"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, granting him distinct advantages in interpreting and hacking computers.
Biography[]
Book Series[]
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.)
TV Series[]
Gurathin is an augmented human who is skeptical of Murderbot and its independence. In Episode 2, he tests Murderbotâs emotional boundaries by demanding eye contact and voices concerns about its past behavior. He prefers to limit Murderbotâs involvement in the field mission and remains cautious about its role.
He joined the Preservation Alliance 6 years before the events of Season 1 and has an undisclosed (as of S1E3) traumatic background with The Company. This is reinforced when the PreservationAux team states he has good reason not to trust The Company.
Gurathin offers behavior-modifying modules to Bharadwaj, which she refuses. He is later observed by Murderbot entering Mensahâs room and smelling her pillow.
In episode 5, Gurathin inspects Murderbotâs code and confirms that it has hacked its Governor Module. He expresses concern about Murderbotâs intentions and argues that it should be kept immobilized. In episode 6, Gurathin attempts to reach Mensah and Murderbot via communication, but his efforts are overtaken by the crisis initiated by LeeBeeBee.
In episode 7, Gurathin is featured in a flashback set at Port Freecommerce one month earlier, where he confesses that he had once been a corporate spy sent to observe Mensah. He reveals that he left that life behind to join the Preservation Alliance and admits he has struggled emotionally, including thoughts of ending his life. In the present, Gurathin expresses concern about the safety of the expedition and Murderbotâs involvement. During the encounter with the mating creatures, he suggests electrifying the hopper's hull to drive them away, but the group rejects this idea. Afterward, Gurathin collapses, prompting the others to return to the habitat despite the dangers in the area.
In episode 8, Gurathin suffers from a dangerously high fever and refuses pain medication. He and Murderbot jointly determine that blocking his central nervous system could reduce his pain. During the neural interface process, Gurathinâs subconscious thoughts surface, revealing unspoken feelings for Mensah. He also experiences a vision of Murderbotâs traumatic past and learns that the bot named itself âMurderbotâ following a violent incident at a mining colony. These revelations deepen his understanding of Murderbotâs internal struggles.
In episode 9, Gurathin helps plan the drone-based hack of GrayCrisâ HubSystem and calls out Murderbot when he lies about their survival odds. He works alongside Pin-Lee to deploy the drone that would serve as the entry point for their communication and system override attempt.
In the season finale, Gurathin offers to purchase Murderbot after learning of the wipe and explains that the memories are in a recoverable state, though encrypted. During the workers' protest, Gurathin uses personal connections to access and download the memory files. By tracing them through Sanctuary Moon references, he retrieves Murderbotâs data and successfully restores it. He later reassures Murderbot that the Preservation Society will help guide it, and offers to do the same himself.
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.
Gallery[]
TV Series[]
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[]
- â "... [The Transport] came to Preservation packed into the hold of that much bigger ship, the one thatâs become the station, with our grandparents. Well, not Gurathinâs grandparents, he came later.â Ratthi, Exit Strategy Chapter Eight.
- â "Gurathinâs hard mouth was actually betraying some dismay." Exit Strategy Chapter Three.
- â âThen why was this Lutran killed?â Gurathin asked, his big brow creased." Gurathin, Fugitive Telemetry Chapter Four.