WALL-E
{5/5} “Try blue — it’s the new red!” WALL-E, released in 2008 WALL-E compacts garbage and puts it into neat piles. When one of his parts is broken he takes one from a machine that’s no longer functional. He and his friend, a cockroach, seem to be the only beings left on Earth — everyone […]
Exit Strategy
{5/5} “I knew interpreting the emotional subtext in the speech and appearance of real humans was completely different from interpreting it in shows and serials… But the interpretation I wanted to make of Bharadwaj’s vid statement was that Mensah was being held by GrayCris, who had threatened her life if Preservation didn’t make a formal […]
Rogue Protocol
{5/5} “I considered telling Miki that I was here to collect data on possible alien remnant violations by GrayCris… But if Miki told Abene, she would ask how it knew, and I knew Miki would tell her about me. It wouldn’t lie to a direct question. Who knew being a heartless killing machine would present […]
Artificial Condition
{5/5} “I told myself I still looked like a SecUnit without armor, hopelessly exposed, but the truth was I did look more human. And now I knew why I hadn’t wanted to do this. It would make it harder for me to pretend not to be a person.” Artificial Condition by Martha Wells, published in […]
All Systems Red
{5/5} “So I’m awkward with actual humans. It’s not paranoia about my hacked governor module, and it’s not them; it’s me. I know I’m a horrifying murderbot, and they know it, and it makes both of us nervous, which makes me even more nervous. Also, if I’m not in the armor then it’s because I’m […]
Star Trek: The Next Generation — Kahless
{4.5/5} “Kahless no longer fomented rebellion for Morath’s sake alone. Now he did it for himself as well — and for Kellein. He had discovered it was the only thing that made his heart stop hurting for her, the only balm that worked for him. Had he been the one to die instead of Kellein, […]
Mickey 17
{5/5} “First come, first freeze to death.” Mickey 17, released in 2025 Mickey is an expendable, which means that when he dies they just print a new copy of his body — with all his memories. He had to get off Earth to escape people he borrowed money from so he’s working in space. One […]
Galaxias
{4.5/5} “‘My head is spinning. So what you’re saying is that an alien cannon, hidden on the Moon, spat a gob of water at alien planets that didn’t even exist last month.’ ‘I know,’ Mel said, sounding unhappy. ‘On any other day, in any other year, that might seem strange.’” Galaxias by Stephen Baxter, published […]
The Electric State
{4.5/5} “‘How’d you two meet?’ ‘We actually met in the war.’ ‘Weren’t you supposed to kill each other?’ ‘We tried.’” The Electric State, released in 2025 After the robots decided they didn’t want to just do what humans told them any more, robots and humans went to war. Humans eventually won, and robots were sent […]
Tales from the Loop (season 1)
{5/5} “Sometimes things are special because they don’t last.” Tales from the Loop season 1, aired in 2020 People who live near the Loop see strange things — snow falling upward, a strangely textured rock that floats in mid-air. Loretta comes home from school to find her house gone, and now she’s looking for her […]