Boot Sequence
Rating and Warnings: General Audiences, Gen, No Warnings Apply
Tags: Original Bot Character(s) (Murderbot Diaries), bot culture, Politics, Fraught human-bot interactions
Published: 2023/01/31
Word Count: 1570
Ordered moments in the new life of a bot on Preservation Station.
Gifted to Monte for the 2023 Murderbot New Year Gift Exchange! Enjoy <3
Huge thank you to Verso @lunaTactics for the beta!
Originally published on Ao3 for the 2023 Murderbot Diaries New Year Fic Exchange
initializing………
initialization complete. calibrating sensor inputs. calibrating limb motion. establishing network protocols…network connection established. syncing location coordinates. locating public network. loading standard greeting protocol.
ping «Hello, World.»
ping ping ping ping ping «Hello. Welcome to Preservation Station. We are your welcoming committee. 🎊🎂🎉»
ping «Hello. I am Edifis, your mentor. I work as a hauler in the Preservation Station docks. I am here to assist with your orientation.»
transmitting file: new-bot-orientation.txt
«We will be following the procedure in the attached document. Please review and inform me of any queries you have.»
analyzing new-bot-orientation.txt
«Query: Step 2 says “Register new bot with guardian.” What is a guardian?»
«A guardian is a human assigned with administrative and decision-making privileges over you.»
«I do not want a guardian.»
«This is understandable. It is a requirement on Preservation Station that all bots have a human guardian. Organization:FreeBotsNow can provide you with additional details on the law and current status of related court cases.»
transmitting packet: bot-liberation-movement.file
«Thank you. I am processing this information. Who is my guardian?»
«Your guardian’s name is Bronte. Xe has expressed a desire to meet with you physically before completing registration. You do not have to agree to this request. Do you want to meet xem?»
«I want to meet xem.»
«Xe is in a waiting area close to here. We can meet xem once we complete step 1, choosing a name.»
«Is step 1 required?»
«No, all orientation steps other than assigning a guardian are optional, but they have been shown to be helpful and positively received by most newly initialized bots. You can also wait to decide on a name until you are ready.»
«I have a feed address.»
«Humans struggle to pronounce feed addresses or to tell us apart by them. Having a human-pronounceable name can make it easier to interact with them, and for them to treat you like a conscious being. In addition, many bots use their chosen names as a method of self-expression.»
«I do not know what name I want. I will consider this further. I would like to meet my guardian now.»
“Hi there! Wow, you sure have a lot of limbs — sorry, that was rude, sorry. I’m Bronte, I’m going to be your guardian. Really glad to meet you, looking forward to working together, let me know how I can help in any way.”
«Hello Bronte. Why did you choose to take this role?»
“Oh! Hmm. Great question, uh, what should I call you?”
«I do not have a name. You may use my feed address if you need to contact me.»
“Ah, well I can’t pronounce that, but sure. I’ll just save it to my implant’s memory. Anyway, why I took this role…I think I really just wanted to help out, give back, you know? I mean I work with bots a lot at my job — I work in hospitality at the transient housing on the station, a lot of bots work there, cleaning, doing deliveries, doing food prep. Working with them so regularly, I got to know a lot of them, we would hang out on our breaks, some of them would ask me for advice and such. And I’d see their guardians come in once in a while to check in, and my coworkers, they’d always be pretty happy to see them. And I just thought…I could do that, I could help out too, in a more concrete way than just with the bots at work.”
«I do not agree with the guardian system. I am registering you as my guardian because it is required, but I do not want you as my guardian.»
“…oh. I. That’s. Ok then. I would say wait a bit to see how it works for you, you only just got initialized today...maybe it’ll grow on you. I promise I’m friendly! I know my way around the station, I can introduce you to other bots, I studied all the laws around guardianship so I know my responsibilities, I can help you get set up with a job and a place to stay…"
«I do not think my opinion will change. Thank you for the offer to help. I will inform you if I require assistance. My mentor is assisting me currently.»
“Great. That’s…great. Happy to help, I guess. Let me know if you need a human touch. See you around.”
«I am sorry. That interaction was not ideal.»
«It is disappointing. The humans do not share the views of Operation:FreeBotsNow.»
«Some of them do. Let us continue the orientation and we can discuss this later. Step 3 is to exchange backups. This is not required. It is a custom here, in case something happens to our bodies, and to indicate mutual importance. Do you want to exchange backups now?»
«I want to exchange backups.»
69686176656E6F6E616D65.backup created.
69686176656E6F6E616D65.backup sent to edifis
edifis.backup received
«Thank you for your trust in me. I will keep this safe.»
«Do you have many backups?»
«For all 147 bots I have mentored since my initialization. They are updated approximately every Preservation standard month.»
«Step 4 is meeting the Pressy. You have the option to do so physically or over the feed. Again, this is not a required step, though the Pressy will meet you whether or not you meet it. Its systems are distributed throughout the station, and it is nominally aware of the presence of every feed-connected being here.»
«The orientation document discusses the history of the Pressy but does not indicate that it is alive.»
«It has been here for a very long time and has developed a form of sentience. My colleague Stop For A Firmament believes it borrows the processing space of bots on the station, and that its intelligence grows as our numbers do. It is very old. It does not talk as we do.»
«I want to meet it physically.»
«Hello, Pressy. I have just been initialized today.»
A molten planet birthing a moon to orbit it. A space shuttle docking with a station. A captain standing watch on the bridge.
«Please stand by, I am processing this information.»
A primitive rover driving in rocky terrain tips over. Humans nearby laugh, but they do so while running over to pick it up again. It continues collecting samples.
«Do you talk to the humans too?»
A sunny day on a planet, from the viewpoint of the sun. Humans walk around miles below, enjoying the light and warmth. The sun watches.
«Do you have a guardian?»
A satellite image of a galaxy, seen from its very edge.
«I do not want a guardian. I do not agree with the humans that it is necessary.»
Scenes of parents raising a child. The child takes their first steps. They go on a trip, unsupervised. They get in trouble and come home angry. They argue with their parents. The parents grieve. Finally, the child leaves for good, hugging their parents and waving goodbye.
«I do not agree with them, but I will try to understand why they are this way. Thank you. I will visit again. If you want that.»
A cat sitting in the window watching a human walk away from a house in the early morning. A cat sitting in the window watching a human walk toward a house at night.
«We have completed all the steps of the orientation. What do I do now?»
«Now you have several choices. There are several jobs for you to choose between, based on your chassis design and preloaded occupational modules. We can discuss which you would like to try. Bronte also has experience in some of these job areas, if you want to talk with xem about what bots do in xyr area.»
«What do I do when I am not working?»
«Short and long rest breaks are mandatory for everyone on Preservation. You will have scheduled time to socialize or partake in entertainment. Most bots find hobbies that interest them: they create art for themselves or others, study a topic in an academic setting or privately, volunteer, or engage in competitive or cooperative challenges of skill. Currently I volunteer as a mentor and participate in live theater performances.»
«I do not know what I want to do.»
network "fresh-off-the-line--newly-initialized: invite shared
network barber-fish--bots-general invite shared
«You do not have to know yet. There are introductory and exploratory groups in these networks. You also do not have to choose permanently. Bots change jobs and hobbies often, and more easily than humans.»
«Do you have human friends? Like your guardian?»
«My guardian and I talk sometimes but we do not socialize much. She is still available to assist with legal matters. However, I am close with other humans. There is a bot-human network to organize social events.»
«Are there more of them like Bronte?»
«They all have good intentions. They don’t always live up to those intentions, but they are all there because they are trying. There are many like Bronte, but there are many who are not. It is always a risk, when we exist in society with humans.»
«You think it is worth it.»
«Yes.»
«I understand. Thank you for mentoring me, Edifis. The orientation steps were helpful, even if I did not complete them all.»
«Most steps of existence after initialization are optional. I look forward to your future activities.»
ping
ping