It’s probably weird that I think about Kelsy all the time. I know everyone has lost a pet at some point. I think that it may be because, besides just the fact that she was a great dog and I loved her, she was at the center of my three main vocations or avocations: searching for lost pets, writing, and photography. Not only was Kelsy the main character in the novel I wrote while she was alive, and the subject of the nonfiction book, but she is a main character in at least two upcoming novels, and at least two planned nonfiction books. Besides, she pops up on my Facebook feed all the time. And I’m surrounded by dogs that make me think of her every day. If I had ever decided not to think about her, in order to save myself some grief, that plan probably wouldn’t have worked anyway.
Although I am always sad that she is gone, I mostly feel happy when I think of her. We worked and played together. She is, really, the reason I got started doing this work in the first place. I think of the lessons I learned while working with her, and it helps me when I’m working with Tino. Although I definitely feel the absence of her, I also feel her presence, like she’s right here with me.
In the upcoming novel, School of Assassins, Kelsy is a digital assistant, like Siri, but she actually works. Kelsy is an AI that lives in the cloud and helps with everything throughout your day, like navigation, grocery lists, real-time translations of what the cook just said to the waitress at your favorite restaurant, identifying birds by their songs, and directing you on the steps to fixing the dishwasher. This augmented-reality Kelsy walks along like she is there beside you, but she is also in your head, providing you the best information, as soon as you need it, and helping you make the best choices. While this is fiction for now, it seems very likely that the technology will be available soon to make this a reality. Maybe ten years from now, I will be wearing a pair of glasses that allow me to see Kelsy walking beside me, and I will hear her (synthesized) voice in my headphones, talking to me the way she does in my novels. When we reach that stage, it will be perfectly normal for me, since she has always been with me, guiding me.
Kelsy is very much alive in me.
Happy Birthday K.
Although I am always sad that she is gone, I mostly feel happy when I think of her. We worked and played together. She is, really, the reason I got started doing this work in the first place. I think of the lessons I learned while working with her, and it helps me when I’m working with Tino. Although I definitely feel the absence of her, I also feel her presence, like she’s right here with me.
In the upcoming novel, School of Assassins, Kelsy is a digital assistant, like Siri, but she actually works. Kelsy is an AI that lives in the cloud and helps with everything throughout your day, like navigation, grocery lists, real-time translations of what the cook just said to the waitress at your favorite restaurant, identifying birds by their songs, and directing you on the steps to fixing the dishwasher. This augmented-reality Kelsy walks along like she is there beside you, but she is also in your head, providing you the best information, as soon as you need it, and helping you make the best choices. While this is fiction for now, it seems very likely that the technology will be available soon to make this a reality. Maybe ten years from now, I will be wearing a pair of glasses that allow me to see Kelsy walking beside me, and I will hear her (synthesized) voice in my headphones, talking to me the way she does in my novels. When we reach that stage, it will be perfectly normal for me, since she has always been with me, guiding me.
Kelsy is very much alive in me.
Happy Birthday K.
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