Discussion guide for "The Secret Life of Bots" by Suzanne Palmer
http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/palmer_09_17/

The starting sentence and paragraph: "I have been activated, therefore I have a purpose, the bot thought. I have a purpose, therefore I serve."

Is it effective in catching your interest and, if so, why?

An old ship retrieved from "storage" and the oldest functioning bot on the ship. The bot activated to track down and eliminate a pest. A bot with an improvisation circuit.

The ship's task: intercept an alien attack vessel before it can hyper-jump to near Earth

A novel aspect of the story: the bot has mantras and rituals to prepare it for various tasks.

Bots other than bot #9 have a bot network independent of the ship.

The incident with the rat-bug that gave #9 and idea: "They were suddenly stuck fast. Sticky strands, rather like the silkbot’s, had been crisscrossed between two conduit pipes on the far side. The bot tried to extricate itself, but the web only stuck further the more it moved."