Archimedes Engine

by Peter F. Hamilton · Exodus #1 · 2024

Forty thousand years after humanity fled a dying Earth in massive arkships, the Centauri Cluster is ruled by the "Celestials"—the descendants of the earliest arrivals who utilized time dilation to evolve into technologically advanced beings. These Celestials now govern powerful interstellar empires, such as the Crown Dominion, while treating humans from later-arriving arkships as second-class citizens forced into servitude and menial labor. Against this backdrop of systemic oppression, an uprising begins to form among the subjugated humans, galvanized by the passionate orator Josias Aponi and his sister Eleanor. The narrative follows Finn Jalgori-Tobu, a lower-class human who becomes deeply entangled in the resistance after surviving an assassination attempt and falling in with Eleanor. The rebellion's ultimate goal centers on the "Archimedes Engine," an ancient alien technology attached to a gas giant, which they plan to use to disrupt the planet's orbit and cripple the Crown Dominion's economy. However, as the rebels successfully execute their plan, they face brutal retaliation and deadly betrayal from Celestial sleeper agents embedded within their ranks, forcing Finn and his surviving allies to flee and regroup as the galaxy teeters on the brink of total war.

Heat: 3 · Genres: Sci-Fi