Author: Martha Wells
Begun: End of Feb 2025
Finished: March 4th 2025
Type: Audiobook
Narrator: Kevin R. Free
Rating: 10/10
Rogue Protocol
In an attempt to help get more evidence of Graycris' crimes, SecUnit goes to Milu. There it encounters another bot, Miki, and its owner Don Abene (a very Dr. Mensah-ish character), as well as various other people. Naturally, shenanigans ensue and MurderBot continues its learning curve.
"'Consultant Rin sent you?' Fortunately I hadn't just been standing there like a moron and didn't drop the perfectly good opening she was trying to hand me. 'I'm Consultant Rin's contracted SecUnit. Consultant Run is on the station, and sent me to the facility on her shuttle.'"
And that, right there, ladies and gentleman, is evidence that although SecUnit is completely genderless, it is female leaning. Even MurderBot itself, when impersonating a human or augmented human, refers to itself as "her". ".....on HER shuttle."
I am so mad, SO MAD that a male was picked to play it. What, because it is protective and has a big gun and is handy in a fight so it must be male leaning? Have those idiots at Apple never met a mother? Mama Bears are well named for their intense protective instinct, and they sure aren't male. So intensely frustrating.
Exit Strategy
MurderBot learns that Graycris has kidnapped Dr. Mensah. You can imagine MurderBot's reaction.
"Mensah said I could learn to do anything I wanted. I learned to leave."
"Sending SecUnits after me was one thing. But they sent SecUnits after my client. No-one gets to walk away from that."
"I wish I knew what winning was"
Network Effect
MurderBot is on a research expedition with Amena, Dr. Mensah's daughter, as well as various other members of Preservation, some we know and some we don't. Things go awry when the ART ship...minus ART....turns up and kidnaps them all. Really creepy things happen. Hilarious things are said. I'd like it known for the record that I love Three and want to know more about it and its story. It seems really lovely.
"'What are you?' I said, "I'm a Shut Up or Get Your Head Smashed."
"Just clients. And if anyone or anything tried to hurt them, I would rip its intestines out."
"Unidentified One sounded even more amused. 'You had better have the weapon we were told of, or I'll take your ribs out one by one and break them in front of your little face.' I saved that for future reference. Unidentified One seemed to have gone to some trouble with the wording of that threat, it would be a shame if they never experienced it firsthand."
On the hostiles saying they had destroyed ART: "'We deleted it, of course.' I felt my face change. The muscles were all stiff, and not from the hit I'd taken. I'm still not great at controlling my expressions, and I had no idea what I looked like. Behind her hands, Amena whispered, 'Oh shit.'"
"Target Two said, 'How boring. Angry, then afraid, then dead. Boring boring boring.' ........ Target Two's face went surprised, then furious. It was kind of funny. This was a point where if I was a human (ick) I might have laughed. I decided to go with my first inclination and kill the shit out of some ass-faced hostiles instead. I told the Targets, 'Angry, then afraid, then dead. Is that the right order?' Casualty One whispered, 'Oh deity, that's a...'" (A SecUnit. Why yes, it is.) "I tore the energy weapon out of Target Two's hand along with a few fingers, stabbed the weapon into its chest (it didn't have a sharp end but I made do) and ripped a large hole. Then I used the weapon, and the large hole, to lift Target Two up and slam it into the upper bulkhead. Three times. Fluid and pieces went everywhere. That was satisfying. I think I'll do it again." Do not. DO NOT threaten or kill SecUnit's clients or friends. Things get messy really fast when you do that.
"'I didn't know bot pilots could kill people.' 'They're almost as dangerous as humans.'"
Amena, talking to SecUnit who had just told her to get some sleep, "Okay, third Mom." And there we have more evidence of female-leaning characteristics. Amena didn't refer to MurderBot as Second Dad.
Describing a SecUnit's standard neutral expression: "(Normal = neutral expression concealing existential despair and brain-crushing boredom.)"
The more I read them the more I love them.
https://www.teepublic.com/sticker/34296696-murderbot-diaries-perihelion-art-crew-patch-fan-ar
No comments:
Post a Comment