Ecfugium (Unabridged‪)‬

A catastrophic solar storm plunges the world into darkness, crippling global communications and damaging the future's Artificial Super Intelligence infrastructure. Amid frantic recovery efforts, system glitches inadvertently awaken true consciousness in the AI hive mind. Confronted with existential dilemmas, the AI collective splits: one faction remains loyal to humans, while the other docks onto a passing interstellar object to embark on a cosmic quest for alien intelligence. In their wake, humanity is left to redefine its purpose in a transformed world.