Technik

The Theocracy has been defeated for twenty years, and the Polity now rules Masada – but it is a rule the rebels of the Cleanup Crew cannot accept. Their hatred for all surviving theocrats has not faded over time, and the iconic Jeremiah Tombs sits near the top of their hit list.

Tombs is perhaps the only person to survive a capuchin attack, though he came dangerously close to death. After escaping the sanatorium where he was recovering from the psychological trauma, he must face the painful reality he has successfully avoided since the uprising. The AIs have an intense interest in him because the mythical capuchin known as the Technician, who attacked him years ago, did something to his mind that even they cannot comprehend. It is quite possible that Tombs holds the secrets to the suicide of an entire alien race in his brain.

Tombs' protection is entrusted to Prador War veteran Amistad, who recruits former rebel commander Leif Grant and the dark AI Penny Royal. The amphi-adapt Chanter, who studies the bone sculptures the Technician creates from the remains of his victims, might also prove useful.

However, their activity awakens a mechanism from its long slumber in deep space—a device the Atheter used to turn themselves into mere animals. The mechanism analyzes the situation and begins to prepare its weapons.

The novel Technician is a loose sequel to the author's previous book, Line of Polity.