History Characters / TheMurderbotDiaries

** He assumes that Murderbot is manipulating Ayda Mensah by overplaying the threat to her. In fairness this is due to ignorance; he doesn't know there was a attempt to murder her on Preservation territory.

* SuperSoldier: Or more accurately, Super Security Officer. [=SecUnits=] are designed to be this. UpToEleven with [=CombatSecUnits=], who even regular [=SecUnits=] can’t match in a fight.

* CuddleBug: Tapan sleeps next to Murderbot for comfort, and Maro--realises Murderbot HatesBeingTouched--hugs herself saying "This is for you."

* MurderousMalfunctioningMachine: It was one, and avoiding becoming one again was a major motivation for hacking its [[RestrainingBolt governor module]].
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Murderbot considers its name to be deeply personal. It goes by [=SecUnit=] among its friends and by various aliases among strangers.

* TheSnarkKnight: Spends most of its narration snarking, whether at humans, other bots, or itself.

* NoKillLikeOverkill: Tries to arrange a shuttle accident via MurderByRemoteControl, which would have killed everyone on board. [[spoiler:Murderbot in turn crushes her windpipe while using her body to absorb gunfire from her own bodyguard.]]

* EvilCannotComprehendGood: Consistently surprised that the researchers just want their files back and never quite processes that revenge or self-interest isn't involved. Her final encounter with Murderbot leaves her ''incredulous'' when Murderbot point blank tells her “All you had to do was give them the fucking files and none of us would be in this situation.”
* FantasticRacism: When ordering her ComfortUnit to appease Murderbot, she assumes KillAllHumans is the sort of thing it's interested in. After this fails, she assumes Murderbot is actually controlled by someone else and is stunned at this notion consistently collapses against the reality.
* LaserGuidedKarma: Repeatedly gets an opportunity to [[PragmaticVillainy cut her losses]] and simply get Maro, Rami, and Tapan get their files and finally out of her hair. [[spoiler: She's shot by her own officers during the fight with Murderbot and left for presumed dead.]]

* PrivatelyOwnedSociety: There is nothing in the Corporate Rim that is not owned by someone. Including people. Eletra, a corporate "worker" in ''Network Effect'', casually notes that when a company gets bought out, it's in the losing parties' interests to be as conciliatory as possible, or new management might take out their frustrations on the "seized assets"--the ''employees''.

* FantasticRacism: When ordering her ComfortUnit to appease Murderbot, she assumes KillAllHumans is the sort of thing its interested in. After this fails, she assumes Murderbot is actually controlled by someone else and is stunned at this notion consistently collapses against the reality.

* KillAllHumans: Tells Murderbot it wants to do this, which Murderbot finds unusual and disturbing. Murderbot eventually decides the [=ComfortUnit=] was ordered to say this as a ruse.
* {{Sexbot}}: It is one, though Tlacey uses it for combat purposes as well.

* SociallyAwkwardHero: Murderbot is calm, decisive and authoritative during a crisis, and incredibly socially awkward in any other situation.

* [[spoiler: HeroicSacrifice: When the group is attacked by a Combat Bot, Don Abene instructs Miki to save itself. Miki rejects the order and is killed trying to help Murderbot defeat the attacker.]]

* MoralityPet: Both Art and Murderbot aren't beneath using their instinctive protectiveness of her to manipulate the other into doing what it wants.

* PoorJudgeOfCharacter: Chooses to meet and try to reason with entities that Murderbot, his own security consultant, insists likely mean him harm.

* BrattyTeenageDaughter: Comes across as this to Murderbot at first.

* AndroidsArePeopleToo
* {{Asexuality}}: [=SecUnits=] are designed without sexual organs and, according to Murderbot, have no interest in such things.

* PerfectPacifistPeople: Preservation is so peaceful their planetary leader doesn’t even have security outside of Murderbot, and the people who didn’t experience it have trouble understanding that someone could legitimately mean her harm. Murderbot notes that generally the only crime Preservation has to deal with is people getting too drunk and breaking stuff accidentally, or outside ships trying to pull a fast one with Station regulations. Individual people are often still jerks, like when Station Security is rude to Murderbot or Thiago falsely concludes that Murderbot is lying to Dr. Mensah about her (lack of) safety to make her keep it around, but by and large they don't have''societal'' issues.

* KillAllHumans: Tells Murderbot it wants to do this, which Murderbot finds unusual and disturbing. Murderbot eventually decides the ComfortUnit was ordered to say this as a ruse.

[[spoiler: * HeroicSacrifice: When the group is attacked by a Combat Bot, Don Abene instructs Miki to save itself. Miki rejects the order and is killed trying to help Murderbot defeat the attacker.]]

* PrivatelyOwnedSociety: There is nothing in the Corporate Rim that is not owned by someone. Including people. Eletra, a corporate "worker" in ''Network Effect'', casually notes that when a company gets bought out, it's in the losing parties interests to be as conciliatory as possible, or new management might take out their frustrations on the "seized assets"--the ''employees''.
* TechnoDystopia: The Rim has constant surveillance, multi-generation indentures, fully-sentient constructs who are tortured with electroshock for the slightest infraction, mind-wiped, and otherwise treated like disposable appliances...oh, and a bigger company might take exception to yours and wipe it out whenever they want, too.

* TheWorfEffect: Despite its status as an incredibly powerful being, [[spoiler: it got caught off guard and taken over by an ''organic'' infection prior to the beginning of ''Network Effect'', which kickstarts the plot when it's used to attack Preservasion Aux.]]

* BerserkButton: Do ''not'' hurt or threaten someone it cares about; it has many missiles and is not afraid to use them.

* PerfectPacifistPeople: Preservation is so peaceful their planetary leader doesn’t even have security outside of Murderbot, and the people who didn’t experience it have trouble understanding that someone could legitimately mean her harm.

* GoodIsNotDumb: Described as a "terminal optimist" by others, but after nearly being murdered by [=GrayCris=] she takes up weapons training and becomes a good shot.

* PrivatelyOwnedSociety: There is nothing in the Corporate Rim that is not owned by someone.
* TechnoDystopia

* KillAllHumans: Tells Murderbot it wants to do this, which Murderbot finds unusual and disturbing.

* GoodIsNotDumb: Described as a "terminal optimist" by others, but after nearly being murdered by GrayCris she takes up weapons training and becomes a good shot.

* SecondLawMyAss: One of the nice things about having hacked its Governor Module is that Murderbot no longer has to obey humans, particularly when they’re being stupid. Once both free and outed as a SecUnit, it delights in doing things it once would have been forbidden to do (like sitting down).

* NonHumanNonBinary: Partly human, but designed and built without sexual characteristics and opting out of the whole business whenever it has to bring up gender in relation to itself. All bots, AI, and bot-human constructs are "it", including the emancipated "free" bots on Preservation.

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Murderbot considers its name to be personal. It goes by [=SecUnit=] among its friends and by various aliases among strangers.

* SecondLawMyAss: One of the nice things about having hacked its Governor Module is that Murderbot no longer has to obey humans, particularly when they’re being stupid.

* EnergyWeapon: They have them in their arms, and carry them as weapons.

* RetractableWeapon: Have retractable energy guns in their arms.

* IfItsYouItsOkay: Murderbot HatesBeingTouched - touching humans while rescuing them is different and fine - but when it very awkwardly tells Mensah that she can hug it if she needs to, it finds that this isn't awful. It likens this to Tapan sleeping next to it or Don Abena leaning against it after being rescued, both moments that hit it hard when they happened. In the second short story, it gives this offer to Mensah again and even says "It's not terrible" when she says she knows it doesn't care for it. From Murderbot, that's a lot.

* RidiculouslyHumanRobot: Played with. Murderbot lacks physical processes and with them the desires for things like food and sex, but it has a rather human personality and a great interest in human media.

!!Dr. Bharadwaj

* WeAreNotGoingThroughThatAgain

* TheBusCameBack: After being abscent since ''Artificial Condition'', ART finally returns for ''Network Effect'', as the {{Deuteragonist}} no less!

* {{Deuteragonist}}: As mentioned above, it's the main star of ''Network Effect'' next to Murderbot itself. Its worth noting that ART does not get POV chapters however.

* FriendToAllChildren: Has a particular fondness for “small humans”.
* ImpliedLoveInterest: To Murderbot as of ''Network Effect''. There’s several discussions about how much they care about each other, including some ShesNotMyGirlfriend moments, and the book ends with ART inviting Murderbot to come with it which is described as “like asking someone to come stay with your family... to see if they all like each other before you get serious”.

* RobotsThinkFaster: To a greater extent than any other bot in the series. It leaves Murderbot's ability to hold 5-6 trains of thought simultaneously looking like a lame joke.

* SuperPoweredRobotMeterMaids: It is ''far'' more powerful in every respect than is necessary for its official purpose of deep-space research, presumably because [[spoiler:it's actually part of LaResistance and needs that power to fight corps]].
* {{Technopath}}: Perfectly capable of invading, killing or taking over other software. In contrast to Murderbot's incredible finesse however, ART brings staggering sheer power as an AI, enough to let it more or less annihilate any other electronic mind or devise in its way.
* [[ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend Violently Protective Shipfriend]]: To secure Murderbot's release from kidnappers, [[spoiler: ART threatens to ''nuke a colony from orbit.'' Shortly after is ART's upgrade to ImpliedLoveInterest.]]

* WorldsStrongestMan: By far the most powerful entity introduced in the series. As a ship it's armed to the teeth [[spoiler: albeit this is concealed under apparent research instruments]] and ART as an being proper is basically a God AI capable of instantly killing or taking over ''any'' other bot, construct or AI. By its own admission, Murderbot would get its little meager brain ripped to pieces in 5 seconds flat against ART, and thats in spite of Murderbot incredible skill as a coder and hacker. And it goes beyond that too, any human with any sort of robotic enhacement or powersuit is also vulnerable to its might.
* TheWorfEffect: Despite its above status as an immensively powerful being, [[spoiler: it got caught off guard and taken over by an ''organic'' infection prior to the beggining of ''Network Effect'', which kickstarts the plot when its used to attack Preservasion Aux.]]

* HeroicSacrifice: When the group is attacked by a Combat Bot, Dr. Abene instructs Miki to save itself. Miki rejects the order and is killed trying to help Murderbot defeat the attacker.
* HappinessInSlavery: Is happy being owned and given orders by Dr. Abene and her group, because they are kind to it.

* PlatonicLifePartners: With Dr. Abene.
* RobotBuddy: To Dr. Abene and the other humans in their group; Murderbot calls it their “pet robot”.

* BodyguardBetrayal: Attempt to pull this on Dr. Abene and her crew.
* NothingPersonal: Wilken says this to Abene as she’s about to kill her. Murderbot notes that her having taken the time to say so means [[ItsPersonal it actually was personal]].