Phlebotinum
Language
I can understand the following types of sentences:
- Beliefs about the nature of things
- Beliefs about the behavior of things
- Questions about the world
- Statements about the world
- Commands
But you will discover that I have many limitations in my understanding of language.
Example Beliefs
A person, place, or thing is a kind of spc-object.
A person is a kind of spc-someone.
A supe is a kind of person.
A supe's mindset must be cynical or idealistic.
A supe's nemesis must be a supe.
A supe's possession must be a thing.
A supe's identity must be an spc-string.
If a supe is another supe's nemesis, then equivalently the latter is the former's nemesis.
If a supe opposes another supe, then equivalently the former is the latter's nemesis.
If a supe carries a thing, then equivalently the thing is the supe's possession.
Homelander, Starlight, and Lamplighter are supes.
Homelander's identity is "John".
Homelander's mindset is cynical.
Starlight's identity is "Annie January".
Starlight is idealistic.
Homelander is Starlight's nemesis.
New York City, Vought HQ, and Central Park are places.
Vought HQ and Central Park are in New York City.
Homelander is in Vought HQ and Starlight is in Central Park.
A staff is a kind of thing.
There is a staff.
Lamplighter carries the staff.
Questions
Who
When asked about someone’s identity, there may be more than one correct answer, in which case I will pick the one that seems the most informative.
> Who is Homelander?
Starlight's nemesis.
> Who is Starlight?
Homelander's nemesis.
> Who is Starlight's nemesis?
Homelander.
> Who is Lamplighter?
A supe.
> Who is Lamplighter's nemesis?
No one.
> Whom does Homelander oppose?
Starlight.
> Who is a supe?
Homelander, Starlight, and Lamplighter.
> Who is cynical?
Homelander.
> Whose mindset is idealistic?
Starlight's mindset.
What
> What is Starlight's identity?
"Annie January".
> What is Lamplighter?
A supe.
> What is Lamplighter's identity?
I don't know.
> What is Starlight's mindset?
Idealistic.
> What does Lamplighter carry?
The staff.
Which
> Which supe opposes Starlight?
Homelander.
> Which supes have a nemesis?
Homelander and Starlight.
> Which supes exist?
Homelander, Starlight, and Lamplighter.
> Which supes are idealistic?
Starlight.
How Many
I can count!
> How many supes are there?
Three of them.
> How many supes have a nemesis?
Two of them.
> How many supes are cynical?
One of them.
Where
I can answer simple “where is X” questions (but not “where does”, “where is so-and-so going”, etc):
> Where is Starlight?
Central Park.
> Where is Homelander?
Vought HQ.
> Where is Central Park?
New York City.
Predicates
I can also understand yes/no questions:
> Is Lamplighter a supe?
Yes.
> Is Lamplighter's identity "John"?
I don't know.
> Is "Annie January" Starlight's identity?
Yes.
> Is Homelander cynical?
Yes.
> Is Lamplighter's mindset idealistic?
I don't know.
> Does Lamplighter oppose Homelander?
No.
> Does Lamplighter carry the staff?
Yes.
> Is Starlight Homelander's nemesis?
Yes.
> Is Vought HQ in Central Park?
No.
Statements
How I interpret statements depends on whether I am accepting new beliefs. In this example, I ignore new beliefs, and when presented with information which contradicts my current beliefs, I respond skeptically.
> Lamplighter is a supe.
Right.
> Starlight is in Central Park.
Right.
> Homelander is in Central Park.
Oh, really?
> Starlight opposes Homelander.
Right.
> Lamplighter is Lamplighter's nemesis.
Oh, really?
> Who is Lamplighter's nemesis?
No one.
But my responses are different if I am accepting new or modified beliefs:
> Homelander is in Central Park.
OK.
> Who is in Central Park?
Starlight and Homelander.
> Lamplighter is Lamplighter's nemesis.
OK.
> Whom does Lamplighter oppose?
Lamplighter.
Commands
Interpretation of commands depends on the context, and that’s all I’ll say about it here.
Parser Hints
Sometimes I get confused when I’m trying to parse a sentence. In such cases, you can help me out with curly brackets. For example:
> When a supe loots a place, the supe leaves with {the place's contained-objects among the supe's nemesis' possessions}.
OK.
In this case, the curly brackets help me understand that the “among” modifier applies to the contained objects rather than to the verb.
How to add the curly brackets correctly is a bit of a dark art. I hope one day I will no longer need your assistance at all.
Internals
To get a view into the internal details of parsed structures, you can read about debugging.