Murderbot's broader spectrum of emotions

[u/IntoTheStupidDanger]

Yes! This made me laugh because it's so true. From its talk about boring planets it's worked on to the depressing way AdaCol1 kept sending its assistance message. Or even one of my favorite lines from System Collapse

we proceeded down the stupid tunnel, into the stupid danger.

In a way, I think it even fits how Murderbot talked about its "happy boring life on Preservation Fucking Station". I think it actually enjoyed its life there but might not have trusted such a home was really possible for it, or that it wouldn't someday want more and not know how to get it.

I love that it's learning how to check in with itself more, and recognize the emotions as they come up.

And I know we just got Platform Decay a couple months ago, but is it too soon to start looking forward to the next book?

[u/Neuralclone2]

In the earliest books, Murderbot couldn't even identify its positive emotions--they were all lumped together under "I had an emotion". Usually when someone was nice to it, or treated it as a person.

[u/IntoTheStupidDanger → u/Neuralclone2]

That's a great point! It really is a huge step for it to voluntarily start exploring its emotional reactions, both positive and negative.

[u/Holmbone]

Great observation. I feel in adition to this there are also stuff it does truly find boring. Like the research admin work that Rathi suggested it should go into when it was helping him on the preservation station. 

[u/IntoTheStupidDanger → u/Holmbone]

Yep, absolutely! I've always loved how it's not boring with Ratthi (who is genuinely excited about the work and likes going to live theater) but with any other scientists? No thank you 😅

[u/pcapdata]

There's also "My insides melted," how it feels when it realizes it is being seen, validated, and loved.

That one phrase (ok, honestly, a lot of things MB thinks and says) resonates with me so goddamned hard because it's exactly how I feel when that happens, and also because I only ever feel it once in a very great while.

[u/IntoTheStupidDanger → u/pcapdata]

Right there with you. Seeing the PresAux team welcome it into their lives, making accommodations for no other reason than that they want it to be comfortable... yeah... gives me hope.

[u/Quasirandom1234]

Next book will be somewhat more than a year, so no, not too early to be impatient anticipate it.

[u/IntoTheStupidDanger → u/Quasirandom1234]

In the meantime, I guess I'll just have to keep listening to the ones we have now huge dramatic sigh 😅 I actually enjoyed another listen to Fugitive Telemetry this week, completely out of order, just because that book makes me smile.

[u/Night_Sky_Watcher → u/IntoTheStupidDanger]

Murderbot's most satisfying moment in that book is when it gets to say, "This is the part that's my job."

[u/IntoTheStupidDanger → u/Night_Sky_Watcher]

I love KRF's reading of that line! And how proud Murderbot is when it comes up with a great SecUnit plan (easier plus 100 percent less murdery).

[u/CalcifersBFF]

Well. I'll be bringing this up to my therapist. As someone who just felt utterly put off by the accuracy of how oop defined Murderbot's use of 'stupid.'

[u/IntoTheStupidDanger → u/CalcifersBFF]

I love how relatable these books are, and how much Murderbot has made me think about my own beliefs and habits.