Murderbot: An Autistic-Coded Robot Done Right

June 23, 2022 10:30 AM

"I want people to look at me as an autistic person and say, “You are not like me, and that is fine, and you are still a person.” That, to me, is the ultimate goal of all disability activism: to create a kinder world where there is no standard for what being a “real person” entails and basic respect is afforded to everyone because of their intrinsic value as a living being."
posted by curious nu (17 comments total)

I have really enjoyed seeing how Wells examines different varieties of identity and self-awareness and personhood among the humans, the titular Murderbot, other SecUnits, the sentient ship, and the rest of the series' many characters.

Many of them are well aware of how they are different, and Wells doesn't shy away from it -- but those differences are never the basis for any kind of positive/negative value judgement.

(Plus, the stories are fun and funny, and I can't wait for the next one.)
posted by wenestvedt at 10:51 AM on June 23, 2022 [6 favorites]

Murderbot on FanFare
posted by ActingTheGoat at 11:07 AM on June 23, 2022 [4 favorites]

Praise is unanimous for murderbot and oh oh so relevant
posted by lalochezia at 11:31 AM on June 23, 2022 [1 favorite]

Murderbot would dig deep into the current garden of potato tendrils. Not even a blink, do bots blink?
posted by sammyo at 11:32 AM on June 23, 2022 [1 favorite]

I haven't had time to read the article - I will! - but I had to pop in and say a) I love Murderbot and b) I had the privilege of getting to attend an author-talk with Wells and ended up an even bigger fan of hers. Yay Murderbot!
posted by warriorqueen at 11:40 AM on June 23, 2022 [3 favorites]

Murderbot blinks, at least for the eyes on its humanform face.
posted by Quasirandom at 11:54 AM on June 23, 2022

Know and love Murderbot because of a best of Sci Fi FPP a while back. Thanks metafilter.
posted by booooooze at 11:55 AM on June 23, 2022 [1 favorite]

I have no idea what's going on with the potatoes, though.
posted by booooooze at 11:55 AM on June 23, 2022 [5 favorites]

I love Murderbot so much. And I relate to Murderbot so hard.
posted by See you tomorrow, saguaro at 1:18 PM on June 23, 2022 [1 favorite]

So expensive, though. I just can't pay $12 for a short novella that I'll be done with in an hour.
posted by tllaya at 2:38 PM on June 23, 2022 [1 favorite]

tllaya, do you have access to a library system? Mine has six of the Murderbot books available in ebook form, deliverable straight to my Kindle.
posted by joyceanmachine at 3:02 PM on June 23, 2022 [3 favorites]

I very much enjoy Murderbot and wish to read more. I believe the Murderbot Diaries are the Sanctuary Moon of our time.
posted by nubs at 3:55 PM on June 23, 2022 [11 favorites]

(and to second joyceanmachine, yes check your library - I've accessed all the Murderbots via the library as either ebooks or audio books)
posted by nubs at 3:56 PM on June 23, 2022 [2 favorites]

I love Murderbot (doesn't everyone? I mean, really?). I'm not autistic or even close, but I agree very much with and enjoyed this article.

I've accidentally referred to Murderbot as "he" a couple of times, mostly probably because I'm a boomer male and it's hard to escape one's cultural conditioning. Oddly, though, I typically tend to code such genderless characters as female, and definitely did not get a sense of male or female in the character's voice, which to me is a miraculous bit of writing on Martha Wells' part.

I remain a bit confused about how to picture Murderbot, but all in all I think it would be better to let it watch Sanctuary Moon in peace rather that bother it with my own delights and uncertainties.
posted by lhauser at 7:02 PM on June 23, 2022 [1 favorite]

There are now two completely fictional TV programs I'm dying to see. The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon from Murderbot, and The Big Bug Crew from Becky Chambers' work.
posted by MrVisible at 7:31 PM on June 23, 2022 [5 favorites]

Now I’ve read the article and it reflects so well on some of the reasons I love the series. Even more though, I think it expands beautifully on why the series is such good SF. It really does use the genre to explore “what is personhood” without forcing “normalcy.”

I hadn’t thought of the parental/childlike analogy but wow, now I see it.

One thing this article doesn’t explore (which is fine!) is how Murderbot’s original purpose threads through that personhood. I love how the military expertise/protective streak in Murderbot comes through and how that informs its relationships and actions without it - I don’t know what the right word is but “caving” comes to mind, into trying to make it about the relationships rather than its own expertise/actions.
posted by warriorqueen at 2:41 AM on June 24, 2022 [1 favorite]

BTW, for those who wish to have more Murderbot, your wish will be granted: Wells is under contract to write two (or is it three?) more Murderbot stories. I haven't seen whether they're supposed to be novel or novella length, but they're part of a multi-book contract that includes at least one (unrelated) fantasy novel.
posted by Quasirandom at 8:44 AM on June 24, 2022 [6 favorites]