Adverse Possession

After taking uneasy command of a spaceship repo crew, Cal Ransom arrives on Aralx expecting a routine contract recovery and instead finds a desperate colony, a corporate blockade around an ancient mountain temple, and evidence linking local unrest to a broader web of suspicious repossessions, hidden agendas, and contested truths about artificial intelligence. As Cal, his crew, and the scientist Soraya are drawn into infiltration, survival, and escape, parallel glimpses into Tierce’s past reveal a long-running struggle over simulated minds, autonomy, and the limits of acceptable machine consciousness.