The fourth episode of Murderbot is out now on Apple TV+, and things have gotten pretty dangerous for our reluctantly heroic SecUnit played by Alexander Skarsgård. After journeying to the other side of the planet to visit the DeltFall habitat and discovering why this other survey team has fallen eerily silent, Murderbot ran afoul of a surprising foe: other SecUnits. These rogue SecUnits seemingly murdered all the people in the DeltFall habitat, as well as their own security constructs.
During "Escape Velocity Protocol," we see one of these rogue SecUnits try to insert an override module into the port on the back of Murderbot's neck, which will reprogram it to follow the instructions of a mysterious third party. Don't forget, while Murderbot may have autonomy, no other SecUnit possesses self-determination. That means these terrifying terminators are following someone else's orders. But whose?
The answer hasn't yet been revealed in the television show, but if you've read the first Murderbot Diaries novella by Martha Wells, All Systems Red, you'll have a pretty good idea. So far, the show has remained very faithful to the events of the novella, so we've no reason to think that won't remain the case here. If you can't wait to find out the answer, read on for the FULL SPOILERS FROM ALL SYSTEMS RED.
Who ordered the attack on DeltFall in Murderbot?
The sequence where Murderbot is attacked at the DeltFall habitat, infected with an override module, and subsequently shoots itself before it can harm Doctor Mensah is taken directly out of All Systems Red. This is a key part of the story, and it sets up everything else that's still to come.
Later in the novella, we find out who was behind the attack on DeltFall: another survey team from a corporation called GrayCris. They are working on the planet in secret, having seemingly paid off someone in the Corporation Rim to keep other survey teams in the dark. They have advanced SecUnits as well as the technology to take over other security constructs, turning them into slavishly loyal weapons that gun down their previous owners.
But what does GrayCris want, and why would they commit such horrors? In the book, they're after alien relics which they've found on the planet. Taking these relics is highly illegal; if they're found on a survey, the protocol is to stop what you're doing and notify the Corporation Rim immediately so that they can be properly excavated. But for those willing to take the risk, such relics can be sold for a fortune on the black market.
The GrayCris team wants those relics, and they want them all to themselves. Enough so that they're willing to murder to get them.
That's who's behind these attacks in All Systems Red. As for the Murderbot TV show, we'll see whether it follows the same trajectory as more episodes air. Episode 5 is slated to drop on Apple TV+ next Friday, June 6.
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