New Twist On An Old Question, servitor maintenance Options

Here’s a new twist on an old question for you.

Some weeks ago I was talking with a servitor I have had for a while and have formed a familiarity with. I was trying to alter its effects on me to coincide with my self-concept; mostly standard maintenance. Then a few days ago I began to realize I have had that particular servitor for sometime now, and have had occasion to tweak its’ effects. The ends it is set to now are very different from what it started as. Yet, there was never any need to mess with the sigil, or its original construct, and it has preformed its most recent task with efficiency that was surprising. Upon reflection I saw that each time I alter the task it is to do, it becomes more effective. Now at first I believed that the trend was do to me ever narrowing of the scope. Which was quickly dispelled when I listed the tasks- Attract like minds, sort casual acquaintances from those for potentially something more, invoke sympathy in other I tend to offend, help in finding various sorts for close relations, even running interference for me with people I don’t like. Granted, all tasks listed do fall within related scope- that of social interaction, - but from what I understand of these things general makes for poor results.

So come the quandaries: How far can a servitor be altered before it is stretched beyond its original intent. What happens when it does, given the familiarity on both the servitor and creator’s parts? Has anyone else had a servitor for a similar time, two years, with similar or different results? Lastly, dose the servitor become more elastic with familiarity?

Greetings FatherJhon!
I am usually quick to point out that (in Bardons scenario) the mage should create and terminate the 'elementary' in a short, specified time frame. (Please refer to IIH for those arguments) But, surprizingly, I really can't...having created a servitor many years ago that I have tweaked....consistantly over the years and have, I suppose, my child and a very loyal servant...a spirit familularis so to speak. When I originally made him/it I utilized a number of elements (which helps give him/it a better adaptability of performance). Bardon warns of the servitor gaining a sense of survival and the possibility of the mage losing control over it. To me this has not happened but, again, I've come to be rather loving towards him/it and couldn't bear to think of him/it being destroyed because of a hypothetical 'end-date'. It can become a fatal flaw. There are reasons that this is so. We can become too reliant upon these helpers and, in my dotage, he/it provides a certain amount of 'company'. I suppose that it all depends on the mechanisms we imbue it with to begin with. You don't want a vampire construct with a free will and movement to be left alone if we happen to die unexpectedly...? My failimg is that now I have a couple of said familiar spirits in which I have no desire to terminate as they are performing admirably and they learn/program quickly. When I die they will be given to my godchildren or they will slowly fade unless I reabsorb them. *sigh* If you don't form attaching emotional bonds then it should be easy to terminate such an 'experiment' but, frankly, I have other plans in mind for them. When you overburden the original stricture of its making you run the risk of losing control or having it 'crash' and burn like a bad motherboard. The trick is to allow it room for growth and to ritualise this growth with initiatory cycles where it has additions to its name, etc. added It really becomes a different servitor than the original much like a child is different than its adult form. By keeping a strong link you assure its survival though remember that it is your thoughtform given flesh so-to-speak and if it is damaged or destroyed by an outside force, you will suffer the rebound effect! This has the potentialiality of killing you as well! Keep your children well! I hope this may shed some small light on this subject. There are for instance a number of 'leftover' constructs still in existance today from centuries ago that are just barely holding on and who subsist on temple offerings of adherents of today and the accumulated energies of eons of 'worship'...They look and act very much like real spirits but their rituals anmd methods of construct are forgotten and they will slowly fade (or not!) over the years.
Sorry for the mid-nights blather but I felt compelled to speak up! I'm very proud of my kids and rightfully so! Good luck! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/i_triangle.gif)