A Closed and Common Orbit

'Joyously written and a joy to read'Claire North, author of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August on The Long Way to a Small, Angry PlanetOnce, Lovelace had eyes and ears everywhere. She was a ship's artificial intelligence system, tasked with caring for the health and wellbeing of her crew, possessing a distinct personality and very human emotions. But when her ship was badly damaged, Lovelace was forced to go into a total system reboot. Now, reactivated and reset, Lovelace finds herself in a synthetic body. She's gone from being virtually omniscient to limited to a physical existence, in a community where her kind are illegal. She's never felt so isolated.But Lovelace is not alone. Pepper, one of the engineers who risked life and limb to reinstall her program, has remained by her side and is determined to help her adjust to her new world. Because Pepper knows a thing or two about starting over.Pepper was born Jane 23, part of a slave class created by a rogue society of genetic engineers. At ten years old, Jane 23 has never seen the sky; she doesn't even know such a thing exists. But when an industrial accident gives Jane 23 a chance to escape, she takes the opportunity and hides away in a nearby junkyard.Now, having recreated herself as Pepper, she makes it her mission to help Lovelace discover her own place in the world. Huge as the galaxy may be, it's anything but empty.[Author photo][cover of Long Way]