FROM DARKNESS THEY CALLED. FROM RUIN WE ANSWERED.

Humanity's extinction is just around the corner, Ada Bryce is sure of it. But when virtual reality is indistinguishable from reality and anything is possible in the Chain, why not choose to remain shackled? It's easy to put Earth's slow decay out of mind when hedonic simulations are available with no more than a thought. As contemptible as her situation is, Ada is powerless to correct human folly. All she can do is make sure her own family's energy needs are taken care of until death inevitably claims everyone she loves.

Only, she's failing as a mathematician, she's already failed as a mother, and she's given up trying to escape the tragic memories that haunt her. So when she's offered the chance to leave Earth while ensuring her family has the resources they need to survive, Ada seizes it and embarks on a dangerous mission. She travels to a rogue planet with four other volunteers: an Energy War veteran, a zealous psychonaut, a pragmatic scientist, and the world-renowned founder of the Unity, the organization sponsoring the mission.

However, the Unity's founder is far from trustworthy, the rest of Ada's crew are unaware of the true purpose of their mission, and on this journey, they will learn that Earth is far from the worst place in the solar system. As firmly as Ada believes her home planet is beyond saving, it may be worth fighting for after all, for when she and her fellow crewmates step foot on a new planet, their presence awakens old life.

Life that calls out and seeks to reconfigure the Earth for itself.

Table of Contents

Prologue – Read | Listen

PART ONE: HEAVEN FROM HELL
Chapter 1: Traveler – Read | Listen
Chapter 2: Harmful Behaviors – Read | Listen
Chapter 3: Eyes – Read | Listen
Chapter 4: Launch Site – Read | Listen
Chapter 5: Optimists – Read | Listen
Chapter 6: Reference Frames – Read
Chapter 7: Demons – Read

PART TWO: BEST LAID PLANS
Chapter 8: Outward – Read
Chapter 9: Fracture – Read
Chapter 10: Terminus – Read
Chapter 11: Human Achievement – Read
Chapter 12: Exopolis – Read
Chapter 13: Grave Stench – Read

PART THREE: FAILURE CASCADE
Chapter 14: Recoil – Read
Chapter 15: Automata – Read
Chapter 16: Visions of the Inevitable – Read
Chapter 17: Exothermic – Read
Chapter 18: Send and Receive – Read
Chapter 19: Liquid Oxygen – Read
Chapter 20: Isolation – Read

PART FOUR: THE GIRL AND HER GHOSTS
Chapter 21: Visitation – Read
Chapter 22: Extraction – Read
Chapter 23: Split-brain – Read
Chapter 24: Interrupt Search – Read
Chapter 25: No Exit – Read
Chapter 26: Undeterred – Read
Chapter 27: Savior – Read

Epilogue – Read

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