Volume 3 collects the last two novellas; I’m sorry they’re coming to an end BUT…a full length novel, “Network Effect” is apparently out there and I shall have to seek it. “Network Effect” is actually number six in order, coming between these two novellas.  And the first eight episodes of the Apple TV+ series, starring Alexander Skarsgård are in the can and expected to drop on May 16, 2025.

“Fugitive Telemetry” opens with Murderbot living (not particularly comfortably) on Preservation with Dr. Mensah who is struggling with her own society to accept it as a sentient being and not a murder-y SecUnit. Mensah thinks pairing Murderbot with planetary security to investigate a weird murder might be just the thing.  Murderbot just isn’t impressed with yet another dead human but there is just the slightest possibility that it’s the doing of the evil GrayCris and it will do anything to insure Mensah’s safety and, (probably as an after-thought), the safety of its other friends. However, even though the investigation doesn’t yield the expected results, Murderbot finds itself intrigued enough to pursue it even in the face of unrelenting unacceptance from the one person that Mensah wants it to impress.  This story was probably the one where Murderbot best exhibited all it had learned to this point about understanding humans and even understanding its own role within human friendships.

“System Collapse” was a weird one.  Murderbot tells a story in bits and pieces out of sequence; pretty much the way a human might tell a story and then have to go back to explain something, and then back again.  It also spends a good portion of the story not explaining something that becomes the ‘elephant in the room’. I am still not completely sure what the author was trying to do except to illustrate a coping mechanism for Murderbot to deal with something disturbing.  It was a really fun one because new characters were dropped into the feed without the backstory or explanation; I thought it was intriguing.  We’re still not sure exactly where Three came from, its relationship with ART (who is back in this story, yay!) or how Murderbot came to hack its governor. (Three is a SecUnit, too)

I am of the opinion that this story is the most plot-driven one yet.  They are on a planet trying to make contact with some colonists before the evil Barish-Estranza corporation makes contact first and attempts to trick the colonists into becoming slave labor.  This task is complicated by the colonists’ inherent suspicion of both groups and the discovery that the group they are dealing with can’t speak for all the colonist groups on the planet; particularly the mysterious, ultra-sneaky one at the Pole.  This was really a terrific plot and I enjoyed seeing a more confident Murderbot in the thick of it.  Because of Murderbot’s more confident demeanor, I think the author took the opportunity to start delving more into machine intelligence as ART is nothing like Murderbot or Three, and that there may be far more sentient machine intelligences out there than humans are aware of.

One of the aspects of these stories is the human/non-human relationships.  Humans have a long history of using anthropomorphism as a way of defining their fondness for non-human creatures; dogs, cats, small cute aliens and the like.  This is on display when Murderbot observed the affection that Miki’s humans had for her in “Rogue Protocol”, but turned on its head when we observe ART’s affection for certain humans and also Three.  It looks very symbiotic to this reader.

While the attraction of these stories has been the almost neurotic musings of Murderbot, I’m betting we’ll see more complex plots and further investigation of the effect of machine intelligences on unsuspecting humans.  It should be a fun ride.

I have been caught up in the antics and observations of Murderbot and I feel I have been remiss in not commenting on the author’s skills.  This high-concept series, combined with witty dialogue, and Murderbot’s introspection, could not be a success without the professional and skillful writing and narration. There are no wasted sentences, no awkward dialogue. Ms. Wells knows her craft; and well. ~~ Catherine Book

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