#just subtly sharing my robots lore in case someone wants to yknow make their own robot

[cfrog]

im gonna write about the significance of robot names in my robots' culture. under the cut.

First and foremost, the names that the bots are most commonly referred to (Xiphoid, Nautiloid, etc.) are actually their model names. Like how people refer to cars. Their "legal" names are the model+ID number code (Xi01, Naut0324, etc.) but those are kind of a pain to remember and say. So, how do you refer to a bot in a situation with multiple of the same model?

Well, the other big difference within models is color, which is a lot easier to figure out than checking IDs. Distributors will do their best to avoid repeat colors within the same project or area, so just going "the blue one" is usually a safe bet. That's the basic solution.

The long-term solution between bots, however, is nicknames. All bots (that associate with other bots) have at least one, but none are kept on any official records, so it's exclusively shared between bots. These names can be shortenings of the model name, references to their number or color, or something about their appearance or personality. The giving of a nickname is an act of closeness as well as convenience, a way of saying "We spend so much time together, and I refer to you so often, that I need to have my own method of specifying you." Popular bots will have a multitude of names they'll respond to, with some being exclusive to a certain bot. By contrast, more anti-social bots will reject nicknames and refuse to respond to any new names.

To continue to use Xi01 as an example, they get priority on being just Xiphoid, most bots will refer to them as such. The other Xiphoids will call them Xiph if they're being friendly, or 01 if they're not. Naut uses their preferred title of Dr. Xiph, or just Doctor, because they know it makes Xiph happy. Similarly, Vi calls them Doc, because it fits their casual tone better. (I actually wrote the first time Vi calls Xiph "Doc" in chapter 4. wasn't sure how much attention to call to it since readers wouldn't have this context. but now you do!)

And for examples of names within models, some of the other Xiphoids' names include: 03 (or very rarely Xi), Fi (but they prefer Fifi, it's cuter), Xoid, and Ex. Earlier models get first dibs on the obvious ones, so any Xiphoids past these first few have to get a bit more creative.

Humans who work alongside bots probably come up with names as well (because they're humans, we love naming things) but all the bots I'm writing about don't actively interact with humans, so it is not relevant. We're talkin robot-only culture here.

That's all thank you for reading my robot ramblings