Dinner with the Thurmads
2020-11-06

I admit I do not know where the creations of man should walk on the path to salvation.

Does she have a soul? Does she have her own sense of ethics, or were they baked in when she was made? Can she be reprogrammed? Can she be hacked?

Surgery. Propaganda. Parasites. Humans can be re­prog­ram­med and humans can be hacked.

Yes, but we try not
to be user-friendly about it. Except for the propaganda bit. Some people have no firewalls.

Color by George Peterson

2020-11-09

If you know Klingon, please go to our chat. If you know any other language, we are also waiting for you.

She can be programmed. It requires… sheesh, I am making her sound really mechanical.

How about this? She's taking the ship out tomorrow to transfer reactors. Why don't you go with her? You could be her back up and get to know her better.

She'll have to put up with my singing.

Put up with? Dad, she'll probably ask you for lessons. Just don't teach her any Klingon opera.

But “What's Opera, Doc?” sounds so much better in Klingon.

Color by George Peterson

What's Opera, Doc? – one of the most famous series of “Merrie Melodies”

2020-11-11

It's very exciting
to finally meet
someone like you.

Uhm, thank you?

There are many, many
rules governing human modification. None of
them apply to you.

What are your kids going to look like? Don't tell me you're going plain vanilla.

I'm an engineer. There's a lot
to be said for standardization.

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2020-11-13

We're proof of concept. Ecosystems Unlimited wants to see if we can have fertile offspring. Tweaking my genome or those of my children will invalidate those results.

Why should they care? Robots using Doctor Bowman's neural design can fill the function you were made for without the need of an ecosystem or alien animals to uplift.

Very true. Another reason for me not to be… eccentric. My species existence now rests on a sunk cost fallacy and I don't want to draw attention to it.

Color by George Peterson

2020-11-16

You shouldn't worry about things like that. You need to live for the moment.

Be helpful. Be kind. Live a life that makes others want to see it continue. Then the existence of your species will be assured and people will be finding wolf puppies under cabbage leaves.

I don't think that the last part is very likely.

You haven't seen what I can do to the genome of a cabbage.

Color by George Peterson

2020-11-18

You could make a cabbage that makes Bowman's wolves?

Eventually. I could definitely do it post-singularity. Though that would require a shift in attitudes about self-modification.

Machine evolution is fast. Biological evolution is slow. You're an example of how we can change ourselves so that we don't fall behind.

From a wolf's point of view, you're already post-singularity. Your thoughts operate on a level that a non modified wolf can't even imagine.

Something smells good. When do we eat?

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2020-11-20

So, what can you do? In what ways are you superior to humans?

Really just the canine areas. Smell. Hearing. The ability to catch objects in my mouth.

How about mentally? Superior intelligence? Photographic memory?

I fall well within the range of human abilities.

If I were developing a new brain, I would have pushed it as far as I could.

I've read about geniuses. Myself, I'm glad that Dr. Bowman went for stability over performance.

Color by George Peterson

2020-11-23

You seem very accepting of your son being with someone like me.

Times are changing. Robots are becoming citizens. I expect soon we'll have citizens who are purely software.

Then people will have a truly astounding range of mutability. Age, species, sex, all changeable in seconds with the flip of a few bits.

You're a physically corporeal female mammal. Given what he could have come home with, you're positively mundane.

Color by George Peterson

2020-11-25

We haven't gotten to pure software people yet. Our current state of artificial consciousness requires one of Dr. Bowman's neural nets, which puts physical limits on what we can do. But if we could get to pure software, imagine the possibilities!

A billion people living luxuriously in the space of a city block. Populations not of trillions, but of quadrillions! Using dynamic allocation, everyone would be just as capable as they need to be, no more, no less.

Oh, that could lead to conflict. Wars fought over people being told how capable they can be! At computer speeds, civilizations could rise and fall in minutes!

If I went to help in the kitchen, I wonder how long would it take her to notice I've gone?

Color by George Peterson

2020-11-27

Dinnertime! From tanks to table. The finest in recycled gourmet dining.

Our recipes are compatible with canine digestion.

I understand that you prefer that we eat in a specific order?

Parents should eat first. It's no big deal. An old wolf instinct that doesn't fit well into human society.

We could use positron emission tomography to isolate where it's occurring and burn out that section of your brain.

Thank you. However, given the hazards of a destructive deletion, I'll continue to live with the genetic legacy code.

Color by George Peterson

Tips for having a safe thanksgiving
#1. Before choosing a turkey, know your position on the food chain