A nice day and a shady tree

[ki2k]

Having left Kaycee and Wes at the hangar, Kitt drove slowly - at least, slowly for him - back to the Foundation, thinking along the way. Kaycee had offered to let him stay in her apartment while she was gone, and he was hoping to take advantage of her offer, but he needed to speak with Michael first for a number of reasons

Comments

[notmichael_long]

Scan for Michael? Hm.

If anyone just happened to be looking, they might discover the man in question once more on his way down the rear stairs and out of the main building. He had finally given up on trying to put what had happeend at Penn Station into any kind of report, and in the end had sent Roger an email simply saying there was something they needed to discuss.

And now he was on his way toward the garage in the hope of catching Kitt 'at home'.

[notmichael_long]

"So." Michael settled back into the seat, growing a little more serious. "Since I haven't heard of any balloons going up, can I figure there hasn't been anything ... 'other' dropped on us since Penn?"

[ki2k]

"Nothing that I've been made aware of, Michael." It didn't take long to reach the picnic grounds, designed as they were for easy access from the Mansion and labs. Pulling into a parking slot, he shut off the engine, and for variety folded down the convertible top, allowing them both to enjoy the early autumn weather. "Admittedly, it's more difficult to track anything that doesn't come over the police bands, or gets reported in some way. I've taken to scanning conspiracy websites."

[notmichael_long]

"Good. At least that's somethinhg." Michael stretched his arms up, settling his hands behind his head. "I'd figure our 'colleagues' would tip us off if anything came through."

A curious glance toward the dash - "What bonfire are the conspiracy folks dancing around these days?"

[ki2k]

"A reasonable assumption." Kitt pulled up a website on his monitors. "Let's see. Oh, I like this one. 'Sex and marriage with robots by 2050'. Is the world ready for such a thing?"

[notmichael_long]

"I dunno, buddy." Michael shrugged and looked up at the sky. "I've known a few women who seemed like they were, already."

[ki2k]

"MICHAEL!" To say that got a rise out of him would be an understatement. He wished he had more of a response, some sort of denial. As it was he was flabbergasted.

[notmichael_long]

Oops. Faux pas.

"Sorry, buddy. It just sorta ... slipped out." And no, Michael, you will not regress to schoolboy level on that one.

"I s'pose it would depend on how advanced the robot is, really. And how the laws have changed in recognising 'consent' and 'marriage'."

[ki2k]

"I'm sure it did." Kitt's voice indicated he wasn't completely convinced, but no matter. "Not something I have to worry about, I'm sure. So far as I know, there aren't any laws in place for a situation such as this, so perhaps it's best to err on the side of caution."

[notmichael_long]

Michael winced a little. See, now, there was the problem of not regarding Kitt as 'just a machine'. You sometimes said stuff that you'd never figure would upset him, except that it did.

And then he was blinking, caught just a bit by surprise. He'd thought they were just tossing around opinions on that article, not talking about a specific situation. "You wanna run that past me again, ol' buddy?"

[ki2k]

"Laws regarding consent and marriage with robots, you mean? If the article is discussing the date of 2050, that's at least 43 years for them to think about the issues. A little too late for me, don't you think?"

[notmichael_long]

"You're not a 'robot' Kitt!" His hand landed on the dash in a combination of reassuring pat and gentle slap. "Sure, you're an AI, but that's not exactly the same thing. And anyway," assuming they'd wandered to a discussion of Keith and Kaycee, "these days de facto's just as good."

[ki2k]

"For the purposes of discussion, the comparison will do. What do you mean?" Yes, he did in fact want Michael to explain. Just for the sake of clarification.

[notmichael_long]

"De facto? Well ... as far as a committment to someone goes - that is what we're talkin' about here, right? A de facto relationship is as valid as an actual marriage."

[ki2k]

"Is it?" He didn't really doubt that, mostly because the thought of marriage applying to himself never entered his processors. "We're talking commitment, but also the rule of law. Is it legal to have a relationship with a robot at this point in time? I honestly don't know. Therefore, wouldn't it be best to err on the side of caution, as I've said?"

[notmichael_long]

"OK, so maybe it isn't legal ... but is it illegal?"