Asteroid mining promises untold riches for those willing to take the risks… but in the race to gain first-mover advantage, the price of failure can be severe.
The crew of the first commercial space mission to retrieve an asteroid for mining purposes has been killed in a catastrophic accident. Washed up ex-astronaut Charles ‘Chuck’ Sorrel is hired to look into the affairs of Abundance, the company behind the mission. He asks a few questions, makes a few conclusions, and writes some recommendations… but never gets a chance to collect.
Sorrel’s easy-money gig turns sour when rival Chinese asteroid mining company Yangshen is implicated. The discovery triggers an international incident and thrusts an unwilling Sorrel into a trip across the Pacific, dinner with Yangshen’s CEO, confrontations with the Mission Commander’s widow Jen, and pressure to ‘hurry up and get to the bottom of things’. Trapped in a high-level cover up, Sorrel must navigate a web of lies and deceit to uncover the truth – and make peace with his past in order to save the future.
Abundance is a cross-genre sci-fi thriller that spans the world and the heavens above… offering a glimpse into the messy near-future world of commercial space exploration and militarization, emergent AGI and geopolitical intrigue – where the ground truth is all-too-human and wholly unpredictable.
İçerik tablosu
Prologue PER ASPERA9
1. Carol – An Entire Lifetime3
Part I AMERICAS13
2. De Waal – Shefa15
3. Sorrel – The Gig22
4. Jen – Brain Child34
5. Sorrel – Abundance41
6. Sorrel – The Tour48
7. Sorrel – R&D54
8. Jen – Homestead65
9. Sorrel – Timeline72
10. Jen – Prep78
11. Sorrel – Interviews80
12. Jen – Mountain Mover86
13. Sorrel – The Astronaut’s Wife90
14. Sorrel – Hard Space94
15. Jen – Lockout101
16. Sorrel – A Day’s Work106
Part II THE SNAP109
17. Fragment Four111
18. Sorrel – World’s End115
19. Jen – Sunbeam123
20. Sorrel – Conspiracy Theory127
21. Sorrel – Deja Vu130
22. Sorrel – Rocketjet136
23. Jen – Insertion139
24. BC – Ghost In The Machine142
Part III CHINA147
25. Sorrel – In The System149
26. Sorrel – Yangshen159
28. Sorrel – Planning and Control170
29. Sorrel – Invite176
30. Jen – Starlink180
31. Sorrel – Dead Man’s Fob183
32. Sorrel – Dinner186
33. Huang – Destiny196
34. BC – The Network200
35. Sorrel – Post Dinner204
36. Sorrel – Neutral Buoyancy207
37. Huang – Final Approach215
38. Huang – Science Experiment217
39. Huang – Crash Landing219
40. Huang – The Sweeping of the Tombs223
41. Sorrel – Awakening225
42. Huang – Suiting Up229
43. Huang – The Brute232
44. BC – The Prodigal Son235
45. Huang – Monorail237
46. BC – Repository239
47. Huang – Earth Engine242
48. Infil247
49. Sorrel – The Voice249
50. Huang – Final Prep252
51. Huang – Adjustment Burn255
52. BC – Human Condition257
53. Jen – Canaries258
54. Sorrel – Hogtied260
55. BC – Scenario T484.05.2263
56. Sorrel – Transport265
57. Jen – Fugitive267
58. Sorrel – Electric Chair269
59. Sorrel – Outbound272
60. Sorrel – Storm Front276
Part IV THE STORM281
61. Sorrel – LA-X283
62. Huang – Refueling286
63. Huang – Mirage288
64. Huang – Ghosts291
64. Sorrel – Family294
65. Jen – Avila’s298
66. Sorrel – The Hit302
67. Huang – Hothead305
68. Sorrel – Asteroid Fever306
69. Huang – Standoff312
70. Jen – Newport317
71. Sorrel – The Feint319
72. Carol – Postcards From Beyond322
73. Jen – The Scrape324
74. Sorrel – Gumshoeing327
75. Jen – Constellation331
76. Sorrel – Tangled Threads332
Part V MOKSHA337
77. Sorrel – Second Wind339
78. Jen – The Senator346
79. Sorrel – Big Stick349
80. Jen – All Downhill From Here355
81. Sorrel – Moksha357
82. Sorrel – Make A Hole364
83. Sorrel/Jen – Overland369
84. Sorrel – Out Of Africa374
Part VI A HIGHER PLACE377
85. Mc Clusky – The Shitshow379
86. Huang – Goodbyes382
87. Zhang – Magnanimity386
88. Jen – Carol389
89. Sorrel – The Future392
Supplemental397
Acknowledgments399
About the Author401