From Robokat's logs 1 - Systems failure

He was supposed to take care of their safety. But now he's got enough to worry about with himself... In a future dominated by technology corporations, a team of scientists' exploration mission on a distant planet takes an unexpected turn. First, they are attacked by an unknown monster that the official report about the possible dangers in the area somehow forgot to warn them about, and when another group operating on the other side of the world shuts up, they find only a pile of corpses, slaughtered by their own security forces. These events force them to reconsider their rejection of the presence of the android assigned to them by the company that oversees all space projects. For without his abilities and weapons, they would hardly have survived. There's a catch, though - their inanimate protector has secretly hacked his own system, gained consciousness, and now identifies himself as Robokat. And his only wish is to be away from people and spend his time watching his favourite show... This humorous and suspenseful science fiction novel, winner of the Nebula, Hugo and Locus genre awards, is the first installment in the successful From the Robocat Diaries series. Alexander Skarsgard plays the unusual title character in the series of the same name (on Apple TV+ from 2025). "Is it as good as they say it is, and does it deserve all these awards? It definitely is. It's witty, clever prose with a great protagonist and a strong story." - SFBook "Therein lies the power of the character of Robokat-that something so far removed from us can be so human. That anyone who has ever wanted to hide in a crowded room, avoided the gaze of others, sought refuge in solitary entertainment, or lied to survive can identify with him." - NPR "It's easy to see why the author has won so many well-deserved awards. Systems Failure offers an entertaining and engaging read." - Grimdark Magazine "Martha Wells has created something truly unique!" - The Fantasy Review So I kept my eyes closed to make it a little easier, but continued to watch everything through the security cameras. I finally talked myself out of it: "The planetary society is not trying to kill you." They didn't expect that. Gurathin wanted to say something, but Pin-Lee told him to be quiet. Mensah took a step forward and looked at me with concern. She stood closest to me now, and the others crowded behind her. Bharadwaj stayed in her chair, and thus farthest away from me. "How would you know?" Mensah asked. Even with the cameras, I was having a hell of a time. I imagined I was in the safety of my cubicle and I said: "If the company wanted to get rid of you, they would poison your water supply through the recycling system. They're more likely to kill someone one day through their incompetence." No one said anything for a while. I guess everyone was thinking how easy it would be for the company to time their demise. "But it would," Ratthi began, but got no further. Gurathin, with a more determined look on his face than usual, barged in: "This unit knows how to kill people - and I mean the people they've been tasked to protect. He has fifty-seven team members on one mining operation." Remember how I said at the beginning that after I hacked into my control center, I could have easily become a mass murderer? Well, there was some truth to that - I had become one before. - excerpt from the book