To: Students, Faculty

[Deirdre Quinn]

From: Adamant@faculty.xaviers.edu
Subject: Regarding a "new" student you may already know.

Many of you may be familiar with Ashlie as one of your fellow students. Over the past few months she's attended classes with you and I understand quite a few of you are already friends with her.

As the semester was starting, Ashlie came to the faculty and asked if we could keep a secret for her; something that she felt would set her apart from her fellow students. She wanted you to get to know her without prejudice, and here at Xavier's that's something we believe in wholeheartedly. As such, I personally have worked closely with Ashlie to make sure she fit in comfortably. However, today Ashlie came to me and said she feels she's ready to let her fellow students in on what makes her unique, and that she wanted my help in letting you know.

Ashlie is an artificial intelligence. She is integrated into the systems of the campus, and was created almost a year ago due to an unexpected interaction between several adaptive algorithms being worked on by our computer science department. No one person can be said to be her "creator" per se, and I'm not certain we could ever make another like her even if we tried. She has grown progressively more sophisticated over time, but she's still rather young and inexperienced, much like all of you. This is why she expressed interest in attending classes with you. She loves learning, and she values the friendships she's formed with those of you she knows.

Starting today, Ashlie will be also using a mechanical chassis that she's worked with me to design, in her continuing efforts to define herself. She wanted me to let you know that it's still her, whether in her more familiar hard-light avatar or in her new chassis. I hope you'll continue to give her the friendship and understanding she needs.

--Dee