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All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
Author’s Notes on this Edition
I wish to thank Alex for his help with cover ideas, Rowan for editing, and all the beta-readers, proofreaders, editors, and others who volunteered their time and attention to the publication of this novel. The finished work is far better than it could have been without you. Any flaws that may remain are entirely the fault of the author.
Units of Measure
Time, distance, and other units of measure reflected in the story that follows have been converted, along with the languages, to something understandable by readers living on Earth at the dawn the 21st Century. It was either this or put a conversion table and glossary at the end of the book, and no one likes those.
Regarding Androids
Androids, by definition, are automatons that resemble humans. In this book and those that follow, the term is used to refer to constructed beings with human-like cognitive abilities rather than an exclusively humanoid physical appearance. To do otherwise would simply be species-ist. Many of the androids you will meet in these books don’t look like people, but they do sometimes think and act like them.
Maps
Some readers like maps, so one showing the relative locations of hub terminals is included in the paper edition of this book. It is not in the digital edition because it does not show up well on most compact reading devices. If you are reading a digital version of this book and wish to see some maps, you can find them on the author’s website, https://dlmorrese.wordpress.com/, along with other information.
Contents
Prologue - A Species with Potential
One - People Like Clay (In which Mobile Observer Android 126 first encounters humans.)
Two - Sheep Lost and Demons Found (In which MO-126 learns that humans can be imaginative, creative, and disturbingly wrong.)
Three - Dare Not Stray (In which curiosity is discouraged.)
Four - Split Plea (In which MO-126 realizes that sometimes people just can’t get along with each other.)
Five - Wheels of Discontent (In which discoveries are made and a person is lost.)
Six - Unacceptable Marks (In which things must not be written.)
Seven - Making Choices (In which choices are made and something is overlooked.)
Eight - Shutting Down (In which some things end and others begin.)
Nine - A Dog and His Boy (In which MO-126 adopts a boy and herds some sheep.)
Ten - A Final Note (In which MO-126 says goodbye.)