"Do you mind me calling you Third Mom?" Amena said abruptly, interrupting the not uncomfortable silence in which she, ART and I had been watching a pre-Corporation Rim serial about a hospital on a newly-constructed space station, populated by improbably attractive medical staff and patients with improbably rare complaints.
"Because it's a gendered term, and I know you don't do gender," she continued. "It was mostly a joke because you act a little like First and Second Mom sometimes--"
My buffer had nothing useful for this situation. I managed to scrape together enough processing power to say, "I what?"
"You know, being intimidatingly competent and worrying about my safety," Amena said with an impatient gesture. "That's not the point. The point is, I'll stop if it bothers you. I wanted to make sure you knew that. And to ask if it bothers you, I guess. Um. Does it?"
It's better to ask for time to consider so you can give an accurate answer than to answer reflexively, ART said privately through the feed. Young humans are generally skilled at identifying rote responses and tend to interpret them as a sign of disrespect.
Contrary to your apparent belief, I have both observed and interacted with humans on multiple occasions, I said, and then turned my attention to Amena. (I didn't actually turn toward her. I did, however, turn a drone. Humans like clear visual signals that you're invested in a conversation.)
"I don't know if being called Third Mom bothers me. I'll tell you when I figure it out."
Amena nodded solemnly. "Thanks. And I won't call you by any other nickname, either, unless you tell me it's okay."
What's in a Name? (The Murderbot Diaries)
"Because it's a gendered term, and I know you don't do gender," she continued. "It was mostly a joke because you act a little like First and Second Mom sometimes--"
My buffer had nothing useful for this situation. I managed to scrape together enough processing power to say, "I what?"
"You know, being intimidatingly competent and worrying about my safety," Amena said with an impatient gesture. "That's not the point. The point is, I'll stop if it bothers you. I wanted to make sure you knew that. And to ask if it bothers you, I guess. Um. Does it?"
It's better to ask for time to consider so you can give an accurate answer than to answer reflexively, ART said privately through the feed. Young humans are generally skilled at identifying rote responses and tend to interpret them as a sign of disrespect.
Contrary to your apparent belief, I have both observed and interacted with humans on multiple occasions, I said, and then turned my attention to Amena. (I didn't actually turn toward her. I did, however, turn a drone. Humans like clear visual signals that you're invested in a conversation.)
"I don't know if being called Third Mom bothers me. I'll tell you when I figure it out."
Amena nodded solemnly. "Thanks. And I won't call you by any other nickname, either, unless you tell me it's okay."
Sometimes it's not terrible being around humans.