#preservation aux

[corpsesoldier]

inspired by this post

[shannillu]

If it had been one of the others, I would have figured out a different approach. For Pin-Lee, I just said, “Hi.” - Exit Strategy, Martha Wells

I love it when Murderbot decides to be a shithead.

[the-ridiculous-blog]

Murderbot (2025) intro

[laylainalaska]

Rewatching the early episodes of Murderbot after watching the whole show is a trip because I keep noticing new things. For example:

On Port FreeCommerce when they're negotiating for equipment (including SecUnit), Gurathin is the only one at the table who doesn't have a glass of water in front of him.

He's afraid they're going to drug him again.

(And it's not an unreasonable fear! Leebeebee offers him drugs, after all. Imagine how useful it would be if they could manage to suborn someone inside the group, and they know he used to be a company operative with drugs as the handle for controlling him. They just don't understand the most important thing, which was what made him stop.)

[mashumaru]

Muderbot is extremely competent. As much is it harps on how low quality it is, it has consistently made great choices and executed them and saved its humans over and over again. And also now we know from Rapport that it isn't as cheaply made as it thinks.

But also, it wouldn’t have survived a single book if it didn’t have friends

Without Mensah and PresAux it would have been taken over/killed

Without ART’s help it would’ve been captured

Without Miki it would be dead

Without Gurathin it would be dead

Without bots in Preservation Station it would be dead

Without ART, 2.0, Three, Preservation and Peri's humans it would be taken over by TargetControlSystem

Without ART drone it would be dead

What I’m saying is friendship is magic.

No, but seriously, as much as the series is about Murderbot learning to be a person (allowing itself to be one), it is also about the importance of friendship, of finding people to connect to. How these bonds can save you as a person, but also quite literally.

[ford-ye-fiji]

I really liked the issue of Leebeebee (after she was dead). At first I was annoyed because it’s what always happens when a character straight up kills a bad guy and everyone freaks out because how could you kill someone? When it was EXTREMELY CLEAR that Leebeebee was an active and present danger and was clearly willing to torture PresAux for information.

Murderbot, well, murdering her was the reasonable choice to make in the moment. PresAux was in danger, and it eliminated the danger quickly and efficiently.

BUT I feel like the characters reactions made sense. Mostly because it didn’t stem all from that moral conundrum. Leebeebee was a valuable source of information so they wanted her alive. And up until this point Murderbot had been their friendly resident SecUnit, their pet robot almost. They didn’t truly know what Murderbot was capable of up until that point. So far it had fought giant bugs and other SecUnits which was fine but nothing at all like blasting the brains out of a real human person right next to you. It’s also different because in that moment it made a decision that they would not have. And not only that, it acted faster than they could contemplate and faster than they could hope to control.

I feel like that is the moment they all realized why people panicked when a SecUnit went rogue. They realized why Gurathin was scared. It acted on its own, entirely, and it is literally designed to protect and to kill. That’s the whole point. It’s a killing machine with free will. It’s Murderbot.

They see it finally, see it for what it is. This is what I think is the most damning part. Especially later when Gurathin reveals its name as Murderbot. They see that part of it and they reject it. They all come around of course because it’s not evil. It is literally by all definitions good, saving them, repeatedly putting them above itself, and sacrificing itself over and over for their wellbeing. But they still don’t really trust it, as a full person with the ability to make its own decisions, ones they might not agree with. They think they do, but not really.

At the end that’s what’s still missing. They still don’t understand it. They can’t right now. They don’t see it. It’s all of those things at the same time.

It’s Murderbot.

[murderbot-moodboard]

(original post here)

[quakeandquiver]

I found them in the main hub in a huddle around a console, looking at one of the hovering displays. They were all there except Bharadwaj, who was still in the infirmary, and Volescu, who was sitting in there with her. There were mugs and empty meal packets on some of the consoles. I'm not cleaning that up unless I'm given a direct order.