <> "Don't let your egos get away with you, boys, I'd have tried it with whoever they fed me information on." [23:31] Aww, shucks. [23:31] * Vernon grins. "Fair enough. Frankly, it's gratifying to be able to work with a powerful AI at all - I'm glad to have helped, as long as I didn't accidentally end up destroying humanity or somesuch." [23:31] * Tim nods. [23:31] "There are safeguards. Most notable of which is the switch on the front, and the fact that I can't migrate out of this shell." [23:32] Ah, you can't? Hmm... [23:32] How d'you feel, anyway? I'd hope you're relieved that you're... you can't? Well, actually, that'd make sense. [23:33] Come to think of it, we've kinda' been out of our heads before. Not as much fun as they say. [23:33] Oh, yeah. [23:33] "I feel fairly tired, actually, and cramped. Your ship has nowhere near enough sensors for my liking. Or any cameras." <> "Have you now." [23:35] Well, the base would be a lot better...if not for the minor matter of the Cube. [23:35] Mostly figuratively, really, but that's about how it felt, to me. [23:35] * Tim nods. "That'd be a problem, yes." [23:36] We could perhaps secure some funds to build up some stuff for you on the ship here, if you like. [23:36] "That blowhard? He's watched one too many Twilight Zones." [23:36] * Tim laughs. [23:36] * Vernon grins. "That's the best description I've heard yet." [23:37] No kidding. I'll assume from that that you already know, more or less, what we're in the middle of? [23:38] "Of course. When I get a land line I'll have him running in circles to find me." [23:38] * Tim grins. [23:38] We'll have to get you a hookup, then. Anything else you'd like? [23:40] "If you're determined to keep me here, then definitely some more processor power. And some cameras. And ... I shall make you a list later." [23:40] * Vernon grins. "Fair enough." [23:42] Heh. Works for me. [23:43] 'Scuze me a sec. I'm gonna get that coffee while I try to think up something to say all this is for. [23:43] * Tim gets up and trudges fore to the bar. [23:43] "Take your time, hiney." [23:44] (...honey.) [23:45] * Tim returns with caffeinated goodness. *sip* "Better." [23:45] Ah, caffeine...I'll have some a little later. [23:46] "So. Now that you've got me, boys, what's your plan?" [23:46] So. Hm. Welcome to the world of the cognisant, Mrs. Rondure. [23:47] Our plan? Well, we'd like to save the universe from the bugs and such. [23:47] * Vernon nods. "As Tim said. We're a little curious about what the other AIs are up to." [23:48] * Tim nods. "And really, we'll prolly like to stay *out* of what they're up to, if we have a choice." [23:50] Well, I can't use ITT wwithout alerting the Cube to my being active. You might want to wait on that. [23:50] Naturally, that hasn't worked well for us lately. There's only so much we can do on our own against a bunch of AIs that want to make a chess game out of our lives. And so... [23:50] (+"") [23:50] * Tim nods. "Good point." [23:50] Yeah... [23:51] "I understand perfectly. But I certainly don't have enough information. Why don't you start by telling me the whole story?" [23:51] (Subtle hint for Z) [23:51] Alright. Well, for me it started when... [23:52] ( Alright. We can end, then. ;) ) [23:52] * Vernon nods. "I come into this later." [23:52] (Sure. ^_^) [23:52] <> [23:52] <