Read a New Murderbot Story for Free, Right After the Season Finale - Reactor

We’re excited to reveal a brand new Murderbot universe novelette by series author Martha Wells—and you can read it here for free!

The new novelette “Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy” will go live here on Reactor at 10:00 PM ET on Thursday, July 10th. It can be read as a standalone story for anyone who has finished Artificial Condition, the second book in The Murderbot Diaries.

In “Rapport” we catch up with Peri (short for Perihelion) and learn a bit more about what this galaxy does to people and the machine intelligences that have to deal with them…

Here’s a sneak peek!

Peri’s anger was made of ice and steel, but it thought at speeds that a human mind couldn’t match, in multiple directions at once. It was incapable of acting on impulse, in conversation or in any other way. This wasn’t even you getting annoyed.

With just a hint of amusement in its tone, Peri said, What gave me away?

Iris let out a breath. The admission was a good first step. You don’t jump to wrong conclusions like a human.

It said, I’ll have to work on that.

Iris winced. It would, too. Remind me not to critique your performance again.

I value your input, Iris.

Iris absently started to pace. She was too tired and jumpy to play this game right now. Is it something you can tell me at some point? It’s just that I’m worried about you. And I think I’m not the only one. Our dads have noticed, too. She hesitated, then tried to lighten the mood. You aren’t evolving into a new being, or something, are you?

It was an in-joke for their department, that there were always popular press articles about advanced MIs transcending their programming and becoming gods. Peri usually liked the joke, because it gave it a chance to be mean about stupid people. This time, it said, Iris, did you sustain damage to your neural tissue?

She let out her breath. Come on, that’s your favorite joke. You’re really scaring me now. What’s wrong? Did something happen?

Peri was silent for six whole seconds. Then it said, Explaining would in effect be violating a confidence.

Continue reading “Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy” here!

Can’t Get Enough Murderbot?
Check out “Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory” — a Murderbot short story set after the events of Exit Strategy!