#rapport

[jupyt3r]

Actually ill over the fact that ART plays it cool like "Well, maybe we'll cross paths again, SecUnit" and then immediately starts designing cute functional outfits to dress it up in the second it steps out of the airlock

[keydekyie]

Perihelion: I like being the biggest, smartest, most dangerous thing around. Being the biggest, smartest, most dangerous thing around makes me good at my function: protecting my crew and helping them complete missions. I care deeply about my crew, who trusts me to fulfill my function with the immense power I have. Because they trust me, I can banter with my crew in ways that would terrify outsiders. Terrifying outsiders amuses me and I will take every opportunity to do so. If they can't handle it, then they can't handle the mission. I don't care what their past experiences are. Trauma? Skill issue. Get over it.

other PSUMNT machine intelligences: We are also huge and smart and good at our jobs. Stop being weird.

Perihelion: >:(

Random rogue SecUnit: I'm often the biggest, smartest, most dangerous thing around and this causes me enormous amounts of stress. You scare the shit out of me but that's nothing new, so honestly fuck you. Here's a compilation of what the extensive amounts of brain torture I've endured feels like. Chew on that, asshole. Oh btw, despite being an anxious, traumatized mess, I'm extremely good at and dedicated to my function: protecting my clients. The very idea that I might snap and hurt the people I've come to care about is so distressing that I'm risking my life and using my newly acquired freedom to find out whether I can be trusted or not. I'll let you do painful experimental surgery on me to help me even though you're the most dangerous thing I've ever met, because while you were using my brain to watch hundreds of hours of TV with me I realized you're really a big softy. Like me. But don't you dare try to talk to me about my feelings.

Perihelion: ...

Perihelion: Please take my phone number.

[imitationgame77]

Artificial Condition (after reading Rapport)

It's great to find out how the chance encounter with Murderbot had made such a profound effect on ART that was noticeable to its family, even before it shared even a part of it.

"Rapport_ Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy" (Martha Wells sure does seem to like very long titles for short stories) gave me emotions so deep and intense that I'm still processing 1.5 days later. I really, really loved that story.

In Artificial Condition, ART was playing a cool research transport who just wanted to give its new friend some support. When Murderbot tried to return the comm interface:

When they were finally parting,

In the next book Rogue Protocol , Murderbot mentions ART a lot and even admits, "I really missed ART".

Rapport seems to be roughly the same time as Rogue Protocol or Exit Strategy. And now we know that ART had been profoundly affected by Murderbot and was missing it, too. It was definitely planning to "come within range of each other again", but perhaps not in such a dramatic way, as it turned out!

I'm so happy that it's sort of officially confirmed that Murderbot and ART were mutually thinking about each other a lot while apart. You can spend 20 years together and remain friendly acquaintances. You can also spend 20+ days and become kill-for/die-for best friends. Even if you don't know if you ever meet each other again.

[imperiuswrecked]

5 seconds into the new Murderbot novel and I had to pause reading to make this

[luffysfakebeard]

ART went straight for a “bad boy” construct 😂😂😂

[aroacexuemeng]

when all you have is "asteroid deflection" armory everything looks like an asteroid on a collision course

[ungodlyanatomy]

I love that in Rapport, ART basically spends the whole story like "nothing suspicious ever happened and everyone (Tarik especially) is overreacting" while wearing an "ask me about my secunit" t-shirt.

[everywaythatmatters]

I just read the new Murderbot novelette and ohhhh my god ART thinks that Murderbot is so cool, it showed it how to hack SecSystems and has sweet intel drones and knows about useful armor??? We have several books about Murderbot being a little bit in awe of ART and I’m so delighted that ART feels exactly the same way