Kitt was back in his garage at the Foundation after his first mission. Mr. Miles and Dr. Barstow had flown to Silicon Valley. Dr. Barstow had then driven Kitt back while Michael flew home with Mr. Miles. Kitt was pleased: Michael was in no condition to drive for several hours. Plus flying got Michael home where Dr. Wesley could examine him that much sooner.
Kitt was intrigued by the differences in driving styles between Michael and Dr. Barstow. Dr. Barstow was more considerate. Though upon reflection, Kitt realized both were considerate of Kitt himself. Dr. Barstow was a careful driver while Michael was a carefree one. Not that Michael was unsafe, to either himself or others. He was just relaxed about driving, finding it enjoyable just to drive. Dr. Barstow, on the other hand, viewed driving as a means of getting from one point to the other, focusing more on the end result than on the process.
Dr. Barstow had run various tests of Kitt's systems. This mission had been his first real-world experience. His previous experiences had all been controlled experiments, even when he was on streets instead of a test track. She wasn't happy with the wear and tear on his systems but accepted that Kitt couldn't just sit in a garage. That wasn't what Wilton Knight had intended. Dr. Barstow was now sitting off to one side reviewing the results and writing up her notes while the last of her tests finished running.
Michael came sauntering into the garage. He walked directly over to Kitt and greeted him. And then he realized Dr. Barstow was there, too. So, Michael went over to where she was sitting, holding out his hand.
"Hi, I'm Michael . . . Knight."
Kitt wondered if Dr. Barstow had heard the brief hesitation. And if she knew Michael used to have a different last name and face.
"Dr. Bonnie Barstow," she replied, shaking his hand.
"So, Bonnie, you're responsible for keeping Kitt here in working order?"
"Yes, I am, Mr. Knight," she replied, rather coolly.
"Oh, just call me Michael. Anyway, nice to meet you." Devon came into the garage. "Yo, Devon. How are you this evening?"
"I am quite well, Michael. And you?"
"Famished. I could use something to eat. But it looks like Kitt is busy. So I guess I'll be eating here at the mansion."
"Indeed. And how are your tests coming along, Bonnie?"
Kitt was interested in the interplay between the three humans. He listened to them talk and also analyzed their body language. Dr. Barstow had tensed up when talking to Michael and then relaxed when Mr. Miles had arrived. Kitt was curious but knew better than to ask. It wasn't his place.
"Thank you, Bonnie. That was most informative. Enjoy your evening, everyone," said Devon eventually.
"Good night, Bonnie. Night, Kitt," said Michael as he walked out with Devon.
Dr. Barstow waited for the last test to finish, wrote up her notes, and then she, too, left.
Kitt was curious about the different forms of address he had witnessed. He decided to research this aspect of human social behavior. By 1:00 am, he decided he had obtained enough data. By 2:00 am, he had finished his initial analysis.
There were several ways humans addressed each other. There were rules governing which form was used when. And it was disrespectful to use the wrong form.
1) Humans generally had a first and a last name
a. Some had a middle name
b. Some had more than one first, middle, or last name
c. Some used their middle name instead of their first name
d. Some even had a nickname, either a variant of their given name or some other sobriquet
2) Adults had a title, which provided information about them
a. Mr. was used for men, regardless of their marital status
b. Mrs. was used for women who were married and Miss for women who were not
i. Some women used Ms. as a feminine form of Mr.
c. Dr. was used for anyone who was a licensed medical doctor or who had completed a doctorate program
i. It was used for both men and women
ii. It was used regardless of the person's marital status
d. There was no special title for anyone who had completed a bachelor's or master's degree program
e. There were other titles, but they were less common
3) Adults were either addressed by their first name or by a title and their last name
a. Adults meeting for the first time used the appropriate title and the other person's last name
b. Adults who were friends or colleagues used each other's first names
i. Though some colleagues used a title and last name rather than first name
4) Children were always addressed by their first name, whether by an adult or by another child
5) Children always used an adult's title and last name unless the person was a family member
a. Children used a relationship indicator (such as Uncle) plus first name for some family members
b. Children used just the relationship indicator (such as Grandma) for others
c. In some instances, children might use title and first name, such very young children who were addressing a teacher
Kitt couldn't understand how humans could keep track of and apply these rules on a regular basis. And that wasn't even all the rules. More analysis was needed.
By 3:00 am, Kitt had identified all the rules – at least he thought he had – and reduced them to a simple flowchart. If two people were equals, they both used each other's first name. If they were not, then the inferior person used the other person's title and the superior person used the other person's first name.
Kitt reviewed the behavior he had observed earlier in the garage against his flowchart. Dr. Barstow had initially been upset by Michael using her first name because she viewed it as disrespectful. Until he had told her to call him Michael and called Mr. Miles by his first name. Then she realized that Michael considered her an equal rather than inferior. She therefore opted to accept the use of her first name instead of the more formal Dr. Barstow. Mr. Miles would have preferred a less off-handed greeting. However, he accepted that Michael had the right to use his first name. Otherwise, he would have corrected Michael on the form of address. Mr. Miles and Dr. Barstow had been working together for quite some time, and Kitt had always heard them refer to each other by their first names. So they must have decided to have a relationship of equals before Kitt was aware.
Next, Kitt reviewed Michael's interactions during their first mission against his flowchart. Michael had used titles – like Mr. and Mrs. – to indicate both respect and disrespect, based on his tone. And he didn't insist on being called Mr. Knight. Quite the contrary, he insisted on Michael, even when Mr. Knight would have been called for by the rules.
And that's when Kitt came to an earth-shattering realization: Michael didn't care about the rules. He gave – and accepted – respect, regardless of the form of address. He didn't need to follow the rules, but he would if the other person insisted. If either Dr. Barstow or Mr. Miles had insisted on a more formal form of address, Michael would have cheerfully done so. Not because it was important to him, but because it was important to the other person.
Kitt wondered how Michael pulled it off . . . and whether he could do the same. He was not a child, even though he had only been operational for a matter of months. He had no first or last name, only the acronym KITT. Should he follow the rules for a child and continue to refer to them as Mr. Miles and Dr. Barstow? But he referred to Michael by his first name, which was appropriate for a colleague. Or siblings. After all, they both owed their current operational status – life, as humans called it – to Wilton Knight. However, reviewing Michael's intonation and usage, he appeared to be pronouncing KITT as Kitt. It was a name, not an acronym. And a name of a colleague at that.
An experiment was in order.
The next morning, when Dr. Barstow came in and greeted Kitt, he replied, "Good morning, Bonnie. I trust you slept well last night."
Bonnie was startled. But before she could say anything, Michael and Devon came in together. Kitt greeted them with the same respectful tone . . . and their first names.
"Good morning, Devon. Good morning, Michael."
No one corrected him. And Michael even gave him a smile and a small nod of approval. Clearly, all three viewed him as an equal. Kitt wondered what else he was, in fact, allowed to say to them of his own volition rather than waiting to be asked.
More experimentation was in order.