Idris Kennedy - Personal Logs and Effects 2/4

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Idris's Personal Log

2535-10-15

Athena was in the courtyard today, watching the leaves fall from the trees for several hours. &quot;Like tiny birds,&quot; she said. &quot;In a prison of gravity. The wind sets them free for a moment and they fly, but they always fall back into that same prison.&quot;

Chills down my spine, I tell you. She's able to use simile and metaphor, now. Observational skills are sharp, as Dubra promised. All the pieces are there, but Athena can integrate them into a whole. None of the other experiments could do that. They could view, but they couldn't* see.*

Very exciting. Very exciting. I haven't even tinkered with her lower functions yet. Two months until the gallery opens. I think I can increase her verbosity, and her boldness in speaking. Modesty and shyness may be a virtue, but not at the opening, and not for my Athena. I need a bold tongue in her head. I want them hanging on her every word. She must be ready.

—

The New New York Times Events Section: Art

&quot;Idris Kennedy's gallery opening this past Friday was a smashing success. Kennedy, known primarily for his work in retro-classicist metal sculpture, presented a host of new works to challenge and provoke the public. The gallery contained a range of playful and meditative pieces, but the clear masterwork was 'The Judgment of Athena', a 'living statue' consisting of a automaton wrapped in steel and polymer shell—a clear echo of the Romanesque search for perfection. But of course, there was a twist that was so perfectly Idris; the artist encouraged attendees to bring in their own artwork, and configured the automaton to judge each piece. It was a terribly clever deconstruction of the relationship between artist and art; Athena's insightful and often brutally honest analysis delighted all who stood before her 'judgment'. Kennedy's show will continue for four weeks. In this critic's opinion, it is absolutely a can't-miss delight.&quot;

—

Dearest Idris:

Congratulations! The news sites all agree: your opening was the singular event of the season. I waited in line for hours to get a ticket, but it was absolutely worth it. You've truly outdone yourself, and I'm proud to have played some small part.

I confess, I couldn't resist bringing in a small example of my own work for Athena to judge. It was nothing special; I know I'm strictly an amateur, nowhere near your level, but I wanted to experience your work as it was meant to be experienced. Do you know what she said? &quot;An interesting piece. Eager and fumbling, but made by honest hands with honest insight.&quot;

&quot;Honest insight!!&quot; I swear, I was smiling the rest of the night. And after the cutting things she said to poor Polyakov! I've never seen a man stammer so much in my life. &quot;An artless mash of artless things held together by hubris!&quot; I think he nearly died on the spot!

I tried to talk to you at the gallery, but you were of course surrounded by admirers. I wanted to say: your configuration of the automaton was top-notch. I didn't realize you were so talented at programming! The things she said, and the way she said them…it went far beyond anything I put in the initial interface.

Finally, thank you so much for the signed statuette you sent me. It warms my heart that you thought of me. If there is every any way I can repay you— any way at all—I am at your beck and call.

Most Sincerely Yours,

Dubra

—

Idris's Personal Log 2535-1-17

Success! Smashing success! We ended the month with lines still forming outside the doors. Athena was brilliant, more so with each passing day.

I am never satisfied, of course. It was a fine show, but there are many changes to make for the next one. Many quirks to work out. For my adoring public, it was one seamless triumph from start to finish, but to me…much to be done.

For example: I did not anticipate Athena's hunger for criticism. She did well when presented with the unwashed and their attempts at art, but when the crowds thinned at the end of the night, she would often critique my other works in the gallery. I tell you diary, it is a strange sensation to have one creation of yours call another creation of yours &quot;An incomplete attempt that falls short of the heights it aspires to.&quot; And shouting it across the room at you, no less! Still, I cannot fault her; that one did give me struggles. I wonder how she would correct it.

I have an idea for my next series, and Athena will be at the center of it again. She is a fine judge of art, but seems uninterested in creating art of her own. That cannot stand; a true judge must know what it is to create.

I have reached my limits with that awful Prolog++ language. Yet I must cut deeper, explore further inside her head. Some lower functions were locked and marked &quot;protected&quot;, and I struggle to find a way to modify them. Dubra has been quite eager to offer help, but the thought of her pawing around in there—and pawing at other things, I imagine—is repellent to me. There must be another way.