But the input can be pushed in certain directions. A quarter-century ago, an electronic surveillance consultant named Scott French used a supercharged Mac to imitate Jacqueline Susann's sex-drenched tales. His approach was different from Mr. Sloan's. Mr. French wrote thousands of computer-coded rules suggesting how certain character types derived from Ms. Susann's works might plausibly interact. It took Mr. French and his Mac eight years to finish the tale -- he reckoned he could have done it by himself in one.