#tlacey

The way ART steps in to clean up the mess really reminds me of a DM (Dungeon Master) who has to take over with a NPC (Non-Player Character) to fix a disastrous situation caused by the players. Yes, I am speaking from experience here ^^'

In this scene, Murderbot really f*cked up by miscalculating and endangering Tapan. As a result, she's dying and ART is the only one in any position to help unf*ck the situation. We get a glimpse of how overpowered ART really is, as it fools the station's Port Authority, pretends to be Seth, forges the identity of Tlacey's crew, remote operates the shuttle, wipes its bot pilot's memory and forges all sort of records. All the while preparing its medical facilities and safely retrieving Murderbot and Tapan.

By the time we were on approach to the transit ring, ART had cleared us with the ring’s Port Authority. Shuttles weren’t supposed to be able to dock with transports without advance notice, but ART took care of approach permission, and forged its captain’s feed signature to pay the fine for not giving prior notice of the scheduled trip. They didn’t suspect anything; nobody knew transports could have bots sophisticated enough to fake being human in the feed. I sure hadn’t known it. [...] ART had sent drones to scrub and sterilize away my fluids and Tapan’s blood from the shuttle’s interior. ART had already wiped the bot pilot’s memory and deleted any security data. It was also chatting casually with transit ring launch authority with a forged feed signature from one of the dead humans. (Artificial Condition, Martha Wells)

If this were a tabletop RPG session, Tapan would only get to live because she's important to the plot and the DM needs her for the rest of the story (plot armor). Except, this is a book, not a game session and Tapan is only important to Murderbot who is beating itself up for f*cking up so badly and getting her (nearly) killed.

"I had put my need to get to RaviHyral above the safety of my clients. I was just as shit at being a security consultant as any human." (Artificial Condition, Martha Wells)

And that's what I find beautiful about this scene. ART is not stepping in because the plot needs Tapan or because it personally cares about her, but because it cares about Murderbot and therefore cares about the things and people that Murderbot cares about.

Martha Wells could have gone the usual way of fridging a character for the sake of providing the protagonist with some trauma to deal with and make them interesting. Instead, she cleverly twisted the trope in such a way that it provides excellent characterization for ART and more insight into ART and Murderbot's relationship. Or should I say "mutual administrative assistance"? 😅

By the way, this is as desperate and helpless Murderbot gets in the novels:

I turned away from it and leaned over Tapan. I said, stupidly, “It’s me.” Her eyes were shut and she was breathing through gritted teeth. I clamped my hand over the wound to stop the bleeding and said, ART, help. (Artificial Condition, Martha Wells)