Introduction: It''s the year 2115 and the Machine Emperor has taken over most of the planet. With its ability to perfectly imitate anyone it has managed to infiltrate and conquer most of nations of the world, condemning humans to live like pets beneath the rule of the godlike AI. Only the United States aiming a series of orbital rail-guns at the planet and threatening to destroy all life holds it back from conquering the few free nations that remain! Sam Wharton grew up in this grim world as a prodigy - for a regular human. Most of his peers are enhanced with a mixture of cybernetics and genetic engineering that make them seem like a different species. Even his cat has genetic enhancements that make him as smart as a human. He has long dreamed of living in the stellar colonies where humanity can be safe, but he just can''t compete with the augmented. Yet a chance meeting with his estranged grandfather gives him the chance to not only grow beyond human limits, but live on the greatest space colony ever made - the Gem Star. Can Sam and his talking blue cat Loki survive and defeat an angry mechanical god?Cover art by Valerie St Gelais & Donna Skaff....