#murderbot books

[leaky-port-nacelle]

You don't have to know everything about your world but you DO have to justify in universe why the reader doesn't get answers to some things. I've seen this done well in two ways

1) the Ryland Grace method: MC would LOVE to know but they don't know so it's not important

2) the Murderbot method: MC literally does not care enough to know so it's definitely not important

[unraveling-plot]

The Murderbot Diaries was like here's a person. The person doesn't feel like a person.

The person is starting to believe it's a person, and its pronouns are still it/its. It's uncomfortable with eye contact, it hates being touched, it doesn't like social interaction, it doesn't have great control of it's facial expressions. And the person's friends all know this and respect it, and it can show affection how and when it feels and it's ok if it isn't "normal." It isn't questioned or doubted in its care because of this.

The person processes emotions through media, and uses it to figure out what to do in social situations. It has complicated feelings about what it was meant to be and reconciling that with who it wants to be. It doesn't always feel like a person but it's starting to accept that it is one.

Also it has laser weapons in its arms.

[ozbian]

Oh hang on, Art was stalking Murderbot on the station before they even met, and then herded it to the transport.

An old feed showing Murderbot happens to play while it's watching the news, freaking it out and pushing it to find a way off station asap.

Murderbot starts towards another transport area and an automated traffic accident happens to cut it off.

It starts walking in Art's direction, and then Art shows up on the shipping list as being conveniently empty of people and leaving very, very soon.

When they get more comfortable Art starts showing Murderbot how it doesn't move like a 'human', revealing how Art spotted it in the first place.

Then, spoiler for later books, it seems like Art and the university already had an interest in sec-units before meeting Murderbot.

Gods I love an unreliable narrator that shows you enough pieces to put things together

[apodemus-sylvaticus]

Thinking about how Murderbot 2.0 only had RECENT memories, which means the past trauma at least partially lifted, reduced to vague knowledge of having been through some shit, instead of specific and visceral memories. And how that must be why it did things Murderbot 1.0 would never do, like being open with a stranger and sharing its name and life story, and generally being more confident and decisive and all like "so that's who I am", like that's an easy enough thing to define... So yeah...

[small-puddle-oceanographer]

I just KNOW that when our dear SecUnit said it changed it's hair color and texture it meant it went from 3 to 4 on this chart.

Like, it's idea of a lot more body hair was peach fuzz on its human skin. A lot more hair to it is a couple centimeters. A meaningful amount SHORTER to it was a couple centimeters.

It's straight up basically the same mfer and it's like, haha, the scanners will never recognize me now! And everyone on ART is probably like, oh you did something? *shrug* I didn't notice. It's more of a vibe change.

And listen, a vibe/scanner change is still a BIG change to it, and I will be gushing about that for sure. I love my stupid blorbo that is putting a singular toe out of the box.

[bookwyrmsbuttons]

https://bookwyrmsbuttons.etsy.com

[lookingforcactus]

One of the things that is so interesting and ironic about Gurathin is that he's a suspicious dick, but he's a suspicious dick who is actually right a lot of the time - he's just so spectacularly wrong that ditching SecUnit will give them better odds of survival.

But like...

He was suspicious Murderbot would listen in on them if they weren't in the Hopper...and he was right! It DID do that during all their other conversations!

He was suspicious that something was seriously off about Murderbot's programming...and something IS seriously off about Murderbot's programming! (It's just that, you know, that's a GOOD thing - both ethically and, very directly in the book, for PresAux's survival)

He was suspicious Murderbot would kill them....and though book Murderbot would Never, show Murderbot seems to have actually considered killing them, if briefly

He was suspicious that Murderbot might kill them, the people it's supposed to protect....and Murderbot HAS killed a bunch of people it was supposed to protect

He was the only human on the team who refused to give Leebeebee information (presumably at least in part because he is suspicious of outsiders in general, and at least in part because he knew Leebeebee was from the Corporation Rim, though yeah that was also probably just him being a dick also). And as we learn, HE WAS RIGHT NOT TO DO IT

He suspects that someone is trying to kill them the minute something goes wrong...and someone is, in fact, trying to kill them! like, as we know from the books, the reason they didn't know about the giant predator worms WAS because someone was trying to kill them

He suspects the corporation is spying on them....and the corporation HAS installed spycams everywhere! And in the books, this is for the express purpose of data mining! (maybe in the show, too? I'd need to rewatch the episode)

He and Murderbot are the only ones in the PresAux camp who have any concept of opsec (in the show). this is part of why they hate each other

Really, Gurathin's suspicious nature would be actually very useful..........if only it wasn't pointed so thoroughly in the wrong direction