Egg Memo: Belle Revisited
After having spent some months with her, I am forced to conclude that my original assessment of Belle was too hasty. I simply saw her as an artistically well done robot created by my amnesiac self, but it's clear to me now that she's more than that.
My AI are not
true AI, in the sense that they do not have free will or emotions. Sage is different, but she is also the result of an accident with the ancient technology of Starfall Island. Had that not occurred, I doubt she would be half the amazing creation she is! (Though she would still be amazing. I made her, after all!)
Metal Sonic, likewise, was an accident. His rebellious will born of several algorithms meant to help assemble observed data and use it to enhance performance. It was quite a while before this became anything like free will, and even now he still doesn't possess true emotions.
And my earlier works, such as Omega or Gamma, aren't AI either. They're the result of using an animal's brain to run a machine the way a traditional computer would. A shortcut, essentially. They have free will and emotions, because the animal inside them has those things, though they often don't use them. (For the record, I call these "Digitized Animal Intelligences")
Belle, however, is different. I saw her average intelligence and dismissed it, but I've had time with her now, and can say with certainty: Belle is a genuine artificial intelligence. The only difference between her and a flesh and blood person are the materials she is made of. She is a full and complete person, in ways even Sage isn't, and might never be. To say nothing of the fact her social skills far outpace my own.
It's easy to build a robot that's stronger than I am. Technically, I could even make a robot smarter than I am, if I really tried. But emotional intelligence and social skills have always.... eluded me. So how did I make a robot that surpasses me this way?
Even if i had a gun to my head, I don't think i could replicate what my Mr. Tinker persona accomplished, so how did he do it? Only two possibilities present themselves at the moment, and they are... uncomfortable.
First, is that his mind, unburdened by my memories, was able to run wild with imagination, tapping into creativity and ideas I could never have. I don't like this theory, because I've seen his workshop, and everything I've ever learned about robotics says it's impossible for him to have created Belle there.
He could make something that looked like her, certainly. But an artificial intelligence of her caliber? No. The computer he had available was years out of date even by commercial standards. She would, at best, be on Orbot and Cubot's level. So, how?
My other theory is that, between my amnesiac ignorance, and my years of exposure to... let's say "exotic" energies allowed him to... tap in to something. And that Belle is in fact, a creation of both science and mystic influences. I... don't know how to feel about that.
This is getting too heavy. End Memo!
A/N: Wanted to try my hand at an Egg Memo. Hope it's good!