System Collapse (The Murderbot Diaries, #7)

by Martha Wells

“Something in me broke.” My wormhole drive is broken. “That can be fixed,” I said, and knew immediately it was a mistake. ART had been hurt by the Targets’ attack in a lot of different ways. It had been invaded by hostiles and taken over by another system, its memory archives altered. It hadn’t been able to protect its crew. I knew what that had done to it. Wait, no, I didn’t really know. I could only extrapolate based on things that had happened to me. Whatever, it was bad, right? Worse than what happened to me. But I kept talking. “This is happening in my organic nerve tissue.” Yes, which is why the humans diagnosed it so quickly, ART said. When it happens to them, are they considered disposable? “That’s what the corporations say.” I should just shut myself down right now, I’m losing this conversation so badly. Of course ART said, I am not a corporation. “Stop, stop it. This isn’t you talking, this is just your…” Yeah, I’d walked into that one, too. My certification in advanced trauma protocol? it said. Of course, that can’t possibly be useful in this situation. I said, “That’s for humans.” Yes, conversational trap, snapping shut. ART said, This affects the part of you that is human.