The Stars Like Gods

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by G. S. Jennsen


  “That’s not what we call their species, but…apparently so.”

  Nika’s mind recoiled at the notion of anyone calling a Sogain a ‘friend.’ The ethereal creatures occupied a plane of existence far outside real, tangible life—the manner of life that Asterions had consciously chosen to honor—and she struggled to imagine how such an existence had room for friendship.

  But what mattered right now were the far-reaching implications of the woman’s statement. “They’ve been watching us, then?” Watching her, far more extensively than she’d assumed, and reporting her actions to others. Spying, in other words.

  “It’s what they do, when they’re not creating pocket universes for shits and giggles.”

  Nika arched an eyebrow in question.

  “Yes, they’ve been watching you—the Asterions—for a long time. And, yes, it’s creepy, but they do actually mean well. Which is why I’m here.”

  The revelations were piling up fast now, and she needed to stay focused on the essentials. “You said it wasn’t what ‘we’ call their species. Who’s ‘we’? Are you an Anaden?” The woman did look vaguely so, but 700,000 years was a long time. Species evolved.

  Alex’s face screwed up in what might be annoyance. “Not…exactly. Listen, do you mind if we sit and get comfortable? You and I have a lot to discuss.”

  “Do we? You still haven’t given me a reason to trust you.”

  “I haven’t tried to injure you or commandeer your ship.”

  Nika snorted. “If your ‘friend’ told you anything at all about me, you know if you tried you would fail spectacularly.”

  “True. If I had brought Caleb, though….” Alex shrugged. “All right. Can I get something that is definitely not a weapon from my pocket?”

  Nika jerked a nod but moved a finger over the Glaser trigger.

  Alex reached into a side pocket of her pants and produced a small rectangular object, then placed it in her palm and held it out toward Nika. Made of a semi-translucent mineral, thousands of fibers rich jade in color wove through its interior in ordered rows at sharp angles to one another.

  “What is that?”

  “We call it a Reor slab, but I suspect you have a different name for it, or for what it contains. Look more closely—no, look differently.”

  Nika cycled through every band, but the fundamental profile of the slab didn’t change. A prickle rose in the base of her neck—anticipation tinged with foreboding—as she toggled on the kyoseil ocular setting.

  Ghostly strings of spectral luminescence undulated from her to and into the innocuous little slab, where they shifted angles and colors before radiating outward in every direction.

  Her gaze rose to meet Alex’s as she holstered the Glaser and motioned to the couch. “You’re right—we do have a lot to discuss.”

  Fourteen years after The Displacement, a tenuous alliance among humans, Anadens and over a dozen alien species has taken root. The wounds of war and revolution have begun to heal and peace and prosperity are within reach.

  But when Nika Kirumase, leader of a splinter group of former Anadens thought aeons dead, arrives bearing a warning of a terrifying enemy advancing across the void, that alliance will be pushed to the breaking point and beyond.

  Riven Worlds Book One

  Amaranthe ♦ 14

  Coming this Winter

  ***

  A Note From the Author

  At the end of Requiem, I said ‘the story of Aurora has come to an end, but the story of Amaranthe is just beginning.’ I hope you knew I meant it.

  But before we go forward, we need to go back—or at least I do. Over the next several months, the books of Aurora Rhapsody and Asterion Noir will be lightly rebranded, keeping their trilogy subtitles but bringing them all under the rubric of the AMARANTHE universe. If you’re all caught up with your reading, this won’t have any impact on you. For new readers, it is my hope that this will present a clear, consistent and easy-to-follow roadmap of my books.

  If you’re curious what the rebranding will look like, I’ve included a graphic at the end of this note.

  So what comes next? Fourteen years have passed since the events of Requiem. A lot has happened during that time, and few things will be precisely as we left them. Humans have tried to adapt to living amongst dozens of alien species; Anadens have tried to adapt to living without their Primors and integrals—to living as equals rather than rulers. No one will claim the transition has been easy or smooth, but it hasn’t descended into rampant bloodshed…for the most part.

  Now the Asterions are returning to a changed empire, and they’re about to toss the dynamite that is the Rasu into the middle of it.

  I expect Riven Worlds to be six novels, but I reserve the right to change my mind along the way. A new series will follow it, and another after that, all under the Amaranthe banner. Alex, Caleb, Nika and Dashiel will likely demand to be the brightest stars much of the time, but not always. The journey may take us to some unexpected places with fascinating new characters and dangers. The universe is quite literally the limit.

  But no matter where we travel, you can expect the same kind of stories that have brought you here: grand and complex tales of adventure, struggles and heroism woven through with intricate layers and interconnections that bind together into a cohesive whole. Tales of purpose and meaning, with evocative locations, inventive technology and memorable characters who fight, fail, persevere and refuse to fade away.

  If you haven’t already, subscribe to my newsletter to stay informed about Continuum’s release and all the Amaranthe news. And if you haven’t read the Aurora books yet, now’s the time—you’ve got about six months to catch up before Continuum arrives! Book One, Starshine, is free to download at all major online retailers, and Vertigo (Book Two) is free to newsletter subscribers.

  What do you think? Are you excited? Let me know. I love hearing from readers. The beauty of independent publishing is its simplicity: there’s the writer and the readers. Without any overhead, I can find out what I’m doing right and wrong directly from you, which is invaluable in making the next book better than this one. And the one after that. And the… *checks notes* …thirty after that.

  gsjennsen.com

  [email protected] G.S. Jennsen

  @GSJennsen gsjennsen

  gsjennsen.author gsjennsen

  Find all my books on your retailer of choice:

  gsjennsen.com/retailers

  AMARANTHE UNIVERSE

  * * *

  STARSHINE Amaranthe #1

  Aurora Rising Book One

  VERTIGO Amaranthe #2

  Aurora Rising Book Two

  TRANSCENDENCE Amaranthe #3

  Aurora Rising Book Three

  SIDESPACE Amaranthe #4

  Aurora Renegades Book One

  DISSONANCE Amaranthe #5

  Aurora Renegades Book Two

  ABYSM Amaranthe #6

  Aurora Renegades Book Three

  RELATIVITY Amaranthe #7

  Aurora Resonant Book One

  RUBICON Amaranthe #8

  Aurora Resonant Book Two

  REQUIEM Amaranthe #9

  Aurora Resonant Book Three

  SHORT STORIES OF AURORA RHAPSODY Amaranthe #10

  Collection

  EXIN EX MACHINA Amaranthe #11

  Asterion Noir Book One

  OF A DARKER VOID Amaranthe #12

  Asterion Noir Book Two

  THE STARS LIKE GODS Amaranthe #13

  Asterion Noir Book Three

  CONTINUUM Amaranthe #14

  Riven Worlds Book One

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Many thanks to my beta readers, editors and artists, who made everything about this book better, and to my family, who continue to put up with an egregious level of obsessive focus on my part for months at a time.

  I also want to add a personal note of thanks to everyone who has read my books, left a review at retailers, Goodreads or other sites, sent me a personal email expressing how the b
ooks have impacted you, or posted on social media to share how much you enjoyed them. You make this all worthwhile, every day.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  G. S. JENNSEN lives in Colorado with her husband and two dogs. She has written thirteen novels and short story collections, all published by her imprint, Hypernova Publishing. She has become an internationally bestselling author since her first novel, Starshine, was published in March 2014. She has chosen to continue writing under an independent publishing model to ensure the integrity of her stories and her ability to execute on the vision she has for their telling.

  While she has been a lawyer, a software engineer and an editor, she’s found the life of a full-time author preferable by several orders of magnitude. When she isn’t writing, she’s gaming or working out or getting lost in the Colorado mountains that loom large outside the windows in her home. Or she’s dealing with a flooded basement, or standing in a line at Walmart reading the tabloid headlines and wondering who all of those people are. Or sitting on her back porch with a glass of wine, looking up at the stars, trying to figure out what could be up there.

  Table of Contents

  Title

  Book List

  Dramatis Personae

  Galaxy Map

  The Story So Far

  Contents

  LATENCY Mirai

  CHMOD 1

  PRESENT DAY MIRAI JUSTICE CENTER

  MIRAI TOWER

  2 HATAORI RENEWAL CLINIC

  GUIDES STORAGE FACILITY

  3 MIRAI JUSTICE CENTER

  MIRAI

  4 JUSTICE EVIDENCE WAREHOUSE

  5 MARIS’ LOFT

  6 MIRAI

  ALIASES 7 MIRAI

  8 MIRAI ONE PAVILION

  SYNRA

  9 MIRAI ONE PAVILION

  10 MIRAI ONE PAVILION

  NIKA’S FLAT

  11 NIKA’S FLAT

  12 MIRAI

  NESTED ARGUMENTS 13 MIRAI ONE PAVILION

  KIYORA

  14 NIKA’S FLAT

  15 MIRAI ONE PAVILION

  16 RIDANI ENTERPRISES

  MIRAI ONE PAVILION

  17 WAYFARER

  SOGAIN STELLAR SYSTEM

  18 MIRAI ONE PAVILION

  HATAORI RENEWAL CLINIC

  19 MIRAI

  READ/WRITE/EXEC 20 MIRAI ONE PAVILION

  21 NIKA’S FLAT

  EBISU

  22 ADV DAUNTLESS

  PLANET III-E183-31B

  23 CONCEPTUAL RESEARCH TESTING FACILITY

  24 CONCEPTUAL RESEARCH TESTING FACILITY

  25 ADJUNCT HACHI

  CHECKSUM 26 MIRAI JUSTICE CENTER

  MIRAI

  27 MIRAI

  28 MIRAI ONE PAVILION

  29 MIRAI ONE PAVILION

  30 CONCEPTUAL RESEARCH TESTING FACILITY

  MIRAI ONE PAVILION

  MIRAI

  31 MIRAI ONE PAVILION

  32 MIRAI

  MIRAI ONE PAVILION

  33 MIRAI ONE PAVILION

  34 MIRAI ONE PAVILION

  35 MIRAI ONE PAVILION

  MIRAI

  MULTITHREADING 36 NIKA’S FLAT

  37 MIRAI ONE PAVILION

  MIRAI JUSTICE CENTER

  SYNRA

  38 NIKA’S FLAT

  39 MIRAI ONE PAVILION

  EBISU

  40 MIRAI ONE PAVILION

  41 MIRAI JUSTICE CENTER

  MIRAI ONE PAVILION

  42 TOKI’TAKU

  43 CHOSEK

  44 KIYORA

  45 MIRAI ONE PAVILION

  46 NIKA’S FLAT

  47 SYNRA

  MIRAI ONE PAVILION

  ROOT ACCESS 48 TABIJI

  49 RASU STRONGHOLD

  50 RASU STRONGHOLD

  51 RASU COMMAND PLATFORM

  52 RASU STRONGHOLD

  53 MIRAI ONE PAVILION

  NAMINO

  54 MIRAI ONE PAVILION

  55 MIRAI JUSTICE CENTER

  MIRAI ONE

  56 NIKA’S FLAT

  MIRAI ONE

  57 NIKA’S FLAT

  58 WAYFARER

  A Note From the Author

  About the Author

 

 

 


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