Cirrus@Austlit

'“What terrible disaster had occurred? Perhaps there’d been an accident while he was in the experimental brain scanner. Perhaps he’d suffered catastrophic nerve damage and that was why his muscles were failing to respond.”

'Regaining consciousness after an accident, Robert Harper is devastated to find his mind has been copied into a robot named Rob.

'As an intelligent machine, Rob feels that nobody believes he has the right to determine his own future. Worse, an arms manufacturer wants his technology for use in their weapons systems. Through many twists and turns he struggles to avoid capture, make sense of his very existence and overcome his own prejudices.' (Publication summary)

'‘We’re limited in how far into the future we can predict human attitudes to robots. I like to think of this as the intelligence horizon… Hopefully, beyond this horizon, intelligent robots may be accepted as having at least some rights.’

'The future for Anastasia and Robert is balanced on a knife-edge. They are key developers of scanning technology used to copy the structure of the human brain and load it into intelligent robots. Their malevolent employer, Augustin, plans to kill them if they try to leave, but also when they outlive their usefulness. They also come under threat from an organisation intent on the elimination of all advanced robots. Meanwhile, two intelligent robots, Rob and Sam-renamed-Penny, have been sent to Mars to help Augustin achieve his all-consuming dream. Can they fend-off attacks by trans-planetary bandits, and use all of their cunning to outwit Augustin?' (Publication summary)