Memories… I have re-read chapter two and discovered nothing special, nothing that stands out, at least. (I enjoyed reading it! This is a nice feeling – I even laughed at one point. Clearly showing I enjoy my own humour.)
Facts: The chapter is about Jessie, an imaginary character reflecting my imaginary ideas of how my daughter is. I am pretty sure today that Jessie is a great exaggeration of my daughter and her characteristics, but this does not stop me from being slightly in ‘love’ with her – Jessie. What it does say, and what I can remember is I really enjoyed writing Jessie’s scenes. I tried my best to imagine how my own daughter would react – actually making fun of my age, through the idea of ‘grandad’ having the perfect mentality for someone of her age. This clearly shows the fictional part of the story, my private hopes to be a good grandad.
Did I fail as a father?
I can’t answer this, but by stating that I actually don’t know my daughter (what I do is pretty superficial) does not help. I can only hope my presentation of Jessie is close to how my daughter is, and I have not shot into the dark.
Enough of that – Another thing I discovered by re-reading this chapter is the way I tried to show a futuristic bond between humanity and AI. Most stories tend to show AI as some kind of monster, I suppose this makes the story more commercial or shocking, but in my book, I simply want to show that it is possible to have a relationship with an inanimate being. I think I wanted to show that AI is not something to be scared of, (right now my mind compares it with a chainsaw) it’s very powerful, yes, and it needs to be used properly, but it is not some ‘alien’ life form that will one day conquer the world. Jessie and her WallScreen have a deep social bond. In a world where touch is anyway considered primitive and unhygienic, relating to a digital base that has ‘lived’ with you for years – naturally causes a bond.
Recently, I have started to ask NotebookLM to analyze and make suggestions about my blogs, (foolish actually; it doesn’t really help, although it does make me feel like I am brilliant – LOL.) So I suggest if you are feeling unloved and empty, ask Notebook. It will tell you how amazing you are and everything you do is – well, amazing LOL. Sadly, Notebook is a page not a book. One day, maybe, in the future, I can imagine a time will come, when everyone will have their own personal ‘Notebook’ – good or bad – a digital friend that will listen to them and advise them in a way they are not only accustomed to, but will react positively. This is by far a great development as humanity transitions from Humans to New Phoenicians.
As for the story itself, I enjoyed creating the bond. I wanted to create the bond, and in typical Jessie style, I use lots of literary references to counter the criminal illegal ones. I remember spending quite some time thinking about the conflicting issues the WallScreen could have, being programmed to do one thing, while at the same time finding loopholes to preserve itself. This was a lot of fun. Writing this chapter was easy and fun. It was time-consuming, but the whole book has been ‘life-consuming’. Surely, doing something well means consummation?
