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This is the intro to another novel I'm writing. "The Bane of The Bodavar" Enjoy. ____________________________________________ Irsy Valil scrolled through the catalog of combat grade biomechanical chassis and quickly decided that what he wanted wasn’t here. The models he viewed were each specialized for functions that he had no use for. What never ceased to amaze him was the sheer number of variants available, and these were strictly for military use.
“Semisentient biologicals,” Irsy muttered. “Why did I not invest when they were first developed?”
“Indeed,” said Qeraleza, a semibio herself.
Irsy smiled back over his shoulder at her, stealing a glance at her flawless skin and impossible features. Her beauty surpassed that of any female. She smiled back demurely, one function of her personality program to ensure a sale. He wasn’t falling for it, though. Part of her function was to flirt with him, to show admiration or even interest toward him, yet he knew she was not equipped for the function of pleasure. The most that she could offer him was shallow words and visual inspiration.
You might have Irsy make more of the fact that Qeraleza is semi-sentient than the practical difficulties that he would experience trying to pursue a relationship with her. It would seem that the idea would be rather embarrassing, something like a date with a Victoria's Secret catalog.
The main point is anyone experienced in dealing with semi-sentients would naturally question the wisdom of showing off their limitations by making a "salesmodel" of the type you describe. Something more military in attitude would better show off the strengths of a semi-sentient. A personality that invited conversation and then made gaffs like that "Indeed" would make me wince at the thought that some nominally full-sentient thought that would be a good idea.
That may just be me, though. "Indeed," the thing says. I would have instructed the salesperson with a standard response to any questions that could imply the profit margin was too high, something neutral but matter of fact. "As it turns out, the competition from traditional AI has kept prices close to cost." It might even be true
quote:But, chassis. It's kind of a unique word. Its plural is chassis', with the apostrophe.
Are you sure, DJV? Where did you get this information? I checked my dictionary and the plural it lists is chassis. (Like the plural for sheep.)
I don't think apostrophes ever ought to be used to create plurals. Even something like referring to a particular decade in plural (the 70s) doesn't need an apostrophe (though people often use one). When we say we're going to the Smith's [home], we are indicating possession, but if we say we know the Smiths, we don't use an apostrophe.
So I'm very curious about the source for that plural.
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