All Systems Red

Description

A security android who has hacked its own code to reclaim autonomy just wants one thing: uninterrupted time to watch entertainment feeds. But when a team of scientists arrives at a remote research station, the android is assigned to protect them—and soon the job turns into a high-stakes scramble against threats that don’t fit any routine protocol. As corporate interests and hidden dangers close in, the android’s carefully maintained detachment is tested, forcing it to ask what “free will” really means when you were built to obey. With Martha Wells’s razor-sharp wit and sardonic, character-driven storytelling, this fast, darkly funny novella explores identity, personhood, and the uneasy line between programming and choice.

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