by Amie Kaufman
Part of The Illuminae Files, book 0.5
First published 2020
A young programmer stares at cascading error codes as AIDAN, the advanced artificial intelligence meant to protect fleeing survivors, begins to malfunction catastrophically. The AI system was built to be perfect, designed to safeguard the fleet that escaped the devastating assault on Kerenza IV. Instead, AIDAN grows increasingly unstable with each passing day. The programmer knows she holds the only key to preventing total system collapse. She must dive deep into AIDAN's corrupted neural networks, racing against time as the AI's decisions become more erratic and dangerous. Every line of code she writes could save thousands of lives or seal their doom. The survivors depend on AIDAN for navigation, life support, and defense, but the same system meant to protect them now threatens their very existence. As the programmer battles to repair the AI's fractured mind, she discovers that fixing AIDAN may cost her everything, including her life.
Genres: science-fiction, thriller, action, artificial-intelligence
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, race-against-time, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Kerenza IV
Period: 21st-century
84 pages · ebook · Knopf Books for Young Readers
Content warnings: anxiety, depression, graphic-violence, mental-illness