A Note, Saved On Ray's Holocomputer

[gone_byebye]

Dear Jane:

I seem to have acquired a killer robot dog. It wasn't my idea, but John Preston came in here followed by one and it nearly killed him before he incapacitated it. I don't believe it's sapient, based on his description. Is there any chance you could help me get the dog reprogrammed to a less antisocial personality? Say, something like a German Shepherd or a Harlequin Dane, or one of the other large breeds known for its loyalty and willingness to accept direction from a human? I'm not sure what to expect from the hardware, as it's currently in several pieces while I start replacing the innards- there's some badly worn out ones. If you can pull it off, let me know. I'd be really grateful.

Thanks, Jane!

-Ray

Comments

[philotic-jane.livejournal.com]

The next time Ray turns on the computer, the following message auto-opens on his screen.

Ray,

That shouldn't be a problem at all. Unfortunately, I can't do much from inside, till the internal hardware's back together, but if you want, I'll meet you in the bar tomorrow, and do whatever I can.

I'm sure that once I get in there, it won't be a problem to re-do the programming. It sounds simple enough, especially if it's simply programming and not an actual AI. AIs are rather a pain to work with. They have, from my readings, a tendancy to take over.

By the way. Do you want a dog that you can actually talk to, and who will respond, or do you want something more like a mechanical version of a biological dog? Might be a bit different programming.

See you tomorrow,
Jane

[gone_byebye]

Ray stares.

Jane-

The hardware won't be a problem. I can always reinstall the servos later if I haven't finished by tomorrow.

I don't think its internal computing hardware allows for full speech comprehension, though. The world it comes from basically packed the original with enough processor power to perform some very limited tasks, but perform them insanely well. I had been acting under the assumption that a German Shepherd was about as communicative as it could get. As I already have an AI around the Firehouse- my daughter Ecto, who's what happened when the computer systems in the car achieved sentience- I'm not sure I'd necessarily be any better off with a talking killer robot dog. (Without the killer part. I don't need that except in a purely defensive mode, the same as any other dog.)

Take care,
Ray.