Eltanin

The mission was simple—race to the mayday coordinates, rescue his best friend, and bring him home. But, like so much in Ethan's life, simplicity is a luxury beyond his reach. He's long been used to the untethered insanity of life as an Explorer, but never has he failed this badly. Never has the soulless void taken his credibility and someone he loved. Space had never broken him. Until now.

At twenty-two with a promising career, an enviable piloting record, and the freedom to go anywhere in the universe, Ethan Ryker should have everything he could possibly want. Except he's just lost the one person who grounded him and made the unbearable loneliness of endless space tolerable. More alone than he's ever been, he's now trapped on the starbase Eltanin, suffering through the grief and mental trauma that's robbed him of the authorization to pilot a starcruiser. Even worse, he's been assigned a partner he doesn't like, can't relate to, and doesn't want invading his personal life. The LIAM program is supposed to help pilots just like him cope with loss and stress, but all Ethan wants to do is get back in his cruiser and leave all his issues behind. Too bad running away from his problems isn't an option.

LIAM-622 is the promising first production model of a groundbreaking new type of autonomous metahuman. After centuries of research in artificial intelligence, he's the culmination of the latest advances in humanoid technology, built as a sympathetic companion for a human partner. His purpose is to address the deteriorating mental health of traumatized Galactic Explorers, enabling them to heal and return to their missions. He's supposed to be as lifelike as possible, but not everyone appreciates his efforts to learn from and emulate humans—including the man he's been partnered with. Liam wants to help Ethan. He has all the resources he needs. But what he doesn't have is the understanding required to empathize with his partner's plight. To Ethan, Liam is nothing more than a fancy computer, and it'll take more than pretty words and an even prettier face to change his mind.

Ethan and Liam are opposing forces, thrust together in an endeavor neither of them could have navigated on their own. If they learn to understand each other, they could build the foundation for the new frontier of human advancement. And if they fail, it could mean more than the loss of a project. It could set humanity back hundreds of years. Because it's not only AI the detractors are trying to oppress. They're coming for the FGIA itself.

This work is intended for a mature audience and contains mature content. For a more comprehensive list of content tags, please see this book's information page at the author's website.