it's just outer space that gives me trouble. well, and lovecraft, because he doesn't even try to describe things, he just throws up his hands and bleats "ineffable" and we're supposed to be satisfied with that.

Knowing what would happen, she wouldn’t choose a different planet, a different bond company. Because then SecUnit would still be someone’s property, would be waiting for the contract where the negligence or greed or indifference of its clients got it killed.” Equal-Opportunity Evil: Differences in genders, sexualities, and ethnicities are no big deal in the Corporate Rim. All that matters about a person is how much they can be exploited for corporate profit.A third short story, "Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory", taking place between Exit Strategy and Fugitive Telemetry, was published on Tor.com in 2021. [16]

Following the events in Network Effect, the Barish-Estranza corporation has sent rescue ships to a newly-colonized planet in peril, as well as additional SecUnits. But if there’s an ethical corporation out there, Murderbot has yet to find it, and if Barish-Estranza can’t have the planet, they’re sure as hell not leaving without something. If that something just happens to be an entire colony of humans, well, a free workforce is a decent runner-up prize. Non-Human Non-Binary: Partly organic, but designed and built without sexual characteristics and opting out of the whole business whenever it has to bring up gender in relation to itself. All bots, AI, and bot-human constructs are "it", including the emancipated "free" bots on Preservation. Also, is rather disgusted at the idea of getting human sexual organs.The Virus: The entire colony is infected to various degrees by the alien remnants, and they consciously spread this infection to other humans and machines. P.S. for anyone concerned, there is surprisingly little gore for how much violence is inherent in the life of a Murderbot. A fair amount of swearing, yes, and the occasional (usually annoyed, sometimes disgusted, always disinterested) reference to the existence of sex as a human activity that exists, but there are no lengthy passages expounding in great detail upon the injuries or deaths that take place throughout the series. I suppose some people might find the no-nonsense way Murderbot presents such things disquieting, but I don't think even squeamish people are likely to be too upset. This book takes place just after Network Effect, which is where I wanted to be, more on that later. Here we find our favorite, freed SecUnit and its working with ART. However, Murderbot seems to be having some issues other than the task which they have set their mind to. Murderbot is experiencing things like self-doubt and anxiety and it is a pleasure to behold. Not that I'd wish anything bad would happen to it, it's just that I love its human qualities and I'm glad to see more of them.

Book Dumb: Murderbot is definitely intelligent, but hasn't exactly received much in the way of formal education. There are several points where it mixes up "anagram" and "acronym", for example. Because they are all refugees in the Preservation Alliance, descended from people who were left to die because rescue was deemed not cost-effective.

It's moving to ride around in the head of something that is so strong and so vulnerable, so murder-y and so frightened, all at the same time.