Martha WELLS : Exit strategy - Murderbot #4

Murderbot wasn’t programmed to care. So, its decision to help the only human who ever showed it respect must be a system glitch, right ?
Having traveled the width of the galaxy to unearth details of its own murderous transgressions, as well as those of the GrayCris Corporation, Murderbot is heading home to help Dr. Mensah — its former owner (protector ? friend ?) — submit evidence that could prevent GrayCris from destroying more colonists in its never-ending quest for profit. But who’s going to believe a SecUnit gone rogue ? And what will become of it when it’s caught ?

 

“I don’t want to be human.”
Dr. Mensah said, “That’s not an attitude a lot of humans are going to understand. We tend to think that because a bot or a construct looks human, its ultimate goal would be to become human.”
“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”

 

A nice change from Data and other androids, isn't it ? It's not a criticism of Data - I love him, but I love the Murderbot too. And yet, much to his dismay, the Murderbot has changed, had to adapt to look more human, if only to escape the security services that are chasing him. And it's beginning to show more and more, in his feelings and his reactions, even dangerous ones. He's getting more complex.

This instalment was the last novella, a series best read in order and an episode that finds its conclusion here. But now, we'll move on to novels ! I'm a bit apprehensive because of the change of format, however Martha Wells has proven her capacity to handle characters, stories, arcs, action, humour and all that, so "Network effect", the first novel in the series that I should read next month, should be a wonderful book, I'm sure !

 

"In the shows, I saw humans comfort each other all the time at moments like this. I had never wanted that and I still didn’t. (...) But I was the only one here, so I braced myself and made the ultimate sacrifice. “Uh, you can hug me if you need to.”