The latest adventure in the successful Pattern Universe series.
Artis Prime is a large asteroid populated with AI's. Considered by the fourteen worlds of the Empirum as the
centre of excellence for manufacturing and design of new technology it is often the target of
unscrupulous smugglers, pirates and spies. As such it comes under the constant scrutiny of the
ESSG, The Empirum's own guardians of the peace.
In this first full-sized novel a deadly game is afoot between RIGA and unknown enemies. She has
stepped into a hornets nest and no amount of running will keep her safe. She must unravel the
mystery of who, and why before they succeed in eliminating her. No easy task, when it seems they
are everywhere.
When she finally uncovers the truth, RIGA is left with no choice, She must defeat an enemy that is
poised to strike at more than just the Empirum. The price of failure will result in interstellar war.
Story Setting
The AI Wars are long past, and a fragile peace has settled over the AI and Human worlds.
The differences that once kept them apart, now work to their mutual benefit.
However, not all is well. The Empirum that governs them is wracked with constant attempts
to upset the stability, thus forcing the ESSG, the Empirum's Security Guardians, to employ
heavy measures to keep the PACT together.
Within this harsh environment, RIGA, a new biological AI, carves out a career for herself
distributing her unique brand of justice to pirates and smugglers running the borders. The
PACT between the different species means their Navy's hands are tied. RIGA has no such problem
and with a modified one-person spaceship is more than able to slip the leash and maintain the
status quo.
Her job often requires diplomacy between the two species, but when that fails she resorts to her
personal skills and bio-mods that enable her to keep on top in a fight. The humans allow her onto
their planets, which is essential for her missions, the AI's think she is a human too, so never
see her as a threat (until it's too late).
But, for RIGA, there is a big question mark over her origins - and something is tracking her -
pushing her constantly onto the defensive.