Canticle Blue

26. Maire

Maire Gan-Meid was born on the same day of the year as her father, Havilan. As her sixth birthday approached, she asked her mother, Elyse, a question. "Mom, would it be okay if I gave daddy a present that he couldn't have?"

She answered, "I don't understand, Maire, but I know he always loves the things you make."

Maire explained, "She is kind of a doll, and her name is Ip. I helped Auntie Annibet make her. She says that 'Ip.' stands for... 'Interactive Prototype.' But my doll liked that for a name, so she called herself that. She is very nice. She can speak and fly. And she knows all of the Per'sa poems that daddy found and the poems he wrote too. So all the poems are for daddy, but my doll is for me."

Elyse was momentarily speechless. "That's wonderful, Maire! I'm sure your daddy will be thrilled. I must speak with Annibet. I had no idea she was able to make such things."

Maire replied, "Auntie says it's not magic, even the parts she doesn't understand. She wants to know if you can come to her talk tonight."

Seven years after the original expedition to Per'sa Island, nearly two hundred people now lived there. Twenty-eight of them were children. Most had come with their parents from Colony areas surrounding the Bryn Institute. But several, like Maire, had been born there. In keeping with the Colony way of life, the meeting tradition on the island had become an ongoing seminar and school in which children and adults had ample opportunities for learning.

Annibet Sem now spent most of her time in research, but also taught a class in entry- level chemistry when she could find older students or adults who showed interest. Maire understood little of what was taught in those classes but loved to attend anyway, especially to help out. One day she had suggested that they could create a kind of helper for everyone. Fascinated by the idea, especially in light of advances in exotic-material technologies, Annibet and her staff had set out to do just that. Her talk at the seminar would describe their progress.

Elyse caught up with Annibet before her talk. "Annibet, what have you got? Maire was so excited!"

Annibet laughed. "Well, as Havilan might say, 'Only children can describe the future.' Are you going to stay for my talk? I saved you a good seat."

"Yes, of course. So you can talk as long as you want. Maire is with her daddy though."

Annibet put her hand on Elyse's shoulder. "You and Havilan will have a tough decision to make soon, because Ip is ready to go home with you. I'm not saying she's a finished work—if 'work' is the right word to describe what she is—but she's making great progress in many areas. You'll have to bring her back sometimes for evaluations and upgrades. But even now she seems to have the beginnings of a personality. Or possibly, you could just say that she has some consistent motives and behaviors, as well as a measure of individuality. That might be because we thought it would be best to start her out with quite a bit of innate knowledge to build on, especially concerning her value to this community."

Elyse asked, "Is there risk? I mean, what is she like...socially?"

Annibet answered, "She has a core of ethical directives, and all of her actions are referenced to it and governed by it. Although she can create modifiable sub-cores, her ethical core is permanent and authoritative. I guess that's my wordy way of saying that I think she's very safe to be around. She has a slight tendency to be playful, and she's quickly learning what's acceptable in that area; but I've never seen anything that could even be misunderstood as unfriendliness."

Elyse had many more questions but tried to sort out the more important ones. "Will we have to watch her all the time? What about when we sleep? What would she do then?"

"She 'sleeps' too, in a way. She is very polite about that sort of thing. Our C-link network is always available to her wirelessly, and she reads and studies it throughout the night. She will always be quiet at those times. We've been encouraging her to study fiction too, hopefully to teach her to create stories of her own. Since she also has extensive cores of reference material, she will always be able to discern what is true in the things she 'imagines.' As for watching her, she is very companionable, really. She will likely want to watch over all of you. She'll be interested in your well-being."

"But, Annibet, how can you part with her? There's never been anything like this, at least technologically."

Annibet replied, "Well, it's not like we're actually losing her. We visualize her as being a member of the community. And we're already making others. We even let Ip decide what her 'kind' would be called. She chose the word 'Middi,' which is Per'sa for 'nearly there.' It can have meaning on more than one level, as you will see. Well, it looks like they want me to get ready now." She smiled. "I promise I won't make you stand up to ask questions."