[Image ID: Murderbot stands leaning against a lavender wall, casual, at ease with its arms crossed saying, “What.” It is a dark-skinned construct with a built-in neon pink earpiece who is currently wearing a horrible outfit. It has on: bright neon green flip-flop sandals, a pair of ombre bell-bottom glitter pants that fade from periwinkle to pink to mauve to magenta with a black heart with three little neon green hearts in it stitched on over its right knee. As for a top, it is wearing a hoodie with a number of zig-zag, spiral, hippie flower, snake-wavy, argyle diamond patterns in the most garish, ungodly palette all smushed together as if someone had dumped a wide spectrum of shrimp colors in a blender and left off the lid. It is wearing a pair of stunner shades with a pink heart on the right side. Its gun ports say the following: (1) “This machine kills fascists,” and (2) “My other car *also* kills fascists,” with a cartoon drawing of ART with an angry smiley face on it. Its fingernails are also neon pink. This is the best Murderbot has ever looked./ end ID]
And without further ado, my half:
Change of Style
Even though we had been in a hanging pattern around WarthaMells Stations for over a full two hours before being given permission to dock, our arrival still somehow managed to take the humans by surprise. I was left waiting by the air-lock for a full eighteen minutes and thirteen seconds before the first human joined me. Turi looked up from adjusting their bag, froze, stared at me, remembered they weren’t supposed to, looked away, and did a series of complicated expressions with their face which for once were neither annoying or confusing but instead deeply amusing.
I held my position leaning against the wall and said nothing.
Turi said nothing, either, and after six seconds pulled up a random document in the feed they could pretend to check.
Victory.
The scene played out another six times as humans arrived, alone or in groups, their desire to say something fighting a pitched battle against their respect to my privacy, and eventually losing. I captured the reactions via three different camera angles and saved them all to permanent memory.
[Image ID: Murderbot stands leaning against a lavender wall, casual, at ease with its arms crossed saying, “What.” It is a dark-skinned construct with a built-in neon pink earpiece who is currently wearing a horrible outfit. It has on: bright neon green flip-flop sandals, a pair of ombre bell-bottom glitter pants that fade from periwinkle to pink to mauve to magenta with a black heart with three little neon green hearts in it stitched on over its right knee. As for a top, it is wearing a hoodie with a number of zig-zag, spiral, hippie flower, snake-wavy, argyle diamond patterns in the most garish, ungodly palette all smushed together as if someone had dumped a wide spectrum of shrimp colors in a blender and left off the lid. It is wearing a pair of stunner shades with a pink heart on the right side. Its gun ports say the following: (1) “This machine kills fascists,” and (2) “My other car *also* kills fascists,” with a cartoon drawing of ART with an angry smiley face on it. Its fingernails are also neon pink. This is the best Murderbot has ever looked./ end ID]
“It’s joking.” Ratthi managed to sound like he completely believed that. “That’s how it looks when it’s joking.” He sent me on the feed, Stop joking. Gurathin sighed and rubbed his face and looked off into the distance, like he regretted all his life choices that had led to him standing here right now.
[ID: a drawing in soft orange, yellow and green, showing three people. Dr Gurathin is closest to the viewer, facepalming, burying his entire face in his hand. He wears a button up shirt. Right in front of his right elbow is a drone that seems to be looking at him. In the middle is Murderbot, staring blankly ahead, standing around kind of awkwardly. It wears a hoodie and has a drone floating right beside its head. To its left and most in the background is Dr Ratthi, gesticulating strongly with a forced smile on his face. There’s another drone hovering just above his left hand. He wears a tunic with embroidery on the collar. They are in a corridor on Preservation Station. Behind them on the wall are three potted plants - a huge monstera (behind Ratthi, quite fancy looking), a cactus (behind Murderbot, rather tall and straight, but with the tiniest blossoms crowning the top) and a cypress (behind Gurathin, neat but fuzzy). /end ID]
2.
To the humans, I said, “I’m going after the others, just stay here—” I felt a hard thump from behind. It was low and to one side, where a fairly important part would be, if I was human. I turned. Human One had the armored hostile’s weapon, the one I had taken away and dropped down into the module. And she had shot me with it.
[ID: a drawing in bright pinkish-red, white and gray. We see over the heads of five refugees huddled together in the back of the room. They all wear worn down worker’s clothes. A scrawny child with short fluffy hair sits on the floor, someone young kneels beside them. Their hair is braided loosely and their worker overalls are slipping down their shoulder. Three adults stand protectively around them. In the middle of the room, in front of the group, Human One has a weapon still smoking from discharging aimed at Murderbot. Murderbot is standing with its back to the group, a fresh wound in its lower back, looking over its shoulder to Human One. Its face is not visible. A bright white light comes from the hatch of the room. /end ID]
“Not that! Why are you sad and upset?” That was the point where even I could tell that Amena was terrified as well as furious. “There’s something you’re not telling me and it’s scaring me! I’m not a fucking hero like my second mom or a genius like everybody else in my family, I’m just ordinary, and you’re all I’ve got!” I wasn’t expecting that. It was so far from what I thought she had meant, and she was so upset, that the truth inadvertently came out. “My friend is dead!”
[ID: a drawing in cold light blue and turquoise. In the centre is Murderbot with a very exasperated expression, shouting and gesturing, blood trickling down its face. Its left gunport is deployed. In the foreground, visible from behind, is Amena, tilting her head at it. She has a fluffy afrod tied halfway back. Both of them are wearing the same kind of space suits. Three drones float around the area, and in the background Eletra is recovering in ART’s MedBay. /end ID]
2.
Instead, the diagram showed the connections, but they came from the dead human body, and formed a weblike mass. It was interwoven with the central system, then stretched out to the walls, following the old connection pathways. I bumped into the hatch, which was when I realized I had been backing up. 2.0 whispered, That’s targetControlSystem.
[ID: a drawing in bright turquoise and dark red and purple. Murderbot is standing in the entrance to the control room, the hatch of which is red-purple, and bright turquoise crystallic light is shining from inside the room and reflecting on it. Warnings and text boxes are glitching up in the feed in front of it, and in the circular room lies a human body, eyes open, overgrown with glowing white crystals that connect in strings to the roof and pillars in the room /end ID]
She glared at me. “You left.” Somehow I hadn’t expected that. I said, “Mensah said I could learn to do anything I wanted. I learned to leave.” “You could have told her what you wanted. We—she—we were worried, okay.”
[ID: a drawing in digital greens and blues. The camera looks down over Murderbot’s shoulder at Pin-Lee in a translucent transport bubble floating above an illuminated station (signified by glowing squares in the distance). The bubble as a circular bench as a sating area and consists of a light turquoise field indicated with hexagons. Murderbot is evading Pin-Lee’s stare and frowning, it wears a hoodie and pants with many pockets. Pin-Lee wears elegant clothes, a cropped blazer, tight pants, and heels. Her hair is tied in an elaborate bun, and she leans towards MB with a glare. /end ID]
2.
On the company ship, it wouldn’t be a MedSystem, it would be a cubicle. “It absolutely cannot wait,” I told him. Ratthi dropped to the deck beside me and yelled for Gurathin to bring the shuttle’s emergency kit.
[ID: a digital drawing in purple, yellow and grey. Murderbot is lying on the floor of a shuttle. In front of it, Dr Ratthi, sleeves rolled up and holding an emergency kit, is starting to work on extracting shrapnel from Murderbot’s knee. His torso blocks the view on most of Murderbot’s body, but the broken knee is clearly visible. Dr Ratthi wears tight pants and boots, a button up shirt, and has several small pouches attached to his belt, his hair is curly and he has a slight beard. Behind them, Dr Gurathin also leans down to help. He wears a casual suit with a turtleneck shirt beneath, hair combed back, and an augment visible in thin lines around his right eye. Dr. Mensah and Pin-Lee are visible in the background, standing in the shuttle’s cockpit. Pin-Lee is fully in the frame, looking towards the shuttle’s front, Dr Mensah is peeking over her shoulder at the scene. /end ID]
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]
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 ]
“You were very good with Dr. Volescu. I don’t think the others realized … They were very impressed.” “It’s part of the emergency med instructions, calming victims.” I tugged the blanket tighter so she didn’t see anything awful. I could feel something lower down leaking.
[ID: a digital drawing in dark gray and red. Dr Mensah, a stocky woman with short light hair, is visible form behind, standing in front of on open cubicle. The light from the cubicle illuminates her and she casts a long shadow. Murderbot is visible looking uncomfortably to the side, holding a blanket to its chest, with a lot of inorganics visible. The image cuts off without showing Murderbot’s eyes. /end ID]
2.
Pin-Lee leaned over me and I said, “This unit is at minimal functionality and it is recommended that you discard it.” It’s an automatic reaction triggered by catastrophic malfunction. Also, I really didn’t want them to try to move me because it hurt bad enough the way it was. “Your contract allows—” “Shut up,” Mensah snapped. “You shut the fuck up. We’re not leaving you.”
[ID: In the foreground of the drawing, Murderbot is lying on its back, helmet broken and hair visible. It’s looking up at Dr Mensah, who clutching her bleeding arm and shouting, Pin-Lee with her hair tied up looking grim, and Dr Gurathin in the background, using a display device. All three of them are wearing green outdoor suits. They are in a ravine, and the orange sky shows bright shining planetary rings. The image is in brown, green and orange tones. /end ID]
[ID: a digital painting in green and yellow tones. Murderbot, visible from head to elbows, is holding a snake plant-like plant in a small pot in front of its face. Murderbot has a broad nose and relatively short, ruffled hair. The plant’s long leaves cast shadows on its face, and it looks away from the viewer. A pink light flares across the image. /end ID]
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]
In an alternate ending of Network Effect, Three avenges the death of its sibling units.
[ID: two digital drawings. The first one shows an action shot of Three grabbing Murderbot by the neck and shoving its weapon into Murderbot’s face. In the second drawing, Three carries Murderbot’s body back to ART. /end ID]
You know that scene from Brooklyn99? Tell me that isn’t the plot of All Systems Red. [ID: a two panel comic based on a scene from Brooklyn99. In both, Murderbot is in armour but without its helmet. It holds the PreservationAux humans, who are small and chibi-fied, scrambling all over its hands and trying to escape, in both hands. All humans are wearing a green Preservation uniform. In panel one, Murderbot looks at the small humans and says “I’ve had Team PresAux for a cycle and a half,” in the second drawing it looks past the camera and says, “but if anything happened to them I would kill everyone in this habitat and then myself.” /end ID]
A background I did for the murderbotfanimation project!! Character designs by @livyatan.m (on Instagram) and character animation still by @alex-van-gore.
![Goretober Day 3 - Autopsy[foreign communication device extracted from below the SecUnit’s ribs]](https://64.media.tumblr.com/dbd8ece24c7b5611d14e0a056f2a3019/7ec38b926a2cd3c7-c3/s1280x1920/5a250ba7cf888b97d8076b2284e29cc01911bd61.png "Goretober Day 3 - Autopsy[foreign communication device extracted from below the SecUnit’s ribs]")
