From the Introduction
In the 23rd century, an arkship left earth. The ten thousand colonists on board were held in cryostasis, as the journey to their new home planet would take hundreds of years.
But something went wrong. A computational glitch, a navigation error, faulty astronomical charts, an unforeseen AI decision; whatever the reason, after more than two thousand years, the arkship is still flying.
Critical systems starting failing, worn down by time and radiation. Many would-be colonists died in their stasis pods. Others were luckier, and were jolted awake when their pods malfunctioned. Those people found the ship silent and dark, with freezing corridors and stale air.
However, humans are clever and resilient. Slowly but surely, a society of survivors formed. Living off hydroponics and replicator sludge, getting water from leaky pipes and improvised condensation traps, and staying warm through machinery waste heat and small fires, they made a home in the ship.
Centuries later, this society still exists. A few more have woken up from stasis and joined the children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren of those who came before.
Life on earth has been forgotten or mythologized. Technical skills, even reading and writing, are rare. Tribal politics and justice based on scarcity and survival rule the community.
This is the world in which our protagonists awake, when their stasis pods finally break down and spit them out. They alone realize everyone is doomed unless they fix and regain control of the arkship.
They have the technical know-how. But can they find a place in the survivor community? Can they win their trust, convince the survivors to share their resources? Can they find allies, and gain a position of influence? Can they get people to listen, to cooperate, to change?
Let’s find out.