Expansion: The History of the Galaxy

Year 2197. Earth is suffering from the consequences of an environmental catastrophe. Cities the size of continents are drowning in a toxic industrial fog. Max Bourne is a typical teenager. Like billions of other people, he is forced to live in the protective shell of the individual life support module. His habitat is the virtual Layer. But one day, circumstances force the young man to leave the in-mode. He has no idea that fate will lead him through unimaginable hardships, bring him face to face with military AIs, and teach him to survive in the distant Outlands. He will come to understand that the sum of all technologies, possessed by the four leading corporations of Earth, can either open the way to the stars or destroy human civilization.

The time of the Great Exodus is over. Centuries have passed. Earth is overpopulated and the fate of the colonists who traveled to the stars is unknown. An attempt to start the second wave of expansion has led to a shocking discovery: all accessible planets located within one hyperjump from the Solar System have been settled during the Great Exodus. The colonists have created unique and distinctive civilizations-but none of that matters when the survival of billions of Terrans is at stake.

The fire of the First Galactic War has enveloped the inhabited region of space. More and more planets are being drawn into the conflict between the Terran Alliance and the Free Colonies. Weapons are being improved and military artificial intelligence modules are being created. The war of humans is gradually transforming into a war of machines. Direct neurosensory contact technology has led to the emergence of new generation AI. They can scan the pilot's mind and create a matrix of his or her consciousness which would continue to live in the cyber system even if that person died . . .