The first thing that Murderbot thinks upon waking is what the fuck was that. Constructs don't dream, that would require being able to sleep the way a human does, so it can't have been a dream. The follow up thought is Murderbot wondering if it's been infected by an alien remnant, but all the scans come back clear.
ART had eliminated all the contaminated code, right?
Of course it did. ART didn't make mistakes. That rules out that possibility, forcing Muderbot to confront the fact that this might be real.
Fuck, it never should've spoken to that stupid voice. This is what it gets for caring.
While all these thoughts are swirling, Murderbot sends out a ping to ART, then Arada, then Ratthi, until it's cycled through the entire PresAux team as well as ART's crew. It even attempts to ping Three, just in case, but there's nothing from any of them. If they were unconscious, Murderbot would still feel them in the feed, there'd be more than just empty silence.
So Murderbot is alone, aside from the other person in the room, that it can hear breathing. Murderbot opens its eyes, swings out of the bed in one quick movement so it can come to stand over the other person. The expression it wears is neutral and despite the sudden looming, Murderbot does not make eye contact.]
Please explain your presence here.
[Surprisingly polite, considering the situation. It just wants to know if this other person had the same 'dream' that it did.]
PART II
[The food hall or sunshine room are of little interest to a construct that can't eat and is used to living on ships and stations, but there are other parts of the ship that Murderbot is eager to explore.
The most important one is the armory, where it can be found carefully studying the control panel and requesting a series of weapons, namely projectile weapons and blades, since it has energy weapons in its arms. Later, Murderbot takes those same weapons to the training room, where it sets up a target to test each weapon, as well as the different types of ammunition. The methodical testing might make it clear that Murderbot is very much not human.
Once it's satisfied with the weapons, Murderbot aims for the lab, though it's far more interested in the technology than the chemistry. There doesn't seem to be any rules or restrictions about what can be used, so Murderbot settles in at a table with as many boxes of parts as can fit. Anyone wandering into the room will find Murderbot hard at working making... something... out of the technology available.
Drones. It's making drones. Because of course it is.]
PART III
[The simulation room is, in theory, very interesting. This sort of technology isn't something that's been developed in the Corporation Rim, although Murderbot has to wonder why not, when it would be very profitable. Despite the interest, Murderbot is mostly here to prepare for any upcoming missions. This whole situation is still incredibly strange, but there's a job to do, and that needs to take priority.
Nothing happens, at first, and then someone else steps into the simulation room and everything changes drastically.
The scene is a familiar one, which is deeply unfortunate. For someone unfamiliar, it isn't too different from the station, except that it somehow manages to feel... empty. Unsettling. The large empty halls of the terraforming platform seeming to take on an almost sinister bent.
But that isn't the most eye catching thing about the simulation.
That would be the planet below and the storm that rages on it. The clouds are enormous, slow-moving masses of swirling colors and shifting light. Murderbot remembers clearly, how it felt the first time witnessing the storm. How the clouds had seemed both terrible and beautiful, how despite all the danger, it had stopped to watch the clouds like lumbering beasts for almost half a minute.
And then a sound cuts through it all. The heavy clunk of something metal, and Murderbot turns to the other person in the room.]
Run.
PART IV: NETWORK
[Fortunately, the earpieces operate similarly to the feed, so Murderbot gets the hang of it easily. There's no unfiltered thoughts coming through in this text message.]
UN: SecUnit
I would like to inquire about three things.
1. Is there proof that our regrets can be undone? 2. Is anyone on this station familiar with the Corporation Rim? 3. I am interested in acquiring new media and am willing to share my own media in exchange. I have several hundred hours of downloads.
murderbot | the murderbot diaries
[System Restarting.
The first thing that Murderbot thinks upon waking is what the fuck was that. Constructs don't dream, that would require being able to sleep the way a human does, so it can't have been a dream. The follow up thought is Murderbot wondering if it's been infected by an alien remnant, but all the scans come back clear.
ART had eliminated all the contaminated code, right?
Of course it did. ART didn't make mistakes. That rules out that possibility, forcing Muderbot to confront the fact that this might be real.
Fuck, it never should've spoken to that stupid voice. This is what it gets for caring.
While all these thoughts are swirling, Murderbot sends out a ping to ART, then Arada, then Ratthi, until it's cycled through the entire PresAux team as well as ART's crew. It even attempts to ping Three, just in case, but there's nothing from any of them. If they were unconscious, Murderbot would still feel them in the feed, there'd be more than just empty silence.
So Murderbot is alone, aside from the other person in the room, that it can hear breathing. Murderbot opens its eyes, swings out of the bed in one quick movement so it can come to stand over the other person. The expression it wears is neutral and despite the sudden looming, Murderbot does not make eye contact.]
Please explain your presence here.
[Surprisingly polite, considering the situation. It just wants to know if this other person had the same 'dream' that it did.]
PART II
[The food hall or sunshine room are of little interest to a construct that can't eat and is used to living on ships and stations, but there are other parts of the ship that Murderbot is eager to explore.
The most important one is the armory, where it can be found carefully studying the control panel and requesting a series of weapons, namely projectile weapons and blades, since it has energy weapons in its arms. Later, Murderbot takes those same weapons to the training room, where it sets up a target to test each weapon, as well as the different types of ammunition. The methodical testing might make it clear that Murderbot is very much not human.
Once it's satisfied with the weapons, Murderbot aims for the lab, though it's far more interested in the technology than the chemistry. There doesn't seem to be any rules or restrictions about what can be used, so Murderbot settles in at a table with as many boxes of parts as can fit. Anyone wandering into the room will find Murderbot hard at working making... something... out of the technology available.
Drones. It's making drones. Because of course it is.]
PART III
[The simulation room is, in theory, very interesting. This sort of technology isn't something that's been developed in the Corporation Rim, although Murderbot has to wonder why not, when it would be very profitable. Despite the interest, Murderbot is mostly here to prepare for any upcoming missions. This whole situation is still incredibly strange, but there's a job to do, and that needs to take priority.
Nothing happens, at first, and then someone else steps into the simulation room and everything changes drastically.
The scene is a familiar one, which is deeply unfortunate. For someone unfamiliar, it isn't too different from the station, except that it somehow manages to feel... empty. Unsettling. The large empty halls of the terraforming platform seeming to take on an almost sinister bent.
But that isn't the most eye catching thing about the simulation.
That would be the planet below and the storm that rages on it. The clouds are enormous, slow-moving masses of swirling colors and shifting light. Murderbot remembers clearly, how it felt the first time witnessing the storm. How the clouds had seemed both terrible and beautiful, how despite all the danger, it had stopped to watch the clouds like lumbering beasts for almost half a minute.
And then a sound cuts through it all. The heavy clunk of something metal, and Murderbot turns to the other person in the room.]
Run.
PART IV: NETWORK
[Fortunately, the earpieces operate similarly to the feed, so Murderbot gets the hang of it easily. There's no unfiltered thoughts coming through in this text message.]
UN: SecUnit
I would like to inquire about three things.
1. Is there proof that our regrets can be undone?
2. Is anyone on this station familiar with the Corporation Rim?
3. I am interested in acquiring new media and am willing to share my own media in exchange. I have several hundred hours of downloads.