O'BSERVATIONS: PRESIDENTIAL KITT

While watching all of the coverage on Tuesday for the inauguration of Barack Obama as our 44th President of the United States, my mind began to wander - where else but to Toobworld. In Earth Prime-Time, the main Toobworld, Obama is also the POTUS. Mark my words, you'll be seeing lots of shows make reference to him being the president, if not try to have their characters interact with him (either off-screen or via a double).

So that means that the TV Earth had its inauguration of Obama as president last Tuesday just as we did. And since it was televised, then most of the details would be exactly the same as at ours. (Except maybe Dick Cheney was probably more like Dr. Strangelove than just by being in that wheelchair, thanks to all the jokes the image inspired.)

But there could be and should be some subtle differences because Toobworld is different from the real world. For instance, out of the estimated two million that were in Washington that day to witness the event, surely some of those gathered were aliens, some cyborgs or androids, still others could have been visitors from the Future.

I had a more specific thought about what could have been different in Toobworld at the inauguration. Watching the Obamas leave Blair House for the 45 second ride to the morning church service, the CNN anchors talked about the new presidential limousine, which was nicknamed "the Beast".

Here's a description of it from the Telegraph:

It reportedly has armour eight inches thick, tear-gas cannons and Kevlar-reinforced tyres that resist attack. For security reasons, most of the details remain confidential.

The latest Cadillac Presidential Limousine, nicknamed "The Beast", is a completely new design, succeeding the DTS Presidential Limousine that appeared in 2004. Although it incorporates styling from contemporary Cadillacs, the heavily armoured limousine has been tailored to exacting specifications befitting its high-profile role.

For largely functional reasons, such as optimal outward visibility, the car is slightly more upright than its predecessor. The rear passenger area includes an extensive executive compartment with ample seating space, outward visibility and useful mobile office features. Much of the finishing is hand-cut and sewn.

An embroidered presidential seal is positioned in the centre of the rear seat back panel, as well as on each rear door trim panel. The rear doors are also adorned with presidential seals, while the US flag is mounted on the right front wing. The presidential standard flies from the left front wing when the president is on board. At night, the flags are illuminated by on-board spotlights.

Pretty cool details, but not nearly good enough for Toobworld. I'm thinking we could turn to TV for further upgrades......

The technology for the mobile artificial intelligence known as KITT has been available from Knight Industries for two decades. Even if they are top secret and are still conducting research, I would think it likely that by now the government has demanded their own version of KITT, at least as part of the security detail guarding the president.

As such, the Toobworld version of "the Beast" could be a modified KITT, based on the same template (including the appropriated Cylon technology - thanks to Medium Rob for pointing that out to me!), but including upgrades more in keeping with the needs of a president in transit.

The interior could probably double as an Oval Office on wheels, and the on board AI might be accepted as another member of the Obama team. I've even come up with a KITT-like name for the AI: KOOL (Knight Oval Office Limousine).

Okay, so maybe that might need work.

But it's pozz'ble, just pozz'ble.

BCnU!
Toby O'B