Night Two (Open) - Johnathon's Haven

"Possibilities are endless. Can put together a decent lab for that much."

"You just keep thinking about that lab and how you would spend that money then" he smiled "Where up here would you build it?"

She started to think on that one.

"Someplace quiet. Hidden. Away from prying eyes."

"So discrete, yet public?"

She nodded.

"Yes."

"Turn left here" he said as they approached an intersection.

"You are ambitious and dream big. I like that. So does Raz0r. Even Jarvis likes you, and that's not a feature of his programming. You are bold, this is a rare thing anymore"

She turned left, then poured on more speed.

"Jarvis likes me? A computer can feel?"

"He is self aware and is forming his own opinions on people and events. For instance, when I asked him to be a part of my wedding party, he was actually capable of being amused and surprised, which means he recognized the absurdity and unusual nature of my request and how it also reflected on my opinions of him."

She laughed.

"Does Jarvis have a body or is he just wired to the house?"

"Wired to the house, and we can remotely speak with him of course. We are considering ways to give him a body. I'm not sure the computer itself could fit into a body, but we could give him a remote telepresence unit."

She smiled.

"Interesting. I would not say that I would ask a computer to be in my wedding party."

"My family is dead or not very close to me, and I have only recently moved out here. I have precious few friends at the moment, and Jarvis was born of Raz0r's genius. He is as much a person as anyone else I know. Plus... it is unusual and entertaining."

She nodded.

"Yes, but a wedding is a human thing, not a machine thing."

"Very true. Still, he is Raz0r's creation, and intelligent. So I wished to have him there in some fashion. Besides, I believe he is sentient, so I am content with it. "

She laughed again.

"Right, but you can have him there without him being a part of wedding party."

"Well yes. But its different, and I like it"

She laughed and gave the truck even more speed. This was fun.

"You like being unconventional, don't you?"

"Very much so. Anyone can follow the cultural norms. But society needs outliers , as much as it needs the people who follow a so called norm"

She smirked.

"I'm not sure American culture has a cultural normal."

"Oh, we do" he laughed "It's just as inscrutable to outsiders as your culture is"

"Then I have never met a 'normal' American," she commented dryly.

"Problem is, we have not yet become a very homogenous culture. What is 'normal' say in New York City would pass as absurd in Seattle. And vice versa."

She smiled.

"And what is 'normal' for Florida?"

He paused. And frowned for a moment. "Madness. With giant alligators and large insects."

"That sounds like Australia, actually..."