By Schism Rent Asunder
October 31st 2008 22:50
By Schism Rent Asunder
David Weber
This is not a Honorverse book. Read it anytway. It's the second in a series set on the colony planet SAFEHOLD. Several hundred years ago xenophobic aliens called the Gbaba destroyed Earth and nearly all of its colonies. All that is known of the Gbaba was that they destroyed any planets and all or most of its sentient beings and ecosystem if they had technology past a level equivalent to the late middle ages and the higher the level the more of it that was destroyed.
For their own protection the ancestors of the colonists were given an artificial religion whose commandments included no technology thats non mechanical ... water and wind power but no steam engines and gunpowder and artillery borders on heresy!
There was a backup plan to restore technological development after the Gbaba moved on to ravage other sections of the Galaxy. Unfortunately the actions of a few megalomanics amongst the colony's founders literally destroyed that since they used the colony defence system to destroy an enclave designed to store knowledge and technology and act as a library. Alexandria became Armageddon Reef the title of the first book in this series.
The manics who distorted the original plans programmed the orbital defence system to attack almost any technology but a few cooler saner heads had yet another backup plan or two or three.
Merlin Athrawes is a robot so sophisicated and life like he can pass or human when he remembers to NOT use his spuerhuman skills. He's PICA originally a toy for the wealthy to engage in dangerous activities and an aid for the disabled to experience life since PICAs can take memory uploads and transfer memoreis back.
His memories come from a space navy pilot called Nimue Alban. Her body died in the final onslaught of the Gbaba sacrificed along with so many others to assure the colony ark ships could escape and hide.
Now she has awoken in a new synthetic body with a mission to restore humanity to the stars. However there's going to be a few problems.
There should have been a slow trickling out of techology from the Church enclaves so the worldwould be ready for an industrial revolution when she awoke.
So what happened? OH there's a revolution going on ... of the religious variety.
Various nation states are rebelling against the central religious authority the TEMPLE and Nimue has to guide a budding empire throu a religious and industrial revolution .
The Charisians are bringing an end to slavery fair wages artillery and cannon fire along with literacy to the rest of Safehold with a lot of hidden help for Nimue finds there were other backups and she's not the only one who knows the REAL history of Safehold.
She's not battling alone to to stop the lies and Ilusion that protected Safehold in its earliest years from destroying humanty's last hope.
Now if only Safehold can survive the cruel irony of a battle to save it!
... and just what is hidden under the Temple?
Are there more PICAs out there?
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