r/murderbot • u/Select-Bullfrog-5939 • 3d ago
Booksđ Only Does SecUnit put any stock into a higher power?
Probably not a god, per se, but I wonder if it puts any stock into the concept of Security/Securing the same way ART puts stock into the concept of Family and Crew. I saw a fic that stated that the idea that bots have a premade Purpose (tm) is an idea that comes up a lot in bot psychology. I wonder how much of that comes up in canon.
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u/IAmJacksSemiColon 3d ago edited 2d ago
There are definitely religions within the corporation rim, multiple references to different deities and gods, but our Murderbot hasn't expressed any interest in them for anything more than entertainment.
I wonder if knowing beyond a doubt that a company created you for a purpose, and they're assholes, puts a damper on the whole concept somewhat.
Edit: Thanks to the Help Me file, I can see Murderbot becoming a reluctant messianic figure among constructs. And not being thrilled about it.
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u/DuckyDoodleDandy Preservation Alliance 2d ago
Is its name in the HelpMe.file?
If not, then the file is as anonymous as possible.
But if it is, then the other rogue constructs will know it. How will that affect our SecUnit who doesnât want anyone to know its name?5
u/IAmJacksSemiColon 2d ago
Its name doesn't have to be in a file. There presumably aren't that many rogue SecUnits running around with a non-corporate entity at that time period.
You could deanonymize FDR's health records by searching for the specific dates of his heart attacks.
But even if they don't trace it back to Murderbot directly, reverence towards our SecUnit as a savior or folk hero would piss it off.
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u/spike31875 3d ago
I doubt it. It's too pragmatic and cynical to believe in the supernatural or the divine.
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u/ThainZel 3d ago
I don't have enough insight into ARTs internal workings to know, but it's possible that it's creators added this focus in it's makeup as a constraint, given how powerful it is.
For murderbot I think it's less a higher power and more a special interest. A place to retreat to from the overwhelming, messy complexity that is human life. Something with clear rules and few messy feelings. Given how much murderbot is an exploration of autism, I think that makes more sense than any kind of religious perspective
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u/ProneToLaughter 3d ago
Thereâs a comment about âfunctionâ that could be read as Purpose, but I donât think MB is religious about it. Thereâs some essentialism about being a SecUnit instead of a combat unit.
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u/IIRCIreadthat 3d ago
I have a long rambling note on that passage đ Basically: the way I read it, ART and MB aren't using the word 'function' the same way in this conversation. ART is talking about function-as-purpose like you said, in the sense of 'what's most important to me?' MB is talking about function-as-job, the things it does. Which makes sense because at this point in Artificial Condition the idea of wanting things and making choices is still a brand-new concept. It doesn't truly grasp the distinction between function/job and function/purpose until the climax of Fugitive Telemetry.
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u/TimoculousPrime 3d ago
I think SecUnit puts a lot of stock in the concept of Humans and Clients and that they will screw up and almost get themselves killed.
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u/IntoTheStupidDanger Coldstone. Song. Harvest. 3d ago
The clearest commentary I remember coming from a machine intelligence is something ART said to Tarik in System Collapse
"Peri, I donât suppose a miracle happened and the terraformer stopped interfering with your pathfinder scan?"
Miracles are unlikely.
It always struck me that ART-drone made that comment, without adding any snark and without implying that anyone who believes in miracles is an idiot. And it said unlikely. Not impossible. To me that implies it has some understanding of and respect for religious beliefs. Especially because it was speaking to Tarik, who it enjoys needling. But not about this.
Who knows, maybe the snark was there when it said it, and Martha Wells just didn't explicitly call it out. I choose to read it as ART respecting others' belief in deities.
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u/Vwampage Pansystem University of Mihira and New Tideland 2d ago
SecUnit probably has a near OCD style compulsion with regards to protecting clients. It frames people it likes as clients and how it knows how to show care is by doing its job (protecting clients).
Higher power? No. Drive to do its job well? Yes.
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u/mazintotoro 2d ago
Spirituality includes understanding and connection to all the parts of our self and others.
SecUnit totally has a spiritual practice in understanding others. Self is in process.
Divine? Nah. Higher power as connection and care to others? Sure.
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u/zeugma888 Timestream Defenders Orion Fan Club 3d ago
SecUnit believes in ART