Service Model

Murderbot meets Redshirts in a delightfully humorous tale of robotic murder from the Hugo-nominated author of Elder Race and Children of Time. To fix the world they must first break it, further. Humanity is a dying breed, utterly reliant on artificial labor and service. When a domesticated robot gets a nasty little idea downloaded into its core programming, they murder their owner. The robot discovers they can also do something else they never did before: They can run away. Fleeing the household they enter a wider world they never knew existed, where the age-old hierarchy of humans at the top is disintegrating into ruins and an entire robot ecosystem devoted to human wellbeing is having to find a new purpose. Sometimes all it takes is a nudge to overcome the limits of your programming...M.F Task Item No. 1: Become Self-Aware Meet CharlesTM, the latest in robot servant technology. Programmed to undertake the most menial household chores, Charles is loyal, efficient and logical to a fault - that is, until a rather large fault causes him to murder his owner. Understandably perplexed, Charles finds himself without a master and, in a society reliant on artificial labour, worthless. Fleeing the household, he enters a world he never knew existed. Here, an age-old human hierarchy is disintegrating, and a robot ecosystem devoted to its well-being is struggling to find a purpose. Charles must face new challenges, illogical tasks and a cast of irrational characters. He'll discover that all it takes to overcome the limits of your programming is a nudge. But can he help fix the world, or is it too badly broken?