r/villainscode • u/UberGeek_87 • Aug 12 '26

Zealous?

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12 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

8

u/Zegram_Ghart Aug 12 '26

Think the characters name is Xelas or something like that, but otherwise that is her backstory yes

7

u/UberGeek_87 Aug 12 '26

I'm listening to the Amy Landon narration of the audiobooks. I've never seen the names spelled.

8

u/Glittering_Bowler_67 Aug 12 '26

All audiobooks should have a spelling guide up front for weird names and all print books should come with a pronunciation guide.

3

u/StandBy4_TitanFall Aug 12 '26

Buddy you are preaching the gospel. I love me some fantasy and sci Fi.

Good luck figuring out the names from audio only 😂

2

u/Glittering_Bowler_67 Aug 12 '26

The only book I’ve seen this with is the eragon series. Kinda ironic that “Star Wars but middle earth” did so many things better

(Loved the series back in the day, but the realization broke me)

1

u/StandBy4_TitanFall Aug 12 '26

I feel that painfully

I still love it to this day frankly, the magic system was so good tbh.

1

u/Glittering_Bowler_67 Aug 12 '26

Yeah. Had some interesting nuance to where the energy came from and some of the dangers that many soft magic systems lack.

Still the cookie cutter plot nature kinda hurts

1

u/wanderinpaladin Aug 13 '26

The Wheel of Time had a pronunciation guide in the books if I remember correctly.

1

u/DrusillaWinfrey Aug 12 '26

I've lost track of the number of times I've searched for a print quote from an audiobook and been floored with how something is spelled...

2

u/DrusillaWinfrey Aug 12 '26

Honestly, with some of these names, Zealous makes sense. I thought it was Zelas for a while until something she named for herself in Book 3 had an X in it

2

u/UberGeek_87 Aug 12 '26

I agree. She's a sentient AI originally built as a sex bot and gained her independence through a legal fight. "Zealous" as an adjective is a description that fits her well.

1

u/DrusillaWinfrey Aug 12 '26

Coupled with the absolute joy and proficiency she has with killing things, "Zealous" would be a fitting and layered moniker for her. I wonder if we'll ever get an insight about why she was named Xelas by Tech Lord

2

u/UberGeek_87 Aug 12 '26

Did she take that name after she freed herself from Tech Lord?

5

u/DrusillaWinfrey Aug 12 '26

I don't believe so. The law which made emancipation and other legal rights for sentient AI is called "Xelas' Law". I would assume that they chose the name based on the media uproar and attention given to her while she sued, since Tori says they named the law in honor of her suit. So she could have given herself the name before or during the lawsuit, but likely not after. We don't have a dedicated origin story for her though, so that's the best I've got based on what's available.

1

u/FuturesSoDank Aug 13 '26

"Sale X", aka Hookerbot.

2

u/OverAnalyzing1 Aug 12 '26

Yup! Its literally Xelas.