"Gurathin sighed and rubbed his face and looked off into the distance, like he regretted all his life choices that had led to him standing here right now." (Fugitive Telemetry)
Dr. Gurathin is a reserved scientist on the PreservationAux survey team. He is an augmented human with an implanted feed interface, which means he has distinct advantages in interpreting and hacking computers.
Biography[]
Gurathin is a scientist on the PreservationAux survey team. Unlike the others, his grandparents were not part of the initial voyage that led to the creation of Preservation Station.[1]
Gurathin is on a survey with PreservationAux when a large local fauna attacks his team. Gurathin and Pin-Lee take the lead in digitally investigating why they weren't warned of the local dangers, and together they uncover missing sections in their data packages. They reach out to another survey on the same planet, and the situation worsens when the other survey team (DeltFall) falls silent. Gurathin stays behind as an away-team is sent to investigate, and when they come back, he and Volescu uncover Murderbot's hacked governor module. Gurathin attempts to immobilize it, and attempts to convince the team that it cannot be trusted. Volescu and Pin-Lee point out that if Murderbot wanted them dead, it could have killed them many times over by then, and Murderbot subsequently demonstrates that it was able to easily overcome Gurathin's code.
The same threat that killed the DeltFall survey soon turns its attention towards Murderbot's humans, and they are forced to evacuate their own habitat. PreservationAux is able to evade capture, and in the end the team is able to trigger GreyCris' emergency beacon and call for help, leading to their rescue.
After the events of All Systems Red, the PreservationAux crew remain on Port FreeCommerce for some time to negotiate with the Company and GreyCris. When Murderbot successfully prevents GreyCris from destroying evidence of their research into Strange Synthetics, GreyCris panics and takes Mensah hostage, forcing her to travel to their home station, TranRollinHyfa. Pin-Lee, Gurathin, and Ratthi follow them there, and manage convince the Company that they still owed PreservationAux for failing to keep them safe, but the Company is unwilling to violate a no-docking order from Station Security, since the amount PreservationAux paid would not cover having to invade an entire station. When Murderbot reappears (Exit Strategy), it assists them in rescuing her. When Murderbot becomes trapped on the wrong side of a locked door by station security, Gurathin manages to get the door open long enough for Murderbot to slide through, just narrowly escaping being murdered by a Combat SecUnit. When Murderbot nearly destroys itself fighting off a piece of sentient killware, Gurathin assists in putting it back together. Finally, they return to Preservation, and the string of crises abates for the time being.
The aftermath is slow to settle, and early on in this process Gurathin and the team stay close to Preservation Station, passing the time by finishing their survey reports. (Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory) After this, Murderbot helps Preservation Station Security solve a murder, and it enlists Gurathin and Ratthi's help along the way. (Fugitive Telemetry) Gurathin helps, and also takes the time to express frequent disapproval (while not actually making any moves to interfere.)
Personality[]
Gurathin is the least talkative member of PreservationAux, to the point of consistently being described as a loner. He is friends with his teammates and enjoys their presence, but far more pessimistic and slow to trust. Murderbot repeatedly describes Gurathin as an asshole, which he does not disagree with. Despite this, he is ultimately as empathetic as any other member of the PreservationAux team, and when Mensah is captured and taken to, he is one of the team members (along with Ratthi and Pin-Lee) who venture out to rescue her.
This is shown mostly in his interactions with Murderbot. While he acknowledges its personhood early on, he distrusts its intentions, and cautions his team against working with it once the hacked governor module is discovered. His treatment thaws eventually, and by the end of Fugitive Telemetry he's not only defending it (verbally) from Station Security, but checking in on the aftermath of its adventures.
Despite Gurathin's reticence, he is intelligent and perceptive, often pointing out flaws in Murderbot's plans. He is also able to read Murderbot better than some of his peers, much to Murderbot's annoyance, and seems to have taken his role as Murderbot's "least favourite human" as an opportunity to tease it.
Physical Appearance[]
Not much is known about Gurathin's physical appearance, except that Murderbot describes him as having a "hard mouth"[2] and a "big brow."[3]
Gurathin is an augmented human, and has an implanted interface. Murderbot jokingly comments that Gurathin's "vision augments" need to be adjusted (Fugitive Telemetry), though it is unknown if Gurathin actually has vision augments or if Murderbot was being sarcastic.
The standard PreservationAux survey uniform is grey, and often includes a jacket.
Notes[]
- Gurathin curses in a language Murderbot doesn't recognize. (All Systems Red)
- Gurathin carries a specialized tool kit on a regular basis. (Exit Strategy)
- Gurathin takes syrup in his tea. (Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory)
References[]
- ↑ "... [The Transport] came to Preservation packed into the hold of that much bigger ship, the one that’s become the station, with our grandparents. Well, not Gurathin’s grandparents, he came later.” Ratthi, Exit Strategy Chapter Eight.
- ↑ "Gurathin’s hard mouth was actually betraying some dismay." Exit Strategy Chapter Three.
- ↑ “Then why was this Lutran killed?” Gurathin asked, his big brow creased." Gurathin, Fugitive Telemetry Chapter Four.