Robot specialist Derec Avery and Calvin Institute attacho?= Ariel Burgess-last seen in Asimov's Aurora by Mark W. Tiedemann-return in an all-new adventure. Exiled to the colony Nova Levis. roboticist Derec Avery and Auroran ambassador Ariel Burgess have tried to make their best of their situation. exposing an anti-robot conspiracy on Earth five years before A human has been murdered on Kopernik, a space station orbiting the Earth, and all the clues point toward a robot as the killer. But how can that be, when robots are programmed to never bring harm to humans? It's a familiar situation for Derec and Ariel-the sort of mystery that led to their current status as political pariahs. Still, not even an exiled robot expert can turn down an opportunity to add his expertise to the investigation, and before too long, Derec is on his way to Kopernik. Ariel, meanwhile, has a mystery of her own to unravel. With the help of old friends-and potentially new enemies-Derec searches for the identity of a killer, unaware that Ariel is walking directly into the center of the web of intrigueo?=.

A human has been murdered on Kopernik and the clues point toward a robot as the killer. But how can that be, when robots are programmed to never bring harm to humans? Before long, roboticist Derec Avery is on his way to Kopernik to investigate. Former Auroran ambassador Ariel Burgess, meanwhile, has a mystery of her own to unravel: Citizens of the Nova Levis colony have been disappearing in greater numbers, while the cyborg population has suddenly started growing at a dramatic rate. With the help of old friends--and potentially new enemies--Derec searches for the identity of a killer, unaware that Ariel is walking directly into the center of the web of intrigue.