Editing Space: Above and Beyond (section)

====Capabilities====
The AIs ([[Artificial Intelligence]]) were manufactured by humanity to serve them, and they appear as [[human]]s but with enough differences to appear as machine creations, namely their rifle sight-like [[crosshairs]] in place of [[pupil]]s. They were made to be beautiful and physically appealing. The surviving Silicates that fled into deep space have suffered from a lack of adequate maintenance for many years, and they frequently possess minor damage to their outer covering, which reveals their machine parts underneath.

Silicates were designed to be [[domestic servant]]s or pleasure models and not particularly for [[hard labor]], which would be done by heavy machinery. As a result, standard Silicates are actually not that much stronger than a human, and, because they were not originally designed to fight, it is not particularly difficult for a trained human soldier to defeat them in [[hand-to-hand combat]]. This is partially offset by the fact that Silicates are not hindered by physical pain and cannot experience fear.

Silicates communicate with one another through modulation schemes made by wireless telephone which comes across to humans as a series of electronic beeps and chirps. This wireless network allows each AI to know the position and operating status of the other units. Their mechanical nature allows them to store information and retrieve it, making them excellent in information gathering which can be shared with their colleagues when demanded.