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r/AFreeholdPractice · Posted by u/MuyamaDoctor23694 37 hours ago
[SPOILERS] How realistic is the latest arc with the SecUnit character?
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Genuine question here, not trying to troll. I've spent my entire life far outside of the CR and have no experience with SecUnits outside of the entertainment feed. In the media I've watched, SecUnits are more-or-less mindless bots that are used by the villains in order to terrorize the main characters.
[Slight recap here for anyone who hasn't watched the latest arc but isn't worried about spoilers] In this latest arc of AFP they have a SecUnit character that only wants to be left alone to recover from trauma, or so it's implied (I'm guessing we'll see more flashbacks in upcoming episodes?). When Dr. Aerav discovers that it's a construct and not a human, it doesn't attack ter. What I'm getting at, I guess, is if anyone knows this is accurate? All the news from the CR about SecUnits is about how dangerous they are when they go rogue, but I'd be really interested in knowing if this is an accurate representation.
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KineBine · 7 hours ago
I'll bet you five years on my contract that they're going to kill the secunit off in the next few episodes. I can't imagine a sympathetic secunit character is being well received by corporates in the CR, and even if A Freehold Practice is being produced by a media company in a freehold system, they're still subject to pressures from the entertainment feeds they supply their shows to, and the CR makes up the vast majority of the clientele for ALL media companies. As this arc continues, the writers are going to get more and more pressure from corporates and have to make a decision. And my bet isn't on the secunit.
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MuyamaDoctor23694 · 7 hours ago
I wish I thought you were wrong. This is a big step for media in general, but it's probably not going to accomplish more than it already has; we'll have to wait for another show to pick up wherever AFP inevitably leaves off. AFP has its freehold roots going for it, and it's been able to pull of a LOT of arcs that CR media couldn't even dream of. I hope we see a lot more of the SecUnit as it becomes more comfortable in its personhood and its place in the Muyama community, but I don't want to see my heart broken.
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PercoXam-Raised-323 · 23 hours ago
Have you seen the articles out of the CR recently? (External links here, here, and here to get you started.) Supposedly a SecUnit went rogue and went on some sort of rampage on TranRollinHyfa station. Lots of property damage for the station and several companies, including several other SecUnits destroyed. Does that answer your question?
BringMeToEden179 · 23 hours ago
Your ability to ignore key facts is truly inspiring. The TranRollinHyfa incident is more complicated than you initially present it; for instance, there were no documented civilian casualties. Instead, the only deaths reported were those of the contracted security forces, which is a known risk when companies secure a contract to act as security in dangerous situations.
Additionally, there are several freehold systems, such as the Preservation Alliance, that have recently granted full citizenship and rights to constructs and certain classes of bots. Trained professionals make the determination as to whether a particular bot or construct qualifies for citizenship, which should tell you that this is a serious endeavour and not merely some anti-CR propaganda. Furthermore, a few corporations, such as GoodNightLander Independent, have begun considering citizenship as well, which is a huge step for any corporation. (Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4.)
MuyamaDoctor23694 · 21 hours ago
OP here. Can I just say 1) love the Sanctuary Moon url (e179 is in one of my favorite arcs), and 2) I appreciate the additional sources? I hadn't heard about TranRollinHyfa (again, way outside the CR), but I appreciate getting a more complete picture. I agree with u/PercoXam-Raised-323 that it was a dangerous situation, but I don't think it's completely black or white either. (I can't tell if they're trolling or not so I'm going to treat it as a serious concern.) It's fair to argue that accurate representation in media is important, but it is still the entertainment feed, and this is a soap about doctors and their community on a small freehold planet. I don't mind suspending disbelief a bit, especially since I find the SecUnit's story really moving and want to see what else the writers have planned for its arc.
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12323victry · 29 hours ago
Regardless of whether it's accurate to SecUnits is irrelevant, imo. The experiences of the SecUnit character (and does anyone think they're planning to give it a name/reveal its name? Maybe in the next arc?) can act as a stand-in for the many different people who are considered "sub-human" in the CR and the traumas they experience as a result. Contract laborers, sub-citizens, sub-sub-citizens, etc. etc.—they all suffer under the hands of the CR and, were they to escape to a planet like Muyama, would probably need the same type of healing that the SecUnit does.
I'm honestly grateful that they're choosing to portray that type of trauma without singling out a specific type of citizenship from the CR that only people from that corporation would recognize, since there's so much variation. Sure, the SecUnit experiences additional traumas (shooting its own clients, anyone? Shooting other SecUnits??) when compared to sub-citizens in the CR, but the parallel exists and I, for one, appreciate it.
leski-ven-2328954 · 16 hours ago
+10000 for everything they said. And can we also appreciate how the writers aren't trying to shove the SecUnit into a relationship or using different pronouns? There wasn't even a pronoun discussion, people just accepted it! And (as someone who's pronouns are pretty much unheard of in my home system), I find it extremely refreshing. They haven't closed the door entirely on the possibility of a future romance (see e392, approx. min 43), and it even comments that it might be different from other SecUnits in that regard. I know it's a fictional construct, but I really feel seen when it comes to a lack of interest in romance/sex/being seen as a normal "human," and so I can forgive the writers a lot of inaccuracies just for that.