uraniumbones

[uraniumbones]

"but I have a place to stay while I figure it out" SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UPPP IM GOING FERAL OVER THAT LINE AND THATS THE ENDING!!!!!!!!!!!! HOME IS WHERE YOU MAKE IT! YOU CAN CHOOSE YOUR LIFE!!! PEOPLE WILL HELP YOU!!!! WHAT THE FUUUUUCK

[uraniumbones]

It's amazing how much you can tell about a fandom/ship by the dominant artist represented in their fanfic titles. Like predominantly named after Hozier songs? Longing with religious undertones. Mountain Goats? severe depression. Sufjan Stevens? Grief. You know what I mean?

[uraniumbones]

Was going to make a post about how murderbot makes friends with other bot systems so easily, and how frequently it describes their personalities as “the friendly secsystem” or somesuch and personifies these entities that the humans just see as tools. Then I started thinking about the separatists’ system in System Collapse and how Murderbot remarks that it might be friendly, or it might just be that it hasn’t explicitly been programmed to be unfriendly. And then I started thinking about ART, and how Murderbot calling it an asshole is basically a term of endearment. And now I’m thinking about how subservience can look like friendliness, and how being able to choose when and to whom to be kind is a cornerstone of murderbot’s personhood. Being a hater as a form of self-actualization.

[uraniumbones]

Loved that moment in System Collapse where there’s a little philosophical debate about whether the colonist’s system (can't remember what it's called atm) is trying to get them to trust it: Iris asks ART about it, and ART responds with being skeptical about ascribing human motivations to machine intelligences (MIs). and Ratthi is sooo down to debate about what qualifies as “human” motivation.

Like it’s such a great example of why Ratthi is so knowledgeable about constructs. He’s thinking about MIs in really interesting ways, which, coupled with how intuitive and empathetic he is, makes him such a great ally. Ratthi respects Murderbot so much 😭 and their relationship is very charming.

And I find it sooooo interesting how Murderbot doesn’t chime in at all… I mean, it’s in character for it (and it is Going Through It™️), but MB absolutely treats every MI or system it comes across with some level of respect or regard. It wants to foster trust and be kind… I think this has something to do with SecUnits being social beings whose only outlet for that (especially with an intact governor module) are systems and then bots.

That post (via @iridescent-glitter-dragon) about ART being better with humans but not knowing how to talk with other MIs, and Murderbot being so much better with MIs than humans, makes so much sense for both of them. Like, ART was raised alongside a human and mostly works with other humans (and it has NO PATIENCE <3). MB, on the other hand, was dehumanized and completely alienated from people, with systems and other bots as its only means of socializing. of course it would have a great deal of empathy for them <3

[uraniumbones]

I just finished rereading Network Effect, and something that stood out to me this time was the way that MB refers to 2.0 in the first person. Amena considers 2.0 to be like ART and MB's kid, and maybe that's closer to the truth than what MB thinks, but MB definitely considers it to be an extension of itself.

When it argues with 2.0, it says "I can't sit here and argue with myself all day". MB refers to it as 'other me', their name as 'our name', and when it kills 2.0, it says "I had killed SecUnits and combat bots before but this was me, sort of, okay not so sort of". It thinks of killing 2.0 as a form of suicide. And then it never addresses it with anyone else. It admits that 2.0 was a person to ART, but it doesn't go any further than that.

It is not even a little surprising to me that MB ends up having a psychological breakdown in the next book. It gives a different weight to Iris telling MB that she doesn't like to think of any part of ART dying. A part of MB did die. It died so that her life could be saved. And no one knows about it, or thinks about it in the same way.

[uraniumbones]

not enough of a spotlight is shown on Ratthi and Gurathin in Fugitive Telemetry. SecUnit isn't allowed to hack government security systems so it invites its Two Best Guy Friends to come watch it break into a transport ship, AND BOTH OF THEM ARE LIKE "sure thing, sounds fun" ?? They put up the weakest "are you sure this is a good idea?" argument but otherwise just do what SecUnit needs (which is stand in front of security cameras and act as character witnesses). SecUnit's narration also implies that it would have just let its Two Best Guy Friends tag along for the rest of its murder investigation, for funsies, except the cops said no (booooo).

later THE SAME DAY, SecUnit (famously allergic to asking for help) messages their group chat "I need help" with ZERO context, which gives Ratthi and Gurathin such a shock they almost knock their table over. then it facetimes them from the NATIONAL HISTORY MUSEUM to ask which of these Preserved Artifacts works best for jetting out into space? and Ratthi and Gurathin are like, "that one with the red tags, but ummm why?"

"don't worry about it," it says, "I'll tell you later."

then it HANGS UP and they don't hear from it for the rest of the day.

just a day in the life.

[uraniumbones]

[uraniumbones]

Stopppp it’s so funny. Reading system collapse again and there’s a scene where they’re trying to find the colony at the pole and Tarik is thinking hard. Murderbot notes that Tarik looks angry but isn’t and how humans also have trouble controlling their facial expressions. Like it has a whole monologue about it. And then Tarik says “uhh why is there a drone in my face?” And ratthi said “ignore it”

Like that’s so funny. Murderbot is experiencing an epiphany about how it turns out constructs and humans aren’t all that different after all while also hovering a drone directly in front of Tarik’s face. And ratthi is like yea it does that anyway what were you saying?

This would be such a good scene to draw but perspective is the devil

[uraniumbones]

murderbot is a type of person who says "are you stupid? ghosts don't exist" but will be calculating percentages in its head on how to defeat ghosts because well. what if they DO exist.

[uraniumbones]

thinking about how murderbot went from "...you may have noticed that when I do manage to care, I'm a pessimist." in all systems red to "Because I am a stupid optimist, I sent to AdaCol2, query, assistance." in system collapse like. oh my gosh.... it's a stupid optimist..... 🥹🥹🥹

[uraniumbones]

Murderbot, its favorite human and its... ART.

[uraniumbones]

I mostly ship secunit and art as non-sexual queerplatonic soul mates but I do have to respect the murderhelion shippers dedicated to figuring out how a genderless spaceship and a sex repulsed cyborg who is smooth down there like a barbie doll fuck

[uraniumbones]

I love the idea of Murderbot setting up its little security consulting business and advertising is like "Hey want some real security? Hire a rogue SecUnit. What's my rate? Unmarked bills. How much? I dunno, haven't thought that far. Gimme gimme, I wanna patrol your compound and rescue you from danger."

[uraniumbones]

Murderbot is probably the most embarrassing hyperfixation to have because oh really? You're hyperfixated on the 'hyperfixates on media to avoid the real world stress and anxiety' media? Is it. Is it to avoid your real world stress and anxiety, perhaps??

[uraniumbones]

Secunits

[uraniumbones]

Murderbot + text posts [32/∞]

[uraniumbones]

ART is liquid... to me.

ft. Ratthi