Eight tales of adventure set in humanity's far future, where humankind has spread throughout their local portion of the galaxy--the Orion Spur--with the help of their technology. Primarily, AIs: artificial intelligences, who make faster-than-light travel not only easy, but inexpensive and commonplace. Despite all their great achievements, human nature is still unpredictable and dangerous. It all comes down to a final showdown in the deepest reaches of unexplored space, to see who will ultimately rule.