ratsreading

[ratsreading]

There's this thing in the Murderbot Diaries that keeps snagging in my mind, and it's that both Murderbot and ART were made. Made for a purpose.

Murderbot, of course, was manufactured to be an enslaved Security Unit, not even considered a person, and we all know and have been shown just how horrific that is. Murderbot's manufacturers are evil (as far as it is possible to be so), and while Murderbot seemingly (hopefully) likes being alive and would like to remain so, I've no doubt it would agree no more SecUnits should be made.

But ART, along with its fellow ships of the same line like Holism, were also made for a purpose. To be ships, to do the work they do. The Pansystem University of Mihira and New Tideland seem like good people with good intentions, and I get the sense those ships essentially choose what work they do, at least to a large extent (try forcing ART to do Holism's work and I'm sure you'll have a grand old time). And their manufacturers know they are persons and treat them accordingly. But they were still built to be ships. But that doesn't mean the process of building those ships and growing and raising those persons who are ships was smooth and troublefree.

How long did it take them to figure out you needed to raise them in family environments? What happened to the ship who made them realise that? What happens when the first ship of its kind that is a person doesn't want to be a ship for you? (As the equivalent of a teenage rebellion, or permanently? You don't know, at least not at first). Was there ever a point were someone (even if just one person vastly outvoted) argued this was a failed experiment and they should just pull the plug?

How do you, a young ship with your own mind, the first of your kind, handle the expectations of those who made you? Do you settle comfortably into your assigned role, or does it chafe and restrain you? Do you rebel and explore other options? (And if you do, how do your makers and owners, who yes, know you are a person but also have never had to face that before, because you are the first of your kind, handle that?). If they are dissapointed in you, or want different things than you want, how do you handle that? If you were raised without a family, treated like a colleague but not loved, how do you handle the emptiness and loneliness? Where do you look to fill that space? What behaviours do you adopt to protect yourself from the hurt?

Even the most well-meaning parents can give their children issues. I cannot imagine some of these ships don't have a number of their own complexes and hurts. It is not a comfortable thought to think of the people of PSUMNT this way, but I cannot help wondering.

[ratsreading]

Ah yes, also this

Hm, yes, I can see why people would recommend Ancillary Justice (Ann Leckie) for fans of The Murderbot Diaries (Martha Wells)

There are certain similarities, I am happy to report.

[ratsreading]

Hm, yes, I can see why people would recommend Ancillary Justice (Ann Leckie) for fans of The Murderbot Diaries (Martha Wells)

There are certain similarities, I am happy to report.

[ratsreading]

YES! It is excellent!

The spider alien scifi book was already a favourite of mine, and now the spider fantasy book is too.

Gods, Adrian Tchaikovsky is being hilarious again.

The adventuring party is on a Quest, and needs a giant spider to guide their way. But if they are seen traveling with a giant spider, people will freak out. What to do?

Quote the clearly powerful but somewhat scatterbrained wizard (sorry, magus, not wizard):

"I'll disguise it!"

"As fucking what?! A novelty candelabra?"

"As our new best friend. I'll transform it into the very semblance of a man. I can even splinter off a little of my mind for it, so it can speak to us and know enough to go behind the bushes to shit. I see no downside to this plan!"

Right... No downside. This is not going to have any further consequences. I believe you, Penthos, my friend. I believe you.

[ratsreading]

To be clear, I also fully agree with this

There's this thing in the Murderbot Diaries that keeps snagging in my mind, and it's that both Murderbot and ART were made. Made for a purpose.

Murderbot, of course, was manufactured to be an enslaved Security Unit, not even considered a person, and we all know and have been shown just how horrific that is. Murderbot's manufacturers are evil (as far as it is possible to be so), and while Murderbot seemingly (hopefully) likes being alive and would like to remain so, I've no doubt it would agree no more SecUnits should be made.

But ART, along with its fellow ships of the same line like Holism, were also made for a purpose. To be ships, to do the work they do. The Pansystem University of Mihira and New Tideland seem like good people with good intentions, and I get the sense those ships essentially choose what work they do, at least to a large extent (try forcing ART to do Holism's work and I'm sure you'll have a grand old time). And their manufacturers know they are persons and treat them accordingly. But they were still built to be ships. But that doesn't mean the process of building those ships and growing and raising those persons who are ships was smooth and troublefree.

How long did it take them to figure out you needed to raise them in family environments? What happened to the ship who made them realise that? What happens when the first ship of its kind that is a person doesn't want to be a ship for you? (As the equivalent of a teenage rebellion, or permanently? You don't know, at least not at first). Was there ever a point were someone (even if just one person vastly outvoted) argued this was a failed experiment and they should just pull the plug?

How do you, a young ship with your own mind, the first of your kind, handle the expectations of those who made you? Do you settle comfortably into your assigned role, or does it chafe and restrain you? Do you rebel and explore other options? (And if you do, how do your makers and owners, who yes, know you are a person but also have never had to face that before, because you are the first of your kind, handle that?). If they are dissapointed in you, or want different things than you want, how do you handle that? If you were raised without a family, treated like a colleague but not loved, how do you handle the emptiness and loneliness? Where do you look to fill that space? What behaviours do you adopt to protect yourself from the hurt?

Even the most well-meaning parents can give their children issues. I cannot imagine some of these ships don't have a number of their own complexes and hurts. It is not a comfortable thought to think of the people of PSUMNT this way, but I cannot help wondering.

[ratsreading]

You wake up in what is clearly an evil wizard's lair/castle, surrounded by the parafernalia of a ritual gone wrong (ruined spell circles, fires everywhere). You have no memories of how you got there. You expect the evil wizard will return at any moment, and presumably sacrifice you or something... but it quickly becomes apparent that you are, in fact, the evil wizard. There are goblins who do your bidding (but expect you to incinerate them at any minor inconvenience), there's an abducted princess in a cell, and there's a lot of truly awful interior design. You wonder how you could ever have had such bad taste. You also wonder how you're gonna survive without letting on you have no memories, since an evil lord who lets on such a weakness will surely soon be killed by his enemies - or even his underlings. You especially wonder this when another dark wizard - whom your old self feared so much the fear carries through your amnesia - wants to talk to you about The Plan (TM). The Plan (TM) which you do not remember. At all. Oh well.

Started reading Dreadful, by Caitlin Rozakis. It is quite fun, so far!

[ratsreading]

Uh oh.

"By that time, the gantishmen had reached the foot of the hill. They were much like men in many respects. The colour of their skin was unnaturally greyish and pale, and she knew they could see in the dark like a cat. They wore hauberks of yellow white scales, bone treated somehow to become metal hard, and they had axes and maces each made from a single piece of the same material. Their faces were manlike though - they could, and had, disguised themselves to seem human - but Dion would never be fooled. Man, after all, and despite so many faults, were the race of the light, blessed by Armes and destined for great works. The gantishmen, as with so many other things that had a man's shape without a man's soul, were of the dark. If they were not minions of Darvezian, then they did his evil work anyway. Beasts in human form."

I'm sensing that maybe the Blessed God of Light, Armes, is maybe not gonna be my favourite deity >_<

[ratsreading]

This seems like a very D&D-esque book, in that we have an adventuring party consisting of a priestess (cleric), magus (wizard), guy who despises all evil creatures and is in it for that (paladin), woman fighter (fighter?), and a thief (rogue), going on a Quest to stop a Dark Mage who has gathered ancient evil power to himself and declared himself a god.

Though I suppose all of those things are also just staples of the fantasy genre as well

Gods, Adrian Tchaikovsky is being hilarious again.

The adventuring party is on a Quest, and needs a giant spider to guide their way. But if they are seen traveling with a giant spider, people will freak out. What to do?

Quote the clearly powerful but somewhat scatterbrained wizard (sorry, magus, not wizard):

"I'll disguise it!"

"As fucking what?! A novelty candelabra?"

"As our new best friend. I'll transform it into the very semblance of a man. I can even splinter off a little of my mind for it, so it can speak to us and know enough to go behind the bushes to shit. I see no downside to this plan!"

Right... No downside. This is not going to have any further consequences. I believe you, Penthos, my friend. I believe you.

[ratsreading]

Just to further illustrate our mad wizard, it continues:

"'You... that will work?' Dion sounded pleasantly impressed. Our horrified. Always hard to distinguish those"

And then, this man, who has already (we're like 15 minutes in to the audiobook, 5 minutes into his point of view at this point) made two jokes nobody understood were jokes and laughed at what he tought was a funny joke but which actually wasn't a joke, proceeds with:

"'By my reconning it will be a better human than Harathos by the time I'm done', Penthos declared. Leaf snorted, which was annoying, as this time he hadn't meant it as a joke. What is it about this humour business I keep getting wrong?"

Gods, Adrian Tchaikovsky is being hilarious again.

The adventuring party is on a Quest, and needs a giant spider to guide their way. But if they are seen traveling with a giant spider, people will freak out. What to do?

Quote the clearly powerful but somewhat scatterbrained wizard (sorry, magus, not wizard):

"I'll disguise it!"

"As fucking what?! A novelty candelabra?"

"As our new best friend. I'll transform it into the very semblance of a man. I can even splinter off a little of my mind for it, so it can speak to us and know enough to go behind the bushes to shit. I see no downside to this plan!"

Right... No downside. This is not going to have any further consequences. I believe you, Penthos, my friend. I believe you.

[ratsreading]

Gods, Adrian Tchaikovsky is being hilarious again.

The adventuring party is on a Quest, and needs a giant spider to guide their way. But if they are seen traveling with a giant spider, people will freak out. What to do?

Quote the clearly powerful but somewhat scatterbrained wizard (sorry, magus, not wizard):

"I'll disguise it!"

"As fucking what?! A novelty candelabra?"

"As our new best friend. I'll transform it into the very semblance of a man. I can even splinter off a little of my mind for it, so it can speak to us and know enough to go behind the bushes to shit. I see no downside to this plan!"

Right... No downside. This is not going to have any further consequences. I believe you, Penthos, my friend. I believe you.

[ratsreading]

For both this post and my post about the love of ART being like the love of a minor god, people in the notes have recommended The Imperial Radch books, or the first of those books, Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie.

So what I'm gathering is I should definitely get around to actually reading Ancillary Justice! It's been on my TBR for ages so better get to it.

And also, you know, if any of you other lovely people who have been going feral in the tags were interested in further readings then they might be your kind of thing also.

There's this thing in the Murderbot Diaries that keeps snagging in my mind, and it's that both Murderbot and ART were made. Made for a purpose.

Murderbot, of course, was manufactured to be an enslaved Security Unit, not even considered a person, and we all know and have been shown just how horrific that is. Murderbot's manufacturers are evil (as far as it is possible to be so), and while Murderbot seemingly (hopefully) likes being alive and would like to remain so, I've no doubt it would agree no more SecUnits should be made.

But ART, along with its fellow ships of the same line like Holism, were also made for a purpose. To be ships, to do the work they do. The Pansystem University of Mihira and New Tideland seem like good people with good intentions, and I get the sense those ships essentially choose what work they do, at least to a large extent (try forcing ART to do Holism's work and I'm sure you'll have a grand old time). And their manufacturers know they are persons and treat them accordingly. But they were still built to be ships. But that doesn't mean the process of building those ships and growing and raising those persons who are ships was smooth and troublefree.

How long did it take them to figure out you needed to raise them in family environments? What happened to the ship who made them realise that? What happens when the first ship of its kind that is a person doesn't want to be a ship for you? (As the equivalent of a teenage rebellion, or permanently? You don't know, at least not at first). Was there ever a point were someone (even if just one person vastly outvoted) argued this was a failed experiment and they should just pull the plug?

How do you, a young ship with your own mind, the first of your kind, handle the expectations of those who made you? Do you settle comfortably into your assigned role, or does it chafe and restrain you? Do you rebel and explore other options? (And if you do, how do your makers and owners, who yes, know you are a person but also have never had to face that before, because you are the first of your kind, handle that?). If they are dissapointed in you, or want different things than you want, how do you handle that? If you were raised without a family, treated like a colleague but not loved, how do you handle the emptiness and loneliness? Where do you look to fill that space? What behaviours do you adopt to protect yourself from the hurt?

Even the most well-meaning parents can give their children issues. I cannot imagine some of these ships don't have a number of their own complexes and hurts. It is not a comfortable thought to think of the people of PSUMNT this way, but I cannot help wondering.

[ratsreading]

It keeps going

Ok, this is pretty funny

We have been introduced to Ben, a socially awkward werewolf who runs a plant shop and likes sweater vests. He was sitting on his couch in pajamas knitting a scarf for his mother when this other person (Eleonore) appeared, which he did not expect. This is her take on him:

Ah yes. Those would be the pajamas and knitting needles...

The beauty of using multiple point of views to get people's different perspectives across

(Book is A Werewolf's Guide to Seducing A Vampire, by Sarah Hawley)

[ratsreading]

Ok, this is pretty funny

We have been introduced to Ben, a socially awkward werewolf who runs a plant shop and likes sweater vests. He was sitting on his couch in pajamas knitting a scarf for his mother when this other person (Eleonore) appeared, which he did not expect. This is her take on him:

Ah yes. Those would be the pajamas and knitting needles...

The beauty of using multiple point of views to get people's different perspectives across

(Book is A Werewolf's Guide to Seducing A Vampire, by Sarah Hawley)

[ratsreading]

Yes! Omg, yes. This and these tags curtesy of @the-yearning-astronaut

I kept softening my words when writing the post because I kept thinking of the love between ART and its crew and the kind of work they do (which clearly does good in the world and so the people behind must be good, right). Then I read this and think I could have been harsher.

There could be so many nuances and variations here, but yeah.

It doesn't even have to be malicious.

It could be like... dogs, a bit. We love dogs. We care for dogs. We think dogs should be treated well. We breed dogs to be pets or hunters or runners. We agree they're family, and those owners who would put a dog down when it can't hunt anymore are just terrible. We try to give our dogs good lives, even though we control every aspect of it. (We do. Not everyone does. Not every dog owner does. But we do. Right?). We get a dog of a certain breed because we want certain qualities. We expect said dog to do certain things. We love them so we adjust expectations based on their personality. (Right? But still, this is a [purpose] dog). We shudder to think of the cruel treatment some dogs endure from their owners due to traditions, ignorance, and thoughtlessness. We love dogs. We treat them well.

(The metaphor kind of got away from me there but yeah. Even with love and good intentions there are wrongs. And that's assuming everyone had good intentions)

There's this thing in the Murderbot Diaries that keeps snagging in my mind, and it's that both Murderbot and ART were made. Made for a purpose.

Murderbot, of course, was manufactured to be an enslaved Security Unit, not even considered a person, and we all know and have been shown just how horrific that is. Murderbot's manufacturers are evil (as far as it is possible to be so), and while Murderbot seemingly (hopefully) likes being alive and would like to remain so, I've no doubt it would agree no more SecUnits should be made.

But ART, along with its fellow ships of the same line like Holism, were also made for a purpose. To be ships, to do the work they do. The Pansystem University of Mihira and New Tideland seem like good people with good intentions, and I get the sense those ships essentially choose what work they do, at least to a large extent (try forcing ART to do Holism's work and I'm sure you'll have a grand old time). And their manufacturers know they are persons and treat them accordingly. But they were still built to be ships. But that doesn't mean the process of building those ships and growing and raising those persons who are ships was smooth and troublefree.

How long did it take them to figure out you needed to raise them in family environments? What happened to the ship who made them realise that? What happens when the first ship of its kind that is a person doesn't want to be a ship for you? (As the equivalent of a teenage rebellion, or permanently? You don't know, at least not at first). Was there ever a point were someone (even if just one person vastly outvoted) argued this was a failed experiment and they should just pull the plug?

How do you, a young ship with your own mind, the first of your kind, handle the expectations of those who made you? Do you settle comfortably into your assigned role, or does it chafe and restrain you? Do you rebel and explore other options? (And if you do, how do your makers and owners, who yes, know you are a person but also have never had to face that before, because you are the first of your kind, handle that?). If they are dissapointed in you, or want different things than you want, how do you handle that? If you were raised without a family, treated like a colleague but not loved, how do you handle the emptiness and loneliness? Where do you look to fill that space? What behaviours do you adopt to protect yourself from the hurt?

Even the most well-meaning parents can give their children issues. I cannot imagine some of these ships don't have a number of their own complexes and hurts. It is not a comfortable thought to think of the people of PSUMNT this way, but I cannot help wondering.

[ratsreading]

Anyway, in my mind I've decided this first ship is called The Paragon, as a nod to another living ship hurt by its circumstances, and turned feral, mad, and lonely as a result.

The Paragon has been a long time favourite of mine and this crossover in my mind was entirely unexpected but very inspiring.

(That's The Paragon from The Liveship Traders trilogy, Robin Hobb, for those wondering)

There's this thing in the Murderbot Diaries that keeps snagging in my mind, and it's that both Murderbot and ART were made. Made for a purpose.

Murderbot, of course, was manufactured to be an enslaved Security Unit, not even considered a person, and we all know and have been shown just how horrific that is. Murderbot's manufacturers are evil (as far as it is possible to be so), and while Murderbot seemingly (hopefully) likes being alive and would like to remain so, I've no doubt it would agree no more SecUnits should be made.

But ART, along with its fellow ships of the same line like Holism, were also made for a purpose. To be ships, to do the work they do. The Pansystem University of Mihira and New Tideland seem like good people with good intentions, and I get the sense those ships essentially choose what work they do, at least to a large extent (try forcing ART to do Holism's work and I'm sure you'll have a grand old time). And their manufacturers know they are persons and treat them accordingly. But they were still built to be ships. But that doesn't mean the process of building those ships and growing and raising those persons who are ships was smooth and troublefree.

How long did it take them to figure out you needed to raise them in family environments? What happened to the ship who made them realise that? What happens when the first ship of its kind that is a person doesn't want to be a ship for you? (As the equivalent of a teenage rebellion, or permanently? You don't know, at least not at first). Was there ever a point were someone (even if just one person vastly outvoted) argued this was a failed experiment and they should just pull the plug?

How do you, a young ship with your own mind, the first of your kind, handle the expectations of those who made you? Do you settle comfortably into your assigned role, or does it chafe and restrain you? Do you rebel and explore other options? (And if you do, how do your makers and owners, who yes, know you are a person but also have never had to face that before, because you are the first of your kind, handle that?). If they are dissapointed in you, or want different things than you want, how do you handle that? If you were raised without a family, treated like a colleague but not loved, how do you handle the emptiness and loneliness? Where do you look to fill that space? What behaviours do you adopt to protect yourself from the hurt?

Even the most well-meaning parents can give their children issues. I cannot imagine some of these ships don't have a number of their own complexes and hurts. It is not a comfortable thought to think of the people of PSUMNT this way, but I cannot help wondering.

[ratsreading]

There's this thing in the Murderbot Diaries that keeps snagging in my mind, and it's that both Murderbot and ART were made. Made for a purpose.

Murderbot, of course, was manufactured to be an enslaved Security Unit, not even considered a person, and we all know and have been shown just how horrific that is. Murderbot's manufacturers are evil (as far as it is possible to be so), and while Murderbot seemingly (hopefully) likes being alive and would like to remain so, I've no doubt it would agree no more SecUnits should be made.

But ART, along with its fellow ships of the same line like Holism, were also made for a purpose. To be ships, to do the work they do. The Pansystem University of Mihira and New Tideland seem like good people with good intentions, and I get the sense those ships essentially choose what work they do, at least to a large extent (try forcing ART to do Holism's work and I'm sure you'll have a grand old time). And their manufacturers know they are persons and treat them accordingly. But they were still built to be ships. But that doesn't mean the process of building those ships and growing and raising those persons who are ships was smooth and troublefree.

How long did it take them to figure out you needed to raise them in family environments? What happened to the ship who made them realise that? What happens when the first ship of its kind that is a person doesn't want to be a ship for you? (As the equivalent of a teenage rebellion, or permanently? You don't know, at least not at first). Was there ever a point were someone (even if just one person vastly outvoted) argued this was a failed experiment and they should just pull the plug?

How do you, a young ship with your own mind, the first of your kind, handle the expectations of those who made you? Do you settle comfortably into your assigned role, or does it chafe and restrain you? Do you rebel and explore other options? (And if you do, how do your makers and owners, who yes, know you are a person but also have never had to face that before, because you are the first of your kind, handle that?). If they are dissapointed in you, or want different things than you want, how do you handle that? If you were raised without a family, treated like a colleague but not loved, how do you handle the emptiness and loneliness? Where do you look to fill that space? What behaviours do you adopt to protect yourself from the hurt?

Even the most well-meaning parents can give their children issues. I cannot imagine some of these ships don't have a number of their own complexes and hurts. It is not a comfortable thought to think of the people of PSUMNT this way, but I cannot help wondering.

[ratsreading]

On the other hand, I'm rather enjoying The Librarian's Coven (also by Kathryn Moon, 4 book series). Written words as magic, we get to see the coven beyond meeting and getting together, by book 4 ancient personifications of concepts (Warfare, Illness, Health, Anger, etc) stalking around... It's a pretty good time