All Systems Red
by Martha Wells
Contents
Chapter One
Overview
A secretly self-governing SecUnit saves Dr. Bharadwaj from a hidden tunneling predator and gets the survey team back to the habitat despite taking severe damage itself. The rescue reveals both a serious new threat on the planet and the SecUnit's unexpectedly compassionate, autonomous behavior, which begins to change how Mensah's team sees it. Just before emergency stasis shuts it down, it spots a suspicious HubSystem "abort" command, hinting that the attack may involve more than random wildlife.
Summary
The narrator, a SecUnit that privately calls itself a murderbot, explains that it secretly hacked its governor module long ago and used its freedom mainly to consume entertainment while continuing to work security contracts. On a planetary survey mission, it is guarding Dr. Bharadwaj and Dr. Volescu at a crater when a hidden creature suddenly erupts from below and attacks.
The SecUnit immediately jumps into the crater, pulls Bharadwaj out of the creature's mouth, shoots into the attacker, and gets both Bharadwaj and the panicked Volescu moving toward safety. Bharadwaj is badly wounded, and the SecUnit is also heavily damaged, but it prioritizes MedSystem guidance and physically carries Bharadwaj while coaxing Volescu up the crater wall. When the hopper arrives, Dr. Mensah authorizes the SecUnit to enter the crew compartment with Bharadwaj, something normally forbidden, because letting go of Bharadwaj's suit could kill her.
Inside the hopper, the team tries to stabilize Bharadwaj while Ratthi almost makes a fatal mistake by trying to retrieve abandoned equipment. The danger is confirmed when the subterranean hostile lunges up beneath the ramp just as the hatch closes, forcing Mensah to launch hard. Back at the habitat, the SecUnit helps transfer Bharadwaj to medical care, secures the base, expands the drone perimeter, and sets seismic alerts because the attack showed that threats can come from underground as well as across open ground.
Badly injured and dropping in reliability, the SecUnit retreats to its repair cubicle, wraps itself in a survival blanket, and prepares to spend recovery time with downloaded media. Mensah visits to check on it and thanks it for calming Volescu as well as saving Bharadwaj, revealing that the team has begun to see it differently than a simple appliance. After reviewing its recordings, the SecUnit realizes it behaved with unexpected personal concern during the rescue and then notices a strange "abort" order in the HubSystem command feed; before it can investigate further, its condition worsens and emergency stasis begins.
Who Appears
- SecUnitNarrator and security unit; rescues Bharadwaj, protects Volescu, secures the habitat, and notices a suspicious system command.
- Dr. MensahMission leader; coordinates the emergency response, authorizes the SecUnit into the crew cabin, and checks on it afterward.
- Dr. BharadwajSurvey scientist; badly injured in the crater attack and rushed back for emergency treatment.
- Dr. VolescuSurvey scientist; freezes in shock after the attack and is guided out by the SecUnit.
- RatthiCrew member who nearly delays escape by trying to retrieve abandoned field equipment.
- Pin-LeeCrew member who helps during the evacuation and sharply stops Ratthi from taking a fatal risk.
- AradaCrew member who assists with Volescu and uses the emergency medical kit on Bharadwaj.
- OverseCrew member who helps clear space in the hopper and assists during Bharadwaj's evacuation.
- GurathinCrew member waiting at the habitat with a lift gurney for Bharadwaj's arrival.