Help! ExplainToMe.file — Spoil Murderbot Ending

[jesse_the_k]

I got confused by the ending. From the start of HelpMe.file Excerpt 4 in Network Effect, chapter 13 and on, I'm totally unmoored as to who, where and what.

I understand that Murderbot has outsourced itself and there are three iterations, but not when these new processes were spawned and who initiated them.

Diagrams & explanations welcome!

Comments

[ursula]

There's Murderbot 1.0, with Murderbot's physical body, Murderbot 2.0, the killware that it created with ART's assistance, and SecUnit 3, whom Murderbot is trying to recruit, who also gets point-of-view sections. If I recall correctly, Three's sections are in present tense, while Murderbot writes in past tense.

[jesse_the_k]

Thank you!

[muccamukk]

Murderbot 1.0 and ART made a software spin off of Murderbot designed to infect and kill enemy systems. It had a lot of Murderbot's memories and some of its functionality, plus some system fighting skills ART added. It wrote the helpme.file from Murderbot's memories to give to a completely seperate SecUnit, Three, so that Three would understand why it should help free ART's crew.

So you have:
Murderbot 1.0: regular secunit we've had all along.
Murderbot 2.0: Killware file with Murderbot memories, who wrote the helpme.file. 2.0 dies defeating the Remnant-infected control system.
Three: Different secunit entirely.

In terms of timeline:
1.0 for most of the story.
Art and 1.0 make 2.0 right before 1.0 goes to the space station.
2.0 generates the helpme.file from it and 1.0's memories right when it meets Three for the first time.

That the helpme.file is woven back through 1.0's PoV is just an indication that 2.0 sent basically everything we've read in the book so far to Three. Is my understanding anyway.

[jesse_the_k]

THANK YOU THANK YOU I GET IT NOW!