The Murderbot Diaries - Rogue Protocol

1.

Abene said, “Were you hit?” She stepped toward me, reaching to push my jacket aside. I jerked back a step. She stopped, startled. Miki turned, its visual sensors focusing in on me. I checked its camera and got a view of my face. I thought I had gotten good at controlling my expression, but apparently only when I wasn’t feeling actual emotions. In our feed connection, Miki said, Abene won’t hurt you, SecUnit. 

[ID: a drawing in dark teal and blue hues. In the front, Hirune is passed out on a chair, barely visible. Behind her is Don Abene, a woman with light braided hair over her shoulder, reaching a hand out toward Murderbot. Murderbot is bleeding from a wound in its stomach and on its right thigh, and backing away from her, looking horrified/scared. There is blood on the floor underneath it. Murderbot wears thick heavy boots, dark pocketed pants with various thigh holsters, a hoodie and a jacket over the hoodie. On the right is Miki, visible from behind, also lifting a hand towards Murderbot. Miki is a humanform robot with heart-shaped ear attachments, light silver coating and a helmet-like head. /end ID]

2.

Miki was crumpled in front of the bot, and something looked wrong. I was climbing to my feet, trying to see how Miki was damaged, when I froze. Something looked wrong because Miki’s chest was crushed, its processor, memory, everything that made it Miki squeezed to nothing in one flex of the combat bot’s hand. 

[ID: a drawing in cold hues of light blue and light purple. In the foreground and almost blurry, a deactivated CombatBot’s arm lies palm up on the ground. Behind that is Miki, sprawled on its back, torso bent and squished,,an ear bit torn off, head turned to the viewer, its faceplate showing “…”. Murderbot, injured more and wearing the same outfit from the first drawing, is coming up from behind it, looking at Miki. It has a small, mournful expression on its face. /end ID]

The Murderbot Diaries - Artificial Condition

1.

Let me in, ART said, as cool and calm as if we were discussing what show to watch next. I had never given ART full access to my brain. I had let it alter my body, but not this. We had three seconds and counting. My clients, the other humans on the shuttle. I let it in. 

 [ID: a digital drawing in orange and blue. Murderbot is shoving to its feet in an apparently empty shuttle, holding on to the back of some seats. Murderbot wears wide pants with pockets and a hooded jacket. Its head seems to be under water, its hair floats and its eyes glow bright blue, as if the upper part of the drawing was a wave of water. The part of the image outside the bubble is in orange hues. /end ID]

2.

Calm down, ART said, not helpfully. I was too frozen to respond. After three seconds, ART added, She’s frightened. You are a reassuring presence. 

[ID: a drawing in deep purple and yellow, showing two people in a small room. From a top-down angle, Tapan can be seen curled up and asleep, facing Murderbot. She wears shorts with tights beneath and a hoodie, her hair is in a bun. Beside her are her shoes, a backpack and some other supplies. Murderbot is sitting up and looking down at her, and is dressed in pants with many pockets, a hoodie, and boots. Yellow light shines in from underneath the door. /end ]

Murderbot in Artificial Condition: A drunk person SecUnit crying over small clients.

[ID: an upper body drawing of Murderbot in a dark blue hoodie. It has its left hand over its face shielding its eyes, looking desperate. In its right hand it holds a tiny chibi Rami (person in green clothes and purple hair, making an oh-face) and Maro (person with buns and a teal jacket, looking curiously up at MB). A hand reaches into the frame from the right, holding a mini Tapan (yellow shirt, turquoise hair), who looks back at the hand in confusion. Closed captions underneath the drawing read “I can’t protect them…” in reference to a Buzzfeed video where a drunk lady cries over puppies. /end ID]