Short Fiction Friday: Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells

After finding out the truth about its past, Murderbot has set a new initiative for itself.

Murderbot has decided it's time to help its new owner. Dr. Mensah purchased the SecUnit, basically setting it free. For all intents and purposes, that is. While Dr. Mensah never implicitly said that the SecUnit can go out on its own, the scientist's actions do allow for autonomous existence on the part of Murderbot.

And Murderbot is still a little burned up about what happened when it was working for Dr. Mensah in the first place. Now, it's decided it's time to find out more about the plot that put Mensah and the rest of the team in danger. And that means traveling to Milu, an abandoned planet that was once being terraformed by GreyCris. The SecUnit's hope is that it can finally get evidence Dr. Mensah can use against GreyCris. Evidence that will prove once and for all that the corporation is up to no good.

Unfortunately, Murderbot didn't plan for yet another group of unprepared and uninformed humans being involved. It appears someone is out to scavenge Milu and Murderbot can either attempt to avoid contact and notice or, once again, lend a hand where needed.

I really do love Murderbot. It's quite probably my absolute favorite character in fiction right now!

Above all, Murderbot has to protect itself from being caught as a free SecUnit. And people are looking for it, which makes it that much harder. Alterations in the previous installment have allowed it to mask itself a bit, but it can't avoid detection forever, especially when other bots are involved.

It would be easier if it didn't repeatedly find itself having to choose between saving people or leaving them to their own devices! Ah, the plight of a conscientious security android. Time and again, Murderbot proves that it's more than just a series of codes and programming!

If you haven't treated yourself to Martha Wells's Murderbot Diaries novellas yet, do it now! I think there's probably no better science fiction out there right at this moment than this series!

Short Fiction Friday, er Saturday: Artificial Condition by Martha Wells

Murderbot is on the run and on a mission!

After hacking itself and being bought out by its client, Murderbot sets off on its own. It doesn't exactly have the blessing of that new owner but it doesn't care. Being beholden to humans isn't its idea of fun. And neither is not knowing its own story.

Apparently Murderbot turned on its clients during a past job - or so the story goes. As the only surviving SecUnit of an incident that's said to have been a massive malfunction, it believes the only reason it was put back into service was because it was too big of an investment to scrap. But its memory of the event in question was wiped. And given recent events, it can't be certain the story released to the public is the real thing.

But finding out the truth isn't as easy as it might seem. The site of the incident has been shuttered, the exact location wiped from record and Murderbot, because of recent publicity, isn't exactly unrecognizable. In order to get what it needs, it'll have to enlist help from an unexpected source.

Ooh, Murderbot! I love Murderbot so much!

As it travels trying to find out its own past, it's on a journey that makes it more and more human with each passing day. Both literally and figuratively considering it has to change its appearance and mannerisms in this second installment in order to go undercover and pass as human.

But it keeps getting tangled up in human issues!

Murderbot hasn't exactly been treated great. Even though its memory banks are wiped with each new assignment - security for hire is what it was built for and following human orders is deeply ingrained programming for all bots and SecUnits. Witnessing how others are treated is enough for it to know that this blind submission is not something it's anxious to return to. But if anyone discovers its newfound independence, it risks being reprogrammed!

While the main character in this series is a robot, it should be obvious that it's the kind of character and story anyone can identify with. Murderbot wants to be autonomous. It doesn't want to be at the mercy of its clients' whims and fancies. Nor does it want to be responsible for actions beyond its control.

But it also doesn't want to be involved in politics. Unfortunately, it can't seem to avoid them. Murderbot, in spite of programming, has a conscience and a moral code!

Wells is a truly brilliant writer. This series, each new installment, is short and sweet but packs such a big punch in terms of both emotion and plot. I desperately want more Murderbot and can't wait for each new piece of its story to arrive!