When it
was finished, she promised, the interface would allow people to
interact with the Joey by speaking to it, and it would reply in
kind, in its own "voice." The Joey's intuitive and portable
design, she told him, was what had inspired her to develop the
speech recognition and simulation interface software. When he
asked what were her eventual ambitions for the project, she said
she wasn't sure. She had no agenda for the summer and, for lack
of a more tempting course, had halfheartedly committed herself to
traveling across the country with some friends. He was intrigued
by her knowledge of linguistics, particularly when she revealed
that she had never used a computer until the Joey. That part was
especially touching, and he somehow felt compelled to help her,
so he offered her the opportunity to continue developing the Joey
speech and language component in his home. The next day she
arrived with her duffel bag, a couple of books, a few boxes of
floppy disks, and a backpack. Peter often had guests straying in
and out of his home, usually students to whom he offered the use
of his thoroughly equipped computer lab. In return he asked that
they respect the privilege by picking up after themselves. He let
them come and go for as long as they liked, and his doors were
never locked. Alice, his maid and cook, always kept herself
abreast of the various artists in residence.
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