Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy (The Murderbot Diaries, #2.5)

by Martha Wells

Peri had been in a strange mood since it had come back from its last solo cargo run, so there was no telling.

I am capable of taking in new information. Before anyone else could ask, it added, I had recent contact with a source who demonstrated a number of useful techniques.

Well, sure, she admitted. I thought you hadn’t found any other machine intelligences outside the university that were, you know, up to your level. I haven’t found any inside the university, either. Iris had to smile. It’s fine if you don’t want to talk about it. It’s complicated, Iris.

Matteo said, This seems like a pretty close friend, with all this highly sophisticated system-penetration code they— “Whoa, okay, I was joking!” Matteo flung an arm over their interface. “I’m sorry, don’t hurt me.”

None of this would help the idea that crews for highlevel transports tended to be insular weirdos.

Peri said, Do you think I’m unaware of the danger of that? Do you think I’m an idiot? Or are you calling me a liar?

If it was a human she would expect it to keep secrets as it grew older, probably the same kind of secrets human siblings kept from each other …

Oh. Oh, Peri. Iris found a seat on a rock. So you really like this person?

I had never encountered another machine intelligence that I could experience this kind of rapport with before.

Peri added, It has given me a better understanding of trauma. Trauma? Iris thought, taken aback. A machine intelligence with trauma? I’m not saying I think you’d run off and fall in … have an understanding and rapport with a corporate transport. But … Iris gave in and covered her face. Peri, please, it’s not a corporate transport, is it? It’s a rogue SecUnit.

She realized she liked this for Peri. That its emotional world was expanding.