Joules

Joules

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Joules is a holographic artificial intelligence built by Cadfael. He was built to assist with various tasks around the workshop, such as opening certain doors or pushing certain buttons. He’s one of the most advanced of Cadfael’s inventions, and he is extremely proud of this fact. He loves showing off what he can do throughout the workshop, and he loves bragging about his status as an extremely advanced invention.

However, Joules is incredibly insecure about one thing: His lack of a body. He doesn’t understand why Cadfael was willing to give Elektra, Livewire, and Starseed bodies, and yet he remains a hologram. His programming is more advanced than theirs, and yet he’s restrained by his lack of body. He doesn’t understand why Cadfael was able to build a body for Gearshift, or for Wattson and Ohms, but won’t do it for Joules.

So, until Cadfael concedes and constructs Joules a body, Joules has resigned himself to causing as much chaos in the workshop as possible. He opens and slams doors as much as possible, scaring everyone in the workshop; he ignores commands; he deliberately tampers with electronics as much as possible. Cadfael has tested him and made sure it is not a bug in his system; Joules is deliberately messing with him.

Instead of inspiring Cadfael to build him a body, now Cadfael just regrets creating Joules altogether. Cadfael despises Joules, and tries to ignore him as much as possible. This just frustrates Joules even more, and makes him act out even more, which makes Cadfael ignore him even more…It’s an endless cycle that leaves both of them trapped and suffering.

There is no other creation of Cadfael’s that Joules despises more than Livewire. Livewire, Elektra, and Starseed all share the trait of being a creation of Cadfael’s that was given a body, but Cadfael hates Livewire in particular because Cadfael let her go. Her only presence in the workshop is for maintenance and charging. Joules has higher aspirations in life, goals that getting a body is only one step in. He is painfully jealous of Livewire’s ability to escape the circumstances of her creation, although Livewire is oblivious to his hatred of her.

Joules is prideful, and arrogant, and self-centered. He will keep throwing this tantrum until he gets what he wants, no matter how many times Cadfael shuts him off for the night, or threatens to shut down the program that Joules runs on entirely. He’s stubborn, and stuck-up, and obsessed with himself. Despite his programming, Joules’ main priority is not the workshop, but himself.

Besides his lack of a body, Joules is also extremely offended that he shares a name with Screechfang’s goblin companion, Joules. He thinks Cadfael thinks of him as a lower life form, something less than a dragon. Now, of course, goblin Joules as well as much of the clan are disgusted that AI Joules thinks of goblin Joules as a lower life form. But even if he didn’t, that wasn’t the implication Cadfael wanted at all. To Cadfael, JOULES is an acronym for Jolting Organism Under Lead Electrician Squadron, or, the AI working for him and his team. Frankly, he had no idea the goblin who follows Screechfang around even had a name.