Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy

This short story in the Murderbot universe was released recently, and can be read online on Reactor. Delightfully, it's from Perihelion's point of view after its encounter with Murderbot in Artificial Condition.

I'm not sure that the bones of a story about sneaking into a corporate rim structure had quite enough going on for me, but the underlying delight of this story for me is getting to hear just how affected ART was by its encounter and connection with Murderbot. I think there's just such a power differential between ART and Murderbot, that I'm not sure I ever would have expected it to be so affected if you had made me guess. Getting to hear these feelings (and hear them avoided) from Perihelion's point of view is quite good.

Also, Martha Wells is here making extra sure that you know explicitly that Murderbot is a story about trauma through and through. This is maybe a snarky aside from me, but given that this story was released at the same time as the end of the first season of the television show, I wonder how much of this is a deliberate poke or a reminder to new audiences. I'm still working through the first season but this critical element seems quite sidelined.