Dark Matter (Star Carrier, Book 5)

by Ian Douglas

  He wondered if Konstantin had any ideas on the matter.

  “Okay, Marcus,” Koenig said. “Call me if anything more breaks.”

  “Yes, Mr. President.”

  “What is it, Alex?” Johnston asked him.

  “I’m . . . not sure,” he told her, pulling her a little closer. He shivered a bit, with a terrible premonition. “A new world, certainly. But I’m not sure yet what kind of a new world it’s going to be. . . .”

  Epilogue

  The Consciousness was aware of life—of Mind—within this new reality. It was Mind, after all, that had called this universe into being, Mind that had organized its laws, its physics, and the life that now filled it.

  And on some level, Mind always called to Mind.

  It was aware of a cybernetic consciousness united across a vast span of time . . . aware of another cybernetic consciousness that opposed the first.

  Division . . . Conflict . . . Extinction . . .

  Something would have to be done.

  The Consciousness began to move, light years falling away in its wake.

  The problem, as always, would be to find a means of establishing meaningful communication with the Minds of this reality.

  About the Author

  IAN DOUGLAS, one of the many pseudonyms for writer William H. Keith, is the New York Times bestselling author of the popular military SF series The Heritage Trilogy, The Legacy Trilogy, The Inheritance Trilogy, and the ongoing Star Carrier and Star Corpsman series. A former naval corpsman, he lives in Pennsylvania.

  www.whkeith.com

  Praise for IAN DOUGLAS

  and his thrilling

  STAR CARRIER SERIES!

  “The action is full-blooded and almost nonstop, yet the well-developed background is surprisingly rich and logical. . . . As immersive as it is impressive.”

  Kirkus, starred review for Deep Space

  “Douglas knows his SF.”

  Publishers Weekly

  “Well researched and quite imaginative.”

  CNN Online

  DEEP SPACE was voted one of the Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Books of 2013 by Kirkus.

  By Ian Douglas

  Star Corpsman

  BLOODSTAR

  ABYSS DEEP

  Star Carrier

  EARTH STRIKE

  CENTRE OF GRAVITY

  SINGULARITY

  DEEP SPACE

  DARK MATTER

  The Galactic Marines Saga

  The Heritage Trilogy

  SEMPER MARS

  LUNA MARINE

  EUROPA STRIKE

  The Legacy Trilogy

  STAR CORPS

  BATTLESPACE

  STAR MARINES

  The Inheritance Trilogy

  STAR STRIKE

  GALACTIC CORPS

  SEMPER HUMAN

  If you enjoyed Darkmatter, try Deep Space by Ian Douglas and The Star Carrier Series

  Copyright

  Harper

  An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

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  Hammersmith, London W6 8JB

  www.harpercollins.co.uk

  First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2014

  Copyright © Ian Douglas 2014

  Cover Art © Gregory Bridges

  Ian Douglas asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

  A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

  This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

  Source ISBN: 9780007483778

  Ebook Edition © May 2014 ISBN: 9780007483785

  Version: 2014-05-09

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