That might make it twice as fast, but twice as fast doesn't seem likely to be enough. I want AI.

Lorica says she's been working with you, does her charming Rete not cut it?

I can't find an angle on letting a non-conscious system do it. She's considering waking Rete up, I expect that'd do it, but it's wrong to make people in a world at war.

I might be able to come up with a workaround but it'd be all proprietary and hush-hush.

That's fine.

Meanwhile, here's what I've got on everything else.

...that was fast.

They are extremely useful attachments. 

Dragon helping you out?

Yeah. Wow she's fast. 

I know, right?

I'm jealous.

I don't know how she does it.

Has anyone asked her?

I did! She didn't answer.

Maybe after the war. Makes me a little hesitant to give her the artifact that lets people make things, though, that could get out of hand real fast.

What do you think she'd do?

Probably make things and save the world and then rule it? That's what I'd do. But, like, I trust me to do it.

We could probably do worse than Dragon but yeah conservatism has its virtues.

I think she's hinting at something to me and I can't figure out what.

Private communications?

Unspecified.

How much does Rete self-modify? Do you have it hobbled or can it make any changes it wants?

It can pretty much do what it likes except lock me out, though that includes going too fast for me to track.

I don't have anything loose like that. If anybody tried to jailbreak my programs I'd stop them.

Why, do they want to do bad things?

No.

Did you ask if she thinks you ought to hobble Rete? Can Rete self-modify or make other AIs?

I did not, should I? It self-modifies all the time and it can make spinoff programs or isolated duplicates - I don't let anything leave a Simurgh fight without my eyes on so I take a clone along.

I'd be curious if she thinks you should, yeah. 

She says that doesn't seem like it would add anything.

And yet she does it? Yeah, something's not adding up there.