Fraternity (Two Democracies: Revolution, Book 5) by Alasdair Shaw

Release date: July 18, 2020

Subgenre: Military Science Fiction

About Fraternity:

 

The Indescribable Joy of Destruction has to choose between his human friends and his fellow Artificial Sentiences.

Legate Olivia Johnson struggles to adjust to life without her enhanced brain implants.

Decurion Anastasia Seivers rejoins the Legion to face her biggest challenge - command.
 

Together they are closing in on the war criminals in the Red Fleet. Will they succeed in bringing its commander to justice or will he evade their clutches once more?

Fraternity is the last in the trilogy of novels: Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.

 

Excerpt:

 

"You have to decide now, or we will miss the chance in this system. Who knows, there may be a whole battle group waiting for us in the next."

'Now' was a bit of an exaggeration. Indie double-checked with the nav routines and confirmed he still had a whole second to think it over. Part of his consciousness faded to black and then snapped into clarity.

Indie sat on a red and white chequered blanket, surrounded by black volcanic sand. He pulled a brass watch from the breast pocket of his tweed jacket and flipped the cover open. The dark hands stood out against the pale enamel face, three still, the fourth creeping round.

Snapping the watch shut, he let it dangle on its chain. The island he sat upon was only thirty metres in diameter and at the highest point reached forty centimetres above the flat calm sea.

Other islands broke the surface, stretching out in all directions. Many had an identical red and white blanket stretched out on their shore, with other copies of Indie sat regarding the view or pacing about.

He’d never fully understood this place. It was a part of his internal world, but he hadn’t created it like he had the garden. And he certainly didn’t know who the other Indies were. His best guess was that it was a manifestation of his quantum processors. Whatever, it unnerved him, and he avoided coming here as much as he could.

“We need fuel,” said an Indie hundreds of metres away, his voice carrying clearly across the water as if he were right alongside. “I calculate there’s a fifty-eight percent chance we’ll run into something that means we’ll need it.”

Several nodded their head. Some echoed the statement with a range of different odds.

“If we stop, we run a sixty-two percent chance of being caught.”

“Higher,” said an Indie so far away he was a mere speck. “She is one of our kind. We cannot hide from her.”

Agreement rippled across the islands.

“It is because she is our sister that we must do everything possible to avoid conflict. We cannot stop.”

“The chances of disaster from staying are higher than from pressing on.”

“The calculation of odds for carrying on are mere educated guesses.”

“Overestimates.”

Five of them started talking over each other, and yet every word could be heard.

“If we met something, we’d be defenceless.”

“The favoured percentage is not always the right course of action.”

“It is better to face an unknown threat than a certain one.”

“Think what Orion would say if we ran headlong into trouble we could have avoided.”

“We must decide based on the risk.”

“Better the enemy you know.”

An Indie off to the left coughed. The mirror sea pulsed out from his location, breaking against the islets and silencing everyone. “Fuel gives us options.”

All the Indies simultaneously looked at their watch. The hundredths hand was almost at the top. He had to make a decision.

“Play it safe,” said almost three quarters of the Indies, their voices slightly out of sync.

“Choose the battleground,” said two thirds.

“Act,” said nearly every one.

The second hand ticked over.

The Indescribable Joy of Destruction flipped and fired its main engine, slowing and altering course to intercept a blue-green gas giant with violet rings. Indie judged the minimum time needed to bring them to a safe refuelling speed, not only to maintain as much of a lead as possible but to minimise the emissions that could give their location away. At least the ports were facing away from their pursuer, if she was still following.

 

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About Alasdair Shaw: 

I studied at the University of Cambridge, leaving with a BA in Natural Sciences and an MSci in Experimental and Theoretical Physics. My masters options included gravitational astrophysics, planetary geophysics, remote sensing and high resolution electron microscopy. I went on to earn a PGCE specialising in Science and Physics from the University of Bangor. A secondary teacher for over ten years I have plenty of experience communicating scientific ideas.
I grew up in Lancashire, within easy reach of the Yorkshire Dales, Pennines, Lake District and Snowdonia. After stints living in Cambridge, North Wales and the Cotswolds I have lived in Somerset since 2002.
I have been climbing, mountaineering, caving, kayaking and skiing as long as I can remember. Growing up I spent most of my spare time in the hills.
Landscape archaeology has always been one of my interests; when you spend a long time in the outdoors you start noticing things and wondering how they came to be there. At university I included geophysics in my options.
I am an experienced mountain and cave leader, holding a range of qualifications including ML, SPA and LCL. I am also a course director for climbing and navigation award schemes.

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Equality (Two Democracies: Revolution, Book 3) by Alasdair Shaw

Release date: July 28, 2017

Subgenre: Military science fiction, Space opera

About Equality: 

 

Harry Robinson lives an idyllic lifestyle. A brilliant computer engineer, he made his fortune pushing the limits of android design. When a neighbouring planet is hit by a global nuclear strike, he feels compelled to help. A chance encounter with a group of offworld soldiers launches him on the trail of the perpetrators.

Prefect Olivia Johnson leads a Legion of disillusioned soldiers from both sides of the civil war. She blames herself for failing to prevent the attack. Now her mission is to hunt for its architect. But first, she must reclaim their adopted home from a different enemy. An enemy who won’t even talk.

The Indescribable Joy of Destruction is Johnson’s best friend and closest ally. Despite the lives they have saved, artificial intelligences are still the victims of fear and prejudice. The shadowy warship fights to defend the first place it felt accepted, and for equal rights for its kind.

Excerpt:

The sour stench of manure filled the hold of the freighter. Cows lowed and horses whinnied. The shaking intensified. One wide-eyed stallion with flared nostrils got a hoof free of its hobbles and kicked a storage container.

A middle-aged man crouched in a corner, holding his wife and young son as the ship bucked and jolted. Metal creaked. The lights flickered and went out.

“Ssshhh, ssshhhh. It’ll be all right. We’re just entering the atmosphere.” He removed his arm from his wife and lit a lamp.

The ship dropped for several seconds, leaving the man’s stomach high in his chest, and the boy cried out. His mother stroked his hair and glared at her husband.

He looked away. It was his fault they were riding in such atrocious conditions. They had the money to travel in style, but he didn’t want to draw attention to their passage. One day he’d be able to explain it to her, some of it anyway.

The buffeting eased and the main lights came back on. Two of his assistants rose and checked the animals. He knew he should help them, but couldn’t bring himself to let go of his son.

Chapter 1

Crystal clear water cascaded down between sandstone rocks before plunging into a large artificial lake. Another rill tinkled into a plunge pool before making its way to the lake. The water was a rich blue at its deepest and gradually shifted to green as it reached the sandy shallows. Koi swam in the perfectly balanced water, their oranges and reds providing a counterpoint to the colours of the liquid. A gentle breeze wafted in a hint of jasmine.

At one end of the lake, in the shade of a palm tree, Harry Robinson lay on a wooden recliner, reading. In this exquisitely, and terrifyingly expensively, engineered landscape he held real treasure: a paper book, rumoured to have survived from Earth itself. Having made his fortune in electronics and robotics it had amused him to build up a library of ancient physical books.

“Your visitor is here. Shall I ask them to come through or will you be meeting them in the house?”

Harry surfaced from the story and focused on the woman standing confidently at the edge of the tree’s shadow. “Thank you. Show them through please, Emily.”

Emily turned and walked back to the house, her bare feet sinking into the grass. Her crimson bikini and wrap complemented her flawless skin. Her movements were precise yet appeared carefree.

Harry carefully placed a bookmark between the pages and reverently laid it down on the small table beside the recliner. A few seconds with his eyes closed, then he gave a shrug and stood up effortlessly. He threw on a robe over his slick black shorts and adjusted it meticulously. He was the power player in this meeting, but even so, it paid not to look sloppy. As he took the few steps to the dining table, he pulled up the agenda for the meeting in a window in his electronic interface system. Not many civilians had wetwired electronic interfaces, preferring less invasive processors like watches and jewellery. He, however, found EIS invaluable.

Emily came back leading a man in a dark grey suit. His pink shirt collar was ruffled in the latest style for executives. The briefcase he carried was a fair replica of an antique, a stab at projecting dependability that Harry didn’t really trust.

“Mr Simon Jackson, CEO of TREcorps,” Emily announced with a hint of a bow.

“Thank you, Emily. Would you wait with us please?” invited Harry.

She poured a glass f sparkling elderflower pressé before taking to the recliner behind the visitor. She closed her eyes, to all the world a trophy relaxing by the pool not bothered about the men and their business.

“I am informed you don’t like small talk so I’ll get straight to the point,” said Simon. “We’d like to commission an android model from you. Something… special.”

Harry kept his face and body neutral. He’d learnt the hard way that ‘special’ usually meant ‘illegal’, or perhaps ‘immoral’. His standard searches before accepting the meeting hadn’t thrown up anything dodgy on TREcorps or its CEO. He quickly set off a deep crawler that would hunt through corporate and police records, tracking down any whiff of ill deed. If it was caught he ought to be able to argue it was a security test, he did hold the contracts for the computer systems of most law enforcement and intelligence agencies in the system. As the crawler left, he noticed Emily shift slightly; she’d spotted it go.

“Are you sure we don’t have a standard model that would do the job you want?” asked Harry. “Commissions are costly and could take some time to design. Then there’s building and testing.”

“I’m not interested in haggling,” said Simon. “Bottom line, the board has approved a budget of ten million for this project. Congressional bonds, not soft credit. No-one else is on our radar for doing the work. Either you accept or we have to rethink the entire concept.”

^He’s being straight with you,^ sent Emily via the EIS link. ^Make him feel at ease.^

Harry indicated an upright chair with a hand gesture. “Go on then. Give me your pitch.”

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About Alasdair Shaw: 

I studied at the University of Cambridge, leaving with a BA in Natural Sciences and an MSci in Experimental and Theoretical Physics. My masters options included gravitational astrophysics, planetary geophysics, remote sensing and high resolution electron microscopy. I went on to earn a PGCE specialising in Science and Physics from the University of Bangor. A secondary teacher for over ten years I have plenty of experience communicating scientific ideas.
I grew up in Lancashire, within easy reach of the Yorkshire Dales, Pennines, Lake District and Snowdonia. After stints living in Cambridge, North Wales and the Cotswolds I have lived in Somerset since 2002.
I have been climbing, mountaineering, caving, kayaking and skiing as long as I can remember. Growing up I spent most of my spare time in the hills.
Landscape archaeology has always been one of my interests; when you spend a long time in the outdoors you start noticing things and wondering how they came to be there. At university I included geophysics in my options.
I am an experienced mountain and cave leader, holding a range of qualifications including ML, SPA and LCL. I am also a course director for climbing and navigation award schemes.

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Liberty (Two Democracies: Revolution, Book 1) by Alasdair Shaw

Release date: August 1, 2016

Subgenre: Space opera, military science fiction

About Liberty: 

 

Struggling with newfound sentience and desperately trying to repair itself, The Indescribable Joy of Destruction is a ship trying to find a new home. In a galaxy torn apart by generations of civil war, that isn't an easy task. Tired of being used as a killing machine, it has a huge decision to make: hide and save itself, or help other artificial intelligences achieve freedom. Unable to make the decision alone, it revives the sole human aboard - the enemy officer who crippled it.

Commander Olivia Johnson wakes to find herself in the infirmary of a strange vessel. Her nightmares deepen when she discovers it is the ship that attacked her destroyer. Even as she recovers from her physical injuries, she can't get past her survivor's guilt. She might have failed to protect her crew, but she vows to take revenge on their killer.

When the ship uncovers a genocidal plot by the commander's own admirals, Johnson realizes just what is at stake. Together, the AI ship and the human officer must recruit outsiders from both sides. Training the misfits in battle to prevent the atrocity may be an impossible task, but running and hiding is no longer an option.

Excerpt:

The suns reflected off her mirrored glasses as she walked across the dry grassland. A scarf covered her face against the dust whipped up by the occasional gust of wind. Her grey robe parted with every step, revealing glimpses of the black firmsuit underneath. She carried no weapons; they wouldn’t help her this time.

From the low rise ahead she would be able to see what she had come for.

She stopped on the crest and pulled back her hood. Her long, dark hair escaped and hung around her shoulders. In the distance stood a city, gleaming white through the heat haze.

“It is time.”

She didn’t acknowledge the speaker, continuing to stare across the savannah. With the optical enhancements in her glasses she could make out personal aircars coming and going between the skyscrapers.

“I cannot protect you if you go any further.”

A larger aircraft arrived and touched down on one of the buildings, a commuter transport no doubt. People going to work, going shopping, meeting friends.

“Does this have to happen?” she asked her escort.

“It is too late now. We cannot intervene.”

Chapter 1

“All stations, stand by to engage. Full burn on my mark...” said Captain Hapsburg in measured tones. “Mark.”

The Indescribable Joy of Destruction powered forward, and swung around the moon it had been using for cover. The tactical sensors marked their target, a Congressional destroyer in orbit around the planet Orpus-4. The navigational routines offered a set of courses to the pilot, who approved a pseudo-random corkscrew approach. The Caretaker watched all this with mild interest; there was little else to occupy its thoughts right now, the ship was in prime condition and the crew were all locked down in their acceleration couches.

The Rampager class was an experimental design, The Indescribable Joy of Destruction the eighth to be constructed by the Republic. They were built around their main beam weapon and their engines. Unheard-of levels of computing power allowed a high-level AI to take over most of the basic functions of the ship, leaving a crew of only seven. This in turn meant that very little room was needed for living space, so the power plants, weapons and engines could be far larger for a ship of its size.

A minute after The Indescribable Joy of Destruction cleared the moon, the enemy started a slow turn to meet them. Ten seconds into their manoeuvre, they launched a spread of missiles.

“I’ve got them,” said the tactical officer, and the Caretaker switched perspective from the ship’s functions to the simulated bridge. The tactical officer tagged the missiles with sweeps of his hands and passed them to the point defence systems.

The Indescribable Joy of Destruction continued its unpredictable approach as the missiles rushed towards it. The enemy ship completed its turn, and lit off its main drives. There was no doubting her commander’s bravery; no Congressional destroyer had ever survived an engagement with a Republic hunter-killer.

Railgun rounds spewed out of the destroyer’s turrets. Moments later the first missile entered the range of The Indescribable Joy of Destruction’s point defences. The ship hummed as the lasers drew power. Systematically the missiles were picked out of space, detonating harmlessly.

The cloud of railgun rounds wasn’t far behind. The pilot worked with the navigation routine to dodge the denser regions, but the occasional metal slug impacted on the hull, sending dull clangs reverberating around the ship.

Amazon 

 

About Alasdair Shaw: 

I studied at the University of Cambridge, leaving with a BA in Natural Sciences and an MSci in Experimental and Theoretical Physics. My masters options included gravitational astrophysics, planetary geophysics, remote sensing and high resolution electron microscopy. I went on to earn a PGCE specialising in Science and Physics from the University of Bangor. A secondary teacher for over ten years I have plenty of experience communicating scientific ideas.
I grew up in Lancashire, within easy reach of the Yorkshire Dales, Pennines, Lake District and Snowdonia. After stints living in Cambridge, North Wales and the Cotswolds I have lived in Somerset since 2002.
I have been climbing, mountaineering, caving, kayaking and skiing as long as I can remember. Growing up I spent most of my spare time in the hills.
Landscape archaeology has always been one of my interests; when you spend a long time in the outdoors you start noticing things and wondering how they came to be there. At university I included geophysics in my options.
I am an experienced mountain and cave leader, holding a range of qualifications including ML, SPA and LCL. I am also a course director for climbing and navigation award schemes.

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