Complementary Species story
In a flashback, it is revealed that Gurathin used to be a spy working for the Corporation Rim and was suicidal, before he met Mensah. Meanwhile, the PresAux team prepares to evacuate the habitat, before the hostile third party arrives. Murderbot observes that Gurathin's body temperature is rising. They still take the hopper and try to hide. While the team discusses their situation, two of the centipede-like creatures appear and mate, leaving their eggs attached to the hopper. Shortly after that, a SecUnit of superior make attacks. The team unavailingly tries to help Murderbot fighting the aggressor. But when it accidentally destroys some of the alien eggs, the female returns, bites the SecUnit's head off, collects the remaining egg sacks, and disappears. Gurathin collapses due to his infected wound. Against Murderbot's advice, Mensah orders to take him back to the medical bay of the habitat.
14 total · 2 choice · 5 major · 7 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| AI point of view | choice | A point of the story is to speculate on how an android might view humans. The story is mostly narrated by the titular Murderbot's inner thoughts. |
| android | choice | The story follows the titular Murderbot, a humanoid robot with organic parts that functioned as a security unit. There is no indication that Murderbot ever existed as a biological organism that became enhanced with technological parts. |
| fear for one's life | major | Dr. Mensah and her crew were on the run from murderous SecUnits and in mortal fear for their lives. |
| human vs. monster | major | Murderbot and the scientists encountered a giant centipede-like creature with maws on either end of it. The creature copulated with a mate on top of the team's vehicle. |
| human worrying about self | major | On recurring occasions, Murderbot made it clear that he was discomforted by the others' attempts to become more familiar with him. In this installment, the scientists' joked about Murderbot's penchant for "checking the perimeter" whenever he wanted an excuse to get away from them. |
| trust | major | The crew couldn't tell if Murderbot was genuinely trying to help them or secretly setting them up to be brutally killed. |
| trust in a potential foe | major | The crew couldn't tell if Murderbot was genuinely trying to help them or secretly setting them up to be brutally killed. |
| brain-computer interface | minor | Dr. Gurathin had a port in his neck that allowed him to interface directly with computer systems. |
| drug abuse | minor | In a flashback scene, Gurathin revealed that he'd once been addicted to various substances. He had, in fact, been induced into his addiction by the Corporation Rim which gave him tailor made drugs in order to make him spy for them. |
| espionage | minor | In a flashback scene, Gurathin revealed that he'd once been a spy for the Corporation Rim. |