"A deep and allegorical journey" -SFFAddicts
When a fisherman unwittingly discovers clues about other people wielding great technologies, fear and uncertainty of exposure throw both societies into conflict, and forces a clutch of artificial intelligence stewards to confront their obligations to humanity. As real and virtual worlds collide, so too do the worldviews that have caused this centuries-long stand-off.
Future-primitive Tellurians have enjoyed a peaceful coexistence with nature for centuries after the moment of technological collapse, described in ancient texts as Cloudburst. Only the studied elders are aware of a diaspora virtual civilization who secretly covets their energy ...and their bodies.
Tieri-Na rejects stories she's heard about abductions in the hinterlands. Life in the far north can be harsh, unforgiving. But nature shares her bounties with those who learn her ways. To Tieri, the forest is freedom from the hustle of the village… until the day she too goes missing.
Alai-Tiul longs for answers. Other villagers believe teachings about the perils of technology, yet he can’t help but wonder if there’s more to the old stories. What really happened centuries ago after Cloudburst wiped out everything… and everyone? If that history was so terrible, then why are the ancient wind towers, givers of unlimited energy, revered without question? To his inquiries, the elders reply,
“Meddle not with what we do not understand.”
But Alai does meddle, curious about the past and its people. When he discovers a metal cube in the forest, he exposes a secret. A secret about the world he shouldn’t know, and through his meddling, one that may disrupt the fate of humanity.
Aur Child immerses the reader in a world of hope and uncertainty, where merchant ships sail the winds between future-primitive villages and artificial intelligences harbor the exiles of virtual worlds, and presents a fresh approach to post-apocalyptic Earth, blurring the boundaries between right and wrong, good and evil, and heroes and villains.
