Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory is the last new-to-me Murderbot other than the most recent novel last year’s System Collapse (I’m planning on getting to it before the year is out, but we’ll see how I do). I knew very little going in, just that it was Mensah’s POV, occurred immediately after the events of Exit Strategy, that it was initially given free to people who pre-ordered Network Effect (its now free online), and that it was a short story.
Knowing that, I still don’t think I really knew what to expect. The meat of these 19 pages is Mensah transitioning back to life after being held captive, and also arguing for Murderbot’s place in Preservation with the local powers that be. Mensah understands Murderbot’s sense of humor, and respects and is pleased by the fact that it seems to be comfortable just being itself, and not pretending that it doesn’t have access to the Security System it’s not supposed to. There are some beautiful narrative pieces when Mensah answers a question about Murderbot’s ability to be separated from its designed purpose and she says she doesn’t have to do that separation, Murderbot already has. Because while we all have potential to do great harm, we also all have potential to do great good.
But Mensah is also beginning to acknowledge that she has serious trauma from her time on TranRollinHyfa, and is struggling internally for what to do about it, that feels right to her. Everyone, including Murderbot, wants her to seek some sort of mental health support. But she is leery, as is so very relatable. What I love about Mensah is that she can hold conflicting thoughts at once and acknowledge when she is holding herself to one standard and everyone else to another. She knows she’s not who she was before the events of the previous four books, and she knows she’ll have to reckon with it, but for now, she’s more comfortable just being with her teammates and family in a relatively safe space.
Bingo Square: And Also. Detente x 2, as Mensah and Murderbot find themselves in a fragile state of peace.