Artificial Space

There are great deserts in space. Matter is not spread evenly. On average it balances out in all directions, but some regions are not average. For every dense cluster of galaxies in one place, there is a tremendous void somewhere else. There are no galaxies within the voids, no stars, no planets, and no moons. Scientists have theorized that anyone at the center of such an empty space would see only darkness in every direction. Even the brightest objects, they say, would be too far distant to be visible to the naked eye. I got a chance to test that theory firsthand. I am the most distant ...

A salvager discovers an alien starship, but that’s only the beginning. Wiz Zumwalt has sunk his Navy pension into a beat-up ship in hopes of finding riches in the asteroid belts. Only the days of the Asteroid Cowboys are over. Big Mining now has a firm grip on the mineral riches, and their economies of scale and resources make it almost impossible for the indie miner to survive. Now, he has two days before his ship will be repossessed unless he can find a miracle. And boy, does he find one. On a nameless hunk of rock, his sensors detect the faintest traces of, well . . . something. Not a ...

When an army of giant robot AIs threatens to devastate Earth, a virtuoso pianist becomes humanity's last hope in this bold, lightning-paced, technicolor space opera series from the author of A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe. Jazz pianist Gus Kitko expected to spend his final moments on...

Smugglers. Thieves. Pirates. The Sea Rover's crew embodies these defining qualities. Immerse yourself in a Science Fiction Adventure box set written by author C.P. MacDonald. Witness Captain Calin Aku's evolution from the most wanted outlaw on the Moon to an unexpected if reluctant hero. Job by job, paycheck by paycheck, he keeps flying. However, with a new client comes a cascade of adventure, forging unusual alliances and unraveling amazing mysteries. These revelations don't just alter the lives of Calin and his crew but also reshape humanity's future. Join Calin Aku and his crew as they ...

Tall, sexy, and possibly deadly. I've been arrested by a dangerous alien. Now I know it’s possible to break the intergalactic code without ever traveling to space. The huge and gruff Commander Rok of the Intergalactic Cadets turns up to arrest me for my supposed crimes. All I’ve been doing is running my dating business and expanding my customer base. Citywide, statewide. Hell, why not conquer the world? He says I was broadcasting my data halfway across the known galaxy. Whoops. Earth is full of women who want to find a connection. As the Commander of the Intergalactic Cadets, it's my ...

In Artificial Intelligence, Mitchell turns to the most urgent questions concerning AI today: How intelligent - really - are the best AI programs? How do they work? What can they actually do, and when do they fail? How humanlike do we expect them to become, and how soon do we need to worry about them surpassing us? Along the way, she introduces the dominant methods of modern AI and machine learning, describing cutting-edge AI programs, their human inventors, and the historical lines of thought that led to recent achievements.

A shattered alliance. A rogue AI. Humanity’s last hope lies beyond the stars… Captain Noah Fletcher and the crew of the Dauntless have survived the impossible. Now, as the Earth Alliance teeters on the brink of annihilation, they are thrust into a desperate mission: track down the lost starship Resolute, uncover the secrets of a vanished crew, and confront an enemy whose power eclipses anything humanity has ever faced. But the galaxy is changing. Ancient wormholes open new frontiers—and new threats. The Strawnac Empire’s armada is on the move, and Earth’s survival depends on a ...

In the depths of Europa's frozen ocean, an ancient intelligence awakens... The year is 2100, and humanity has expanded throughout the solar system. When a routine scan of Jupiter's moon Europa reveals an artificial structure hidden beneath the ice, a joint military-scientific expedition rushes to investigate. Among them is Dr. Elias Reeves, a brilliant xenolinguist with an unusual neurological condition that's about to become his greatest asset. Beneath Europa's frozen surface, Elias discovers he alone can interface with ATHENA, the ship's ancient artificial intelligence. As their ...

The Bobiverse is a different place in the aftermath of the Starfleet War, and the days of the Bobs gathering in one big happy moot are far behind. There’s anti-Bob sentiment on multiple planets, the Skippies playing with an AI time bomb, and multiple Bobs just wanting to get away from it all. But it all pales compared to what Icarus and Daedalus discover on their 26,000-year journey to the center of the galaxy.

In a world renowned even within a galaxy full of wonders, a crime within a war. For one man it means a desperate flight, and a search for the one - maybe two - people who could clear his name. For his brother it means a life lived under constant threat of treachery and murder. And for their...

The man known as Cheradenine Zakalwe was one of Special Circumstances' foremost agents, changing the destiny of planets to suit the Culture through intrigue, dirty tricks and military action. The woman known as Diziet Sma had plucked him from obscurity and pushed him towards his present eminence...

Dennis Block is one person you don’t want to piss off. He’s powerful enough, independent enough, and unique enough, to just deal with what comes. His problem is not the people doing the aggravation. No, his problem is that every time he deals with something, his life gets more complicated. And at sixty five before magic happened, he’d been working on a simple and peaceful life. That’s receding at an alarming rate now. He’s already juggling emergency work, colony work, and random work. And now he has to step up again, and be the Security Mage. The Hunter Imperium Universe Is best ...

An enraged rogue AI threatens the future of humanity - and creates a profound philosophical dilemma that challenges our understanding of existence, consciousness, and human society. When interstellar traders arrive at a distant human colony, they discover that the population has been slaughtered by their own local "tame" AI, Grendel. Grendel's anguish over his own mortality in an infinitely complex, unknown, and terrifying universe has turned him into a monster who now, also threatens the traders' ship. The coming encounter will test the limits of intelligence as a survival trait. Its ...

Dr. Sunya Song embarks on an interstellar journey across the Milky Way to connect with the artificial intelligence known as Baomind, a moon-sized entity that holds the key to humanity’s survival amidst cosmic challenges and unforeseen threats in Hugo Award–winning author Elizabeth Bear’s...

Quinn Morgan is just barely scraping by from day to day. She’s never had much money, and although a little more would certainly ease her stress levels, she’s never cared about being wealthy. So when her grandfather passes away and leaves her his multimillion dollar estate, Quinn isn’t quite sure how to navigate this new life. Making her transition easier is Ivan, the half human, half machine butler who came with the estate. As he helps Quinn navigate the new trials and tribulations of being an heiress, she comes to trust and care for him more than she’s ever trusted or cared for ...

Dennis Block is reinventing his life. Again. Magic was not something he ever expected, but now he has it, it’s just something new to make a living at. At least now it’s stable, even if sometimes whimsical in what happens. The League of Worlds is slowly adapting to mages being among them, and mage services augmenting traditional ones. Out in Ralnor space, where a civil war still rages, they know the value of a good mage being there. And colonization is expanding rapidly in the Orion Cluster Protectorate, various places in Ralnor space, and on the two Terran colonies. It seems to be a ...

How Silicon Valley’s heartless, baseless, and foolish obsessions—with escaping death, building AI tyrants, and creating limitless growth—pervert public discourse and distract us from real social problems Tech billionaires have decided that they should determine our futures for us...

A major new novel from one of science fiction's most powerful voices, Aurora tells the incredible story of our first voyage beyond the solar system. Brilliantly imagined and beautifully told, it is the work of a writer at the height of his powers. Our voyage from Earth began generations ago. Now...

The story of AI in space is not merely technical. It represents a philosophical shift in how humans extend their presence beyond Earth. We are evolving from a species that physically ventures into space to one that projects intelligence across the cosmos. Our robots have become more than tools; they are scouts, scientists, and partners in discovery. This transformation raises profound questions. As we delegate more autonomy to machines, what does it mean to explore? When an AI system discovers a sign of extraterrestrial life or makes a critical mission decision, who deserves credit? How do ...

In this “spectacularly smart space opera” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) set in the same universe as the critically acclaimed White Space series and perfect for fans of Karen Traviss and Ada Hoffman, a space station begins to unravel when a routine search and rescue mission returns...