The Perimeter story
As Murderbot's systems reboot, Corporation Rim technicians delete its memory and install a new governor module. At the same time, the PresAux team negotiates with company representatives to find the SecUnit. They offer to buy it and threaten with a lawsuit, but the company refuses, telling them that its memory has been wiped anyway. So Pin-Lee files an injunction to seize Murderbot for evidentiary reasons, while Gurathin manages to retrieve the data that was downloaded during the memory wipe. He locates Murderbot's personality files by searching Sanctuary Moon episodes. The team saves Murderbot from being destroyed, and Gurathin uploads its personality. It recognizes that without its armor it looks like an augmented human. The team invites Murderbot to live as a free agent on their home planet. That night, Murderbot attempts to sneak away but is intercepted by Gurathin, who tries to make it feel welcome. Murderbot insists that it needs to check the perimeter. When Gurathin relents, Murderbot thanks him. Posing as a servant bot, it boards a transport ship that departs as Mensah awakens and realizes that it has left.
12 total · 2 choice · 6 major · 4 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. |
| belonging | major | The scientists felt strongly that Murderbot was a valued member of their close-knit group, so much so that they went through hell and high water to save him. In the end, however, Murderbot rejected their invitation and went his own way. |
| figuring out what to do with one's life | major | Liberated from the company, Murderbot found himself at something of a loss regarding what to do with his life. |
| friendship | major | The scientists were a close-knit group of friends that went out on a limb to save Murderbot. |
| memory erasure | major | Murderbot's memory was wiped. The story turned on the scientists working to get Murderbot his memories and personal identity back. |
| personal identity | major | A central question was whether and to what extent SecUnit, aka. Murderbot, could ever be the same "person" after having undergone a memory wipe. |
| the need for freedom | major | Murderbot didn't know what he wanted out of life, but he knew he didn't want anyone to tell him. |
| brain-computer interface | minor | Dr. Gurathin had a port in his neck that allowed him to interface directly with computer systems. |
| drug abuse | minor | Dr. Gurathin had been addicted to some tailor made drugs. |