#modules

Platform Decay minor spoiler

Well, since I posted the Systems Count, I may as well post my "module" count".

I have become so familiar with risk and threat assessment modules that it came as a surprise that the "risk assessment module"'s first proper mention was not until Exit Strategy and the "threat assessment module" in Network Effect.

Not surprisingly, the "governor module" has the highest mention counts with 153 times across the series (from ASR to PD). The next highest one is the "mental health module" at 70 times, including the times when MB is simply checking its emotion without referring to the module by the name.

Despite the fact that the risk assessment gets mentioned one book earlier, Murderbot seems to rely on the threat assessment module more frequently, with the total count for RAM at 39 and TAM at 89 times.

The risk assessment module seems to be used for providing stats about long-term danger, whereas the threat assessment module is about alerting to immediate danger.

My favourite risk assessment moment comes in System Collapse when Murderbot unexpectedly faces Leonide in the separatist's site:

Risk assessment suggested I had a 63 percent chance of pulling this off. At 3.4 meters away, Leonide halted. I halted, too. Her forehead crinkled and she said, “I recognize you.” Her expression turned incredulous. You’re the SecUnit.” Well, fuck risk assessment.

Poor risk assessment. It doesn't always have sufficient data to work out the stats, does it?

These two are not necessarily in agreement and they don't necessarily offer explanations.

In Platform Decay, MB says:

The whole point of these modules is to apply sorting and priority rating to incoming data so I don’t have to (or really because a SecUnit with a governor module shouldn’t have the capability). I pulled samples to parse manually but a lot of the alerts were normal low-risk stuff like traffic hazards, petty theft, noise disturbances, etc.

This is a bit (or more that a bit) scary because a normal "governed" SecUnit cannot actively interpret the modules' output, so they just have to react to the stats without thoughts. Unless a HubSystem or a human supervisor in charge does that for them.

Other modules that mentioned include:

Education modules (11 mentions) - MB grouses how shitty they are

Combat override module (20 mentions) - the terrifying module that is installed via data port in behind the neck. It turns SecUnits like a zombie-bots, obeying commands from that. I suppose they also override HubSystem commands via governor modules. Otherwise there could be so many dead units, violating the distance limits.

Piloting module - MB has one for hoppers but not for shuttles. (Three has one for shuttles.)

Murderbot also mentions a combat stealth module (Rogue Protocol), training module (Rogue Protocol), emergency med/psych module (Exit Strategy), and procedure module aka. panic module (System Collapse).

Edelweiss tradition is giving hand-forged daggers as a symbol of friendship, we know this from his token:

A dagger means friendship. What can a battleship mean, in that case--a marriage proposal? It's a thousand times larger in scale, so what else could it be? I'm only half-joking. Giving people weapons is a whole thing for the Edelweisses.

But even aside from the tradition, the module makes it clear that Gnosis is taking precious time out of his extremely busy schedule developing Kjerag (because every new bit of technology or infrastructure rests on his shoulders, apparently), which he specifically complains about (that he could be using the time spent on the ship to do other things), to direct and supervise construction on the ship--but he still does it.

Enciodes even reminds him (after smugly rubbing it in that Gnosis "still followed along with it," even) that he can drop the project any time he wants and Ratatos will take over, but no, Gnosis absolutely refuses to relinquish control of it. We see Ratatos is involved in RS-ST-3, but Gnosis is still clearly head of the project by the way they talk and this module. He's just not stepping down. This is his goddamn project and even if he deems it a waste of time and useless and possibly dangerous, he's gonna build his kitty-cat his stupid little toy even if he's gonna complain about it the whole time.

ice court is pretty open to different methods (seeing as the plan changed about 50 times)

it wouldn't be all that hard to translate since we get a lot of details about the system across the book and even a map

hrignhalla (idk how to spell it) provides a great time to incorporate the backstories of players (such as brum/heleen in the book)

lots of cool puzzles (sneaking in grisha, ice bridge, etc.)

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Suppose B,M, N, P are A-modules. Suppose I know that the sequence