All Systems Red

Synopsis

A security unit accompanying a scientific expedition has secretly disabled its governor module. Calling itself Murderbot, the partly organic and partly mechanical construct would prefer some privacy to understand who it is. When a neighbouring mission stops communicating, the expedition faces a danger that puts its protector's choices to the test. Martha Wells uses the expedition premise to explore freedom beyond enforced obedience and an employer's definition of usefulness. First published in 2017, All Systems Red is a novella and the first volume of The Murderbot Diaries; Artificial Condition follows it.